Memory card grounding apparatus

Claim 2

A memory card as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the clip lies at at least one of the frame sides.

Claim 3

A memory card as claimed in claim 1, in combination with an electronic device having a card-receiving slot with opposite sides, a rear end for initially receiving the card, and a front end, the device having a plurality of contacts at the front end, characterised in that the device has a first grounding terminal positioned to engage the conductive clip before any of the card contacts engage the device contacts.

Claim 4

A memory card in combination with an electronic device as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the frame has a highly conductive clip mounted on each of the body sides and in that the device has two grounding terminals, each lying at one of the sides of the slot and positioned to engage a corresponding one of the clips which lies at one of the frame sides, the terminals being positioned to engage the clips at substantially the same time.

Claim 5

A memory card as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the body is constructed of moulded plastic material which is electrically conductive but which has an electrical resistivity that is more than twice the electrical resistivity of the clip, and the clip lies closer to the rear end of the body than to the front end thereof.

Claim 6

A memory card as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the body has a pair of side beams that each form one of the sides, in that the clip extends at least partially around a first of the side beams and in that the circuit board has opposite faces and edges, with a first of the circuit board edges lying adjacent to a first of the body edges, and the ground plane of the circuit board including a portion lying on one of the board faces and against the clip.

Claim 7

A memory card as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the body has a pair of side beams, with a first of the side beams having upper and lower projections and having a slot and in that the clip is formed of sheet metal and has upper and lower parts bent about said upper and lower projections, and the clip has a tab that extends through the slot and that has a bent part that lies against the ground plane of the circuit board.

Claim 8

A combination of an electronic device having a card-receiving slot, and an IC memory card which can be inserted and withdrawn from the slot with the card including a circuit board assembly with a ground plane, wherein the slot has a rear end into which the card is initially inserted and a front end and the device has a plurality of device contacts at the slot front end, and the card has a front end with a plurality of card contacts that mate with the device contacts when the card is in a fully inserted position, characterised in that the card has a frame comprising a body and a highly conductive clip mounted on the body with the clip connected to the ground plane and in that the device has at least a first terminal positioned to engage the conductive clip before the card reaches a substantially fully inserted position at which at least one of the contacts first mates.

Claim 9

A combination as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that the slot has a greater width than height, with opposite slot sides spaced by the width, and the card has opposite sides spaced apart by substantially the slot width and in that the conductive clip lies at one of the card sides, and the terminal extends into one of the slot sides.

Claim 10

A combination as claimed in claim 9, characterised in that the card frame has two highly conductive clips mounted at opposite sides of the body and in that the device has two terminals positioned to engage each of the clips at the opposite surfaces of the card, with the terminals positioned to engage both of the clips at the same time during insertion of the card into the slot.

Claim 11

A combination as claimed in claim 10, characterised in that the clip lies at a first side edge of said card and in that the body is constructed of moulded electrically conductive material forming a part of the first side edge of the card with at least a portion of the conductive material lying forward of the clip.

Claim 12

A memory card characterised by a frame comprising a body having opposite sides and front and rear ends and having top and bottom covers, by a circuit board assembly mounted in the body, the board including a board and at least one circuit component mounted on the board, the board assembly having a ground plane, by a connector on the front end of the body and having a plurality of contacts and by at least one metal clip mounted on the body and connected to the ground plane, with a portion of the clip lying at one of the sides of the frame.

Claim 13

A memory card as claimed in claim 12, characterised in that the body includes portions extending along at least the opposite sides and constructed of moulded electrically conductive material, the body being electrically connected to the board ground plane, the body including a portion lying at said one of the frame sides and extending forward of the clip.

Claim 14

A memory card as claimed in claim 12, in combination with an electronic device having a card-receiving slot with a front end and a plurality of device contacts at the front end, characterised in that the device has at least one grounding terminal positioned to engage the clip portion prior to the device and card contacts approaching within one-quarter inch of each other, during insertion of the card into the slot.

Claim 15

In or for use in a memory card including a frame comprising a moulded body having opposite sides and forward and rearward ends, and a circuit board assembly which lies in the frames and which includes a board having a ground plane and a plurality of circuit components mounted in the board, the card being constructed to be inserted into a slot of an electronic device until card contacts at the front end of the card mate with device contacts in the device, a conductive clip characterised in that the clip is of material having a higher bulk conductivity than the frame body and is constructed and adapted to be fitted to the frame body for connection to the ground plane to provide early static discharge of the card.