JP5333137B2 - IC tag manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in an IC tag manufacturing method in which an inlet is covered and sealed with a thermoplastic resin sheet.

An IC tag (RFID tag, RF tag) has an inlet composed of an IC chip equipped with a semiconductor memory and an antenna for wireless communication, and reads and writes data in a non-contact manner with respect to the semiconductor memory by an induced magnetic field or radio wave. Therefore, it is useful for merchandise management and the like, and is attached to merchandise etc., and its uses are expanding.
Such an IC tag includes a step of placing a lower thermoplastic resin sheet on the lower mold, a step of placing an inlet on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet, and a step of placing an upper thermoplastic sheet on the inlet. It is manufactured by a manufacturing method comprising a member arranging step, and an adhesive step of lowering the upper mold and welding the upper thermoplastic resin sheet and the lower thermoplastic resin sheet while applying pressure by high-frequency welder processing, and sealing. There is one in which an inlet is covered with a thermoplastic resin sheet and sealed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2005-316718

  According to the method of manufacturing an IC tag as in Patent Document 1, the upper and lower thermoplastic resin sheets can be easily and quickly welded by high-frequency welder processing or the like, and the inlet can be sealed. Since it is sealed by the sheet, it is possible to prevent the failure of the IC chip due to water wetting.

However, when manufacturing an IC tag in which an inlet is sealed with a thermoplastic resin sheet by a manufacturing method such as Patent Document 1, positioning when placing the inlet on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet is performed by positioning the lower thermoplastic resin sheet. It is common to place a jig with a hole for positioning the inlet on it and place the inlet in this hole for positioning. When removing a jig that requires quick work, remove the jig. It is necessary to make the hole formed in the jig larger than the inlet so that the inlet does not slip when the inner wall of the hole touches the arranged inlet, and suppresses the deviation of the inlet. Thus, it is necessary to temporarily fix the inlet with an adhesive or the like.
Alternatively, the placement position of the inlet may be displayed in advance on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet by printing or the like without using the jig, and may be positioned by visual observation according to the display, but the lower thermoplastic resin sheet An error in displaying the inlet placement position by printing or the like or an error in positioning the inlet by visual inspection occurs.
In addition, since the alignment of the mold in the bonding step is generally visual alignment using a registration mark (positioning reference line), the accuracy of the registration marks printed on the thermoplastic resin sheet, the visual error, and the arrangement of the inlet It is necessary to consider the error.

Therefore, in the method of manufacturing an IC tag as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to design the size of the welded portion with respect to the inlet in consideration of the above-described error. The size becomes relatively large.
In addition, even when designing an IC tag for a small inlet, it is necessary to design in consideration of the above-mentioned errors in the same way as a large inlet. Therefore, a small inlet is larger than a large inlet. However, the ratio of the size of the IC tag to the size of the inlet tends to increase.
Therefore, the manufacturing method of the IC tag as in Patent Document 1 cannot meet the need to reduce the size of the IC tag with respect to a small inlet used for individual management of relatively small items to be attached. Is.
For example, when manufacturing an IC tag in which an inlet is covered with a thermoplastic resin sheet and sealed by an IC tag manufacturing method as in Patent Document 1, the inlet has a disk shape and a diameter of about 4 mm. The maximum outer diameter of the IC tag is about 8 mm, which is about twice the outer diameter of the inlet.

  Furthermore, in the method of manufacturing an IC tag as in Patent Document 1, a planar lower thermoplastic resin sheet is placed on a lower mold, an inlet is placed thereon, and a planar upper thermoplastic sheet is further placed thereon. In this state, the upper mold is lowered and the thermoplastic resin sheet is welded, so that a load is applied to the inlets sandwiched between the upper and lower thermoplastic resin sheets. May be deformed in the case of a typical shape, and there is a risk that problems such as a frequency shift and damage to the connection portion between the IC chip and the antenna may occur.

  Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned situation, the present invention intends to solve the problem by comparing the inlet with the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet and sealing the inlet with the conventional IC tag manufacturing method. An IC tag manufacturing method that can suppress the size of an IC tag relative to the size of the IC tag and that can suppress the occurrence of defects by eliminating the load applied to the inlet by the upper and lower thermoplastic resin sheets. There is in point to do.

An IC tag manufacturing method according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an IC tag in which an inlet is covered and sealed with a lower thermoplastic resin sheet and an upper thermoplastic resin sheet for the purpose of solving the above-described problem. A step of plastically deforming the plastic resin sheet to form a plurality of housing recesses adapted to the planar shape of the inlet; a step of housing the inlet from above in the housing recess; and the housing recess of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet A step of placing the upper thermoplastic resin sheet on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet in a state in which a convex portion projecting downward in accordance with the formation is fitted in a receiving hole formed in the lower mold, and A step of lowering the upper mold and welding the periphery of the housing recess of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet;
The lower mold and the upper mold are high-frequency welder molds, a blade portion is formed around a receiving hole of the lower mold, and the upper mold is lowered to generate a high frequency. When the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet are welded by welding, the pressing force for lowering the upper mold is adjusted so that the outside of the welded portion does not separate. Features.
According to such a configuration, since the inlet is sealed with the thermoplastic resin sheet in the state where the periphery of the plurality of receiving recesses of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet is welded, Failure can be prevented.

In addition, the inlet is positioned with respect to the lower thermoplastic resin sheet in a state where the inlet is accommodated in a plurality of accommodating recesses formed in the lower thermoplastic resin sheet, and protrudes downward with the formation of the accommodating recess. Since the inlet is positioned with respect to the lower mold in a state in which the protruding portion is fitted in the receiving hole formed in the lower mold, a relatively large error as in the conventional IC tag manufacturing method Therefore, the size of the IC tag can be kept smaller than the size of the inlet.
Furthermore, since the size of the IC tag can be further reduced, the pitch of the IC tag manufactured by reducing the pitch between the receiving holes of the lower mold is reduced, and the area of the mold is reduced. Since the number of IC tags to be manufactured can be increased, the productivity of IC tags can be improved.
In addition, since the inlet can be reliably positioned without using a jig having a hole for positioning the inlet, there is no need to temporarily fix the inlet with an adhesive or the like.

Still further, the inner inlet is housed in the lower thermoplastic plurality of accommodating recesses of the resin sheet, the receiving hole having a convex portion formed on the lower mold projecting downward with the formation of a plurality of accommodating recesses In a fitted state, a flat upper thermoplastic resin sheet is placed on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet, and the upper mold is lowered to weld the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet. Therefore, since the load is not applied to the inlet by the upper and lower thermoplastic resin sheets, it is possible to suppress a problem occurring in the inlet based on such a load.
In addition, the lower mold and the upper mold are high-frequency welder molds, a blade portion is formed around a receiving hole of the lower mold, and the upper mold is lowered to generate a high-frequency wave. When welding the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet by welder processing, so as to adjust the pressing force when lowering the upper mold so that the outside of the welded portion does not separate, Since the outside of the welded portion is not separated after the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet are welded, it is not necessary to take out the plurality of IC tags individually from the lower mold, and the manufactured plurality of IC tags The plurality of IC tags that can be taken out in a lump can be easily removed from the tips of the blades around the receiving holes of the lower mold of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the lower mold of the upper thermoplastic resin sheet. By Since the pressure portion (outer portion of the welding portion) becomes weak, it is possible to easily separate the plurality of IC tags, it is possible to improve the productivity of the IC tag.
In addition, since the blade portion is formed around the receiving hole of the lower mold, the lower surface of the upper mold can be made flat, so that the upper mold with respect to the lower mold where the inlet is positioned is arranged. Mold alignment can be easily performed.

Here, before accommodating the inlet in the accommodating recess from above, the step of accommodating the lower shock absorber from above in the accommodating recess, and after accommodating the inlet in the accommodating recess from above, the accommodating It is preferable to include a step of accommodating the upper shock absorber from above in the recess.
According to such a configuration, the lower shock absorber and the upper shock absorber are each housed in the housing recess, and since these shock absorbers sandwich the inlet, the shock absorber is not welded. There is no need to select a material that can be welded together with the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet as the shock absorber.
Therefore, since a material having a very high shock absorbing power such as a gel can be freely selected and used as the shock absorbing material, the shock resistance can be greatly improved.

  As described above, according to the method of manufacturing an IC tag according to the present invention, the structure is such that the inlet is covered with a thermoplastic resin sheet and sealed so that failure of the IC chip due to water wetting can be prevented. The need to reduce the size of the IC tag relative to the size of the inlet, and to reduce the size of the IC tag relative to the small inlet used for individual management of relatively small items to be mounted. In addition, the load applied to the inlet by the upper and lower thermoplastic resin sheets is eliminated, and the frequency shift and the IC chip and the antenna are caused by deformation that is likely to occur particularly when the inlet has a three-dimensional shape. The remarkable effect that the malfunction which generate | occur | produces in inlets, such as damage of a connection part, can be suppressed is produced.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the manufacturing method of the IC tag which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) And (b) is the process of forming the accommodation recessed part match | combined with the planar shape of the inlet in the lower side thermoplastic resin sheet | seat (C) is a step of accommodating the inlet from above in the accommodating recess of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet, and (d) is a projecting portion that protrudes downward with the formation of the accommodating recess of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet. Is a process of placing the upper thermoplastic resin sheet on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet in a state of being fitted in the receiving hole formed in the lower mold, and (e) lowering the upper mold. (F) has shown the state which took out the manufactured IC tag from the metal mold | die, the process which welds a lower side thermoplastic resin sheet and an upper side thermoplastic resin sheet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS (a) which shows the IC tag manufactured with the manufacturing method of the IC tag which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and having taken out from the metal mold | die is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (b) is the perspective view seen from the lower side. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure which puts an impact-absorbing material on the upper and lower sides of an inlet, (a) accommodates a lower side impact-absorbing material in an accommodation recessed part, accommodates an inlet on it, and also absorbs an upper-side impact on it. (B) shows a state in which the manufactured IC tag is taken out from the mold.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, and includes all the embodiments that satisfy the requirements described in the claims. It is a waste.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the IC tag 10 is formed by covering and sealing the inlet 3 with the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2.
Further, the inlet 3 is, for example, a disc-shaped member as shown in FIG. 1C, and includes an RF chip for wireless communication, a logic circuit, and an IC chip including a semiconductor memory portion (not shown) and an antenna for wireless communication. Although it is configured, for example, a material other than an IC chip and an antenna, such as a material for changing frequency characteristics, may be included.
The shape of the inlet is not limited to a disc shape, and may be another shape such as a rectangular plate shape.

  In the IC tag manufacturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 is plastically deformed so that the planar shape of the inlet 3 (the shape in a plan view, accommodated in the accommodating recess 1A) is obtained. (See FIGS. 1A and 1B), the process of forming the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... According to the shape of the inlet 3 as viewed from above, which is circular in this embodiment. .. In the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the side thermoplastic resin sheet 1 (see FIG. 1 (c)), and the housing recesses 1A of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1. The lower thermoplastic resin sheet is in a state in which the convex portions 1B, 1B,... Projecting downward along with the formation of 1A, are fitted in the receiving holes 6A, 6A,. 1 is a process of placing the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 on the substrate 1 (see FIG. 1D). .), And a step of lowering the upper mold 7 and welding the surroundings of the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 (see FIG. 1E). Consists of.

Here, the step of plastically deforming the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B to form the accommodating recesses 1A, 1A,... By inserting the convex portions 5A, 5A,... Protruding from the lower surface of the upper mold 5 into the receiving holes 4A, 4A,. The lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 between the molds 5 and 4 is plastically deformed according to the planar shape of the inlets 3, 3,.
In this embodiment, since the planar shape of the inlet 3 is circular, the convex portions 5A, 5A,... Protruding from the lower surface of the upper mold 5 are cylindrical, and the receiving holes 4A of the lower mold 4 are provided. , 4A,... Are round holes, but the shapes of the projections 5A, 5A,... And the receiving holes 4A, 4A,.
The process of forming the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... In the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 may use a wooden mold or a resin mold instead of the molds 4 and 5, and an embossing roll or the like. It can also be done.

  Moreover, the process of accommodating the inlets 3, 3,... In the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 shown in FIG. The protrusions 1B, 1B,... Projecting downward with the formation of the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 without taking out from the mold 4 are received by the receiving holes 4A of the lower mold 4. 4A,... May be performed while being fitted inside.

Further, in the step of lowering the upper mold 7 shown in FIG. 1 (e) and welding the periphery of the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2, the lower mold The mold 6 and the upper mold 7 are high-frequency welder molds, and blade portions 8, 8,... Projecting upward are formed around the receiving holes 6A, 6A,. The substantially cylindrical blade portions 8, 8,... Protrude from the upper surface of the lower mold 6 and the receiving holes 6A, 6A,. The lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 (around the accommodating recesses 1A, 1A,...) Sandwiched between 8, 8,. It is welded using.
It should be noted that the step of welding the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 may be performed by heat seal processing or the like instead of high frequency welder processing. As the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2, a film material having a thickness of, for example, about 0.05 mm to 0.3 mm such as vinyl chloride, polyurethane, or olefin (polyethylene or polypropylene) is used. can do.

Here, blade portions 8, 8,... Are formed around the receiving holes 6A, 6A,... Of the lower mold 6 (the blade portions 8, 8,... Are projected from the upper surface of the lower mold 6). Since the receiving holes 6A, 6A,... Are formed on the inner side thereof, the upper mold 7 has no blade portion and the lower surface thereof can be flat. The upper mold 7 can be easily aligned with the positioned lower mold 6.
In addition, the shape of the receiving holes 6A, 6A,... Of the lower mold 6 is convex portions 1B, 1B,... That protrude downward with the formation of the housing concave portions 1A, 1A,. Is in the shape of a round hole in the present embodiment, but the shape matched to the planar shape of the convex portions 1B, 1B,... (Inlets 3, 3,...) Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1. To do.

In the step of lowering the upper mold 7 and welding the surroundings of the housing recesses 1A, 1A,... Of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 as described above, the blade shown in FIG. Is adjusted so that the outer mold 7 is lowered so that the outer sides of the annular welded portions 11, 11,... Corresponding to the width (the length in the radial direction) W of the portions 8, 8,. ing.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 (e), the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 are welded around the receiving recesses 1A, 1A,. In a state where the mold 7 is raised and the IC tags 10, 10,... Are taken out from the lower mold 6 as shown in FIGS. 1 (f) and 2, the IC tags 10, 10,. Therefore, it is not necessary to individually remove the plurality of IC tags 10, 10,... From the lower mold 6, and the manufactured plurality of IC tags 10, 10,.
Further, the plurality of IC tags 10, 10,... Taken out in a lump are arranged around the receiving holes 6 A, 6 A,... Of the lower mold 6 of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the portions pressed by the tips of the blade portions 8, 8,... (Outer portions of the welded portions 11) are weakened, so that the plurality of IC tags 10, 10,. Since it can be easily separated, the productivity of the IC tag can be improved.
For example, when the IC tag is large, the upper mold 7 is lowered so as to melt (cut) the thermoplastic resin sheets 1 and 2 so as to separate the outside of the welded portions 11, 11,. The pressing force may be adjusted.

  According to the method of manufacturing an IC tag according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the inlets 3, 3,... Are accommodated in the accommodating recesses 1A, 1A, ... formed in the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1. In this state, the inlets 3, 3,... Are positioned with respect to the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1, and the protrusions 1B, 1B,. The inlets 3, 3,... Are positioned with respect to the lower mold 6 while being fitted in the receiving holes 6A, 6A,. Therefore, the size of the IC tag 10 can be further reduced with respect to the size of the inlet 3, so that individual management of relatively small items to be attached is possible. Small inlet used for It can be satisfied needs for smaller and more even size of the IC tag 10 with respect to.

For example, in the case of manufacturing an IC tag in which an inlet is covered with a thermoplastic resin sheet and sealed by a conventional manufacturing method, as described above, the inlet has a disk shape and its diameter is about 4 mm. The maximum outer diameter is about 8 mm, which is about twice the outer diameter of the inlet. On the other hand, according to the method of manufacturing an IC tag according to the embodiment of the present invention, the inlet has a disk shape and its diameter. Is 4 mm, the inner diameter of the accommodating recess 1A is 4.5 mm, the width of the annular welded portion 11 corresponding to the width W of the blade 8 is about 0.75 mm, and the maximum outer diameter of the IC tag 10 is about The outer diameter was 6 mm (about 1.5 times the outer diameter of the inlet 3).
If the inner diameters of the housing recesses 1A, 1A, ... are slightly larger than the diameters of the inlets 3, 3, ... in a range where the inlets 3, 3, ... are not caught on the inner wall surfaces of the housing recesses 1A, 1A, ... The width of the annular welded portion 11 can also be set according to the thickness of the thermoplastic resin sheets 1 and 2 and the desired welding strength.

Further, since the size of the IC tag can be further reduced, the pitch of the IC tags 10, 10,... Manufactured by reducing the pitch between the receiving holes 6A, 6A,. In addition, since the number of IC tags 10, 10,... Manufactured with respect to the area of the lower mold 6 can be increased, the productivity of the IC tag can be improved.
Further, the inlets 3, 3,... Can be reliably positioned with respect to the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the lower mold 2 without using a jig having a hole for positioning the inlet. There is no need to temporarily fix the inlets 3, 3,.
Furthermore, the inlet 3 is accommodated in the accommodating recess 1A of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1, and a convex hole 1B that protrudes downward along with the formation of the accommodating recess 1A is formed in a receiving hole 6A. The flat upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 is placed on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 while being fitted in the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1, and the upper mold 7 is lowered to lower the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin. Since the resin sheet 2 is welded, a load is not applied to the inlet 3 by the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2, and thus the inlet 3 is generated based on such a load. Problems can be suppressed.

3, before accommodating the inlets 3, 3,... In the accommodating recesses 1A, 1A,... Formed in the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1, the accommodating recesses 1A, 1A,. .. Are accommodated in the housing recesses 1A, 1A,..., And the inlets 3, 3,... Are accommodated in the housing recesses 1A, 1A,. To the upper shock absorbers 9B, 9B,...
According to such a configuration, the lower shock absorber 9A and the upper shock absorber 9B are each housed in the housing recess 1A, and these shock absorbers 9A and 9B sandwich the inlet 3; 9B is not welded, it is not necessary to select a material that can be welded together with the lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1 and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet 2 by high-frequency welding or the like as the shock absorbers 9A and 9B.
Therefore, since the shock absorbing materials 9A and 9B can be freely selected and used as a material having a very high shock absorbing power such as a gel, the impact resistance can be greatly improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower thermoplastic resin sheet 1A Accommodating recessed part 1B Convex part 2 Upper thermoplastic resin sheet 3 Inlet 4 Lower mold 4A Receiving hole 5 Upper mold 5A Convex part 6 Lower mold 6A Receiving hole 7 Upper mold 8 Blade Part 9A Lower shock absorber 9B Upper shock absorber 10 IC tag 11 Welded part

Claims (2)

An IC tag manufacturing method for covering and sealing an inlet with a lower thermoplastic resin sheet and an upper thermoplastic resin sheet,
A step of plastically deforming the lower thermoplastic resin sheet to form a plurality of housing recesses matched to the planar shape of the inlet;
Accommodating the inlet from above in the accommodating recess;
A convex part protruding downward with the formation of the accommodating concave part of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet is fitted in a receiving hole formed in the lower mold, on the lower thermoplastic resin sheet. Placing the upper thermoplastic resin sheet;
A step of lowering the upper mold and welding the periphery of the housing recess of the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet;
Equipped with a,
The lower mold and the upper mold are high-frequency welder molds, and a blade portion is formed around a receiving hole of the lower mold, and the upper mold is lowered to perform high-frequency welder processing. When welding the lower thermoplastic resin sheet and the upper thermoplastic resin sheet, the pressing force for lowering the upper mold is adjusted so that the outside of the welded portion is not separated. IC tag manufacturing method.   Before accommodating the inlet in the accommodating recess from above, the step of accommodating the lower shock absorber from above in the accommodating recess, and after accommodating the inlet in the accommodating recess from above, in the accommodating recess The method for manufacturing an IC tag according to claim 1, further comprising a step of accommodating the upper shock absorber from above.

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