Hybrid card reader

Claim 1

A card reader comprising a housing including a slot for accepting a smart card along a path in a first plane, said reader also including a printed circuit board bearing circuitry for interacting with data stored in a card inserted in said slot, said printed circuit board including a first set of electrical contacts corresponding to a second set of contacts on a smart card, said reader also including a subassembly for connecting said first set of contacts to said second set responsive to the movement of a smart card along said path, said subassembly including a collar member, a carraige and a spring contact array, said collar, carraige and array mating with one another, said collar member being spring loaded for movement only in the plane of said path, said spring contact array being fixed to said printed circuit board in alignment with said collar member, said collar member engaging a card advancing along said path and having ramps thereon for moving said carraige in a direction orthogonal to said plane, said array and said carraige being positioned and dimensioned so that the movement of said carraige distorts the spring contacts of said array into contact with contacts on a smart card fully seated in said reader.