JPH0511040B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an IC card, and particularly to an IC card with an improved structure of its electrode terminal portion.

[Conventional technology]

Here, an IC card is used in place of a conventional card with a magnetic stripe, etc., and has a memory IC, CPU, and other semiconductor pieces built into the base of the card, and has a larger number of chips than a conventional card with a magnetic stripe. It can have a storage capacity of several orders of magnitude or more, and can also have arbitrary arithmetic functions.

Figures 12a and 12b are a plan view and a sectional view showing the conventional electrode structure of such an IC card.
3 and 14 show other conventional electrode structures for IC cards. In the figure, 1 is an electrode connected to the electrode terminal on the card reading device (reader) side, 2 is a plastic or alumina printed circuit board,
Reference numeral 3 designates a card base made of molded resin such as plastic that accommodates the printed circuit board 2, and reference numeral 4 designates a resin sealing portion formed by resin-sealing the semiconductor element fixed onto the printed circuit board 2.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In conventional IC cards such as those mentioned above, the electrodes are exposed to the outside, so the electrodes come into direct contact with the human body, equipment, etc., and the internal IC chip is damaged by static electricity induced from them. There was a problem in that it was destroyed.

Furthermore, since the electrode terminals on the card side and the electrode terminals on the reader side are brought into contact with each other, it is not always possible to obtain reliable electrical contact at all contact points. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a simple structure that prevents electrostatic damage, achieves even higher fitting accuracy, and improves the connection between the electrode terminals on the IC card side and the electrodes on the reader side. The purpose is to provide an IC card that can achieve reliable contact with terminals.

[Means for solving problems]

In the IC card according to the present invention, the card body has an IC and a conductor pattern electrically connected to the IC, and the connector is configured separately from the card body and is a receiving device for receiving an electrode terminal on the reader side. and an electrode terminal inside the receiving part, and the electrode terminal of the connector and the conductor pattern of the card body are electrically connected.

[Effect]

In the IC card configured as above,
There is no direct contact between the human body or equipment and the electrode terminals on the IC card side, and furthermore, the electrode terminals on the IC card side and the electrode terminals on the reader side are electrically connected appropriately.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1a and 1b are ICs according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
A plan view and a cross-sectional view showing the card.
The same reference numerals as in the figure indicate the same parts. The card body is composed of a printed circuit board 2, a card base 3, a resin sealing part 4, etc., and is the part other than the connector 6 that constitutes the IC card. In the figure, 6 is a connector provided on the side surface of the card base 3. As shown in the enlarged view in Figure 1c, this connector 6 is formed by resin molding or the like, and each terminal is independent A cover member 6a having a plurality of holes 7 formed therein and functioning as a receiving portion for receiving electrode terminals on the reader side, and a female electrode terminal 1 fixed to the hole 7 of this cover member 6a.
It is made up of After electrically connecting the female terminal 1 to the connecting conductor pattern 2a on the printed circuit board 2, the connector 6 is assembled and bonded to the card base 3, and is integrated with the card base 3. Reference numeral 8 denotes a fitting portion with the card base 3 provided on the outer periphery of the connector 6, so that the connector 6 and the card base 3 are accurately and firmly fixed to each other. In addition, when integrating the connector 6 and the card base 3,
As shown in FIG. 2a, the base 3 may be made into an integrally molded structure, and the card base 3 may be fitted and fixed, or as shown in FIG. good. For an IC card configured in this manner, the electrode terminal portion on the card reading device (reader) side may be configured as shown in FIG. 3. That is, 11 is a connector on the reader side, 11a is a cover member thereof, 1
1b is a male electrode terminal.

When reading an IC card, the IC card is read.
The electrode terminal part of the card, that is, the left side part in FIG. , both electrode terminals 1 and 11b may be electrically connected.

In this embodiment, the connector 6 is provided on the side surface of the card base 3, and the electrode terminal 1 is provided inside the connector 6, so that the electrode terminal 1 does not come into direct contact with the human body or equipment, and the inside of the card does not come into contact with the electrode terminal 1. IC chips can be prevented from being damaged by electrostatic discharge.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the dimensions of the insertion/extraction area of the connector 6 with the reader side connector are standardized (common), mass productivity can be greatly improved. This will be explained in detail using FIGS. 4 and 5.

First, Figure 4a is a front view of the electrode terminal part of the card.
Figure b is a side view of the same, and the dimensions of the insertion/extraction area of the electrode terminal portion with the mating end are standardized as height (thickness) T, width N, and depth L. The thickness dimension of the card base 3 in this case is Z, and even if this thickness dimension Z changes due to the increase or decrease of the internal semiconductor elements 4 of the IC card, the dimension of the electrode terminal portion (T
×N×L), the connector 6 can be made common, and mass productivity is greatly improved.

In addition, FIG. 5 also shows an example in which the dimensions of the electrode terminal portion are made common as described above, and FIG. 5 a is a front view;
Figure b is a sectional view taken along the line A-A. This example is
The width of the card is the common width dimension N of the electrode terminal part.
This is an example of a case where the value is larger than .

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which guide holes 9 functioning as guide means are provided outside a plurality of holes 7 formed in a cover member 6a of a connector 6. By providing a guide pin on the reader side corresponding to the guide hole 9 that is longer than the electrode terminal pin, the card and the reader can be connected smoothly. That is, when connecting the two, first the guide pin of the reader is inserted into the guide hole 9 of the card, and as a result, the positioning of both is performed with high accuracy, and therefore the connection of the male and female terminals is performed smoothly. .

Further, by providing the guide hole 9, the connector 6, printed circuit board 2, and card base 3 can be easily and precisely aligned during manufacturing. Note that the number of the guide holes 9 may be one or more. Furthermore, if the guide holes 9 are provided asymmetrically, it becomes impossible to connect the card and the leads in the opposite direction, and malfunctions and destruction of the IC chip can be avoided.

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the connector 6 and the card base 3 are brought into line contact at a joint 10. That is, the connector 6 and the card base 3 are
The ends where the two contact each other are undercut, and with this configuration, the two come into contact not in a plane but in a line. Therefore, there is no gap between the two, resulting in a beautiful appearance.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which an electrode terminal portion (connector) is also provided at the other end of the IC card in order to expand the functionality. The configuration of each part is similar to that shown in the example of FIG. 1 above.
In this way, when the number of ICs mounted is small, the connectors 6 can be provided at both ends of the card, and the effect of the IC card can be maximized. Further, in this example, each printed circuit board 2 can be equipped with respective functions such as EPROM and RAM.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the embodiment of FIG. 8 is applied to connect IC cards in multiple stages in the vertical direction.

Figures 10a and 10b show a fifth embodiment, which is
FIG. 6 is a plan view and a sectional view when the connector 6 is mounted on the top surface of the IC card. The basic structure of each part is the same as that of each of the above embodiments, and in the case of this embodiment, as shown in Figure c, the mating board can be attached to the top surface of the card, and high-density mounting with a multilayer structure is possible. Become. Here, in FIG. 10c, 11 is the mating connector, 12 is the mating printed circuit board, 1
Reference numeral 3 indicates components to be mounted on the printed circuit board 2 of the other party.

FIG. 11 shows the example shown in FIG. 10 above.
IC cards are connected in multiple stages in the plane direction.
According to this, high-density mounting becomes possible, and the device becomes compact without wasting space.

Although the electrodes 1 in the connector 6 shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 are arranged in two rows, they may be arranged in one row, resulting in the same structure as in each of the above embodiments.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, a rubber resin may be buried in the hole of the connector, and when the mating socket is connected, the resin may be elastically deformed to connect the terminals of the two. According to
Normally, dust does not enter the terminal area,
It is possible to significantly reduce the amount of dirt on the terminals.

Furthermore, the electrode 1 may be either a male connector or a male contact, and its shape is not limited to the shapes of the above-mentioned embodiments, and various shapes can be considered.

In any of the embodiments, the electrode terminals of the connector 6 are housed inside a receiving portion in which the connector 6 receives the electrode terminals of the reading device.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention is configured as described above, and by providing electrode terminals inside the receiving part of the connector, the electrode terminals on the card side do not come into direct contact with the human body or the equipment, and can be mounted inside. It can prevent IC from being damaged by static electricity.

Further, in the present invention, the connector is configured separately from the card body, and the connector is configured to have a receiving part for receiving the electrode terminal on the reading device side and an electrode terminal inside the receiving part. The electrode terminals on the connector can be press-fitted to make electrical contact, and the electrode terminals on the card side can be molded with high accuracy to match the dimensions of the electrode terminals on the reader side.
Improves insertion accuracy and enables reliable electrical connection,
It is possible to provide highly reliable IC cards that do not malfunction.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1a is a plan view of an IC card according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1b is a partial sectional view thereof, and FIG.
Figure c is a partially enlarged perspective view, Figure 2 is a diagram showing the connector section of the IC card, Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the mating connector, Figures 4a, b, and 5a, b is a diagram for explaining an example in which the dimensions of the connector part are made common in the above IC card, and FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are diagrams showing the second, third, and fourth embodiments of the present invention. Figure 9 shows an example.
By applying the fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in the figure, an IC
A diagram showing an example of a case where cards are connected in multiple stages in the vertical direction, FIG. 10a is according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10B is a plan view of the IC card, FIG. 10B is a partial sectional view thereof, FIG.
Figures 12a and 12a are diagrams showing an example of a case where the embodiment is applied and multiple connections are made in the direction of the surface of the IC card.
b, FIG. 13, and FIG. 14 are diagrams showing conventional IC cards. 1... Electrode terminal, 2... Printed circuit board, 3...
Card base, 4... Resin sealing part, 6... Connector, 6a... Cover member, 7... Hole, 8... Fitting part, 9... Guide hole. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A card body having an IC and a conductive pattern electrically connected to the card body, and a receiving portion configured separately from the card body for receiving an electrode terminal on the reader side; An IC card, comprising: a connector having an electrode terminal inside a receiving portion; and an electrode terminal of the connector and a conductive pattern of the card body electrically connected. 2. The connector includes: a cover member formed by resin molding; a plurality of holes drilled in the cover member; and female terminals fixed to each hole. IC card described in Section 1. 3. The IC card according to claim 2, wherein the connector has a fitting portion with the card body on its outer peripheral portion. 4. Claim 2 or 3, wherein the connector has guide means outside the plurality of holes formed in the cover member.
IC card listed in section. 5. The IC card according to claim 4, wherein the guide means is provided asymmetrically with respect to the connection between the IC card and the connector. 6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connector is incorporated into one end of the IC card main body.
IC card. 7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connector is incorporated in both ends of the IC card body.
IC card.