PC card for electronic devices

• US 6,518,927 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2001
• Issued: 02/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Inventors: Schremmer, Andreas Michael, Geisemann, Gerhard, Centofante, Charles Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, SHIH CHAO
• Application Number:
  US09/923,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20020021252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700.MS, 343/702, 343/906, 455/90
• US Class Current: 343/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0021 for reading/sensing record carriers having surface contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/084 Pivotable antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2275 associated to expansion card or bus, e.g. in PCMCIA, PC cards, Wireless USB
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/244 extendable from a housing along a given path
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3816 Mechanical arrangements for accommodating identification devices, e.g. cards or chips; with connectors for programming identification devices

Abstract

A PC card for insertion into a slot of a portable computer or other electronic device, has an antenna that allows the electronic device to send and receive data through radio waves. The antenna is moveable from a stowed position wherein most of the antenna lies in the PC card housing, and a first deployed position wherein most of the antenna projects rearwardly through an opening at the rear of the housing so radio waves can be transmitted and received. The antenna can be mounted on a tray that is moveable forwardly and rearwardly into and out of the rear of the housing. The tray can form a smart card-receiving recess that receives a small smart card to enable connection to pads on the smart card so as to provide authorization for communication through a wireless telephone network.

Claims

1. A PC card for insertion in a front longitudinal direction into a slot of a portable computer or other electronic device to connect to device contacts of a device connector, where the PC card has front and rear card ends, said PC card including a front connector lying at said card front end and having a plurality of connector contacts, a circuit board with a board front end having traces connected to said connector contacts and a board rear end, a housing that lies above and below most of said circuit board, said housing having opposite housing sides lying at opposite sides of said circuit board and a housing rear end lying rearward of said circuit board, wherein:

said housing includes top and bottom sheet metal plates, and said housing rear end has an opening; and

including

an antenna which is moveable from a stowed position wherein most of said antenna lies in said housing, and a first deployed position wherein said antenna has been moved at least partially through said housing rear end opening to a position where most of said antenna lies rearward of said housing rear end.

2. The PC card described in claim 1 wherein:

said antenna includes an electrically conductive radiator; and

including

a circuit mounted on said circuit board and connected to said antenna radiator and to said traces at said front end of said circuit board, to pass signals from said contacts of said front connector to said antenna.

3. The PC card described in claim 1 wherein:

said antenna includes an elongated conductive rod extending in said longitudinal direction, said rod having a rear end that is exposed at said housing rear end and said rod being slideable rearwardly out of said housing;

a double click mechanism that is coupled to said antenna and that holds said antenna in said stowed position in said housing the first time said antenna is pushed forwardly into said housing and that releases said antenna to move rearwardly to said first deployed position the second time said antenna rear end is pushed forwardly.

4. The PC card described in claim 1 wherein:

said antenna includes an antenna mount that is slideable rearwardly in said housing from a stowed position wherein said antenna mount lies forward of said housing rear end, to a deployed position wherein a rear end of said antenna mount substantially projects rearward of said housing rear end;

said antenna also includes an elongated radiator that is mounted on said antenna mount to move from said stowed position wherein said radiator extends in said longitudinal direction and lies in said housing, to a horizontal first deployed position wherein said radiator extends longitudinally and rearward of said housing rear end, said radiator having a front end that is pivotally mounted on said mount to pivot from said horizontal first deployed position to a vertical second deployed position wherein said radiator extends vertically from said mount, said horizontally deployed first position being said first deployed position.

5. The PC card described in claim 1 wherein:

said antenna is pivotally mounted on said PC card about a vertical axis passing through a rear portion of said card, and has a radiator that lies primarily in said housing in said stowed position and that lies primarily rearward of said housing rear end in said first deployed position.

6. The PC card described in claim 1 wherein:

said antenna includes a flexible and resilient elongated leaf spring member that has a front portion that is longitudinally slideable in said housing and a rear portion that is biased to assume a 90°

bent configuration wherein said rear portion extends vertically, when said antenna is in said first deployed position.

7. A PC card for insertion in a front longitudinal direction into a slot of a portable computer or other electronic device to connect to device contacts of a device connector, where the PC card has front and rear card ends, and where the PC card includes a front connector lying at said card front end and having a plurality of connector contacts, a circuit board with a board front end having traces connected to said connector contacts and a board rear end, a housing that lies above and below most of said circuit board, said housing having opposite housing sides lying at opposite sides of said circuit board and a housing rear end lying rearward of said circuit board, wherein:

said housing includes top and bottom sheet metal plates, and said housing rear end has an opening;

said circuit board has at least one antenna trace; and

including

a tray that is moveable longitudinally in said PC card between a stowed position wherein said tray lies primarily in said PC card and a first deployed position wherein at least a rear portion of said tray has moved rearward out through said opening and lies rearward of said PC card;

an antenna mounted on said tray rear portion and connected to said antenna trace on said circuit board.

8. The PC card described in claim 7 wherein:

said tray forms a smart card receiving recess, and including a plurality of smart card-engaging contacts that engage contact pads of a smart card that lies in said card receiving recess in said first deployed position of said tray.

9. The PC card described in claim 8 wherein:

said recess has a bottom wall and said bottom wall has an opening;

said smart card-engaging contacts project through said opening to engage said contact pads of a smart card.