Two-tiered plug for two chip cards

• US 5,901,049 A
• Filed: 11/25/1997
• Issued: 05/04/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tyco Electronics Logistics AG (TE Connectivity Limited)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schmidt, Helge, Ackermann, Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FOSTER, DAVID A
• Application Number:
  US08/977,612
• Time in Patent Office: 525 Days
• Field of Search: 439/188, 439/59, 439/60, 439/62, 439/61, 439/92, 439/159, 361/787, 361/785, 361/790, 361/791, 257/679, 257/686, 257/684, 257/685, 257/688, 257/690, 257/692, 257/694, 257/698, 235/441, 235/492
• US Class Current: 361/787
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0021 for reading/sensing record carriers having surface contacts
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0034 the connector being capable of simultaneously receiving a plurality of cards in the same insertion slot

Abstract

An electronic device has an opening for up to two data carrier devices or, respectively, chip cards with row-type contact surfaces positioned alongside one another. The devices or, cards are stackable over one another in offset fashion. In a region of the terminal side lying opposite the plug opening it comprises two rows of contact springs lying next to one another, said rows being spatially offset upwards by the height of a card, and also offset in the insertion direction in a manner corresponding to the card offset. The resilient ends at the plug side of these contact springs respectively contact the contact surfaces of inserted data carriers from above.

Claims

1. An electronic device for use with first and second data carriers comprising:

a first frontal side having an opening;

a plurality of data carrier devices in said opening stacked over one another with respective front surfaces offset, said data carrier devices each comprising at least one integrated semiconductor circuit and a plurality of contact surfaces located adjacent one another in a row on a surface of the data carrier;

two spatially offset rows of contact springs lying next to one another in a terminal side of the electronic device opposite the opening having ends at the terminal side respectively fashioned as plug terminals;

wherein resilient ends of contact springs of a first, lower row contact as disposed to make contact with surfaces of an inserted first, lower data carrier from above; and

wherein spring ends of a second, upper row, which is offset upwards by substantially a height of a data carrier in relation to the spring ends of the first row, are offset in the insertion direction from the spring ends of the first row and are disposed to make contact with contact surfaces of an inserted second, upper data carrier from above.

2. An electronic device according to claim 1, wherein terminals which project in an insertion direction from the terminal side are first bent downward to form a middle segment parallel to the terminal side and form a contact segment, a middle segment of the second, upper row of terminal plugs is respectively constructed with an S-shaped bend, so that upper and lower contact springs belonging to a same row location are connected pair-by-pair to a system carrier by means of contact segments lying substantially flat and adjacent to one another.

3. An electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a switch connecting at least one of the data carriers, said switch being formed by a contact spring and an additional switching spring, whose spring end is parallel to a spring end running closely thereunder and which is highly compressed to the switching spring by an inserted data carrier.

4. An electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the contact spring and the switching spring further comprise a fastening segment between the plug terminal and the spring end, which is widened in relation to a spring end and fit in an insulating element with a slight overlap.

5. An electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a resilient member which applies a vertical force against a top of the data carrier.