JPH11139054A - Non-contact IC card - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a non-contact IC card that is inexpensive, resistant to forgery and alteration, and is reusable. The present invention has means for identifying a card individual in a card base, and means for identifying a card individual on at least one card surface layer, and the means and the means have an arbitrary fixed relationship. .

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a non-contact IC card in which an inlet made of an electronic component or the like is inserted into a plastic card base.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a card used for identifying an individual, an identification method based on magnetic or optical reading has been used. However, due to lack of permanence or possibility of data change. The security of identification was low.

[0003] For this reason, recently, I
The C card has attracted attention as an identification card. But,
A conventional IC card has a connection terminal for electrical and mechanical connection for information exchange between an IC circuit of the IC card and an external data processing device.

However, because of the connection terminals, I
Ensuring airtightness inside the C circuit, countermeasures against electrostatic breakdown,
Conventional IC cards have various problems, such as poor electrical connection of the terminal electrodes and complicated mechanisms of the IC card read / write device. In addition, an operation of inserting or mounting an IC card into an IC card reading / writing device is required, and it is inefficient and complicated depending on the field of use, and remote data that can be used in a portable state without such labor is required. There has been a demand for a non-contact IC card capable of exchanging information with a processing device.

[0005] Non-contact IC cards that are not only carried by humans but also capable of remote data communication are used as ID cards by attaching them to parts, devices, luggage, carriers, etc. in the fields of manufacturing, assembling, and sorting transportation. The utility value is extremely high. Therefore, a non-contact IC card in which information exchange between an IC circuit of the IC card and an external data processing device is performed by an electromagnetic induction method or a radio wave / optical method in a non-contact manner has been considered.

An electromagnetic induction type non-contact IC card performs non-contact communication with a read / write device using electromagnetic waves or the like for reading and writing data in the card. The structure of the non-contact IC card includes a communication control unit and a data memory. An inlet formed of a part called an IC module such as a part and an antenna serving as an entrance and exit of an electromagnetic wave is embedded in a plastic card base.

[0007] Non-contact IC cards are considered to be applied to commuter passes due to their high convenience. However, conventional commuter passes are of a magnetic type and are inexpensive as compared with non-contact IC cards. Therefore, a method of reducing the price per use period by reusing the non-contact IC card has been considered. For example, the conventional case of disposable for 6 months and non-contact I
When the C card is used for three years, it can be seen that a simple unit price of six times is sufficiently practical. Needless to say, the problem of garbage should be reused.

When the card is reused, there is no problem if the data inside the card is rewritable, for example, if an EEPROM or the like is used. Recently, there are ferroelectric memories with low power consumption and high rewriting speed, and can be solved by using such a rewritable device.

Another problem in reusing a card is to change the display of the card. There are several types of rewritable materials for display, but rewritable means that it is vulnerable to tampering, and materials that cannot be easily rewritten and can be rewritten quickly under specific conditions are desired. . Regarding the rewriting of card data, security can be enhanced by providing access restrictions etc., but in the case of rewriting the display, countermeasures against tampering other than taking the method of rewriting with special materials only under special conditions Is weak.

[0010] In order to solve this problem, a method of attaching a seal to the card surface has been considered. In this method, a preprinted sticker is attached to the surface of the card, and the sticker is replaced when reused. A sticker may be pasted on a card in advance, and printed at the time of issuance with a printer or the like.
With this method, security using a conventional printing technique can be used, and security other than printing on a sticker, such as magnetic information or a hologram, which has been used for a conventional card can also be used. In this manner, the forgery prevention effect of the seal itself can be enhanced.

However, even if the above method is adopted, the sticker can be replaced. For example, in the case of a commuter pass or the like, the IC of the used card is destroyed and the sticker of the card which has been used for another period is used. Has not been able to cope with the method of pasting into a used card and receiving a reissue.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an excellent non-contact IC card which is inexpensive, resistant to forgery and alteration, and can be reused. And

[0013]

Means for Solving the Problems A first invention of the present invention is:
Means 1 for identifying a card individual in a card base and Means 2 for identifying a card individual on at least one card surface layer
The means 1 and the means 2 are non-contact IC cards having an arbitrary fixed relationship.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the card base is made of a material that transmits visible light, and the means for identifying the individual card in the card base is a means that can be seen from outside the card. It is a non-contact IC card.

As described above, according to the present invention, there are provided means 1 for identifying a card individual in a card base, and means 2 for identifying a card individual in at least one card surface layer,
Since the means 1 and the means 2 have an arbitrary fixed relationship, it is possible to prevent the alteration such as attaching the printed surface layer to another card.

Further, since a material for transmitting visible light is used for a part or all of the card base material, and a means for identifying the individual card inside the card base is visible from the outside of the card, the printed surface layer can be removed. It is possible to prevent alteration such as attaching to another card.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments. FIG. 1 is an example of a plan view and a sectional view of a non-contact IC card according to the present invention.

The material of the card base 1 is a conventional IC card,
PVC and P used for various credit cards, etc.
Synthetic resins such as ET, PP, PC, ABS, and epoxy are used. An inorganic substance such as a metal or a metal oxide may be contained to the extent that the function of the non-contact IC card is not impaired. Glass or the like may be included to prevent resin shrinkage during processing. The material is selected according to physical characteristics such as heat resistance and bending strength of the card. A multilayer structure may be used to incorporate the IC module 2.

An IC module 2 is built in a card base 1. The IC module 2 is configured by electronic components for realizing a function as a non-contact IC card. There is a memory part in the configured electronic parts,
In many cases, an EPROM or FRAM (ferroelectric memory) is used. The antenna may be attached to the IC module (not shown) or may be incorporated in the IC module. A combination of an IC module and an antenna is generally called an inlet or an inlay. As the antenna, a coil formed by winding a conductor called a magnet wire or a copper foil used for a printed wiring board etched in a spiral shape can be used.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an IC module. IC
The module 2 includes an IC chip 11 on a printed wiring board 14.
Is mounted, and the connection between the IC chip and the printed wiring board is performed by a wire bonding method, a flip chip method, or the like. The IC chip is sealed with an epoxy resin as the sealing resin 8 if necessary. A UV-curable resin may be used as the sealing resin. In the case of mounting by the flip chip method, a film containing a conductive material in a resin, which is called an anisotropic conductive film, may be used. In this case, the sealing resin may not be necessary.

The IC module 2 is built in the card base 1 together with the identification means, and cannot be operated from outside the card. The identification means may be processed separately from the IC module and incorporated in the card base. As a specific method of the identification means, for example, a method in which copper foil is patterned on the printed wiring board of the IC module 2 by etching or the like, or a method in which a seal having an identification number recorded in advance is attached to the IC module is used.

The data may be read by transmitting the data using, for example, X-rays. When using X-rays, the material of the identification means may be any material as long as it can be confirmed using X-rays. A synthetic resin is used as the card base material. If the identification number is formed of a metal or the like, it can be confirmed by X-rays. For example, a pattern may be formed by etching a metal foil such as a copper foil or by plating or depositing gold or the like. Identification can also be made using magnetism, electromagnetic waves, ultrasonic waves, or the like in addition to X-rays, and a method generally used for nondestructive inspection or the like can be used. What is necessary is just to form an identification code using the material which can be recognized by these methods.

A seal 4 is attached to the card base 1. As the material of the seal 4, any material can be used as long as it becomes a sheet. PVC, PET, PP, PC,
It may be a synthetic resin such as ABS, paper, synthetic paper, or the like. An inorganic substance such as a metal or a metal oxide may be contained to the extent that the function of the non-contact IC card is not impaired. The adhesive between the card base 1 and the seal 4 may use an adhesive, or may be a material that can be bonded and peeled off by applying hot-melt heat. Acrylic adhesive is used as the adhesive.
It is common to provide about μm by a gravure method or the like. Other examples of the adhesive component include, but are not limited to, butyl rubber, natural rubber, silicone, and polyisobutyl. The seal may be attached to the entire surface of the card or may be a part thereof. The adhesive may be prevented from adhering to a part so that the adhesive can be easily removed at the time of replacement.

The printing layer 3 is provided on the seal 4.
The printing layer 3 may be printed on the seal 4 in advance, or may be provided after being attached to the card base 1. The printing layer may be provided on either side of the seal. Further, the seal itself may have a multilayer structure, and a print layer may be provided therebetween.

As a printing method, an offset printing method, a gravure printing method, a screen printing method, or the like is used. Further, a heat transfer ribbon or the like may be used. In addition to printing, a method in which the seal 4 is deformed or discolored by laser, marking, or the like may be used. In addition, any method that can form a pattern such as plating or vapor deposition may be used. These methods may be used alone or in combination of two or more methods. For example, there is a method in which the seal 4 is printed in advance by a screen printing method, and is written with a thermal transfer ribbon or laser at the time of issuance. Of course, it is also possible to combine the printing on the front and the back or on the intermediate layer.

The data written on the print layer only needs to have a certain relationship with the data written on the identification means in the IC module. For example, the identification means 16
If a radix number is written, "41"
May be printed, or a code (for example, “A”) corresponding to the numerical value “41” may be printed. In other words, it is only necessary that the print data and the data of the identification means correspond to each other, and if it is a unique number for each card, when a seal having a print layer is attached to the card base of another card, If the numbers do not match, the card has been altered.

The second invention proposes to use a transparent material for the card base 1. In this case, the identification means can be visually recognized from the outside. When the identification means is confirmed from the surface of the card to which the seal is attached, the seal must of course be transparent. However, this is not necessary if it is on the side opposite to the surface where the seal is attached. Further, a seal having a window opened in a part so that the inside of the card can be seen may be used, or a seal may be attached to only a part of the card.

[0028]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the non-contact IC card according to the present invention will be described below more specifically. <Embodiment 1> FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the non-contact IC card of the present invention. An antenna 6 is connected to the IC module 2 and is built in the card base 1. A seal 4 is attached to the surface of the card. Although the IC module 2 and the antenna 6 are visible in FIG. 2 for convenience, they cannot actually be viewed from the outside. Code 10 was printed on the seal. 300 μm white P on the card base 1
What laminated | stacked two VC sheets was used. For the seal 4, a white PET sheet coated with an adhesive of 50 μm was used.

The manufacturing process of the card will be described with reference to FIG. First, the built-in cord 5 and the wiring of the IC chip were formed on a copper-adhered glass epoxy substrate 7 having a thickness of 0.2 mm by an etching method. The thickness of the copper foil was 35 μm. IC
The wiring pads 11 of the chip were plated with nickel and gold. Thus, a wiring board 7 for an IC module was obtained. See FIG.

The IC chip 9 was mounted on the wiring board 7 and connected to the wiring board by a wire bonding method using a gold wire. Thereafter, the IC chip 9 was sealed 8 with epoxy resin by a bonding method to obtain an IC module 2 with a built-in cord 5. See FIG. 4 (b).

A magnet wire having a wire diameter of 0.15 mm
The wound antenna 6 was soldered to the IC module 2 to obtain an inlet 13. See FIGS. 4C and 4D.

Two white PVC sheets having a thickness of 300 μm were prepared, the inlet 13 was interposed therebetween, and a card base 1 was obtained by a hot cold lamination method. FIG.
See (e).

Separately, a cord 10 is provided on a white PET sheet having a thickness of 100 μm by a screen printing method, and then an acrylic adhesive is applied by a gravure method to a thickness of 20 μm to form an adhesive layer 1.
It was set to 2, and the seal 4 was obtained. See FIG. 4 (f).

Finally, the card base 1 and the seal 4 were bonded to obtain a desired card. See FIG. 4 (g).

After the card was completed, the IC module 2 inside the card was observed with a soft X-ray device.
Could be read. FIG. 4 (h).
The match between the built-in code 5 and the code 10 makes it possible to determine the authenticity of the card, thereby preventing alteration due to replacement of the seal.

<Embodiment 2> A non-contact IC card according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the manufacturing process shown in FIG. First, the inlet 13 was manufactured using the same material and method as in Example 1. Detailed description is omitted. FIG. 5 (a)
To (d).

Two transparent PVC sheets having a thickness of 300 μm were sandwiched, and the inlet 13 was sandwiched between the two sheets to obtain a card base 1 by hot cold lamination. See FIG. 5 (e).

Separately, after a cord 10 is provided on a transparent PET sheet having a thickness of 100 μm by a screen printing method, an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied at a thickness of 20 μm by a gravure method to form an adhesive layer 1.
It was set to 2, and the seal 4 was obtained. See FIG. 5 (f).

Finally, the card base 1 and the seal 4 were bonded to obtain a desired card. See FIG. 5 (g).

The antenna inside the card and the IC module inside the card could be visually observed from outside (see FIG. 6), and "0041" of the built-in code 5 could be easily read. The match between the built-in code 5 and the code 10 makes it possible to determine the authenticity of the card, thereby preventing alteration due to replacement of the seal.

[0041]

The data inside the IC is important not only for the non-contact card but also for the IC card. When the IC is destroyed, whether or not the card is genuine is determined by external printing or the like. I have no choice. Although printing security has been improved in various ways, the use of seals as in the present invention has been vulnerable to tampering with conventional techniques.

According to the present invention, the alteration of the sticker can be easily prevented by printing a code provided in the card base, which cannot be touched from the outside, and a sticker attached to the outside of the card. It became possible to do.

The advantage of the seal method is that the card does not need to be disposable, so that the card unit price per fixed period can be reduced and the amount of waste can be reduced. In addition, even when the card can be reused and it is difficult to print directly on the card, the structure of the printer can be simplified since it is sufficient to print the information on the sticker before applying it to the card.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a sectional view showing an example of a non-contact IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory perspective view of the non-contact IC card according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an IC module.

4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining a manufacturing process of the non-contact IC card according to the first embodiment, wherein FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of an IC module wiring board, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of an IC module, and FIG. (D) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of (c),
(E) is a sectional view of a card base, (f) is a sectional view of a seal, (g) is a plan view and a side view of the card, and (h) is a plan view of an IC module portion when the card is transmitted through X-rays. It is.

5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a manufacturing process of the non-contact IC card according to the second embodiment, where FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of an IC module wiring board, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of an IC module, and FIG. (D) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′ of (c),
(E) is a sectional view of the card base, (f) is a sectional view of the seal, and (g) is a plan view and a side view of the card.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view of a non-contact IC card according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Card base 2 IC module 3 Printing layer 4 Seal 5 Built-in cord 6 Antenna 7 Printed wiring board 8 Sealing resin 9 IC chip 10 Printing Layer code 11 Wiring pad 12 Adhesive layer 13 Inlet

Claims (2)

[Claims] A means for identifying a card individual in a card base, and means for identifying a card individual on at least one card surface layer, wherein the means and the means have an arbitrary fixed relationship. A non-contact IC card, comprising: 2. The non-card according to claim 1, wherein said card base is made of a material that transmits visible light, and said means for identifying a card individual in said card base is means visible from outside the card. Contact IC card.