The present invention relates generally to a connector structure and, more particularly, to a connector for connecting an electronic card, having a strengthened and integrated structure to provide a reliable contact and a stable connection with the electronic card.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional connector structure disclosed in the Taiwan Patent Application No. 91200027. The connector 10a is for connecting an electronic card 30a such as a memory card (e.g. a memory stick and a smart media and etc.) or a SIM card. The connector 10a is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) to electrically connect the electronic card 30a to the PCB.
The connector 10a includes an insulated body 11a, a plurality of terminals 12a, a seesawing mount 13a and two springs 14a. The terminals 12a are aligned in two rows, and each row includes multiple (e.g. four) terminals 12a. Each terminal 12a has a soldering portion 15a and a contact portion 16a. The soldering portion 15a is extended out and the contact portion 16a is penetrated into the insulated body 11a. 
There are two pivotal holes for receiving the corresponding shafts 17a of the seesawing mount 13a. The first end 18a of the seesawing mount 13a is normally lifted by the springs 14a to have the second end 19a press down the contact portions 16a of the terminals 12a, as shown in FIG. 1. After the electronic card 30a is furnished, as shown in FIG. 2, the first end 18a of the seesawing mount 13a is pushed down and the second end 19a of the seesawing mount 13a is lifted to have the contact portions 16a of the terminals 12a to contact with the electronic card 30a. 
The above-mentioned connector 10a is mounted on the PCB by a surface mounting technology (SMT). After the surface of the PCB is coated with the solder and the connector 10a is place thereon, a heating process at a temperature about 180 to 230xc2x0 C. is provided to adhere the soldering portions 15a of terminals 12a on the PCB.
However, the conventional connector has the drawbacks as follows.
Firstly, the springs 14a are located right beneath the first end 18a of the seesawing mount 13a, an exerting force of the electronic card 30a to push against the first end 18a of the seesawing mount 13a has to be larger than an elastic force of the springs 14a. The front end of the electronic card 30a may be easy to get attrition.
Secondly, as in FIG. 1, both the first end 18a and the second end 19a of the seesawing mount 13a are under the upward force of the springs 14a and the contact portions 16a of the terminals 12a, respectively. The seesawing mount 13a may be easy to get breakdown. Further, the seesawing mount 13a may be damaged due to the deformation and may not be used to provide the reliable seesaw effect after the heating process to mount the connector 10a. 
Therefore, there exist inconvenience and drawbacks for practically application of the above conventional connector structure. There is thus a substantial need to provide an improved electronic card connector that resolves the above drawbacks and can be used more conveniently and practically.
The present invention provides an electronic card connector having an improved seesawing mount to provide a reliable contact and stable connection with the electronic card.
The electronic card connector provided by the present invention includes an insulated body, a plurality of terminals, a seesawing mount and a resilient element. The insulated body has an opening with a plurality of holes formed on at least one wall of the opening. Each terminal has a contact portion for penetrating through a respective hole on the wall into the opening. The seesawing mount is furnished in the opening with a first end and a second end. The second end of the seesawing mount is located above the contact portions of the terminals. The resilient element has one end mounted on the insulated body and the other end pressing down the second end of the seesawing mount to press down the contact portions of the terminals.
Therefore, the present invention installs a light emitting diode and a switch on a push handle of a car cigarette lighter, such that when the lighter is conducted, the user or driver can easily observe the conducting status by the light generated by the light emitting diode.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds