EP2296233A1

EP2296233A1 - Contacting device for electronic cards

Info

Publication number: EP2296233A1
Application number: EP09011684A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Dirk Jaeger; Paul Willems
Original assignee: Tyco Electronics Nederland BV
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Nederland BV
Priority date: 2009-09-11
Filing date: 2009-09-11
Publication date: 2011-03-16
Also published as: WO2011029788A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a contacting device (100) for an electronic card (130) comprising a housing (150) with a first and second detent means (153) and a cover (110) comprising at least one cover latch means (111). The cover latch means (111) is adapted to be engaged with a first detent means (152) for holding the electronic card (130) against contact elements (140) with a first predefined normal force and with a second detent means (153) for holding the electronic card (130) against contact elements (140) with a second predefined normal force.

Description

The present invention relates to electrical connectors for connecting electronic cards and in particular, to a contacting device adapted to hold an electronic card against electrical contacts of the contacting device according to two latching positions.
Electronic cards such as integrated circuit cards have been constantly developed and improved in the past years. Their form factor was adapted to the new market requirements so that the overall dimensions of an electronic card in use today can be reduced, for instance, up to 12x15 mm for a mini-UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card). Such cards can include memory circuits and control circuits and can be easily integrated in small-sized devices or electronic circuitry such as the on-board system of a car or a machine for performing dedicated tasks. One possible application of electronic cards is the automatic exchange of information among two or more end devices so as to allow remote monitoring, control or maintenance of machines or systems. In general, electronic cards with reduced dimensions are widely used in all kind of Machine to Machine applications.
Electronic cards can be connected to an external equipment, such as a printed circuit board or a circuit substrate, through a card connector including contact terminals for mating contacts of the electronic card. The contact terminals of the card connector are generally fixed to contacting portions of a printed circuit board through a reflow soldering process. In a reflow soldering process, a solder paste is used for holding the contacts of the connector on their corresponding contacts on the printed circuit board. Subsequently, the assembly is heated to a peak temperature that can reach 260 °C so that the solder alloy particles in the solder paste melt and form a metallurgical bonding with the metal of the contacts. The printed circuit board is finally cooled down for solidifying the solder joints.
In a connected configuration, the contacts of the connector assembly are fully deflected and the metallic terminals of the contacts as well as the connector housing are exposed to high stresses. Consequently, due to the high temperatures involved in the reflow process, the resilient terminals of the connector contacts may relax. Moreover, exposing the connector to high stresses during reflow may cause deformations in the connector housing and therefore cause the coplanarity of the contacts to go out of specification. Both situations may result in a reduction of the normal forces acting on the connector contacts and on the contacts of the electronic card and in an imperfect alignment of the contacts, thereby leading to a consequent deterioration of the connection reliability.
In order to overcome the aforementioned problems, connectors used at present are soldered on the printed circuit board in a disconnected state without the electronic card so that the housing and the contacts are not exposed to high stresses. Once the card connector is fixed to the printed circuit board, the electronic card is inserted in the housing and finally the connector is activated by closing the connector with a cover which presses the card on the contacts.
However, the known solution suffers from the disadvantage that the card can be inserted in the connector only after the reflow soldering process successfully ended. Therefore, in order to obtain the end product including an activated electronic card, the printed circuit board has to pass trough a further series of fabrication steps in which the card is inserted into the card connector and the card connector is activated by fixing the card against the connector contacts.
Therefore, the problem underlying the present invention is to provide a contacting device for an electronic card and in particular for a micro Form Factor card for Machine to Machine applications, which is capable of holding the electronic card in place during the reflow process without exposing the contacts and the connector housing to stresses which might compromise connection reliability. In this manner, soldering of the connector on a circuit substrate and subsequent activation of the connector can be done in the same production line, resulting in a reduction of production time and costs.
This object is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are subject matter of the dependent claims.
The present invention provides a contacting device for an electronic card comprising a housing for receiving the electronic card and a cover for holding the electronic card in the housing. The housing comprises at least one first detent means and one second detent means and the cover comprises at least one cover latch means. The at least one cover latch means is adapted to be engaged with at least one first detent means for holding the electronic card against at least one contact element with a first predefined normal force. Moreover, the at least one cover latch means is adapted to be engaged with the at least second detent means for holding the electronic card against said at least one contact element with a second predefined normal force.
Accordingly, the cover may be engaged in a pre-latch position for holding the electronic card in place during a reflow soldering process. In this configuration only very low normal forces are applied to the contacts, thereby reducing the stresses on the contacts and on the housing. Consequently, deformation of the housing and spring relaxation of the contacts during the reflow temperature peaks can be avoided. At the same time, since the contacting device is adapted to be soldered on the printed circuit board while holding the card, the card can be activated right after the reflow process by simply engaging the cover with the second detent means. The normal forces acting on the contacts in this second configuration are high enough to assure a reliable connection. In this manner, soldering of the contacting device and further activation of the electronic card can be performed in the same production line, thereby reducing production costs and production time.
The contacting device may have a recess in a first surface of the housing facing the cover. The recess is adapted to receive the electronic card and encases at least one resilient contacting terminal of at least one contacting element for contacting corresponding contacts of the electronic card.
Moreover, the resilient conducting terminals may press the card against the cover along a mating direction of the cover.
Consequently, while the cover is engaged with the first detent means or the second detent means, resilient conducting terminals push the card against the cover. In this manner, the at least one cover latch means is pushed against an edge of the at least one first or second detent means, thereby increasing the stability of the contacting device.
Preferably, the housing of the contacting device has a second surface adapted to face a printed circuit board. The second surface comprises at least one contact receptacle for receiving the at least one contact element.
Accordingly, the at least one contact element can be placed in the housing and a portion thereof can contact the printed circuit board and can be fixed thereon for connecting the contacting device with a printed circuit board.
Further, the cover of the contacting device may be formed from a plate of metallic material.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the cover comprises at least one push-down element. The push-down element is adapted to press the electronic card against the at least one resilient contacting terminal. At the same time, the resilient contacting terminal presses the card against the cover. In this manner, the card can be firmly secured in the housing so as to assure an optimal connection between the card contacts and the connector contacts.
To facilitate pick and place operation of the cover, the surface of the cover comprises at least one cover opening extending along at least one edge of the push-down element. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one cover opening can be obtained by punching the cover surface and bending the punched portion of the cover surface towards the housing. The bent portion can be used as a push-down element. In this way, the cover opening and the push-down element can be obtained in only one process step.
According to a further development of the present invention, the cover comprises a release element adapted to be grabbed for disengaging the cover.
The cover release element may be an opening placed along a side edge of the cover in correspondence to a release recess placed along a side edge of the first surface of the housing. Accordingly, if an in-field exchange of the electronic card is needed, the cover can be removed by displacing it with respect to the housing so as to disengage the cover latch means from the first and second detent means.
To further facilitate grabbing of the cover, a second release element is provided, which protrudes from at least one side edge of the cover towards the housing along the engaging direction of the cover.
Preferably, the housing comprises a stopping portion adapted to abut against the grabbing element for preventing incorrect cover positioning.
In order to easily disengage the cover from the housing, the at least first and second detent means have at least one sliding surface for guiding the cover latch means in an unlocked position.
When the cover is displaced sideways with respect to the housing, the cover may be stopped by means of at least one cover stop, said cover stop protruding from the housing further than the detent means. In particular, the at least one cover latch means is adapted to abut against the at least one cover stop.
Moreover, in order to prevent that the soldered contacts are damaged when the cover is disengaged from the housing, at least one hold-down element is provided for fixing the contacting device on the printed circuit board.
The invention further provides a method for assembling a contacting device and an electronic card on a printed circuit board. The method comprises the steps of placing the electronic card in a recess of a housing of the contacting device so that at least one contact of the electronic card electrically contacts at least one contact element in the housing. A cover is further pressed along the mating direction of the electronic card until at least one latch means of the cover is engaged with at least one first detent means of the housing for pressing the electronic card against the at least one contact element with a first predefined normal force. Next, the contacting device is fixed on the printed circuit board and subsequently activated by further pressing the cover in the mating direction of the electronic card. The cover is pushed down until the at least one latch means of the cover is engaged with at least one second detent means for pressing the electronic card against the at least one contact element with a second predefined normal force.
According to this method, the cover can be engaged according to two different configurations so as to press the electronic card against the contacts in the housing applying thereby two different predefined normal forces. In particular, while the card is pressed against the contacts with the first predetermined normal force, the contacting device can be safely soldered on a printed circuit board avoiding relaxation of the contacts or deformations in the housing. Moreover, the card can be activated after the soldering process in the same production line so as to provide a product ready for use.
Of course, the contacting device according to the invention is particularly useful when the contacting device is fixed to a printed circuit board through a reflow soldering process. However, the contacting device could also be fixed to any circuit substrate by means of a snap-in connection, glued connection, a screw or riveting connection.
The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and form a part of the specification for the purpose of explaining the principle of the invention. The drawings are not to be construed as limiting the invention to only the illustrated and described examples of how the invention can be made and used.
Further, features and advantages will become apparent from the following and more particular description of the invention, as illustrated in the figures enclosed with the application.

FIG 1: is a perspective view of the contacting device in an unassembled state according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG 2: is a longitudinal section of the contacting device shown in figure 1;
FIG 3: is a perspective view of the contacting device shown in figure 1, wherein a cover of the contacting device is latched to a housing of the contacting device in a first latching position;
FIG 4: shows a longitudinal section of the contacting device of figure 1, wherein the card and the cover are engaged in a first latching position;
FIG 5: shows a perspective view of the contacting device shown in figure 1, wherein the cover of the contacting device is engaged with the housing of the contacting device in a second latching position;
FIG 6: shows a longitudinal section of the contacting device of figure 1, wherein the card and the cover are engaged with the housing of the contacting device in a full compressed state;
FIG 7: shows a perspective view of the contacting device, wherein the cover of the contacting device is in an unlocked position with respect to the housing of the contacting device;
FIG 8: shows a perspective view of the contacting device of figure 1, wherein the card and the unlocked cover are pushed up by contacts of the contacting device;
FIG 9: shows a bottom view of the contacting device of figure 1 in a fully compressed state;
FIG 10: shows a top view of the contacting device of figure 1 in a fully compressed state;
FIG 11: shows a side view of the contacting device of figure 1 in a fully compressed state;
FIG 12: shows a further side view of the contacting device of figure 1 in a fully compressed state;
FIG 13: shows a side view of the contacting device shown in figure 1, wherein the cover is wrongly positioned with respect to the housing of the contacting device.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a contacting device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. The contacting device includes a cover 110 made of an electrically conducting material, preferably a metallic material and a connector housing 150 made of an electrically insulating material, preferably plastic material. The cover 110 is adapted to push down an electronic card 130 against contact elements 140 arranged in the housing 150.
The cover 110 of the contacting device 100 can be formed from a plate of metallic material. The plate includes a plurality of locking elements or latches 111 comprising a latch frame 112 and a latch dent 113. The latches 111 extend from two opposing edges of the cover 110 towards the housing 150 along the mating direction 10 of the cover 110.
The latches 111 may be obtained by punching the cover 110, so as to have four elongated ring portions. Said ring portions can be subsequently bent so as to form essentially a right angle with the cover 110 in order to obtain the latching elements 111. The cover latches 111 may be disposed symmetrically on two side edges of the cover, so as to increase the stability of the cover 110.
Alternatively, the cover 110 may be a deep drawn part of a metallic material comprising a at least three side walls protruding from a top surface 120 of the cover 110 along the mating direction of the cover 110. In this case, the cover latches 111 may have the form of locking holes arranged along the walls of the cover 110. Otherwise, the latch 111 may be a locking slot extending along the whole length of the walls of the cover 110.
The top surface 120 of the cover 110 may include two parallel picking slots 121, each of which extends in a direction along a side edge of the cover 110. Each slot 121 may be obtained by punching a portion of the cover surface 120 and by bending the punched portion essentially at a right angle, so as to obtain a projecting part 122 extending in a direction along the mating direction 10 of the cover 110. Although the projecting parts 122 substantially form a right angle with the top surface 120 of the cover 110, they may also be bent so as to form a smaller angle with the top surface 120. The projecting parts 122 may be used as push-down elements for pressing an electronic card 130 against resilient contacting terminals 141 placed in the housing 150. A portion of the cover surface 120 between the two picking slots 121 may be used as a picking surface 123 for placing the cover 110 on the housing 150 or for taking it apart from the housing 150.
In an alternative embodiment, the push-down element 122 may include one or more projecting parts extending from the cover 110 towards the housing 150 along the mating direction 10. Similarly, the pick and place surface 123 may be a portion of the cover 110 projecting outwardly from the cover in a direction along the mating direction 10.
The cover 110 may further include a first release element 124 in the form of a release slot punched in the cover and extending along a side edge of the cover 110. The release slot 124 may be adapted to be grabbed so as to displace the cover 110 in a direction 20 across the mating direction 10 of same. In an alternative embodiment, the release element 124 may comprise one or more holes aligned along a side edge of the cover. Alternatively, the release element 124 may be a protruding element of the cover 110 extending outwardly from the cover 110 along a side edge thereof.
Moreover, the cover 110 comprises a grabbing portion 125, which has the function of a second grabbing element and extends from a side edge of the cover towards the housing 150 along the mating direction 10 of the cover 110. The grabbing portion 125 may be obtained by bending a side edge portion of the cover 110, so as to form substantially a right angle with the cover surface 120. The grabbing portion 125 may also be adapted to abut on a portion of the housing 150 if the cover 110 is incorrectly placed, thereby functioning as stopping element. In this manner, incorrect placement of the cover 110 with respect to the housing 150 can be prevented. The side edge of the cover opposing the grabbing portion 125 may exhibit a dent 126 adapted to mate a corresponding mating portion 156 of the housing 150 if the cover 110 is correctly placed with respect to the housing 150.
Figure 1 further shows an example of the housing 150. A first side wall 151 exhibits two first protruding bosses 152, which are adapted to be engaged with the dent 113 of the cover latches 111 and can be used as first detent means. On the same side wall 151, two second protruding bosses 153, having the function of second detent means, are respectively disposed below the two first detent means 152 and substantially aligned with the first detent means 152. A side wall opposing the side wall 151 has a configuration which is essentially symmetrical to the configuration of the side wall 151. The detent means 152 and 153 may have a sliding surface 155 which allows the latches 111 to slide in the direction 20 across the mating direction 10 so as to disengage the cover latches 111 from the detent means 152 or 153. Although in Figure 1 the detent means 152 and 153 have a trapezoidal section, wherein the inclined edge has the function of a sliding surface, the detent means 152 and 153 may have any other shape, which allows sliding of the latches 111.
On each side of the first and second detent means 152 and 153, at a predefined distance therefrom, is provided an elongated protrusion 154 substantially parallel to the first and second detent means 152 and 153. The elongated protrusions 154 may be used as a support surface for preventing the latch element 111 to freely move sideways in a direction across the mating direction 10 of the cover 110. Preferably at least one of the support surfaces 154 may have a sliding surface 155, which allow the cover latches 111 to slide in the direction 20 across the mating direction of the cover 110, when a pulling force is applied to the cover 100.
Each of the side walls 151 further shows a receiving slot 163 for receiving a hold-down element 170 made preferably of metallic material. The hold-down element 170 comprises a foot 171 adapted to be fixed to a printed circuit board and a latch tongue 172 adapted to be inserted in the slot 163 and fixed to a latch dent on the housing 150.
A third and a fourth side wall 157 show an array of vertical receptacle slots 158 adapted to receive contact elements 140. Opposing walls of each receptacle slot 158 comprise fixing and guiding grooves 165 adapted to guide the insertion of the contacts 140 and fix them in the housing 150. The contact elements 140 are the electrical contacts of the contacting device 100. According to figure 1, the housing 150 is adapted to receive 8 contacts 140 arranged in two arrays disposed on opposing walls of the housing 150. However, the housing 150 may also include a different number of contact elements 140. The resilient contacting terminals 141 of the contact elements 140 are encased in a recess 160 of the housing 150. The housing recess 160 is adapted to receive the electronic card 130 and holds the electronic card 130 in place so that the contacts of the electronic card 130 are aligned with corresponding resilient contacting terminal 141.
The housing 150 further exhibits two cover stopping elements 159, which have the shape of elongated projections. The cover stopping elements respectively extend along two opposing edges of the housing 150 along the mating direction of the cover 110 and project further from the side walls of the housing 150 than the detent means 152 and 153 and the support surfaces 154.
On a first surface 161 of the housing 150 facing the cover 110 is provided a release dent or recess 162, which is positioned substantially underneath the release slot 124 of the cover 110, when the cover 110 is correctly positioned. The dent 162 facilitates a grabbing operation of the cover 110, when same has to be displaced in a direction across the mating direction of the cover 110.
Finally, a side wall 157 comprises a projecting bar 180, which projects from the side wall 157. The projecting bar 180 can be used as stopping element adapted to abut the grabbing element 125 of the cover for preventing the cover 110 being latched to the housing 150 with the wrong orientation.
Figure 2 shows a longitudinal section of the contacting device of figure 1,wherein the push-down element 122 becomes apparent. The push-down element 122 is at a right angle with the cover surface 120 and extends towards the electronic card 130. Each of the electrical contacts 140 includes a lead portion 142, a retention portion 143 and a resilient contacting terminal 141. The contact elements are positioned in the housing 150 so that the retention portion 143 is engaged with the guiding and fixing grooves 165 of the receptacle slots 158. The resilient contacting terminal 141 extends through the fixing grooves 165 and is positioned in the housing recess 160 for contacting corresponding contacts of the electronic card 130. The lead portion 142 extends from the retention portion 143 through the fixing grooves 165 and is folded back so as to protrude from a second surface 166 of the housing 150. In this manner, the lead portion 142 can contact corresponding contacts of the printed circuit board. The second surface 166 generally represent the bottom surface of the housing 150.
A procedure for engaging the cover 110 with the housing 150 and activating the electronic card 130 as well as a releasing operation of the cover 110 and the electronic card 130 will be described with reference to figures 3 to 8.
In figure 3, the electronic card 130 is placed in the housing recess 160 so that the contacts of the card 130 are positioned to contact the resilient contacting terminals 141 of the contact elements 140. The cover 110 is firstly positioned on the housing 150 so that the second release element 125 of the cover 110 is capable of sliding down along the side wall 157 between the two cover stopping elements 159. Moreover, the push-down elements 122 contact a surface of the electronic card 130 facing the cover 110. From this position, the cover 110 is pushed towards the housing 150 until the latch element 111 is firmly locked on the first detent means 152.
Figure 4 shows a longitudinal section of the contacting device 100, wherein the cover 110 is latched to the housing 150 in a first latching position. From this figure, it is possible to see the relative position of the card 130 with respect to the housing 150 and the resilient contacting terminals 141. The push-down element 122 of the cover 110 holds the electronic card in the recess 160 and pushes it towards the contact elements 140. In this configuration, the card is partially encased in the recess 160 and is therefore prevented to totter or slide away from the housing 150. In the first latching position, the cover 110 may push the card 130 against the resilient contacting terminals 141 with a first normal force without exposing the resilient contacting terminals 141 to an excessive stress. This configuration may be particularly advantageous during a reflow soldering process through which the contacting device is soldered on a printed circuit board. Indeed the pressure on the contacts may be chosen to be small enough to avoid spring relaxation and to cause stress on the housing during reflow temperature peaks, which can be reach temperatures of 260° Celsius.
In addition, the first normal force applied to the card may be chosen so as to cause the resilient terminal portions 141 to push the electronic card 130 towards the cover 110 in the mating direction 10 of the cover. As a result, the contacting device including the housing 150, the electronic card 130 and the cover 110 is firmly engaged and has the stability required to safely complete the reflow process.
Alternatively, the first latching position can be set in such a way that the push-down elements 122 keep the electronic card in place without exercising any pressure on it. This configuration has the advantage that no stresses are exercised on the contacts during reflow temperature peaks.
Figure 5 depicts a fully compressed state of the contacting device 100. From the first latching position, wherein the latch element 111 is engaged with the first detent means 152, the cover 110 may be further pushed down along the mating direction 10 of the cover 110 until the latch element 111 is engaged with the second detent means 153. In order to move from the first latching position to a second latching position defining a full compressed state of the contacting device 100, the latch element 111 slides on a sliding surface 164 of the second detent means facing the cover 110. In the end position, the cover 110 abuts on the top surface 161 of the housing 150. From figure 5 becomes evident how the cover dent 126 mates the mating projection 156 of the housing 150. Moreover, if the cover 110 is correctly placed, the release slot 124 of the cover 110 is aligned with the release dent 162 of the housing 150 so as to form a recess, which facilitates grabbing of the cover 110.
Figure 6 shows a longitudinal section of the fully compressed contacting device 100. In this configuration, the card 130 is pushed down by the push-down element 122 of the cover 110. The card 130 is held on the bottom of the housing recess 160 so that contacts in the card 130 are aligned with the resilient contacting terminals 141 of the contact elements 140. The card 130 may be pushed against the contacts 140 with a predefined pressure defined by a second normal force so as to assure a reliable connection between the electronic card 130 and the contacting device 100. In the second latching position the resilient parts 141 of the contact elements 140 apply a pressure on the card 130 so that the latch dents 111 are firmly engaged with the second detent element 153 of the housing 150. According to the contacting device 100 of the preferred embodiment, activation of the electronic card 130 after the reflow process can be done in a simple manner by pushing down the cover 110 along the mating direction 10 of the electronic card 130. This process can be performed without any special tool.
Figure 7 describes an unlocking operation of the cover 110 from the housing 150. In particular, the cover 110 engaged with the housing 150 in a fully compressed state can be pulled in the direction 20 across from the mating direction 10 of the electronic card 130 by means of the release slot 124. By grabbing the release slot 124 and pulling the cover across the mating direction 10, the frame 112 of the latch 111 slides on the sliding surface 155 of the first and second detent means 152 and 153 and of the support surface 154 until the frame 112 of the latch element 111 abut against the cover stopping element 159. In the end position, the frame 112 of each latch element 111 is positioned on top of the detent means 152 and 153 and the support surfaces 154. During this sidewards movement, the push-down elements 122 may slide along the surface of the electronic card 130 until they abut against an inner surface of the housing recess 160.
Once the latches 111 are unlocked and the cover is free to move along the mating direction 10, the resilient contacting terminals 141 underneath the card will push the electronic card 130 and the cover 110 up so as to facilitate a removing operation of the cover 110 and the electronic card 130. Accordingly, the operation of an in-field exchange of the electronic card 130 can be simplified and becomes faster. This step is described in figure 8.
Figure 9 shows a perspective bottom view of the contacting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment depicted in this figure comprises an array of eight contact elements 140. The contact elements are inserted in eight receiving slots 163. The retention portion 143 of the contact elements 140 extends along the slot in the direction 20 across the mating direction of the cover 110 and two edges thereof are inserted into the fixing grooves 165. The lead portion 142 of each contact element 140 protrudes from the bottom surface 166, so as to contact mating contacts of a printed circuit board and may be fixed on same through a reflow soldering process. Of course the number of contact elements 140 can vary depending on the electronic card and the field of application.
Figure 10 shows a top view of the fully connected contacting device, wherein the picking surface 123, the picking slots 121 and the stopping element 180 are clearly visible. Moreover, figure 10 shows that the overall dimension of the contacting device 100 according to the invention is limited. In a particular embodiment, the surface occupied by the contacting device 100 on the printed circuit board does not exceed 11,1 x 10,0mm ².
Figure 11 shows a side view of the fully connected contacting device 100. The latch dents 113 are fully engaged with the second detent means 153 so as to prevent movement of the cover 110 in a direction along the mating direction 10 of the electronic card 130. At the same time, the frame 112 of the latches 111 is encased between the detent means 152 and 153 and the support surfaces 154 so as to prevent sidewards oscillation of the cover in the direction 20 across the mating direction of the cover 110.
Figure 12 shows a further side view of the fully connected contacting device 100. From this picture, it is clearly visible that the cover grabbing portion 125 is positioned along a side wall 157 of the housing 150 and encased between the cover stopping elements 159 of the housing 150.
Finally, figure 13 depicts a situation, wherein the cover 110 is incorrectly oriented with respect to the housing 150. In such a situation, the second release element 125 of the cover 110 abuts against the stopping element 180 of the housing 150 before the latch dents 113 are fully engaged with the first detent means 152. In this manner, it is possible to avoid the situation, wherein the cover 110 is engaged with the housing 150 with a wrong orientation, thereby rendering it impossible to disengage the cover by sidewards displacement.

In the contacting device 100 according to the present invention, when the cover 110 is engaged with the first detent means 152, the electronic card 130 can be held in the housing so that it presses against the resilient contacting terminals 141 with a very low normal force. Therefore, the contacting device 100 together with the card 130 can be fixed to a printed circuit board without producing stresses on the contacts 140 and on the housing 150. This solution avoids deformation of the contacting device 100 and spring relaxation of the contacts during reflow temperature peaks. Moreover, since the electronic card 130 is already in the contacting device 100, the latter can be activated by simply pushing further down the cover 110 until it engages with a second detent means 150 of the housing 153. In this last configuration, the card 130 is pressed against the contact with a normal force, which is sufficient to assures reliable connection of the electronic card 130.

Reference Numeral	Description
100	Contacting device
110	Cover
111	Latch element
112	Latch frame
113	Latch dent
10	Cover mating direction
20	Direction across the cover mating direction
120	Top cover surface
121	Picking slot
122	Push down element
123	Picking surface
124	First release element
125	Second release element
126	Cover dent
130	Electronic Card
140	Contact element
141	Resilient contacting terminal
142	Lead portion
143	Retention portion
150	Housing
151	First housing side wall
152	First detent means
153	Second detent means
154	Support surface
155	Sliding surface
156	Mating projection
157	Third and fourth housing side walls
158	Receptacle slots
159	Cover stopping element
160	Housing recess
161	First housing surface
162	Release dent
163	Receiving slot
165	Fixing groove
166	Housing bottom surface
170	Hold down element
171	Fixing foot
172	Latch tongue
180	Stopping element

Claims

A contacting device (100) for an electronic card (130), said contacting device (100) comprising:
a housing (150) for receiving the electronic card (130), said housing (150) comprising at least one first detent means (152) and at least one second detent means (153); and

a cover (110) for holding the electronic card (130) in the housing (150), said cover (110) comprising at least one cover latch means (111), wherein

the at least one cover latch means (111) is adapted to be engaged with the at least first detent means (152) for holding the electronic card (130) against at least one contact element (140) with a first predefined normal force; and

the at least one cover latch means (111) is further adapted to be engaged with the at least second detent means (153) for holding the electronic card (130) against said at least one contact element (140) with a second predefined normal force.
The contacting device (100) according to claim 1, wherein a first housing surface (161) facing the cover (110) shows a recess (160) for receiving the electronic card (130), said recess (160) being adapted to encase at least one resilient conducting terminal (141) of the at least one contact element (140) for contacting corresponding contacts of the electronic card (130).
The contacting device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one resilient conducting terminal (141) is adapted to press the electronic card (130) against the cover (110) along a mating direction (10) of the cover (110).
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a second housing surface (166) adapted to face a printed circuit board comprises al least one contact receptacle (158) for receiving the at least one contact element (140).
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cover (110) is formed from a plate of metallic material.
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cover (110) comprises at least one push down element (122), said push down element being adapted to push the electronic card (130) against the at least one resilient conducting terminal (140).
The contacting device (100) according to claim 6, wherein a surface of the cover (110) shows at least a first and a second cover opening (121) extending along at least one edge of the push down element (122).
The contacting device (100) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the at least one push down element (122) comprises at least one bent portion of a cover surface (120).
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cover (110) further comprises a first cover release element (124), said first cover release element (124) being adapted to be grabbed for disengaging the cover (110).
The contacting device (100) according to claim 9, wherein the first cover release element (124) is an opening placed along a side edge of the cover (110) in correspondence of a release recess (162) in the first surface of the housing (150) along a side edge thereof.
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the cover (110) comprises at least a second cover release element (125) protruding from a side edge of the cover towards the housing (150) along the engaging direction of the cover (110).
The contacting device (100) according to claim 11, wherein the housing (150) comprises a stopping portion (180) adapted to abut against said second cover release element (125) for preventing incorrect positioning of the cover (110).
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the at least first and second detent means (152, 153) have at least one sliding surface (155) for guiding the cover latch means (111) in an unlocked position if the cover (110) is moved in a direction (20) across the engaging direction of the cover (110).
The contacting device (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the housing (150) comprises at least one of a hold down element (170) for fixing the contacting device (100) on the printed circuit board and a cover stop (159), said cover stop (159) protruding from the housing (150) further than the at least one and second detent means (153) and being adapted to abut against said at least one cover latch means (111).
A method for assembling a contacting device (100) and an electronic card (130) on a printed circuit board, said method comprising the steps of:
placing the electronic card (130) in a recess (160) of a housing (150) of the contacting device (100) so that at least one contact of the electronic card (130) contacts at least one contact element (140) in the housing (150);

pressing a cover (110) of the connecting device on the housing (150) along a mating direction (10) of the contacting device (100) until at least one latch means of the cover (110) is engaged with at least one first detent means (152) of the housing (150) for pressing the electronic card (130) against the at least one contact element (140) with a first predefined normal force;

fixing the contacting device (100) on the printed circuit board; and

activating the contacting device (100) by further pressing the cover (110) in the mating direction of the contacting device (100) until the at least one latch means is engaged with at least one second detent means (153) for pressing the electronic card (130) against the at least one contact element (140) with a second predefined normal force.