JP3800766B2 - Compound IC module and compound IC card - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information recording medium, and more specifically, an IC card used in the field of office automation (Office Automation, so-called OA), factory automation (Factor-y Automation, so-called FA), security, etc. In the information medium represented by the above, the contact type in which power is received and the signal is transmitted / received via an electrical contact, and the power supply power is received and the signal is transmitted / received by an electromagnetic coupling method without providing an electrical contact on the IC card. The present invention relates to a composite IC card having both non-contact functions performed in a contact state.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The advent of IC cards with built-in semiconductor memory, etc., dramatically increases the storage capacity compared to conventional magnetic cards, etc., and the IC card itself has an arithmetic processing function by incorporating a semiconductor integrated circuit device such as a microcomputer. It has become possible to give high security to information media.
[0003]
IC cards are internationally standardized by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). In general, IC cards have ICs such as semiconductor memory built into the card body based on plastic, etc., and external read / write on the card surface. A metal conductive terminal is provided for connection with the device, and the IC card is inserted into the card slot of the external read / write device for data communication between the IC card and the external read / write device. is there.
This is advantageous for applications that require certainty and security of communication such as large-volume data exchange and settlement operations, such as credit and electronic wallet applications.
[0004]
On the other hand, when applying to gate management such as entrance / exit, etc., authentication is the main communication content, the amount of communication data is often small, and a simpler process is desired. A technique devised to solve this problem is a non-contact IC card.
This is a field of vibration energy such as high-frequency electromagnetic fields, ultrasonic waves, and light in a space, which absorbs and rectifies the energy to drive the electronic circuit built in the card. The frequency of the component is used as it is, or multiplied or divided to obtain an identification signal, and this identification signal is transmitted to an information processing circuit of a semiconductor element via a coupler such as an antenna coil or a capacitor.
[0005]
In particular, many of the non-contact IC cards for the purpose of authentication and simple counting data processing are radio logic IDentification of hard logic that does not include a battery and a CPU (Central Processing Unit). With the advent of this non-contact IC card, safety against counterfeiting and tampering is enhanced as compared to a magnetic card, and the card holder reads and writes attached to the gate device when passing through the gate. It is only necessary to bring the card close to the antenna unit of the device or touch the antenna unit of the read / write device, and the complexity of data communication such as removing the card from the case and inserting it into the slot of the read / write device is reduced.
[0006]
In recent years, a composite IC having a contact type function having an external terminal of the former and a non-contact type function of data communication by wireless communication for the purpose of supporting a multipurpose application with a single card. A card has been devised. It combines the advantages of both high security of contact-type CPU processing and non-contact-type convenience.
[0007]
In general, a composite IC card is manufactured as follows.
A metal foil antenna coil for non-contact transmission formed by etching is sandwiched between a sheet having a fitting hole of an IC module and a base material, and laminated to produce a card body.
At this time, the two antenna terminals for connecting the antenna coil and the IC module are exposed inside the fitting hole of the card body. On one surface of the IC module, a metal terminal electrode for connection with an external device is formed. An IC is mounted on the other surface, and a terminal for connection with the antenna is provided. A conductive adhesive is applied to the terminals. After the IC module is installed in the fitting hole of the card body so that the terminal of the IC module with the conductive adhesive applied to the terminal and the antenna terminal of the card overlap, the terminal of the IC module is applied with heat and pressure. And the antenna terminal are combined to complete the mounting.
[0008]
Such a mounting method is relatively simple, but it is difficult to confirm the state of the connection portion between the IC module and the antenna, and the connection reliability becomes a problem.
Further, the connection portion is likely to deteriorate due to mechanical stress. In addition, a conductive adhesive coating process and thermocompression bonding process are required to connect the IC module and antenna, making it difficult to use conventional IC card manufacturing equipment with external terminals and installing a new manufacturing line. There must be.
[0009]
As a conventional technique that does not require connection between an IC module and an antenna in a card manufacturing process of a composite IC card, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-239922.
According to this, an IC module for an IC card, the IC module including an IC chip and a transmission mechanism that is electrically connected to the IC chip and transmits information and / or energy between external devices. A support body that supports the IC chip and the transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism includes a plurality of non-contact transmission mechanisms including a coil or an antenna, and a plurality of conductors provided on the surface of the support. A contact-type transmission mechanism comprising terminal electrodes, modularizing functions that can handle both contact-type and non-contact-type systems, and fitting and fixing this IC module to a plastic card substrate. is there.
[0010]
Furthermore, as the means for realizing the above, an antenna or a coil for non-contact transmission is provided so as to surround the periphery of the terminal electrode, or conversely, the antenna is centered and the terminal electrode is provided around the antenna.
In other words, by storing the antenna for non-contact transmission in the IC module, the connection between the antenna coil and the IC module in the mounting process of the IC module on the card substrate, which is the final process, is unnecessary.
[0011]
However, in the method of providing the antenna coil with a printed pattern around the terminal electrode of the IC module substrate, the area of the normal IC module is about 12 mm × 12 mm, so the size of the antenna coil is not allowed to exceed the above numerical value. .
Therefore, when a coil is arranged on the outer periphery of the terminal electrode in the IC module, even if a printed coil is formed, only a few turns can be taken. Only tight couplings that cannot be received and whose communication distance is several millimeters or less are allowed. This has a small effect of adding a non-contact transmission function.
[0012]
The effect of adding a non-contact transmission mechanism to the contact-type transmission mechanism is obtained by a communication distance exceeding several tens of millimeters to a hundred millimeters. In this area, communication is performed by “holding” the card over the antenna section of the external read / write device. Can be achieved. In order to do so, it is necessary to increase the area of the coil or increase the number of turns. However, if the number of turns is practical, it will be in the embossed area.
[0013]
Further, the arrangement in which the terminal electrodes are provided around the latter antenna is clearly invaded into the embossed area, and is greatly deviated from ISO 7816, which is a standard for IC cards with external terminals, and may be accepted in the market. Is low. As a result, the printed coil method has a low accommodation efficiency and must take other measures to improve the transmission efficiency.
[0014]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made paying attention to the problems of the conventional techniques as described above, and there is no need for connection between the IC module and the antenna coil for non-contact transmission, and reception with which a sufficient communication distance can be obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a composite IC module and a composite IC card that have sensitivity and can maintain a practical operating state of both contact type and non-contact type transmission mechanisms.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Means provided by the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems are:
First, as shown in claim 1, an IC module includes an IC chip incorporating a contact-type transmission function and a non-contact-type transmission function for an IC card, a module substrate on which external terminals that are contact-type transmission elements are formed, and non- It is composed of a first coupling coil of a contact transmission mechanism,
The first coupling coil of the IC module includes an antenna element capable of receiving power and transmitting / receiving a signal to / from an external reader, and a second coupling coil connected to the antenna element. And the second coupling coil of the IC card member prepared to have both the contact-type and non-contact-type functions, and the IC module is arranged so as to be tightly coupled to each other. The antenna can be configured to be contactlessly coupled by a transformer coupling,
In addition, the composite IC module is characterized in that the first coupling coil disposed in the IC module is formed by winding a conductive wire having an insulating film.
[0016]
More preferably, as shown in claim 2, the composite IC module according to claim 1 has a basic configuration,
The composite IC module is characterized in that the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound around the sealing material of the IC chip in a toroidal shape.
[0017]
Further preferably, as shown in claim 3, the composite IC module according to claim 1 is used as a basic configuration.
2. The composite IC module according to claim 1, wherein the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound around the module substrate. 3.
[0018]
Alternatively, as shown in claim 4, a composite IC comprising a composite IC module having both contact and non-contact functions, and an antenna element having no electrical connection with the composite IC module. A card,
The composite IC module includes an IC chip incorporating a contact-type transmission function and a non-contact type transmission function, a module substrate on which an external terminal that is a contact-type transmission element is formed, and a first coupling coil of a non-contact transmission mechanism And
The antenna element includes an antenna that receives power and transmits / receives a signal to / from an external reading device, and a second coupling coil connected to the antenna element, and the first coupling of the composite IC module The coil and the second coupling coil of the antenna element for non-contact transmission are arranged so as to be closely coupled to each other, and the composite IC module and the antenna are configured to be capable of non-contact coupling by transformer coupling,
In addition, the composite IC card is characterized in that the first coupling coil disposed in the composite IC module is formed by winding a conductive wire with an insulating film.
[0019]
More preferably, as shown in claim 5, the composite IC card according to claim 4 has a basic configuration,
The composite IC card is characterized in that the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound around the sealing material of the IC chip in a toroidal shape.
[0020]
Preferably, as shown in claim 6, the composite IC card according to claim 4 has a basic configuration,
The composite IC card is characterized in that a first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound around the module substrate.
[0021]
By configuring like the composite IC module of claim 1 or the composite IC card of claim 4, the number of turns of the coupling coil can be increased as compared with the case where the printed coil is used.
[0022]
Further, the configuration as in the composite IC module of claim 2 or the composite IC card of claim 5 is a more specific means for realizing the composite IC module of claim 1 or the composite IC card of claim 4, The first coil of the composite IC module is wound around the sealing material of the IC chip in a toroidal shape.
[0023]
Further, the configuration of the composite IC module of claim 3 or the composite IC card of claim 6 is still another more concrete realization means of the composite IC module of claim 1 or of the composite IC card of claim 4. Thus, the first coil of the composite IC module is realized by winding it around the module substrate.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A basic configuration and basic principle of a non-contact transmission mechanism in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a non-contact coupling circuit for explaining the principle of the non-contact transmission mechanism of the present invention.
In FIG. 5, a transmission / reception coil 102, which is an electromagnetic coupler that supplies power to the non-contact transmission mechanism of the composite IC card 1 and transfers information, is connected to the transmission / reception circuit 101 of the non-contact type external reader 100. .
On the other hand, the non-contact transmission mechanism of the composite IC card 1 is connected to both ends of the antenna coil 4 and the antenna coil 4 that is directly electromagnetically coupled to the transmission / reception antenna 102 of the external reader 100 and is involved in receiving power and transferring information. The capacitor 15 constituting the parallel resonant circuit, the composite IC chip 6 mounted on the composite IC module 2, the first coupling coil 8 connected thereto, and the signal received by the antenna coil in the first coupling coil 8 Is transmitted from the second coupling coil 3 to both ends of the capacitor 15 of the parallel resonance circuit.
At this time, although the capacitor 15 is connected in parallel, it can be suitably selected to connect in series between the antenna coil 4 and the second coupling coil 3. It is also possible to omit the capacitor by increasing the line-to-line capacitance.
[0026]
Here, in the case where power and information are transmitted from the external read / write device 100 to the composite IC card 1, the coupling of the coils will be described below.
A high frequency magnetic field is induced in the transmission / reception coil 102 by a high frequency signal (not shown) generated in the transmission / reception circuit 101 of the external read / write device 100. This high frequency signal is radiated into space as magnetic energy.
At this time, when the composite IC card 1 is positioned in this high frequency magnetic field, the parallel resonant circuit formed by the antenna coil 4 and the capacitor 15 of the composite IC card 1 is generated by the high frequency magnetic field generated by the transmission / reception coil 102 of the external read / write device 100. Apply current. At this time, the first coupling coil 8 directly connected to the composite IC chip 6 and the second coupling coil 3 connected to the resonance circuit of the antenna coil 4 and the capacitor 15 to transmit power to the first coupling coil 8 Although a current due to a high-frequency magnetic field is induced, the reception sensitivity greatly depends on the characteristics of the antenna coil 4 because it is one digit or more smaller than the amount induced in the antenna coil 4.
[0027]
A signal received by the resonance circuit of the antenna coil 4 and the capacitor 15 is transmitted to the second coupling coil 3. Thereafter, the second coupling coil 3 and the first coupling coil 8 are in a tightly coupled arrangement in which the maximum transmission efficiency is shown, and the second coupling coil 3 and the first coupling coil 8 are coupled to each other by the transformer coupling between the second coupling coil 3 and the first coupling coil 8. A signal is transmitted. The maximum transmission efficiency of the transformer coupling between the second coupling coil 3 and the first coupling coil 8 is determined by the selection of circuit constants.
As described above, the reception characteristics are improved.
[0028]
Furthermore, by increasing the number of turns of the first coupling coil 8, the coupling coefficient with the second coupling coil 3 is increased, and the energy transmitted to the composite IC chip 6 is further increased.
However, the current printed wiring board manufacturing technology has a limit of a pattern width of 0.1 mm, and it is difficult for the printed coil to wind several tens of turns on the module base surface of the IC card.
[0029]
On the other hand, it is possible to form a coil with a conductive wire having an insulating film up to a diameter of several tens of microns due to the advancement of magnetic head technology.
Focusing on this technology, the inventors have devised means for forming a coupling coil between the composite IC module of the present invention and an antenna by a conducting wire having an insulating film.
[0030]
【Example】
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a composite IC card according to the present invention.
A composite IC card 1 according to the present invention is a card in which an antenna substrate 5 having a composite IC module 2 of the present invention, a second coupling coil 3 formed of a printed coil on the surface of a sheet-like resin, and an antenna coil 4 is encapsulated in resin. It consists of a substrate 10.
[0031]
The composite IC module 2 includes a terminal electrode 7 with a pattern as a contact type transmission unit, a composite IC chip 6 incorporating a contact type interface and a non-contact type interface (not shown), and the periphery of the composite IC chip 6 or a module substrate 9. The first coupling coil 8 of the non-contact type transmission part formed by a conductive wire having an insulating film around the periphery, and a module substrate 9.
The composite IC chip 6 is mounted on the surface of the module substrate 9 opposite to the surface on which the terminal electrodes 7 are formed. The composite IC chip 6 and the terminal electrode 7 of the module substrate 9 are connected through a through hole. The circuit pattern of the composite IC chip 6 and the circuit pattern of the first coupling coil 8 is formed by heat welding using solder or a conductive adhesive.
This connection can also be realized by wire bonding the circuit forming surface of the composite IC chip 6 and the module substrate 9.
[0032]
After the composite IC chip 6 is mounted on the module substrate 9 and connected to the circuit, the composite IC chip 6 is sealed with resin 16 and then an insulating film is applied around the composite IC chip 6 or around the module substrate 9. The composite IC module 2 is completed by winding a conducting wire and connecting the circuit pattern of the module substrate 9 and the terminal of the first coupling coil 8. FIG. 2B shows the case where the first coupling coil 8 is formed with a winding coil around the resin seal 16 of the composite IC chip 6.
[0033]
Subsequently, the composite IC card 1 according to the present invention is manufactured as follows. First, a flexible antenna substrate 5 in which the second coupling coil 3, the antenna coil 4, and the capacitor 15 are formed on a resin substrate with a printed coil is prepared. Here, the second coupling coil 3 and the antenna coil 4 may be formed by winding a conductive wire with insulation coating. Vinyl chloride is used as the resin for the antenna substrate 5, but polyimide, polycarbonate, PET, and the like can also be applied, and the material is not fixed to one kind.
[0034]
Next, the antenna substrate 5 is sealed by injection molding to mold the card substrate 10. At the time of molding, the second coupling coil 3 is positioned and arranged so as to overlap the mounting position of the composite IC module 2. Simultaneously with the production of the card substrate 10 by injection molding, the fitting hole 11 of the composite IC module 2 is formed. Finally, the composite IC card 1 is completed by bonding the composite IC module 2 to the fitting hole 11 of the composite IC module 2 of the card substrate 10.
Vinyl chloride was used as the card base material, but any other card material such as polycarbonate that can provide sufficient card characteristics can be applied to the present invention.
[0035]
In FIG. 1 (a), the card substrate 10 is drawn separately on the front surface and the back surface, but it is originally integral, and in the figure, the coupling coil and the fitting hole 11 in the antenna substrate 5 sealed in the card substrate are shown. Has been modified to clearly explain the relationship.
[0036]
In the present invention, the card is manufactured by injection molding, but any method that maintains card characteristics can be applied to the present invention. For example, a laminate method or an adhesive filling method may be used. Further, the fitting hole 11 of the IC module is also included in the present invention to be hollowed out after card molding.
[0037]
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which the first coupling coil 8 is wound around the composite IC chip 6.
As preparation for forming the first coupling coil 8, the periphery of the resin seal 16 of the composite IC module 2 manufactured up to the process of the resin seal 16 is processed so as to be easily wound by a cutting means or the like. Thereafter, the winding is performed directly around the resin seal 16 of the composite IC module 2 by a winding machine. After the completion of the winding work of a predetermined number of turns, the insulating film on the connection terminal of the first coupling coil 8 (not shown) is removed and connected to a predetermined circuit pattern (not shown) of the module substrate 9.
[0038]
At this time, when the resin sealing 16 is applied, the resin sealing 16 can be cut by using a mold or the like so as to facilitate winding. Alternatively, instead of winding the winding directly around the composite IC chip 6, a planar coil may be manufactured in a separate process using a coil winding machine and bonded to the module substrate 9 to form the first coupling coil 8. In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the manufactured coil is a rounded rectangle, but it may be an ellipse, a circle, or other shapes, and the present invention does not particularly limit the shape. Absent.
[0039]
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the first coupling coil 8 wound around the coil frame 17 is mounted around the resin seal 16 of the composite IC chip 6.
The first coupling coil 8 is aligned and wound in a groove (not shown) of the coil frame 17. The first coupling coil 8 with the coil frame 17 wound is bonded between the coil frame 17 and the module substrate 9. Thereafter, a connection terminal (not shown) of the first coupling coil 8 is connected to a predetermined circuit pattern (not shown) of the module substrate 9.
At this time, the connection between the module substrate 9 and the first coil 8 can be simplified by providing the coil frame 17 with a terminal for connecting the coil. Although the cross-sectional shape of the coil frame 17 in this embodiment is a rounded rectangular shape, it may be circular or other shapes as described above.
[0040]
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the first coupling coil 8 is wound around the end surface of the module substrate 9.
The first coupling coil 8 can also be formed by winding around the module substrate 9 of the composite IC module 2 with rounded corners (thickness direction). Winding around the module substrate 9 was performed prior to the mounting of the composite IC chip 6. This may be performed at the end of the manufacturing process of the composite IC module 2, and does not limit the order of the processes.
If the thickness of the module substrate 9 is set to 0.3 mm by winding around the module substrate 9 of the composite IC module 2 with rounded corners (thickness direction), the module substrate is considered even if emboss formation is considered. From the outer shape of 9, the coil can be wound with a width of 1 mm, and when the winding diameter is 0.1 mm, it can be wound 3 × 10 = 30 times. This is 5 times or more of the case where the winding is formed with the printed pattern.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, the composite IC module according to the present invention has a function capable of supporting both a contact type with an external terminal and a non-contact type having a non-contact coupling element such as an antenna coil. In the composite IC card incorporating this composite IC module, by providing a transformer coupling circuit element between the IC module and the antenna coil, power can be generated without electrically connecting the IC module and the antenna coil. It was configured to receive and send and receive signals.
[0042]
Then, the transformer coupling element of the IC module is realized by a winding coil, and is wound directly around the resin-sealed portion of the IC chip, or is directly bonded to a pre-manufactured planar coil and a module substrate, or coiled on a coil frame The coil frame is bonded to the module substrate or wound around the end surface of the module substrate, so that the number of turns of the coupling coil of the module substrate is as much as possible within the permitted range. In a composite IC card incorporating this composite IC module, electromagnetic energy received by the antenna coil can be transcoupled with a high coupling coefficient and transmitted to the IC chip.
[0043]
As a result, it was possible to further improve the communication sensitivity characteristic by “holding” the card near the antenna of the external read / write device, which is an advantage of the non-contact transmission function.
In addition, the increased reception sensitivity of the card makes it possible to increase the communication distance and / or suppress the transmission output of the external read / write device. This is advantageous for such IC cards because the transmission output for non-contact type IC cards (for composite IC cards) is regulated by the Radio Law.
In addition, since there is no need for connection between the IC module and the antenna circuit built in the card substrate, an IC card related to the conventional technique of bonding and mounting the IC module in a fitting hole provided in the card substrate. The manufacturing process can be used as it is, and even when mechanical stress such as bending stress is applied to the card, there is no risk of failure because there is no connection point between the cards.
[0044]
As a whole, according to the present invention, there is no need to connect the IC module and the antenna coil for non-contact transmission, and there is a reception sensitivity with which a sufficient communication distance can be obtained, and both contact type and non-contact type are provided. We have been able to provide a compound IC module and a compound IC card that can maintain a practical operating state of the transmission mechanism.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an IC module according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the coupling coil mounting of the IC module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of mounting a coupling coil of an IC module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of mounting a coupling coil of an IC module according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a non-contact coupling circuit for explaining the principle of the non-contact transmission mechanism of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Compound IC card 2 ... IC module 3 ... Second coupling coil 4 ... Antenna coil 5 ... Antenna substrate 6 ... Compound IC chip 7 ... ··· Terminal electrode 8 ··· First coupling coil 9 ··· Joule substrate 10 ··· Card substrate 11 ··· Fitting hole 15 ··· Capacitor 16 ··· Resin sealing 17 ··· Coil frame 100 .. External read / write device 101 .. Transmission / reception circuit 102 .. Transmission / reception antenna

Claims (6)

The IC module includes an IC chip having a contact-type transmission function and a non-contact-type transmission function for an IC card, a module substrate on which an external terminal that is a contact-type transmission element is formed, and a first coupling coil of a non-contact transmission mechanism Consists of
A first coupling coil of the IC module,
The antenna element includes an antenna capable of receiving and receiving power and transmitting / receiving signals to / from an external reader, and a second coupling coil connected to the antenna element, and further includes a contact type and a non-contact type. The IC module and the antenna are coupled in a non-contact manner by a transformer coupling by being arranged so as to be tightly coupled to the second coupling coil of the IC card member prepared to have both functions of And can be configured to
Moreover, the composite IC module is characterized in that the first coupling coil arranged in the IC module is formed by winding a conductive wire having an insulating film. 2. The composite IC module according to claim 1, wherein the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound in a toroidal shape around a sealing material of the IC chip. The composite IC module according to claim 1, wherein the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound around the module substrate. A composite IC card comprising a composite IC module having both contact type and non-contact type functions, and an antenna element having no electrical connection to the composite IC module,
The composite IC module includes an IC chip incorporating a contact-type transmission function and a non-contact type transmission function, a module substrate on which an external terminal that is a contact-type transmission element is formed, and a first coupling coil of a non-contact transmission mechanism And
The antenna element includes an antenna that receives power and transmits / receives a signal to / from an external reading device, and a second coupling coil connected to the antenna element, and the first coupling of the composite IC module The coil and the second coupling coil of the antenna element for non-contact transmission are arranged so as to be closely coupled to each other, and the composite IC module and the antenna are configured to be capable of non-contact coupling by transformer coupling,
In addition, the composite IC card is characterized in that the first coupling coil arranged in the composite IC module is formed by winding a conductive wire with an insulating film. 5. The composite IC card according to claim 4 , wherein the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound in a toroidal shape around the sealing material of the IC chip. 5. The composite IC card according to claim 4 , wherein the first coupling coil of the composite IC module is wound around the module substrate.

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