JP2002352210A - Substrate for ic card, and ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate for IC card having surface smoothness and to provide an IC card. SOLUTION: In the substrate to which various modules such as loop coil for antenna, an IC chip to be used for the IC card are bonded, a space to embed the various modules into its substrate layer is formed, thus the step difference due to the various moduli is reduced and excellent surface smoothness can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a substrate for bonding various modules used in an IC card, and an IC card using the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Credit cards, cash cards,
As a prepaid card or the like, as an alternative to a conventional magnetic card, an IC card equipped with an IC module having a large recording capacity and excellent security has been developed.

[0003] IC cards are classified into two types, a contact type and a non-contact type, according to a method of reading a recording medium. In the contact type, the card and the reader come into contact when communicating with a terminal. The disadvantage is that the contacts are easily soiled or broken. Also, the maintenance of the leader requires man-hours. On the other hand, in the non-contact type system, since the recording medium and the reader do not have a contact point, these disadvantages including the maintenance work of the reader have been improved, but the systematization of security is not perfect, and it is still widely deployed Was not reached. However, there has been a movement to adopt an IC card partially using both an IC module and a magnetic stripe as a cash card, and a non-contact IC card has also started to be put into practical use as a commuter pass.

[0004] As a method of manufacturing this kind of IC card, conventionally, a burying space is secured by counterboring a burying hole of an IC module or sandwiching a spacer, and an oversheet is laminated / hot-pressed thereon. The method of burying has been taken. However, the counterbore processing on the base sheet has a problem that the number of manufacturing steps and the cost are increased. Even in the method of providing the buried space by the spacer, the positioning of the spacer and the shape processing thereof are complicated, and the process is also complicated.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 3-24000 proposes making a card by an injection molding machine. This is a method of molding a base for fixing an IC module by an injection molding method, and mounting and fixing the IC module on the base. After that, injection molding is performed again to make a card.
This is not preferable in terms of production efficiency because it requires two injection molding steps. Further, since the module may be broken or the completed card may be warped due to heat or pressure at the time of injection molding, it cannot be said that it is an appropriate method for manufacturing an IC card.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-147087, I
There is an IC card in which a base layer on which a C module is mounted, a hot melt resin, and an oversheet are sequentially laminated.
It is a method of embedding an IC module by applying and processing the viscosity of the hot melt resin, laminating the oversheet and hot pressing, but it is usually thicker than the thickness of the IC chip to embed the IC module. Otherwise, the card surface will not be flat. In general, the thickness is required to be several tens to several hundreds of microns, so that the coating method requires repetitive processing, and is not a simple method as described in the specification.

[0007] JP-A-11-338990 discloses that
There is disclosed a method for embedding an IC module by providing a polymer layer for flowing / embedding such as an IC chip having a softening point lower than these softening points between two plastic sheets, but bonding the IC module to a substrate. Considering the thickness of various modules such as IC chips, a polymer layer of at least about 1.1 times the thickness of the IC chip or the like is required. However, there is a drawback that production efficiency is not good because bleeding occurs due to the increase in size.

[0008] Further, it is assumed that the fluid polymer resin also has a function of bonding the substrate and the oversheet. However, the shrinkage of the polymer resin and the substrate to which various modules such as IC chips are bonded upon cooling is low. Since the IC module is filled with a polymer resin melted between the base material of the card and the oversheet, the surface of the card is smoothed by hot pressing. There is a problem that unevenness occurs. Increasing the thickness of the adhesive resin also increases costs.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate for an IC card which does not cause sink marks and has excellent surface smoothness and productivity. Another object of the present invention is to provide an IC card using the base material.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a base material for bonding various modules used in an IC card, wherein a space for embedding various modules in the base layer is formed. IC
A base material for a card, which is an IC card obtained by bonding various modules to the base material for an IC card and further laminating an oversheet.

[0111]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The base material for an IC card of the present invention comprises:
It is characterized by shaping a space for embedding various modules to be bonded, and as a shaping method, a known vacuum forming method, pressure forming, or the like is used. Press molding by so-called male and female dies, in which the dies for mating are fitted to each other, can be suitably used. Further, the molding and the molded portion in the present invention refer to a situation where the base sheet does not maintain flatness and smoothness. That is,
As long as various modules can be embedded, the depth and shape are not particularly limited, and the shapes are not limited to the shapes shown in the embodiments of the present invention.

The sheet for the base material used in the present invention is I
There is no particular limitation as long as it has sufficient mechanical properties, workability, and the like when actually used as a C card. For example, polyester-based sheets such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, polyamide-based sheets such as nylon 6, nylon 6, 6, polycarbonate sheets, polystyrene sheets, and cellulose derivative sheets such as triacetylcellulose. Sheets made of vinyl resin, ABS resin, acrylic resin, etc., and polyetherimide (PEI), polyethersulfone (PE
S), a sheet manufactured from polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and the like. Further, these sheets may be appropriately stretched or heat-treated to the extent that the formability is not impaired in order to improve the mechanical strength and heat resistance, or an inorganic filler or the like may be added to improve the rigidity. You can use anything you do.

The thickness of the substrate film used in the present invention is not particularly limited.
It is preferably 0 μm. If the thickness is less than 10 μm, the rigidity is insufficient, and when bonding various IC modules, it cannot be set properly due to the twist of the base material. On the other hand, if the thickness is larger than 500 μm, it may be difficult to form a detailed shape depending on the shape of the mold, which is not preferable.

The resin used for the oversheet used in the present invention may be the same material as the base material or a different material. For example, strong paper or synthetic paper, PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PBT
(Polyethylene naphthalate), polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, poly (3-hydroxybutylate-3 hydroxyvalerate), polyvinyl alcohol, 4-methylpentene 1 resin, cyclic polyolefin Can be used alone or in combination as a composite of synthetic resins, natural resins, metals, ceramics, and the like.

It is more preferable that the oversheet used in the present invention has a bonding function in advance for bonding to a substrate on which various IC chips and modules are mounted. For example, the adhesive may be dissolved in a solvent and applied by a known coating method.

The adhesive resin used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it does not affect the adhesiveness to the substrate, but a hot melt adhesive is more preferred. For example, polyethylene (PE), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer (EEA), acrylic acid copolymer resin (EAA), ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer resin (EM
Examples thereof include polyolefin resins such as AA), polyester resins, and urethane resins, and particularly preferred are crystalline polyolefin resins and polyester resins. However, for example, when the base material uses a polyester-based sheet,
A copolymer polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, a modified polyethylene resin, or the like is preferable. When a PVC sheet such as PVC or chlorinated PVC is used as a base material, a vinyl acetate resin is preferably used.

As a method for providing an adhesive function, the above-described coating method is generally used. However, when the molded portion of the base material becomes large or deep, an adhesive resin formed by coating is used. It may be processed in advance into a sheet shape and used by placing it between the oversheet and the formed base material. Alternatively, the oversheet and the adhesive resin may be used, for example, by a co-extrusion method or an extrusion lamination method. May be used in advance. In any case, by using a base material in which the space for bonding the IC chip and various modules obtained by the present invention is preformed, the thickness of the adhesive with the oversheet can be greatly increased as compared with the conventional case. Can be thin.

In the present invention, the plastic sheet or film serving as the base material and the oversheet can be colored to prevent tampering of the IC card and to hide the embedded antenna loop coil and IC chip. . The coloring may be performed on only the plastic sheet serving as the base material or any one of the film and the oversheet, but it is preferable to color both of them in order to more securely cover. As a coloring method, a pigment may be prescribed to the resin constituting the base sheet or the film or the oversheet, or printing may be performed in some cases.

The IC card according to various aspects of the present invention includes:
The heating and pressurizing operation can be manufactured by a batch-type pressurizing method such as a hot press, or by a method of continuously heating and pressing by passing between two opposed heated press rolls. Although it is possible, from the viewpoint of mass productivity and manufacturing cost, it is preferable to manufacture by a method of passing between two pressure rolls.

According to the present invention, the curling of the card or the like is caused by the so-called "hinge effect" as compared with the case where various IC modules are bonded to a flat film because the base material is formed. And a flat IC card can be manufactured. Further, even in a case where the resin of the adhesive layer is melted and fluidized to fill the unevenness around the IC chip or the like, according to the present invention, the adhesive layer can be made thinner because the substrate sheet has less unevenness, and the flatness can be improved. Card can be manufactured. Even when the base material is a stretched and oriented polyethylene terephthalate or a polyethylene naphthalate, a card having a smooth surface can be produced without deformation such as curling due to heat.

[0021]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be shown below, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

<Example 1> Kodah PETG6763 (manufactured by Eastman Chemical Co., Ltd.) 1 and Aronmelt PE
Using S-111EE (manufactured by Toa Gosei Co., Ltd.) 2, a laminated sheet 1 for protecting IC chips and the like was produced by a common co-extrusion method. However, the sheet was a sheet having a thickness of 200 μm. The base sheet 3 used was a sheet in which a polyester sheet having a thickness of 300 μm was previously formed in accordance with the shape of an IC module to be bonded by a vacuum forming machine.

<Example 2> Next, a laminated sheet was prepared by an ordinary extrusion method using Byron GM990 (manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) 2 '. A biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 100 μm and a corona treatment with the polymer layer,
A product name “Lumirror” (manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) 1 ′ was thermocompression-bonded to produce a laminated sheet 2 for bonding. As the base sheet 3 ', a sheet in which a polyamide sheet having a thickness of 500 µm was previously formed in accordance with the shape of an IC module to be bonded by a pressure forming machine was used.

Example 3 Next, a laminated sheet was prepared by a conventional extrusion method using Byron GM990 (manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd.) 2 ″. This polymer layer was subjected to corona treatment and a biaxial sheet having a thickness of 100 μm. Stretched polyester film,
The product name "Lumirror" (manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) 1 "was thermocompression-bonded to produce a laminated sheet 3 for bonding. The base sheet 3" was an IC module to be bonded in advance by a pressure molding machine. A sheet formed of a polyether naphthalate sheet having a thickness of 50 μm according to the shape was used.

<Preparation of IC Card> As shown in FIG. 4, a loop coil for an antenna or an IC chip having a size of 5 mm × 5 mm and a thickness of 0.40 mm is arranged on the molded portion of the base material layer. Each of the laminated sheets 1 to 3 is 25 cm ×
It was slit to 25 cm and overlapped. On the side opposite to the side where the IC module was bonded, another laminated sheet was laminated and bonded so that the polymer layer was on the inside. The total thickness of the obtained bonded sheet was 700 μm. This sheet was punched out for each set of IC chips and the like, and finished in a card shape to produce an IC card.

<Evaluation of IC card> Regarding the obtained IC card, the surface smoothness of the embedded portion of the IC chip was
The surface of the IC card was visually observed to make a visual judgment.
As a result, it was found that all of the IC cards of the present invention exhibited good smoothness.

The bonding conditions are as follows. Roll material: metal roll or rubber roll (rubber roll hardness, Shore D75) Roll diameter: 100 mm diameter
, Set temperature: Laminated sheet 1, 2 140 ° C, Laminated sheet 3, 4 180 ° C Laminating pressure: Gauge pressure 12kg
/ Cm 2, bonding speed: 0.5 m / min.

The base material for an IC card according to the present invention is prepared in advance by setting a mold corresponding to the set position of various modules to be bonded, such as an IC chip, and the shape, and using this as a cavity. The sheet is formed in advance or immediately before bonding of various modules by a known method such as vacuum forming or air pressure forming. In this case, since the thickness of the various modules can be dispersed on both sides of the substrate by making the depth of the molded portion smaller than the thickness of the various modules, compared with the case where various modules are bonded to one side of the substrate, As in the case where the thickness of various modules is reduced, the effect of reducing the thickness of the adhesive layer with the oversheet can be obtained. In addition, by forming the base material, the same effect as improving the rigidity of the base material due to the hinge effect by drawing can be obtained, and there is also an effect that warpage such as sink marks of the completed card can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a laminated sheet obtained in Example 1.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a laminated sheet obtained in Example 2.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a laminated sheet obtained in Example 3.

FIG. 4 A module embedded in an IC card and
It is the schematic which shows the shape of the shaping | molding part for embedding a module.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1 ', 1 "oversheet 2, 2', 2" adhesive layer 3, 3 ', 3 "base sheet 4 IC chip 5 Antenna loop coil 6 IC module mounting molded part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A base material for bonding various modules used in an IC card, wherein a space for embedding the various modules is formed in the base layer. Substrate. 2. The base material for an IC card according to claim 1,
An IC card obtained by bonding various modules and further laminating an oversheet.