US6008994A — PC card grounding clip

Claim 1

Independent Claim 212 words

In a PC card with a circuit board having front and rear board ends and at least one row of conductive traces at each end, where said circuit board has a ground conductor, where said PC card includes front and rear connectors at said front and rear board ends with contacts of each connector connected to traces of a corresponding one of said rows, wherein said PC card includes a sheet metal cover with largely planar top and bottom portions, wherein said rear connector has a sheet metal shell that is electrically joined to said ground conductor and that includes a shell top wall, and wherein said PC card has a rear end cap with top and bottom flanges that receive said shell of said rear connector between them, with each flange having top and bottom surfaces, the improvement comprising: a metal dip having a plurality of spring fingers including top and bottom spring fingers lying respectively against the top and bottom surfaces of said top flange to grasp said flange between them, said clip having a base connecting said spring fingers, with at least one bottom spring finger engaging said sheet metal shell and with at least one top spring finger engaging said planar top portion of said sheet metal cover.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 212 words

In a PC card with a circuit board having front and rear board ends and at least one row of conductive traces at each end, where said circuit board has a ground conductor, where said PC card includes front and rear connectors at said front and rear board ends with contacts of each connector connected to traces of a corresponding one of said rows, wherein said PC card includes a sheet metal cover with largely planar top and bottom portions, wherein said rear connector has a sheet metal shell that is electrically joined to said ground conductor and that includes a shell top wall, and wherein said PC card has a rear end cap with top and bottom flanges that receive said shell of said rear connector between them, with each flange having top and bottom surfaces, the improvement comprising: a metal dip having a plurality of spring fingers including top and bottom spring fingers lying respectively against the top and bottom surfaces of said top flange to grasp said flange between them, said clip having a base connecting said spring fingers, with at least one bottom spring finger engaging said sheet metal shell and with at least one top spring finger engaging said planar top portion of said sheet metal cover.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 79 words

The PC card described in claim 1 wherein: said cover includes upper and lower cover halves that each have lateral opposite sides, with adjacent pairs of said opposite sides being mechanically and electrically joined together to form joined first and second laterally opposite cover sides; said top flange has extreme opposite sides, and said clip lies at one of said top flange extreme sides, so said dip engages a top cover location close to one of said cover sides.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 42 words

The PC card described in claim 1 wherein: said sheet metal cover has a first side and said clip has a side spaced from said first sheet metal cover side by substantially no more than the maximum height of said end cap.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 58 words

The PC card described in claim 1 wherein: said clip has two laterally-spaced top spring fingers, with a gap between them, and said bottom spring finger lies directly under said gap; said top surface of said top flange has a pair of recess portions that each receives part of the thickness of one of said top spring fingers.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 57 words

The PC card described in claim 1 wherein: said shell top wall includes a sheet-like main top wall part and a tine with a first end merging with said main top wall part and with an opposite free end, and said bottom spring finger engages said fine at a location spaced from said first line first end.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 94 words

The PC card described in claim 1 wherein: said PC card is constructed in accordance with PCMCIA specifications for Type II cards wherein the length, width, and height of the card are about 86 mm, 54 mm and 5 mm, respectively, and said rear end cap has said height of about 5 mm and said width of about 54 mm and has opposite cap sides; said clip is spaced from an extreme side of said cap by a distance (B) that is no more than 140% of the height (C) of said end cap.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 174 words

A PC card kit for use with a circuit board that has a ground trace, to form a PC card which includes a plastic molded rear end cap having vertically spaced upper and lower flanges, said PC card kit including a sheet metal cover comprising upper and lower cover halves with top and bottom cover sheet parts lying directly over and under said flanges, cover sides of predetermined heights that are joinable to vertically space said cover sheet parts by a predetermined distance, and at least one rear connector that has a metal shell with a portion for soldering to said ground trace on said circuit board, with said shell being of a height to be received between said flanges, including: a sheet metal clip that has top and bottom spring fingers and that is clipped to said upper flange at a location directly above said shell, with said clip bottom finger engaging said shell and a lower surface of said upper flange while said top spring finger engages said top cover sheet part.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 174 words

A PC card kit for use with a circuit board that has a ground trace, to form a PC card which includes a plastic molded rear end cap having vertically spaced upper and lower flanges, said PC card kit including a sheet metal cover comprising upper and lower cover halves with top and bottom cover sheet parts lying directly over and under said flanges, cover sides of predetermined heights that are joinable to vertically space said cover sheet parts by a predetermined distance, and at least one rear connector that has a metal shell with a portion for soldering to said ground trace on said circuit board, with said shell being of a height to be received between said flanges, including: a sheet metal clip that has top and bottom spring fingers and that is clipped to said upper flange at a location directly above said shell, with said clip bottom finger engaging said shell and a lower surface of said upper flange while said top spring finger engages said top cover sheet part.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 59 words

The PC card described in claim 7 wherein: said clip has two laterally-spaced top spring fingers, with a gap between them, and said bottom spring finger lies directly under said gap; said top surface of said top shroud wall has a pair of recess portions that each receives part of the thickness of one of said top spring fingers.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 56 words

The PC card described in claim 7 wherein: said shell top wall includes a sheet-like main top wall part and a tine with a first end merging with said main top wall part and with an opposite free end, and said bottom spring finger engages said fine at a location spaced from said first tine end.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 23 words

The PC card described in claim 7 wherein: said top flange has an extreme side and said clip lies at said extreme side.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2002-12-27	2003-06-28	2003-12-28	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2006-12-27	2007-06-28	2007-12-28	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2010-12-27	2011-06-28	2011-12-28	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

PC card grounding clip

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