EP1065754B1 - Surface mount electrical connector - Google Patents

Surface mount electrical connector Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1065754B1
EP1065754B1 EP99112395A EP99112395A EP1065754B1 EP 1065754 B1 EP1065754 B1 EP 1065754B1 EP 99112395 A EP99112395 A EP 99112395A EP 99112395 A EP99112395 A EP 99112395A EP 1065754 B1 EP1065754 B1 EP 1065754B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
surface mount
electrical connector
housing
mount electrical
terminal
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP99112395A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1065754A1 (en
Inventor
Gianni Zuin
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Molex LLC
Original Assignee
Molex LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Molex LLC filed Critical Molex LLC
Priority to DE69910747T priority Critical patent/DE69910747T2/de
Priority to EP99112395A priority patent/EP1065754B1/en
Priority to CNB001227246A priority patent/CN1149717C/zh
Priority to JP2000234995A priority patent/JP3380961B2/ja
Priority to KR1020000036309A priority patent/KR20010007572A/ko
Publication of EP1065754A1 publication Critical patent/EP1065754A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1065754B1 publication Critical patent/EP1065754B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
    • H01R12/70—Coupling devices
    • H01R12/71—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures
    • H01R12/712—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures co-operating with the surface of the printed circuit or with a coupling device exclusively provided on the surface of the printed circuit
    • H01R12/716—Coupling device provided on the PCB
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R27/00—Coupling parts adapted for co-operation with two or more dissimilar counterparts

Definitions

  • This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, particularly, to a surface mount electrical connector which has terminals for such uses as in IC card reader systems.
  • Chip (IC) cards come in a variety of shapes and sizes but typically comprise a card of approximately the same size as a standard credit card.
  • the IC card itself contains intelligence in the form of a memory circuit or other electronic program.
  • a card reader reads the information or memory stored on the card.
  • IC cards are used in countless applications in today's electronic society, including ATMs, cable television decoders, cellular telephones, PC card adapters and other electronic applications.
  • One such chip card is identified as a "Multi Media Card”, or "MMC” which is an IC card for use in PC's for media applications such as adapters, music players, toys, games, cellular phones and digital cameras.
  • MMC Multi Media Card
  • the MMC card reader readily accommodates insertion and removal of the card to provide quick access to the information and programs on these cards.
  • EP-A-0 274 534 which is considered as the closest prior art, a connector for electrically connecting a ROM card or an IC card to a main printed wiring board is known.
  • the connector includes a slider which causes a contact when the card is inserted. This, however is a rather complicated mechanism and is increasing the size of the connector.
  • low profile electrical connectors are particularly important for the card reader connectors used in the applications described above. It has become increasingly important to limit or even reduce weight and space in electronic apparatus such as PC's where these connectors can be found.
  • the low profile electrical connectors connect the IC card to circuit traces on a planar surface of a printed circuit board.
  • the outer dimensions of the contacting connector in such systems often is not significantly larger than the IC card itself.
  • a more viable approach is to design a true surface mount electrical connector specifically applicable for such uses as IC card applications.
  • Design parameters include minimizing size, minimizing weight, maintaining coplanarity of the connector terminals with the circuit traces on the board, resiliency of the contact beams, orienting the beams toward the IC card which, in turn, typically is toward the printed circuit board and maintaining a very low profile for the entire connector assembly.
  • the present invention is directed to solving these design problems in a low profile electrical connector which has specific application in IC card reader systems.
  • An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved surface mount electrical connector.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved low profile surface mount electrical connector for connecting an electronic component such as an IC card on a planar surface of a printed circuit board which includes circuit traces thereon
  • the connector includes a generally flat dielectric housing overmolded about a plurality of stamped and formed electrical terminals.
  • the housing has a bottom surface for mounting on the printed circuit board.
  • An opening in the housing is provided for receiving the IC card.
  • a mounting bar of the housing extends along one side of the opening.
  • Each terminal includes a base overmolded in the mounting bar of the housing.
  • a beam extends from the base and includes a generally planar surface mount section for electrical connection to a circuit trace on the planar surface of the printed circuit board.
  • a contact arm is joined to the beam at a U-shaped joint and extends back over the beam and terminates in a contact portion at the opening in the housing for electrical connection to the IC card.
  • each terminal is wider than the beam thereof.
  • the base of each terminal is generally planar and includes flange portions formed out of the plane of the base to anchor the base in the mounting bar of the housing.
  • the base of each terminal is generally coplanar with the bottom surface of the housing.
  • the beam and the surface mount section of each terminal are coplanar with the base thereof and the bottom surface of the housing.
  • the contact arm of each terminal is narrower than the U-shaped joint thereof. The contact portion of each terminal is bowed toward the opening to present a rounded surface for engaging the IC card.
  • the mounting bar of the housing has an outer side defining an outside edge of the housing and an inner side defining an inside edge of the opening in the housing.
  • the beam, surface mount section and U-shaped joint of each terminal are located outside the outer side of the mounting bar.
  • the contact arm extends over the mounted bar.
  • the contact portion of the contact arm is located inside the inner side of the mounting bar.
  • a top surface of the mounting bar is provided with a plurality of grooves to accommodate the contact arms of the terminals.
  • a feature of the invention is the provision of at least one securing tab overmolded in the housing remote from the terminal.
  • the securing tab includes a securing portion for connection to the printed circuit board.
  • a low profile surface mount electrical connector for connecting an electronic component such as an IC card 12 (Figs. 5 and 6) on a planar surface 14 of a printed circuit board 16 which includes circuit traces 18 (Fig. 4) on planar surface 14.
  • Connector 10 includes a flat dielectric housing, generally designated 20. The housing is overmolded about a plurality of stamped and formed sheet metal electrical terminals, generally designated 22.
  • housing 20 is a one-piece structure unitarily molded of dielectric material such as plastic or the like.
  • the housing has a bottom surface 24 for mounting on printed circuit board 16 and an opening 26 for receiving the IC card.
  • a window 28 in a top wall 30 of the housing exposes opening 26 as is clearly seen in Figure 1.
  • the housing includes a mounting bar 32 on and within which terminals 22 are mounted.
  • the mounting bar has an outer side 32a which defines an outside (rear) edge of the housing and an inner side 32b which defines an inside (rear) edge of opening 26 in the housing.
  • a plurality of grooves 34 are formed in the top of mounting bar 32 for accommodating contact arms of terminals 22 as will be seen hereinafter.
  • each terminal is generally U-shaped and includes a lower leg, generally designated 36, and an upper leg, generally designated 38, with the legs being joined by a U-shaped joint 40.
  • Lower leg 36 includes a planar base 42 which is overmolded within mounting bar 22 of housing 20.
  • the base includes a pair of angled flanges 42a which are formed out of planar base 42 to facilitate anchoring the base in the mounting bar of the housing.
  • a beam 44 extends rearwardly from base 42 and includes a generally planar surface mount section 46 for electrical connection, as by soldering, to a circuit trace on planar surface 14 of printed circuit board 16.
  • surface mount section 46 is wider than beam 44 and includes a centrally located hole 48.
  • the hole improves the solder joint with the circuit trace on the printed circuit board and also limits solder spreading.
  • Upper leg 38 of the U-shaped terminal 22 includes a contact arm 50 joined to beam 44 by U-shaped joint 40.
  • the contact arm terminates in a contact portion 52 which is bowed downwardly through window 28 (Fig. 1) into opening 26 to present a rounded surface for engaging IC card 12.
  • Contact arm 50 is narrower than U-shaped joint 40 whereby the U-shaped joint provides a measure of sturdiness and reliability for the terminal, while narrower contact arm 50 provides more flexibility or resiliency for the arm.
  • Figure 3 shows how flanges 42a of base 42 of each terminal 22 are anchored within the overmolded plastic material of mounting bar 32 of housing 20.
  • Contact arm 50 of the terminal also can be seen disposed within one of the grooves 34 in the top of the mounting bar.
  • housing 20 has at least one mounting post 54 for insertion into a mounting hole 56 in printed circuit board 16.
  • Figure 4 shows how contact 50 of one of the terminals 22 projects back over base 42 of the terminal and over mounting bar 32 of the housing within one of the grooves 34 in the top of the mounting bar. This locates the downwardly bowed contact portion 52 of the terminal above a respective one of the circuit traces 18 on the printed circuit board.
  • Figure 5 shows IC card 12 about to be inserted into opening 26 in housing 20 of connector 10, in the direction of arrow "A".
  • a mouth 58 of the opening is provided at the front edge of housing 20 for receiving the IC card.
  • a plurality of circuit pads 60 are provided on the top surface of the card along a leading edge 62 thereof for engaging downwardly bowed contact portions 52 of terminals 22. Therefore, the terminals are effective to electrically connect circuit pads 60 on the IC card with circuit traces 18 (Fig. 4) on top planar surface 14 of printed circuit board 16.
  • Figure 6 shows IC card 12 fully inserted in the direction of arrow "A" into opening 26 of housing 20 of connector 10.
  • Contact pads 60 now can be seen in engagement with contact portions 52 of terminals 22.
  • securing tabs 64 (Fig. 1) which project outwardly from the sides of housing 20 for securement, as by soldering, to metal securing pads 66 on top planar surface 14 of printed circuit board 16.
  • Figure 3 shows that securing tabs 64 are planar and include upwardly turned flanges 64a which are overmolded within housing 20 to anchor the securing tabs to the housing.
  • These securing tabs can be soldered to securing pads 66 at the same time or during the same soldering process when surface mount sections 46 of terminals 22 are soldering to circuit traces 18 of the printed circuit board.

Landscapes

  • Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
EP99112395A 1999-06-29 1999-06-29 Surface mount electrical connector Expired - Lifetime EP1065754B1 (en)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE69910747T DE69910747T2 (de) 1999-06-29 1999-06-29 Oberflächenmontierter elektrischer Verbinder
EP99112395A EP1065754B1 (en) 1999-06-29 1999-06-29 Surface mount electrical connector
CNB001227246A CN1149717C (zh) 1999-06-29 2000-06-28 表面安装电连接器
JP2000234995A JP3380961B2 (ja) 1999-06-29 2000-06-28 表面実装用電気コネクタ
KR1020000036309A KR20010007572A (ko) 1999-06-29 2000-06-29 표면 장착식 전기 커넥터

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP99112395A EP1065754B1 (en) 1999-06-29 1999-06-29 Surface mount electrical connector

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1065754A1 EP1065754A1 (en) 2001-01-03
EP1065754B1 true EP1065754B1 (en) 2003-08-27

Family

ID=8238444

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP99112395A Expired - Lifetime EP1065754B1 (en) 1999-06-29 1999-06-29 Surface mount electrical connector

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1065754B1 (ko)
JP (1) JP3380961B2 (ko)
KR (1) KR20010007572A (ko)
CN (1) CN1149717C (ko)
DE (1) DE69910747T2 (ko)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007001238A1 (en) * 2005-06-27 2007-01-04 Fci Connectors Singapore Pte Ltd Housing, terminal and connector using housing and terminal
EP2420953A1 (en) * 2010-08-20 2012-02-22 SmarDTV S.A. An interface device for connecting an electronic chip to a host device

Families Citing this family (23)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP3477640B2 (ja) * 2000-08-10 2003-12-10 日本航空電子工業株式会社 コネクタ
WO2005065254A2 (en) 2003-12-31 2005-07-21 Fci Americas Technology, Inc. Electrical power contacts and connectors comprising same
JP4376075B2 (ja) * 2004-01-26 2009-12-02 モレックス インコーポレイテド カード用コネクタ
US20060216970A1 (en) * 2005-03-28 2006-09-28 Lear Corporation Electrical connector terminal and method of producing same
US7361060B2 (en) * 2005-08-04 2008-04-22 Illinois Tool Works Inc Connector with bifurcated conductor
CN101601327B (zh) * 2006-12-21 2012-02-08 皮尔金顿汽车法国股份有限公司 电连接器
US7905731B2 (en) * 2007-05-21 2011-03-15 Fci Americas Technology, Inc. Electrical connector with stress-distribution features
JP2009212002A (ja) * 2008-03-05 2009-09-17 Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd コネクタ
US8366485B2 (en) 2009-03-19 2013-02-05 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector having ribbed ground plate
USD618180S1 (en) 2009-04-03 2010-06-22 Fci Americas Technology, Inc. Asymmetrical electrical connector
JP4803328B1 (ja) * 2011-03-15 2011-10-26 オムロン株式会社 コネクタ用接続端子及び当該端子の製造方法
EP2624034A1 (en) 2012-01-31 2013-08-07 Fci Dismountable optical coupling device
US9257778B2 (en) 2012-04-13 2016-02-09 Fci Americas Technology High speed electrical connector
US8944831B2 (en) 2012-04-13 2015-02-03 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector having ribbed ground plate with engagement members
USD727268S1 (en) 2012-04-13 2015-04-21 Fci Americas Technology Llc Vertical electrical connector
USD718253S1 (en) 2012-04-13 2014-11-25 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical cable connector
USD727852S1 (en) 2012-04-13 2015-04-28 Fci Americas Technology Llc Ground shield for a right angle electrical connector
US9543703B2 (en) 2012-07-11 2017-01-10 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector with reduced stack height
USD751507S1 (en) 2012-07-11 2016-03-15 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector
CN102946010A (zh) * 2012-11-16 2013-02-27 致威电子（昆山）有限公司 Pcb板板间连接器
USD745852S1 (en) 2013-01-25 2015-12-22 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical connector
USD720698S1 (en) 2013-03-15 2015-01-06 Fci Americas Technology Llc Electrical cable connector
CN112217045B (zh) * 2019-07-11 2024-04-30 泰连公司 用于电路卡组件的电力连接器系统

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH0326628Y2 (ko) * 1986-06-24 1991-06-10
US5154644A (en) * 1992-01-15 1992-10-13 Molex Incorporated Edge connector for a printed circuit card
DE4218970C2 (de) * 1992-06-10 1994-10-06 Amphenol Tuchel Elect Chipkartenleser
JP2547892Y2 (ja) * 1993-06-28 1997-09-17 モレックス インコーポレーテッド 平型多心ケーブル用電気コネクタ
FR2718548B1 (fr) * 1994-04-12 1996-05-15 Cotterlaz Ets Jean Cadre de contact pour lecteur de carte à puce.
FR2726694B1 (fr) * 1994-11-07 1996-12-06 Itt Composants Instr Connecteur electrique pour une carte a memoire electronique comportant des moyens de raccordement electrique du type a deplacement d'isolant
EP0917253A1 (en) * 1997-11-17 1999-05-19 Molex Incorporated Surface mount electrical connector

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007001238A1 (en) * 2005-06-27 2007-01-04 Fci Connectors Singapore Pte Ltd Housing, terminal and connector using housing and terminal
EP2420953A1 (en) * 2010-08-20 2012-02-22 SmarDTV S.A. An interface device for connecting an electronic chip to a host device
WO2012022711A1 (en) 2010-08-20 2012-02-23 Smardtv S.A. An interface device for connecting an electronic chip to a host device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2001135388A (ja) 2001-05-18
EP1065754A1 (en) 2001-01-03
DE69910747D1 (de) 2003-10-02
JP3380961B2 (ja) 2003-02-24
CN1149717C (zh) 2004-05-12
KR20010007572A (ko) 2001-01-26
CN1284764A (zh) 2001-02-21
DE69910747T2 (de) 2004-03-25

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