WO2017131918A1

WO2017131918A1 - Contact terminal for card socket

Info

Publication number: WO2017131918A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/068900
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung Hyuk Chu; Hyong Jung Kang; Da Woon Lee
Original assignee: Molex, Llc
Priority date: 2016-01-29
Filing date: 2016-12-28
Publication date: 2017-08-03
Also published as: KR20170091231A

Abstract

A card socket is provided that prevents damage to the terminals when improper card/tray insertion occurs, and wherein a plurality of cards can be mounted while reducing the overall size. The card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may comprise an upper housing, a lower housing that is located below the upper housing and forms a card/tray insertion space between it and the upper housing, 1st contact terminals that are installed in the upper housing and contact a 1st card inserted into the card/tray insertion space, 2nd contact terminals that are installed in the lower housing and contact a 2nd card inserted into the card/tray insertion space, and an upper shell to which the upper housing is welded or insert-molded so as to be fastened to the lower housing.

Description

CONTACT TERMINAL FOR CARD SOCKET

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2016-0011740, filed January 29, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates to a card socket for use in an electronic device, and more specifically to a toy-insertion-type card socket for electrically contacting a SIM card or SD card, etc., to a circuit board, and to a method of manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND ART

[0003] Card sockets that conventionally enable the mounting of micro SD cards or nano SIM cards in electronic devices such as mobile devices are widely known in the art; recently, card sockets that can simultaneously mount micro SD cards and nano SIM cards have been widely used.

[0004] In card sockets of the prior art, a micro SD card is mounted in the top part, and a nano SIM card is mounted in the bottom part, to form a layered structure. In this layered structure, the pad parts of both the micro SD card and the nano SIM card are both aligned in the PCB direction. In card sockets of the prior art, the contact terminals for each respective card is aligned in a different space so as not to overlap in the X-Y plane. Accordingly, as the number of mounted cards increases, this has the disadvantage that the size of the card socket increases in the X-Y plane.

[0005] In addition, according to the insertion-type card sockets of the prior art, when a mis-insertion occurs e.g. by the insertion of a tray on which a card is mounted at an oblique angle to the X-Y plane, the contact terminals may be damaged due to this insertion of the card and tray, or the card socket may be damaged such as by the housing being jostled by the tray. Further, in a card socket having a central partition, there is the problem of the central partition being damaged upon mis-insertion of the card itself.

[0006] In addition, because a housing consisting of a plastic or the like is weak, damage to the housing due to thermal deformation in the SMT (Surface Mounting Technology) process may occur, and accordingly there are problems of inadequate solder flatness of the contact terminals that are coupled to the housing,

[0007] By way of example of a method of manufacturing a card socket of the prior art, according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-109182, the card socket of the prior art. consists of an upper and lower housing furnished with contact terminals, and an upper and lower shell; because of the great number of parts that are coupled together above and below, there is a problematic variation in the thickness of the final product. In addition, the assembly process is rendered complex, and the assembly time is made excessively long, because the process of fitting the upper and lower housing together, and fitting the upper shell to the upper housing and the lower shell to the lower housing, is done by hand.

[0008] Patent Reference 0001 : Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2015-109182

SUMMARY

[0009] The technical problem that this disclosure attempts to solve is the provision of a contact terminal for use in a card socket, and a card socket furnishing the same, that can prevent damage to the terminals in the event of improper card/tray insertion.

[0010] Another technical problem this disclosure attempts to solve is the provision of a method of manufacturing a card socket as described above.

[0011] The contact terminals for use in a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, in order to accomplish the above tasks, are mounted on the housing of the card socket so as to contact a card inserted into the card/tray insertion space of the housing, and the contact terminals comprise: a contact part that contacts the card; a pair of elastic parts that are extended symmetrically on either side of the contact part, and a pair of support parts that are formed respectively on either end of the elastic parts and support the elastic parts on the housing.

[0012] In addition, the elastic part may have a V-shape.

[0013] In addition, the V-shape direction of the elastic part may be such as to be orthogonal to the card/tray insertion direction.

[0014] In addition, the contact terminals may further comprise a twisting part that causes torsional stress between the elastic part and the support part when the card presses on the elastic part while contacting the contact part. [0015] In addition, the twisting part may be formed bent outward at either end of the elastic part so as to connect to the support part.

[0016] To achieve the above objectives, the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may comprise: a housing wherein is formed a space into which a card/tray is inserted; and the contact terminal, installed in the housing, which contacts the card inserted into the card/tray insertion space.

[0017] To achieve the above technical objections, the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may comprise: an upper housing; a lower housing that is located below the upper housing and forms a card/tray insertion space between it and the upper housing; 1st contact terminals that are installed in the upper housing and contact a 1st card inserted into the card/tray insertion space, 2nd contact terminals that are installed in the lower housing and contact the 2nd card inserted into the card/tray insertion space; and an upper shell to which the upper housing is welded or insert-molded, which is fastened to the lower housing.

[0018] In addition, the 1 st contact terminals may be insert-molded on the upper shell , and the upper housing on which the 1st contact terminals are insert-molded may be welded to the upper shell.

[0019] In addition, the 1 st contact terminals may comprise a dummy contact terminal that does not contact the 1 st card, and the dummy contact terminal may be welded to the upper shell.

[0020] In addition, the 1 st contact terminal i s assembled on the upper shell, and the upper housing may be inserted-molded onto the assembly of the 1st contact terminals and the upper shell.

[0021] In addition, the 1st contact terminals are preferably located in the area where the two 2nd cards arranged in the length direction of the lower housing contact one another.

[0022] In addition, the upper housing may be formed so as to have a size such that it is separated by a certain gap from the inner surface of the upper shell, and may be fastened so that when the upper shell is coupled to the lower housing, the outer surface of the lower housing is touched to the inner surface of the upper shell,

[0023] In addition, the 1st contact terminals may comprise: a contact part that contacts the 1 st card; a pair of elastic parts that are extended symmetrically on either side of the contact part; and a pair of support parts that are formed respectively on either end of the elastic parts and support the elastic parts on the housing. [0024] In addition, the elastic part may have a V-shape.

[0025] In addition, the V-shape direction of the elastic part may he such as to be orthogonal to the card/tray insertion direction,

[0026] In addition, the 1st contact terminals may further comprise: a twisting part formed in the area connecting the elastic part to the support part, such that torsional stress is induced between the elastic part and the support part when the 1st card presses on the elastic part while contacting the contact part.

[0027] In addition, the twisting part may be formed bent outward at either end of the elastic part so as to connect to the support part,

[0028] To achieve the above technical objectives, the method of manufacturing a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure comprises: (a) a step of stamping 1st contact terminals and an upper shell, (b) a step of insert-molding the 1st contact terminals to the upper housing; (c) a step of assembling the upper housing, to which the 1 st contact terminals are insert-molded, onto the upper shell; (d) a step of welding part of the 1st contact terminals to the upper shell; (e) a step of insert-molding 2nd contact terminals to a lower housing; and (f) a step of fastening the upper shell onto the lower housing,

[0029] To achieve the above technical objectives, the method of manufacturing a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure comprises: (a) a step of stamping 1st contact terminals and an upper shell; (b) a step of assembling the st contact terminals and the upper shell together; (c) a step of insert -molding the upper housing to the assembly of the 1st contact terminals and the upper shell, (d) a step of insert-molding 2nd contact terminals to a lower housing; and (e) a step of fastening the upper shell onto the lower housing.

[0030] The contact terminal for use in a card socket, card socket, and method of manufacturing the same according to this disclosure have the following effects.

[0031] First, because in this disclosure the contact terminals of the card socket are formed in a V shape and a twisting part is formed on the connecting area between the elastic part and support port that make up the V-shaped contact terminals, when a card/tray is inserted into the card socket and contacts the contact terminals, and the elastic part is depressed, torsional stress occurs in the twisting part between the elastic part and the support part; as a result, damage to the terminals caused by improper tray and card insertion may be prevented.

[0032] Second, in this disclosure, because the plate-shaped upper housing is laser-welded or insert-molded to the upper shell so that the upper housing and upper shell form a single unit, the strength of the card socket may be increased, and the size of the card socket may be minimized,

[0033] Third, because in this disclosure the upper housing is formed integrally on the upper shell, the occurrence of warping of the upper housing due to the upper housing made of plastic being subordinated to the upper shell made of metal having approximately l Ox greater tensile strength may be reduced, and the housing deformation caused by thermal deformation in the SMT process may be prevented so as to improve the solder flatness of the upper contact terminals.

[0034] Fourth, in this disclosure direct contact of the outer front end of the lower housing with the inner surface of the upper shell may occur when the upper shell is fastened to the lower housing. As a result, because the lower housing and upper shell are coupled together without the upper housing being interposed, the total thickness of the card socket may be reduced over the prior art by the thickness of the upper housing.

[0035] Fifth, because in this disclosure the number of parts layered on top of one another in the thickness direction of the card socket is reduced, the assembly tolerance with respect to warping/flatness and thickness of upper housing may be reduced, and looseness of fit between the upper shell and lower housing may be reduced so as to strengthen the coupling of the assembly.

[0036] Sixth, in this disclosure the process of coupling the upper housing to the lower housing may be omitted, and the process of coupling the upper shell to the lower housing may be conducted automatically by a machine. The process of assembling the card socket may accordingly be simplified, and the time taken in assembly may also be reduced, thus increasing productivity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a card socket and card and tray inserted into the card socket, according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 2 is a top view of a card socket into which a tray according to a first embodiment of this disclosure has been inserted.

[0039] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0040] FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 4Ais the card socket with the upper shell separated, and FIG. 4B is the card socket to which the upper shell is coupled.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a top view of an upper housing to which 1st contact terminals, furnished on a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, have been insert-molded.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of 1st contact terminals furnished on a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0043] FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6.

[0044] FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 6.

[0045] FIGS. 9A and 9B are drawings of the operating state of the 1st contact terminals when the card/tray is inserted into the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0046] FIGS. 10A and 10B show a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 1 OA is a perspective view of the upper shell where the upper housing and 1st contact terminals are coupled, and FIG. 10B is a bottom view of the upper shell where the upper housing and 1st contact terminals are coupled.

[0047] FIG. 11 is a cross-section of FIG. 10B along the A- A line.

[0048] FIG. 12 is a drawing of the gap between the inner surface of the upper shell and the outer surface of the upper housing, according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0049] FIGS. 13A and Γ3Β are drawings showing the coupling site of the upper shell and lower housing of the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 13 A is a top view of the card socket where the upper shell and lower housing are coupled, and FIG. 13B is a cross-section of FIG. 13A along the B-B line.

[0050] FIG. 14 is a cross section showing the upper part of the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0051] FIGS. 15 A and 15B show a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 15A is a perspective view of the upper shell where the upper housing and 1st contact terminals are coupled, and FIG. 15B is a schematic view of the insertion part of the upper shell shown in FIG. 5 A. [0052] FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate a card tray that is inserted into a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 16Ais a top view, and FIG. 16B is a bottom view, of the tray having a card mounted in its upper and lower parts.

[0053] FIG. 17 is a drawing that il lustrates the position of the 1 st contact terminal s in the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0054] FIG. 18 is a drawing that shows the protruding part for use as a card handle and the concave part formed on the tray.

[0055] FIG. 19 is a drawing that shows the protruding part formed on the side of the convex part for SIM card use in the tray according to a fi rst embodiment of this disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 20 is a flow chart of the card socket manufacturing process according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0057] FIGS. 21 A and 21B show the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 21 A is a perspective view of the stamped I st contact terminals and FIG. 21B is a perspective view of the upper shell.

[0058] FIG. 22 is a drawing showing the state of the process of manufacturing the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure where the 1st contact terminals have been insert-molded to the upper housing.

[0059] FIG. 23 is a drawing that shows the state of the process of manufacturing the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where the upper shell has been assembled to the upper housing,

[0060] FIGS. 24 A and 24B depict the carrier bridge of the upper shell and 1 st contact terminals in the top part of the card socket according to a first embodiment of the disclosure, where FIG. 24A is a top view and FIG. 24B is a perspective view.

[0061] FIG. 25 is a flow chart of the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure,

[0062] FIGS. 26 A and 26B show the state of the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure, where the 1st contact terminals have been assembled to the upper shell.

[0063] FIG. 27 shows the state of the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure, where the assembly of the 1st contact terminals and upper shell has been insert-molded to the upper housing.

[0064] FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure,

[0065] FIG. 29 is a top view of FIG. 28.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0066] Hereinbelow, a preferred embodiment of the card socket, contact terminal for use in a card socket, and method of manufacturing the same of this disclosure will be described, with reference to the attached drawings. Please note that in describing this disclosure, the detailed explanation is omitted of functions and components which are common knowledge and are judged to unnecessarily obscure the core intent of the disclosure.

[0067] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a card socket and card and tray inserted into the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure; FIG. 2 is a top view of a card socket into which a tray according to a first embodiment of this disclosure has been inserted .

[0068] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure has a structure wherein a 1st card 1 1 and 2nd card 12 may be inserted into the insertion part 10a of the card socket 100 while respectively mounted on the top and bottom of a tray 1.

[0069] In this embodiment, a configuration has been depicted wherein the st card 11 is an SD card and the 2nd card 12 is a SIM card, but this is not limiting, and they may also be configured as other cards other than SIM^ cards and SD cards. For example, for the 1 st card 1 1 , memory cards may be used that are used for storing data for diverse kinds of content such as mini SD cards, smart media cards, memory sticks, SD picture cards, micro SD cards, etc.; for the 2nd card 12, memory cards may be used that are used for authentication of personal information and credit transactions, such as SIM cards, RUIM cards, Moneta cards, BankOn cards, etc.

[0070] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure; FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 4A is the card socket with the upper shell separated, and FIG. 4B is the card socket to which the upper shell is coupled.

[0071] As shown in FIGS. 3, 4A and 4B, the card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may comprise an upper housing 110, a lower housing 120, 1 st contact terminals 130, 2nd contact terminals 140, and an upper shell 150. In addition, although not shown in the diagrams, the card socket 100 may comprise a switch, sensor, hinge bar, latch and push bar 160, etc.; because such configurations are known in the art and readily understandable, their detailed description is omitted.

[0072] The upper shell 150, hinger bar, latch and push bar 160 may be manufactured from STS 137; the 1st contact terminals 130, 2nd contact terminals 140, switch and sensor may be manufactured of a copper alloy. In addition, the upper housing 110 and lower housing 120 may be manufactured from LCP (liquid crystal polymer).

[0073] The upper housing 110 may be formed in a plate shape. There may be furnished in the upper housing 1 10 the below-described 1 st contact terminals 130 that contact the 1 st card (SD card) 11 mounted on the top of the tray 1. The upper housing 110, instead of being directly coupled to the below-described lower housing 120, may be coupled to the lower housing 120 by the below-described upper shell 150, which is coupled to the upper housing 110 as a single unit.

[0074] The 1 ower housing 120 may be located below the upper housi ng 110, and the space into which a card/tray is inserted may be formed between it and the upper housing 110. There may be furnished on the bottom surface of the lower housing 120 the below-described 2nd contact terminals 1 0 that contact the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 mounted on the bottom of the tray 1.

[0075] The 1st contact terminals 130 are formed on the inside top of the card socket 100 and are the top-side contact terminals that contact the 1st card (SD card) 11 inserted into the card/tray insertion space of the card socket 100. The 1st contact terminals 130 may be insert- molded to the upper housing 110. These 1st contact terminals 130 will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 5 through 9B.

[0076] The 2nd contact terminals 140 are formed on the inside bottom of the card socket 100 and are the bottom-side contact terminals that contact the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 inserted into the card/tray insertion space of the card socket 100. The 2nd contact terminals 140 are formed to have a triangular shape and the contact part 145 formed at the point of the triangle is bent upward so as to protrude into the card insertion space via a terminal aperture formed in the bottom surface of the card insertion space of the lower housing 120, and contacts the bottom of the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 inserted into the card insertion space. [0077] The 2nd contact terminals 140 may comprise a support part 141 fixed to the bottom surface of the lower housing 120, a triangular elastic part 143 bent extending upward on the support part 141 , and a contact part 145 formed at the top end of the elastic part 143 so as to contact the 2nd card (SIM card) 12. In addition, the plurality of triangular 2nd contact terminals 140 may be arrayed in two rows in the card/tray insertion direction, and the respective rows may be integrally connected together by a connecting part (not shown).

[0078] In this embodiment, the two 2nd contact terminals 141, 142 may be furnished at the front and back in the card/tray insertion direction on the bottom surface of the lower housing 120 so as to contact the two 2nd cards (SIM) 12 mounted on the bottom of the tray 1. In addition, the 2nd contact terminals 140 located at the front have a flange 147 formed extending in a horseshoe shape around the lower circumference of the triangular terminals, so that damage to the terminals may be prevented when a card is improperly inserted into the card socket,

[0079] The 2nd contact terminals 140 may be insert-molded to the lower housing 120. Accordingly, the card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may effectively reduce the size of the card socket 100 relative to the prior art, because it is possible to have the positions of the 1 st and 2nd contact terminals 130, 140 overlap in the X-Y plane, by virtue of the 1st contact terminals 130 for the 1st card (SD card) 11 being formed on the inner top of the card socket, and the 2nd contact terminals 140 for the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 being formed on the inner bottom of the card socket.

[0080] To the upper shell 150 the upper housing 110 is laser welded or insert molded, and after the upper housing 110 has been welded or insert molded, the upper shell 150 may be fastened to the lower housing 120. The upper shell 150 may consist of a metal material having strength such that it can protect the card socket 100. On the lateral surface of the upper shell 150, on the 3 surfaces excluding the insertion part 10a whereinto the tray 1 is inserted, fastening recesses 151 in the form of two slits each are formed, and on the outer surface of the lower housing 120, fastening projections 121 are formed, in locations corresponding to the fastening recesses 151 of the upper shell 150. By this means, the sides of the upper shell 150 are temporarily deformed outward so that the fastening projection 121 of the lower housing 120 is inserted into the fastening recess 151 of the upper shell 150, so that the upper shell 150 may be fastened to the lower housing 120.

[0081] FIG. 5 is a top view of an upper housing to which 1st contact terminals furnished on a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure have been insert-molded; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a 1st contact terminal furnished on a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure; FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 6; FIGS. 9A and 9B are drawings of the operating state of the 1 st contact terminals when the card/tray is inserted into the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0082] As shown in FIGS. 5 through 9B, the 1st contact terminals 130 may be insert- molded to the upper housing 110, A plurality of 1 st contact terminals 130 may be furmshed and spaced apart at a certain interval horizontally in the card/tray insertion direction, and arranged in line with one another.

[0083] The 1st contact terminals 130 may comprise a contact part 131 , elastic part 133, support part 135, and twisting part 137.

[0084] The contact part 131 is contacted to a 1st card (SD card) 11 mounted on a tray 1 that is inserted into the insertion part 10a of the card socket 100. The contact part 131 is formed protruding with respect to the planar surface of the elastic part 33, so that it contacts the 1st card (SD card) 1 1 before the planar surface of the elastic part 133.

[0085] The elastic part 133 may be formed as a pair of units extending symmetrically on either side of the contact part 131. The elastic part 133 may be formed as a planar member having a V shape. The elastic part 133 may be formed tilting from the support part 135 toward the contact part 131.

[0086] The V-shape direction of the elastic part 133 may be such as to be orthogonal to the card/tray insertion direction. In consequence, damage to the terminals may be prevented in the event of improper tray and card insertion.

[0087] The support part 135 may support the elastic part 133 on the housing 110 by being insert-molded in a planar shape to either end of the elastic part 133.

[0088] The twisting part 137 may be formed at the connecting area between the elastic part 133 and the support part 135, and may be formed bending outward at either end of the elastic part 133 so as to connect to the support part 135. Likewise, the 1st contact terminals 130 may have the twisting part 137 formed in the connecting area between the elastic part 133 and the support part 135, so that as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when a card/tray is inserted into the card socket 100 and contacts the contact part 131 , pressing the elastic part 133 upward, torsional stress occurs between the elastic part 133 and the support part 135, so that damage to the terminals caused by improper tray and card insertion may be prevented. [0089] FIGS. 10A and 10B show a card socket according to a first enibodinient of this disclosure, where FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the upper shell where the upper housing and 1st contact terminals are coupled, and FIG. 10B is a bottom view of the upper shell where the upper housing and 1st contact terminal are coupled; FIG. 11 is a cross-section of FIG. 10B along the A- A line.

[0090] As shown in FIGS, 10A and 10B, the upper portion of the card socket 100 may have a stmcture wherein after the 1st contact terminals 130 are insert -molded to the upper housing 1 10, the upper housing 11.0 is laser-welded to the upper shell 150. For purposes of laser welding, the 1st contact terminals 130 may partially comprise dummy contact terminals 130a that do not contact the 1st card (SD card) 11; these dummy contact terminals 130a may be laser welded to the inner surface of the upper shell 150 as shown in FIG. 11.

[0091] Alternatively, the upper portion of the card socket 100 may have a structure wherein the 1st contact terminals 130 and upper shell 150 are assembled together, and then the upper housing 110 is insert-molded as a single unit to the assembly of the 1 st contact terminals 130 and upper shell 150.

[0092] Likewise, the strength of the card socket 100 may be increased over card sockets of the prior art because the upper housing 110 and upper shell 150 are formed as a single unit by laser welding or insert molding the upper housing 110 to the upper shell 150.

[00931 In addition, on the upper shell 50 there is formed a hole 153 in the center of the upper shell 150 in order to prevent short-circuiting at the operating part of the 1st contact terminals 130. In this case, the occurrence of warping of the upper shell 150 following insertion of a tray 1 onto which a card is mounted may be increased over card sockets of the prior art. However, by the upper housing 110 being laser welded or insert molded to the upper shell 150 as in this embodiment, the occurrence of warping of the upper shell 150 may be prevented, because the strength of the upper portion of the card socket 100 is increased.

[0094] Typically, the solder welds of the 1 st contact terminals 130 are exposed to a high temperature of around 260 degrees in the SMT process. In this case, an upper housing 110 made of plastic may be warped by thermal deformation, and the solder welds of the 1 st contact terminals 130 formed at the end of the upper housing 110 are heavily influenced thereby, which has an adverse effect on solder flatness. Under these conditions, "open" defects occur when soldering the 1st contact terminals 130 to the circuit board. However, in the case of the card socket 100 according to this embodiment, because the upper housing 110 is coupled integrally to the upper shell 150, the upper housing 110 is subordinated to the upper shell 150 made of metal having approximately lOx greater tensile strength than plastic. Accordingly, warping of the upper housing 1 10 may be reduced, and the solder flatness may be improved accordingly.

[0095] FIG. 12 is a drawing of the gap between the inner surface of the upper shell and the outer surface of the upper housing, according to a first embodiment of this disclosure; FIGS. 13 A and 13B are drawings showing the coupling site of the upper shell and lower housing of the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 13 A is a top view of the card socket where the upper shell and lower housing are coupled, and FIG. 13B is a cross-section of FIG. 13 A along the B-B line; FIG. 14 is a cross section showing the upper part of the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure,

[0096] As shown in FIG. 12, the upper housing 110 has a size such that it can be separated by a certain gap (Gl, G2, G3, G4) from all inner surfaces of the upper shell 150. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, when the upper shell 150 is fastened to the lower housing 120, the outer front end 120a of the lower housing 120 may directly touch the inner surface of the upper shell 150. In this case, because the upper shell 150 and lower housing 120 are coupled together without the upper housing 110 being interposed, the total thickness of the card socket 100 may be reduced over the prior art by the thickness of the upper housing 110 (approx. 0.35 mm). In addition, because the number of parts layered on top of one another in the width direction of the card socket 100 is reduced, the assembly tolerance with respect to warping/flatness and thickness of upper housing 110 may be reduced, and looseness of fit between the upper shell 150 and lower housing 120 may be reduced so as to strengthen the coupling of the assembly.

[0097] Because the upper housing 1 10 is configured to be separated by a gap from the inner surface of the upper shell 150, in the upper shell 150, as shown in FIG. 14, the length (L) of the free end that is not coupled to the upper housing 110 is increased. Consequently, the elasticity of the upper shell 150 is increased over the prior art in the direction of the arrow, so that when the upper shell 150 is fastened to the lower housing 120, plastic deformation of the upper shell 150 may be prevented, and the accidental detachment of the fastening projection 121 of the lower housing 120 from the fastening recess 151 of the upper shell 150 may be prevented.

[0098] FIGS. 15A and 15B show a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 15A is a perspective view of the upper shell where the upper housing and 1 st contact terminals are coupled, and FIG. 15B is a schematic view of the insertion part of the upper shell shown in FIG. 15 A.

[0099] As shown in FIGS. ISA and 15B, in the insertion part 10a of the card socket 100, the upper shell 150 has an L shape that is bent upward in the degree of the thickness of the upper housing 110. Due to this bent shape of the upper shell 150, the strength of the upper shell 150 is increased which may prevent warping, and damage to the card socket 100 may be prevented in the event of improper insertion of the tray 1.

[00100] FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate a card tray tha is inserted into a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 16A is a top view, and FIG 16B is a bottom view, of the tray having a card mounted in its upper and lower parts; FIG. 17 is a drawing that illustrates the position of the 1 st contact terminals in the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[00101] As shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the tray I inserted into the card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may be manufactured by insert-molding using PC (polycarbonate) and STS 137. The 1st card (SD card) 11 may be mounted on the card mounting part 1 a formed on the top of the tray 1 , the 2nd card 12 may be mounted on the card mounting part la formed on the bottom of the tray 1. In addition, the 1st card (SD card) 11 and 2nd card (SIM card) 12 may each be mounted on the tray 1 upside down, so that the electrode areas 11 a, 12a that respectively contact the 1st contact terminals 130 and 2nd contact terminals 140 of the card socket 100 point toward the outside of the tray 1. Accordingly, because this embodiment has a staicture in which a plurality of cards is inserted into a card socket 100 mounted on either side of a tray 1, the problem of damage to the central partition caused by improper insertion of cards that may occur in card sockets 100 having a central partition may be prevented from the outset.

[00102] Conventionally, as the length of the card socket 100, i.e. the length in the direction in which the tray or card is inserted, is increased, it is preferred to contact the contact terminals to the card at the extreme front end in the tray insertion direction, so that damage to the contact terminals when a tray or card is inserted into the card socket may be prevented. In such a case, as in this embodiment, the formation of a reliable contact may be rendered difficult by the occurrence of rotary force at the 2nd card due to the force pushing on the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 from below to above, when only one 2nd card (SIM card) 12 is mounted in a 2-card structure, if the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 is mounted in the length direction of the card socket 100 on the bottom of the tray 1.

[00103] Accordingly, kin this embodiment, as in the portion of FIG. 17 indicated by the dotted line, by arranging the 1 st contact terminals 130 to be located where the lower two 2nd cards (SIM cards) 12 touch one another, rather than at the extreme front in the tray 1 insertion direction, rotation of the upper 1st card (SD card) 11 is prevented as much as possible even when only one 2nd card (SIM card) 12 is present, thus preventing defective contact,

[00104] FIG. 18 is a drawing that shows the protruding part for use as a card handle and the concave part formed on the tray, FIG. 19 is a drawing that shows the protruding part formed on the side of the convex part for SIM card use in the tray according to a first embodiment of this disclosure.

[00105] As shown in FIG. 18, a protruding part 1 lb for use as a card handle may be formed on one end of the 1st card (SD card) 11. Conventionally, if the 1st card (SD card) 11 is mounted on the tray 1 upside down, the protruding part l ib for card handle use must form a card mounting part l a on the tray 1 , and the thickness of the tray 1 may therefore be increased, however, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the protruding part l ib for card handle use in the 1 st card (SD card) 1 may be located below the area indicated by dotted lines, so as not to overlap the location where the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 is mounted, thus preventing thickening of the tray 1 .

[00106] In addition, the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 is inserted upside-down from the bottom of the tray I in order to insert, it into the card socket 100; in this case, the tray 1 must have a structure for holding the 2nd card (SEVI card) 12 in place so that the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 does not fall out of the tray 1. Accordingly, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, the tray 1 may have an elastic projection 3 that protrudes inward in the card mounting part la whereinto the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 is inserted. This elastic projection 3 may be extruded at a thickness of approximately 0,25 to 0.3 mm from the side of the card mounting part la, the 2nd card (SIM card) 2 may be securely held in place after it is mounted in the card mounting part l a of the tray 1, using the elastic force of this elastic projection 3,

[00107] FIG. 20 is a flow chart of the card socket, manufacturing process according to a first embodiment of this disclosure; FIGS. 21A and 21B show the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where FIG. 21A is a perspective view of the stamped 1st contact terminals and FIG. 21B is a perspective view of the upper shell; FIG. 22 is a drawing showing the state of the process of manufacturing the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure where the 1st contact terminals have been insert-molded to the upper housing; FIG . 23 is a drawing that shows the state of the process of manufacturing the card socket according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, where the upper shell has been assembled to the upper housing.

[00108] The method of manufacturing a card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may follow the process flow chart shown in FIG. 20. To describe the method of manufacturing a card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure, first, as shown in FIGS. 21 A and 21 B, the 1 st contact terminals 130 and upper shell 150 are stamped out of the carrier 30 (S101). Next, as shown in FIG. 22, the 1st contact terminals 130 are insert- molded to the upper housing 110 (S 102). Next, as shown in FIG. 23, the upper housing 110 to which the 1st contact terminals 130 have been insert-molded is assembled to the upper shell 150 (SI 03). Next, as shown in FIG. 11, part of the 1st contact terminals 130 are laser-welded to the inner surface of the upper shell 150 to produce the upper portion of the card socket 100 (S 104). If the upper portion of the card socket 100 is manufactured as above, next, the lower portion of the card socket 100 is manufactured by insert-molding the 2nd contact terminals 140 to the lower housing 120 (S105). When the upper portion and lower portion of the card socket 100 have been manufactured, the card socket 100 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure may be completed by finally fastening the upper shell 150 to the lower housing 120 (S I 06).

[00109] FIGS. 24A and 24B depict the carrier bridge of the upper shell and 1st contact terminals in the top part of the card socket according to a first embodiment of the disclosure, where FIG. 24 A is a top view and FIG. 24B is a perspective view,

[00110] As shown in FIGS. 24 A and 24B, for purposes of automatic manufacturing, in the insert-moldi ng of the upper part of the card socket 100, the carrier bridge 30a of the 1st contact terminals 130 and the carrier bridge 30b of the upper shell 150 may be arranged so as not to overlap with one another, and may be optionally cut for use in subsequent processes.

[00111] FIG. 25 is a flow chart of the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure; FIGS. 26A and 26B show the state of the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure, where the 1st contact terminal has been assembled to the upper shell; FIG. 27 shows the state of the process of manufacturing a card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure, where the assembly of the 1 st contact terminal and upper shell has been insert-molded to the upper housing.

[00112] The method of manufacturing a card socket 100 according to a second embodiment of this disclosure may follow the process flow chart shown in FIG. 25, To describe the method of manufacturing a card socket 100 according to a second embodiment of this disclosure, first, as shown in the above-described FIGS. 21 A and 2 IB, the 1 st contact terminals 130 and upper shell 150 are stamped out of the carrier 30 (S121). Next, as shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B, the 1st contact terminals 130 and upper shell 150 are assembled together (S202). Next, as shown in FIG 27, the assembly of the 1 st contact terminals 130 and upper shell 150 are insert-molded onto the upper housing 110 to produce the upper portion of the card socket 100 (S203). If the upper portion of the card socket 100 is manufactured as above, next, the lower portion of the card socket 100 is manufactured by insert-molding the 2nd contact terminals 140 to the lower housing 120 (S204), When the upper portion and l ower portion of the card socket 100 have been manufactured, the card socket 100 according to a second embodiment of this disclosure may be completed by finally fastening the upper shell 150 to the lower housing 120 (S205).

[00113] According to the method of manufacturing a card socket 100 according to the above embodiments, the process of coupling the upper housing 110 to the lower housing 120 may be omitted, and the process of coupling the upper shell 150 to the lower housing 120 may be carried out by automated assembly. The process of assembling the card socket 100 may thereby be simplified, and the time taken in assembly may also be reduced, thus increasing productivity.

[00114] FIG. 28 i s a perspective view of the card socket according to a second embodiment of this disclosure; FIG. 29 is a top view of FIG. 28.

[00115] Referring to FIGS. 28 and 29, the card socket 200 according to a second embodiment of this disclosure may comprise a housing 210 and a contact terminal 220. In addition, although not shown in the diagrams, the card socket 200 may comprise a switch, sensor, hinge bar, latch and push bar, etc., because such configurations are known in the art and readily understandable, their detailed description is omitted.

[00116] The housing 210 has an insertion space that is open at the top and covered by a metal shell (not shown) and a front end into which the card/tray is inserted. A 1 st card 11 and 2nd card 12 having respectively different shapes may be inserted into the housing 210. In this embodiment, a configuration has been depicted wherein the 1 st card 11 (see FIG. 1) is a SIM card and the 2nd card 12 (see FIG. 2) is an SD card, but this is not limiting, and they may also be configured as other cards other than SIM cards and SD cards.

[00117] The contact terminals 220 may be furnished on the bottom surface of the housing 210 so as to contact the card that is inserted into the card/tray insertion space of the housing 210.

[00118] The contact terminals 220 may comprise 1 st contact terminals 221 and 2nd contact terminals 222.

[00119] The 1st contact terminals 221 are furnished on the bottom surface of the housing 210 so as to be located toward the rear in the card/tray insertion direction, and contact the bottom of the 1 st card (SD card) 11 inserted into the card/tray insertion space

[00120] A plurality of 1st contact terminals 221 may be furnished and spaced apart at a certain interval horizontally in the card/tray insertion direction, and arranged in line with one another.

[00121] The 1 st contact terminals 221 may comprise a contact part 221 a, elastic part 22 lb, support part 221c, and twisting part 22 Id.

[00122] The contact part 221a is contacted to a 1st card (SD card) 11 that is mounted on a tray and inserted into the insertion part 20a of the card socket 200. The contact part 221a i s formed protruding with respect to the planar surface of the below-described elastic part 221b, so that it contacts the 1st card (SD card) 11 before the planar surface of the elastic part 221b,

[00123] The elastic part 221b may be formed as a pair of units extending symmetrically on either side of the contact part 221a. The elastic part 221b may be formed in the shape of a V. The elastic part 221b may be formed tilting from the support part 221c toward the contact part 221b.

[00124] The V-shape direction of the elastic part 221b may be such as to be orthogonal to the card/tray insertion direction. In consequence, damage to the terminals may be prevented in the event of improper tray and card insertion.

[00125] The support part 221c may support the elastic part 221b on the housing 210 by- being insert-molded in a planar shape to either end of the elastic part 221b.

[00126] The twisting part 221d may be formed at the connecting area between the elastic part 221b and the support part 221c, and may be formed bending outward at either end of the elastic part 221b so as to connect to the support part 221 c. Likewise, the 1 st contact terminal 221 may have the twisting part 221 d formed in the connecting area between the elastic part 221b and the support part 221c, so that when a card/tray is inserted into the card socket 200 to contact the contact part 221a, when the elastic part 221b is pressed downward, torsional stress occurs between the elastic part 221b and the support part 221c, so that damage to the terminals caused by improper tray and card insertion may be prevented.

[00127] The 2nd contact terminals 222 are furnished on the bottom surface of the housing 210 so as to be located toward the front in the card/tray insertion direction, and contact the bottom of the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 inserted into the card/tray insertion space.

[00128] The 2nd contact terminals 222 are formed to have a triangular shape and the contact part formed at the point of the triangle is bent upward so as to protrude into the card insertion space via a terminal aperture formed in the bottom surface of the card insertion space of the housing 210, and contacts the bottom of the 2nd card (SIM card) 12 inserted into the card insertion space,

[00129] The 2nd contact terminals 222 may comprise a support part 222a fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 210, a triangular elastic part 222b bent extending upward on the support part 222a, and a contact part 222c formed at the top end of the elastic part 222b so as to contact the 2nd card (SIM card) 12.

[00130] The plurality of triangular 2nd contact terminals 222 may be arrayed in two rows in the card/tray insertion direction, and the respective rows may be integrally connected together by a connecting part (not shown). In addition, the 2nd contact terminal 222 has a flange 222d formed extending in a horseshoe shape around the lower circumference of the triangular terminal, so that damage to the terminal may be prevented when a card is improperly inserted into the card socket 200,

[00131] Hereinabove, embodiments of this disclosure were described with reference to the attached drawings, but a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains will be able to understand that this disclosure may be implemented in different specific forms without altering the necessary characteristics or technical idea thereof. Therefore, the embodiments described hereinabove must be understood as exemplary, rather than limiting, in all respects. The scope of this disclosure is set forth in the claims below rather than in the detailed description; all alterations or altered forms derived from the meaning, scope and equivalents of the claims must be considered to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1 . A contact terminal for use in a card socket that is mounted on the housing of the card socket so as to contact a card inserted into the card/tray insertion space of the housing, the contact terminal comprising:

a contact part that is configured to contact the card;

a pair of elastic parts that are extended symmetrically on either side of the contact part; and

a pair of support parts that are formed respectively on either end of the elastic parts and support the elastic parts on the housing.

2. The contact terminal according to Claim 1, wherein the elastic parts are formed in a V-shape.

3. The contact terminal according to Claim 2, wherein the V-shape direction of the elastic part is such as to be orthogonal to the card/tray insertion direction.

4. The contact terminal according to Claim 1 , wherein the contact terminal further comprises a twisting part that causes torsional stress between the elastic part and the support part when the card presses on the elastic part whi le contacting the contact part.

5. The contact terminal according to Claim 4, wherein the twisting part is formed bent outward on either side of the elastic parts so as to connect with the support parts.