Extended USB dual-personality card reader
First Claim
1. An extended Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) dual-personality card reader having a connector plug that is compatible with both a standard USB socket and an extended multiple pin USB socket having both four standard USB contacts and a plurality of dual-personality contacts, said card reader comprising:
- a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) including;
a printed circuit board (PCB) having opposing first and second surfaces,a plurality of metal contacts disposed on the first surface of the PCB, the plurality of metal contacts including four standard USB contact pads and a plurality of extended purpose contact pads,a dual-personality communication integrated circuit (IC) mounted on the second surface, anda plurality of conductive traces formed on the PCB such that each conductive trace is electrically connected between at least one of said plurality of metal contacts and said a dual-personality communication IC;
a plurality of first extended-use contact structures and a plurality of second extended-use contact structures disposed on the first surface of the PCB such that the first extended-use contact structures are disposed between the second extended-use contact structures and the standard USB contact pads, wherein each of said first and second extended-use contact structures is connected to a corresponding contact pad of said plurality of extended purpose contact pads; and
an external housing mounted over the first surface of the PCB,wherein said standard USB contact pads and said plurality of first extended-purpose contact structures are disposed outside of said housing and form said connector plug arranged such that each of said standard USB contact pads is contacted by a corresponding standard USB contact of said extended multiple pin USB socket and each of said first extended-purpose contact structures is contacted by a corresponding dual-personality contact of said extended multiple pin USB socket when said connector plug is inserted into said extended multiple pin USB socket, andwherein said external housing includes a socket for detachably receiving a flash memory device such that each contact pad of the flash memory device contacts a corresponding one of said second extended-use contact structures, thereby enabling communication between said flash memory device and said dual-personality communication IC.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A dual-personality card reader system supports both USB and micro-SD devices using a card reader and an extended 9-pin USB socket. The card reader includes a PCBA having four standard USB metal contact pads and several extended purpose contact pads disposed on an upper side, components and IC chips covered by a molded case on a lower side, a molded lead-frame connector mounted on the PCBA and including five forward-facing extended purpose pins and eight rear-facing micro-SD connector pins that communicate with the PCBA through the extended purpose contact pads, and a housing including a slot for receiving a micro-SD card such that it communicates with the PCBA through the micro-SD connector pins. The extended 9-pin USB socket includes standard USB contacts and extended use contacts that communicate with the PCBA through the standard USB metal contacts and forward-facing extended purpose pins. The PCBA includes dual-personality electronics for SD/USB communications.
138 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. An extended Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) dual-personality card reader having a connector plug that is compatible with both a standard USB socket and an extended multiple pin USB socket having both four standard USB contacts and a plurality of dual-personality contacts, said card reader comprising:
-
a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) including; a printed circuit board (PCB) having opposing first and second surfaces, a plurality of metal contacts disposed on the first surface of the PCB, the plurality of metal contacts including four standard USB contact pads and a plurality of extended purpose contact pads, a dual-personality communication integrated circuit (IC) mounted on the second surface, and a plurality of conductive traces formed on the PCB such that each conductive trace is electrically connected between at least one of said plurality of metal contacts and said a dual-personality communication IC; a plurality of first extended-use contact structures and a plurality of second extended-use contact structures disposed on the first surface of the PCB such that the first extended-use contact structures are disposed between the second extended-use contact structures and the standard USB contact pads, wherein each of said first and second extended-use contact structures is connected to a corresponding contact pad of said plurality of extended purpose contact pads; and an external housing mounted over the first surface of the PCB, wherein said standard USB contact pads and said plurality of first extended-purpose contact structures are disposed outside of said housing and form said connector plug arranged such that each of said standard USB contact pads is contacted by a corresponding standard USB contact of said extended multiple pin USB socket and each of said first extended-purpose contact structures is contacted by a corresponding dual-personality contact of said extended multiple pin USB socket when said connector plug is inserted into said extended multiple pin USB socket, and wherein said external housing includes a socket for detachably receiving a flash memory device such that each contact pad of the flash memory device contacts a corresponding one of said second extended-use contact structures, thereby enabling communication between said flash memory device and said dual-personality communication IC. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. An extended Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) dual-personality card reader having a connector plug that is compatible with both a standard USB socket and an extended multiple pin USB socket having both four standard USB contacts and a plurality of dual-personality contacts, said card reader comprising:
-
a modular core component including; a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) including; a printed circuit board (PCB) having opposing first and second surfaces, a plurality of metal contacts disposed on the first surface of the PCB, the plurality of metal contacts including four standard USB contact pads and a plurality of extended purpose contact pads, a dual-personality communication integrated circuit (IC) mounted on the second surface, and a plurality of conductive traces formed on the PCB such that each conductive trace is electrically connected between at least one of said plurality of metal contacts and said a dual-personality communication IC; a molded lead-frame connector including a plastic molded body having a front edge, an opposing rear edge, and a bottom surface extending between the front and rear edges, a plurality of forward-facing pins extending from the front edge of the plastic molded body, and a plurality of rear-facing pins extending from the rear edge of the plastic molded body, wherein each forward-facing pin includes an associated first contact pad disposed on said bottom surface, wherein each rear-facing pin includes an associated second contact pad disposed on said bottom surface, and wherein each said first and second contact pads is soldered to a corresponding contact pad of said plurality of extended purpose contact pads; and an external housing mounted over the first surface of the PCB, wherein said standard USB contact pads and said plurality of forward-facing pins are disposed outside of said housing and form said connector plug arranged such that each of said standard USB contact pads is contacted by a corresponding standard USB contact of said extended multiple pin USB socket and each of said first extended-purpose contact structures is contacted by a corresponding dual-personality contact of said extended multiple pin USB socket when said connector plug is inserted into said extended multiple pin USB socket, and wherein said external housing includes a socket for removably receiving a flash memory device such that each contact pad of the flash memory device contacts a corresponding one of said plurality of rear-facing pins, thereby enabling communication between said flash memory device and said dual-personality communication IC.
-
-
16. A method for producing an USB card reader comprising:
-
producing a PCBA, a molded lead-frame connector, and an external housing, wherein the PCBA includes; a printed circuit board (PCB) having opposing first and second surfaces, a plurality of metal contacts disposed on the first surface of the PCB, the plurality of metal contacts including four standard USB contact pads and a plurality of extended purpose contact pads, a dual-personality communication integrated circuit (IC) mounted on the second surface, and a plurality of conductive traces formed on the PCB such that each conductive trace is electrically connected between at least one of said plurality of metal contacts and said a dual-personality communication IC; and wherein the molded lead-frame connector includes a plastic molded body having a front edge, an opposing rear edge, and a bottom surface extending between the front and rear edges, a plurality of forward-facing pins extending from the front edge of the plastic molded body, and a plurality of rear-facing pins extending from the rear edge of the plastic molded body, wherein each forward-facing pin includes an associated first contact pad disposed on said bottom surface, wherein each rear-facing pin includes an associated second contact pad disposed on said bottom surface, mounting the molded lead-frame connector on the PCBA to form a sub-assembly such that each said first and second contact pads is soldered to a corresponding contact pad of said plurality of extended purpose contact pads; and mounting the sub-assembly in the external housing.
-
Specification