JP7191444B2 - RFID antenna manufacturing method and RFID inlet manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an RFID antenna and a method of manufacturing an RFID inlet.

In recent years, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags have been used for various purposes. An RFID tag has an RFID inlet consisting of an antenna and an IC chip connected to the antenna. The RFID tag receives radio waves transmitted from the reader/writer and sends back the information in the tag to the reader/writer. This allows the reader/writer to identify the tag. The tag does not have an internal power supply, and activates the circuit of the IC chip by using resonance organic power with the communication radio wave from the reader/writer as the power supply.

As a method of manufacturing an antenna used for RFID, a method of etching a metal foil such as an aluminum foil to form a desired antenna pattern is known (for example, Patent Document 1). However, the etching process has a problem that the manufacturing cost is high. There is also the problem of increased environmental load due to the etchant. Therefore, there is a demand for a method capable of efficiently manufacturing an RFID antenna at a lower cost.

JP 2013-33354 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problems, and to provide a method of manufacturing an RFID antenna easily and at low cost.

A method for manufacturing an RFID antenna according to the present invention includes the steps of die-cutting a metal foil and a support of a laminate having a metal foil, a support, and a separator, and forming slits in at least the metal foil. The slits are formed by one selected from laser irradiation, cutting with a rotating blade, and die cutting.
In one embodiment, the metal foil is aluminum foil.
In one embodiment, the support is made of polyethylene terephthalate resin.
In one embodiment, the step of die-cutting the laminate and the step of forming the slit are performed continuously while being conveyed.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing an RFID inlet is provided. This RFID inlet manufacturing method includes a step of connecting an IC chip to the slit portion of the RFID antenna obtained by the above manufacturing method.
In one embodiment, the manufacturing process of the RFID antenna and the connecting process of the IC chip are continuously performed.

According to the present invention, an RFID antenna can be easily manufactured at low cost. Moreover, according to the present invention, the circuit pattern of the antenna can be formed without using an etchant. Therefore, problems such as environmental pollution caused by the etchant can be prevented.

1 is a plan view of an RFID antenna manufactured in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a laminate used in one embodiment of the invention; FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the die cutting process in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram of the scrap lifting process using a roller. It is a side view of the slit formation process by laser irradiation. It is a side view of the slit formation process using a rotating blade. 7a and 7b are plan views of die-cut roll dies (FIGS. 7a and 7b) and the finally formed circuit pattern (FIG. 7c) used in one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

A method of manufacturing an RFID antenna according to the present invention includes the steps of die-cutting a metal foil and a support of a laminate having a metal foil, a support, and a separator, and forming slits in at least the metal foil. The slit forming process is performed by laser irradiation, cutting with a rotary knife, or die cutting.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an RFID antenna according to one embodiment of the present invention. The RFID antenna 1 has a circuit pattern 2 designed according to the application. This circuit pattern 2 is partially interrupted by a slit to form a feeding point 3 . The RFID antenna 1 is used as an RFID inlet in which an IC chip is connected to the feeding point 3 .

A. Die-cutting step In the die-cutting step, the metal foil and the support of the laminate having the metal foil, the support and the separator are die-cut into a desired shape. A die-cutting process punches the metal foil and support into the desired shape. The die-cut metal foil and the support may be punched into a general circuit pattern shape (hereinafter also referred to as an approximate circuit pattern shape), and details such as feeding points may not be formed. Details of the circuit pattern can be formed by a later slitting process.

A-1. Laminate FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a laminate used in one embodiment of the present invention. This laminate 100 comprises a metal foil 10, a support 20 and a separator 30 in this order. Metal foil 10 is laminated to support 20 via an adhesive layer (not shown). Also, the support 20 and the separator 30 are laminated via an adhesive layer (not shown). The adhesive layer is formed from any suitable adhesive composition. Also, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is formed from any appropriate pressure-sensitive adhesive composition. The thickness of the adhesive layer and pressure-sensitive adhesive layer can be set to any suitable value.

The thickness of the laminate can be set to any appropriate thickness. For example, 50 μm to 160 μm. With such a thickness, the die cutting process and the slit forming process can be performed satisfactorily.

A-1-1. Metal Foil Metal foil 10 is made of any suitable metal. Any appropriate metal having electrical conductivity is used as the metal that is the material of the metal foil. Examples include aluminum, copper, copper alloys, phosphor bronze, SUS, gold, gold alloys, nickel, nickel alloys, silver, silver alloys, tin, tin alloys, and the like. Aluminum and copper are preferably used. By using these metals, an antenna with excellent conductivity can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, the antenna can be formed satisfactorily by die cutting.

The thickness of the metal foil can be set to any appropriate value depending on the application. The thickness of the metal foil is, for example, 0.1 μm to 50 μm, preferably 3 μm to 10 μm. With such a thickness, the antenna can be suitably manufactured by each of the steps described above.

A-1-2. Support Support 20 may be formed of any suitable material. For example, it may be a film formed of any suitable resin, or it may be paper. When a resin film is used as the support, examples of the resin forming the resin film include polyethylene terephthalate-based resin, polypropylene-based resin, nylon, polyethylene naphthalate, polyimide resin, polybutylene naphthalate, and polycarbonate-based resin. mentioned. It is preferable to use a polyethylene terephthalate-based resin film because it has sufficient strength and the cost can be suppressed.

The thickness of the support can be set to any appropriate thickness depending on the material forming the support. The thickness of the support is, for example, 10 μm to 100 μm, preferably 12 μm to 50 μm.

A-1-3. Separator Any appropriate separator can be used as the separator 30 . A separator typically includes a substrate and a release layer containing a release agent. Any appropriate base material can be used as the base material for the separator. Examples thereof include films of any suitable resin (eg, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyolefin, etc.), non-woven fabrics, paper, and the like. Any appropriate release agent can be used as the release agent. Examples of release agents include silicone-based release agents, fluorine-based release agents, and modified polyolefin-based release agents. Moreover, you may use a commercial item as a separator.

The thickness of the separator can be set to any suitable value. The thickness of the separator is, for example, 25 μm to 100 μm.

Laminate 100 can be made in any suitable manner. For example, a laminate can be produced as follows. The metal foil 10 is laminated by applying an adhesive composition to one surface of the support 20 . Next, a pressure-sensitive adhesive composition is applied to the surface of the support 20 on which the metal foil 10 is not laminated, and the laminate of the metal foil 10 and the support 20 is laminated to the separator 30 to prepare the laminate 100. be able to. Alternatively, an adhesive may be applied to a laminate (a so-called adhesive sheet) including the support 20, the adhesive layer 50, and the separator 30, and the metal foil 10 may be attached.

In one embodiment, laminate 100 is an elongated laminate. Since the laminated body is elongated, each step of manufacturing the antenna can be carried out continuously while the laminated body is being transported. The long laminate may be wound into a roll.

As described above, a die of desired shape is used to die cut the metal foil and support of laminate 100 . By die-cutting, the metal foil 10 and the support 20 of the laminate 100 are punched into a substantially circuit pattern shape. Specifically, the desired circuit pattern is punched out so that there is no feed point (that is, the circuit at the portion that serves as the feed point is connected).

Die cutting can be done by any suitable stamping method. For example, a flat die cut method in which the entire blade of a flat plate-shaped flat die cutter is pressed against the laminate at once to punch out, or a rotary die cut in which the blades of a cylindrical die-cut roll are pressed in order as the die-cut roll rotates. method. Since the die-cutting process can be performed while conveying the film, it is preferable to use a rotary die-cutting method.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the die cutting process in one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the die cutting process is performed by a rotary die cutting method. In FIG. 3, die cutting is performed by a die cutting roll 31 and a receiving roll 32 . The long laminate 100 is conveyed so that the die-cut roll 31 contacts the metal foil side of the laminate 100 and the receiving roll 32 contacts the separator 30 side of the laminate 100 . The die-cut roll 31 has a blade 31a having a desired shape on its outer periphery. While the laminate 100 is being transported, the metal foil 10 and the support 20 are die-cut into desired shapes by the blade 31 a of the die-cut roll 31 . That is, the laminate 100 is half-cut by the die-cut roll 31 so as not to cut the separator 30 . Although only one die-cut roll is used in the illustrated example, two or more die-cut rolls may be used.

In the die-cutting process, it is preferable that each circuit pattern is continuously punched out with a pitch of 10 mm or more. By setting the pitch within the above range, the working efficiency of the slit forming step, which will be described later, can be improved.

The die-cut laminate 100' is then subjected to a scrap removing process. By the scrap removal step, unnecessary portions (punching scraps) 102 other than the desired circuit pattern are removed from the laminate 100'. Waste removal can be performed by any appropriate method. In one embodiment, scraps are removed using a roller. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a scrap removal process using a roller. As shown in FIG. 4 , in the die-cut laminate 100 ′, punching scraps 102 are lifted upward from the laminate 100 ′ by the scrap pick-up roller 41 and peeled off. The peeled punching waste 102 is taken up by a take-up roller (not shown). As a result, the continuous body 200 having only the separator 30 and the part (hereinafter also referred to as the die-cut part) 101 including the metal foil and support punched out in the die-cutting process can be subjected to the next process. When the slit forming step is performed by die-cutting, the scrap removing step is generally performed after the slits are formed by die-cutting.

B. Slit Forming Step The manufacturing method of the present invention further includes at least the step of forming slits in the metal foil. Feeding points are formed in the circuit pattern by forming slits at predetermined locations. Practically, an IC chip is mounted on the feeding point of the obtained RFID antenna and used as an RFID inlet. The slit forming process is performed by any one of laser irradiation, cutting with a rotating blade, or die cutting.

The width of the slit is, for example, approximately 100 μm. The slit width is preferably 100 μm to 500 μm, more preferably 100 μm to 150 μm.

B-1. Laser irradiation When a laser is used, the metal foil is removed by irradiating a predetermined portion of the die cut portion 101 with the laser to form a slit. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a slit forming step by laser irradiation in one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, the metal foil portion of the die-cut portion 101 is irradiated with laser light from the laser irradiation device 50 from the vertical direction of the continuous body 200 to form a slit. When the slit is formed by laser irradiation, the position of the laser irradiation device may be fixed and the slit may be formed while the continuous body 200 is conveyed. may be formed.

Any suitable laser can be used as the laser. Preferable examples include solid-state lasers such as Nd:YAG lasers and Nd: _YVO4 lasers, and Yb-doped fiber lasers. These may be continuous wave lasers or pulsed wave lasers.

The wavelength of the laser can be set, for example, between 1000 nm and 1100 nm. In addition, the output power and irradiation time of the laser can be set to any suitable value depending on the material, thickness, etc. of the metal foil.

B-2. Cutting with a rotary blade When a rotary blade (cutting disk) is used, the rotary blade is attached to the spindle (motor) and rotated at high speed, and the rotary blade is brought into contact with the metal foil of the die-cut portion 101 to perform cutting and slitting. to form The rotation speed of the spindle is, for example, 5000 rpm to 20000 rpm.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a slit forming process using a rotary blade in one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a continuous body 200 is conveyed in the arrow direction. The rotating cutting disk 60 is pressed against the die-cut portion 101 of the conveyed continuous body 200 so as to be in contact with the metal foil 10 (FIG. 6(a)). After cutting the predetermined portion of the metal foil 10, the cutting disc 60 returns to the predetermined position (FIG. 6(b)). After the cutting disc 60 has returned to its predetermined position, the continuous body 200 is transported in the direction of the arrow. Next, the cutting disk 60 is similarly brought into contact with a predetermined position of the next die-cut portion 101' to cut the metal foil 10. As shown in FIG. In the illustrated example, the method of forming the slits by conveying the continuous body 200 is shown, but the slits may be formed by moving the cutting disk without moving the continuous body 200 .

A circular cutting disk, for example, is used as the rotary blade. When using circular cutting discs, the diameter of the cutting disc is, for example, between 10 mm and 30 mm. Also, the thickness of the blade of the cutting disk is, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.13 mm.

The cutting disc is made of any suitable material. For example, stainless steel cutting discs are used. Alternatively, a stainless steel cutting disc with diamond abrasive grains applied to the cutting edge portion may be used.

B-3. Die cutting When forming slits by die cutting, two or more dies are combined to form a circuit pattern. Depending on the size, it may be difficult to produce a corresponding blade shape for a detailed portion such as the feed point of an RFID antenna. By combining two or more dies, a circuit pattern including details such as feed points is formed by die cutting. As described in section A above, die cutting cuts the metal foil and support of the laminate. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the shape of the blade and the finally formed circuit pattern when forming an antenna using two die-cut rolls. In the illustrated example, only a portion of the blade shape and the circuit pattern where the slit (feeding point) is formed is shown. In this embodiment, the laminate 100 is finally cut into the shape shown in FIG. 7(c), and the distance between cc' becomes the designed slit width. In the first die-cut roll, one end of the slit portion (a in FIG. 7(a) and finally c in FIG. 7(c)) is punched into the shape of the designed circuit pattern. That is, in the first die-cut roll, the other side of the slit portion (a' in FIG. 7A) does not have a shape corresponding to the actual circuit pattern. The blade dies of the first die-cut roll are designed so that the distance between aa' is, for example, 2 mm or more. With such a distance, the cutting tool can be manufactured more easily.

A second die cut roll is then used to punch out the remainder of the desired circuit pattern. The second die-cut roll has a blade shape corresponding to the portion of the circuit pattern that was not punched out by the first die-cut roll (FIG. 7(b)). The laminate punched out by the first die-cut roll is then punched out by the second die-cut roll so that the laminate can be punched into a desired circuit pattern shape (FIG. 7(c)). The order of punching by the first die-cut roll and the second die-cut roll is not limited, and the laminate may be punched in the reverse order.

When the slits are formed by die-cutting, the scrap removing step is performed after all die-cutting is completed.

In addition to the die cutting process and the slit forming process, other processes may be included as necessary. Other processes include a process of winding an antenna continuous body, a process of conducting an antenna continuity test, and the like. When the step of winding the antenna continuous body is included, the wound continuous body can be stored as a continuous body roll.

C. Manufacturing Method of RFID Inlet An RFID antenna having a feeding point to which an IC chip is connected can be manufactured by the die cutting process and the slit forming process. An RFID inlet is obtained by electrically connecting an IC chip to the feeding point of the antenna obtained in the above steps. The step of connecting the IC chip can be performed continuously with the step of manufacturing the RFID antenna. Productivity improves by performing continuously. After the antenna manufacturing process, the antenna continuous body may be wound into a continuous body roll, and then the IC chip connecting process may be performed using the antenna continuous body roll.

Any appropriate method is used as a method of connecting the RFID antenna and the IC chip. For example, soldering, bonding with a conductive adhesive, ultrasonic bonding, and the like can be used.

If the RFID inlet is used as it is, there is a risk that the antenna and the IC chip will peel off due to impact or the like. Therefore, RFID inlets are usually coated with resin or laminated with cloth, paper, resin film, or the like on the metal foil side surface. When laminating a resin film or the like, the RFID inlet and the resin film or the like are laminated via any appropriate adhesive layer.

As described above, the RFID inlet obtained by the method of the present invention has a plurality of inlets continuously formed on the separator. From this continuum, each RFID inlet can be cut out and used for the desired purpose.

D. Applications of RFID Inlets RFID inlets are used in RFID tags that are used in a variety of applications. Examples include commuter passes used in transportation such as railways and buses, electronic money, ID cards such as employee ID cards, product management tags in physical distribution and product management, and management tags in manufacturing processes.

According to the RFID antenna manufacturing method of the present invention, an RFID antenna can be manufactured easily at low cost.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Metal foil 20 Support 30 Separator 31 Die cut roll 32 Receiving roll 41 Scrap removal roller 100 Laminate

Claims (6)

a step of die-cutting the metal foil and the support of the laminate having the metal foil, the support and the separator into a substantially circuit pattern shape;
A method for manufacturing an RFID antenna, comprising the step of forming slits in at least the metal foil of the laminate die-cut into the approximate circuit pattern shape,
The manufacturing method, wherein the step of forming the slit is performed by at least one selected from laser irradiation, cutting with a rotary knife, and die cutting. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the metal foil is an aluminum foil. 3. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the support is made of polyethylene terephthalate resin. 4. The process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of die-cutting into the approximate circuit pattern shape and the step of forming slits in at least the metal foil of the laminate die-cut into the approximate circuit pattern shape are carried out continuously while being conveyed. The manufacturing method according to A method for manufacturing an RFID inlet, comprising the step of connecting an IC chip to the slit portion of the RFID antenna obtained by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The method for manufacturing the RFID inlet according to claim 5, wherein the manufacturing step of the RFID antenna according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the connecting step of the IC chip are continuously performed.

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