EP4334841A1

EP4334841A1 - Data-bearing card and semi-finished product and wiring layout for same, and method for producing same

Info

Publication number: EP4334841A1
Application number: EP22726424.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Stefan Kluge
Original assignee: Giesecke and Devrient ePayments GmbH
Current assignee: Giesecke and Devrient ePayments GmbH
Priority date: 2021-05-04
Filing date: 2022-04-28
Publication date: 2024-03-13
Also published as: WO2022233716A1

Abstract

The invention proposes several alternatives of how to electrically connect two electronic components (2, 15) of a chip card to one another. According to the invention, two contact terminals of one of the two electronic components (15) are electrically connected to each other either directly or via associated contact pads (14B, 14C) inside the card body (1).

Description

Card-shaped data carrier and semi-finished product and contact layout for it, and method for producing the same

The invention relates generally to the field of electronic data carriers in the form of cards, in particular chip cards such as credit and debit cards, and in particular data carriers which have two electronic components which are arranged separately in the data carrier but are electrically connected to one another. In this context, the invention relates to the data carriers as such, as well as semi-finished products and contact layouts for them, and methods for their production.

In connection with contactless communicating chip cards, it is known to equip the electronic chip (“microchip”) of the chip card with an antenna device arranged inside the chip card. For this purpose, the antenna device is laid, for example, as a coil on a layer inside the card, in the so-called card inlay, and has two contact pads that are electrically conductively connected to two corresponding contact surfaces on the underside of a chip module containing the chip. There are various technical solutions for making contact between the contact pads of the antenna coil and the contact surfaces of the chip module. What many of these solutions have in common is that the card inlay is laminated with one or more additional layers, so that the surface of the card inlay that carries the antenna device is inside the card. A cavity is then milled into the card body, into which the chip module is inserted. This is the case in particular with so-called dual-interface cards, in which the chip can communicate both contactlessly via the antenna device and with contact via further exposed contact surfaces of the chip module. When the cavity is created, the connection pads of the antenna coil are also exposed. A silicon compound with metallic particles can serve as a connection between the contact pads of the antenna coil and the contact surfaces of the chip module above it Flex Bump Technology). According to an alternative method, an electrically conductive soldering paste is applied to the respective contact pad of the antenna device instead of the silicon mass and liquefied in a local melting process so that it creates a reliable electrically conductive connection to the contact surfaces of the chip module, which becomes permanent when the solder cools down (for example in the so-called TeConnect process from Mühlbauer). According to a third method, the contact pads of the antenna device are provided with an anisotropically conductive foil (ACF). This is a hot-meltable plastic material with conductive particles distributed in it, which only conducts electricity perpendicularly to the contact pad, so that the film can be applied over a relatively large area, even over several contact pads, without electrically short-circuiting these contact pads (so-called ACF connection technology ).

Instead of the antenna device or often in addition to it, an electronic card-shaped data carrier can have other electronic components, in particular sensors such as a fingerprint sensor. Such sensors can be used to identify an authorized user and to activate the cards. Just like the antenna coil, they must be electrically connected to the chip on the chip card in order to be able to communicate with the chip. This can be done in the same way as previously explained in relation to the antenna device.

One or more first contact pads of the card inlay for contacting a first electronic component must therefore be connected in an electrically conductive manner to one or more second contact pads for contacting a second electronic component. Instead of providing full-surface contact pads, which are individually connected to one another by means of separate lines, the contact pads and the electrically conductive connections between the contact pads are made by one and the same wire to reduce the manufacturing effort, by meandering or zigzagging the relevant wire in the area of the contact pads - is laid in a jagged pattern on the card inlay in such a way that the contact pad is sufficiently densely covered with the wire so that contact can be reliably made from above. The wire is laid with the support of ultrasound so that it digs into the surface of the card inlay and does not damage the thickness of the card body. influences The wire itself is usually plastic-coated, with the plastic coating in the area of the contact pads being removed during free milling.

Based on this prior art, the problem arises that in some applications two or more contact terminals of an electronic component must be electrically short-circuited with one another and at the same time the connection to a contact terminal of the other electronic component must be created. Replacing the zigzag-shaped contact pads of the card inlay assigned to the two contact connections of an electronic component with a single large zigzag-shaped contact pad or using a wire to create two zigzag-shaped contact pads and a connecting line in between can lead to problems Because it can happen due to manufacturing tolerances that the contact pads are milled on the side when milling the cavity for the electronic component to be used. The wire is then severed and with it the electrically conductive connection between the two contact pads.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a solution in this context as to how two contact surfaces of one of these two components and a contact pad of the other component can be reliably electrically conductively connected to one another in a card-shaped data carrier with several electronic components that are electrically conductively connected to one another .

According to the present disclosure, a contact layout of a corresponding multilayer card-shaped data carrier has a first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and preferably at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component, as well as electrically conductive connections on the one hand between the first contact pad and a first of the second contact pads and on the other hand between the first of the second contact pads and a second of the second contact pads. The contact pads mentioned are each formed by a meandering wire and are also referred to below as wire pads. According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a continuous wire is used for this purpose, which forms both the mentioned contact pads and the electrically conductive connection. This wire is laid in the first of the second contact surfaces as a double meander, namely preferably in such a way that a first part of the wire forms first meander loops lined up in a first direction and an adjoining second part of the continuous wire forms second meander loops lined up in an opposite direction of passage, wherein the first and second meander loops are nested within each other. The interlocking feed and return of the double meandering wire forms an "interdigital structure". The double meander allows the wire to run in the wire pad in such a way that the end of the wire entering the contact pad and the end of the wire leading out of the contact pad are at the same end of the contact pad. If the contact pad is then arranged in the card body in such a way that the opposite end of the contact pad faces the cavity to be milled out, it does not damage the electrical connection between the first and the second contact pad if the contact pad with a double meander shape falls out when the cavity is milled out is milled. Because the fact that when the contact pad laid in a double meandering pattern comes into contact with an associated contact surface of the (second) electronic component, an electrical connection is always established between the end of the wire leading into the contact pad and the end of the wire leading out of the contact pad is an interruption of the wire in the area of the contact pad is not critical.

A corresponding method for producing this contact layout accordingly comprises the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate and

Laying a continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component, the wire being laid in a meandering manner in the said contact pads, and for producing an electrically conductive border connection between the first contact pad and a first of the second contact pads on the one hand and between the first of the second contact pads and one second of the second contact pads on the other hand, with the continuous wire being laid in the first of the second contact surfaces as a double meander, namely preferably in such a way that a first part of the continuous wire forms first meandering loops lined up in a first direction and an adjoining second part of the continuous Wire in an opposite direction of passage forms lined-up second meander loops, the first and second meander loops being nested in one another.

For the purposes of this embodiment variant, the "continuous wire" is also to be understood as a continuous wire if the wire is interrupted between the first part of the wire forming the first meander loops and the second part of the wire forming the second meander loops, because - as will be explained below - The wire is separated anyway in a later step at this point.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the contact pads for connecting the first and second electronic components and the electrically conductive connections between the contact pads are formed by two continuous wires. The first continuous wire forms the (at least one) first contact pad for the first electronic component and the first of the (at least two) two contact pads for the second electronic component and a connecting line between these two contact pads. The second wire forms the second of the second contact pads and a connection line led out therefrom. In addition, an electrically conductive connecting element is provided, which “overlays” the connecting line formed by the first wire and the connection line formed by the second wire and connects them to one another in an electrically conductive manner. The electrically conductive connecting element can cover the area of the connecting line of the first continuous wire and the area of the connecting line of the second continuous wire from above. Alternatively, the electrically conductive connecting element can first be provided on the card inlay and both the laying of the first continuous wire in the area of the connecting line and the laying of the second continuous wire in the area of the connection line can be carried out, in each case over the electrically conductive connecting element. follow, so that the electrically conductive connection element lies under the continuous wire and the connection line.

The electrically conductive connecting element is preferably metallic, in particular copper, and the electrically conductive connection between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line of the first continuous wire on the one hand and between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line of the second continuous wire on the other hand is a welded connection. The welded joint in turn is preferably a thermocompression welded joint, in which metal is welded to metal by welding the metallic, electrically conductive connecting element to the respective wire. The thermocompression welding is in turn preferably carried out with the aid of ultrasound. In the process, both any plastic coating of the wires and any oxide layer of the metalli's electrically conductive connecting element are rubbed away before the elements ultimately weld together.

In this context, it is particularly preferred if the area of the connecting line of the first continuous wire and the area of the connecting line of the second continuous wire, which are to be connected to one another by means of the electrically conductive connecting element, are so close together that the electrically conductive connection between the connecting element and the connecting line on the one hand and between the connecting element and the connecting line on the other hand as a common connection point, in particular as a continuous welded connection, which can advantageously be produced in a single process step, e.g. by thermocompression welding.

A thin copper element or another electrically conductive element is preferably used as the connecting element, particularly preferably a metalized film, for example a PVC film or another suitable plastic film. A corresponding method for producing the contact layout described above can include the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a first continuous wire on the plastic substrate to create at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a first of at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and for creating a connecting line between these two contact pads, the the first continuous wire is laid in a meandering pattern in the contact pads mentioned,

Laying a second continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce a second of the second contact pads and a connecting line leading out therefrom, the second continuous wire being laid in a meandering manner in the second of the second contact pads,

Application of an electrically conductive connecting element in such a way that it either covers both an area of the connecting line of the first continuous wire and an area of the connecting line of the second continuous wire or that both the laying of the first continuous wire in the area of the connecting line and the laying of the second continuous wire wire in the area of the connection line only after the application of the electrically conductive connection element and in each case via the electrically conductive connection element, and electrically conductive connection of the electrically conductive connection element both to the first continuous wire in the area of the connection line and to the second continuous wire in the area of the connecting cable.

A third aspect of the present disclosure also provides that the contact pads and the electrically conductive connections between them are produced by means of two continuous wires. Just as in the second aspect described above, the first continuous wire forms the (at least one) first contact pad for the first electronic component and the first of the (at least two) second contact pads for the second electronic component and a connecting line between these two contact pads. And just like the second aspect forms the second wire, the second of the second contact pads and a connection line led out therefrom. In contrast to the second aspect, however, the electrically conductive connection is not established by means of an additional electrically conductive connection element, but instead the first continuous wire forms an additional meandering contact pad in a region of its connecting line, and this additional meandering contact pad overlaps with the contact pad formed by the second wire formed connection line. The electrically conductive connection between the second wire and the first wire in the area of the additional meandering contact pad is again preferably a thermocompression welded connection, in which the wires are welded directly to one another, optionally again with the aid of ultrasound.

In order to reduce the visibility of the additional contact pad in the finished card, the additional contact pad is preferably shifted towards the adjacent contact pad for the second electronic component or towards the adjacent contact pad for the first electronic component, so that these two contact pads together form large contact pad, which is preferably at least 50% larger than a normal contact pad, in particular than the other contact pad for the second electronic component or as another or all other contact pads for the first electronic component. In this context, it is advantageous if the enlargement of the relevant contact pad formed by the additional meandering contact pad extends in a direction away from the attachment location of the associated electronic component. This ensures that the additional meandering contact pad is not damaged when the cavity for the electronic component is created.

A corresponding method for producing the contact layout described above can include the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a first continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a first of at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and for create a connecting line between these two contact pads, with the first continuous wire being laid in a meandering pattern in the contact pads mentioned and forming an additional meandering contact pad in one area of the connecting line,

Laying a second continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce a second of the second contact pads and a connecting line leading out therefrom, the second continuous wire being laid in a meandering manner in the second of the second contact pads, and the first and the second continuous wire being laid in this way that the connecting line formed by the second continuous wire and the additional meandering contact pad formed by the first continuous wire overlap one another, and electrically conductively connecting the connecting line formed by the second continuous wire and the additional meandering contact pad formed by the first continuous wire overlap area.

Alternatively, the additional wire pad can also be dispensed with and the connection line can be directly superimposed on the first of the second contact pads or on the at least one first contact pad, and the electrically conductive connection can be made in the superimposed area.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the electrically conductive connection between the two contact pads for the second electronic component is formed by an electrically conductive soldering material, which preferably connects them to one another in a direct line at the contact pads.

This is particularly useful for the production of such card-shaped data carriers in the TeConnect process mentioned above or similar processes in which electrically conductive soldering material, in particular a soldering paste, is used to connect the contact pads on the card inlay to the corresponding contact surfaces of the associated electronic components. Then the electrically conductive connection between individual contact pads for one of these electronic components can be generated on the card inlay at the same time, if the solder material for connecting the card inlay contact pads to the contact surfaces of the electronic components is also applied.

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a second continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce a second of the second contact pads, the second continuous wire being laid in a meandering manner in the second of the second contact pads,

Generating an electrically conductive connection between the first of the second contact pads and the second of the second contact pads by applying a line of an electrically conductive solder material, in particular a solder paste, directly connecting these two contact pads.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, two contact pads for the second electronic component are not electrically conductively connected to one another, but rather two contact surfaces of the electronic component itself are electrically conductively connected. The contact layout on the card inlay in turn comprises a first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least one second contact pad for connecting a second electronic component and an electrically conductive connection between the first contact pad and the second contact pad. Said contact pads are preferably again each formed by a meandering wire. The second electronic component has at least two contact surfaces that are to be short-circuited. This requires an electrically conductive border connection between the two contact surfaces of the second electronic Component provided by means of an electrically conductive material, which is applied to the two contact surfaces and connects them directly to each other. The electrically conductive connection is thus pre-assembled on the relevant electronic component before it is inserted into the card body, and is not produced on the card inlay.

This fifth aspect of the present disclosure is particularly suitable for the production of cards in which the contact between the contact pads on the card inlay and the associated contact surfaces of the electronic components takes place by means of an anisotropically conductive film (ACF connection technology). The electrically conductive material directly connecting the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component is preferably a preferably uninsulated wire or alternatively a line of isotropic conductive paste that may have to harden, or a line of isotropically conductive plastic . The latter alternatives have the advantage that they have less impact on the thickness of the card body to be manufactured.

In any case, the result is a semi-finished product that includes the contact layout and at least the second electronic component, which are preferably electrically conductively connected to one another by means of an ACF film.

A method for producing the above-described semi-finished product according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure can include the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a second contact pad for connecting a second electronic component and for producing a connecting line between these two contact pads, the continuous wire being inserted into said con clock pads are preferably laid in a meandering pattern and the second electronic component has at least two contact surfaces, and Creating an electrically conductive connection between the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component by applying an electrically conductive material to the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component's, which directly connects them to one another.

In all embodiments, the contact layout or the surface of the plastic layer on which the contact layout is prepared ultimately lies as a card inlay inside the final multilayer card-shaped data carrier. For this purpose, the card inlay layer is laminated with further layers, namely at least one artwork layer covering the contact layout, which is printed or otherwise provided with a design and information, and if the back of the card inlay layer is provided with a similar design or information, preferably one corresponding artwork layer on the back of the card inlay layer. If necessary, a transparent protective layer can be provided either as a transparent film or as a transparent protective lacquer, in order to form the multi-layer card body for the card-shaped data carrier, in which the contact layout and the electronic components that are electrically connected to one another are integrated.

The above-described methods are also suitable for producing corresponding multi-card sheets for the production of a larger number of, for example, 24 or 48 card-shaped data carriers. In connection with the second aspect described above, in which two wires are connected by means of an electrically conductive connecting element, a corresponding multiplicity of areas of a multi-use sheet, for example a PVC film, can be coated with a suitable metal, in particular copper, in a corresponding multi-use sheet , namely at least one such metallic coated area per card of the Mehmutzenbogen.

Further advantages, features and details result from the following description of preferred embodiments and from the drawings. Since at show: 1 shows a schematic plan view of a chip card,

Fig. 2A shows a sectional view of the chip card shown in Fig. 1 (for e.g. TeConnect or Flex-Bump),

Fig. 2B shows a sectional view of the chip card shown in Fig. 1 (for e.g. ACF),

3 shows a contact layout according to a first aspect of the disclosure,

FIGS. 4 and 5 show two variants of a contact layout according to a second aspect of the present disclosure, FIGS. 6A and 6B show two contact layouts according to a third aspect of the present disclosure,

7 shows a contact layout according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure,

Figures 8a, 8b two alternatives of an electronic component and

FIG. 9 shows a chip card produced using the component shown in FIG. 8a or 8b.

The following explanation with reference to the accompanying drawings relates to the production of card-shaped data carriers, in particular multi-layer card-shaped data carriers, with at least two electronic components, for example a chip card with a conventional chip and one or more electronic components, such as a fingerprint sensor or an iris sensor or other sensors to authenticate a card user. In this context, FIG. 1 shows such a data carrier in a schematic top view. The card body 1 of this chip card contains a coil element 3, which serves as a transmission and Receiving antenna for a figuratively not shown, integrated circuit egg Nes chip module 2 is used. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the coil element 3 is completely embedded in the card body. To illustrate the position of the coil element 3 in the card body, the coil element 3 is shown schematically in FIG. 1 by a dashed line. The chip module 2 is inserted in a recess in the card body and is electrically connected to the coil element 3 via contact areas 8 provided on the underside of the chip module 2 . Instead of the coil element 3, a capacitive coupling surface or another transmission element can also be provided as an antenna.

FIG. 2A shows the chip card shown in FIG. 1 in a sectional representation when the chip module 2 is inserted into a two-stage cavity 5 of the card body 1. The section was made along the line AB drawn in FIG. To better illustrate the details, the entire chip card is not shown, but only an enlarged section of the chip card. The card body 1 has a multi-layered structure and comprises at least one card inlay 11 with the coil element 3 arranged thereon, including contact pads 4, a cover layer 12, which can be designed as an artwork layer and is accordingly printed on its upper side, for example, and optionally transparent protective layers 13A, 13B , which here form the outer layers of the card body. The protective layers 13A, 13B can be provided as a lacquer layer or as a film. The inlay layer 11 can be performed as an artwork layer on the back, just like the cover layer 12, or there can be an additional artwork layer between the inlay layer

11 and the lower protective layer 13A may be provided. The film layers 11 and

12 can in turn consist of several individual film layers.

A two-stage recess 5 with a shoulder area 5a is milled into the card body 1, into which the chip module 2 is inserted from above. The chip module 2 is typically fitted into the recess 5 within the applicable technical tolerances in such a way that the surface of the chip module 2 is flush with the surface of the card body 1 and the contact surfaces 8 on the underside of the chip module 2 are opposite those exposed by milling and thereby partially Abtra own contact pads 4 of the coil element 3 come to rest. The recess 5 is dimensioned so that they can accommodate the chip module 2 together with a potting compound 9 that surrounds an integrated circuit 10 . The mechanical connection between the chip module 2 and the card body 1 can be made, for example, with the help of a thermoactivated fourtable adhesive 6, the z. B. on the underside of the chip module 2 next to the contact surfaces 8 is applied.

The electrical connection between the chip module 2 and the coil element 3 contained in the card body 1 can be made by means of a conductive elastomer 7 (e.g. Flex-Bump from Mühlbauer), which is applied to the contact pads 4 of the coil element 3.

The conductive elastomer is preferably a silicone mass with metallic particles, which remains elastic after curing and thus forms a reliable electrically conductive connection with the contact surfaces 8 of the chip module 2 resting on the silicone mass from above (so-called flex bump technology). .

Instead of the silicon mass, an electrically conductive soldering paste can be applied to the respective contact pad 4 of the coil element 3 and liquefied in a local melting process, so that the soldering paste creates a reliable electrically conductive connection to the contact surfaces 8 of the chip module 2, which is permanent by cooling the solder (TeConnect procedure).

According to a further alternative method, the contact pads 4 of the coil element 3 are provided with an anisotropically conductive film 7' (ACF film). The corresponding map structure is shown in Figure 2B. Here the indentation is milled down to wire level 3. The ACF film 7' is a hot-melt plastic material with conductive particles distributed in it, which means that the film only conducts electricity perpendicularly to the contact pad 4, so that the film can also be applied over a large area over several contact pads 4, without these contact pads 4 electrically short circuit. The ACF film 7' is typically applied flat to the underside of the chip module. However, it is of particular importance for the present disclosure that in the card body 1 of the card-shaped data carrier not only an electronic component, such as the chip module 2, but also a further electronic component 15, such as a fingerprint sensor, is provided. The second electronic component can be integrated into the card body in the same way as was explained above in connection with the chip module 2 with reference to FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B. In this respect, FIG. 1 shows two contact surfaces 17A, 17B of the second electronic component 15, which is connected to one of the contact surfaces 8 via electrically conductive connections 16 in each case.

In addition, FIG. 1 shows a further contact area 17C on the underside of the second electronic component 15, corresponding to the contact areas 8 of the chip module 2 in FIG. 2A. The various aspects described below are concerned with producing an electrically conductive connection between the contact surfaces 17B and 17C of the second electronic component 15 . All exemplary embodiments described below have in common that the contact layout on the inlay layer 11 is formed by wires that are embedded in the surface of the inlay layer 11 . To do this, the wire is laid on the inlay layer and subjected to ultrasound so that it digs into the surface due to the vibrations generated. Contact pads of the contact layout are produced by laying the wire in a meandering or zigzag manner, and the electrically conductive connections 16 between the contact pads are also formed by the wire from which the pads were also made.

A first aspect of the present disclosure is explained below with reference to FIG. This part of the contact layout 20 includes, on the one hand, two contact pads 4 and 14B, which are electrically connected by means of the connecting line 16 and are formed by a continuous wire, the wire running in a meandering manner in the area of the contact pads 4 and 14B. In addition, there is a third contact pad 14C, which is used to make contact with the contact surface 17C of the second electronic component 15 shown in FIG. The same wire used to connect the contact pads 4, 14B and the electrically conductive connection düng 16 is formed, leads out of the contact pad 14B to the contact pad 14C and is also laid there in a meandering manner in order to form the contact pad 14C. Thus, all contact pads 4, 14B, 14C and the connecting lines 16 are formed by a continuous wire. What is special about this aspect of the present disclosure is, on the one hand, that the wire is laid as a double meander in the area of contact pad 14B and, on the other hand, preferably leads out on that side of contact pad 14B where connecting line 16 leads into contact pad 14B. The contact pads 14B and 14C are located in the shoulder area 5a of the two-stage recess 5 shown in Figure 2B 3 is indicated by a frame shown in dashed lines, a part of the contact pad 14B is milled away. The wire is severed in the area of the contact pad 14B and initially no longer leads to the other contact pad 14C. If, however, this contact pad 14B is then connected to an assigned contact surface 17B of the electronic component 15 when the electronic component 15 is inserted, for example by means of an electrically conductive adhesive or solder or via an electrically conductive ACF film, then the nested meander loops of the short-circuited by the wire laid as a double meander, so that an electrically conductive connection to the contact pad 14C is also established again.

As shown in Figure 3, the double meander is preferably laid in such a way that a first part of the continuous wire forms first meander loops lined up in a first direction and a subsequent second part of the continuous wire forms second meander loops lined up in an opposite direction of passage, so that the first and second meander loops are nested in each other. The connections 16 to the contact pads 4 and 14C preferably enter the contact pad 14B at locations which are as far away from the recess 5 as possible, preferably on the side of the contact pad 14B pointing away from the recess 5. A second aspect of the present disclosure is explained below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, which each again show part of a contact layout 20 applied to the inlay layer 11 in a schematic top view. In this case, too, the contact layout includes a first contact pad 4 for connecting a first electronic component, for example the chip module 2, and at least two contact pads 14B, 14C for connecting the second electronic component 15 and an electrically conductive connection 16 between the first contact pad 4 and the first of the second contact pads 14B and a further electrically conductive border connection 18, 19 between the contact pad 14B and the further contact pad 14C, the contact pads each being formed by a meandering wire. In this case, however, the second contact pad 14C is formed by its own continuous wire, which forms a connection line 18 leading out from the contact pad 14C, which, however, does not lead directly to the first contact pad 14B. Instead, an electrically conductive connecting element 19 is provided in such a way that it overlies and connects a portion of the connecting line 16 between the contact pads 4 and 14B and a portion of the connecting line 18 .

The connecting element 19 can be a metallic element or a metallised element, for example a piece of copper or a thin copper foil or a metallised plastic foil, for example a PVC foil, particularly preferably a copper-coated plastic foil. It is possible first to apply the connecting element 19 to the inlay layer 11 and then to lay the respective continuous wires in the area of the connecting line 16 and connecting line 18 over it, or first to lay the wires and then to lay the connecting element 19 over the connecting line 16 and Connecting line 18 to pla decorate. The electrical connections between the electrically conductive connec tion element 19 and the connecting line 16 and connecting line 18 are indicated in Fig. 4 by two ellipses and are preferably made by thermocompression welding. The thermocompression welding is preferably carried out with the aid of ultrasound, with both a plastic coating of the wires and any oxide layer of the metallic electrically conductive connecting element 19 being rubbed away before the elements ultimately welded together. The exemplary embodiments according to Figures 4 and 5 differ only insofar as the connecting line 16 and the connecting line 18 in the exemplary embodiment according to Figure 5 are so close together that a single welded connection (indicated by only an ellipse in Fig. 5) is sufficient to weld both To connect lines 16, 18 with the connecting element 19 electrically lei tend. In contrast, in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4, a separate welded connection is produced for the connection of the connecting element 19 to the connecting line 16 on the one hand and to the connecting line 18 on the other hand.

In connection with the present second aspect, it is preferred to provide the electrically conductive connecting elements 19 for a plurality of chip cards on a correspondingly large-format plastic film which forms the inlay layer 11, the electrically conductive connecting elements being provided as a metallic coating in some areas at the appropriate points are where an electrically conductive connection between adjacent lines 16,

18 is to be produced. Alternatively, a corresponding number of connec tion elements can be inserted into prepared sections of the full-size sheet, whereupon the wires are then laid.

A third aspect of the present disclosure is explained below with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B, which in turn each show a part of a contact layout 20 applied to the inlay layer 11 in a schematic plan view. The solution according to the third aspect is similar to that of the second aspect. However, instead of providing an additional electrically conductive connecting element as a separate component, a fourth wire pad 21 is provided in addition to the connection pads 4, 14B and 14C designed as wire pads, namely as part of the connecting line 16. The connecting lines 16 and the associated wire pads are corresponding 4, 21 and 14B formed by a continuous wire. The connection line 18 leading out of the connection pad 14C is laid above or below the fourth wire pad 21, depending on which of the two wires is laid first. The electrically conductive connection is then established between the connection line 18 and the fourth wire pad 21, preferably again by thermocompression welding. This is indicated by an ellipse in FIG. 6A. The advantage of this solution compared to the solution according to the second aspect described above is that no additional material in the sense of another separate element is required to establish the connection between the two wires, so that the thickness of the inlay layer 11 with the contact layout 20 located thereon is not increased compared to the initially explained double meander solution.

FIG. 6B shows an alternative to the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 6A in such a way that the additional fourth wire pad 21 is shifted towards the contact pad 14B and preferably forms an enlargement of the contact pad 14B. This enlargement is preferably at least 50% and can be approximately 100%, as shown in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 6B.

Alternatively, but not explicitly shown in the figures, the additional fourth wire pad 21 can be shifted towards the contact pad 4 and preferably form an enlargement of the contact pad 4, so that the contact pad 4 is preferably at least 50% and in particular, for example, 100% larger than a or all other contact pads 4 for contacting the first electronic component or for contacting the chip module 2.

Relocating the fourth wire pad 21 to the wire pad 14B or the wire pad 4 offers the advantage that its visibility on the surface of the finished chip card is reduced.

Also not shown is a further modification of this third aspect of the present disclosure, according to which the fourth wire pad 21 is omitted and the connection line 18 of the contact pad 14C is laid directly above or below the contact pad 14B, or alternatively above or below the contact pad 4. In the former In this case, the two wires in the area of the contact pad 14B are electrically conductively connected to one another at approximately the same point at which an electrical connection between the contact pad 14B and the contact connection 17B of the associated second electronic component 15 is later also made. A fourth aspect of the present disclosure is explained below with reference to FIG. 7, which schematically shows the data carrier 1 in plan with a set therein a first electronic component, here the chip module 2, and a second electronic component 15, which is in the two-stage recess 5 of the card body 1 is still to be used. The boxes 4 and 17A to 17C shown on the electronic components 2 and 15 represent connection surfaces of the electrical components concerned, including the connection surface 17C already mentioned with reference to FIG a connecting line 16 with an associated pad 4 of the other electronic components te 2 is to be electrically conductively connected. As previously described, connecting lines 16 run inside the card body 1 on an inner surface of an inlay layer. The two-stage recess 5 including the shoulder area 5a is milled out of the card body 1, and local depressions are milled in the shoulder area 5a for the case of the connection technology described in Figure 2A using solder (TeConnect) or conductive elastomer (Flex-Bump) in order to associated contact pads 14A, 14B to expose. If the connection technique using ACF foil is used, the design of the depressions is analogous to FIG. 2B. In addition, another contact pad 14C is exposed. All of the contact pads are wire pads, as previously described, and the connection lines 16 are formed as a continuous wire with the respective contact pad 14A and 14B. The con tacting between the contact pads 14A, 14B, 14C on the one hand and the associated contact surfaces 17A, 17B, 17C of the second electronic component 15 on the other hand can be done for example in the flex bump technology by means of a solder paste (e.g. TeConnect) or by means of ACF Foil, also as previously explained.

In this fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the contact pads 14B and 14C are electrically connected to one another in such a way that the solder paste, or in the case of flex bump technology, the electrically conductive plastic mass, not only in the area of the contact pads 14B and 14C is applied, but also that an electrically conductive connection 22 is produced directly between the two contact pads 14B and 14C. For this purpose, the shoulder 5a of the second-stage depression 5 is not only milled away in the area of the contact pads 14B and 14C, but a connecting channel is also milled in between, in which the solder paste or the electrically conductive plastic is then laid along a continuous line, in order to connect the two contact pads 14B and 14B 14C to be electrically conductively connected. In this case, the solder paste or the electrically conductive plastic is isotropic in terms of electrical conductivity.

A fifth aspect of the present disclosure is explained below with reference to FIGS. 8A, 8B and 9. FIG. 8A and 8B each show a schematic top view of two exemplary embodiments of the second electronic component 15. This can be inserted into the card body 1 in the same way as explained with reference to FIG. 7 and shown in FIG . The difference from the fourth aspect described above is that the additional contact pad 14C of the contact layout or the inlay layer can be dispensed with.

This solution is ideal for cards where the connection between the contact pads of the contact layout and the contact surfaces of the electronic components is made using ACF connection technology. Because a lateral electrically conductive connection cannot be established with ACF foils, as these are only conductive in the Z direction, i.e. perpendicular to the contact pads and contact surfaces. The material for producing the conductive connection between the two contact surfaces 17B and 17C of the electronic component 15 in FIG. 8A is a simple, preferably uninsulated wire 23. In the variant according to FIG Conductive paste 24 provided. Conductive paste means all materials that can be applied in any way to enable an electrical connection between two contact pads. This can be solder, for example, or a paste filled with metallic particles of any shape, as well as carbon or other electrically conductive materials.

The conductive paste hardens or dries before the electronic component 15 is inserted into the card body 1 . Then only a one-to-one wire connection needs to be made on the card inlay between the respective contact pads 4 and 14A, 14B of the electronic components 2 and 15 to be connected to one another which are preferably formed again by means of a continuous wire, which meanders in the area of the contact pads.

In all of the aspects of the present disclosure described above, it makes sense to produce a large number of contact layouts 20 and, as a result, card bodies 1 per multiple-use sheet by using multiple-use sheets. For this purpose, a corresponding number of contact layouts are applied to the multi-layer sheet that forms the inlay layer 11 of the card body 1 , the contact layout 20 lying on the inner surface of the inlay layer 11 . The card-shaped data carriers, in particular chip cards, are only separated from the mehmutzen sheet at the very end, after all layers have been laminated together.

Claims

P at entclaims

1. Contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and electrically conductive connections on the one hand between the first contact pad and egg nem first of the second contact pads and on the other hand between the first of the second contact pads and a second of the second contact pads, said contact pads each being formed by a meandering wire, characterized by a continuous wire connecting said contact pads and said electrically conductive connections forms and which is laid in the first of the second contact surfaces as a double meander, preferably in such a way that a first part of the continuous wire forms first meander loops lined up in a first direction and a d A subsequent second part of the continuous wire forms second meander loops lined up next to one another in an opposite direction of passage, the first and second meander loops being nested in one another.

2. Contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and electrically conductive connections on the one hand between the first contact pad and egg first of the second contact pads and on the other hand between the first of the two th contact pads and a second of the second contact pads, said contact pads each being formed by a meandering wire, characterized by a first continuous wire which connects the at least one first contact pad and the first of the second contact pads and a connecting line between these two contact pads forms, and a second continuous wire, which forms the second of the second contact pads and a lead-out to connection line, with an electrically conductive s connecting element a Be rich of the connecting line of the first continuous wire and a portion of Connecting line of the second continuous wire superimposed and electrically conductively connected to each other.

3. Contact layout according to claim 2, wherein the electrically conductive connecting element is metallic and the electrically conductive connection between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line of the first continuous wire on the one hand and between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line of the second continuous wire on the other hand welded joint is.

4. The contact layout of claim 3, wherein the weld is a thermocompression weld.

5. Contact layout according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the area of the connecting line of the first continuous wire and the area of the connecting line of the second continuous wire are so close together that the electrically conductive connection between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line on the one hand and between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connection line on the other hand is designed as a common connection point.

6. Contact layout according to one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the connecting element is a copper element.

7. Contact layout according to one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the connecting element is a metallized film, preferably a metallized PVC film.

8. Contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and electrically conductive connections on the one hand between the first contact pad and egg on the first of the second contact pads and on the other hand between the first of the two th contact pads and a second of the second contact pads, said contact pads each being formed by a meandering wire, characterized by a first continuous wire which forms the at least one first contact pad and the first of the second contact pads as well as a connecting line between these two contact pads , and a second continuous wire, which forms the second of the second contact pads and a connection line led out therefrom, the first continuous wire forming an additional meandering contact pad in a region of the connecting line, and the additional meandering con formed by the first continuous wire taktpad and the connection line formed by the second continuous wire overlap and are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner.

9. Contact layout according to claim 8, wherein the additional meandering contact pad forms an enlargement of the first of the second contact pads or the at least one first contact pad, so that the first of the second contact pads is larger than the second of the second contact pads or the at least one first contact pad is larger than another of the first contact pads.

10. Contact layout according to claim 9, wherein the first of the second contact pads is at least 50% larger than the second of the second contact pads or the at least one first contact pad is at least 50% larger than the other of the first contact pads.

11. Contact layout according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the enlargement of the first of the second contact pads formed by the additional meandering contact pad extends in a direction away from a mounting location of the second electronic component's.

12. Contact layout according to one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the electrically conductive border connection of the connection line with the additional meandering contact pad is a thermocompression welded connection.

13. Contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and electrically conductive connections on the one hand between the first contact pad and egg nem first of the second contact pads and on the other hand between the first of the second contact pads and a second of the second contact pads, said contact pads each being formed by a meandering wire, characterized by a first continuous wire which connects the at least one first contact pad and the first forms the second contact pads and a connecting line between these two contact pads, and a second continuous wire, which forms the second of the second contact pads and a lead-out to connection line, with either the least ns a first contact pad or the first of the second contact pads on the one hand and the connecting line formed by the second continuous wire on the other hand overlap and are electrically conductively connected to one another.

14. Contact layout according to claim 13, wherein the electrically conductive connection of the connection line with the at least one first contact pad or the first of the second contact pads is a thermocompression welded connection.

15. Contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and electrically conductive connections on the one hand between the first contact pad and egg first of the second contact pads and on the other hand between the first of the second contact pads and a second of the second contact pads, said contact pads each being formed by a meandering wire, characterized in that the electrically conductive connection between the first and the second of the second contact pads is made by a line that connects directly to the contact pads from an electrically conductive solder material.

16. Semi-finished product for producing a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising a first electronic component and a second electronic component and a plastic layer with a surface which is intended to be inside the card-shaped data carrier and which comprises at least one contact layout, wherein the contact layout comprises at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least one second contact pad for connecting a second electronic component and an electrically conductive connection between the first contact pad and the second contact pad, said contact pads preferably are each formed by a meandering wire and wherein the second electronic component has at least two surfaces Kontaktflä, characterized in that an electrically conductive connection between the two contact surfaces of z wide electronic component is made by means of an electrically conductive material, which is applied to the two contact surfaces and connects them directly to each other.

17. Semi-finished product according to claim 16, wherein the electrically conductive material directly connecting the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component is an uninsulated wire.

18. Semi-finished product according to claim 16, wherein the electrically conductive material directly connecting the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component is a line of isotropic conductive paste.

19. Semi-finished product according to one of claims 16 to 18, comprising at least one further second contact pad for connecting the second electronic component, with an anisotropically conductive film on the at least two second contact pads for producing an electrically conductive connection with two corresponding contact surfaces of the second electronic component is provided perpendicular to the second contact pads.

20. Semi-finished product for producing a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising a plastic layer with a surface which is intended to lie inside the card-shaped data carrier and which contains at least one contact layout according to one of claims 1 to 15.

21. A semi-finished product according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein the semi-finished product is a mehmutzen sheet having a plurality of the contact layouts.

22. Multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising a contact layout according to one of claims 1 to 15 or made from a semi-finished product according to one of claims 16 to 21.

23. Data carrier according to claim 22, comprising at least one cover layer covering the contact layout and having at least one recess for receiving the first or the second or both electronic components.

24. Data carrier according to claim 23, wherein the at least one recess is a two-stage depression with a shoulder area which extends over at least one of the contact pads of the contact layout.

25. Data carrier according to one of claims 22 to 24, comprising a fingerprint sensor as one of the two electronic components and a microchip electrically conductively connected thereto.

26. A method for producing a contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate and

Laying a continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component, the wire being in said con- clock pads is laid in a meandering pattern, and for generating an electrically conductive connection between the first contact pad and a first of the second contact pads on the one hand and between the first of the second contact pads and a second of the second contact pads on the other hand, with the continuous wire in the first of the second contact surfaces is laid as a double meander, namely preferably in such a way that a first part of the continuous wire forms first meander loops lined up in a first direction and an adjoining part of the continuous wire forms second meander loops lined up in an opposite direction of passage, the first and second meanders looping are nested in each other.

27. A method for producing a contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a first continuous wire on the plastic substrate to create at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a first of at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and for creating a connecting line between these two contact pads, the first continuous wire is laid in a meandering pattern in the contact pads mentioned,

Application of an electrically conductive connecting element in such a way that it either covers both an area of the connecting line of the first continuous wire and an area of the connecting line of the second continuous wire or that both the laying of the first continuous wire in the area of the connecting line and the laying of the second continuous wire wire in the area of the connecting cable after applying the electrically conductive the connecting element and in each case via the electrically conductive connecting element, and electrically conductive connection of the electrically conductive connecting element both to the first continuous wire in the area of the connecting line and to the second continuous wire in the area of the connecting line.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the connecting line and the connecting line are laid so close together in the area of the electrically conductive connecting element that the electrically conductive connection between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line on the one hand and between the electrically conductive connecting element and the connecting line on the other hand is formed as a common connection point.

29. A method for producing a contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a first continuous wire on the plastic substrate to create at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a first of at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and for creating a connecting line between these two contact pads, the first continuous wire is laid in a meandering manner in the contact pads mentioned and forms an additional meandering contact pad in one area of the connecting line,

Laying a second continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce a second of the second contact pads and a connecting line leading out therefrom, the second continuous wire being laid in a meandering manner in the second of the second contact pads, and the first and the second continuous wire being laid in this way that the connection line formed by the second continuous wire and the additional meandering contact pad formed by the first continuous wire overlap one another, and electrically conductive connection of the connection line formed by the second continuous wire and the additional meandering contact pad formed by the first continuous wire in the overlapping area.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the additional meandering contact pad is designed as an enlargement of the first of the second contact pads or of at least one first contact pad, so that the first of the second contact pads is larger than the second of the second contact pads or the at least one first contact pad is larger than another of the first contact pads, with the first of the second contact pads preferably being formed 50% larger than the second of the second contact pads or the at least one first contact pad preferably being formed at least 50% larger than the other of the first contact pads.

31. The method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the enlargement of the first of the second contact pads formed by the additional meandering contact pad extends in a direction away from a mounting location of the second electronic component.

32. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the step of electrically conductive connection is carried out by thermocompression welding.

33. A method for producing a contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a first continuous wire on the plastic substrate to create at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a first of at least two second contact pads for connecting a second electronic component and for creating a connecting line between these two contact pads, the first continuous wire is laid in a meandering pattern in the contact pads mentioned, Laying a second continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce a second of the second contact pads and a connecting line leading out therefrom, the second continuous wire being laid in a meandering manner in the second of the second contact pads, and the first and the second continuous wire being laid in this way that the connection line formed by the second continuous wire on the one hand and either the at least one first contact pad formed by the first continuous wire or the first of the second contact pads formed by the first continuous wire on the other hand overlap, and electrically conductively connecting the through the second continuous Wire formed connection line and the overlapping contact pads in the overlapping area.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of electrically conductive bonding is performed by thermocompression welding.

35. A method for producing a contact layout for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising the following steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Generating an electrically conductive connection between the first of the second contact pads and the second of the second contact pads by one of these two contact pads directly connecting line from an electrically conductive Lotma material, in particular a solder paste, is applied.

36. A method for producing a semi-finished product for a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, for example a chip card, comprising the steps:

providing a plastic substrate,

Laying a continuous wire on the plastic substrate to produce at least one first contact pad for connecting a first electronic component and a second contact pad for connecting a second electronic component and for producing a connecting line between these two contact pads, the continuous wire being inserted into said con clock pads are preferably laid in a meandering pattern and the second electronic component has at least two contact surfaces, and

Creating an electrically conductive connection between the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component by applying an electrically conductive material to the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component's, which directly connects them to one another.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the electrically conductive material directly connecting the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component is an uninsulated wire.

38. The method according to claim 36, wherein the electrically conductive material directly connecting the two contact surfaces of the second electronic component is a line of isotropic conductive paste.

39. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 38, wherein at least one further second contact pad for connecting the second electronic component is provided on the plastic substrate, comprising the further step of applying an anisotropically conductive film to the at least two second contact pads Production of one formed perpendicularly to the second contact pads electrically conductive connection with two corresponding contact areas of the second electronic component,

40. The method according to any one of claims 26 to 39, wherein the plastic film forms a multi-use sheet on which several of the first contact pads and the second contact pads are produced for a large number of contact layouts.

41. A method for producing a multi-layer card-shaped data carrier, in particular a chip card, or a semi-finished product for such a data carrier, a contact layout being produced on an inner surface of a layer of the data carrier using a method according to one of claims 26 to 36.