GB2367430A

GB2367430A - PC card

Info

Publication number: GB2367430A
Application number: GB0024084A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Albert Gaskell
Original assignee: Ubinetics Ltd
Current assignee: Aeroflex Cambridge Ltd
Priority date: 2000-10-02
Filing date: 2000-10-02
Publication date: 2002-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2020-10-02
Also published as: WO2002030168A1; GB2367430B; AU2001287912A1; GB0024084D0

Abstract

A PC card (11, 21) comprises a casing (12,22) having connectors (13, 14, 23, 24) and a PCB (15a, b, c)(25) mounted therein to extend from a first end (13, 23) to a second end (14,24). The PCB is mounted within the casing such that small components (17, 27) can be mounted on the first side of the PCB at said first end of the casing and on the second side of the PCB at said second end of the casing, and such that taller components (16, 26) can be mounted on first side of the PCB at the second end of the casing and on the second side of the PCB at the first end of the casing. The PCB can be formed from two board members offset from each other and interconnected or from one board angled within the casing. The card provides improved accommodation of different sized components.

Description

PC card This invention relates to a PC card.

A PC card (previously known as a PCMCIA card) is a peripheral module which is commonly used in conjunction with modem personal computers (PCs). In its most common form, a PC card comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) located in a slim casing, the PC card being pluggable into a peripheral port of a PC or other host device in order to perform a particular function. As an example, a PC card might include some memory ICs which allow the PC to store data on a removable card to take the place of a floppy disk. As a further example, a PC card might include a modem for allowing an associated computer to access the Internet via a telephone line or over a wireless communications network. A PC card generally comprises a plurality of electronic components in the form of sub-circuits or sub-modules. Although this specification specifically refers to the invention being concerned with a PC card, it will be appreciated that it is equally applicable to similar devices, such as a compact flashcard, of the type having a PCB mounted in a slim casing.

The conventional arrangement of a PCB within a PC Card is inefficient in its use of volume, the PCB being held level within the casing, usually offset from the casing centre line by a small distance (eg 0.3 or 0.6 mm). Taller components are placed on one side of the PCB, and shorter components on the other side. Thus, a conventional PC card 1 (see Figure 1) comprises a casing 2 provided with a multi-way connector 3 at one end thereof, and with another connector device 4 at the other end. In use, the multi-way connector 3 makes contact with a complementary connector (not shown) provided in an associated host device such as a PC or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

The other connector device 4 is, in use, accessible from the outside of the host device, and is used for signalling between the PC card 1 and external devices (not shown). A PCB 5 is housed within the casing 2, the centre line of the PCB being offset from the centre line of the casing as indicated by the arrows A. This offset is typically 0.3 or 0.6 mm, though 0.2 mm, 0.4 mm and other offsets are possible. Clearly, the configuration

of the PC card 1 permits taller components 6 to be fitted on only one side (the upper side as shown in Figure 1) of the PCB 5, it being possible to fit only smaller components 7 on the other side of the PCB.

Clearly, this known type of PC card is unsatisfactory in that it restricts the positioning of some components to one side of the PCB of the card. In particular, if a tall component was required to be placed on the underneath side of the PCB 5 because there was no room available on the top surface of the PCB; or, for electrical reasons, it should be placed on the underneath of the PCB; or it needs to interface mechanically with other parts in the bottom section of the casing 2, then this would not be possible with the known type of PC card.

The present invention provides a PC card comprising a casing and a PCB mounted within the casing to extend from one end portion thereof towards the opposite end portion thereof, wherein the PCB is mounted within the casing in such a manner that components of a first predetermined height can be mounted on the PCB at a first side thereof at said one end portion of the casing and at the second side of the PCB at said other end portion of the casing, and such that components of a second predetermined height greater than the first predetermined height can be mounted on the PCB at the first side thereof at said other end portion of the casing and at the second side of the PCB at said one end portion of the casing.

In a preferred embodiment, the PC card is constituted by two PC card members, each PC card member lying in a plane parallel to, and offset from, a central plane of the casing, the PC members being electrically and mechanically interconnected in the central region of the casing by means of an interconnect member. Alternatively, the PC card is a single member which is mounted in a plane which is angled relative to a central plane of the casing.

Advantageously, the PCB is connected to a connector at said one end portion, and preferably to a connector device at said other end portion of the casing. Preferably, the

connector is a multi-way connector, for connecting the PC card to a host device, and the connector device is used for connecting the PC card to external devices.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of a known PC card; Figure 2 is a schematic sectioned view of a first form of PC card constructed in accordance with the invention; and Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view of a second form of PC card constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 2 shows the first form of PC card 11. This card 11 comprises a casing 12 provided with a 68-way connector 13 at one end thereof, and with a 15-way and RF connector 14 at the other end. The connectors 13 and 14 are similar to the connectors 3 and 4 of the conventional PC card 1. A PCB 15 is housed within the casing 12, the PCB being constituted by first and second PCB members 15a and 15b which are joined together, where they overlap, by an inter-board connector 15c.

Each of the members 15a and 15b is off-set from the centre line 12a of the casing in such a manner that the member 15a can accommodate taller components 16 on its upper surface and smaller components 17 on its underneath surface, and such that the member 15b can accommodate smaller components 17 on its upper surface, and taller components 16 on its underneath surface.

This PC card 11 thus permits both tall and short components to be fitted to upper and lower surfaces of the PCB 15. Moreover, medium-sized components can be particularly well accommodated, because the offset of the PCB member 15a or 15b could be adjusted to put such components on both sides, allowing the other PCB member 15b or 15a to be used for particularly tall and particularly short components. In this way, a variety of component heights can be accommodated to give good electrical performance, functionality, and/or cost benefits.

Figure 3 shows the second form of PC card 21. This card comprises a casing 22 provided with a 68-way connector 23 at one end thereof, and with a 15-way and RF connector 24 at the other end. The connectors 23 and 24 are similar to the connectors 3 and 4 of the conventional PC card 1. A PCB 25 is housed within the casing 22, the PCB lying in a plane which is tilted with respect to the centre line 22a of the casing 22. This permits taller components 26 to be placed on the upper side of the PCB 25 at the left hand side thereof (as shown in Figure 3) and on the underneath side of the PCB at the right hand side. Similarly, smaller components 27 can be positioned on the upper side of the PCB 25 at the right hand side thereof, and on the underneath side of the PCB at the left hand side thereof. The tilting of the PCB 25 can be achieved by using different offsets at the opposite ends of the PCB. Alternatively, one of the connectors of a standard PC card could be turned"upside-down"to provide an offset which lies on the opposite side of the centre line 22a to that of a standard PC card. In this way, the PCB 25 can be mounted in a tilted fashion as one of the connectors has an offset above the centre line 22a, and the other connector has an offset below that centre line.

Any misalignment between the tilted PCB 25 and the connectors 23 and 24 is minimal as the overall tilt of the PCB will be, at most, a few degrees. Any such slight misalignment could be overcome by one or more of the following techniques, namely: (a) providing flexibility to the contacts between the PCB 25 and the connectors 23 and 24. For example, the connector pins (not shown) which are conventionally soldered at right-angles to the PCB and the connector bodies would twist into place within the casing; (b) the connector pins could be soldered to the PCB using a jig to hold them at the required angle ; or (c) custom-made connectors could be provided having connector pins fitted at the requisite angle.

The PC cards described above could be modified in a number of ways. For example, the 68-way connector 13 or 23 could be any multi-way connector that complements the corresponding connector in the host device. Similarly, the connector 14 or 24 could be any suitable connector device that can communicate with a given external device.

Moreover, it is not necessary for the two PCB members 15a and 15b of the first embodiment to overlap, provided the inter-board connector 15c is sized and positioned to provide good electrical and mechanical connection to the two PCB members.

It will be apparent that the PC cards described above with reference to Figures 2 and 3 allow the packaging density of electronic components within a PC card to be optimised, with an attendant increase in functionality or performance, and/or a decrease in cost. The invention does, therefore, allow more flexibility in the positioning of electronic components within a card such as a PC card making the PCB layout easier and quicker to complete, and/or resulting in an electrical design which has better performance. In particular, the invention allows the use of taller electronic components in a card such as a PC card than otherwise would be the case, also with an attendant increase in functionality or performance, and/or decreasing costs.

Claims

Claims 1. A PC card comprising a casing and a PCB mounted within the casing to extend from one end portion thereof towards the opposite end portion thereof, wherein the PCB is mounted within the casing in such a manner that components of a first predetermined height can be mounted on the PCB at a first side thereof at said one end portion of the casing and at the second side of the PCB at said other end portion of the casing, and such that components of a second predetermined height greater than the first predetermined height can be mounted on the PCB at the first side thereof at said other end portion of the casing and at the second side of the PCB at said one end portion of the casing.
2. A PC card as claimed in claim 1, wherein the PC card is constituted by two PC card members, each PC card member lying in a plane parallel to, and offset from, a central plane of the casing, the PC members being electrically and mechanically interconnected in the central region of the casing by means of an interconnect member.
3. A PC card as claimed in claim 1, wherein the PC card is a single member which is mounted in a plane which is angled relative to a central plane of the casing.
4. A PC card as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the PCB is connected to a connector at said one end portion.
5. A PC card as claimed in claim 4, wherein the PCB is connected to a connector device at said other end portion of the casing.