JP2000222544A - Non-contact data carrier and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a non-contact data carrier having a satisfactory surface state in a high yield. SOLUTION: Resin sheets made of a thermoplastic resin like polyester or a thermosetting resin like phenol resin are put on and under internal parts 3 where circuit parts 1 and a transmission/reception antenna 2 are connected, and internal parts 3 are interposed between them. A template which consists of a thin aluminum film and is provided with an aperture 7 in an area corresponding to internal parts 3 is out on the outside surface of resin sheets between which internal parts 3 are interposed. Thereafter, a stainless steel plate is put on the outside surface of the template, and they are subjected to hot press. Thereafter, they are punched out into a prescribed shape, thus obtaining a contactless data carrier 20 like a card where internal parts 3 are enclosed with a resin layer 4 and a template layer 5 is provided in the peripheral area on the area corresponding to internal parts 3 on the surface of the resin layer 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a non-contact data carrier and a method for manufacturing the non-contact data carrier. Specifically, the present invention relates to a non-contact data carrier that has an IC chip as a main internal component and transmits and receives signals to and from an external device in a non-contact manner, and a method for manufacturing the non-contact data carrier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A non-contact data carrier system is composed of a transponder which is called a non-contact data carrier and an interrogator connected to a host. , Induction electromagnetic field, microwave (radio wave)
It is characterized in that communication is performed in a non-contact manner via a transmission medium such as the one described above. In this system, a transponder is attached to various articles, information about the articles is remotely read by an interrogator and provided to a host, thereby realizing information processing about the articles.

[0003] As an information transmission system of a non-contact data carrier system, an electromagnetic coupling system, an electromagnetic induction system, a microwave system, an optical communication system, and the like are generally known. Among these methods, in the electromagnetic coupling method, the electromagnetic induction method, and the microwave method, the energy of the transmission signal from the interrogator can be used as the driving power of the transponder. Since the transmission signal itself can be used as a drive source, there is no deterioration in response capability due to a decrease in battery output, as compared with other similar systems in which a drive source such as a battery needs to be built in the transponder. There is a great advantage that there is no limit on the use of the transponder due to battery life.

FIG. 5 shows the overall structure of a contactless data carrier system. As shown in FIG. 1, the contactless data carrier system includes an interrogator 10 and a transponder (contactless data carrier) 20.

The interrogator 10 includes a main controller 11 for controlling the entire interrogator 10, an interface 11 for controlling data input / output with the host device, and tag information received from the non-contact data carrier 20. Read / store
A storage unit 13 such as a writable RAM, for converting transmission information from a parallel signal to a serial signal;
The signal conversion unit 14 converts the received signal from the serial signal 0 into a parallel signal from a serial signal, and converts the transmission signal into, for example, ASK (Am
Plitude Shift Keying) method, FSK (Frequency Shif)
t Keying) Modulation unit 1 that modulates the signal for transmission using the method
5, a demodulation unit 16 for demodulating a received signal, a transmission antenna 17, and a reception antenna 18.

The transponder (contactless data carrier) 20
A main control unit 21 for controlling the entire non-contact data carrier 20, a storage unit 22 such as an EEPROM for storing tag information which does not require a power supply backup, converting transmission information from a digital signal to an analog signal, and an interrogator 10; A signal converter 23 for converting a received signal from an analog signal to a digital signal, a modulator 24 for modulating a transmission signal into a signal for transmission by an ASK method, an FSK method or the like, and a demodulator 25 for demodulating a received signal. , A transmission antenna 26, and a reception antenna 27.

The basic communication procedure of this contactless data carrier system is as follows. First, the interrogator 10
An interrogation signal for reading tag information from the non-contact data carrier 20 is issued. The contactless data carrier 20
When it enters the receivable range of the interrogation signal, it receives it,
The tag information stored in the storage unit 22 is transmitted as a response signal. The interrogator 10 receives and decodes this response signal and sends it to the host device as tag identification information.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the configuration of such a transponder 20, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the transponder 20. Thus, the transponder 20 (contactless data carrier)
Is mainly composed of an antenna 2 and a circuit component 1 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the interrogator 10. In consideration of durability and environmental resistance, the antenna 2 and the circuit component 1 are usually made of resin or the like. Has a structure in which the internal components 3 are hermetically sealed. As the antenna 2, a coil formed of copper copper wire is frequently used in terms of price and productivity, and as the circuit component 1, for example, a copper circuit pattern and a terminal portion are formed on the surface of an epoxy substrate 1 a. Antenna 2
Is generally obtained by wire bonding. In the antenna 2, two end wires (conductor portions) 1 c of a coil usually formed of a copper wire having an outer diameter of 30 to 200 μm are connected to terminal portions of the circuit component 1 by welding or soldering. As the resin material for hermetically sealing these internal components 3, thermoplastic resins such as vinyl chloride resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene copolymer resin, or epoxy resin, phenol resin, silicone resin, etc. Thermosetting resin is used.

The transponder 20 is usually sealed by sandwiching the coil and the circuit component 1 between two resin sheets made of a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. That is, the resin sheets are overlapped from above and below the coil and the circuit component 1, and the internal component 3 is sandwiched between the two resin sheets.

Next, the resin sheet sandwiching the internal component 3 is further sandwiched between two stainless plates, and the coil and the circuit component 1 are hermetically sealed with the resin layer 4 by hot pressing from both sides of the stainless plate. Thereafter, the transponder 20 is manufactured by punching to a predetermined size.

[0011]

However, in the above method, since the circuit component 1 is sandwiched between the resin sheets, the resin sheet bulges outward in the area where the circuit component 1, particularly the IC chip 1b is present. As a result, the surface of the obtained non-contact data carrier (responder) 20 is not smooth, and irregularities are generated. For this reason, there has been a problem that the thickness cannot be smoothly transferred to the printing process due to a large variation in thickness or unevenness.

In addition, there has been a problem that the circuit component 3 is displaced by the pressing during the hot press, and the internal component 3 cannot be sealed at a predetermined position, thereby lowering the yield of the non-contact data carrier. In the figure, reference numeral 1c denotes a conductor connecting the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a non-contact data carrier having a good surface condition with a high yield.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, for the above purpose, aims to smooth the surface of the obtained non-contact data carrier and to prevent misalignment of internal components by using a so-called template layer. It is assumed that.

A non-contact data carrier according to the present invention includes a circuit component including a storage element for storing information, an antenna for transmitting and receiving signals to and from an external device in a non-contact manner, and electrically connecting the antenna and the circuit component. A card-shaped non-contact data carrier comprising a resin layer sealing an internal component in which a lead wire portion connected to is substantially arranged on the same plane, wherein both sides of the resin layer before press molding, In the peripheral region of the region corresponding to the internal component, a template layer made of a metal thin film having a concave portion or an opening is disposed, and the concave portion or the opening of the template layer is located at a position matching the region of the internal component. It is characterized by being arranged.

Further, the non-contact data carrier according to the second aspect is the non-contact data carrier according to the first aspect,
The template layer is an aluminum thin film.

Further, in the non-contact data carrier according to claim 3, the concave portion or the opening of the template layer is
It is characterized by being formed regularly.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a non-contact data carrier, comprising: a circuit component including a storage element for storing information; and an antenna for transmitting and receiving signals to and from an external device in a non-contact manner. And a method of manufacturing a card-shaped non-contact data carrier for sealing an internal component having a conductor portion for electrically connecting the antenna and the circuit component on a substantially same plane with a resin material. The internal component is sandwiched between resin sheets, and a template is formed from a metal thin film having a concave portion or an opening formed in a region corresponding to the internal component on both surfaces of the resin sheet. The part is overlapped and hot-pressed at a position where the part is aligned with the region of the internal component, thereby sealing the internal component.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a non-contact data carrier, the template layer is an aluminum thin film.

Further, the method for manufacturing a non-contact data carrier according to claim 6 is characterized in that the recesses or openings of the template layer are formed regularly.

[0021]

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a non-contact data carrier according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a cross-sectional view of a non-contact data carrier before pressing, and FIG. 1 (b) is a cross-sectional view after pressing. Is shown. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing a method for manufacturing the non-contact data carrier of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a template used for manufacturing the non-contact data carrier shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a data carrier.

In a non-contact data carrier (response device) 20 shown in FIG. 1, an internal component 3 including a circuit component 1 and a transmitting / receiving antenna 2 is sealed with a resin layer 4.

The circuit component 1 has, for example, a copper circuit pattern and terminals formed on the surface of an epoxy substrate 1a,
A soldered C chip 1b is used. IC
The chip 1b incorporates each functional circuit unit except for the transmission / reception antenna 2 in the configuration of the transponder shown in FIG. As the transmitting / receiving antenna 2, for example, a coil made of copper is used. In the figure, reference numeral 1c denotes a conductor connecting the IC chip 1b and the antenna 2.

The sealing resin material may be a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, a silicone resin or a phenol resin, a vinyl chloride resin, a polyethylene terephthalate resin, an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin, or a thermoplastic resin such as a polystyrene resin. Resins.
In the present invention, the resin layer 4 is formed by sandwiching the internal component 3 between resin sheets 4a made of these resin materials and hot pressing.

The thickness of the resin sheet 4a is as follows.
Those having a thickness of about 0.01 mm to 0.4 mm are preferably used.
If the thickness is less than 0.01 mm, it is not easy to handle, while if it exceeds 0.4 mm, there is no merit of using the template.

In the non-contact data carrier 20 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1A, the template layer 5 is formed on the front and back surfaces of the resin layer 4 and the opening 7 of the template 5 is formed on the internal component 3. That is, the opening is provided at a position matching the area corresponding to the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2. Specifically, I
The opening 7 of the template layer 5 is arranged in the peripheral area of the area corresponding to the epoxy board 1a on which the C chip 1b is mounted, that is, the area corresponding to the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2. That is, the contactless data carrier 20 of the present invention
In the above, only the resin layer 4 is formed in a region where the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2 exist, and a resin layer 4 and a template layer 5 are formed in a region where the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2 do not exist.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the non-contact data carrier 20 is manufactured such that both surfaces of the resin layer 4 are sandwiched between a pair of templates 6 from above and below. At this time, by using the template 6, the pressure by the hot press is evenly dispersed, and the thickness of the obtained non-contact data carrier 20 is to be uniform. The template layer 5 is such that the template 6 used when sandwiching the resin layer 4 adheres to the resin layer 4 and remains on the surface of the resin layer 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the template 6 is made of a metal thin film having an opening 7 formed therein.
The template 6 is not rolled by hot pressing, and a material that sufficiently transfers heat to the resin sheet 4a is selected. For example, a metal thin film, more preferably, an aluminum thin film that is inexpensive and lightweight and obtained in a thin film shape is preferably used. . As the template 6, as shown in FIG. 3, a template in which a large number of circular or polygonal openings 7 are regularly provided is used. The opening 7 is formed at least by the internal component 3.
That is, it is necessary to provide the IC chip 1b and the antenna 2 in a region where the antenna 2 exists. The opening 7 is preferably made larger than the plane dimension of the internal component 3. By forming the opening 7 larger than that, the circuit component 1 such as the IC chip 1 b or the epoxy substrate 1 a and the antenna 2 are formed. A sufficient sealing resin flows into the periphery of the internal component 3 made of, and the internal component 3 can be hermetically sealed.

In the manufacture of the non-contact data carrier 20, each internal component 3 is attached to the resin sheet 4a.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of internal parts 3 are arranged in a matrix and hot pressed to seal many internal parts 3 at a time.

The thickness of the template 6 is appropriately selected according to the resin sheet 4a in order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, but a thickness of about 0.01 mm to 0.4 mm is preferably used. If it is thinner than 0.01 mm, handling becomes difficult. Further, when the thickness is larger than 0.4 mm, not only the thickness of the obtained non-contact data carrier 20 is increased,
When superimposed on the resin sheet 4a, sufficient pressure may not be applied to the resin sheet 4a exposed from the opening 7, and the resin layer 4 may not be sufficiently formed.

The non-contact data carrier 20 is manufactured as follows. That is, the resin sheet 4a is overlapped on the upper and lower sides of the internal component 3, and the internal component 3 is sandwiched in a sandwich shape. Next, the template 6 is overlaid on the upper and lower surfaces of the resin sheet 4a. At this time, the opening 7 of the template 6 is positioned so as to correspond to the area where the circuit component 1 and the coil 2 are present.

In this way, after the templates 6 are overlaid, hot pressing is performed. The hot pressing is performed by sandwiching the pair of stainless steel plates 9 from the outside of the template 6 under a constant pressure and a constant temperature. Thus, the template layer 5 and the resin layer 4 are formed simultaneously. Thereafter, the non-contact data carrier 20 is manufactured by punching to a predetermined size.

As described above, in the present invention, since the template 6 provided so that the opening 7 is aligned with the area corresponding to the internal component 3, particularly, the IC chip 1 b and the antenna 2, the internal component 3 is used. The hot pressing can be performed without the resin sheet 4a in the region where 3 is present swelling outward. As a result, unevenness due to the internal component 3 can be reduced. Further, since the thickness of the non-contact data carrier 20 depends on the thickness of the template 6 (template layer 5), there is an advantage that the thickness can be easily controlled. Further, since the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2 are positioned in the opening 7 of the template 6, the circuit component 1 and the antenna 2 can be prevented from being displaced during hot pressing. Therefore, the yield of the non-contact data carrier 20 can be improved.

The template 6 may have a shape in which a concave portion 8 is formed in the metal thin film toward the region where the internal component 3 exists. The template layer 5 only needs to be able to eliminate a step due to the internal component 3. The resin layer 4 in the region corresponding to the internal component 3 as well as the peripheral region of the region corresponding to the internal component 3 is used.
Even if the template layer 5 is provided also on the surface, there is no problem at all. That is, the template 6 is preferably not only a metal thin film provided with the opening 7 but also a metal thin film provided with a concave portion 8 which is larger than a region where the internal component 3 exists.

The recess 8 can be formed at a depth corresponding to the thickness of the internal component 3.
It is sufficient that the thickness of the template 6 is in the range of 10 to 20 μm and does not destroy the surface of the template 6, and preferably a depth of about 15 μm. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the template layer 5 on the upper surface of the internal component 1 and the antenna 2 has a first recess 8 a having a shallow bottom in a region slightly larger than the region corresponding to the internal component 3. It is also possible to form a pair of upper and lower concave portions 8 constituted by a deep second concave portion 8b which faces the first concave portion 8a and is slightly wider than the region of the internal component 3.
Further, in the present embodiment, concave portions 8a and 8b having a uniform depth may be formed in the template layer 5 on the upper and lower surfaces of the internal component 1 and the antenna 2, or one of the depths may be adjusted. The concave portions 8 of the template layer 5 arranged vertically
May be appropriately combined.

[0036]

Next, an embodiment will be described.

(Example 1) A circuit board 1a having a plane size of 5 mm x 5 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm on which an IC chip 1b is mounted.
Formed by a conductor having an outer diameter of 25 μm and a diameter of 15 m
The internal component 3 was fabricated by welding the antenna 2 wound in a loop shape having a thickness of 0.3 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm by welding using a conductive wire 1c having an outer diameter of 25 μm.

Next, a vinyl chloride resin sheet 4a (trade name of Sunroid Vip PVC, manufactured by Tsutsunaka Plastics Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of 250 μm is overlaid on the upper and lower parts of the internal part 3, and an opening 7 having a diameter of 30 mm is formed. The template 6 having a thickness of 30 μm was placed at a position where the opening 7 of the template 6 was aligned with the area where the internal component 3 was present, and were overlapped. Thereafter, stainless steel plates 9 and 9 were superimposed on the outside of the template 6 at 170 ° C. and 10 kg / cm.
After heating and pressurizing for 20 minutes in ² and cooling to room temperature, a sheet-like sealed internal component was obtained. Finally, the sealed internal component was punched to obtain a non-contact data carrier shown in FIG.

(Example 2) The same internal part 3 as in Example 1 was produced, and a 250 μm thick vinyl chloride resin sheet 4a
(Sunloyd Vip PVC, trade name of Tsutsunaka Plastics Co., Ltd.) on top and bottom of the internal part 3 and further diameter
30 mm, depth 15 μm thickness provided with recesses 30
The μm template 6 was placed at a position where the concave portion 8 of the template 6 was aligned with the area where the internal component 3 was present, and were superposed. Thereafter, stainless steel plates 9 and 9 were superposed on the outside of the template 6, respectively, to obtain a sheet-like sealed internal component under the same conditions as in Example 1. Finally, the sealed internal component was punched to obtain a non-contact data carrier shown in FIG.

[0040]

According to the present invention, a template in which a recess or an opening is formed in a region corresponding to a region where a memory element or a circuit component including the memory element is present is superimposed on a resin sheet and hot-pressed. The non-contact data carrier having a uniform thickness by pressing and having less unevenness can be provided. Further, the thickness of the non-contact data carrier depends on the thickness of the template, so that the thickness can be easily controlled, and the displacement of the circuit component due to the hot pressing is reduced, so that the yield of the non-contact data carrier can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a contactless data carrier of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of manufacturing the non-contact data carrier of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a template used for manufacturing the non-contact data carrier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the configuration of another contactless data carrier of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a general overall configuration of a contactless data carrier system;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the configuration of the contactless data carrier of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the contactless data carrier of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Circuit component 1a ... Epoxy board 1b ... IC chip 2 ... Transmission / reception antenna 3 ... Internal component 4 ... Resin layer 4a ... Resin sheet 5 ... Template layer 6 ... Template 7 ... Opening 8 ... Concave part 8a: first recess 8b: second recess 9: stainless steel plate 20: non-contact data carrier (responder)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) // B29K 105: 20 B29L 31:34

Claims (6)

[Claims] A circuit component including a storage element for storing information, an antenna for transmitting and receiving a signal without contacting an external device, and a conductor for electrically connecting the antenna and the circuit component are substantially provided. A card-shaped non-contact data carrier including a resin layer encapsulating an internal component disposed on the same plane, wherein a non-contact data carrier has a region corresponding to the internal component on both surfaces of the resin layer before press molding. In a peripheral region, a template layer made of a metal thin film having a concave portion or an opening is disposed, and the concave portion or the opening of the template layer is disposed at a position matching the region of the internal component. And contactless data carrier. 2. The non-contact data carrier according to claim 1, wherein said template layer is an aluminum thin film. 3. The non-contact data carrier according to claim 1, wherein the recess or the opening of the template layer is formed regularly. 4. A circuit component including a storage element for storing information, an antenna for transmitting / receiving a signal in a non-contact manner with an external device, and a conductor part for electrically connecting the antenna and the circuit component are substantially formed. A method of manufacturing a card-shaped non-contact data carrier in which internal components arranged on the same plane are sealed with a resin material, wherein the internal components are sandwiched between resin sheets, and A template is formed from a metal thin film having a concave portion or an opening formed in a region corresponding to an internal component, and the template layer is overlapped and hot-pressed at a position where the concave portion or the opening of the template layer matches the region of the internal component, A method for manufacturing a non-contact data carrier, wherein the internal component is sealed. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the template layer is an aluminum thin film having a recess or an opening formed therein. 6. The non-contact data carrier according to claim 4, wherein the concave portion or the opening of the template layer is formed regularly.