JP2017162463A - IC tag - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an IC tag from being deteriorated or being damaged and increase the durability of the IC tag, by arranging a coil pattern made of a flexible material in a booster antenna and reducing pressures applied at cleaning, especially at compressing, using a protective cover for the IC chip made of a flexible buffer material such as silicone rubber, thereby preventing water entrance.SOLUTION: The IC tag includes: an IC chip storing identification information; a coil antenna, around which a conductor is spirally wound from the IC chip; and a booster antenna, having a copper-clad laminate and a cover layer attached to each other; and an elastic protective cover integrally sealing and surrounding the coil antenna and the booster antenna, the laminate having a conductor folded at predetermined intervals, the coil antenna and the booster antenna being on a flexible substrate, and the protective cover having resistances to pressure applied at cleaning, for example, and water.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a non-contact type IC tag that transmits and receives external information using a communication medium such as electromagnetic waves and radio waves, and in particular, without damaging the communication function against repeated pulling and bending during washing. The present invention relates to an IC tag with little damage or deterioration.

  Conventionally, as this type of IC tag, an IC tag for linen use (use on clothes) is damaged by receiving a large load from various directions during washing, particularly when dewatering, and is also submerged in a washing tub. In some cases, the IC chip may be damaged by the intrusion of water into the IC tag.

  In general, in an IC tag, a protective cover for sealing an IC chip is usually formed of a hard material, and when a large load is repeatedly applied, the protective cover may be damaged by receiving a large load locally.

  Further, since the protective cover is formed of a relatively hard resin and does not have flexibility, when a large load is applied during squeezing and dewatering, the silicone forming the protective cover may be cracked and damaged.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a package tag having an IC chip and a first antenna and a second antenna for a booster are accommodated in a bag-shaped accommodating portion, and the second antenna is sewn on a cloth such as cotton or nylon. An IC tag made of conductive fibers is disclosed.

  As a result, the IC tag attached to the clothing is exposed to a high temperature and high pressure environment during washing, and the IC chip and antenna are covered by the housing portion even when a large load is applied. A device in which the second antenna is stably connected to prevent the IC tag from being damaged has been proposed.

JP 2014-191712 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-129989

  However, the main purpose of Patent Document 1 is to suppress the pressure received from the outside by sealing an IC chip or the like in the housing portion, to stably maintain the connection between the IC chip and the antenna, and to prevent the communication function from being deteriorated. And

That is, Patent Document 1 is not intended to absorb a large pressure received during washing, particularly during pressing and dehydration, and to improve waterproofness, and has not been able to obtain good durability.
Patent Document 2 includes a substrate made of a hard resin, a booster antenna on the substrate, and a package tag incorporating an IC chip, and has protective sheets on both sides of the substrate, and has a substantially uniform thickness as a whole. An IC tag is disclosed. In this IC tag, a protective sheet is plasticized by applying a certain pressure to enhance a waterproof effect.

  However, Patent Document 2 does not absorb a large pressure received during washing or the like to increase the strength of the IC tag and improve durability.

  Therefore, the IC tag according to the present invention integrally seals a booster antenna together with an IC chip and a coil antenna with a protective cover made of a resin such as silicone rubber or urethane rubber, and also arranges a coil arrangement pattern made of a flexible material, The structure is designed to absorb the large pressure received during washing and to prevent the ingress of water by the elasticity of silicone rubber.

  Therefore, the IC tag according to the present invention uses a booster antenna having a coil pattern made of a flexible material and a flexible cushioning material such as silicone rubber as a protective cover such as an IC chip. The purpose is to absorb the pressure received, prevent water from entering, prevent deterioration and damage of the IC tag, and improve durability.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to an IC tag according to the present invention, an IC chip storing identification information, a coil antenna in which a conductive wire is spirally wound from the IC chip, and a conductive wire folded at a predetermined interval are provided. A booster antenna formed by bonding a copper-clad laminate and a cover layer is disposed on a flexible substrate. And the protective cover which has elasticity covered the circumference | surroundings of the said coil antenna and the said booster antenna, was sealed integrally, and it was comprised so that it might have pressure resistance and waterproofness with respect to the pressure received at the time of washing.

  The protective cover is made of silicone rubber or urethane rubber, and the copper-clad laminate is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material with a conductive wire portion disposed through an adhesive.

  Moreover, the said conducting wire part is formed with rolled copper foil or electrolytic copper foil, and the said coil antenna is comprised so that it may couple | bond electromagnetically with the said booster antenna in a non-contact state. Moreover, the said conducting wire part is formed with a magnetic material.

  As described above, the IC tag according to the present invention uses a material having high strength against tension and bending for the conductor portion of the booster antenna without impairing the communication function, and the arrangement pattern of the conductors at a constant interval. Folded to absorb impact. In addition, a protective cover is formed with a cushioning material such as silicone rubber, and the package tag and booster antenna are integrally sealed with the protective cover, so that the pressure received during washing is absorbed, improving pressure resistance and waterproofing. The durability of the IC tag can be improved.

It is a top view of the IC tag concerning the present invention. It is sectional drawing of a package tag. It is a top view of a package tag. It is a figure explaining a booster coil. It is sectional drawing of a booster antenna. It is sectional drawing along the VI-VI line of FIG. It is a figure explaining the state which transmits / receives the identification signal of an IC tag. It is a figure explaining the durability test of an IC tag. It is sectional drawing of the booster antenna which bonded together the copper clad laminated board, the cover layer, and the laminate.

  The present invention includes the following.

  Item 1. An IC chip storing identification information; a coil antenna in which a conductive wire is spirally wound from the IC chip; a booster antenna formed by bonding a copper-clad laminate having a conductive wire folded at a predetermined interval and a cover layer; An IC tag comprising: a protective cover having elasticity, wherein the coil antenna and the booster antenna are integrally sealed so as to cover the coil antenna and the booster antenna.

  Item 2. Item 2. The IC tag according to Item 1, wherein the protective cover is formed of silicone rubber or urethane rubber.

  Item 3. Item 3. The IC tag according to Item 1 or 2, wherein the copper-clad laminate includes a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material and a conductive wire portion disposed through an adhesive.

  Item 4. Item 4. The IC tag according to any one of Items 1 to 3, wherein the conductor portion is formed of a rolled copper foil or an electrolytic copper foil.

  Item 5. Item 4. The IC tag according to any one of Items 1 to 3, wherein the conductor portion is made of a nonmagnetic material.

  Item 6. Item 6. The IC tag according to any one of Items 1 to 5, wherein the coil antenna is electromagnetically coupled to the booster antenna in a non-contact state.

  Item 7. Item 7. The IC tag according to any one of Items 1 to 6, wherein the booster antenna is formed by bonding a copper-clad laminate, a cover layer, and a laminate.

  An embodiment of an IC tag according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a band-shaped IC tag 1, and clothing or the like is identified by the IC tag 1. The IC tag 1 includes a package tag 2 for transmitting and receiving signals using radio waves or the like as a communication medium.

  In the IC tag 1 according to the present embodiment, a passive tag (without battery) radio wave system is adopted to reduce the tag size. In the case of an active tag, the IC tag 1 requires a junction with a battery, so that the size of the IC tag 1 is increased.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the package tag 2 is wound on the substrate 3 in a spiral manner around the IC chip 4 storing the identification information of the IC tag 1 and around the IC chip 4. The coil antenna 5 is formed of planar printed wiring, and the IC chip 4 and the coil antenna 5 are covered and sealed with a resin sealing material 6. The coil antenna 5 is connected to the IC chip 4 by wire bond bonding or flip chip mounting.

  As the substrate 3, an FR4 substrate (Flame Retardant Type 4 substrate), a PI substrate (Power Integrity substrate), or the like is used. Moreover, the sealing material 6 may be one generally used for semiconductors such as an epoxy resin. If the package tag 2 is large in size and thin, the IC tag 1 may be cracked by the pressure received during washing and the sealing material 6 may be damaged.

In addition, when the size of the package tag 2 was a rectangular shape of 1.2 to 2.2 mm and was set to a thickness of 0.4 to 0.5 mm, good results with respect to pressure resistance and waterproofing were obtained. (See test results below)
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the IC tag 1 includes a booster antenna 7 that is electromagnetically coupled in a non-contact state with the coil antenna 5. The booster antenna 7 extends on both sides on the same surface with the package tag 2 interposed therebetween. When current flows through one of the antennas 5 and 7, current flows through the other coil due to electromagnetic induction. It has become.

  Further, the booster antenna 7 is formed in a substantially spring shape by folding conductive wires made of a flexible material at regular intervals. As shown in FIG. 5, the copper-clad laminate (CCL) 8 and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are used. The cover layer (CL) 9 is bonded together. As shown in FIG. 9, it is preferable to further laminate the laminate because better results are obtained with respect to the withstand voltage.

  This copper-clad laminate (CCL) 8 is formed on the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (25 μm thickness) 12a with a conductive wire portion (35 μm thickness) 10 made of rolled copper foil via an adhesive (25 μm thickness) 11a. Is arranged.

  The cover layer 9 is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (25 μm thickness) 12b having an adhesive (25 μm thickness) 11b disposed on the surface thereof. And the booster antenna 7 is produced by patterning the copper wire of the copper clad laminated board (CCL) 8 by etching, arranging the cover layer 9 and cutting it by die cutting.

  In addition, you may use PI (polyimide base material) as a base material of the said cover layer (CL) 9 and a copper clad laminated board (CCL) 8, and the conducting wire part 10 is rolled copper foil or electrolytic copper. A foil may be used. Incidentally, when the thickness of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate 12 is 25 μm and the thickness of the conductor portion 10 is 18 μm to 35 μm, good strength is obtained.

  Moreover, the booster antenna 7 adjusts the frequency band of transmission / reception according to the length and shape of the conducting wire, and communication sensitivity with a large flight distance is obtained. Thereby, the IC tag 1 operates in a frequency region of 13.56 MHz to 2.45 GHz, and can use short waves (HF), ultra high frequencies (UHF), and microwaves.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the IC tag 1 is hermetically sealed by the protective cover 13 in a state where the package tag 2 is closely attached to the booster antenna 7, and prevents water from entering from the outside. The protective cover 13 is made of a material having excellent flexibility and wear resistance such as silicone rubber and urethane rubber, and has excellent chemical resistance against acids and alkalis. Silicone rubber and urethane rubber are rich in flexibility and have good strength against external friction and tearing load or popping load of interior products.

As described above, the IC tag 1 according to the present embodiment includes the package tag 2 and the booster antenna 7. The smaller the package tag 2 is, the stronger the pressure received during washing and the like. Deteriorate. Therefore, in the present Example, it discovered that it was excellent in both withstand pressure | voltage resistance and communication performance, if it set to 1.75 square mm and thickness 0.45mm. (See test results below)
Further, by installing the booster antenna 7 near the package tag 2, it is possible to maintain good communication performance even in a non-contact state with the coil antenna 5.

  Next, the identification operation of the IC tag 1 will be described with the IC tag 1 attached to clothing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the read / write device (R / W device) 20 is brought close to clothing or a clothing storage box, an identification signal is emitted from the R / W device 20. Since the coil antenna 5 and the booster antenna 7 constitute electromagnetic coupling by mutual induction of the coils, the radiation signal causes the IC tag 1 to operate electromagnetically. The IC chip 4 operated by the induced current of the coil transmits the identification information of the IC tag 1 to the R / W device 20.

  At that time, transmission / reception of the R / W device 20 is performed even when the distance between the IC tag 1 and the R / W device 20 is long, or even if the IC tag 1 is stored in the container. Signals can be sent and received.

  Therefore, the IC tag 1 maintains the good communication performance, and the package tag 2 and the booster antenna 7 even if the IC tag 1 is subjected to a large pressure such as tension or bending as in the case of squeezing and dehydrating during washing. Are integrally sealed with a protective cover 13 made of a flexible cushioning material such as silicone rubber. As a result, the IC tag 1 absorbs external impacts, for example, pressure such as bending or tension with a small radius of curvature, prevents water from entering, and causes the IC tag 1 to deteriorate or break. There is no. Therefore, the durability of the IC tag 1 is improved.

  Note that if the IC tag for the linen tag is formed of a nonmagnetic material, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the probe (metal detector). In this embodiment, the communication function is not impaired even if an IC tag made of a nonmagnetic material is used.

  Next, a durability test of the IC tag 1 was performed. The IC tag 1 used in this test is as follows.

  The package tag 2 uses a glass epoxy substrate of a two-layer copper foil for the substrate 3 and uses Monza 5 (UHF) manufactured by Impij for the IC chip 4. The package tag 2 is manufactured by bonding the IC chip 4 by wire bond bonding, sealing the IC mounting side with an epoxy resin, and cutting by dicing. The dimensions of the package tag 2 are 1.7 mm square and 2.2 mm square, and the thicknesses are both 0.45 mm.

  The booster antenna 7 is a copper-clad laminate (CCL) 8 on the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (25 μm thickness) 12a, and a conductive wire portion (of a rolled copper foil) with an adhesive (25 μm thickness) 11a. (35 μm thickness) 10 is used. The cover layer 9 is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (25 μm thickness) 12b having an adhesive (25 μm thickness) 11b disposed on the surface thereof. The booster antenna 7 is manufactured by patterning a copper wire of a copper clad laminate (CCL) 8 by etching, and then providing a cover layer 9 and cutting it by die cutting. The size of the booster antenna is 53 mm × 6 mm.

  The protective cover 13 of the IC tag 1 uses silicone rubber. The booster antenna 7 is manufactured by placing the substrate 3 side of the package tag 2 in close contact with the center of the booster antenna 7 and covering and sealing the periphery of both with silicone rubber. The dimensions of the IC tag 1 are 55 mm × 8 mm and a thickness of 2 mm.

  The test results are as follows.

Since the durability test of the IC tag 1 assumes the pressure (30 kgf / cm ^{2 to} 50 kgf / cm ² ) applied during washing, particularly when dewatering, the vertical load and the bending load are applied to the IC tag 1 and the vertical The case where only a load acts was assumed. As shown in FIG. 8, the test was performed in a state where the IC tag 1 was folded (state 1) and in a state where a uniform load was applied to the IC tag 1 (state 2).

  In this test, the IC tag 1 is folded in a state where the package tag 2 is arranged, and sandwiched between the hard plates 21 and 22 from above and below, and the gap between the plates is 2 mm (from twice the thickness of the IC tag 1). A state 1 in which pressure was applied to be small) and a state 2 in which the IC tag 1 bent in state 1 was opened and flattened were alternately repeated. After repeating a certain number of times, the same motion was performed with the bending direction reversed. Then, the communication distance was measured in an anechoic box by an RFID tester every fixed number of times, the damage to the protective cover 13 was inspected with an actual microscope, and the test result was confirmed. The test results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Results of durability test of IC tag

As for the measurement results of the communication distance, no abnormality was observed in the package tag 2 and the booster antenna 7 that caused the communication state to deteriorate, regardless of whether the dimensions of the package tag were 1.7 mm square or 2.2 mm square. .
Further, regarding the damage / deterioration of the protective cover 13, when the dimension of the package tag 2 was 1.7 mm square, no abnormality occurred in the protective cover 13 even when the cumulative number of folding was 600 times. However, when the dimension of the package tag 2 is 2.2 mm square, no abnormality was observed until the cumulative number of folding was 400 times, but when the number exceeded 500 times, damage was confirmed at the contact portion of the package tag 2. .

As a result, it was confirmed that the IC tag 1 according to the present invention has high strength against cumulative bending if the size of the package tag 2 is small (1.7 mm or less).
In addition, no abnormality was found in the factor that deteriorates the communication state regardless of the size of the package tag 2.

The IC tag 1 according to the present invention (the dimension of the package tag 2: 1.7 mm square) was put in a cloth bag, sewed on uniforms and linens (sheets, towels), and washed under the conditions shown in Table 2.
As a result, no abnormality was found in uniforms after 200 washes. However, the linens (sheets, towels) were not abnormal up to 50 times, but the copper foil pattern of the booster antenna 7 was broken at 100 times, resulting in an abnormality that made communication impossible.

Table 2. IC tag durability test process and conditions

  Next, the durability test of the IC tag 1 provided with the laminate 14 was performed in order to improve the durability of the linens (sheets, towels) of Example 2 in washing. The IC tag 1 used in this test is as follows.

  The package tag 2 uses a glass epoxy substrate of a two-layer copper foil for the substrate 3 and uses Monza 5 (UHF) manufactured by Impij for the IC chip 4. The package tag 2 is manufactured by bonding the IC chip 4 by wire bond bonding, sealing the IC mounting side with an epoxy resin, and cutting by dicing. The dimensions of the package tag 2 are 1.7 mm square and 2.2 mm square, and the thicknesses are both 0.45 mm.

  The booster antenna 7 is a copper-clad laminate (CCL) 8 on the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (25 μm thickness) 12a, and a conductive wire portion (of a rolled copper foil) with an adhesive (25 μm thickness) 11a. 18 μm thickness) 10 is used. The cover layer 9 is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (25 μm thickness) 12b having an adhesive (25 μm thickness) 11b disposed on the surface thereof. The laminate 14 is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) base material (50 μm thickness) 12c having an adhesive (30 μm thickness) 11c disposed on the surface thereof. The booster antenna 7 is manufactured by patterning the copper wire of the copper-clad laminate (CCL) 8 by etching, arranging the cover layer 9 and the laminate 14, and cutting it by die cutting. The size of the booster antenna is 53 mm × 6 mm.

  The protective cover 13 of the IC tag 1 uses silicone rubber. The booster antenna 7 is manufactured by adhering the substrate 3 side of the package tag 2 to the center of the booster antenna 7, covering the periphery with silicone rubber, and adhering and sealing the package tag 2 and the booster antenna 7. The dimensions of the IC tag 1 are 55 mm × 8 mm and a thickness of 2 mm.

  The test results are as follows.

The IC tag 1 was put in a cloth bag, sewed on linens (sheets, towels), and washed under the conditions shown in Table 2.
As a result, neither the sheets nor the towels were abnormal after 200 times of washing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... IC tag 2 ... Package tag 3 ... Board | substrate 4 ... IC chip 5 ... Coil antenna 6 ... Sealing material 7 ... Booster antenna 8 ... Copper clad laminated board (CCL)
9 ... cover layer 10 ... conductive wire portions 11a, 11b, 11c ... adhesives 12a, 12b, 12c ... base material 13 ... protective cover 14 ... laminate 20 ... read / write Equipment (R / W equipment)
21, 22 ... Hard plate 23 ... Weight for load

Claims (7)

  An IC chip storing identification information; a coil antenna in which a conductive wire is spirally wound from the IC chip; a booster antenna formed by bonding a copper-clad laminate having a conductive wire folded at a predetermined interval and a cover layer; An IC tag comprising: a protective cover having elasticity, wherein the coil antenna and the booster antenna are integrally sealed so as to cover the coil antenna and the booster antenna.   The IC tag according to claim 1, wherein the protective cover is formed of silicone rubber or urethane rubber.   The IC tag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the copper-clad laminate is formed by arranging a conductive wire portion on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate via an adhesive.   The IC tag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the conductor portion is formed of a rolled copper foil or an electrolytic copper foil.   The IC tag according to claim 1, wherein the conducting wire portion is made of a nonmagnetic material.   The IC tag according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the coil antenna is electromagnetically coupled to the booster antenna in a non-contact state.   Item 7. The IC tag according to any one of Items 1 to 6, wherein the booster antenna is formed by bonding a copper-clad laminate, a cover layer, and a laminate.

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