JPH1148661A - Non-contact ic card and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an IC card of superior chemical and physical strength suitable for a thin type card, also provide a manufacturing method for manufacturing the IC card with high efficiency. SOLUTION: The outer periphery of a circuit module 4 is double-sealed by using a first laminate film 12 and a second laminate film 14. For a bonding agent 11 for bonding the first laminate film 12 on the circuit module 4 and a bonding agent 13 for bonding the second laminate film 14 outside of the first laminate film 12, either a bonding agent of same kind or bonding agents of different kind can be used. In the case of using the bonding agents of different kind, the bonding agent of low corrosion properties and superior environmental resistance is used for the inside, while the bonding agent of superior bonding strength and rigidity after curing is used for the outside. The manufacturing method is a take-up roll method.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a contactless IC card and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a casing structure and a casing method for a circuit module.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Contactless IC cards are being considered for use as substitutes for commuter passes, driver's licenses, telephone cards, cash cards, and the like. It is one of the most important technical issues how to reduce the unit price. In addition, non-contact IC cards used for commuter passes, telephone cards and the like are required to be thin, flexible, and excellent in chemical and mechanical durability.

Conventionally, as a casing of a non-contact IC card, after a circuit module is loaded into a base made of a molded article of a vinyl chloride resin or an ABS resin, a cover sheet made of a vinyl chloride sheet or the like is attached to the surface thereof. However, a non-contact IC card having such a configuration has a complicated manufacturing process and is likely to be expensive, and a thin and flexible card can be manufactured due to poor ductility of a base. It is difficult, and furthermore, since vinyl chloride resin or ABS resin is used as a casing material, heat resistance and chemical resistance are insufficient.

On the other hand, recently, as shown in FIG.
A circuit module 4 comprising an IC chip 1, an antenna coil 2 as a non-contact communication means, and a lead frame 3 for electrically connecting them is provided with an adhesive layer 5 on both sides.
A casing method of a lamination system in which sealing is carried out with a polyethylene-based laminate film 6 provided with is provided.

According to this method, the base made of a resin molded article can be omitted.
C cards can be manufactured at low cost. Further, since the circuit module is sealed with the polyethylene-based laminate film 6, the heat resistance and the chemical resistance can be improved as compared with the case where a cover sheet such as a vinyl chloride resin is used.

[0006]

However, in the conventional non-contact IC card illustrated in FIG. 3, since the circuit module 4 is sealed with one set of two laminated films 6,
Although it can be formed into a thin shape, it is difficult to absorb the thickness of the circuit module due to the deformation of the adhesive layer 5, and there is an inconvenience that the surface of the laminate film 6 tends to be uneven. A non-contact IC card, which is a product, is generally subjected to printing such as design printing on the surface of the laminate film 6, but if the surface of the laminate film 6 has irregularities, it becomes difficult to perform required printing neatly. , The yield of non-defective products deteriorates. In addition, since a non-contact IC card is handled by a finger, even a slight unevenness deteriorates the usability and impairs the commercial value.

[0007] These disadvantages can be solved by increasing the thickness of the adhesive layer 5, but if the thickness of the adhesive layer 5 is increased, the adhesive strength of the laminate film 6 is reduced.
Since the durability of the non-contact IC card deteriorates, it is practically impossible to increase the thickness of the adhesive layer 5 to a thickness that can solve the above-mentioned inconvenience.

The adhesive constituting the adhesive layer 5 has a low concentration of harmful impurities so as not to damage the IC chip 1, and has an environment resistance such as heat resistance, moisture resistance and chemical resistance. It is required to have excellent properties and to have sufficient rigidity after solidification. However, no single adhesive satisfies all of these chemical and physical properties. Will have any defects due to adhesive failure.

It is to be noted that such a disadvantage can be solved by potting a protective resin on the IC chip 1 and then laminating a laminate film provided with an adhesive layer having other properties, but the process becomes complicated. In addition, since it is difficult to make the card thinner, such a casing method cannot be practically adopted.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the disadvantages of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a non-contact IC card which is thin, easy to manufacture, and excellent in printability. In addition, to provide a non-contact IC card having high mechanical strength and excellent chemical stability, and a method for manufacturing such a non-contact IC card with high efficiency. It is in.

[0011]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an IC card includes a circuit module including an IC chip and a non-contact communication means sealed with a laminate film. In this non-contact IC card, the circuit module is double-sealed using two sets of laminated films. An antenna coil can be provided as the non-contact communication means.

[0012] Of the two sets of laminated films, an adhesive of a first laminated film directly adhered to the circuit module, and an adhesive of a second laminated film adhered to the outside of the first laminated film Is
The same type can be used, and those having different chemical and / or physical properties can be used. When a different kind of adhesive is used as the adhesive for the first and second laminate films, a cross-linking-curable resin having excellent environmental resistance is used as the adhesive for the first laminate film, and the second adhesive is used. As an adhesive for the laminate film, a thermoplastic resin or an elastomer excellent in adhesiveness and strength can be used.

As described above, when the circuit module is double-sealed with two sets of laminated films, the flatness of the surface is improved as compared with the case where the circuit module is sealed with only one set of two laminated films. Therefore, printability and usability can be improved. When different types of adhesives are used as the adhesive for the first and second laminated films, defects of the respective adhesives can be compensated for each other, so that the protection of the IC chip, the improvement of environmental resistance and the card The strength of the base can be increased at the same time.

On the other hand, in the method for manufacturing such a non-contact IC card, a step of preparing a circuit module connected body in which a number of required circuit modules are connected at a constant pitch is provided.
Preparing a first and a second laminated film raw material having an adhesive layer provided on one side, and simultaneously bonding the first laminated film raw material to both front and back surfaces of the circuit module connector, or Bonding the first laminate film raw material to both front and back surfaces of the module connection body, and then bonding the second laminate film raw material to both front and back surfaces of the first laminate film raw material; Cutting the manufactured IC card intermediate to obtain an IC card having a required shape and dimensions.

As described above, when the circuit module is connected and the first and second laminated films are used as raw materials, these members wound in a roll shape are successively fed out from the front end portion and continuously. Since the bonding can be performed, the bonding operation between the circuit module and the first and second laminated films can be made extremely efficient. Therefore, it is possible to improve the mass productivity of the non-contact IC card and to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A description will be given based on FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the non-contact IC card of the present embodiment includes a circuit module 4 including an IC chip 1, an antenna coil 2, and a lead frame 3, and a first adhesive layer 11 having a first adhesive layer 11 on one surface. It has a structure in which a laminate film 12 and a second laminate film 14 having a second adhesive layer 13 on one side are double-laminated.

As the IC chip 1, a bare chip having no resin mold is used in order to reduce the thickness of a product non-contact IC card. Further, as the antenna coil 2, a bulk coil formed by winding a conductive wire coated with an insulating coating is used. Further, the lead frame 3 is made of a highly conductive metal material and has a surface plated to enhance the connectivity with the IC chip 1 and the antenna coil 2.

Although any plastic film can be used as the first laminated film 12 and the second laminated film 14, it is excellent in heat resistance and chemical resistance, and when incinerated, emits harmful gas such as chlorine gas. It is particularly preferable to use a plastic film such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PEN (polyethylene naphthalate), or PES (polyethersulfone) because it is excellent in environmental properties without generation of water.

The first adhesive layer 11 provided on the first laminated film 12 and the second adhesive layer 13 provided on the second laminated film 14 are formed using the same kind of adhesive. Alternatively, it can be formed using different kinds of adhesives having different chemical and / or physical properties.

When different kinds of adhesives are used as the adhesives constituting the first and second adhesive layers 11 and 13, the IC chip 1 is used as the adhesive forming the first adhesive layer 11. For protection, strong adhesion to polyethylene plastic film, excellent moisture and water resistance,
Also, they do not contain elements that adversely affect the IC chip 1 such as halogen elements, nitrogen, oxygen, etc., or even if these elements are contained, their content is extremely low, and these elements are practically not contained. It is preferable to use a cross-linking-curable adhesive that can be considered as such, for example, a high-purity epoxy resin or an acrylic silicone resin. The second adhesive layer 13 is made of a thermoplastic resin or an elastomer having a high adhesive strength and a high strength after curing, such as a polyester or EV, in order to form a flexible card substrate with high strength.
A general hot melt adhesive such as A (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer), SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), and butyral resin can be used.

Hereinafter, examples of the non-contact IC card according to the present invention and comparative examples will be shown to clarify the effects of the present invention.

<Example> An IC chip 1 having a thickness of 100 μm was mounted on a lead alloy 3 made of 42 alloy having a thickness of 50 μm.
And the bulk coil 2 were connected to produce a circuit module 4 having a total thickness of 170 μm. The bonding between the IC chip 1 and the lead frame 3 is performed by gold bumps 1 a formed on the terminals of the IC chip 1 and silver plating 3 a applied to the lead frame 3.
Were bonded by thermocompression bonding, and the connection between the bulk coil 2 and the lead frame 3 was performed by soldering 2a.

A 25 μm thick PET film having a high-purity epoxy resin layer formed on one side as the first laminated film 12 is adhered from both front and back sides of the circuit module 4 to form an intermediate having a total thickness of 280 μm. Was prepared.

Next, a 50 μm-thick PET film having a polyester resin layer formed on one surface was bonded as the second laminated film 14 from both the front and back surfaces of the intermediate.

Finally, the second laminated film 1
4 is subjected to a required design printing, and the outer periphery is punched into a required shape and dimensions.
A non-contact IC card having a structure of μm shown in FIG. 1 was produced.

<First Comparative Example> A PET film having a thickness of 75 μm and having a high-purity epoxy resin layer formed on one side from the front and back sides of the circuit module 4 was adhered to the circuit module 4 to form a total thickness of 50.
A 0 μm non-contact IC card having the configuration shown in FIG. 3 was manufactured.

<Second Comparative Example> A 75-μm-thick PET film having a polyester resin layer formed on one side from the front and back surfaces of the circuit module 4 was adhered, and the total thickness was 500
A μm non-contact IC card having a configuration shown in FIG. 3 was manufactured.

In the non-contact IC card according to the embodiment, the surface of the second laminated film 14 could be formed flat. As a result, good printing could be performed on the surface. On the other hand, the non-contact I according to the first comparative example and the second comparative example
In the case of the C card, a thickness change corresponding to the buried portion of the circuit module 4 and the other portion appeared on the surface of the PET film as a laminate film, and good printing could not be performed.

The above three types of non-contact IC cards were subjected to 100 bending tests, 50 times each, and the non-contact IC cards according to the examples showed no change in appearance and function. On the other hand, in the non-contact IC cards according to the first and second comparative examples, wrinkles occurred due to bending, although the degree varied. From this test result, the non-contact IC card of the present invention in which the circuit module 4 was double-laminated with two sets of four laminated films 12 and 14 showed that the circuit module 4 was laminated with one set of two laminated films. It was confirmed that the mechanical strength was superior to the non-contact IC card according to the comparative example.

Further, the above three types of non-contact IC cards were left for 50 hours in an environment of 30 ° C. and 80% RH for 50 hours, and a chemical durability test was performed.
While the non-contact IC card according to the example and the non-contact IC card according to the first comparative example did not show any change in appearance and function, the non-contact IC card according to the second comparative example did not.
As for the C card, the wiring portion was corroded on three of the fifty cards, resulting in an electrical malfunction. From this test result,
The non-contact IC card according to the present invention in which the periphery of the IC chip 1 is sealed with a high-purity epoxy resin layer and the non-contact IC card according to the first comparative example have the periphery of the IC chip 1 sealed with a polyester resin layer. It was confirmed that the non-contact IC card according to the second comparative example had better chemical durability.

Next, a preferred method of manufacturing the non-contact IC card according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a number of required circuit modules 4 are connected at a constant pitch, and a circuit module connected body wound in a roll shape and a required adhesive layer are provided on one surface, and are wound in a roll shape. Two rolls of the first laminate film raw material and two rolls of the second laminate film raw material provided with a required adhesive layer on one surface and wound into a roll are prepared.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, two windings of the first laminate film 22a and 22b are arranged above and below the circuit module connector 21 with the adhesive layer facing inward. Further, two turns of the second laminated film raw materials 23a and 23b are arranged above and below the first laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b with the adhesive layer facing inward.

Then, the circuit module connector 21 and the first
The leading ends of the laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b and the second laminated film raw materials 23a and 23b are pulled out from the respective rolls, and these are inserted through a bonding roller 24, so that the first and second surfaces of the circuit module connecting body 21 The second laminated film raw materials 23a and 23b are bonded to both the front and back surfaces of the first laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b while bonding the laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b.

Next, the I manufactured through these steps is
The required design printing is performed on the surface of the C card intermediate, and finally the required portion is cut to obtain a non-contact IC card having the required shape and dimensions.

As described above, when the circuit modules are connected to each other and the first and second laminated films are used as raw materials, each of these members wound in a roll shape is continuously fed while being sequentially fed out from the front end. Since the bonding can be performed, the bonding operation between the circuit module and the first and second laminated films can be made extremely efficient. Therefore, it is possible to improve the mass productivity of the non-contact IC card and to reduce the manufacturing cost.

In the above-described embodiment, the first laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b are adhered to the circuit module connector 21 and the second laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b are adhered to the first laminated film raw materials 22a and 22b. The bonding of the first laminate films 22a and 22b to the circuit module connector 21 was performed simultaneously with the bonding of the anti-bonding members 23a and 23b.
The second raw laminate films 23a and 23b can be bonded to the first raw laminate films 22a and 22b.

[0038]

As described above, the non-contact I of the present invention
Since the outer periphery of the circuit module is double-sealed using two sets of laminated films, the C card has high strength, is thin and flexible, and has excellent mechanical and chemical protection functions for the IC chip.

The method for manufacturing a non-contact IC card according to the present invention is characterized in that the circuit module is connected, and the first and second laminate films are used as raw materials and each of these members is wound into a roll. Are continuously attached while being sequentially fed out from the front end, so that the work of bonding the circuit module to the first and second laminate films can be made extremely efficient, and the mass productivity of the non-contact IC card can be improved. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a non-contact IC card according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a method of manufacturing a non-contact IC card according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of a non-contact IC card according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 IC chip 2 Antenna coil 3 Lead frame 4 Circuit module 11 1st adhesive layer 12 1st laminated film 13 2nd adhesive layer 14 2nd laminated film 21 Circuit module connection body 22a, 22b 1st laminated Raw film 23a, 23b Second laminated film raw 24 Bonding roller

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A non-contact IC card in which a circuit module including an IC chip and non-contact communication means is sealed with a laminate film, wherein the circuit module is double-layered using two sets of laminate films. A non-contact IC card, characterized in that the IC card is sealed. 2. The non-contact IC card according to claim 1, wherein, of the two sets of laminated films, an adhesive of a first laminated film directly adhered to the circuit module, and the first laminated film A non-contact IC card characterized in that the adhesive of the second laminate film adhered to the outside of the substrate has different chemical and / or physical properties. 3. The non-contact IC card according to claim 2, wherein a cross-linking curable resin having excellent environmental resistance is used as an adhesive for the first laminated film, and the adhesive for the second laminated film is used as an adhesive for the second laminated film. A non-contact IC card using a thermoplastic resin or an elastomer excellent in adhesiveness and strength. 4. The non-contact IC card according to claim 1, further comprising an antenna coil as said non-contact communication means. 5. A step of preparing a circuit module connection body in which a plurality of required circuit modules are connected at a constant pitch, and preparing first and second raw material laminate films having an adhesive layer provided on one side. And bonding the first laminate film raw material to both front and back surfaces of the circuit module connection body, or after bonding the first laminate film raw material to both front and back surfaces of the circuit module connection body, Bonding the second laminate film raw material to both the front and back surfaces of the laminate film raw material, and cutting the IC card intermediate produced through these steps to obtain an IC card having a required shape and dimensions And a method for manufacturing a non-contact IC card.