1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an USB memory card, and more particularly to an USB memory card having an insulator for retaining resilient contacts.
2. Description of Related Art
Rapid advances in technology in several areas have converged to enable small, portable memory cards with vast capacities. Flash memory technologies such as those using electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) have produced chips storing 512 M-Bytes or more. Small flash-memory cards have been designed with a connector that can plug into a specialized reader, such as for compact-flash, secure-digital, memory stick, or other standardized formats. Recently, memory cards are being sold that contain an USB 2.0 connector. Such USB 2.0 memory cards do not require a specialized reader but can be plugged into an USB connector on a host system, such as a personal computer (PC). These USB 2.0 memory cards can be used in place of floppy disks. An USB 2.0 memory card can have a capacity of more than ten floppy disks in an area not much larger than a large postage stamp.
In 2008, USB 3.0 specification has been released for transmitting high speed rate. Therefore, a memory card with an USB 3.0 connector is needed to be designed to take place of the USB 2.0 memory card.
Hence, an improved USB memory card is desired to overcome the above problems.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an USB memory card comprises a printed circuit board defining opposite first and second surfaces, the printed circuit board having a plurality of passageways passing through said first and second surfaces; a plurality of metal contacting pads formed on the first surface of the printed circuit board and before said passageways in a front-to-back direction; and a contact module including an insulator secured to the printed circuit board, and a plurality of resilient contacts defining resilient contacting portions for being movable in the corresponding passageways along a height direction of the USB memory card, tail portions for being mounted to the printed circuit board, and connecting portions connecting the contacting portions and the tail portions for being retained in the insulator.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an USB 3.0 thin card comprises a printed circuit board defining a base portion and a tongue portion extending forwardly from the base portion, the tongue portion having a plurality of metal contacting pads disposed on an upper surface thereof, and a plurality of passageways passing therethrough in a height direction of the USB 3.0 thin card and located behind the metal contacting pads in a front-to-back direction; a contact module including an insulator disposed on a lower surface of the printed circuit board, and a plurality of resilient contacts comprising resilient contacting portions protruding upwardly into the corresponding passageways and beyond the upper surface of the printed circuit board, tail portions for being mounted to the printed circuit board, and connecting portions connecting the contacting portions and the tail portions for being retained in the insulator; and a shell covering the printed circuit board and the contact module with the metal contacting pads and the contacting portions exposed to exterior.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the most part, details concerning timing considerations and the like have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention and are within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.
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The contact module includes an insulator 3 and a plurality of resilient contacts 2 coupled to the insulator 3. Each resilient contact 2 has a tail portion 23 for being soldered on the soldering pad 12, a resilient contacting portion 21 being movably received in the corresponding passageway 14 for mating with the receptacle connector, and a connecting portion 22 connecting the contacting portion 21 and the tail portion 23. The contacting portion 21 bends upwardly and extends forwardly from a front end of the connecting portion 22. The contacting portion 21 has an arc portion 211 bowed upwardly and protruding upwardly beyond the upper surface of the tongue portion 11. A free end portion 213 is located at a front end of the arc portion 211 for moving freely in the height direction of the USB memory card 100. The tail portion 23 bends upwardly and extends backwardly from a rear end of the connecting portion 22. The connecting portions 22 are assembled to a plurality of cavities 32 formed on the insulator 3, the insulator 3 is located between the passageways 14 and the soldering pads 12, a pair of posts 35 protrude upwardly from an upper surface of the insulator 3 for being retained into the through holes 15 of the PCB. therefore, the resilient contact 2 and the insulator 3 are formed together as the contact module for being assembled to the PCB 1, the tail portions 23 could be soldered on the soldering pads 12 securely, and when the resilient contacting portions 21 are deflected by the receptacle connector, the tail portions 23 will not be deflected and will electrically connect to the soldering pads 12 reliably. Each connecting portion 22 has a set of projections 225 projecting from two lateral sides thereof for interferentially engaging with the corresponding cavity 32.
The resilient contacts 2 comprise two pairs of differential contacts and a grounding contact located between the two pairs of differential contacts. The metal contacting pads 13 are adapted for USB 2.0 protocol. The metal contacting pads 13 and the resilient contacts 2 are commonly adapted for USB 3.0 protocol. The metal contacting pads 13 and the contacting portions 21 are located on the upper surface of the tongue portion 11 and are arranged in two rows along a front-to-back direction. In other embodiments, the connecting portions 22 of the resilient contacts 2 could be insert molded into the insulator 3 so that the resilient contacts 2 could be retained in the insulator 3 firmly. The USB memory card 100 using the PCB 1, the metal contacting pads 13 and the resilient contacts 2 to form as an USB 3.0 memory card will diminish the cost of production and miniaturize the volume of the USB memory card 100.
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It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of number, shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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200910304007.1 | Jul 2009 | CN | national |