Memory card electrical contact structure

• US 6,634,561 B1
• Filed: 06/07/2000
• Issued: 10/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SanDisk Corporation (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Wallace, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, SEUNG H
• Application Number:
  US09/590,029
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492, 439/951, 439/159, 439/152-160
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07732 the record carrier having a housing or construction similar to well-known portable memory devices, such as SD cards, USB or memory sticks housings for electrical equipment in general, see H05K5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07743 External electrical contacts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/951 PCB having detailed leading edge

Abstract

A small, flat rectangularly shaped electronic circuit card, such as one containing non-volatile memory, has a row of contacts mounted on bottom surfaces of a row of recesses extending along a short edge and an adjacent angled corner. At least one of the recesses opens to the angled corner and the remaining recesses open to the short edge. Two surface contacts are included in at least one of the recesses, while the remaining recesses each contain a single contact.

Claims

1. In a flat rectangularly shaped memory card having, in plan view, first and second pairs of opposing parallel straight edges forming four corners wherein one of said corners includes an angled edge segment that intersects adjacent edges of one of each of the first and second pairs of edges at acute angles, said first pair of edges being shorter than said second pair of edges, an electrical contact structure comprising:

a row of nine rectangularly shaped recesses positioned along one of the first pair of shorter edges and the adjacent angled edge segment, the recesses being surrounded on three sides by walls, eight of the recesses opening on a fourth side to the shorter card edge and the other of the recesses opening on a fourth side to the angled edge segment,

said recesses individually containing a single electrical contact mounted on a bottom surface except that the recess along the shorter card edge that is furthest removed from the angled edge segment includes two electrical contacts mounted on a bottom surface thereof, and

wherein the contact in the recess that opens to the angled edge segment is set back further from the shorter edge than the contacts in the other recesses in the row.

2. The memory card electrical contact structure of claim 1, wherein the two electrical contacts within the recess furthest removed from the angled edge segment are positioned one behind the other at different distances from the shorter edge.

3. The memory card electrical contact structure of claim 1, wherein the contacts are positioned within their respective recesses with their front edges spaced a distance away from their respective shorter edge and angled edge segment.

4. A flat rectangularly shaped memory card, comprising:

two pairs of opposing parallel straight edges forming four corners wherein one of said corners includes an angled edge segment that intersects adjacent ones of the straight edges at acute angles,

a plurality of rectangularly shaped recesses formed in a row extending along one of said adjacent straight edges and said angled edge segment, the recesses being surrounded on three sides by walls, at least one of the recesses being opened on a fourth side to said angled edge segment and the remaining ones of the rows of recesses being opened on a fourth side to said one of the adjacent straight edges, and

said recesses individually containing a single electrical contact mounted on their bottom surfaces except that one of the recesses includes two electrical contacts mounted on its bottom surface.

5. In a flat rectangularly shaped memory card having, in plan view, first and second pairs of opposing parallel edges forming four corners including a cutoff corner having an angled edge segment that intersects adjacent edges of one of each of the first and second pairs of edges, said first pair of edges being shorter than said second pair of edges, an electrical contact structure comprising:

a plurality of nine rectangularly shaped recesses adjacent to one of the first pair of shorter edges and the cutoff corner,

said recesses surrounded on three sides by walls and open on a fourth side, one of the recesses opening to the angled edge segment of the cutoff corner, the remainder opening to the one of the first pair of shorter edges,

said recesses containing an electrical contact, one of said recesses containing two electrical contacts, such that there are ten contacts within the nice recesses.

6. The memory card electrical contact structure of claim 5, wherein the contacts are positioned within their respective recesses with their front edges spaced a distance away from their respective shorter edges and the angled edge segment of the cutoff corner.

7. A rectangular memory card having a cutoff corner, the memory card comprising:

a group of openings in a cover of the memory card, the group of openings adjacent a short edge and the cutoff corner of the memory card,

wherein the openings expose electrical contacts of the memory card, and

wherein the openings are substantially rectangular and have three sidewalls formed by the cover, and

wherein one of the openings opens to the cutoff corner and the remainder of the openings open to the short edge of the memory card,

and wherein one of said openings contains more than one electrical contact, such that the memory card is compatible with a multi-media card yet has an additional electrical contact.

8. The memory card of claim 7, wherein the contacts are positioned within their respective openings with their front edges spaced a distance away from the short edge and the cutoff corner.

9. In a flat memory card having a rectangular shape with a cut-off corner forming an angled edge segment between two card edges and having a plurality of rectangularly shaped recesses formed in a row along one of the two card edges and opening to said one of the two card edges with electrical contacts along bottom surfaces thereof, an arrangement of said recesses and electrical contacts, comprising:

an additional rectangular recess formed adjacent the angled edge segment and opening to the angled edge segment with an electrical contact along a bottom surface thereof, and

a single electrical contact in each of the recesses along said one of the two card edges except that two electrical contacts are included in the recess furthest removed from the angled edge segment.

10. The memory card according to claim 9, wherein the two electrical contacts in the recess furthest removed from the angled edge segment are positioned one behind the other at different distance from said one of the two card edges.

11. The memory card according to claim 9, wherein the electrical contacts are positioned within their respective recesses with forward edges thereof spaced a distance away from their respective one of the two card edges and angled edge segment.

12. The memory card according to claim 9, wherein there are exactly nine recesses and ten electrical contacts therein.

13. A flat memory card having a rectangular shape with a cut-off corner forming an angled edge segment between two card edges and having a plurality of rectangularly shaped recesses formed in a row along one of the two card edges and opening to said one of the two card edges with electrical contacts on bottom surfaces thereof, wherein

said electrical contacts are positioned in a pattern according to a multi-media card (MMC) standard, a single electrical contact being included in each of said recesses,

a first additional rectangular recess is positioned adjacent the angled edge segment and opening thereto with a first additional electrical contact on a bottom surface thereof, and

a second additional rectangular recess is positioned adjacent said one of the two card edges and furthest removed from the angled edge segment along said one of the two card edges and having second and third additional electrical contacts on a bottom surface thereof,

whereby the memory card remains compatible with the multi-media card (MMC) standard while providing additional contacts.

14. The memory card according to claim 13, wherein the second and third additional electrical contacts are positioned within the recess furthest removed from the angled edge segment at different distances from said one of the two card edges.