ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR AN ASYMMETRIC IC CARD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to electrical connectors, electrical devices and electrical systems comprising such electrical connectors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For instance, the invention is related to an electrical connector for receiving a card.

For some electrical devices, an IC card has to be inserted into an electrical connector of the device for enabling the device to operate. Since these parts are often small, the IC card should preferably be easily inserted into the connector by the user... Further, it should remain safely in place so as to prevent disconnection of the IC card from the connector. Since some IC cards, such as IC cards, are designed asymmetrically, the connector should ensure that they can be inserted into the connector only with their contacts electrically connected to the relevant part of the connector.

An aim of the invention is to provide a cost- effective connector providing at least one of these functions . SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To this aim, it is provided an electrical connector according to claim 1.

The present invention provides an easy to manufacture and a cost effective IC card connector. Indeed, it is possible to easily form a body of the connector with an integrated locking arm having an integrated foolproofing feature by using plastic material, of which shaping is handy. In addition integrating a fool-proofing feature to the locking arms allows preventing any locking • of the IC card when the latter is not correctly positioned

in respect to the contacts of the connector.

In some embodiments, one might also use one or more of the features corresponding to claims 2 to 13, either separately or in combination. According to another aspect, the invention relates to an electrical device according to claim 14.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will readily appear from the following description of one of its embodiments, provided as a non- limitative examples, and of the accompanying drawings. On the drawings :

Fig. IA and IB are schematic partial exploded perspective views of an electrical device according to a first embodiment and a second embodiment,

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. IA during insertion of the IC card, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a connector, with the IC card inserted into the connector.

On the different Figures, the same reference signs designate like or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Fig. IA is a partial perspective exploded view showing a part of an electrical device D, such as, for example, a mobile phone, comprising a printed circuit board (PCB) 1 comprising electrical tracks (schematically represented by reference 2) for connection to an electrical circuit of the electrical device D. The device further comprises a connector 3 to be electrically connected to the PCB 1, and adapted to receive an IC card of an appropriate format, such as a subscriber identification module (SIM) card.

On Fig. IA, the connector 3 comprises an isolating body 5 made from a suitable electrically isolating material. The body for example, comprises a base portion 6 extending substantially horizontally, parallel to the printed circuit board, two opposite side portions 7a, 7c and a rear side portion 7b extending vertically from the base portion 6 up to the top portion 8 of the body. A card- receiving space is defined in between.

The base portion 6 comprises an upper face 6a from which protrude electrical connection members 9 to be electrically connected, on the one side, with electrical contacts 10 of the SIM-card and, on the other side, with the electrical tracks 2 of the PCB. The electrical connection members 9 are for example performed as resilient spring blades which can be soldered on the printed circuit board, at one of their ends, and exert a spring force upward on the inserted SIM-card.

The connector further comprises a first locking arm

11, which extends sensibly longitudinally from the lateral portion 7c. The locking arm 11 is made of a resilient material which is, for example, the same material as the one the insulating body is made of.

The first locking arm 11 is connected to the side portion 7c of the insulator body at a connecting region or hinge region 12 formed so as to increase flexibility of the locking arm. The hinge region 12 is for example formed as a longitudinal recess running along the whole width of the locking arm, and having a partly circular cross section, which will promote the required flexibility of the locking arm 11.

The first locking arm 11 will also exhibit, at its end lib opposite to its end 11a of connection to the side portion 7c, a locking feature 23. This locking feature 23 can for example exhibit a first portion 15, which extends not orthogonally from the lateral portion 7c, for example

by forming a 135° angle level therewith, and a second portion 13 which extends from the first portion 15 and orthogonally in respect to the side portion 7c and, for example by forming a 135° angle with the first portion 15. Both the first 15 and the second portion 13 exhibit a substantially planar locking faces 14 extending substantially perpendicular to the main plane of the SIM- card 4, and facing toward the opposite side portion 7b of the body. The first and second portion further includes an inclined surface 24 relative to the vertical plane, whose slope is directed towards the card receiving space. This inclined surface 24 helps insertion of the SIM card into the connector.

The first portion 15 of the locking feature 23 of the locking arm, is formed as a fool-proofing feature 15 which is adapted to prevent a wrong insertion of the SIM- card into the connector. For example, the fool-proofing feature 15 will be designed so as to fit with a corresponding fool-proofing feature 16 of the SIM-card. The connector 3 further comprises a second locking arm 17 extending substantially parallel to the first locking arm 11, on the other side of the connector, being connected at one of its ends 17a to the lateral portion 7a of the body, at a connection region exhibiting a similar hinge region 12, and only comprising a locking feature 23 extending orthogonally to the lateral portion 7a, and comprising a locking face 14 similar to the one of the second portion 13 of the locking feature of the first locking arm 11. Further, the top portion 8 of the body comprises, on each side portions 7a, 7c, a blocking portion 18 which extends substantially parallel to the base portion and defines therewith a guiding channel 19 for guiding the SIM- card 4 during insertion into the connector 3. As shown on Fig. IA, the SIM-card 4 is a

substantially flat card having two substantially plane surfaces 20a, 20b parallel to one another. The face 20b carries electrical contacts 10 which shall be connected to the electrical connection members 9 of the connector upon correct insertion of the SIM-card 4 into the connector. It is formed from a substantially parallelepipedic shape from which a corner has been removed to provide a bevel which gives the fool-proofing feature 16. In the area of the fool-proofing feature, the SIM-card comprises a retention region 21 which will cooperate with the substantially flat locking face 14 of the first portion 15 of the locking feature 13 after insertion of the card into the connector. Retention regions 21 will also cooperate with the flat face 14 of the second portion 13 of the locking 'feature 23 of the first and the second locking arms.

According to another embodiment as shown in Fig. IB, the first 11 and the second 17 locking arms are connected together by a bar portion, providing an unitary first locking arm integrated to the connector body. This embodiment provides for a compact IC card connector having a frame, adapted to enclose the card, and of which a portion is hingeable to allow easy insertion of the card.

As shown on Fig. 2, upon insertion along the insertion direction I, a SIM-card 4 is introduced inside the guiding channels 19 of the connector 3. At this stage, the plane surface 20b of the SIM-card 4 is in mechanical contact with the locking features 13 of the connector 3.

Upon continued insertion of the SIM-card 4 into the connector 3, this contact will cause bending of the locking arms 11, 17, according to an arrow 22 about a bending axis X, which is substantially located at the connection region of the locking arm to the respective lateral portion of the body, to an unlocking condition of the locking arms .

Once the SIM-card 4 is totally inserted inside the connector 3, the locking arms 11, 17 will be released by

the plane surface 20b of the SIM-card 4, so that their natural resiliency will elastically bias them into the locking position which they exhibit on Fig. 1. In this locking position, the locking faces 14 of the locking features 13 cooperate with the retention regions 21 of the SIM-card so as to prevent any movement of the SIM-card 4 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction I. Due to the specific geometrical configuration of the fool-proofing feature 15 of the connector and the complementary fool- proofing feature 16 of the SIM-card, this will only be possible when the card is correctly inserted into the connector, with its electrical contacts 10 electrically contacting the electrical connection members 9 of the connector. These electrical connection members further apply a vertical force on the card 4, which is vertically retained inside the connector by the blocking portion 18. In order, for the user to remove the SIM-card 4 from the connector 3, it will only be sufficient to apply, for example with a finger, a bending force on the locking arms to disengage the locking faces 4 from the retention regions 21 and to slide the card 4 opposite to the insertion direction I .

As shown on Fig. 1, the locking arms 11, 17 are sufficiently spaced from the printed circuit board 1 so that, upon bending, they do not mechanically contact the PCB.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention, with the SIM-card in the inserted position (in chain dotted lines) , for which the features common to the first embodiment of Fig. 1 and 2 will not be described again. According to this second embodiment, the connector 3 has a single locking arm 11 which extends directly from the base portion 6 of the insulating body. A similar hinge region 12 will also be performed at the connection region of the locking arm 11 to the base portion 6. Further, according

to this embodiment, the locking arm 11 is performed substantially flat, and comprises near its end the locking feature 23 as well as the fool-proofing feature 15 project upwardly therefrom. The free end is formed with a flat region which constitutes an actuating zone 25 for a finger of an user for deflecting the locking arm.