FR2828953A1 - Portable electronic badge/card integrated circuit switch having electrical circuit structural switch two conductors spilling out onto surface formed and finger contact activated. - Google Patents

Abstract

The card with switch manufacture method has an electrical circuit (3) forming a structural switch (6) with two conductors. The switch structure comes out on a surface allowing contact from a finger (9) on the card in the contact position.

Description

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DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to the field of portable electronic articles, such as cards, badges or the like, in particular those comprising at least one integrated circuit, and relates to a method of manufacturing a card comprising at least one member forming a switch. , as well as a card of this type, for example manufactured using said method.

 Currently, articles of the card or badge type (hereinafter referred to as card (s) for reasons of convenience) increasingly include components making it possible to perform an increasing number of functions.

 This is particularly the case with integrated circuit (s) cards, which now also include displays, contactless communication modules (radiocommunication) or the like.

 In the present application, the term integrated circuit (s) or chip (s) card applies to any support, in particular a flat plate-shaped support made of thermoplastic material, containing at least one integrated circuit of the associated microprocessor type. to a memory and to surface contact terminals. These cards have a size adapted to the slot or the receiving location of the device to which it must be associated and intended to receive at least temporarily said card. These cards are generally each assigned in a personal and unique way to an individual owner and user and each accompanied by a confidential code or number also known to the user alone and identifying the latter.

 In particular, display or contactless cards have many components resulting in a complex constitution and requiring complicated and delicate manufacturing operations.

 Among the most delicate components to insert (to integrate into the card), there are in particular organs of the switch or control button type, which can be used to activate a component, to validate an operation or transaction, to control the execution of 'particular operations or similar functions.

 There are already many constructions of switches or buttons, but they generally have a thickness too large to allow their insertion, use very technical manufacturing

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 sophisticated, have a cost price incompatible with the cost price of a card and / or cannot satisfy the particular mechanical characteristics, in particular in terms of flexibility, required for card-type items.

 It has already been proposed to use the contact terminals on the surface of the module containing the integrated circuit of the card to constitute a switch or a control button, activated by application under pressure of a finger on the place of the card comprising said terminals.

 However, this known solution has many drawbacks.

 Indeed, repeated presses of a finger on the contact terminals may damage, by crushing, the integrated circuit generally located under these terminals or the connection lines of said terminals to said circuit.

 In addition, the fingers coming into contact with the aforementioned metal terminals are liable to deposit therein fatty substances or dirt (forming an insulating layer on the surface of said terminals) and sweat (oxidation of the surfaces of the terminals by salt and water contained in sweat), the actions of which lead in the long term to a significant deterioration in the quality of the electrical contact at said terminals.

 Finally, the switch or the control button formed by the contact terminals cannot be used when said card is engaged in a terminal.

 The object of the present invention is in particular to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above.

 To this end, the subject of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a card, in particular an integrated circuit card (s), comprising at least one electrical circuit provided with at least one switch-forming member, control button or the like, characterized in that it consists essentially in producing said electrical circuit 3 in the form of a locally discontinuous or structurally interrupted circuit and in providing said circuit 3 with two separate conductive segments 5.5 ', connected respectively to the two portions of circuits 3 ′ and 3 ″ extending on either side of the discontinuity or local structural interruption 6 of circuit 3 and extending until they are flush on one of the two faces 7 ′ , 7 "from the card body 7 of dielectric material containing said electrical circuit 3 or in contact each with a conductive structure 8, 8 'extending over

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 one of said faces 7 ′, 7 ″, the distance separating the two zones of the flush end portions of the conductive segments 5,5 ′, or the two conductive structures 8,8 ′ connected to the latter, being dimensioned to allow the 'establishment of contact between said two areas or structures by intimate pressing of a finger 9 on the card 1 at the location concerned.

 The invention also relates to a card, in particular an integrated circuit card (s), comprising at least one electrical circuit provided with at least one member forming a switch, control button or the like, card characterized in that said electrical circuit consists of a locally discontinuous or structurally interrupted circuit and in that said member is formed by two separate conductive segments, connected respectively to the two portions of circuits extending on either side of the discontinuity or of the structural interruption local and extending until they are flush on one of the two faces of the card body made of dielectric material enclosing said electrical circuit or in contact each with a conductive structure extending on one of said faces, the distance separating the two areas of the flush end portions of the conductive segments or the two conductive structures connected to them, being dimensioned to allow the establishment of contact between said two areas or structures by intimate pressing of a finger on the map at the location concerned.

 The invention will be better understood from the following description, which relates to a preferred embodiment, given by way of nonlimiting example, and explained with reference to the appended schematic drawings, in which: FIGS. 1A to ID representing , in side elevation and in section, the various essential stages in the manufacture of an integrated circuit card (s) comprising a control member or the like, according to one embodiment of the method according to the invention; FIG. 1E shows the actuation of the switch of a card according to the invention, obtained by the method shown in FIGS. 1A 1D; FIG. 2A is a top view of a card comprising a control member according to an embodiment of the invention comprising a plate carrying two conductive structures on the surface; FIG. 2B is a detail view on a different scale of the plate shown in FIG. 2A, and,

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 Figure 3 is a schematic representation in section of a contactless card according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

 As shown by way of example in FIG. 1 of the appended drawings, the manufacturing method according to the invention essentially consists in producing an electrical circuit 3 in the form of a locally discontinuous or structurally interrupted circuit and in providing said circuit 3 with two separate conductors 5.5 ′, connected respectively to the two portions of circuits 3 ′ and 3 ″ extending on either side of the discontinuity or of the local structural interruption 6 of circuit 3 and extending to be flush on one of the two faces 7 ′, 7 ″ of the card body 7 made of dielectric material enclosing said electrical circuit 3 or in contact each with a conductive structure 8,8 ′ extending on one of said faces 7 ′, 7 ", the distance separating the two zones of the flush end portions of the conductive segments 5,5 ′ or the two conductive structures 8,8 ′ connected to the latter, being dimensioned to allow the establishment of a contact in be said two zones or structures by intimate pressing of a finger 9 on the card 1 at the location concerned.

 The electrical circuit 3 can be deposited on the card body 7 by metallic deposition or by bringing it there by bonding in the form of a label circuit. Likewise, the local interruption 6 of this electrical circuit 3, serving as the implantation zone of the member 4, may be present as soon as said circuit 3 is formed or put into place or be formed subsequently by cutting or machining.

 In accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the two conductive segments 5 and 5 ′ are in the form of portions of rods or pins extending substantially perpendicular to the plane P of the card body 7. In this embodiment, the conductive segments 5 and 5 'have substantially no influence on the flexibility characteristics of the card 1 and can easily withstand the pressures resulting from successive presses of the user's finger.

 Preferably, the method consists in producing said conductive segments 5 and 5 ′ by injecting or by pouring an electrically conductive substance into portions of conduits or wells 10, 10 ′ provided in the layer of dielectric material 7, 7 "'covering or carrying the electrical circuit 3 and forming at least one of the faces 7', 7" of the card body 7 or at least part of such a face 7 ', 7 ".

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 Depending on the constitution of the card 1, the conductive segments 5 and 5 ′ can either extend through the card body 7 carrying the circuit 3, or be arranged in a dielectric layer 7 ′ "forming a complementary part of the body card 7 and / or delimiting a face or a face part 7 ′ of the resulting card 1.

 In the second aforementioned case, the layer of dielectric material 7 "'covering the electrical circuit 3 can be added by overmolding or in the form of a plate or laminated strip, if necessary provided with portions of conduits or wells 10, 10' on the part of the card body 7 carrying said electrical circuit 3.

 According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, shown in Figures 1A and 2B of the accompanying drawings, the two conductive structures 8 and 8 'extending on one of the faces 7', 7 "of the card 1 and each electrically connected to the 'one of the two conductive segments 5 and 5' constitute in cooperation a sign, a pictogram or a similar, informative and / or decorative representation, or at least part of such a sign, of such a pictogram or of a such representation, while forming two electrically isolated units between them.

 FIGS. 1A to ID illustrate a nonlimiting example of implementation of the manufacturing method according to the invention.

 FIG. 1 shows the following operating steps: - machining or overmolding of an electrical circuit 3 into two portions 3 ′ and 3 "at the level of a card body 7 (FIG. 1A); - drilling of the portions of conduits 10, 10's 'extending from one 7' of the faces of the card 1 to the circuit portions 3 'and 3 "(FIG. 1B); - integration into the card body 7 (insert) of the module comprising the integrated circuit 2 and the surface contact terminals 2 ', and of the active component 11 (here a display) controlled by means of the member 4 to be formed (Figure 1C); - filling the portions of duct 10 and 10 ′ with a conductive substance coming into contact with the portions of circuit 3 ′ and 3 "and flush with the surface at the level of the corresponding face of the card 1 (FIG. ID); - possible overlap or printing of the 7 ′ and 7 ″ faces of the card 1 (not shown).

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 FIG. 1E shows the establishment of an electrical connection between the two conductive segments 5 and 5 ′ separated and isolated from each other by the dielectric material of the layer 7 ″ ′ when a finger 9 is pressed.

 It should be noted that, in general, the contact and the resulting bond do not need to meet high conductivity criteria, the simple establishment of a bond having a conductivity lower than that of the dielectric barrier separating the segments 5 and 5 is sufficient (insensitivity to dirt deposited during pressing and to possible corrosion due to sweat).

 The present invention also relates to a card l, in particular an integrated circuit card (s) 2, comprising at least one electrical circuit 3 provided with at least one member 4 forming a switch, control button or the like.

 According to the invention, said electrical circuit 3 consists of a locally discontinuous or structurally interrupted circuit and said member 4 is formed by two separate conductive segments 5.5 ′, connected respectively to the two portions of circuits 3 ′ and 3 ″ extending on either side of the discontinuity or local structural interruption 6 and extending until they are flush on one of the two faces 7 ′, 7 ″ of the card body 7 made of dielectric material enclosing said electrical circuit 3 or in contact each with a conductive structure 8,8 'extending on one of said faces 7', 7 ", the distance separating the two zones of the flush end portions of the conductive segments 5, 5 ', or the two conductive structures 8,8 'linked to the latter, being dimensioned to allow the establishment of a contact between said two zones or structures by intimate pressing of a finger 9 on the map 1 at the location concerned.

 Advantageously, the two conductive segments 5 and 5 ′ are in the form of portions of rods or pins, preferably of cylindrical shape, extending substantially perpendicular to the plane P of the card body 7.

 According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the conductive segments 5 and 5 ′ consist of inserts of an electrically conductive substance arranged in portions of conduits or wells 10 and 10 ′ provided in the layer. of dielectric material 7, 7 "'covering or carrying the electrical circuit 3 and

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 forming at least one of the faces 7 ', 7 "of the card body 7 or at least part of such a face 7', 7".

 The two conductive structures 8 and 8 ′ can, for example, be carried by a plate 13 which is attached to the card body 7.

 According to a first embodiment of the invention, the electrical circuit 3 comprising the switch member 4 consists of a supply circuit of a module or an active component 11, such as a display, a module d radio frequency or similar.

 According to a second alternative embodiment of the invention, the electrical circuit 3 comprising the switch member 4 consists of a data bus, connected to the integrated circuit 2 or to at least one of the integrated circuits 2 mounted in said card 1.

 In order to allow convenient actuation of the member 4 by the user when the card 1 is engaged in the slot of a terminal, it is advantageously provided that the location of the card 1 comprising the zones of the end parts flush or the two conductive structures 8,8 ′, is located at a distance from the surface contact terminals 2 ′ of the module integrating the integrated circuit 2, preferably near the opposite end of the card 1.

 As shown in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings, the card 1 may consist of a card integrating a radio frequency communication module 11 for contactless communication with a suitable communication terminal, the member 4 forming a switch for controlling the emission from said card 1 or receipt by this card 1 or even to validate an automatic transmission from this card 1.

 Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown in the accompanying drawings. Modifications remain possible, in particular from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims (13)

1) Method for manufacturing a card, in particular an integrated circuit card (s), comprising at least one electrical circuit provided with at least one member forming a switch, control button or the like, characterized in that that it consists essentially in producing said electrical circuit (3) in the form of a locally discontinuous or structurally interrupted circuit and in providing said circuit (3) with two separate conductive segments (5.5 ′), connected respectively to the two portions of circuits (3 ′ and 3 ") extending on either side of the discontinuity or local structural interruption (6) of the circuit (3) and extending until they are flush on one of the two faces (7 ', 7 ") of the card body (7) made of dielectric material enclosing said electrical circuit (3) or in contact each with a conductive structure (8, 8') extending over one of said faces (7 ', 7 "), the distance separating the two zones from the flush end portions of the conductive segments (5.5 ′), or the two conductive structures (8, 8 ′) connected to the latter, being dimensioned to allow the establishment of a contact between said two zones or structures by intimate pressing of a finger ( 9) on the map (1) at the location concerned.  2) Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the two conductive segments (5 and 5 ') are in the form of portions of rods or pins extending substantially perpendicular to the plane (P) of the card body (7 ).  3) Method according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it consists in producing said conductive segments (5 and 5 ') by injecting or pouring an electrically conductive substance into portions of conduits or wells ( 10,10 ') respective formed in the layer of dielectric material (7, 7 "') covering or carrying the electrical circuit (3) and forming at least one of the faces (7 ', 7") of the card body (7) or at least part of such a face (7 ', 7 ").  4) Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the layer of dielectric material (7 "') covering the electrical circuit (3) is attached by overmolding or in the form of wafer or laminated strip, if necessary provided with portions of conduits or wells (10, 10 ') on the part of the card body (7) carrying said electrical circuit (3). <Desc / Clms Page number 9>  5) Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the two conductive structures (8 and 8 ') extending on one of the faces (7', 7 ") of the card (1) and each electrically connected to one of the two conductive segments (5 and 5 '), constitute in cooperation a sign, a pictogram or a similar, informative and / or decorative representation, or at least part of such a sign, d 'such a pictogram or such a representation, while forming two units electrically isolated from each other.  6) Card, in particular card with integrated circuit (s), comprising at least one electrical circuit provided with at least one member forming a switch, control button or the like, card characterized in that said electrical circuit (3) consists in a locally discontinuous or structurally interrupted circuit and in that said member (4) is formed by two separate conductive segments (5.5 ′), connected respectively to the two portions of circuits (3 ′ and 3 ″) extending from one side and on the other side of the discontinuity or of the local structural interruption (6) and extending until they are flush on one of the two faces (7 ′, 7 ″) of the card body (7) made of dielectric material containing said electrical circuit (3) or in contact each with a conductive structure (8,8 ') extending on one of said faces (7', 7 "), the distance separating the two zones from the end portions flush with the conductive segments (5.5 '), or the two conductive structures (8.8') connected es to the latter, being sized to allow the establishment of contact between said two zones or structures by intimate pressing of a finger (9) on the map (1) at the location concerned.  7) Card according to claim 6, characterized in that the two conductive segments (5 and 5 ') are in the form of portions of rods or pins, preferably of cylindrical shape, extending substantially perpendicular to the plane (P) of the card body (7).  8) Card according to any one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the conductive segments (5 and 5 ') consist of inserts of an electrically conductive substance disposed in portions of conduits or wells (10 and 10' ) respective formed in the layer of dielectric material (7, 7 "') covering or carrying the electrical circuit (3) and forming at least one of the faces (7', 7") of the card body ( 7) or at least part of such a face (7 ', 7 ").  9) Card according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the two conductive structures (8 and 8 ') extending <Desc / Clms Page number 10>  on one of the faces (7 ', 7 ") of the card (1) and electrically connected each to one of the two conductive segments (5 and 5'), constitute in cooperation a sign, a pictogram or a similar representation , informative and / or decorative, or at least part of such a sign, such a pictogram or such a representation, while forming two electrically isolated units between them.  10) Card according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the electrical circuit (3) comprising the switch member (4) consists of a supply circuit of a module or an active component (11), such as a display, a radio frequency emission module or the like.  11) Card according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the electrical circuit (3) comprising the switch member (4) consists of a data bus, connected to the integrated circuit (2) or to the 'at least one of the integrated circuits (2) mounted (s) in said card (1).  12) Card according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that the location of the card (1) comprising the zones of the flush end parts or the two conductive structures (8,8 '), is located remote from the surface contact terminals (2 ') of the module integrating the integrated circuit (2), preferably near the opposite end of the card (1).  13) Card according to any one of claims 6 to 12, characterized in that it consists of a card (1) integrating a radio frequency communication module (11) for contactless communication with a suitable communication terminal, l 'organ (4) forming a switch making it possible to control the transmission from said card (1) or the reception by this card (1) or even to validate an automatic transmission from this card (1).