JP2001135388A - Surface mount electric connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low provide surface mount electric connector for which can connect electric parts such as an IC card on flat surface of a printed circuit board with a circuit wiring. SOLUTION: An electric connector has almost a flat dielectric housing which is over molded to plurality of electric terminals. The dielectric housing comprises a bottom plane attached to a printed circuit board, an opening for storing an IC card, and an attachment bar along one side of the opening. Each electric terminals has a base part which is over molded to an attachment bar of the dielectric housing. A beam extends from the base part and equipped with a surface attachment part which is electrically connected to a circuit wiring of the printed circuit board. A contact arm is jointed with the beam at a U-shaped contact part, then extends backward on the beam. The contact arm terminates at a contact part at the opening of the dielectric housing so as to be electrically connected with the IC card.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the technology of electrical connectors, and more particularly to a surface mount electrical connector having terminals used in an IC card reader or the like.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Chip (IC) cards come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but primarily comprise cards of approximately the same size as standard credit cards. The IC card itself contains information in the form of a storage circuit or other electronic program. A card reader reads information or memory stored on a card.

[0003] In today's electronic society, IC cards are
It is used in countless applications including automatic cash withdrawal and deposit devices, cable television decoders, mobile phones, PC card adapters, and other electronic applications. One such chip card is referred to as a "multimedia card" or "MMC (human-machine communication)" and includes an adapter,
Music players, toys, games, mobile phones,
An IC card used in personal computers for media applications such as digital cameras. MMC card readers can easily accommodate card insertion and removal for fast access to information and programs on these cards.

In particular, low profile electrical connectors are important for card reading connectors used in the applications described above. In electronic devices such as personal computers where these connectors can be found, limiting or even reducing weight and space has become increasingly important. Primarily, low profile electrical connectors join the IC card to circuit wiring on a flat surface of a printed circuit board. In practice, often the outer diameter of the connector in such devices is not much larger than the IC card itself. Some connector manufacturers have simply reduced the size of conventional connector designs to achieve smaller and denser connectors. However, simply miniaturizing the connector impairs the performance and reliability of the connector. This is because smaller dimensions are not always equivalent to the same performance and reliability of larger parts.

A more viable approach is to design surface mount electrical connectors that are particularly applicable for use in IC card applications. The design parameters include minimizing dimensions, minimizing weight, maintaining coplanarity of connector terminals with circuit wiring on the printed circuit board, and elasticity of contact beams. This involves directing the contact beam toward the IC card, also primarily toward the printed circuit board, and maintaining a very low attitude of the entire connector device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention addresses these design problems in low profile electrical connectors that have particular applications in IC card readers. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved surface mount electrical connector. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved low profile surface mount electrical connector for connecting electronic components such as an IC card on a flat surface of a printed circuit board having circuit wiring thereon. It is in.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, an electrical connector has a substantially flat dielectric housing overmolded with a plurality of stamped electrical terminals. The dielectric housing has a bottom surface that attaches to the printed circuit board. The opening of the dielectric housing is provided for receiving an IC card. The mounting bar of the dielectric housing extends along one side of the opening.

Each electrical terminal has a base that is overmolded to a mounting bar of the dielectric housing. The beam extends from the base and has a generally flat surface mounting surface that is electrically connected to circuit wiring on a flat surface of the printed circuit board. The contact arm is joined to the beam at a U-shaped junction, extends rearwardly over the beam, and terminates in a contact at an opening in the dielectric housing for electrical connection to an IC card.

As described above, the substantially flat surface mounting portion of each electric terminal is wider than the beam of the electric terminal. The base of each electrical terminal is substantially flat and has a flange formed from the plane of the base to secure the base to the mounting bar of the dielectric housing.
The base of each electrical terminal is substantially coplanar with the bottom surface of the dielectric housing. The beam and surface mount of each electrical terminal are flush with the base of the electrical terminal and the bottom surface of the dielectric housing. The contact part of each electric terminal is IC
Curved towards the opening to form an arcuate surface that engages the card.

The mounting bar of the dielectric housing has an outer side defining an outer edge of the dielectric housing and an inner side defining an inner edge of the opening of the dielectric housing. The beam, surface mount, and U-shaped joint of each electrical terminal are located outside the outer side surface of the mounting bar. The contact arm extends above the mounting bar. The beam, surface mount, and U-shaped joint of each electrical terminal are located outside the outer side surface of the mounting bar. The contact arm extends above the mounting bar. The contact portion of the contact arm is arranged inside the inner side surface of the mounting bar. A plurality of grooves are provided on the upper surface of the mounting bar to accommodate the contact arms of the electric terminals.

Finally, a feature of the present invention is the provision of at least one securing piece that is overmolded in the dielectric housing, spaced from the electrical terminals. The fixing piece has a fixing portion connected to the printed circuit board. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings in more detail, FIG.
Shown above is a low profile surface mount electrical connector, designated by the reference numeral 10, for connecting electronic components such as an IC card 12 (FIGS. 5 and 6). The printed circuit board 16 has the circuit wiring 18 on the flat surface 14.
The electrical connector 10 has a flat dielectric housing indicated by the reference numeral 20. The dielectric housing is overmolded to a plurality of stamped metal plate electrical terminals, indicated by reference numeral 22.

Further, the dielectric housing 20 has an integral structure integrally formed of a dielectric material such as plastic. The dielectric housing is mounted on the printed circuit board 16.
Has an opening 26 for accommodating an IC card. The window 28 in the top wall 30 of the dielectric housing exposes the opening 26 as clearly shown in FIG. Finally, the dielectric housing has a mounting bar 32 to which the electrical terminals 22 are mounted. The mounting bar has an outer side surface 32a defining an outer (rear) edge of the dielectric housing and an inner side surface 32b defining an inner (rear) edge of the opening 26 of the dielectric housing. A plurality of grooves 34 are formed in the upper surface of the mounting bar 32 for accommodating the contact arms of the electrical terminals 22 as will become apparent below.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of one electric terminal 22 to explain the specific components or parts of the electric terminal in detail. In particular, each electrical terminal is substantially U-shaped, with the lower leg indicated by reference numeral 36 and the lower reference
The upper leg and the lower leg are joined by a U-shaped joint 40. Lower leg 36
Has a flat base 42 overmolded within the mounting bar 22 of the dielectric housing 20. The base portion has a pair of inclined flanges 42a formed from a flat base portion 42, and the base portion can be easily fixed to the mounting bar of the dielectric housing.
The beam 44 extends rearward from the base portion 42 and has a substantially flat surface mounting portion 46 that is electrically connected to circuit wiring on the flat surface 14 of the printed circuit board 16 by soldering. It can be seen that the surface mount 46 is wider than the beam 44 and has a centrally located hole 48. The hole is
The purpose is to further improve the solder joint with the circuit wiring of the printed circuit board and to limit the spread of the solder. The upper leg 38 of the U-shaped electrical terminal 22 has a contact arm 50 joined to the beam 44 by a U-shaped joint 40. The contact arm terminates in a contact portion 52 that is curved downward into the opening 26 through the window 28 (FIG. 1) to form an arcuate surface that engages the IC card 12. Contact arm 50 is U
The width is narrower than the character-shaped joint 40. Thereby, the narrower contact arm 50 provides the contact arm with more flexibility or elasticity,
The letter-shaped joint provides the electrical terminal with a certain rigidity and reliability.

FIG. 3 shows a base 42 of each electric terminal 22.
Is shown secured within the overmolded plastic material of the mounting bar 32 of the dielectric housing 20. Also, it can be seen that the contact arm 50 of each electrical terminal is located in one groove 34 at the top of the mounting bar. Finally, FIG. 3 also shows that the dielectric housing 20 has at least one mounting post 54 that is inserted into a mounting hole 56 in the printed circuit board 16.

In FIG. 4, a single contact arm 50 of the electrical terminal 22 is mounted on the mounting bar 32 of the dielectric housing 20 in one groove 34 above the mounting bar on the base 42 of the electrical terminal. The method of protruding backwards is shown above. As a result, the downwardly curved contact portions 52 of the electric terminals are arranged above each one of the circuit wirings 18 on the printed circuit board.

FIG. 5 shows the IC card 12 to be inserted into the opening 26 of the dielectric housing 20 of the electrical connector 10 in the direction of arrow "A". I
An opening entrance 58 is provided at the front edge of the dielectric housing 20 for receiving a C card. The plurality of circuit pads 60 are provided on the upper surface of the IC card along the tips 62 in order to engage with the downwardly curved contact portions 52 of the electric terminals 22. Therefore, the electric terminals are effective for electrically connecting the circuit pads 60 of the IC card to the circuit wiring 18 (FIG. 4) on the flat surface 14 of the printed circuit board 16.

FIG. 6 shows IC card 12 fully inserted into opening 26 of dielectric housing 20 of electrical connector 10 in the direction of arrow "A". It can be seen that the circuit pad 60 is engaged with the contact portion 52 of the electric terminal 22. Finally, another feature of the present invention is that one or more fixing pieces 64 (FIG. 1) are provided. The fixing pieces 64 project outward from both sides of the dielectric housing 20 for mounting to the metal fixing pads 66 on the flat surface 14 of the printed circuit board 16 by soldering. In FIG. 3, the fixing piece 64 is flat and has an upwardly bent flange 64a that is overmolded inside the dielectric housing 20 to fix the fixing piece to the dielectric housing. It is shown. These fixing pieces can be soldered to the metal fixing pads 66 at the same time that the surface mounting portions 46 of the electrical terminals 22 are soldered to the circuit wiring 18 of the printed circuit board, or during the same soldering process.

It will be understood that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or main characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the examples and embodiments of the present invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the present invention should be limited to what is described herein. is not.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a low-profile electrical connector surface-mounted on a printed circuit board according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one electric terminal of the electric connector.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 shows an IC to be inserted into an electrical connector.
It is a perspective view of a card.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the IC card inserted into the electric connector.

Claims (10)

[Claims] A low-profile surface mount electrical connector for connecting an electronic component such as an IC card on a flat surface of a printed circuit board having circuit wiring thereon is arranged for a plurality of stamped and formed electrical terminals. A substantially flat dielectric housing, wherein the dielectric housing has a bottom surface attached to the printed circuit board, an opening for accommodating the IC card,
A mounting bar along one side of the opening, the mounting bar defining an outer edge defining an outer edge of the dielectric housing and an inner edge of the opening of the dielectric housing. An inner side surface, wherein each of the electrical terminals is overmolded on the mounting bar of the dielectric housing and is substantially coplanar with the bottom surface of the dielectric housing; and A beam having a substantially flat surface mounting portion electrically connected to circuit wiring on the flat surface of a printed circuit board, wherein the beam and the surface mounting portion are connected to the base portion and the bottom surface of the dielectric housing. Coplanar, joined to the beam at a U-shaped junction, extending rearwardly over the beam, and into the opening of the dielectric housing for electrical connection to the IC card. The beam, the surface mounting portion and the U-shaped joint are located outside the outer side surface of the mounting bar, and the contact arm is located above the mounting bar. The surface mount electrical connector, wherein the contact portion extends and is located inside the inner side surface of the mounting bar. 2. The low-profile surface mount electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the substantially flat surface mounting portion of each of the electrical terminals is wider than the beam of the electrical terminal. . 3. The base portion of each of the electrical terminals is substantially flat, and a flange portion formed from a plane of the base portion to fix the base portion to the mounting bar of the dielectric housing. The low-profile type surface mount electrical connector according to claim 1, comprising: 4. The low profile surface of claim 1, wherein the mounting bar of the dielectric housing has a top surface having a plurality of grooves for receiving the contact arms of the electrical terminal. Electrical connector for mounting. 5. The low-profile surface mount electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact arm of each of the electrical terminals is narrower than the U-shaped joint of the electrical terminal. 6. The contact portion of each of the electric terminals,
The low profile surface mount electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is curved toward the opening to form an arcuate surface that engages the IC card. 7. The printed circuit board according to claim 1, further comprising at least one fixing piece that is overmoulded in said dielectric housing so as to be separated from said electric terminal and has a fixing part connected to said printed circuit board. 2. The low-profile surface mount electrical connector according to 1. 8. A surface mounting electrical connector for connecting an electronic component such as an IC card on a flat surface of a printed circuit board having circuit wiring thereon, comprising a dielectric housing for mounting a plurality of electrical terminals. A conductive housing, a bottom surface attached to the printed circuit board, an opening for accommodating the IC card,
A mounting bar along one side of the opening, wherein each of the electrical terminals includes a base portion mounted to the mounting bar of the dielectric housing; and a circuit wiring extending from the base portion on the printed circuit board. A beam having a surface mount electrically connected to the beam, joined to the beam at a U-shaped joint, extending rearward over the beam, and connecting the dielectric housing to the IC card for electrical connection to the IC card. An electrical connector for surface mounting comprising a contact arm that terminates at a contact portion in an opening. 9. The surface mount electrical device according to claim 8, wherein the mounting bar of the dielectric housing has an upper surface having a plurality of grooves for receiving the contact arms of the electrical terminal. connector. 10. The printed circuit board according to claim 8, further comprising: at least one fixing piece that is overmoulded in said dielectric housing at a distance from said electric terminal, and has a fixing part connected to said printed circuit board. An electrical connector for surface mounting according to claim 1.