IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism

• US 5,288,237 A
• Filed: 11/19/1992
• Issued: 02/22/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Mizutani, Yoshitaka, Maeda, Hajime, Onoda, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): ECHOLS, PERCY W
• Application Number:
  US07/979,005
• Time in Patent Office: 460 Days
• Field of Search: 439/76, 439/78, 439/82, 439/55
• US Class Current: 439/76.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07743 External electrical contacts

Abstract

A connector-supporting element of a main frame of an IC card and a sub-frame receive holding parts of a connector. The connector-supporting element has barriers having a height of at least one-half that of the holding parts for receiving the barriers and a force applied in the direction along bonded surfaces of the connector-supporting element and the sub-frame. Oblique surfaces are respectively provided on each of the barriers and there is a positional deviation in the parts.

Claims

1. An IC card connector supporting/holding mechanism for supporting and holding in an IC card a connector having a plurality of external connection terminals comprising:

a connector comprising a connector body having a terminal surface from which a plurality of external connection terminals electrically connected to electronic parts mounted on a circuit substrate of an IC card are accessible from outside the IC card, opposed side surfaces transverse to the terminal surface, holding parts extending from and transverse to the side surfaces of said connector body, each of said holding parts having a width transverse to the side surfaces and a thickness transverse to the width, the width and thickness both being smaller than a width and thickness of said connector body, and each of said holding parts having a front surface on the terminal surface side, a side surface parallel to the side surfaces of said connector body, and a rear surface opposed to the front surface;

a lower connector-supporting element having a shape complementary to a lower half of said connector body for receiving the lower half of said connector body and including two barriers, each barrier having a height of at least one-half the thickness of said holding parts for contacting the front surfaces of said holding parts and the side surfaces of the holding parts to support said connector without deviation parallel to a common axis of said holding parts, said barriers being unitary with a main frame of the IC card;

a sub-frame for fixing said connector in place by clamping said connector body between said lower connector-supporting element and said sub-frame without deviation parallel and transverse to the common axis and having a shape complementary to an upper half of said connector body and said barriers for receiving said upper half of said connector body and said barriers; and

fixing means for fixing said sub-frame to said lower connector-supporting element.

2. An IC card connector supporting/holding mechanism according to claim 1 wherein each of said barriers has a plurality of surfaces and each of said holding parts has a plurality of surfaces extending in a direction perpendicular to the side surfaces of said connector body wherein at least one of said barriers and holding parts includes oblique surfaces for easy engagement of said holding parts and lower connector-supporting element with each other.

3. An IC card connector supporting/holding mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said lower connector-supporting element has an opening for engaging said connector body and recesses for respectively engaging said holding parts and said sub-frame has an opening for engaging said connector body and recesses for respectively engaging said holding parts and said barriers of said lower connector-supporting element.

4. An IC card connector supporting/holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said fixing means is an adhesive.

5. An IC card connector supporting/holding mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said barriers include parts for contacting the rear surfaces of said holding parts, each of said parts for contacting the rear surfaces having a height of at least one-half the thickness of each of said holding parts.