JPH0143355B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an identification card having an integrated circuit module for processing electrical signals, and more particularly to an identification card in which the integrated circuit module, together with its contact surface, is mounted on a separate carrier and the window of the identification card is This relates to the identification card installed in the section.

International and national standards exist so that identification cards have an approved shape, and these standards must likewise be met as far as possible in the case of identification cards with integrated circuits.

Thus, for example, the magnetic stripe must be placed above the back of the card, a safety area must be provided on either side of the magnetic stripe, and the standard thickness of the card must be kept at 0.76mm. . The remaining portion of the lower part of the card, excluding the periphery of the card, may be provided with a raised area of 0.48 mm, for example in the form of engraved data.

Identification cards with integrated circuits meeting the requirements of the above standards are already known.

German patent application No. 2659573 discloses an identification card in which both the integrated circuit module and the contact surface are arranged on a so-called carrier element.

In an identification card constructed as described above, the integrated circuit module is placed on the carrier element in an unprotected state, so that considerable effort is required when integrating the integrated circuit module into the identification card.
This sensitivity of the carrier element makes it difficult to handle, for example it is not possible to laminate the carrier element directly into the identification card.

When integrating integrated circuit modules into identification cards, a problem arises in that the standard card thickness determined by the standard does not provide mechanical protection for the integrated circuit module and the terminal leads.
Only structures with sufficiently thick cards can be made. Therefore, a West German patent application
No. 2,659,573 guarantees optimal protection of the integrated circuit module by locating the carrier element and its contact surface completely within the so-called data stamp area and by taking advantage of the height allowed for the raised stamp. It is proposed to do so.

The disadvantage of this method is that only a very small portion of the area for data imprinting is used for handling the imprinted data as regulated by the method described above. This means that there are very large restrictions on the application and design of the card.

It has likewise been proposed to arrange a carrier element outside the data-engraved area (West German patent no.
No. 3029939.9). In this way, it is actually possible to avoid reducing the information surface for the marking data. However, in reality only the part above the part where the data is imprinted (where the standard card thickness has to be measured), i.e. the part of the magnetic stripe, remains for installing the integrated circuit module and its contact surfaces. It turns out.

According to the standards, only very small error tolerances are allowed in the surface structure of the magnetic stripe, and special lamination methods and/or special manufacturing steps in the layer structure of the card are required to meet these requirements. Needed.

The object of the invention is to provide an identification card in which the above-mentioned drawbacks are eliminated without affecting the protection of the integrated circuit module.

The above purpose was such that the integrated circuit module, its leads and contact surfaces were arranged on a carrier element formed as a self-contained unit, allowing them to be raised only in the area with the integrated circuit module in the identification card. This is achieved according to the invention, in which the part of the card is placed in such a way that the part with the contacts of the integrated circuit is located outside the raised part.

The invention is based on the idea that the integrated circuit module and its terminals must be located in areas with the greatest permissible thickness in order to be optimally protected. That is, the allowed height allows for the incorporation of thicker modules. On the other hand,
This part must be retained as much as possible for its initial purpose, namely to handle the information of the imprinted data.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the module protected from mechanical influences is located only in the portion of the card that is allowed to rise, but the integrated circuit contacts are connected to external electrical connections on the surface of the card. The contact area is located in the magnetic stripe of the card, particularly at the edge of the card outside, ie above, the principal axis of stress.

The part with the contact surface can be designed so thin that its incorporation into the magnetic stripe part does not pose any operational problems. This integration, regardless of the technical issues of the card, allows the contact surface to be designed in various forms, as long as position and size can be taken into account.

In currently known integrated circuit card implementations, the need to reduce the overall layout area has led to a trend toward making the integrated circuit module and its contact elements into compact units and minimizing space requirements. The contact surface is therefore approximately predetermined as far as position and size are taken into account.

In response to this tendency, in the present invention, the integrated circuit module and its contact elements are arranged in accordance with the actual requirements of the carrier element having a shape and size determined by the separate integrated circuit module, the contact surfaces and the lead portions. provided by any method compatible with the This carrier element can likewise be produced as a prefabricated unit independently of the manufacture of the card.

The integrated circuit module, which is the component that primarily needs to be protected, is free to contact surfaces independently and with minimal space, even when additional configurations for mechanical protection are made. It can be positioned so that it closes. For example, when an integrated circuit module is manufactured with an optimal thickness for protection, the integrated circuit module can be raised without affecting the parts actually provided for handling information. It can be located where it is permitted to do so. Magnetic stripes can be manufactured with high quality by methods known in the art without further effort.

Although the raised portions can be determined quite differently according to different standards, the shape of the identification card according to the invention makes it possible to provide contacts independently at any position on the identification card, taking into account the appropriate standards. . Even when it is possible to ignore the standards regarding the contact arrangement, the advantage of the previously known manufacturing methods of carrier elements, which can be used as semi-manufactured products, is that they remain constant in the same position on the identification card. It is likewise possible to arrange the contacts as follows.

The present invention will be explained in detail below using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the identification card of the present invention.

Above the back of the card there is a space reserved for the magnetic track 3. In the magnetic track 3, storage and/or reading of information can be carried out in a dynamic manner through a read/write device.
A safety area 2 is provided above and below the magnetic track 3. The safe area 2 is not provided with any raised parts so that no confusion occurs during read-write operations. The lower half of the card has a surface 4 on which free parts (for example, parts for handling stamped data) are allowed. The raised part can raise the standard card thickness of 0.76mm by 0.48mm. FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional shape of the card, and shows the standard card thickness and permissible height, such as the height of stamped data. The standard card thickness is increased by the allowed height. There are also standards for identification cards having raised portions on certain parts of the front and back sides of the card, and this is taken into account in the following examples.

FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of a carrier element with leads 6, contact surfaces 5 and integrated circuit module 9. FIG. A conductive film is laminated onto the film carrier, and the leads 6 and contact surfaces 5 are formed by etching this conductive film. The ends of the leads extend into a window for the integrated circuit module, within which the integrated circuit module is held in contact only by the external leads.
An outer layer 10 on the integrated circuit module 9 protects sensitive components and contacts from mechanical forces and strains. The carrier film used is made of a film with high tensile strength (eg polyester film).

FIG. 1 likewise shows a preferred arrangement of the carrier element within the identification card. The carrier element 1 is arranged in such a way that it lies completely within the portion 4 in which the integrated circuit module with its outer layer is allowed to rise and requires a minimum of space. The required surface area for integration is determined solely by the integrated circuit module and/or its integration. This surface is negligibly small compared to the total surface of the part that is allowed to rise. Therefore, in fact, the entire surface 4 can be read out by e.g.
This is possible in the form of engraved data. The contacts reach into the area 3 of the part with standard card thickness, for example the part where the magnetic tracks are provided on the back side of the card. If there is a contact surface on the surface of the card, access to the contacts must be made from the front of the card, for example by direct contact using contact pins. However, if they are laminated or located under a protective layer, the contacts are made by thin pins that penetrate the laminate or protective layer.

FIG. 5 shows another possible shape of the carrier element 1, in which the contacts extend to one side of the card, but the integrated circuit module with an outer layer is likewise located within the raised portion 4. It is located in The shape of the carrier element, as well as the shape of the carrier element, must be separately protected in order to meet specific practical requirements and to comply with standards regarding the position of raised parts (e.g. where data is engraved) or the position of contacts. , integrated circuit modules with outer layers, leads and contact surfaces can be adapted to various requirements without any difficulty. Therefore, the integrated circuit module is always located on the microscopic surface of the protected engraved part or in particular on the part allowed to be raised, without reducing the part for handling information.

FIG. 6 shows an apparatus for producing identification cards. In FIG. 6, an integrated circuit module 19 with an outer layer and a film carrier 17 are arranged symmetrically between symmetrical films. The laminating plate 14 has a groove 18 partially filled with silicone to protect the thicker portion of the card with the integrated circuit module 19 having an outer layer from the pressure due to the increased lamination.

6 and 7 further show one preferred example for producing an identification card according to the invention having contacts on its surface. The contact fittings 20 extend along the notches in the assembled films 15, 16, and are compressed into the card surface which is bent during the lamination process, so that they are flush with the surface. In Figure 6, it is assumed that the carrier element and the card have a symmetrical structure, whereas in Figure 8, the back side of the card is smooth and the data on the front side of the card is imprinted. The figure shows a form of identification card with a structure in which the part allowed to be raised is used to mechanically protect the integrated circuit module, so that the groove 18 filled with silicone is It is located only in the laminating plate 14 of. 9th
The figure shows one form of identification card having a symmetrical structure with similar raised portions on the front and back sides of the card, but with integrated circuit modules housed within a particularly thick outer layer 19. This again ensures that the silicone-filled grooves 18 in the laminating plate 14 do not increase the lamination pressure on the integrated circuit module. In this embodiment, the surface of the outer layer 19 is not laminated,
Therefore, the full height of the stamp on the module portion is used to protect the module by a reinforced outer layer or other form of mechanical protection.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a plan view of an identification card with a carrier element; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view of the carrier element; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3. , FIG. 5 shows a plan view of an identification card with a carrier element, FIG. 6 shows an apparatus for manufacturing an identification card, and FIG. 7 shows a method for manufacturing an identification card with contacts on its surface. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing an identification card, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an apparatus for manufacturing an identification card. 1...Carrier element, 2...Safety area, 3...
Magnetic track, 4... Raised portion, 5... Contact surface, 6... Lead, 7, 17... Film carrier, 8... Window portion, 9, 19... Integrated circuit module, 10... Outer layer, 14 ...Laminating plate, 18...grooves.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An identification card providing electrically encoded accessible data, comprising: a rectangular card member having a standardized length and width, consisting of layers having a substantially predetermined thickness; and at least one elongated region extending generally parallel to the length thereof receives an inscription raised from one side of the card member so as to increase the overall thickness of the identification card beyond the thickness of the layer. an elongate carrier element attached to the card member having first and second portions spaced apart at opposite ends, the first portion being electrically conductive; an integrated circuit module containing digitally encoded data, the integrated circuit module being embedded within the casting so as to be capable of receiving the raised inscription on the surface of the identification card. The second portion is made of a flexible film thinner than the predetermined thickness so that unevenness is not formed by laminating the second portion outside the area where the second portion is laminated. The second part has a contact part connected to the integrated circuit module such that data within the integrated circuit module can be accessed, and the first part is completely connected to the card. characterized in that it is located within said region of the member, and said second part consists of a carrier element arranged in said card member such that said contact portion is located completely outside said region. identification card. 2. An identification card according to claim 1, characterized in that the thickness of the region is increased by increasing the thickness of the layer on both sides of the layer. 3. Identification card according to claim 1, characterized in that said area is embossed to increase its thickness. 4. said film comprises a thermally stable film having high tensile strength, said contact portions and leads connecting said contact portions to said integrated circuit module etching a conductive coating layer on said film; An identification card according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed by. 5. The identification card according to claim 1, wherein the film is made of a polyester film. 6. A carrier element of an integrated circuit module suitable for incorporation into a card member having portions of different thickness, comprising a substrate having first and second portions, said first portion being encapsulated in a casting compound. an integrated circuit module, the second portion comprising a sheet thinner than the integrated circuit module and connected to the casting compound;
A carrier element, characterized in that the sheet includes contact portions for the integrated circuit module and leads connecting the contact portion to the integrated circuit module. 7. The invention of claim 6, wherein the base body is an elongated member having ends, the integrated circuit module being disposed at one end of the base body, and the contact portion being disposed at the other end. carrier element. 8. The sheet is made of a thermally stable film having high tensile strength, and the contact portion and the lead wire are formed by etching a conductive coating layer on the film. A carrier element according to claim 6. 9. A carrier element according to claim 6, characterized in that said film comprises a polyester film.