WO1995013589A1

WO1995013589A1 - Electric connector and card reader comprising same

Info

Publication number: WO1995013589A1
Application number: PCT/FR1994/001290
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eugène Lecourtois
Original assignee: Nicomatic
Priority date: 1993-11-08
Filing date: 1994-11-07
Publication date: 1995-05-18
Also published as: FR2712430B1; FR2712430A1

Abstract

Electric connector comprising a body (10, 26, 28) delimiting a path for guiding the card in a direction parallel to the large card faces, contacts (30, 32) with heads movable in a direction transversal to the large card faces and are resiliently returned in the direction moving them away from the card, means (40) for operating the contacts (30, 32), and a transmission device comprising a transmission member (56) which transforms the final movement of the card into movement of the operating means (40) in a direction parallel to the large card surfaces. The electric connector of the invention is for use in card readers.

Description

Electrical connector and card reader comprising it

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, of the type intended to provide a connection with a card with incorporated electrical circuit, as well as a card reader provided with such a connector.

More and more people are using electric circuit cards incorporated in devices which allow either subsequent invoicing, or the debit of a sum stored in the card, or any recognition function. These cards, which have dimensions and provisions fixed in specifications, include, embedded in a body of solid plastic or laminate, a passive or active electrical circuit intended to exchange information with the outside via several contact pads accessible by a large face, in a well-defined part of the map.

Card readers are frequently subjected to acts of vandalism. One of them is the introduction of metal hooks through the slot intended for the passage of the card, the authors of acts of vandalism wishing to hang the electrical contacts of the connector of the card reader to tear them out or damage them from another way.

Card reader connectors are already known comprising a certain number of contacts whose position corresponds to the contact pads of a card inserted in the reader. The contacts of the connector of such a reader are normally returned elastically towards the card, and a movable member of the connector moves them away from their position of contact with the card when a card is removed from the reader. Consequently, these contacts, when they cooperate with the card, are subjected to a force which is due to their own elasticity. The force with which a contact must be applied against a card is defined by the aforementioned specifications and is of the order of a few newtons. With the aforementioned card connector, since the contact force is due solely to the elasticity of the contacts, the contacts of the same connector exert very variable forces. In addition, the force exerted by the contacts varies during their aging since they are subjected, most of the time, to a spacing force which opposes their natural force of elasticity.

Also known from EP-A-0 376 087 and EP-A-0 325 458 is a connector for a card reader which does not have these drawbacks. The contacts are protected and cannot be torn off by vandalism, and they are normally in a relaxed state; when they have to be brought into contact with the contact pads of a card, they are pushed back positively against this card, so that the force applied to these contact pads can be high, reproducible and practically constant throughout the lifetime of the connector. The invention relates to a connector having these advantageous properties.

Another problem posed by the use of cards with incorporated electrical circuit is that of retaining the card in the reader so that it does not move during a read-write operation. The retaining force exerted by the contacts is insufficient, and if it is increased, the friction of the contacts on the card, instead of ensuring a simple cleaning of the contacts, can cause their excessive wear and even their deterioration. The readers therefore include a device of any type which "locks" the card. This locking can either be a real locking, that is to say that the card cannot be extracted from the reader until the device is unlocked, or a simple blocking. In the first case, a failure can prevent the extraction of the card and then poses delicate security problems. In the second case, in the event of any breakdown, the user can always remove his card by pulling it with sufficient force. The locking device is usually incorporated into the reader body, not the reader connector.

The invention relates to an electrical connector for a card reader with a built-in electrical circuit, which itself has a simple locking function. blocking, avoiding the incorporation of another locking device in the reader itself. This blocking is advantageously obtained using the transmission member which is used to move the contacts against the card at the end of its travel.

More specifically, the invention relates to an electrical connector which comprises a body intended to ensure a connection with a card with incorporated electrical circuit, the card having two large faces, one of which carries at least one electrical contact, and the body of the connector delimiting a guide path of the card in a direction parallel to the large faces thereof, to a position for stopping the card; according to the invention, the connector has contacts whose heads are movable in transverse direction to the large faces of the card and which are resiliently recalled in the direction in which they move away from the card, a contact operating member is mobile in translation in a direction substantially parallel to the large faces of the card between a rest position in which the connector contacts are distant from the guide path of the card and a working position in which the operating member pushes the connector contacts in order that they enter the guide path, and the connector comprises a transmission device comprising a transmission member placed on the guide path of the card near the stop position, so that when the card is moved the along the guide path, in the last part of its movement before reaching the stop position, it moves the transmission member directly tion transverse to the large faces of the card, the transmission device transforming this movement of the transmission member into a movement of the operating member in a direction parallel to the large faces of the card. Preferably, the connector body comprises a protective member placed between the guide path and the operating member, this protective member incorporated in the body having orifices for the passage of the contacts of the connector, these contacts being distant from the guide path and being protected by the protective member when the operating member is in the rest position.

Preferably, the contacts of the connector are placed between the operating member and the guide path, and the operating member acts on the contacts by bringing the projections of the operating member into cooperation with those of the contacts, the protrusions of the operating member or at least contacts having a cam surface. Preferably, the operating member is resiliently recalled from the working position towards the rest position. In one embodiment, the elastic return is achieved by a return device separate from the contacts. In another embodiment, this return device is constituted by the contacts themselves.

In an advantageous embodiment in which the card causes a displacement of the transmission member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the large faces of the card, and in which the operating member is recalled from the working position to the rest position by an elastic return device, this elastic return device, in the stop position in which the card has moved the transmission member, acts on the transmission member with a force such that the transmission member exerts even a determined force for blocking the card in a direction perpendicular to the large faces thereof.

In one embodiment, the operating member is movable in a direction parallel to the guide path. Preferably, the transmission member is a ball, and the transmission device comprises, in addition to the ball, at least one inclined surface formed on the operating member or the body, so that the ball transforms are proper displacement in a direction substantially perpendicular to the large faces of the card, in a displacement of the actuator in direction parallel to the large faces of the card. In addition, preferably, inclined surfaces are formed on the operating member and on the body of the connector, the ball then being surrounded by the inclined surface of the body, the inclined surface of the movable operating member and either the guide path or the card placed on the guide path. The invention also relates to a card reader, comprising an electrical connector as defined in the preceding paragraphs.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows, given with reference to the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of an electrical connector according to the invention; Figure 2 is an inverted view of the actuator of the connector of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section along line A-A of Figure 1, showing the actuator in the rest position, the contacts being spaced; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing the operating member in the working position in which the contacts are pushed towards a card placed on the guide path; Figure 5 is an enlarged section along line B-B of Figure 1, in the rest position of the actuator; and Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, showing a portion of the connector in the working position of one operating member.

Reference is now essentially made to FIG. 1 for the general description of the electrical connector according to the invention, with occasional reference to the other figures.

The electrical connector comprises a body advantageously formed from molded plastic. This body comprises a first element 10 which forms a card guide path delimited by edges 12, 14 and 16, and the guide path opens out through an opening 18 intended for the entry of the card. This guide path is formed above a bottom 20 and below a protective member

22 in which holes 24 are formed for the passage of contacts, described later in this memo. The body member 10 is formed in one piece. The body further comprises two added elements 26, 28 intended to maintain, between them and the element 10, contacts 30, 32. These contacts are supported in the working position in a manner known in the art, for example by housing contacts in grooves formed in the element 10 and / or in the added elements 26, 28 and having positioning members of any type, well known to those skilled in the art. However, it should be noted that these positioning devices are such that the contacts 30, 32 cannot move in translation along their length and cannot pivot. However, this positioning is not very difficult to achieve, because the heads of the contacts are retained laterally in the openings 24 formed in the protective member 22, as described in more detail below in this specification.

Each of the contacts 30, 32 shown in Figures 3 and 4 has a contact head 34 intended to be placed against a built-in electric circuit board, and carried at the end of an elastic arm mounted in cantilever 36 The arm 36 has a projection 38 forming a cam surface, obtained for example by conformation of the elastic arm 36. It can be noted in FIG. 3 that, in this way, the head 34 of each contact 30, 32 is above the underside of the protective member 22, that is to say that the contact heads do not protrude inside the guide path when the contacts 30, 32 are in their rest position shown in Figure 3 This position of the contacts is determined for example by contact of the arm 36 or of the projection 38 with the underside of the operating member, described below. The contacts return to this separated position under the action of their own elasticity. This elastic force is not essential for operation, as long as it is sufficient to spread the head 34, and it can be extremely weak. The connector further comprises an operating member 40 which is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. In this figure, in which the operating member has an inverted position relative to that of FIGS. 3 and 4, it is noted that the connector 40 forms slides 42 so that it can slide in the longitudinal direction of the contacts, indicated in FIG. 1, but that it is retained in transverse direction, that is to say perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 It has two bars 44, 46 forming projections. In the rest position of the operating member, shown in FIG. 3, these projections 44, 46 are separated from the projections 38 of the contacts 30, 32. On the contrary, in the working position of the operating member 40, shown in Figure 4, the projections 44, 46 cooperate with the projections 38 of the contacts and push the arms 36 so that the contact heads 34 penetrate the guide path and, more precisely, come to bear against a surface of a card 48 inserted in the guide path. It is also noted, in FIG. 2, that the operating member 40 also includes two lateral arms 50 which have an inclined surface 52. More specifically, FIGS. 5 and 6 show how the operating member 40 and the body 10 cooperate to cause the movement of one operating member 40 and, consequently, for the operation of the contacts.

At the location marked by the line BB in FIG. 1, the element 10 of the body delimits the guide path in which the edge of the card 48 is intended to move, up to the wall 14 which delimits the bottom of the guide path. Note that the part placed above the guide path forms an inclined surface 54. The arm 50 of the operating member 40 is disposed opposite this inclined surface 54, its inclined surface 52 being turned towards the inclined surface 54 , the inclinations of the two surfaces being in opposite directions. In this way, a ball 56 can be housed in the space between the two inclined surfaces 52, 54 and the bottom of the guide path, against the bottom 20 of the body 10. The ball is pushed back into this position represented in FIG. 5 by a spring 58 which pushes the arm 50 towards the rest position of the operating member (corresponding to FIG. 3). When a card 48 is inserted into the guide path, and during the end of its movement towards the stop wall 14, it comes into contact with the ball 56 and lifts it. In this lifting movement, the ball 56 follows the inclined surfaces 52 and 54 and therefore pushes the arm 50 by compressing the spring 58. The actuator 40 then moves by compressing the springs 58. During this movement, it pushes the heads 34 of the contacts against the contacts of the card 48. The card continues to move over a short distance (for example 0.5 mm) so that the heads 34 rub against the contacts of the card over this short distance and ensure a self-cleaning. Simultaneously, the springs 58 which are compressed exert a restoring force on the member 40 and, via the inclined surface 52, on the ball 56. The ball 56 then exerts itself a card blocking force in a direction perpendicular to the large faces thereof. It therefore provides the "locking" function of the card which a card reader must have, without however preventing the extraction of the card in the event of any failure of the reader.

When the card 48 is removed, the springs 58 push the operating member 50 which causes the ball to move along the inclined surfaces 52, 54, towards the position shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the ball 56 forms a transmission member, and the transmission device, formed by this ball and the inclined surfaces, transforms the movement of the ball 56 in a direction perpendicular to the large faces of the card 48 into a movement in translation of the movable member 40 in direction parallel to the large faces of the map.

The embodiment which has just been described has great simplicity of operation. It has the advantage of positively push the contact heads 34 against the contact pads of the card 48, so that the force obtained is easily reproducible and can be high. One can thus easily obtain forces of 10 N and more in a reproducible manner. As soon as the card is withdrawn, the ball can come back down so that the contact heads move away from the card and only rub against it for a short distance, advantageously allowing self-cleaning of the contacts. In the rest position, as shown in Figure 6, the contacts are not subjected to restoring forces and they do not deteriorate with aging.

An embodiment of the invention has been described, but it can be carried out in many different ways.

In another embodiment, a single inclined surface is formed in the transmission device, that is to say that one of the surfaces 52, 54 is perpendicular to the large faces of the card 48. It is preferable in this case that the single inclined surface has a greater inclination so that it gives the necessary stroke of one actuator.

In other embodiments, the ball can be replaced by other members. For example, a member having a lower cam face corresponding to the shape of the lower part of the ball 56 can be connected in articulated form to the body 10 or to the member 40, for example by molding in one piece with a part thinned forming hinge. This member, when pushed by a card, causes the movement of the operating member for example by contact with the inclined surface 52. In addition, it may itself have a shape and a thickness such that it fills also the function of the elastic return device. All these variants can easily be executed by a person skilled in the art, since they are simple equivalents of the means already described.

In the embodiment shown, the translational movement of the card 48 causes a displacement substantially in translation of the ball 56 in the perpendicular direction, then the translational movement of the operating member 50 practically in the same direction as the card 48. However, in other embodiments, other transmission devices can be used. The simplest is that in which the end of the card directly pushes the operating member 50 which is then extended down to the level of the card. The embodiment shown with reference to Figures 1, 5 and 6 transforms a translational movement of the card 48 into a translational movement of the actuator 50 in the same direction as the card. However, this is by no means necessary. Indeed, especially in the case of a transmission having a ball member 56, the operating member 40 can move in another direction. For example, in a variant of the embodiment of FIG. 1, the card is inserted in the direction making an angle of 90 °, that is to say by the right or by the left, the transmission members being both on the side opposite the card entry opening.

In this case, the operating member moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the card.

Although an embodiment has been described in which projections of the operating member cooperate with projections of the contacts, other arrangements are possible. For example, the operating member may include cavities and the contact members of the projections. Likewise, the contacts can form a cavity and the operating member can include projections which are housed in these cavities in the rest position and which move away from them in the working position. The only essential characteristic is that the operating member and the contacts can cooperate by cam effect so that the contact heads move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the large faces of the card.

It was indicated that the operating member was returned to its rest position by two helical springs 58 which directly push the operating member towards its rest position. However, many variations are possible. In an embodiment in which the contacts and the operating member cooperate by cam surfaces, these are sufficiently inclined and the force of the contacts is sufficiently great for the operating member to be returned to its rest position by the only elastic force of the contacts which tend to deviate from the card guide path. Any other return device can be used, as long as it allows the operating member to return to its rest position.

It has been indicated that the body of the connector comprises a first part 10 and two added elements 26, 28. Of course, the body can be formed in one piece, for example by overmolding of the contacts 30, 32, by implementing conventional methods. .

The invention also relates to card readers comprising at least one connector according to the invention. These card readers can themselves include various anti-vandalism characteristics other than the characteristic given by the electrical connector and which is obtained by spacing the contacts. It may for example be a card reader body of the type described in French patent FR-A-2 685 110.

It is understood that the invention has only been described and shown as a preferential example and that any technical equivalence can be made in these constituent elements without going beyond its ambit.

Claims

1. Electrical connector, of the type which comprises a body (10, 26, 28) intended to ensure a connection with a card with incorporated electrical circuit, the card having two large faces, one of which carries at least one electrical contact, and the body (10, 26, 28) of the connector delimiting a path for guiding the card in a direction parallel to the large faces thereof, to a position for stopping the card, characterized in that: - the connector has contacts (30, 32) whose heads are movable in a transverse direction to the large faces of the card and which are resiliently recalled in the direction in which they move away from the card,

- A member actuator (40) (30, 32) is movable in translation in a direction substantially parallel to the large faces of the card between a rest position in which the contacts (30, 32) of the connector are distant from the path of guide the card and a working position in which the operating member (40) pushes the contacts (30, 32) of the connector so that they penetrate the guide path, and

- The connector comprises a transmission device comprising a transmission member (56) placed on the guide path of the card near the stop position, so that, when the card is moved along the guide path, in the last part of its movement before arriving at the stop position, it moves the transmission member (56) in a transverse direction to the large faces of the card, the transmission device transforming this movement of the member (56 ) transmission in a displacement of the operating member (40) in a direction parallel to the large faces of the card.

2. Connector according to claim 1, characterized in that the body (10, 26, 28) of the connector comprises a protective member (22) placed between the guide path and the operating member (40), this member (22 ) protector incorporated into the body (10, 26, 28) having holes for the passage of the contacts (30, 32) of the connector, these contacts (30, 32) being spaced from the guide path and being protected by the protective member (22) when the operating member (40) is in the rest position.

3. Connector according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the contacts (30, 32) of the connector are placed between the operating member (40) and the guide path, and the member (40) maneuver acts on the contacts (30, 32) by cooperation of projections of the operating member (40) with projections of the contacts (30, 32), the projections of the operating member (40) or at least contacts (30, 32) having a cam surface.

4. Connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an elastic return device for the member (40) for maneuvering from the working position to the rest position.

5. Connector according to claim 4, characterized in that, in the stop position in which the card has moved the transmission member, the elastic return device acts on the transmission member (56) with such force that the transmission member (56) exerts itself a determined force for blocking the card in a direction perpendicular to the large faces thereof.

6. Connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the member

(40) for maneuvering is movable in a direction parallel to the guide path.

7. Connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmission member (56) is a ball, and the transmission device comprises, in addition to the ball, at least one inclined surface formed on the operating member (40) or the body (10, 26, 28), so that the ball transforms are their own movement in a direction substantially perpendicular to the large faces of the card, in a movement of the operating member (40) direction parallel to the large faces of the map.

8. Connector according to claim 7, characterized in that inclined surfaces are formed on the operating member (40) and on the body (10, 26, 28) of the connector, the ball then being surrounded by the inclined surface of the body (10, 26, 28), the inclined surface of the movable member (40) and either the guide path or the card placed on the guide path.

9. Card reader, characterized in that it comprises an electrical connector as defined in any one of the preceding claims.