Snap together PCMCIA cards with laser tack welded seams

#The inventions of this application relate to the manufacture of small peripheral cartridges which plug into exterior slots of computer systems. More specifically the inventions relate to PCMCIA cards and method of manufacturing such cards.

#This section discusses background information useful to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the inventions of Applicant's. It is not an admission that any information herein is prior art or is analogous art or that a search adequate for examination, has been made.

#Small credit card sized computer peripherals which plug into slots in a computer system have become very popular especially for portable computers. A specification by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) for PC memory cards was released September 1991. The specification is available as issue PCMCIA PC Card Standard Release 2.0 from the association. The cards are required to be 85.6 mm long and 54.0 mm wide which is the same size as a standard credit card. Three types of cards are specified, all with the same length and width and same thickness of a card guide sections, but with different respective thicknesses of a thicker section of the card. The thicker sections of Type I cards are 3.3 mm thick, Type II cards are 5 mm thick, Type III cards are 10.5 mm thick. The specification includes minimum structural requirements for withstanding torque, bending, flexing, impact (drop), shock, vibration, warpage, moisture, and other mechanical requirements. The cards are also required to meet standards for withstanding EMI, RF, and ESD that are usually met my providing a metal cover. The cards are also required to meet other standards set by JEDIC, ISO and others. The specification also includes details of a 68 pin connector and slot size for the cards.

#FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an open PCMCIA card of the invention prior to snapping the cover together.

#FIG. 2 is a top view of the card of the invention after assembly is completed by snapping together the two-parts of the one-piece cover.

#FIG. 3 is an end view of the card of FIG. 2 from line 3--3 showing the 36 pin PCMCIA connector.

#In FIG. 1, PCMCIA card 100 of the invention has a top cover 102 open about 60 degrees. Preferably, the cover is metallic and has a non-corrosive surface such as anodized or chromate conversion aluminum; nickel or chromium plated steel; or more preferably, stainless steel; most preferably type 304 stainless steel. The cover is preferably about 0.05 to 0.6 mm thick, more preferably, 0.1 to 0.3 mm thick, even more preferably, 0.15 to 0.25 mm thick or about 0.2 mm thick. Arranged in the bottom cover 104, a female PCMCIA connector 106 is restrained in the longitudinal direction of the card, by fingers 108 projecting inwardly from frame 110 which is integrally molded to distal connector 112. Preferably, the frame is an organic material such as epoxy filled with glass fibers or polycarbonate filled with glass fibers, such as LEXAN.TM. (trade mark of General Electric). Preferably the frame is about 1 to 9 mm wide, more preferably about 1.5 to 5 mm wide, even more preferably 2 to 4 mm wide or about 3 mm wide. Portions 114, 116 (see FIG. 4) of the inside of respective top and bottom covers are preferably coated with organic dielectric to electrically isolate the components from the cover to protect them from static and prevent shorts.

#In FIG. 1, a circuit board assembly 120 includes surface mount discretes such as resistors 122, capacitators 124, and power transistors 126, and includes surface mounted integrated chip modules such at quad flat packs (QFP's) 130, and thin small outline packages (TSOP's) 132. The circuit board is supported by leads 140 connecting to PCMCIA connector 106 and by leads 142 connected to distal connector 112. Surface conductors 144 interconnect leads 146 of discrete and integrated components and through holes 148. Fingers 150, 152 extend upward to electrically connect the metal cover to the ground system of the card.

#On bottom cover 104, side walls 160, 162 and distal end straps 164, 166 extend straight up. On top cover 102, side walls 168, 170 and distal end straps 172, 174 have inward bent snap extensions 176, 178, 180, and 182 respectively for snapping over the side walls and distal straps of the bottom cover. Preferably, the extensions are 0.4 to 1.6 mm wide, more preferably 0.6 to 1.0 mm wide. The extensions result in an interference fit so that in order to close the cover the edge walls of the top cover bend outward by about the width of the extensions. Then they snap over the wall they are covering and are then very difficult to reopen. The covers are of one piece, with the top and bottom parts connected by straps 184, 186 along each side of the PCMCIA connector.