JPH1185938A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an IC chip from being damaged by bending force when a card is bent. SOLUTION: A rectangular frame-shaped reinforcing member 8 constituted of a stainless thin plate is provided in the outer periphery of an IC chip 6 mounted on a circuit sheet 2. Even when a bending force is added to the mounted part of the IC chip 6, the bending force is received by the reinforcing member 8. Thus, the card 1 can be prevented from being bent largely enough to cause the damage of the IC chip 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card capable of reinforcing an IC chip without impairing elasticity (flexibility) against bending.

[0002]

An IC card is usually
A first sheet having an IC chip mounted on one surface on which a circuit pattern is formed, a second sheet mounted on the first sheet to protect the IC chip, and a third sheet mounted on the second sheet In many cases. The first sheet and the third sheet that constitute both sides of the IC card
The sheet is formed, for example, from a plastic sheet of about 200 μm, and the intermediate second sheet is, for example, 400 μm.
It is formed from a relatively thick plastic sheet of about μm. In this way, the intermediate sheet is formed about twice as thick as the sheets on the front and back sides, so that when a bending force is applied,
Whether the IC card bends elastically and flexibly depends mainly on the material of the intermediate second sheet.

[0003] If the intermediate sheet is formed of a hard and hard-to-bend material, the IC card becomes difficult to bend. Further, when the intermediate sheet is formed of a flexible material, for example, an adhesive material made of a thermoplastic material, the IC card becomes a flexible bend. Since the IC card is sometimes carried in a pocket of clothes or the like, it is easier to handle the IC card. However, if the IC card is bent,
If it is a mounting part of the C chip, the IC chip may be damaged depending on the degree of bending.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to improve the bending resistance of an IC chip without impairing the elasticity (flexibility) against bending.
In providing the card.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an integrated circuit on a surface on which a circuit pattern is formed.
A circuit sheet on which a chip is mounted, a cover sheet covering the one surface of the circuit sheet, and an intermediate adhesive layer made of a flexible thermoplastic material and joining the circuit sheet and the cover sheet, In order to reinforce the bending of the IC chip, a reinforcing member is provided near the IC chip.

Further, the present invention provides a small board on which an IC chip is mounted, a coil connected to the IC chip via a circuit pattern formed on the small board, and the small board and the coil interposed therebetween. And a card main body, at least one of which is formed of a flexible thermoplastic material and is joined to the other sheet, for reinforcing the IC chip against bending. And a reinforcing member provided near the IC chip.

In the IC card having the above-described configuration, the intermediate adhesive layer is formed of a flexible thermoplastic material, or at least one of the two sheets constituting the card main body is flexible. Since it is formed of a thermoplastic material, it is flexible and easy to handle. Moreover, even if a bending force acts on the mounting portion of the IC chip, the bending force can be received by the reinforcing member provided near the IC chip.
It is not bent so much that the IC chip is broken.
Such a reinforcing member is provided near the IC chip,
Since it does not exist in other parts, there is no possibility that the flexibility of the entire IC card is impaired by the reinforcing member.

In the present invention, the reinforcing member may be formed in a loop shape so as to surround the IC chip from the periphery. With this arrangement, it is possible to prevent the thickness of the IC card from increasing due to the provision of the reinforcing member.

In the present invention, the reinforcing member may be formed in a plate shape and provided so as to overlap the IC chip. When the reinforcing member is put on the IC chip in this way,
Since the bending resistance can be improved without increasing the size of the reinforcing member as compared with the IC chip, the loss of flexibility of the IC card due to the provision of the reinforcing member can be reduced.

Further, in the present invention, the reinforcing member may be formed in a container shape and provided so as to cover the IC chip. By forming the reinforcing member in a container shape in this manner, the bending resistance can be further improved.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the IC card 1 includes a circuit sheet 2, an intermediate sheet 3 as an intermediate adhesive layer, and a cover sheet 4.

The circuit sheet 2 is made of plastic, for example, polyester-based plastic, and more specifically, has a thickness of 188.
It is made of a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet of about μm. On one surface of the circuit sheet 2, a coil-shaped circuit pattern 5 is formed, and an IC chip 6 connected to the circuit pattern 5 is mounted. In this embodiment, the circuit pattern 5 is formed by screen printing using a conductive paste, for example, a polyester-based silver paste, and the IC chip 6 is flip-chip mounted with, for example, an epoxy-based anisotropic conductive adhesive. I have.

The coil-shaped circuit pattern 5 is for transmitting and receiving a radio signal to and from an external device. In this embodiment, the operating power of the CPU and the like provided in the IC chip 6 is also supplied to the external device. It is configured to obtain from a radio signal transmitted from the device. Also, one end 5a of the circuit pattern 5 overlaps with the circuit pattern 5,
As shown in FIG. 3, both are insulated by an insulating film 7 formed by screen printing means therebetween.

The intermediate sheet 3 is made of a plastic material having a heat-melting property such that it becomes molten and becomes fluid when heated, for example, a sheet formed to a thickness of about 400 μm with a polyester-based hot melt adhesive. It is configured. The intermediate sheet 3 has a function of protecting the circuit pattern 5 and the IC chip 6 and the like, and has a function of bonding itself to the circuit sheet 2 and the cover sheet 4, and covers the circuit pattern 5 and the IC chip 6 and the like without gaps. . The cover sheet 4 is for protecting the relatively soft intermediate sheet 3 and is made of, for example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet having a thickness of about 188 μm, like the circuit sheet 2.

To manufacture such an IC card 1 having a three-layer structure, a circuit sheet 2 on which an IC chip 6 is mounted is placed on a circuit sheet 2.
The intermediate sheet 3 and the cover sheet 4 are sequentially stacked, and then the whole is thermocompression-bonded by a hot press device (not shown).
Then, the hot-melt adhesive forming the intermediate sheet 3 is heated and melted and becomes fluid, so that the molten hot-melt adhesive covers the circuit pattern 5 and the IC chip 6 without gaps. At the same time, intermediate sheet 3
Is formed so as to have a uniform thickness by applying pressure from both the upper and lower sides, and bonds the circuit sheet 2 and the cover sheet 4 together. Then, the intermediate sheet 3 is solidified by the subsequent cooling, whereby the three-layer IC card 1 in which the circuit sheet 2, the intermediate sheet 3, and the cover sheet 4 are firmly joined is manufactured.

The IC card 1 manufactured as described above
Has flexibility and bends flexibly with elasticity when a bending force is applied, and returns to the original planar shape when the bending force is removed. In the IC card 1, if the mounting portion of the IC chip 6 is bent, the IC chip 6 may be damaged. Therefore, a reinforcing member 8 is provided to prevent this.

The reinforcing member 8 is formed in a loop shape, for example, in a rectangular frame shape of a closed loop, and is provided near the IC chip 6 on one surface of the circuit sheet 3 on which the circuit pattern 5 is formed. It is arranged to surround from the side. This reinforcing member 8 is made of a material that is thin but has high strength,
For example, it is formed by punching a thin plate of about 100 to 200 μm of stainless steel.

The reinforcing member 8 is disposed on one surface of the circuit sheet 2 before the circuit sheet 2, the cover sheet 4, and the intermediate sheet 3 are thermocompression-bonded. Thereafter, the circuit sheet 2, the intermediate sheet 3, and the cover sheet 4 are laminated in three layers and thermocompression-bonded.
The hot melt adhesive forming the intermediate sheet 3 is in a molten state and covers the outside of the reinforcing member 8 without any gap, and also enters the inside of the reinforcing member 8 to block the space between the IC chip 6 and the reinforcing member 8. After that, the hot melt adhesive in the molten state is cooled and solidified, so that the reinforcing member 8
The C chip 6 is fixed so as to surround the C chip 6 from the outer peripheral side. As shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing member 8 and the circuit pattern 6 are insulated by an insulating film 9 similar to the insulating film 7 described above.

In the IC card 1 as described above, the circuit sheet 2 and the cover sheet 3 are formed of PET, and the intermediate sheet 3 is formed of a polyester hot melt adhesive. Therefore, when a bending force acts, the IC card 1 bends flexibly with elasticity.

In this case, assuming that the portion to which the bending force acts is the mounting portion of the IC chip 6, this IC chip 6
Since the reinforcing member 8 is disposed around the outer periphery of the member, the bending force can be received by the reinforcing member 8 having high rigidity. For this reason, in a normal use state, although the IC card 1 may bend slightly at the mounting portion of the IC chip 6, there is no possibility that the IC card 1 is bent so large that the IC chip 6 is damaged. It can be effectively prevented. Moreover, since the reinforcing member 8 has a loop shape and is disposed around the outer periphery of the IC chip 6, there is no possibility that the thickness of the IC card 1 is increased by providing the reinforcing member 8, and the form of a thin card can be maintained.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the first embodiment is that a portion of the reinforcing member 8 that intersects with the circuit pattern 5 is notched in a concave shape. In this way, the reinforcing member 8 does not come into contact with the circuit pattern 2 due to the cutout recess 8a, and when the three sheets 2 to 4 are thermocompression-bonded, the intermediate sheet 3
Is formed into a molten state and enters the cutout recess 9. Therefore, the reinforcing member 8 and the circuit pattern 5 can be electrically insulated without providing the insulating film 9 that covers the circuit pattern 5.
The step of forming the insulating film 9 can be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, a portion of the rectangular frame-shaped reinforcing member 8 that intersects with the circuit pattern 5 is cut off to form an open loop. Also in this case, as in the second embodiment, the insulating film 9 covering the circuit pattern 5 can be made unnecessary.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the first embodiment is that the reinforcing member 8 is arranged so as to be in contact with the cover sheet 4 and the reinforcing member 8 is
Is located away from In order to achieve this, the reinforcing member 8 may be arranged on the intermediate sheet 3 when the three sheets 2 to 4 are thermocompression-bonded. At this time, the reinforcing member 8 may be bonded to the cover sheet 4.
In the case of such a configuration, the circuit pattern 5 can be formed without providing the notch recess 8a in the reinforcing member 8 as in the above-described second embodiment or partially cutting out as in the third embodiment. The reinforcing member 8 can be electrically insulated.

FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the first embodiment is that firstly, the reinforcing member 10 is formed by a stainless steel wire having a circular cross section, and secondly, the reinforcing member 10 is bent into a substantially C-shape to form an open loop with ends. It is in the place. The reinforcing member 1 is arranged so as to surround the IC chip 6 from the outer peripheral side so that both ends are located on both sides of the circuit pattern 5 so as not to contact the circuit pattern 5.

When the reinforcing member 1 is made of a wire having a circular cross section, unlike the first to third embodiments, there are no ridges, so that the circuit sheet 2 and the cover sheet 4 are not provided.
At the ridge line. In addition, since the reinforcing member 10 is formed not in a rectangular shape but in a circular shape, it is possible to eliminate corners, so that it is possible to completely eliminate the occurrence of a damage accident of the circuit sheet 2 and the cover sheet 4 due to the corners. .

The reinforcing member 10 may be formed in an endless closed loop shape. In this case, electrical insulation between the reinforcing member 10 and the circuit pattern 5 is performed by the insulating film 9 as shown in FIG. 3 or by providing the reinforcing member 10 with a cutout recess 8a as shown in FIG. Just do it.

FIG. 8 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
This is because the reinforcing member 11 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape from a stainless steel plate, and the reinforcing member 11 is arranged in the vicinity of the IC chip 6, that is, on the upper surface of the IC chip 6. With this configuration, even if a bending force acts on the IC chip 6 mounting portion of the IC card 1, the bending force is received by the reinforcing member 11. 6 is not so bent as to cause breakage, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

The portion of the IC card 1 where the reinforcing member 11 is provided is less pliable than the other portions due to the rigidity of the reinforcing member 11. However,
In this embodiment, since the reinforcing member 11 is provided so as to overlap the IC chip 6, the bending resistance of the IC chip 6 can be secured without increasing the reinforcing member 11 so much.
Thereby, the area where the flexibility of the IC card 1 is reduced can be narrowed.

FIG. 9 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the sixth embodiment is that the IC chip 6 mounted on the circuit sheet 2 is covered with, for example, an epoxy-based plastic 12 for sealing, and a reinforcing member 13 formed in a flat plate shape from a thin stainless steel plate is sealed. It is placed on the stop plastic 12 so as to overlap. In this configuration, since the IC chip 6 is covered with the relatively hard sealing plastic 12, the IC chip 6 is more reliably damaged by the cooperative action of the plastic 12 and the reinforcing member 13. Can be prevented.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show an eighth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the reinforcing member 14 is formed in a circular container having a flat bottom surface. The reinforcing member 14 is coated on the IC chip 6 after applying an epoxy-based sealing plastic 15 to the IC chip 6 in a process before thermocompression bonding of the circuit sheet 2, the intermediate sheet 3, and the cover sheet 4. Since the epoxy resin has fluidity at room temperature before curing, the epoxy resin spreads to every corner of the reinforcing member 14 and fills the inside of the reinforcing member 14 with the fluidity. Then, the circuit sheet 2,
When the cover sheet 4 and the intermediate sheet 3 are thermocompression-bonded, the hot melt adhesive forming the intermediate sheet 3 is in a molten state and covers the outside of the reinforcing member 14 without any gap. Incidentally, the reinforcing member 14 is made of an extremely thin metal plate, for example, having a thickness of 30 to 50.
A stainless steel plate of μm was formed by press drawing.

When the reinforcing member 14 is formed in a container shape as described above, the reinforcing member 14 has a three-dimensional form.
The bending strength of the reinforcing member 14 is increased. Therefore, IC
The bending resistance of the card 1 can be further improved.

FIG. 12 shows a container-like reinforcing member.
The reinforcing member 16 may be a rectangular container having a flat bottom surface as shown in FIG. 13, or a bowl-shaped reinforcing member 17 having a spherical bottom surface as shown in FIG.

As the container-like reinforcing member, FIGS.
The shape is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. A small hole 18 for venting air may be formed in the container-like reinforcing member, for example, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. If the small holes 18 for venting air are provided in this manner, the sealing plastic 15 fills the reinforcing members 14, 15, 17 while extracting air from the small holes 18, so that the reinforcing effect on the IC chip 6 is achieved. Can be further increased. The small holes 18 are preferably formed at the center or the top of the container-like reinforcing member in order to enhance the air venting effect.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show a ninth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a container-like reinforcing member 21 is formed by a stainless-steel rectangular enclosure member 19 arranged to surround the IC chip 6 and a stainless-steel lid plate 20 for closing the upper surface of the enclosure member 19. It is what constituted. The surrounding wall member 19 is disposed on the circuit sheet 2 so as to surround the IC chip 6. Then, a sealing plastic 22 similar to the sealing plastic 15 of the eighth embodiment is applied to the inside of the surrounding wall member 19. Thereafter, the lid plate 20 is placed on the surrounding wall member 19. The cover plate 20 is made of an IC chip 6 and the surrounding wall member 1 by using a sealing plastic 22.
9 is adhered. Then, the upper surface of the surrounding wall member 19 is
The circuit sheet 2, the intermediate sheet 3, and the cover sheet 4 are thermocompression-bonded in a state where the circuit sheet 2 is closed.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show a tenth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of forming a coil-shaped circuit pattern on a circuit sheet, a coil 23 is formed by winding a thin wire into a rectangular shape. On the other hand, IC chip 6
Are mounted on a small substrate 24 made of a glass-epoxy substrate. The terminal of the coil 23 is connected to a circuit pattern (not shown) formed on the small substrate 24, and is connected to the IC chip 6 via the circuit pattern.

The coil 23 and the small substrate 24 unitized as described above are, for example, a sheet 2 made of vinyl chloride.
The front cover sheet 27 and the back cover sheet 28 are arranged so as to be sandwiched between the upper and lower sheets 5 and 26 and further sandwich the sheets 25 and 26 from above and below. Then, a sealing plastic 30 similar to the sealing plastic 15 of the eighth embodiment is applied to the IC chip 6, and thereafter, a rectangular container-shaped reinforcing member 31 made of stainless steel is put on the IC chip 6. In this state, the sheets 25 and 26, the front and back cover sheets 2
7, 28 are thermocompression bonded.

Then, since the two sheets 25 and 26 are formed of vinyl chloride, which is a kind of thermoplastic material, the sheets 25 and 26 become fluid by thermocompression bonding. As a result, the coil 23 and the small substrate 24
5 and 26, and the two sheets 25 and 26 are integrated by bonding to form a card main body 29. On both front and back sides of the card main body 29, both cover sheets 27, 28 are provided with sheets 25, 26.
It is adhered by.

FIGS. 20 and 21 show an eleventh embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the tenth embodiment is that the reinforcing member 32 covers the entire small substrate 24. . Note that cutouts 32 a through which the coils 23 pass are formed on both side surfaces of the reinforcing member 32.

FIG. 22 shows a twelfth embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that a rectangular reinforcing member 33 made of a stainless steel thin plate and disposed around the IC chip 6 is provided with a circuit. A portion intersecting with the pattern 5 is formed by bending a tunnel portion 33a.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be extended or modified as follows. The reinforcing members 8, 33 may be circular or other shapes. Reinforcing members 8, 10, 11, 13,
14, 16, 21, 31, 32, and 33 may be formed of not only stainless steel but also a metal such as aluminum, copper, or steel, or plastic or ceramics if rigid. Both sheets 2 constituting the card main body 29
Of the sheets 5 and 26, both need not be made of a flexible thermoplastic plastic material, and at least one sheet may be a flexible thermoplastic plastic material.

A flange may be provided around the opening surface of the container-like reinforcing member so that the flange is directed to the small board 24 or the circuit sheet 2. In an IC card having a configuration in which the coil 23 and the small substrate 24 are sandwiched between the two sheets 25 and 26, the IC chip 6 is connected to the reinforcing members 8, 10, and the components shown in the first to seventh embodiments. You may make it reinforce by 11 and 13. The IC card 1 may be of a type in which data exchange with an external device is performed by contact between terminals. In this case, the circuit pattern provided on the circuit pattern 2 is a connection between the IC chip 6 and the external device. Circuit pattern for connecting the terminal to the terminal. The IC card 1 may have a built-in battery as an operation power supply.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state before thermocompression bonding of three sheets.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a view showing a modification of the container-like reinforcing member.

FIG. 13 is a view showing a modified example of the container-like reinforcing member.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a modification of the container-like reinforcing member.

FIG. 15 is a view showing a modified example of the container-like reinforcing member.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a main part showing a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing an eleventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a reinforcing member.

FIG. 22 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a twelfth embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is an IC card, 2 is a circuit sheet, 3 is an intermediate sheet (intermediate adhesive layer), 4 is a cover sheet, 5 is a circuit pattern, 6 is an IC chip, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 1
6, 21, 31, 32, and 33 are reinforcing members, 19 is an enclosure member, 20 is a cover plate, 23 is a coil, 24 is a small board, 25,
26 is a sheet and 29 is a card.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A circuit sheet having an IC chip mounted on one surface on which a circuit pattern is formed, a cover sheet covering the one surface of the circuit sheet, and a flexible thermoplastic plastic material, An IC card comprising: an intermediate adhesive layer that joins a cover sheet; and a reinforcing member provided near the IC chip for reinforcement against bending of the IC chip. 2. A small substrate on which an IC chip is mounted, and said IC via a circuit pattern formed on said small substrate.
A coil connected to a chip, comprising two sheets arranged so as to sandwich the small substrate and the coil, at least one of which is formed of a flexible thermoplastic material and has the other sheet An IC card comprising: a card main body to be joined; and a reinforcing member provided near the IC chip for reinforcement against bending of the IC chip. 3. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is formed in a loop shape and is provided so as to surround the IC chip from the periphery. 4. The reinforcing member is formed in a plate shape, and the reinforcing member is
3. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the IC card is provided so as to overlap with a chip. 5. The reinforcing member is formed in a container shape, and
3. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the IC card is provided so as to cover the C chip.