JP2007156874A - Contactless ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide contactless IC card products which can cope with addition of the kinds of contactless IC cards, in a short time, even if the kinds of contactless IC cards are added, without spending fee and time on designing and on preparing the original plates of circuit films. <P>SOLUTION: An antenna pattern 8 is arranged in a loop form, in a circuit film 4 of a contactless IC card 1, and a dummy pattern 12 is arranged inside the antenna pattern 8. The dummy pattern 12 is arranged so that it covers metallic masses 7a and 7b that are to be mounted on the contactless IC card 1. The arrangement of the dummy pattern 12 can make the influence on an electromagnetic wave constant at communication with an external device. Consequently, the kinds of the metallic masses 7a and 7b can be changed arbitrarily, without changing the design of the antenna pattern 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-contact IC card having a built-in metal lump as a prize provided according to the number of prize balls in a game field such as a pachinko machine or a slot machine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, non-contact IC cards containing prizes provided according to the number of prize balls are used in game halls such as pachinko machines and slot machines. This type of non-contact IC card is composed of, for example, a card substrate disposed on the upper and lower sides, a circuit film disposed between upper and lower card substrates, and an overlay film disposed on the top. A recess is formed in one of the upper and lower card bases, and a noble metal (metal lump) such as gold, silver, or platinum is built in the recess. The circuit film provided in the middle is provided with an IC chip housing portion made of copper foil or aluminum foil, and an antenna pattern for the IC chip to communicate with an external device.

  There are several types of metal blocks built in the non-contact IC card, and there are also different sizes. Further, the number of built-in metal lumps is not limited to one, and a plurality of built-in metal lumps are also available (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-287896, FIG. 5). Since the metal block is disposed inside or in the vicinity of the antenna pattern, it affects electromagnetic waves during non-contact communication. The effect depends on the presence / absence and size of the metal block or the type of material when the same antenna pattern is used. As a result, the distance at which the contactless IC card and reader / writer can communicate well depending on the type of metal block. Will be different.

Therefore, conventionally, an optimum antenna pattern is designed according to the type of contactless IC card (the type depending on the type and size of the metal block), and the influence of the metal block is corrected.
JP 2005-287896 A

However, as the types of contactless IC cards increase, the number of types of antenna patterns to be designed increases, and the antenna patterns are formed on the circuit film, so the types of circuit film original plates also increase.
In addition, each time a type of non-contact IC card is added, a new antenna pattern and circuit film must be designed, and the design and creation of the circuit film master board are expensive and time consuming. There was a problem that the addition of types could not be handled in a short time.

  Therefore, the present invention is a non-contact type capable of responding to the addition of the non-contact type IC card in a short time without spending time and money on the design and the creation of the original film of the circuit film even when the type of the non-contact type IC card is added. An object is to provide an IC card product.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a non-contact IC card which has a non-contact IC and a built-in metal block and communicates with an external device using a loop antenna. A dummy pattern is provided. The dummy pattern may be disposed so as to cover the entire metal block.

  According to the present invention having the above configuration, since the dummy pattern is arranged in accordance with the position where the metal block is embedded, the antenna pattern can be designed even if the type of the metal block embedded is different due to the addition of the type of the non-contact IC card. It is possible to make the influence on the electromagnetic wave constant during non-contact communication without changing the. As a result, it is possible to obtain an effect capable of responding in a short time without adding cost to the addition of the type of the non-contact IC card.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of a non-contact IC card according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a view of a circuit film as viewed from above. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the non-contact IC card of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a part of the non-contact IC card of the first embodiment,
It is the figure which looked at the card | curd base material from upper direction.

  1, 2, and 3, the non-contact IC card 1 includes an overlay film 2, a card base 3, a circuit film 4, and a card base 5. The card base 3 is formed with recesses 6a and 6b at two locations, and metal blocks 7a and 7b are mounted in the recesses 6a and 6b. The card substrate 3 is made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and is formed in a card shape having a width of 86 mm, a length of 56 mm, and a thickness of 0.39 mm. The recess 6 is formed with a depth of 0.3 mm and a diameter of 16 mm, and a stainless steel coin-shaped metal lump 7 having a thickness of 0.3 mm and a diameter of 16 mm is fitted therein. The recess 6 is formed on the upper side (overlay film 2 side) of the card substrate 3.

The overlay film 2 is made of a PET material, and is adhered to the card substrate 3 with an adhesive so as to cover the entire upper surface of the card substrate 3. The card base 3 is bonded to the circuit film 4.
As shown in FIG. 1, an antenna pattern 8 is arranged in a loop shape on the circuit film 4, and an IC chip mounting portion 9 is formed at one corner portion 8 a of the antenna pattern 8. An IC chip 10 is mounted. Further, a jumper wire 11 is provided at the other corner portion 8 b of the antenna pattern 8. The antenna pattern 8 is formed of an aluminum foil having a width of 0.65 mm on the outer side, and is formed in a substantially rectangular loop shape having an outer peripheral length of 48 mm and a width of 79.6 mm. The number of turns is 6 laps. The circuit film 4 has a circuit pattern formed of aluminum foil with PET as a base material.

The IC chip 10 provided in the IC chip mounting portion 9 is connected to the antenna pattern 8. A dummy pattern 12 is disposed inside the antenna pattern 8. The dummy pattern 12 is formed so that three circles having a diameter of 20 mm overlap each other, and the overlapping width is about 2 mm. The dummy pattern 12 is not connected to the antenna pattern 8.
As shown in FIG. 1, the left and right circular portions 12 a and 12 b of the dummy pattern 12 are provided at positions where their centers coincide with the metal blocks 7 a and 7 b provided on the card base 3. In FIG. 1, the left and right circular portions 12a and 12b of the dummy pattern 12 are larger than the metal blocks 7a and 7b. However, the circular portions 12a and 12b do not necessarily have to be larger, and the metal blocks 7a and 7b are not necessarily enlarged. It suffices if it is arranged so as to cover substantially. The dummy pattern 12 is formed of an aluminum foil, and the pattern structure is a solid structure.

  Next, the operation of the non-contact IC card of this embodiment will be described. When the non-contact IC card 1 communicates with an external reader / writer (not shown), the radio wave transmitted from the reader / writer is received by the antenna pattern 8, but the metal blocks 7 a and 7 b and the dummy pattern are placed inside the antenna pattern 8. Since 12 is disposed, the radio wave is reflected to the metal blocks 7 a and 7 b and the dummy pattern 12. Therefore, the reception gain of the antenna pattern 8 becomes smaller than that in the case where the metal blocks 7a and 7b and the dummy pattern 12 are not provided.

The amount of attenuation at this time is greatly affected by the dummy pattern 12 when the metal blocks 7a and 7b and the dummy pattern 12 are compared. The case where the metal blocks 7a and 7b and the dummy pattern 12 are overlapped, There is no change in the amount of attenuation when it is provided alone. Further, if the dummy pattern 12 is provided, the amount of attenuation does not change even if the type of the metal blocks 7a and 7b is changed.
In other words, the provision of the dummy pattern 12 makes it possible to make the attenuation amount of the radio wave constant regardless of the presence / absence, quantity or type of the metal blocks 7a and 7b. Therefore, stable communication can be performed without changing the design of the antenna pattern 8. As a result, it is possible to obtain an effect capable of responding in a short time without adding cost to the addition of the type of the non-contact IC card.

Next, a non-contact IC card according to the second embodiment will be described. The non-contact IC card of the second embodiment is provided with a dummy pattern as in the first embodiment, but the dummy pattern of the second embodiment has a pattern structure with a width of 0.65 mm. It is formed by vertical stripes. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of the second embodiment.
In FIG. 4, an antenna pattern 8 is arranged in a loop shape on the circuit film 4 of the second embodiment, and a dummy pattern 20 is arranged inside the antenna pattern 8. The dummy pattern 20 is formed in a shape in which three circles having a diameter of 20 mm overlap each other as in the first embodiment, and the pattern structure is a vertical stripe structure having a width of 0.65 mm. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  By making the dummy pattern 20 into a stripe pattern in this way, the patterns are not connected to each other, and therefore, the dummy pattern 20 is not detected as a metal by a simple metal detector, for example. On the other hand, when the pattern of the dummy pattern has a solid structure, the dummy pattern may be detected as a metal and may be erroneously detected as a metal lump.

  That is, by making the dummy pattern 20 a stripe pattern, it is possible to accurately detect the presence or absence of the metal blocks 7a and 7b built in the non-contact IC card. Taking advantage of this advantage, in a non-contact IC card having a built-in metal block 7a, 7b, as a means for improving the reliability of the card, it can be used to detect the presence of a metal block and inspect the authenticity of the card. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent the non-contact IC card from being modified or counterfeited.

  In the above embodiment, the stripe structure in the vertical direction is used as the pattern structure of the dummy pattern 20, but it is needless to say that a dummy pattern 21 having a horizontal stripe structure as shown in FIG. 5 may be provided. Furthermore, an oblique stripe structure may be used. Although the stripe width is 0.65 mm, it may be 0.65 mm or more or 0.65 mm or less in accordance with the characteristics on the metal sensor side. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another dummy pattern.

  Further, the overall shape of the dummy pattern is not limited to a shape in which the circles are overlapped. For example, when the metal block is not circular, a shape matching the shape of the metal block, a quadrangle, or an ellipse may be used. The metal block is not limited to stainless steel but may be other precious metals or nickel, and the shape is not limited to a circle, and may be any shape as long as it can be mounted on a non-contact IC card. The number of metal blocks is not limited as long as it is mounted inside the dummy pattern. Moreover, if the card | curd base materials 3 and 5 and the overlay film 2 are plastic materials, such as a vinyl chloride and a polypropylene, a material will not be limited.

It is a top view which shows the principal part of the non-contact IC card of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows a non-contact IC card. It is a top view which shows a part of non-contact IC card. It is a top view which shows the principal part of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows another dummy pattern.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Non-contact IC card 4 Circuit film 7a, 7b Metal block 8 Antenna pattern 10 IC chip 12, 20 Dummy pattern

Claims (3)

In a non-contact IC card that is equipped with a non-contact IC and has a built-in metal lump and communicates with external devices using a loop antenna,
A non-contact IC card, wherein a dummy pattern is arranged in accordance with a position where the metal block is built. The non-contact IC card according to claim 1, wherein the dummy pattern is disposed so as to cover the entire metal block. 3. The non-contact IC card according to claim 1, wherein the dummy pattern has a stripe pattern structure.