IL125613A - Contactless smart tag embedded in wristwatch band - Google Patents

Abstract

A " contactless" data transaction tag (3) having a coil antenna (5) mounted in association with a band (2) allowing for data communication with a remote device via mutual inductive coupling and being adapted to be worn on a person's wrist or ankle by means of the band. 1694 ד' באב התשס" א - July 24, 2001

Description

Contactless smart tag embedded in wristwatch band On Track Innovations Ltd. V V* C. 112435-3 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a passive transponder for use as a contactless "smart card".

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Since their inception, smart cards have been based on a plastic support medium of credit card dimensions, having embedded therein a processing chip. Such smart cards are adapted to effect data communication typically, but not necessarily, bi-directional communication, with a reader or interrogator. This may be accomplished by a coil antenna, connected to the smart card chip, for effecting non-contact data communication with a corresponding coil antenna in the reader by means of mutual magnetic coupling. Additionally or alternatively, a contact field may be provided in the smart card for interfacing with a corresponding contact field in the reader.

In the case where "contact" data transmission is required, data communication with the reader is effected by inserting the card into slot in the reader so that the card contacts engage corresponding contacts in the reader. There is a growing tendency to provide general-purpose smart cards which, instead of being customized by the manufacturer for a particular application, can be customized by the end user. The end user is thus able to purchase the pre-customized smart card from whichever source he chooses.

In order that smart cards from different sources be interchangeable, it is obviously essential that their dimensions be standardized so that they can all fit into the slot of the card reader with the two contact fields in mutual engagement. Such standardization has imposed severe requirements on the manufacturing tolerances of conventional smart cards intended for "contac ' communication with the reader. Thus, the dimensions and the location of the contacts of smart cards are laid down by Part 2 of the International Standard ISO 7816. The card itself, known as "standard identification card" or "ID-1 card", is the size of a regular credit card having a thickness of approximately 0.8 mm.

However, such severe requirements are not essential for "contactless-only" smart cards since such cards do not have to be accommodated in a thin slot; nor do they have contacts that must be precisely aligned with those of the reader. This notwithstanding, contactless smart cards have also traditionally taken the form of a plastic card of credit-card dimensions. Since these cards must be readily accessible, they are usually carried on the user's person, typically in a shirt or trouser pocket. Consequently, they are subject to damage when placed into and taken out of the pocket; owing to abrasion against other articles and, in the case of trouser pocket, when sitting or bending. Bearing in mind that the chip is fragile and quite easily fractured, the risk of damage to smart cards carried in such manner is high.

Even apart from the risk of damage to smart cards carried in such manner, it is also not convenient to carry smart cards in a pocket. If they are carried loosely, then it can take time to sort through the contents of one's pocket in order to locate the smart card. If it is stored in a wallet, then this offers greater protection but usually requires that the smart card be slid into and out of a tight-fitting plastic sheath. In both cases, time is wasted fumbling through one's pocket or wallet.

Another drawback with carrying smart cards in this manner, is the risk of loss or theft as well as the risk of simply forgetting to carry the smart card. The smart card is yet another article to remember and is apt to be overlooked when changing clothes, and so on.

Different designs have been devised for the assembly of the many components of a smart card into a finished product. For example, U.S. Patent 5,589,032 in the name of J-C. Fidalgo provides a bi-directional contact and contactless communication card. Fidalgo describes all the necessary components and suggests ways to facilitate their assembly, their electrical connection and their final integration.

German Patent No.37 21 822, in the name of K. Sickert, proposes forming the coil antenna on to the semiconductor of the chip, around the active surface of the semiconductor and along its borders. Such a scheme allows the antenna to be provided during the manufacture of the integrated circuit and thus obviates the need electrically to connect the antenna to the integrated circuit in an independent subsequent stage of assembly.

In WO9635190, to Reiner, there is suggested a method for contactless inductive coupling of a small antenna to a larger one. As an improvement upon Sickert, a small antenna, along the edges of a substrate, is inductively coupled to a larger antenna, disposed along the edges of the card itself.

Israel Patent Application No.122250 filed on November 19, 1997 in the name of the present Applicant discloses a data transaction card having an interface for bi-directional contactless communication, and comprising a support having a cavity for accommodating therein a chip carrier module. The chip carrier module is packaged into one discrete unit so as to allow mechanical assembly of the data transaction card without requiring additional electrical connections between the support and the chip carrier module during or subsequent to assembly. - 3a - 125613/1 JP 04100/91 published on April 2, 1992 discloses a system for payment of fares being mounted on a wrist watch and including a radio communication module for effecting payment by radio. Whilst, of course, such communication is also "contactless" it requires a dipole antenna and is quite distinct from a smart card effecting communication by mutual magnetic coupling and requiring a coil antenna. Moreover, there is no suggestion in JP 04100/91 to embed the antenna within the watchstrap itself.

WO 981691 1 published on October 14, 1994 discloses an electronic system for performing bank transactions in real time and provides, in one embodiment, a wrist bank being a miniature cellular telephone. Whilst, of course, the resulting communication is also "contactless" it too requires a dipole antenna and is quite distinct from a smart card effecting communication by mutual magnetic coupling and requiring a coil antenna. Likewise, there appears to be no suggestion in WO 9816911 to embed the antenna within the watchstrap itself.

US 5,526,233 published on June 11 , 1996 discloses an IC memory device having input/output terminals allowing it to be attached to or detached from a wristwatch for making serial transmission therebetween. Such a device does not relate to contactless communication and thus requires no antenna since it employs terminals for effecting the required connection between the device and the wristwatch.

EP 769759 published on October 19, 1995 discloses a non-contact IC card being a smart card element in the form of a wristwatch. It appears that the device is mounted in its entirety within the wristwatch casing and there is no suggestion to embed the antenna within the watchstrap itself. - 4 - 125613/2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a "contactless" smart tag wherein the drawbacks associated with hitherto-proposed devices relating to accessibility and portability are significantly reduced or eliminated.

This object is realized in accordance with the invention by means of a "contactless" data transaction tag having a coil antenna mounted in association with a band allowing for data communication with a remote device via mutual inductive coupling and being adapted to be worn on a person's wrist or ankle by means of the band. The data transaction tag is commonly referred to as a "smart tag" and the two terms are used interchangeably throughout the description, without derogation from the generality of the term "data transaction tag" employed in the claims.

Contactless smart tags comprise a chip mounted within a substrate and being connected to a coil antenna for allowing non-contact data communi-cation, usually in both directions, with a reader or interrogator. As is known, the coil antenna may be coupled to the chip via an antenna interface. The antenna interface allows easy customization of the smart tag by the end user. Such versatility is addressed by our co-pending Israel Patent Application No. 119943 corresponding to US Patent No. 6,045,043 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The smart tag may conform to known designs of smart card, such as disclosed in our U.S. Patent No. 5,241 ,160, whose contents are also incorporated herein by reference.

The invention as thus stated recognizes that contactless smart tags are not obliged to conform to rigid standards in order to ensure compatibility and portability. The smart tag therefore does not require the conventional plastic base but, instead, can exploit any other suitable support medium for mounting the electronics therein. Since contacts are not required, precision mounting and alignment of contacts is avoided, and the resulting contactless smart tag can be carried without risk of loss or damage.

Pre era y, t e smart tag components are mounted in a bracelet or wristwatch strap and are assembled by use of the conventional methods employed for the production of contactless smart cards.

Thus, the bracelet serves as the support medium for supporting the chip module, antenna coil and, optionally, the antenna interface. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the antenna comprises more than one winding applied either on the first or second side of the substrate. Alternatively, two antennae may be provided each on an opposite side of the substrate and having the same or a different number of windings. In such case, the two antennae behave as a parallel plate capacitor whose capacitance may be exploited to adjust an operational f equency of a tuned circuit containing the coil antennae. If desired, such tuning may be realized by an external capacitor coupled to the substrate.

Furthermore, it is also preferable for the windings of the coil antenna to be applied along the periphery of the substrate, i.e. along the edges of the bracelet or wristwatch strap.

The invention also contemplates a method for manufacturing a data transaction tag, method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a band having a cavity therein, (b) independently producing a chip carrier module having embedded therein an integrated circuit and a coil antenna electrically connected to said integrated circuit, and (c) mounting the chip carrier module in the cavity of the band.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to understand the invention and to see how the same may be carried out in practice, some preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: having a contactless smart tag embedded in a strap thereof; Figs. 2 and 3 show pictorially relative dimensions of the wristwatch strap and coil antenna, according to first and second embodiments; Fig. 4 shows pictorially a wristwatch having a contactless smart tag mounted on a strap thereof; Fig. 5 shows schematically a cross-section of the contactless smart tag according to a third embodiment of the invention; Fig. 6 shows schematically a lower plan view of the wristwatch strap for the contactless smart tag shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 shows schematically a cross-section of a contactless smart tag according with of a fourth embodiment of the invention conforming to the layout depicted in Fig. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 shows pictorially a wristwatch 1 having a strap 2 that serves a support medium for supporting a contactless smart tag module 3 therein. As seen, the smart tag module 3 comprises a chip 4 coupled to a coil antenna 5 in known manner. The strap 2 can be formed from a continuous band into which smart tag modules are mounted at regular intervals. The band is then cut to size to form discrete straps each having a smart tag module embedded therein. Such a process for manufacture is amenable to mass production and reduces per-unit costs.

Figs. 2 and 3 show pictorially relative dimensions of the wristwatch strap 2 and coil antenna 5, according to first and second embodiments. Fig. 2, shows part of a continuous band 6 wherein the coil antenna 5 is dimensioned to occupy approximately half the width of the band 6. Fig. 3, shows part of a continuous band 6 wherein the coil antenna 5 is dimensioned to occupy approximately the complete width of the band 6.

Fig. 4 shows pictorially a wristwatch 7 having a contactless smart tag module 8 mounted on a strap 9 thereof.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section of a smart tag including a chip carrier module designated generally as 10 and having a substrate 11 that is retained in a cavity 12 of a wristwatch strap 13 serving as a support medium. The substrate 11 provides a foundation for the various components of the smart tag. These include an integrated circuit 30 and a coil antenna 40, which are mounted on a lower surface 45 of the substrate 11 (constituting a first side thereof). The integrated circuit 30 manages the various command and control functions of the smart tag. The coil antenna 40 is likewise formed on the lower side 45 of the substrate 11 around the integrated circuit 30. The substrate 11 is a printed circuit board (PCB) on to which the antenna 40 may be etched in known manner. The antenna 40 may also be applied on to the lower side 45 of the substrate 11 by other means, such as deposition, or wires and the like. The leads of the antenna 40 terminate with conductive pads (not shown), by means of which the antenna 40 may be connected to the integrated circuit 30.

During a subsequent stage of manufacture following formation of the coil antenna 40, the integrated circuit 30 is mounted on to the lower side 45 of the substrate 11 and secured thereto. The coil antenna 40 may have one or more turns, in a single or multiple layers, according to the requirements for inductive coupling communication between the data tag and a suitable remote tag reading device.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the lower surface 45 of the substrate 11, showing the antenna 40 electrically connected to the integrated circuit 30 by two wire leads 17. The electrical connections may be performed by wire bonding or any suitable technique. The next step in the production process calls for the sealing of the connections, a method well known in the trade. - 8 - The substrate 11 together with the associated components and the antenna 40, now packaged into a single discrete unit, constitutes the chip carrier module 10. The chip carrier module 10 is now ready for integration with the strap 13 forming the body of data transaction tag by mechanical assembly, without requiring any further electrical connections. The chip carrier module 10 is thus fully inserted in the cavity 12, thereby bringing an upper surface of both the strap 13 and the chip carrier module 10 flush with each other. The chip carrier module 10 is retained within the cavity 12 by gluing or other processes, according to the finishing steps known in the trade.

Fig. 7 shows an optically encoded visual authentication mark depicted as 16 which is now applied to an upper surface of the substrate 11 (constituting a second side thereof). The visual authentication mark 16 may be a hologram or an encoded hologram and allows for remote visible inspection of the smart tag. The visual authentication mark 16 may serve as a personal identification relating to a wearer of the smart tag. For example, an encoded hologram with the picture of the proprietor of the smart tag permits simple visual inspection of the authorized owner. As also seen in Fig. 7, the visual mark 16 is applied to the substrate 11 and assembled in the chip carrier module 10. The assembly process of the chip carrier module 10 comprises the additional step of securing or inscribing the visual mark 16 on to the substrate 11.

As is well known in the art, contactless smart cards may be self-powered via the electromagnetic field mutually induced within the antenna coil, when brought into the vicinity of the reader or interrogator. This obviates the need to provide a separate battery. However, when an antenna interface is provided, this may (depending on its design and versatility) increase power consumption. In this case, an external battery may be provided in order to supplement the energy induced in the antenna coil. Likewise, a battery may be used to boost the effective distance over which effective communication may be maintained with the reader. If desired, the battery may be realized by means of the watch battery. These considerations apply also to the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 wherein the smart tag module is a discrete unit mounted on an outer surface of the strap.

It will be apparent that modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. For example, whilst the preferred embodiments relate to the mounting of a smart tag in or on a wristwatch strap, it will be appreciate that the same considerations apply to any strap or bracelet worn on the wrist. Such bracelets are also commonly worn on the ankle and the invention contemplates that a smart tag, suitably mounted in a bracelet or band, may be worn around the ankle.

It will also be appreciated that, whilst a specific manufacturing process has been described in detail, any other suitable manufacturing process may be substituted therefor. For example, the chip module may be separate from the coil antenna. In such case, after mounting the chip module in the cavity of the band, the coil antenna is also mounted therein and connected to the chip module. Typically, the coil antenna is mounted around the chip module since such a configuration maximizes the available surface area of the antenna coil and hence its range. However, this is not essential. Other suitable manufacturing processes are described in some of the patent documents discussed in the Background Section, but these are not to be taken as exhaustive. Likewise, it is to be noted that whilst, as described, the straps containing the smart tag modules may be mass-produced, if desired the smart tag module can be embedded within pre-formed straps or bracelets, one at a time.

It is also to be noted that whilst reference has been made to specific smart tag configurations, the invention is not limited to a particular type of smart tag, providing only that it has a contactless interface.

Claims (16)

- 10 - 125613/3 CLAIMS:

1. A "contactless" data transaction tag having a coil antenna mounted in association with a band allowing for data communication with a remote device via mutual inductive coupling and being adapted to be worn on a person's wrist or ankle by means of the band.

2. The data transaction tag according to Claim 1, wherein the band is a bracelet.

3. The data transaction tag according to Claim 1, wherein the band is a wristwatch strap.

4. The data transaction tag according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the band is a support medium for supporting the data transaction tag module therein.

5. The data transaction tag according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the band is a support medium for mounting the data transaction tag module thereon.

6. The data transaction tag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data transaction tag is adapted to self-powered when brought into the vicinity of an electromagnetic field.

7. The data transaction tag according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, further including a battery for at least partially energizing the data transaction tag.

8. The data transaction tag according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein a coil antenna of the data transaction tag is dimensioned to occupy approximately half the width of the band.

9. The data transaction tag according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein a coil antenna of the data transaction tag is dimensioned to occupy approximately a complete width of the band. - 1 1 - 125613/3

10. The data transaction tag according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data transaction tag comprises: a chip carrier module having a substrate for mounting in a cavity of the band, and a coil antenna coupled to the chip carrier module.

11. The data transaction tag according to Claim 10, further including: an optical visual authentication mark applied to a surface of the substrate, so as to remain visible after packaging into the chip carrier module and after assembly of the chip carrier module with said cavity.

12. The data transaction tag according to Claim 11, wherein the visual authentication mark is a hologram.

13. The data transaction tag according to Claims 12, wherein the visual authentication mark is an encoded hologram which forms a personal identification of an authorized bearer of the data transaction tag.

14. The data transaction tag according to Claim 13, wherein the encoded hologram is a picture of the authorized bearer of the data transaction tag.

15. A method for manufacturing a contactless data transaction tag, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a band having a cavity therein, (b) independently producing a chip carrier module, (c) independently forming an antenna coil, (d) mounting the chip carrier module in the cavity of the band, (e) mounting the antenna coil in the band, and (f) connecting the antenna coil to the chip carrier module. - 12 - 125613/3

16. A method for manufacturing a contactless data transaction tag, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a band having a cavity therein, (b) independently producing a chip carrier module having embedded therein an integrated circuit and a coil antenna electrically connected to said integrated circuit, and (c) mounting the chip carrier module in the cavity of the band. For the Applicants, REINHOLD COHN AND PARTNERS J:\01 124353X01 124353 00010 SPC.doc/18/06/2001