Thin smart card connector

An electrical connector which includes an insulative support plate having upper and lower faces (46, 48), and at least one contact (44) mounted on said support plate, with said support plate having a blade slot (52) and with said contact having a center plane (75) and having a blade with front and rear blade portions with said front blade portion projecting through said blade slot and above said upper face of said support plate, and with said contact having a rear portion (61) for mounting in said support plate and with said contact having laterally opposite sides, wherein:

• said contact rear portion includes a mount part (66) joined to said rear blade portion and lying along said center plane, said rear portion including a pair of retainers (80, 82) extending from each of laterally opposite sides of said mount part;
• said mount part lies in a lower plane (26) and said retainers have front and rear ears (104, 118) that lie in a higher plane (24) that is higher than said lower plane;
• said support plate has a lower recess (70) in its lower face with said mount part lying in said lower recess, and said support plate has front and rear upper recesses (98, 120) in its upper face with said ears lying in said upper recesses.

Contact apparatus, comprising:

• a support plate having upper and lower surfaces and having a plate portion with upper and lower surface areas;
• a contact rear portion and a blade extending forward from said rear portion with said blade extending from substantially the height of said support plate upper surface and extending forward and primarily parallel to said support plate upper surface, said contact rear portion including a mount part that is mounted on said support plate, with said mount part having laterally opposite sides and a pair of retainers each lying laterally beyond one of said sides;
• each of said retainers have front and rear ends that are bent to form ears in an upper plane, with at least a lower portion of said mount part lying substantially in a lower plane that is below said upper plane of said ears, with said lower portion of said mount part lying facewise against said lower surface area and with said ears lying against said upper surface area.