JP2007011836A - Ic card with contact terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin-type IC card with a contact terminal reducing functional failures caused by IC damage in a structure where bending stress is hardly applied to the contact terminal when bending stress is applied. <P>SOLUTION: The IC card with the contact terminal has an IC card base body 3 and the contact terminal, wherein an IC module 4 having a contact function or a contact and non-contact function is mounted into an embedding recess. A reinforcing member 2 composed of material harder than the IC card base body 3 is embedded in ring shape on the outside of the contact terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an IC card, and more particularly to a structure of an IC card with a contact terminal that can suppress a functional failure due to IC breakage when bent.

  The non-contact IC card includes an antenna sheet in which a coil is formed inside the card in order to obtain electric power and signals from the outside in a non-contact manner based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. In the case of an IC card for both contact and non-contact use, an IC chip for processing and storing a signal to be transmitted and received is made an IC module with a substrate and mounted on the surface of the card. The IC module and an antenna sheet in the card base Connect.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a contact / non-contact IC card. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship of the embedded recesses in the IC module portion of FIG. 3 (see Patent Document 1).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the contact / non-contact IC card 1 has a contact / non-contact IC module mounted on an IC card base 21. The card surface side of the IC module is a contact terminal board. An antenna coil 24 provided in the IC card base 21 is connected to the IC module, and is used for non-contact communication with an external device.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, the IC card base 21 has a configuration in which a core sheet 211, a core sheet 212, a rear surface side transparent oversheet 214, and a front surface side transparent oversheet 215 are laminated. The antenna coil 24 is formed on the surface of the core sheet 211 by rotating a thin wire several times in a plane or by etching a metal foil laminated on the core sheet, and connection end portions at both ends thereof. Is formed so as to face the first embedded recess 221 of the IC module mounting portion.

  The mounting of the IC module on the IC card base is generally performed as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the IC module mounting concave portion is spotted and excavated in the IC module mounting portion. The embedded concave portion includes a first embedded concave portion 221 and a second embedded concave portion 222, and the first embedded concave portion 221 has a shape and depth capable of fitting a terminal board (printed circuit board) of the IC module. The second embedded recess 222 has a depth that allows the mold resin portion of the IC module to be fitted therein. The total thickness of the IC card is about 780 to 800 μm, and the second embedded recess 222 is excavated to a depth of about 600 μm from the card surface, so that a thin base material remains on the lower surface of the second embedded recess. It becomes.

  The contact / non-contact IC card having such a structure has a problem that bending stress or the like is applied in the use environment, and the force concentrates on the contact terminal portion, resulting in frequent malfunctions due to IC breakage.

  Such an IC card is required to be strong against bending at the same level as a magnetic card. Regarding the reinforcement measures against bending, a cloth mesh or a rectangular metal thin plate is formed on the card base to accommodate the resin part of the IC chip provided on the back side of the module, that is, the back side of the external terminal of the IC module. Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 disclose a structure embedded under a concave portion.

JP-A-11-353439 JP 2002-92572 A JP 2004-171089 A

  In the above-described Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, in an IC card in which a non-contact communication function unit of an IC module having a contact terminal and having both contact and non-contact functions is connected to an antenna coil in a card base, A concave portion of a card base formed by a thin metal reinforcing plate or a cloth mesh that reinforces the module and antenna coil connection portion to accommodate the resin portion of the IC chip provided on the back side of the external terminal of the IC module By making the structure buried below, the load is not concentrated on the contact terminal when bending stress is applied, thereby reducing functional failure due to IC breakage.

  However, in such a structure, when it is folded from the side where the thin metal reinforcing plate or the cloth mesh that reinforces the antenna coil connection portion is embedded, the effect can be expected, but it is folded from the opposite side. In such a case, since sufficient reinforcement has not been made, when bending stress is applied, the load concentrates on the contact terminal, and there is a problem that functional failure due to IC breakage is likely to occur. Further, the IC card is required to be thin, and the technique of embedding a thin plate-like metal reinforcing plate or cloth mesh has a problem in that the thinning is restricted.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its technical problem is a thin structure that is less susceptible to bending stress applied to the contact terminals when bending stress is applied, and has reduced functional failure due to IC breakage. An IC card with a contact terminal is provided.

  According to a first aspect of the invention for achieving the above object, an IC module having an IC card base and a contact terminal and having a function of contact or contact and non-contact is mounted in an embedded recess provided in the IC card base. In the IC card with contact terminal, the IC card with contact terminal in which a material harder than the base of the IC card is embedded outside the contact terminal.

  A second invention for achieving the above object is an IC card with contact terminals embedded in a ring shape, wherein the material harder than the base of the IC card is made of metal.

  According to the present invention, in an IC card with a contact terminal, which has an IC card base and a contact terminal, and an IC module having a contact or contact and non-contact function is mounted in an embedded recess provided in the IC card base, By making an IC card with a contact terminal in which a material harder than the base of the IC card is embedded in a ring shape on the outside of the contact terminal, a reinforcement made by making the material harder than the base of the card into a ring shape when bending stress is applied The inside of the material portion has a structure that is difficult to bend by the reinforcing material, and the outside of the reinforcing material portion in which a material harder than the base of the card is ring-shaped is easily bent. Therefore, since bending stress is not concentrated on the contact terminals in the IC module portion, it is possible to make a structure in which stress is not easily applied to the IC module, and functional failure due to IC breakage can be reduced. In addition, if the reinforcing material made into a ring shape forms a ring in the shape of a circle, a rectangle, a square, or a polygon, and has a shape surrounding the contact terminal, the effect is exhibited.

  Further, since the material harder than the ring-shaped card base is embedded outside the contact terminal, the thickness of the material harder than the ring-shaped card base is determined in consideration of the thickness of the IC module and the contact terminal. Since the thickness can be freely designed according to the required reinforcement strength up to the thickness of the base of the IC card, the thickness is reduced as in the conventional IC card structure in which reinforcing plates are stacked on the IC module and contact terminals. It can solve the problem that it becomes a restriction in proceeding.

  As a result, it is possible to provide a thin IC card with a contact terminal having a structure in which bending stress is not easily applied to the contact terminal when bending stress is applied, and functional failure due to IC breakage is reduced.

  An IC card with contact terminals according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of an IC card with contact terminals according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the layer configuration of the IC card and the embedded recess. As shown in FIG. 1, an IC card 1 with a contact terminal according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention has an IC module 4 fitted into a card base 3 at the center left side, and external terminals are exposed on the card surface. ing. The reinforcing member 2 made of a material harder than the base of the IC card on the outside of the contact terminal has a ring shape slightly larger than the contact of the IC module, that is, the external terminal board. The ring-shaped reinforcing member 2 may be formed in the shape of a circle, a rectangle, a square, or a polygon, and surround the contact terminal. In the best mode of the present invention, it is preferable to form a rectangular shape in accordance with the shape of the contact terminal.

  FIG. 2 shows an AA cross section of the IC module in a state where the IC module is fitted in the laminated card. This laminated card is a laminated card in which three sheets of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are laminated. It is. Polyvinyl chloride, a copolymer of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate, and amorphous polyester are generally used. The reason why these materials are used is that the unit price is low and the processability is high.

  Since the number of laminated cards is often laminated using an adhesive, the smaller number of laminated cards is advantageous in terms of cost. The thickness of the three sheets is 0.05 mm for the transparent sheet on the front and back, 0.10 mm for the sheet printed on the front and back, and 0.23 mm for the one core sheet, for a total of 0.33 or 0.003. 43mm. Lamination of each sheet is performed by thermal pressure. When an adhesive is used, a thermoplastic adhesive is coated on each adhesive surface, and is pressurized and heated at 100 to 120 ° C. The heating time is 10 to 30 minutes, and the pressure is 2 to 3 MPa. The card substrate laminated by pressurization and overheating is gradually cooled to room temperature.

  When it is gradually cooled to room temperature, it is taken out from the pressure device, punched into a card shape by a punching die, and finished into one card. The finished card is subjected to printing inspection, signature panel sticking, hologram sticking, etc., and sent to the next IC card process.

  Next, the counterboring process of the concave portion 5 for mounting the contact terminal, which is the first step of making an IC card, will be described. An IC card is set in a cutting machine, and a recess is formed in a predetermined portion of the card with a special cutting tool. First, the first recess for bonding and fixing the module substrate is processed by cutting. The depth of the recesses is determined by the IC module substrate 46 (polyimide, glass epoxy, etc. constituting the external terminal, metal of the terminal surface, for example, copper, nickel, gold, and an adhesive for bonding these metals). Furthermore, the total thickness of the adhesives for bonding these substrates is obtained.

  The second concave portion is for embedding a resin sealing portion 43 that is used to protect the IC chip 45 and the bonding wire from cracking and disconnection. Even if the thickness of the chip is reduced, the resin-sealed part rises when the contact terminal 44 connected to the reader / writer and the wire connecting the terminal of the chip rise from the terminal of the chip. The thickness of the resin sealed at the portion is increased, and the concave portion is set deeper accordingly. Excluding the depth of the concave portion 5 including the first concave portion and the second concave portion, only a space corresponding to a thickness of about 30% of the card base thickness remains below the concave portion. Therefore, the reinforcement strength below the concave portion 5 is insufficient, and a structure in which a crack is easily formed around the bottom portion of the concave portion 5 is obtained.

  Next, the IC module 42 will be described. In the IC module substrate 46 described above, first, small holes of 5 to 8 / module are formed at predetermined positions for passing each terminal of the IC chip 45 and the metal wire connected to the back side of the contact terminal 44. Then, a copper thin plate is laminated with an adhesive and etched into an external terminal pattern, followed by nickel plating, gold plating or the like.

  On the back side of the substrate, a metal thin plate is also formed on the chip bonding portion, and the IC chip 45 is bonded thereon. An integrated circuit is formed on the outer surface of the IC chip, and each connection terminal on the chip surface and the aforementioned contact terminal 44 (back side) are bonded with aluminum or gold wires. After the wire bonding is completed, the periphery of the IC chip and the wire is sealed with resin in order to protect the IC chip and the wire from being broken from the outside. For this purpose, it is set in a mold, poured into a powder or liquid resin, and solidified.

  As another method, a dam is formed around the chip and the wire, and the resin sealing portion 43 in which the resin is filled and solidified until the wire is buried is formed. The IC module 42 manufactured in this way is applied to or set in a recess of the IC card card base 41 or a liquid or film adhesive is bonded to bond the IC module 42 and the card base 41.

  The reinforcing member 2 made of a material harder than the IC card base 41 embedded outside the contact terminals is fixed on the second sheet on the back side of the IC card base 41 before the sheets are laminated. Keep it. The reinforcing member 2 made of a material harder than the base of the IC card formed in a ring shape slightly larger than the contact of the IC module 42, that is, the substrate of the contact terminal 44, is placed at an accurate position by an adhesive or an adhesive. And fix.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the reinforcing member 2 made of a material harder than the IC card base 41 embedded outside the contact terminal 44 of the present invention is formed on the outer side of the recess 5 in which the first recess and the second recess are combined. It is a structure embedded in the part. When the IC card is bent from the side where the contact terminal 44 is present, in the conventional example of FIG. 3, stress is applied to the bonding portion of the IC module 42 and the recess 5 in order to follow the curvature of the IC card. This causes mechanical destruction of the IC chip 45 inside the module 42, resulting in failure of the IC card function.

  However, in the present invention, the reinforcing member 2 made of a material harder than the IC card base 41 embedded outside the contact terminal 44 resists the follow-up of the IC card curve, and the stress at the bonded portion between the IC module 42 and the recess 5 In order to alleviate the above, it is possible to drastically improve the functional failure of the IC card such as peeling of the contact terminal 44 and mechanical destruction of the IC chip 45 inside the IC module 42, and an IC card having high mechanical strength can be obtained. It was.

  In addition, since the reinforcing member 2 made of a material harder than the ring-shaped IC card base 41 is embedded outside the contact terminal 44, the thickness of the IC module 42 and the contact terminal is taken into consideration. There is no need to determine the thickness of a material harder than the base body 41. That is, in the conventional structure, there is a space where the reinforcing material can be introduced only about 30% of the card base thickness below the concave portion 5 including the first concave portion and the second concave portion. Whereas there is a restriction that the thickness of the IC card has to be further increased in order to secure the thickness, the structure of the present invention has no restriction on the space for installing the reinforcing material. The thickness can be designed freely according to the required reinforcement strength. As a result, the conventional IC card structure in which the reinforcing plates are stacked on the IC module 42 and the contact terminal 44 can solve the problem that there is a limitation in reducing the thickness.

  As described above, it is possible to provide a thin IC card with a contact terminal having a structure in which the bending stress is not easily applied to the contact terminal when the bending stress is applied according to the present invention, and the functional failure due to the IC breakage is reduced. .

The top view which shows the structure of the IC card with a contact terminal of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the layer structure of the IC card of this invention, and the relationship of an embedding recessed part. Sectional drawing which shows the example of the conventional contact / non-contact IC card. Sectional drawing which shows the relationship of the embedding recessed part of the IC module part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 IC card 2 Reinforcing member 3, 21, 41 IC card base | substrate 4, 42 IC module 5 Recess 24 Antenna coil 31 Part where stress concentrates 42 IC module 43 Sealing resin part 44 Contact terminal 45 IC chip 46 IC module board 211, 212 core sheet
214 Back side transparent oversheet
215 Surface-side transparent oversheet 221 First embedded recess 222 Second embedded recess 241, 242 Connection terminal portion of antenna coil

Claims (2)

  An IC card with a contact terminal having an IC card base and a contact terminal, and an IC module having a contact or contact and non-contact function mounted in an embedded recess provided in the IC card base, the outside of the contact terminal An IC card with contact terminals, characterized in that a material harder than the base of the IC card is embedded.   2. The IC card with contact terminals according to claim 1, wherein the material harder than the base of the IC card is made of metal and embedded in a ring shape.

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