Micro-SD to secure digital adaptor card and manufacturing method

An adaptor card for adapting a micro-Secure Digital (microSD) card to communicate with a standard Secure Digital (SD) socket disposed on a host system, the adapter card comprising:

• a substrate forming a lower wall of the adaptor card, the substrate including a planar outside surface and an opposing inside surface, a front edge and an opposing rear edge;
• a lead frame structure fixedly connected to the inside surface of the substrate, the lead frame structure including:
• nine SD contact pads disposed on the substrate and located adjacent to the front edge of the substrate, the nine SD contact pads having respective contact surfaces facing away from the substrate and arranged in a standard SD pattern,
• eight microSD contact pins supported over the inside surface of the substrate and extending toward the rear edge of the substrate;
• and
• a plurality of connector wires respectively electrically connecting each of the eight microSD contact pins and an associated one of the nine SD contact pads;
• a protective cap mounted on the inside surface of the substrate, the protective cap including opposing side walls extending from the inside surface, and an upper wall supported by the side walls and disposed parallel to and spaced from a portion of the inside surface such that the opposing side walls, the upper wall and the inside surface portion define a chamber;
• and
• an integral molded plastic casing consisting essentially of a thermoset plastic and including an upper wall formed on the inside surface of the substrate and over the upper wall of the protective cap such that the protective cap is secured to said substrate by said thermoset plastic,
• wherein said upper wall of the molded plastic casing defines a plurality of openings disposed such that each of said nine SD contact pads is exposed through an associated one of the plurality of openings,
• wherein a rear edge of the integral molded plastic casing defines a rear opening, and
• wherein the eight microSD contact pins are disposed inside the chamber such that, when the microSD card is fully inserted through the rear opening into the chamber, eight contact pads on the microSD card are operably respectively connected to the eight microSD contact pins, whereby electrical signals generated by the microSD card on any of the eight contact pads are transmitted corresponding ones of the nine SD contact pads.