JP2005149110A - Method for attaching ic tag - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an IC tag attaching method capable of protecting an IC label against load due to external stress and capable of attaching an IC tag independently of an article processing process, and to provide a method for manufacturing articles with IC tags and a slot forming device and to promote the use of IC tags. <P>SOLUTION: As the IC tag attaching method for attaching an IC tag provided with a communication means for performing data communication in a non-contact state and a storage means for storing data, a thin IC tag is used as the IC tag and the IC tag is inserted into a slot formed from the surface of the article to the inside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, an IC tag mounting method, a method for manufacturing an article with an IC tag, and a slot forming device for mounting an IC tag that can be read in a non-contact manner using an induction electromagnetic field.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to promote the automation of physical distribution by making it possible to mechanically read the contents of slips attached to individual articles, etc., bar code labels corresponding to the contents have been attached to individual slips.

  However, in order to read a bar code label using a bar code reader, a certain distance and directional relation must be made with high accuracy, which is an obstacle to smooth logistics. It was.

  Furthermore, the amount of information that can be entered into the barcode is small, and the distribution management range is limited to a narrow area.

  In recent years, IC tags that can be read in a non-contact manner using an induction electromagnetic field have been used (see Patent Document 1). According to this IC tag, since the induction electromagnetic field is used as a reading medium, distance and direction restrictions are not so much imposed upon reading. Specifically, the contents can be reliably read even from a distance of 1M without being restricted by the directionality of reading.

  Usually, this IC tag is used by being attached to the surface of an article such as a packing box or a tray with an adhesive or the like applied on the surface thereof.

  However, the articles may be transported outdoors exposed to wind and rain, and may be washed with a detergent or the like.

  Furthermore, depending on the transport method, external stress such as strong mechanical stress from the outside may be applied to the IC tag, and a load may be applied to the IC tag. For example, a container pack used for transporting foods or the like is subjected to a load due to strong external stress due to dropping or stacking during transportation, and is washed with a detergent during recycling. For this reason, there arises a problem that the IC tag attached to the surface of the article is broken or peeled off.

  As a method for protecting the IC tag from such environmental factors, the following methods can be considered.

  As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 6, the first protection method is such that PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), or the like is formed on the entire upper and lower surfaces of the slip-incorporated IC tag 62 integrally having the IC 61. In this method, the resin film 63 is laminated as a protective layer and sealed. In this case, water resistance can be improved due to the sealed structure.

  However, in order to protect the IC 61 of the slip-internal IC tag 62 from external force, it is not sufficient to cover it with the resin film 63 which is a thin film-like resin.

  As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 7, the second protection method is a slip-internal IC while forming a space 75 with hard resin molded products 73 and 74 around the IC 72 mounted on the slip-internal IC tag 71. This is a method of sealing the entire tag 71 and protecting the resin molded products 73 and 74 from hitting the IC 72 even if an external force is applied by forming the space 75. In this case, since the resin molded products 73 and 74 can cover and seal the entire slip-internal IC tag 71, an IC tag 76 having excellent water resistance and external force resistance can be obtained.

  However, the slip-incorporated IC tag 71 used in such a protection method is expensive to mold the resin molded products 73 and 74, and is attached to the article using an adhesive including the first method. Therefore, the problem of peeling from the article cannot be solved.

  As a third method, as shown in a perspective view (partial cross-sectional view) of FIG. 8, an IC tag is used at the time of parts processing, such as molding, for a part 82 of an article 83 such as a packing box or a tray. A method of inserting 81 is conceivable. According to this method, the IC tag 81 can be protected against water resistance and external stress because it is not attached with an adhesive and does not peel off due to external force. In addition, since the IC tag 81 is inserted when the component 82 is processed, there is an effect that no additional cost is required due to the processing, and the cost can be reduced. However, there are restrictions on the processing conditions of the parts. For example, this method cannot be applied to processing parts that require extremely high temperatures or parts that are produced by injection molding of a resin material at high pressure. There's a problem.

JP 2001-156110 A

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention can protect an IC label against a load caused by external stress, and can be mounted regardless of a process during processing of an article. An object of the present invention is to provide an article manufacturing method and a slot forming device, and to promote use of an IC tag.

  The present invention is an IC tag mounting method for mounting an IC tag provided with an IC tag provided with a communication unit for data communication in a non-contact manner and a storage unit for storing data, using a thin IC tag as the IC tag, It is an IC tag mounting method in which an IC tag is inserted into a slot formed in the article from the surface to the inside.

  The communication means includes a means capable of non-contact data communication such as an antenna coil.

  The storage means includes a means capable of storing data, such as a nonvolatile memory such as FEROM or EEPROM.

  As said articles | goods, it can utilize for various articles | goods, such as household appliances, office supplies, daily life goods, a toy, a vehicle, or these components.

  With the above configuration, the IC tag can be embedded inside the article, and the article itself protects the IC tag, so that the failure of the IC tag due to a load caused by external stress can be prevented.

As an aspect of the present invention, the width of the slot can be set to be narrower than the width of the IC tag.
Accordingly, the IC tag can be fixed to the article simply by inserting the IC tag into the slot of the article.

  As an aspect of the present invention, after an IC tag is inserted into the slot, the opening of the slot can be bonded or fused.

  Adhering or fusing the opening of the slot means adhering or fusing the opening of the slot to the IC tag, and is not limited to the edge of the slot formed on the surface of the article. It means that the opening is sealed or closed so that the IC tag does not fall off, such as by being bonded or fused slightly inside the edge of the slot.

  Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the IC tag from falling out of the groove of the article.

  As an aspect of the present invention, the heating member is brought into contact with a part of the surface of the article, the heating member is pushed into the article while melting the corresponding contact portion, and then the heating member is detached. Can be formed.

The heating member includes a metal member heated, a nichrome wire that generates heat by power supply, or a member heated from the outside or a member heated by self-heating.
With the above configuration, a slot can be easily formed in the article.

In addition, the present invention can be an article manufacturing method with an IC tag that executes the IC tag mounting method and manufactures an article with an IC tag.
Thereby, the article | item with which the IC tag was mounted | worn can be manufactured easily.

  Moreover, this invention can be made into the slot formation apparatus provided with the heating member used for the said IC tag mounting method, and the heating means which heats this heating member.

The heating means includes a power supply device that supplies electric power to the nichrome wire, or a means that heats or heats the heating member, such as a heater that heats a metal.
With the above configuration, a slot can be easily formed in an article.

As an aspect of the present invention, the heating member can be formed to have the same width as the slot.
Thereby, since the slot of a required magnitude | size can be formed only by pushing in to the article | item of a heating member, a slot can be formed quickly.

  According to the present invention, the IC tag can be protected against a load caused by an external stress, and can be mounted regardless of the process of processing the article.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of the IC tag 1 will be described together with a perspective view showing a laminated structure before the assembly of the IC tag 1 shown in FIG. 1 and a cross-sectional view seen from the side shown in FIG.

  The IC tag 1 is configured by multilayering a rigid plate 10 having rigidity on the surface (upper surface) of a thin IC label 20.

  The IC label 20 is formed with an IC chip 21 and an antenna coil 22 on a thin film 23. The IC chip 21 and the antenna coil 22 are protected by a film 23 by laminating.

  Further, the IC chip 21 is provided with a nonvolatile memory for storing data such as a unique ID of the IC label 20 and a product code.

  The rigid plate 10 is formed of a rigid plate-like body, and a material other than metal, such as a film, plastic, or wood board, is used as the material. The rigid plate 10 is preferably not a broken object such as glass or earthenware, but a member that is resistant to slight bending and impact.

  The thickness of the rigid plate 10 may be formed to a thickness that can maintain the rigidity, and considering the IC tag insertion process described later, it is preferable to form it as thin as possible within the range in which the rigidity can be maintained.

  In this embodiment, a PET film having a thickness of 100 μm is used as the rigid plate 10 that satisfies these conditions.

  The IC tag 1 is formed by bonding the rigid plate 10 and the IC label 20 to the surface (upper surface) of the rigid plate 10 and the back surface (lower surface) of the IC label 20. For this bonding, a method may be used in which a 100 μm-thick PET film having a surface coated with a hot-melt adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive is bonded to the surface of the IC label 20 using a laminator or the like.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rigid plate 10 is multilayered on the surface side of the IC label 20 on which the IC chip 21 is mounted, thereby protecting the IC chip 21 from the external environment and protecting it. can do.

  With the above configuration, the IC label 20 having flexibility with respect to bending can be attached to the rigid plate 10 to form the card-type IC tag 1 having appropriate rigidity. Since the IC chip 21 of the IC tag 1 stores a nonvolatile memory for storing data, data communication with an external interrogator or the like can be performed via the antenna coil 22.

  The IC label 20 is formed by, for example, laminating a 10 μm thick copper foil on one side of a 25 μm PET film via a urethane adhesive, laminating and bonding them through thermal lamination, and then swirling the copper foil by etching. It is preferable to use an antenna coil that is formed into a shape and is manufactured by pressing an IC chip and connecting a connecting electrode portion of the IC chip to the antenna coil.

  The interrogator refers to a non-contact communication unit (antenna coil) of a non-contact communication device including an antenna coil, a control device, and a storage device, and performs data communication with a personal computer connected to the non-contact communication device. For example, the received data from the IC tag 1 is managed by a personal computer.

  Next, the manufacturing process of the IC-tagged article 33 will be described together with the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and the manufacturing process explanatory diagram of the IC-tagged article 33 shown in FIG.

  Here, the article 30 which is an attachment object of the IC tag 1 can be used as long as it is an article formed of a material other than a conductive metal, such as an article formed of paper, wood, or resin.

  In this embodiment, a case where foamed polypropylene is used as the article 30 will be described.

  As the foamed polypropylene, a bead method foamed polypropylene is used in which a foamable material is contained in a polypropylene resin material and foamed in a mold.

  In addition, in the method of forming the beaded polypropylene, when an IC label is to be embedded at the time of formation by foaming, the position cannot be maintained because the resin is foamed and molded in the mold, and the IC label It causes the problem of being damaged.

  In this embodiment, a plate material having a thickness of about 5 mm and foamed at a magnification of about 5 to 11 times is used as the article 30 as the foam molding condition. The plate material with this magnification is often used as a tray.

First, the heating device 40 shown in FIG. 4A is heated (step n1).
The heating device 40 has a thickness A corresponding to the thickness G (see (C)) of the IC tag 1 and a plate-like heating unit having a width B slightly larger than the width F (see (C)) of the IC tag 1. 41, an arm 42, a power source 43, and an ON / OFF switch 44.

  The heating unit 41 provided at the tip has two arms 42 on the back side (right side in the drawing), one on each side, and includes a power source 43 and a switch 44 on the back side of the arm 42. Yes.

  In the heating part 41, a nichrome wire is incorporated as a heat generating member, and power is supplied from the power source through wiring in the arms 42, 42.

  When the heating unit 41 of the heating device 40 is sufficiently heated to a temperature at which the article 30 can be melted (for example, about 200 ° C.) (step n2), the heating unit 41 is pressed against a part of the article 30 (part where a slot is formed), The heating unit 41 is pushed into the article 30 while the article 30 is melted as shown in (B) at the contact portion (right side in the figure) (step n3).

At this time, the heating part 41 is pushed straight in toward the center of the article 30, and the heating part 41 forms a slot 31 perpendicular to the contact surface that first contacts the article 30.
After forming the slot (slit part) 31 having a depth capable of accommodating the C tag 1 by the insertion, the heating part 41 of the heating device 40 is detached from the slot 31 (step n4).

  The article 30 only needs to have a thickness, a width, and a depth enough to form the slot 31, and particularly the thickness, the thickness D between the slot 31 and the surface (upper surface) after the slot 31 is formed, And the thickness E between the slot 31 and the back surface (lower surface) should just be more than the extent which remains a little (for example, 1 mm or more).

  An IC tag insertion step of inserting the IC tag 1 into the slot 31 of the article 30 thus formed is performed as shown in (C) (step n5).

  After the IC tag 1 is firmly inserted into the slot 31 and the IC tag 1 is positioned inside the slot 32 so as not to protrude, the opening 32 is completely sealed so that there is no gap. And sealed (step n6).

  The blockage utilizes the characteristics of foamed polypropylene in which materials are fused to each other by heating, and a metal plate or the like heated to a temperature at which the article 30 can be dissolved (for example, about 200 ° C.) is pressed against the opening 32. The fusion part 34 shown in (D) is formed by fusion. In addition, you may use the heating part 41 of the heating apparatus 40 instead of this metal plate.

  By the above manufacturing method, as shown in FIG. 4D, the IC tag 1 can be embedded in the article 30 which is a processed part or the like to complete the article 33 with the IC tag.

  As a result, the IC label 20 can be embedded even in an article 30 manufactured under processing conditions such as injection molding that is inexpensive but inappropriate for insertion of the IC label 20 during molding.

  In addition, since processing to the article 30 is only drilling processing (slit processing) for forming the slot 31 corresponding to the thickness of the IC tag 1, a simple tool such as a manual type like the heating device 40 is used. Can be processed.

Further, since the IC label 20 is inserted into the article 30 and the opening 32 is completely sealed, the influence of external water can be blocked.
Further, since the outer wall of the article 30 serves as a buffer for external stress, the IC label 20 can be protected from external force.

  Further, it is not necessary to apply additional processing such as applying an adhesive for firmly attaching to the article 30 and attaching release paper to the IC label 20, so that the IC tag 1 is formed at low cost. be able to.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described together with a manufacturing process explanatory diagram of the IC-tagged article 33 shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the heating part 41 at the tip of the heating device 40 is formed in an arc shape as shown in FIG. This makes it easier to form the slot 31 in the article 30 by melting than in the first embodiment.

  As the IC tag 1, a disk-type IC tag 1 is used. The IC tag 1 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the shape is merely changed from a card type to a circle. Therefore, the antenna coil 22 (see FIG. 1) is formed in a circle along the shape of the IC tag 1.

  Other configurations, operations, and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  With the above configuration and operation, the circular IC tag 1 can be inserted into the article 30. Since the IC tag 1 is circular, there is no directionality at the time of insertion, and it can be handled more easily than a card type.

  In each of the above embodiments, the block of step n6 may be configured to be partially blocked so that the IC tag 1 does not fall off, instead of being completely sealed and sealed so that there is no gap. Even in this case, the same effect can be obtained with respect to resistance to external force.

  Moreover, you may use the raw material which does not have heat-fusibility for the goods 30. FIG. In this case, it is preferable to seal the opening 32 using an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive, or to form a lid member with a small plate-like body and attach the lid member to the opening 32 for sealing.

  Further, the width B (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the heating unit 41 is formed slightly smaller than the width F (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the IC tag 1, and the width of the slot 31 is formed at the time of drilling in step n3. C (FIGS. 4 and 5) may be slightly narrower than the width F of the IC tag 1.

  In this case, if the IC tag 1 is pushed into the slot 31, the IC tag 1 is fixed in the slot 31, and the IC tag 1 can be prevented from easily coming out of the slot 31.

  Therefore, the opening 32 can be easily sealed, and the IC tag 1 can be prevented from coming out of the slot 31 even if the seal is simply sealed from above.

  Further, in the drilling step of step n3, a part of the article 30 is scraped off with a cutter knife to form a slot 31, or a plurality of holes are connected laterally with a drilling device that drills holes. You may implement by the method of setting it as the hole 31, etc. As a result, the IC-tagged article 33 can be manufactured without using heat.

  In addition, since various forms of the article 30 are conceivable, for example, a surface portion of the article 30 is provided with a thick portion for forming the slot 31, and the surface of one end of this portion is directed to the inside of the other end. The slot 31 may be formed by pushing the heating unit 41 obliquely. Thereby, even if the article 30 is hollow, the IC tag 1 can be embedded in the surface layer portion.

  Moreover, it may be provided with the slot 31 when the article 30 is molded, and steps n1 to n2 may be omitted. Thereby, simplification and efficiency improvement of work can be achieved.

  In addition, the article 30 may have a foaming rate of 20 to 45 times as a foam molding condition of the bead method foamed polypropylene. This magnification is used as a packing material, which makes it possible to embed the IC tag 1 in the packing material.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment,
The communication means of this invention corresponds to the antenna coil 22 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The slot forming device corresponds to the heating device 40,
The heating member corresponds to the heating unit 41,
The width of the heating member corresponds to the width B,
The width of the slot corresponds to the width C,
The storage means corresponds to a nonvolatile memory,
The heating means corresponds to nichrome wire,
The present invention is not limited only to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

The perspective view which shows the laminated structure before the assembly of an IC tag. Sectional drawing which looked at IC tag from the side. The flowchart of the manufacturing process of the goods with an IC tag. Explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of an article | item with an IC tag. Explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the article | item with an IC tag in 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the conventional IC tag. Sectional drawing of the conventional IC tag. The perspective view (partial sectional view) of the conventional IC tag.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... IC tag 22 ... Antenna coil 30 ... Article 31 ... Slot 32 ... Opening 40 ... Heating device 41 ... Heating part B ... Heating part width C ... Opening part width F ... IC tag width

Claims (7)

An IC tag mounting method for mounting an IC tag provided with a communication means for non-contact data communication and a storage means for storing data on an article,
Using a thin IC tag as the IC tag,
An IC tag mounting method for inserting an IC tag into a slot formed in the article from the surface toward the inside. The IC tag mounting method according to claim 1, wherein a width of the slot is set to be narrower than a width of the IC tag. The IC tag mounting method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein after the IC tag is inserted into the slot, the opening of the slot is bonded or fused. 2. The slot is formed by abutting a heating member against a part of the surface of the article, pressing the heating member into the article while melting the corresponding contact portion, and then detaching the heating member. 2. An IC tag mounting method according to 2 or 3. An IC tag-attached article manufacturing method for executing an IC tag mounting method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 to manufacture an article to which an IC tag is attached. A heating member used in the IC tag mounting method according to claim 4;
A slot forming device comprising heating means for heating the heating member. The slot forming device according to claim 6, wherein a width of the heating member is formed to be approximately the same as the slot.

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