Thin smart card connector
US6120328A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 14, 2000 |
| Grant date | Sep 19, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 14, 2020 |
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.