Smart card with bus interface jack printed as part of PCB

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a smart card device that provides a bus interface, such as a USB-C bus interface, printed on a portion of a PCB that forms a base layer of the smart card device. The smart card device may provide the bus interface without having to install a conventional socket. By making full use of the portion of the PCB to provide a printed bus interface and excluding the conventional socket, the bus interface can be easily manufactured using known PCB manufacturing techniques while significantly reducing manufacturing costs. Further, the smart card device may have a thickness that conforms to a known card form factor standard, thereby enabling the smart device to fit within a standard wallet. To enhance the durability of the portion of the PCB from wear, a metal core may be added to the PCB as an additional layer. The portion may also be reinforced with edge plating.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. non-provisional application No. 18 / 232,494, entitled “SMART CARDWITH BUS INTERFACE RECEPTACLE PRINTED AS PART OF PCB,” filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on August 10, 2023, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes, which application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 435,832, filed on December 29, 2022. Background Art Technical Field

[0003] One or more embodiments of the present invention relate generally to smart card devices / systems, and more particularly, for example, to systems and methods for smart card devices that can be connected to external devices via a bus interface.

[0004] Related technical description

[0005] Over the years, card technology has expanded its utility and security in retail, e-commerce and banking applications. From simple credit cards that store banking information on a traditional magnetic stripe to a variety of smart cards that utilize integrated circuits (ICs) to provide enhanced security and contactless transactions, card devices have begun to provide an increasing breadth of functionality. Today, smart cards can act as microcomputers with their own processor / memory architecture and / or act as secure storage devices. However, providing expanded features while maintaining a common form factor that fits the card in a standard wallet has presented challenges that have hindered further expansion of the card's acceptance and utility. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Various embodiments are shown in the drawings for illustrative purposes and should in no way be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, various features of different disclosed embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments, which are part of the present disclosure.

[0007] Figure 1A to Figure 1B An example of a smart card device configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0008] Figure 2 A prior art mountable USB Type-C receptacle is shown in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 3 An exemplary tab member of a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0010] 4A to 4D An exemplary view of a smart card device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0011] Figure 5 Exemplary layers of a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are shown.

[0012] Figure 6 An exemplary process of manufacturing a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0013] Embodiments of the present invention and their advantages may be best understood by referring to the following detailed description.It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements shown in one or more of the figures in the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The following detailed description with reference to and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describes and illustrates one or more specific embodiments of the content protected by the claims. These embodiments are not provided to limit the present invention, but only to illustrate and teach the present invention, and these embodiments are shown and described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present invention defined by the claims. Therefore, where appropriate, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art.

[0015] The word “exemplary” is used throughout this disclosure to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or feature described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or features.

[0016] The present disclosure relates to a card device (e.g., a smart card device) mainly with a storage device, such as a normal flash drive or a flash drive with an encrypted storage device in a new form factor. The form factor of the card device may conform to one or more physical property standards, such as the CR 80 standard, the ISO / IEC 7810 standard, and the ISO / IEC 7816 standard. Specifically, the card device may have the physical size of a standard credit card so that the card device can be adapted to a standard wallet. The card device may include a memory device, a microprocessor, a bus interface, a battery, a wireless transmitter / receiver, or other electrical components.

[0017] The card device may be configured as a USB thumb drive or solid-state drive (SSD) with its memory device and microcontroller to provide storage and access to data with or without encryption. Through its bus interface or wireless transmitter / receiver, the card device may be connected to an external device to support wired or wireless transactions between the card device and the external device. Data and transaction processing may include encrypted electronic currency (e.g., the card device is a crypto wallet) and / or non-fungible token (NFT) data.

[0018] In addition, the card device can be configured to provide "find my lost device" functionality. Its battery can be charged through the bus interface or via a wireless power source (e.g., a solar panel or an inductive charging assembly). If the card device is lost, the card device can determine its location with its wireless receiver (e.g., triangulated with a cellular receiver or a global positioning receiver) and send the location. Various novel solutions are disclosed herein to enhance the connectivity and durability of the card device.

[0019] Figure 1A to Figure 1B Examples of smart card device configurations 100, 150 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. The card device disclosed in the present disclosure may substantially conform to the physical property standards of the card. For example, Figure 1A to Figure 1B The illustrated card device 102, 152 may conform to ISO / IEC 7810 ID-1 associated with a bank and identification (ID) card having a physical size of 85.60 mm x 53.98 mm and a thickness between 0.68 mm and 0.84 mm. In addition, the card device 102, 152 may be a smart card device whose circuit is printed on a printed circuit board (PCB) and whose components are mounted on the PCB. In order for the card device 102, 152 to meet the physical size, the PCB may be manufactured to have a thickness option including 0.2 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.8 mm, or any thickness option therebetween.

[0020] Figure 1A The card device 102 is shown in a detached configuration 100, wherein a tab member (also referred to in the literature as a tongue) 104 of the card device 102 is disengaged from a connector / plug of an external device. As shown, a bus interface of USB 1, USB 2, USB 3, USB-C, Micro USB, Lightning, or other standard wired electrical standard may be provided on the tab member 104. The tab member 104 may be shaped to receive a corresponding plug of the bus interface.

[0021] The tab member 104 may be located within or surrounded by a recessed portion / cutout 106 that exposes the tab member 104. The recessed portion 106 may accommodate the tab member 104 so that the tab member 104 protrudes / extends from the recessed portion 106 toward the edge of the card device 102. In addition, the recessed portion 106 may be formed to form a space 108a-108b between the wall of the recessed portion 106 and the tab member 104. The space 108a-108b may enable the connection / acceptance of a connector / plug with opposite polarity (e.g., convex to concave or concave to convex) on the tab member 104. In some embodiments, the space 108a-108b may have a size that will achieve a snug or tight connector fit at the wall of the recessed portion 106.

[0022] The size and positioning of the recessed portion 106 and the tab member 104 relative to the recessed portion 106 may maintain the card device 102 as a whole within the physical dimensions of a physical property standard. For example, the card device 102 may conform to the physical dimensions of ISO / IEC 7810 ID-1.

[0023] Figure 1B The card device 152 is shown in an attached configuration 150. The card device 152 may be Figure 1A 102, but has an external device connected to the card device 152 via a connector 154. The card device 152 has a plug-in member, such as the plug-in member 104 of the card device 102, which is hidden from view by the connector housing 156 of the connector 154. As shown, various smart card components can be provided on the card device 152, including an NFC component 158, a contact pad layout 160, a button 162, a display (not shown), a microprocessor (not shown), a memory (not shown), etc. In some embodiments, when connected to an external device, the microprocessor can provide a bus interface device driver to the external device based on a determination that the card device is connected to the external device.

[0024] Figure 2 A prior art mountable USB-C type jack 200 according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The jack 200 can be mounted on a PCB (not shown) to provide a bus interface. For example, the jack 200 can be soldered and mounted on the PCB to provide a USB-C bus interface to a card device. The jack 200 includes a blade member 202 and a blade housing 204. The blade member 202 can have a Figure 1A The same physical dimensions of the plug-in member 104 of the card device, but it is not printed on the PCB of the card device. For a variety of reasons, it may not be desirable to install such a jack 200 on the card device to provide a bus interface.

[0025] From a size perspective, the blade housing 204 of the jack 200 may be too bulky or too thick for a card device to meet the required physical dimensions. For example, a USB-C plug has a thickness dimension of 2.4 mm, which significantly exceeds the ISO / IEC 7810 ID-1 maximum specified thickness of 0.84 mm. Therefore, a card device with a solder-mounted jack (such as the jack 200) may not fit easily within a wallet. In contrast, Figure 1A The tab member 104 may eliminate the tab housing 204 to provide the card device 102, 152 with a more compact and flat form factor that conforms to the physical dimensions of a card standard.

[0026] From a cost perspective, the jack 200 is another separate component that adds additional cost to the card device. Acquisition of the jack 200, installation of the jack 200, and verification of electrical connections can significantly increase costs and delay the manufacturing process of the card device.

[0027] Re-reference Figure 1A to Figure 1B , Figure 1A to Figure 1B The card device 102, 152 of the present invention solves the above-mentioned size and cost challenges by printing the bus interface as part of the PCB on a part of the PCB of the card device 102, 152. The PCB can form a substrate layer, the bus interface can be printed on the substrate layer, and other components including a microprocessor, a memory or a near field communication (NFC) chip can be installed. The insert member 104 does not include the insert housing 204 to meet the thickness dimension, and further eliminates the need to install the bus interface. Advantageously, the bus interface can be printed during the standard PCB printing process, and can greatly save costs and reduce manufacturing time.

[0028] Figure 3 FIG. 2 shows an exemplary insert member 300 of a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The insert member 300 may be a Figure 1A The tab member 300 may be a tab member that is the same or similar to the tab member 104 of the card device. As described above, the tab member 300 may be a part of the PCB of the card device and may include a bus interface 302 printed on a part of the PCB that forms the tab member 300. In some embodiments, the tab member 300 may have one or more notches 304a-304b on its side. The notches 304a-304b may be coupled with side latches (not shown) disposed inside the plug so as to mechanically secure the plug when the plug is coupled to the tab member including the bus interface 302.

[0029] 4A to 4D400, 420, 440, 460 of a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. The first view 400 is a cross-sectional view showing a PCB 402. As shown in the card device 102, the PCB 402 can have a recessed portion 406 in which a tab member 404 can extend or protrude. The tab member 404 can correspond to Figure 3 The insert member 300.

[0030] The second view 420 is a cross-sectional view showing one or more design layers 422a-422b optionally disposed on the PCB 402. Figure 1A As shown in the card device 102 of FIG. 1 , the design layers 422a-422b can convey various information associated with the card device 102. In some embodiments, the design layers 422a-422b can form a housing 424 that can be in a connector housing (e.g., Figure 1B The top and bottom of the connector housing 156 provide retention forces to mechanically secure the plug when it is coupled to the blade member 404. In these embodiments, when the Figure 1A to Figure 1B When viewed from a top view associated with a view of the card device 102 , 152 , the tab member 404 may be hidden from view by the design layers 422 a - 422 b .

[0031] The third view 440 is a cross-sectional view showing one or more optional spring clips (e.g., spring fingers, spring tips, etc.) 442a-442b disposed within the design layers 422a-422b. The spring clips 442a-442b can have various forms, including generally flat-shaped clip spring clips with a small, curved lip that can be attached to a connector housing (e.g., Figure 1B Friction may be added to the top and / or bottom of the connector housing 156) to mechanically secure the plug when the plug is coupled to the tab member 404.

[0032] The fourth view 460 is a perspective view showing the PCB 402 mounted on / in the housing 462. The housing 462 may be disposed on one side of the PCB 402 or completely (or substantially completely) encapsulate the PCB 402. The housing 462 may be made of various materials including molded plastic or metal, wherein a portion of the housing 462 surrounding the tab member 464 on the PCB 402 may be formed to form a tab housing 466. For example, the fourth view 460 shows the tab housing 466 as an oval USB-C type housing that can securely hold the connected USB-C plug in place. In some embodiments where the housing 462 is made of metal, the housing 462 may shield the high-speed bus signal (e.g., USB signal) from being emitted outside the housing 462 to avoid radio interference. In addition, such a housing 462 made of metal may also prevent external electromagnetic interference from affecting the high-speed bus signal.

[0033] Figure 5 An exemplary layer 500 of a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. When a tab member is made to form a part of a PCB of a card device, the tab member shares the same layer of the PCB. Therefore, the tab member may include a base layer consisting of a flame retardant (FR-4) epoxy laminate, which is a standard base layer of a typical PCB. Such tab members that share a standard PCB layer may be prone to wear and cause some durability issues. For example, FR-4 materials may not be able to withstand hundreds or thousands of attachment and detachment actions of the plug on the tab member. Specifically, the PCB around the indentation (e.g., indentation 304a-304b) may wear and provide almost no retention force on the plug. In addition, the tab member may be warped or broken by repeated attachment and detachment actions, and some or all features of the card device may be unavailable.

[0034] The present disclosure provides a layering technique to add a reinforcement layer 504 to a PCB 502 to address durability issues. Standard PCB manufacturing processes can be extended to include the addition of a reinforcement layer 504. The reinforcement layer 504 can be made of a metal, which can include but is not limited to aluminum or steel. The metal can be any metal that can withstand warping forces and / or wear better than epoxy. In some embodiments, the metal can be a metal that has the same or greater hardness as aluminum on the Rockwell hardness scale.

[0035] Advantageously, a reinforcement layer 504 (e.g., a metal layer) made of metal can also be used to balance, transfer, or disperse heat on the card device during extensive or long-term use. For example, the metal layer can transfer heat from hot spots to cooler areas to smooth the thermal distribution of the card device during electrical use. In some cases, the metal layer can also be used as an electrical ground, or alternatively as a power plane.

[0036] In the PCB 502, an epoxy layer (e.g., FR-4 layer) 506a may be disposed on one side of the reinforcement layer 504. In addition, a conductive material layer 508a (such as a copper layer) may be disposed on the epoxy layer 506a. In addition, a solder mask and / or a gold plating layer 510a may be disposed on the conductive material layer 508a. Optionally, another epoxy layer 506b, another conductive material layer 508b, and another solder mask and / or one or more gold plating layers 510b may be stacked on the other side of the reinforcement layer 504 to reflect the stacking of the epoxy layer 506a, the conductive material layer 508b, and the solder mask and / or one or more gold plating layers 510a on that side.

[0037] The added reinforcement layer 504 can significantly increase the durability of the tab member by providing a hardened core to the tab member that can withstand the wear caused by attaching and separating the plug to the tab member. In some embodiments, optionally, one or more design layers 512a-512b can be further laminated on either side of the PCB to visually enhance the PCB and provide additional strength to the PCB. The PCB 502 stack shown is exemplary, and it should be understood that the PCB 502 can have different stacks with additional layers of different materials or fewer layers with some removed layers.

[0038] In some embodiments, edge plating (e.g., configured as castellations, border plating, plated profiles, side metal, etc.) may be employed to additionally or alternatively reinforce the tab member. That is, the edges and / or sides of the tab member may be plated with metal, including copper, steel, or any metal having a harderness greater than that of the FR-4 material, to provide additional strength against wear.

[0039] Figure 6 An exemplary process 600 for manufacturing a smart card device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. At block 602, a PCB may be manufactured. During the manufacturing process, the PCB may have at least one reinforcement layer placed as the core of the PCB. The reinforcement layer may be a metal layer having a hardness property greater than that of FR-4 material.

[0040] At block 604, as part of the PCB manufacturing process, a bus interface may be printed on the PCB. The bus interface may conform to USB 1, USB 2, USB 3, USB 4, USB-C, Micro USB, Lightning, or any other standard that may be provided. As a preferred embodiment, a USB-C bus interface may be printed.

[0041] At block 606, a tab member may be formed on the PCB. Formation of the tab member may involve cutting the PCB into a card device having defined physical dimensions of the card device, or selecting a PCB that already has defined physical dimensions. Additionally, formation of the tab member may involve cutting or otherwise forming a recessed portion (e.g., Figure 1A The recessed portion 106 of the card device 102 in the embodiment of the present invention is formed, and the tab member is similarly cut or otherwise formed.

[0042] At block 608, optionally, the PCB formed by the above steps may be edge plated to strengthen the tab member.

[0043] At block 610, a design layer may be stacked on the PCB. The design layer may visually enhance the PCB and may Figure 4B As described, additional retention force is provided to the plug when it is coupled to the tab member.

[0044] At block 612, a spring clip may be added to the design layer. Figure 4C As described, the spring clip can provide additional holding force to the connected plug.

[0045] The present disclosure describes a flat USB-C socket (e.g., a tab member) that can be easily manufactured using known PCB manufacturing techniques. The flat USB-C socket can enable a smart card device to have a thickness of approximately 0.7 mm, which can meet ISO / IEC 7810ID-1 requirements. The flat USB-C socket can be part of a PCB that forms a smart card device, and by utilizing the PCB, the cost of the USB-C socket that provides USB-C functionality in a product is significantly reduced. In addition, a technique for enhancing a flat USB-C socket with a PCB stack that integrates a metal core and / or edge plating is described. Therefore, the present disclosure can achieve a new form factor for an existing card-shaped device that includes a storage device. More specifically, the present disclosure can enable the creation of a hardware wallet product in the shape of a standard credit card. In addition, the present disclosure enables the cost of various products that incorporate a USB-C socket to be reduced.

[0046] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the word "comprising" is understood to be inclusive, rather than exclusive or exhaustive; that is, in the sense of "including but not limited to". The word "coupled" may refer to two or more elements that may be directly connected or connected through one or more intermediate elements. The components discussed herein may be connected in a variety of ways, such as through conductive materials. In addition, when used in the present disclosure, the words "herein", "above", "hereafter" and words of similar meaning refer to the entire application rather than to any particular part of this patent application. Where the context permits, words used in the singular or plural in the above description may also include the plural or singular, respectively.

[0047] The above description of the embodiments of the present disclosure is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed above. Although specific embodiments and examples are described above for illustrative purposes, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art that various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, although a process or frame can be presented in a given order, alternative embodiments can perform a routine with steps in a different order or adopt a system with a frame, and some processes or frames can be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined and / or modified. Each of these processes or frames can be realized in a variety of different ways. Moreover, although a process or frame is sometimes shown as being executed continuously, these processes or frames can alternatively be executed in parallel or can be executed at different times.

[0048] Features described herein may be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above.The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above may be combined to provide further embodiments.

[0049] In some embodiments, the methods and / or systems discussed herein may be implemented at least in part by control circuitry and / or memory. For example, the memory may store executable instructions that, when executed by the control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to perform the operations discussed herein. Additionally or alternatively, other methods and / or systems discussed herein may be implemented at least in part by control circuitry and memory storing executable instructions.

[0050] The control circuitry may include one or more processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microprocessors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), and / or other processing circuits. Alternatively or in addition, the control circuitry may include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more program-specific standard products (ASSPs), one or more complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. The control circuitry may be configured to execute one or more instructions stored in a memory, thereby performing one or more operations to implement the various functionalities discussed herein.

[0051] The memory may include any suitable or desired type of computer-readable medium. For example, the computer-readable medium may include one or more volatile data storage devices (DSD), non-volatile data storage devices, removable data storage devices and / or non-removable data storage devices implemented using any technology, layout and / or data structure / protocol, including any suitable or desired computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other types of data. The computer-readable medium that can be implemented according to the embodiments of the present disclosure includes but is not limited to phase change memory, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical storage devices, cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transient medium that can be used to store information accessed by a computing device. As used in some contexts herein, the computer-readable medium may not generally include communication media, such as modulated data signals and carriers. Therefore, the computer-readable medium should generally be understood to refer to non-transient media.

[0052] Although some embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In fact, the methods and systems described herein may be embodied in various other forms; in addition, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications that fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A card device, comprising: A substrate layer, the substrate layer having a printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB comprising: a blade member configured to couple with a plug associated with an external device; and a bus interface printed on the insert member, the bus interface being configured to support communication with the external device; and A microprocessor is mounted on the PCB and is configured to be electrically coupled to the bus interface. 2 . The card device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one design layer disposed on at least a portion of the base layer.

3. The card device of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the at least one design layer forms a housing that provides a space around the insert member, wherein the housing mechanically secures the plug in response to the plug being coupled to the insert member. 4 . The card device of claim 2 , wherein at least a portion of the at least one design layer is shaped to reveal the tab member. 5 . The card device of claim 2 , wherein a combined thickness of the base layer and the at least one design layer conforms to a physical dimension selected from at least one of ID-1, CR 80, ISO 7810, or ISO 7816. 6 . The card device according to claim 1 , wherein the bus interface complies with an electrical standard of at least one of USB-C, Micro USB, or Lightning.

7. The card device according to claim 6, wherein the microprocessor is configured to: determining that the bus interface is coupled to the external device; and A device driver is provided to the external device through the bus interface.

8. A card device according to claim 1, wherein the plug member is characterized in that at least one of (i) a recess on one side of the plug or (ii) a recess on both sides of the plug is formed to mechanically secure the plug in response to the plug being connected to the plug member.

9. The card device according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the PCB forming the insert sheet has a reinforcement layer disposed on an epoxy laminate layer.

10. The card device of claim 9, wherein the reinforcement layer is composed of a metal having a hardness equal to or greater than that of aluminum on the Rockwell hardness scale.

11. The card device of claim 9, wherein the reinforcement layer is disposed between the epoxy laminate layer on one side and another epoxy laminate layer on the other side.

12. The card device of claim 9, wherein the epoxy laminate layer is a flame retardant 4 (FR-4) resin.

13. The card device of claim 1, wherein the tab member is edge plated.

14. The card device of claim 1, wherein the card device comprises one or more spring clips configured to provide a retention force on the plug to mechanically secure the plug in response to the plug being coupled to the blade member.

15. The card device according to claim 1, wherein: The base layer is formed to have a concave portion on which the tab member protrudes, The sides of the recessed portion of the base layer and the sides of the tab member are spaced apart to receive the plug on the tab member, and The card device including the tab member is within a physical size selected from at least one of ID-1, CR 80, ISO 7810 or ISO 7816.

16. The card device of claim 1, wherein the card device is configured as at least one of a USB thumb drive, a solid-state drive (SSD), a cryptocurrency wallet, or a storage device for non-fungible token (NFT) data.

17. The card device according to claim 1, further comprising: Battery; and Wireless transmitter, Wherein the battery is configured to be charged via the bus interface, and the wireless transmitter is configured to transmit a location associated with the card device.

18. A method of manufacturing a card device, the method comprising: printing a bus interface on a printed circuit board (PCB) of the card device, the bus interface being configured to support communication with a device external to the card device; forming a portion of the PCB associated with the bus interface as a tab member, the tab member being shaped to receive a plug of the device external to the card device; and A microprocessor is mounted on the PCB, the microprocessor being configured to be electrically coupled to the bus interface.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: The PCB is manufactured to include a reinforcing metal layer on the epoxy laminate layer so that the tab member includes the reinforcing metal layer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the reinforcing metal layer is configured as at least one of an electrical ground, a power plane, or a heat transfer mechanism.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the card device conforms to a physical size selected from at least one of ID-1, CR 80, ISO 7810, or ISO 7816.

22. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: The PCB is enclosed in a plastic housing, wherein a portion of the plastic housing forms a USB-C type blade housing for the blade member.

23. A method of manufacturing a card device, the method comprising: In the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs), a reinforcing metal layer is laminated on top of an epoxy laminate layer; printing a bus interface on a printed circuit board (PCB) of the card device, the bus interface being configured to support communication with a device external to the card device; cutting a portion of the PCB associated with the bus interface to form a tab member shaped to receive a plug of the device external to the card device; and mounting a microprocessor on the PCB, the microprocessor being configured to be electrically coupled to the bus interface, The card device described herein complies with the physical dimensions of ISO 7810 ID-1.

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