Thin smart card connector
US6053776A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 21, 1998 |
| Grant date | Apr 25, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 21, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01R2201/16
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A thin electrical connector for connecting to contact pads of a smart card, includes contacts (44) and a support plate (42) that holds the contacts on a circuit board (16), where the contacts and plate are thin. Each contact has a contact blade (60) that projects at an upward incline through and above a slot (52) in the support plate, and each contact has a rear portion (61) for mounting. The rear portion includes a mount part (66) joined to the blade and a pair of retainers (80) on laterally opposite sides of the mount portion. The retainers have ears (104, 118) lying out of the plane of the mount part. The support plate has a downwardly-opening recess (70) for receiving the mount part, and has upwardly-opening recesses (98, 120) for receiving the ears, to thereby fix the contact to the support plate. A switching contact (44A) includes a pair of laterally-spaced blades (162) and a switching beam (156) lying between the blades but connected to them so when the blades are depressed by a card, the beam is depressed against a trace (163) on a circuit board.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.