AU2019299933A1

AU2019299933A1 - License plate for a vehicle, and method for producing a license plate for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: AU2019299933A1
Application number: AU2019299933A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Albertus Jacobus Pretorius
Original assignee: Toennjes ISI Patent Holding GmbH
Current assignee: Toennjes ISI Patent Holding GmbH
Priority date: 2018-07-11
Filing date: 2019-07-04
Publication date: 2021-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 2039-07-04
Also published as: AU2019299933B2; AR115727A1; TWI723456B; EP3820742C0; EP3820742A1; WO2020011644A1; TW202012221A; DE102018005440A1; ES2951269T3; EP3820742B1; PL3820742T3

Abstract

License plates for vehicles are frequently falsified. In order to prevent this, license plates are known which have contactlessly readable data carriers with a slot antenna. However, the production of said license plates is expensive, and the license plates are very error-prone under mechanical loads. The invention provides a method for producing a license plate (10) and a vehicle license plate (10) which can be operated in a reliable manner and is easy to produce. This is achieved in that a license plate body (11) of the license plate (10) has an opening (13), and the opening (13) can be covered at least as much as possible by a flat and at least partly electrically conductive support (18) with a slot antenna and a data carrier (23).

Description

License plate for a vehicle, and method for producing a license plate for a vehicle

Description

The invention relates to a registration plate for a vehicle according to the preamble of Claim 1. The invention furthermore relates to a method for producing a registration plate for a vehicle according to Claim 13.

Registration plates according to the invention are what are known as number plates that are attached to the front and/or rear of a body or of a bumper of a vehicle and those that are adhesively affixed to a window pane of the vehicle, specifically in particular in the form of additional registration plates.

Registration plates of the type mentioned are often forged or used for other vehicles. To prevent this, registration plates having a contactlessly readable data carrier are known. Said data carrier contains relevant data of the vehicle to which the registration plate belongs. These data are read by way of an external reader. The comparison of the data read to the vehicle on which the registration plate is used allows conclusions to be drawn with respect to manipulations, in particular when the registration plate is assigned to another vehicle.

The registration plates known to date with contactlessly readable data carriers have an antenna. The latter is connected to the data carrier using electrical lines to make it possible to transfer the data stored on the data carrier. Said antenna can be what is known as a slot antenna in a registration plate body of the registration plate. This antenna in the form of a slot type cutout in the registration plate body is electrically coupled, in particular inductively coupled, to the data carrier. To this end, the data carrier must be arranged in a specific position relative to the slot antenna to establish the electromagnetic coupling. To this end, the data carrier can be arranged for example in a wider part of the slot of the slot antenna. However, as soon as the relative positioning of the data carrier in relation to the slot antenna deviates from a specified value, malfunctions or a failure of the contactlessly readable data carrier may occur. The tolerance in the positioning of the data carrier in relation to the slot can be less than 1 mm. Inaccuracies or undesirable deformations of the registration plate body can occur in particular on account of a stamping process that is used to produce the slot in the registration plate body. Embossing a marking into the registration plate body, generally performed after stamping and after the data carrier has been placed into the slot, can also negatively change the relative positioning of the data carrier in relation to the slot. The registration plate of the vehicle accidentally bumping into a kerb, a tree or the like can likewise result in said deformation of the registration plate body.

Consequently, the production of the known registration plates having a slot antenna firstly proves complex, and additionally they are highly prone to defects in particular under a mechanical influence.

The invention is based on the object of providing a method for producing a registration plate and registration plates for a vehicle having a data carrier and an antenna that is reliably operable and easy to produce.

A registration plate for a vehicle for achieving this object has the features of Claim 1. According to said claim, a registration plate body of the registration plate has an opening. Said opening is at least substantially coverable according to the invention by a two-dimensional, at least partially electrically conductive carrier. Said carrier has at least one slot forming an antenna, or a slot antenna, and at least one contactlessly readable data carrier that electrically couples to said antenna. This registration plate according to the invention first permits the production of a registration plate body having an opening, wherein the tolerance that must be observed for the production does not need to satisfy any major requirements. The at least partially electrically conductive carrier can be prefabricated and then be placed on the opening. For example, the carrier with the at least one slot and the at least one data carrier can be prefabricated by a dedicated method, in particular by way of a printing method. In this way, a particularly robust registration plate can be produced without the need to increase the production accuracy of the registration plate or of the registration plate body. Rather, the required production accuracy is reduced by way of the registration plate according to the invention.

Furthermore, the data carrier can preferably have an RFID chip and at least one coil that is electrically conductive therewith and via which the data carrier and/or the RFID chip is able to be inductively coupled to the antenna of the carrier. The data that are stored on the data carrier can be easily and reliably read by way of said coupling. Equally, data can be stored on the data carrier in the same reliable and easy manner. By using an RFID chip, the data carrier can be read by way of known readers or rewritten.

According to the present invention, the carrier can in particular furthermore be embodied as a, preferably self-adhesive, film that is dimensioned such that it at least regionally overlaps a peripheral region of the opening in the registration plate body. Here, the carrier preferably has the same shape as the opening, just a little larger, such that the peripheral regions of the carrier overlap those of the opening. The opening is preferably embodied to be rectangular, in particular in the manner of a slot. The likewise rectangular carrier is then able to be placed over said rectangular opening. On account of the self-adhesive embodiment of the film, the film is easily and reliably affixed to the surface of the registration plate body, or over the opening.

According to a further preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the carrier, in particular the film, can have at least one partially electrically conductive coating, and the at least one antenna, in particular an antenna structure, can be formed by said coating. For example, it is conceivable that the antenna structure, or the slot antenna, is produced by way of vapour deposition of a conductive material on the carrier. In this way, a particularly flexible material, for example a plastics material, can be used as a substrate for the carrier, on which flexible material the electrically conductive layer can then be vapour-deposited, printed or the like. Even if the registration plate body is unexpectedly bent, the antenna structure is not damaged. Rather, the carrier follows the bending movement, specifically in a reversible manner.

According to the invention, the carrier, in particular the film, can moreover be embodied as a metallic film, and the at least one antenna, in particular an antenna structure, can be formed by a slot in the carrier. This metallic film can be, for example, an aluminium foil, a copper foil or the like. It is likewise conceivable that the film is a flexible film made of plastics material, such as PET.

According to the invention, the slot in the carrier can furthermore have at one end an expanded portion in which the data carrier and/or the RFID chip and/or the coil is positioned, in particular so as to be electrically insulated from the conductive regions of the carrier. On account of the fact that the slot in the carrier with the expanded portion and the data carrier has already been prepared by way of a separate method, such as a printing method, it is possible here to achieve a sufficiently high accuracy, specifically independently of whether the registration plate body still needs to be embossed. Even if the registration plate body still needs to be embossed for the marking, any deformation of the registration plate body does not transfer to the elastic carrier.

According to the invention, the registration plate body can furthermore be formed from an electrically conductive material, preferably from aluminium or an aluminium alloy or the like. This permits a particularly simple and flexible processing of the registration plate body.

It should furthermore be added that the carrier with the antenna and the data carrier is applicable by way of an electrically conductive film that is self-adhesive, preferably self adhesive on both sides, over the opening in the registration plate body such that the carrier is mechanically and electrically coupled to the registration plate body. Electrical contact between the carrier, or the slot antenna, and the registration plate body is established via said electrically conductive film. This electrical contact between the slot antenna and the registration plate body results in the slot antenna that is arranged on the carrier being able to act as an antenna for the data carrier. On account of the self-adhesive property of said film, it can be applied simply over the opening in the registration plate body and can also be fixedly connected to the carrier. Said electrically conductive film can be applied onto the registration plate body at least over peripheral regions of the opening. In doing so, no major requirements in terms of the placement accuracy of the film on the registration plate body apply. Rather, the film can be placed on the registration plate body with a tolerance of a few mm.

Moreover, according to a further advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the carrier and/or the registration plate body and/or the film can be at least substantially covered by a, preferably at least regionally demetallized, reflective film. On account of said reflective film, the registration plate can be read particularly easily even under difficult light conditions. Since at least the region over the slot antenna, or over the opening, is demetallized, said reflective film does not result in a disturbance either during the data exchange between a receiver and the contactlessly readable data carrier. The reflective film can be a retroreflective film.

Preferably, the opening can additionally be covered by a non-conductive covering, in particular by a PET film, or the opening is able to be filled with a, preferably electrically non-conductive, compound, from a rear side of the registration plate body. By filling the opening from the rear, it is possible to prevent the opening or the carrier with the antenna structure and the data carrier from being damaged due to environmental influences. Moreover, it is possible to prevent moisture from entering the layer structure of the registration plate and destroying it, in particular when there is frost. Said covering can be applied or fixed on the rear side of the registration plate body or be injected into the opening.

A method for producing a registration plate for a vehicle for achieving the object stated in the introductory part has the features of Claim 13. According to said claim, initially, a registration plate body is provided with an opening and a self-adhesive, electrically conductive film is applied at least over peripheral regions of said opening, wherein an at least regionally electrically conductive carrier with a slot antenna and a data carrier is adhesively affixed onto said film and subsequently the registration plate body is provided with a reflective film. Said method for producing a registration plate is particularly simple because there are no major requirements in terms of the placement of the individual elements. Moreover, the existing facilities for producing a registration plate with a slot antenna can be used to perform this method. Here, the slot-type opening must first be stamped into the registration plate body. Since the electrically conductive, self-adhesive film in the further method is to be applied over this opening, inaccuracies in the stamping process can be compensated for by a sufficiently large overlap between the conductive film and the registration plate body. The same is true for the application of the carrier on the electrically conductive film. What is essential here too is merely that the carrier is placed on the self-adhesive film and is arranged at least substantially over the opening. The subsequent application of the reflective film, in particular the retroreflective film, on the registration plate body likewise requires no excessive amount of accuracy. When applying the reflective film, the same procedure as in known registration plates should be followed.

According to the invention, a marking can moreover be embossed into the registration plate body after the registration plate body, the film, the carrier and the reflective film have been assembled. Any mechanical deformations caused by the embossing can be caught and compensated for by the flexible or resilient connection between the carrier and the registration plate body by way of the film. In this way, it is impossible for the slot antenna to deform in a disadvantageous manner.

By way of the carrier described here with the slot antenna, the slot from the known registration plate with slot antenna is transferred or transported from the registration plate body onto a separate carrier. In this way, the production method can firstly be simplified and additionally the performance of the data exchange can be improved. The carrier described here can also be referred to as an inlay in the registration plate layer structure.

A preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. In this drawing:

fig. 1 shows an illustration of a registration plate body, fig. 2 shows an illustration of a self-adhesive film, fig. 3 shows an illustration of a carrier, fig. 4 shows an illustration of a reflective film, fig. 5 shows an illustration of a covering, and fig. 6 shows an illustration of a registration plate for a vehicle.

The registration plate 10 for a vehicle described here is made up of layers of a plurality of constituent parts. A two-dimensional registration plate body 11 illustrated schematically in fig. 1 serves as the basis of the registration plate 10. Said registration plate body 11 can be produced in the form of a rectangular plate made of metal, in particular aluminium or an aluminium alloy, or a plastics material. The corners can be rounded, as is illustrated in fig. 1. The lengths of the side edges correspond to those of a standard registration plate for a vehicle. However, it is also conceivable that the dimensions of the registration plate body 11 deviate from that shown here. For example, it is certainly conceivable that the registration plate body 11 is square or has a different aspect ratio.

The thickness of the sheet metal of the registration plate body 11 can be 1 mm or 2 mm or several mm. A marking field 12 is located on the registration plate body 11. A marking (not illustrated) is placed into said marking field 12 by way of embossing or other methods. The vehicle is primarily identified by way of said marking.

In accordance with the present invention, the registration plate body 11 illustrated in fig. 1 has an opening 13. The opening 13 illustrated in fig. 1 is rectangular or embodied in the manner of a slot and has a longitudinal axis that extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the registration plate body 11. However, it is also conceivable that the opening 13 is oriented in a different way on the registration plate body 11 or has a different shape, such as an angled shape, a T-shape or a H-shape.

A film 15 is assigned to the registration plate body 11 on the upper side 14 thereof. This film, illustrated in fig. 2, can preferably be embodied to be self-adhesive on both sides and likewise has a cutout 16, the shape of which corresponds to that of the opening 13. The shape of the film 15 can be adapted to the shape of the registration plate body 11 or have a different embodiment. What is essential, however, is that the film 15 at least regionally corresponds to a peripheral region 17 of the opening 13. An essential feature of the film 15 furthermore consists in the electrically conductive configuration thereof. To this end, the film 15 can be embodied either in the form of metallic film/foil or have a corresponding coating on both sides, more specifically in a manner such that a low electrical resistance exists between a front side and a rear side of the film 15.

Said film 15 is to be placed on the upper side 14 of the registration plate body 11 in a manner such that the cutout 16 of the film 15 at least substantially coincides with the opening 13 in the registration plate body 11.

An essential element of the registration plate 10 according to the invention is the carrier 18 illustrated in fig. 3. Said carrier 18 is likewise embodied to be rectangular and corresponds to the shape of the opening 13, or of the cutout 16. However, at least two of the side edges of the rectangular carrier 18 are longer than the corresponding side edges of the opening 13, or of the cutout 16, which means that when the carrier 18 is applied onto the cutout 16 in the film 15, the carrier 18 at least regionally overlaps the opening 13 of the registration plate body 11.

The carrier 18 is likewise embodied to be electrically conductive. To this end, the carrier 18 can be embodied either as a metallic film or sheet or be provided with a metallic coating such that a surface conductivity is obtained.

The carrier 18 has a slot 20 on an upper side 19 and/or a lower side. On account of said slot 20, the carrier 18 is not electrically conductive in said region. In the exemplary embodiment of the slot 20 illustrated in fig. 3, said slot has at one end an expanded portion 21. Said rectangular expanded portion 21 is directly connected to the slot 20 and is thus part of the slot 20. The expanded portion 21 and the slot 20 have a common border 22. Said border 22 forms a slot antenna in the electrically conductive carrier 18. Said slot antenna serves as an antenna for the data carrier 23 that is arranged in the expanded portion 21. In addition, an RFID chip or a similar active or passive component for transmitting and receiving data can be assigned to the data carrier 23. Information relating to the vehicle and relating to the vehicle owner is storable on the data carrier 23. It is likewise conceivable that further information in connection to the vehicle is stored on the carrier 23 such that it is contactlessly readable by a third party using a suitable device.

The carrier 18 can be prefabricated as a film-type strip having the antenna structure 20 and the data carrier 23 by way of a corresponding vapour deposition method or printing method. A very high level of accuracy both in the structure of the slot 20 and in the positioning of the data carrier 23 can be attained with this prefabrication. The attainable accuracy lies in the submillimetre range. For the placement of the carrier 18 together with the slot 20 and the data carrier 23 on the film 15, a lower accuracy or greater tolerance is then applicable. The carrier 18 merely needs to be placed on the film 15 such that the slot 20 is situated above the opening 13 and does not overlap the peripheral region 17. Consequently, the required placement accuracy amounts to a few mm. This simplifies in particular the production method that has been used to date, in which in particular the placement of a data carrier in an expanded portion of a slot in the registration plate body has been critical. On account of the flexibility of the carrier 18, the data carrier 23 retains its relative position in relation to the slot 20, or the expanded portion 21, even in the event of an impact or bending of the registration plate body 11 together with the carrier 18.

A reflective film 24, in particular a retroreflective film 24, illustrated in fig. 4, is applied onto the registration plate body 11 or on the film 15 and the carrier 18. Said reflective film 24 can be embodied to be self-adhesive, which means it is capable of being fixedly adhesively affixed to the upper side 14 of the registration plate body 11. The reflective film 24 is at least substantially metallized such that it reflects even in poor visibility conditions when a corresponding illumination is present. In a lower region 25 of the reflective film, the latter is demetallized, that is to say the reflective film 24 is not metallized in this region and thus also does not reflect. This lower region 25 coincides with the region in which the carrier 18 with the slot antenna 20 is positioned. On account of said demetallization in the lower region 25, the data carrier 23 is not affected by any electromagnetic disturbance on account of the metallization of the reflective film 24.

In terms of its shape, the reflective film 24 illustrated in fig. 4 corresponds to the shape of the registration plate body 11. However, the reflective film 24 can also differ in terms of its shape from that of the registration plate body 11.

Finally, a non-conductive covering 26, in particular a PET film, can be adhesively affixed in the opening 13, or a non-conductive compound, such as epoxy resin, can be filled into the opening 13, from a rear side of the registration plate body 11. The carrier 18 is protected against environmental influences and mechanical impacts by said electrically non-conductive covering 26. The covering 26 can be formed in one unit with the carrier 18 and applied in the opening 13.

Fig. 6 illustrates a registration plate 10 according to the invention without a marking. The following embossing process can be performed on the marking field 12, specifically without a mechanical deformation of the registration plate body 11 impacting the functionality of the antenna or of the data carrier 23. On account of the flexibility of the data carrier 23, any deformations caused by the embossing or other impacts can be compensated.

List of reference signs:

10 Registration plate 11 Registration plate body 12 Marking field 13 Opening 14 Upper side 15 Film 16 Cutout 17 Peripheral region 18 Carrier 19 Upper side 20 Slot 21 Expanded portion 22 Border 23 Data carrier 24 Reflective film 25 Lower region 26 Covering

Claims

Registration plate for a vehicle and method for producing a registration plate for a vehicle Patent Claims:

1. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle having a two-dimensional registration plate body (11) that has at least one marking field (12), with at least one marking that is assigned to the marking field (12) of the registration plate body (11) and with a reflective film (24) that is at least regionally metallized, characterized in that the registration plate body (11) has an opening (13) that is at least partially coverable by a two-dimensional, at least partially electrically conductive carrier (18), wherein the carrier (18) has an antenna, formed by at least one slot (20), and a contactlessly readable data carrier (23) that electrically couples to said antenna.

2. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to Claim 1, characterized in that the data carrier (23) has an RFID chip and at least one coil that is electrically conductive therewith and via which the data carrier (23) and/or the RFID chip is able to be inductively coupled to the antenna of the carrier (18).

3. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the carrier (18) is embodied as a, preferably self-adhesive, film (15) that is dimensioned such that it at least regionally overlaps a peripheral region (17) of the opening (13) in the registration plate body (11).

4. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (18), in particular the film, has at least one partially electrically conductive coating, and the at least one antenna, in particular an antenna structure, is formed by said coating.

5. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (18), in particular the film, is embodied as a metallic film, and the at least one antenna, in particular an antenna structure, is formed by a slot (20) in the carrier (18).

6. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (18), in particular the film, is made from a flexible plastics material, preferably from PET.

7. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slot (20) in the carrier (18) has at one end an expanded portion (21) in which the data carrier (23) and/or the RFID chip and/or the coil is positioned, in particular so as to be electrically insulated from the conductive regions of the carrier (18).

8. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the opening (13) in the registration plate body (11) is embodied as a rectangle, in particular a slot.

9. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the registration plate body (11) is formed from an electrically conductive material, preferably aluminium or an aluminium alloy.

10. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (18) with the antenna and the data carrier (23) is applicable by way of an electrically conductive film (15) that is self-adhesive, preferably self-adhesive on both sides, over the opening (13) in the registration plate body (11) such that the carrier (18) is mechanically and electrically coupled to the registration plate body (11).

11. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (18) and/or the registration plate body (11) and/or the film (15) is at least substantially covered by a, preferably at least regionally demetallized, reflective film (24).

12. Registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the opening (13) is covered by a non-conductive covering (26), in particular by a PET film, or the opening (13) is able to be filled with a, preferably electrically non-conductive, compound, from a rear side of the registration plate body (11).

13. Method for producing a registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to at least one of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, initially, a registration plate body (11) is provided with an opening (13) and a self-adhesive, electrically conductive film (15) is applied at least over peripheral regions (17) of said opening (13), wherein an at least regionally electrically conductive carrier (18) with a slot antenna (20) and a data carrier (23) is adhesively affixed onto said film (15) and subsequently the registration plate body (11) is provided with a reflective film (24).

14. Method for producing a registration plate (10) for a vehicle according to Claim 13, characterized in that, after the registration plate body (11), the film (15), the carrier (18) and the reflective film (24) have been assembled, a marking is embossed into the registration plate body (11).