1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC card connector to be mounted in an apparatus of which use requires insertion and ejection of the IC card, as well as an IC card connector mounting structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The construction of a conventional IC card connector will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
A housing 21, which is formed by molding with use of a synthetic resin, comprises a base portion 21a, a pair of side walls 21b extending to the front side from both sides of the base portion 21a, a bottom wall 21c formed so as to provide a connection between the paired side walls 21b, a pair of vertical through holes 21d formed near both transverse ends of the base portion 21a, a pair of lugs 21e formed on the lower surface of the base portion 21a in proximity to the holes 21d, and a pair of projections 21f projecting downward at positions near both transverse ends of the bottom wall 21c.
A plurality of metallic pin terminals 22, each have a contact portion 22a located at a front position and a terminal portion 22b located at a rear position. The plural pin terminals 22 are embedded in the base portion 21a of the housing 21 so as to be arranged side by side and extend longitudinally of the housing 21.
In the pin terminals 22 thus mounted to the housing 21, the contact portions 22a extend forward of the housing, while the terminal portions 22b, which are L-shaped, project backward from the bottom of the housing 21.
The IC card connector thus constructed is mounted into an apparatus of which use requires insertion and ejection of the IC card. A mounting structure for the IC card connector will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. A circuit board 23 used in the apparatus has holes 23a and a desired conductive pattern 24 formed on the upper surface thereof.
The lugs 21e of the housing 21 are inserted into the holes 23a of the circuit board 23 to effect positioning of the housing, then in this state the paired projections 21f are brought into abutment with the upper surface of the circuit board 23 and the terminal portions 22b projecting backward from the bottom of the housing 21 are brought into abutment with the conductive pattern 24.
The terminal portions 22b of the plural pin terminals 22 are arranged transversely in a row on the bottom of the housing 21. The terminal portions 22b are slightly different in the amount of downward projection from the housing bottom, and one terminal portion 22b which is the largest in the amount of downward projection is in abutment with the conductive pattern 24.
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the IC card connector disposed on the circuit board 23 is supported at three points which are the two points of the paired projections 21f on the housing 21 side and one point of the one terminal portion 22b on the pin terminal 22 side.
Next, a creamy solder (not shown) is applied to the terminal portions 22b and the conductive pattern 24 and thereafter the connector-board combination is conveyed to a reflow soldering apparatus, allowing the creamy solder to be melted to solder the terminal portions 22b to the conductive pattern 24.
After the soldering, mounting members (not shown) such as screws are inserted into the holes 21d of the housing 21 and further into holes formed in the circuit board 23 to secure the housing strongly to the circuit board. Thus the mounting of the housing is completed.
An IC card (not shown) is inserted into the housing 21 of such an IC card connector so as to come into contact with the contact portions 22a of the pin terminals 22.
In fabricating the housing 21, there usually occur variations due to a mold error during molding, shrinkage of a synthetic resin used, or a dimensional error during machining, with consequent difference in the height of the paired projections 21f.
When the housing 21 is put on the circuit board 23, if the right-hand projection 21f is higher than the left-hand projection 21f in FIG. 8, the right-hand side of the housing 21 rises a larger distance from the circuit board 23 than the left-hand side thereof.
Consequently, the terminal portions 22b of the pin terminals 22 mounted on the right-hand side of the housing 21 are also spaced largely away from the conductive pattern 24, thus resulting in that the soldering becomes unsatisfactory.
According to the conventional IC card connector and the IC card connector mounting structure, since the paired projections 21f are formed on the housing 21, there occurs a difference in height between the projections 21f when the housing 21 is put on the circuit board 23. The terminal portions 22b of the pin terminals 22 located on the associated side become largely spaced from the conductive pattern 24 and are therefore not soldered to the same pattern to a satisfactory extent.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds