JPH1199781A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an IC card for reducing printing work manhours and improving design properties. SOLUTION: A main body 2 is constituted of a thin laminate formed of a pair of cover sheets 11 and 12 provided with a base sheet 13 and a spacer sheet 14 between them, and a transmitting and receiving antenna 18, a circuit pattern 24 and a control section 15 are provided on the base sheet 13, and the spacer sheet 14 is provided adjoining the base sheet so that the control section 15 is positioned inside the spacer sheet 13. Card issuer recorded faces 4 are formed on the cover sheets 11 and 12 adjoining the base sheet 13, while caution discrimination faces 6 are formed on other cover sheets 11 and 12, and bonded recorded faces are so printed on the surface as to mask the transmitting and receiving antenna 18 demonstrated on the surface through the cover sheets 11 and 12, and the brightness of the card issuer recorded face 4 is formed darker than the brightness of the note discrimination recorded face 6 so that the printing darker than the brightness of the transmitting and receiving antenna 18 demonstrated through the cover sheets 11 and 12 is carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an IC for a processor or the like.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an IC card that receives power and transmits / receives information signals to / from an external device in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic waves or magnetic coupling, and a method of manufacturing the same. It relates to a manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, IC cards having a built-in IC such as a processor have attracted attention as storage media such as electronic money and prepaid cards. Conventional IC cards mainly use an interface to transmit information to a reader / writer, which is a higher-level terminal device. However, recently, the development of a non-contact type IC card and a reader / writer which have few contact failures and are reliable has been advanced.

[0003] Non-contact IC cards have the following
There are contact type, proximity type and remote type. Among these types of contact type IC cards, the international standard ISO10536, which defines coil position, shape, electrical characteristics, etc., has been established. And the development of reader / writer. According to this international standard, when transmitting information between an IC card and a reader / writer, the positional accuracy of the transmitting and receiving antennas is specified to be about 2 mm.

[0004] These non-contact IC cards are becoming thinner in consideration of handling. For example, JP-A-8-3164
Japanese Patent Publication No. 11 proposes an IC card having a thickness of 500 μm or less by filling a capacitor, a printed coil, and a thin integrated circuit between upper and lower cover sheets with an adhesive.

[0005]

According to the above prior art,
Although the portability is improved by reducing the thickness, it is necessary to form a thin outer sheet for protecting the IC card and improving the design property because of the reduction in the thickness. As a result, a new problem arises in that the internal transmitting / receiving antenna or IC element can be seen through from the outside through the exterior sheet.

[0006] The problem that the inside can be seen through is that not only the internal structure that has no merit for the user is reflected on the outer surface and the design is impaired, but also the inside becomes visible.
It gives the user an unnecessary urge to want to damage the circuit or antenna with a needle or the like. Furthermore, in order to solve this problem, the printing performed on the surface of the exterior sheet is made thicker, so that there is a problem that the cost is increased due to an increase in the number of printing steps.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an IC card in which the number of printing steps is reduced and the design is improved.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the main body of an IC card is constituted by a thin laminate in which a substrate sheet and a spacer sheet are provided between a pair of cover sheets. And between the substrate sheet and an external device,
A transmission / reception antenna for transmitting power and transmitting an information signal by electromagnetic coupling, a control unit including a circuit pattern and a memory for storing information are provided, and the control unit is located inside the spacer sheet. The cover sheet adjacent to the substrate sheet is provided with a first printing surface constituting an outer surface thereof, and another cover serving as a back surface of the first printing surface is provided. The sheet has a second printing surface constituting an outer surface thereof, and the first printing surface and the second printing surface are entirely printed so as to cover the transmitting / receiving outside antenna appearing on the surface via a cover sheet. , The first printed surface is a card issuer written surface, and the second written surface is a cautionary description written surface.

In this case, the card issuer writing surface is formed so as to have a lower brightness than the caution explanation writing surface, and a print darker than the transmission / reception antenna brightness appearing on the first printing surface via the cover sheet is provided. To be applied.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a schematic structure and main features of a non-contact IC card according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a development view of a non-contact IC card.

In FIG. 1, a non-contact IC card is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. An integrated circuit or the like is built in a card body 2 in which a plurality of thin sheets having flexibility are stacked. The surface A of 2 is the card issuer description surface 4,
By providing the cautionary description surface 6 on the front surface B, which is the back surface of the front surface A, the number of printing steps is reduced and the design is improved.

The IC card 1 includes a card body 2, a transmitting / receiving antenna 18 built in the card body 2, and a plurality of chips such as a control unit 15, a communication unit 16, and a power supply unit 17.

The card body 2 has a laminated structure in which a substrate sheet 13 and a spacer sheet 14 are sandwiched between a pair of cover sheets 11 and 12.

The substrate sheet 13 is a sheet material on which a circuit device or the like built in the IC card 1 is mounted, and a transmitting / receiving antenna 18 and an IC card are provided on one long side 2a side (upper side in the drawing) of the card body 2. 1, a circuit pattern 24 connected to the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is printed on one end 2d side (right end side in the drawing) in the longitudinal direction, and the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17 are connected to both long sides of the circuit pattern 24. 2a side and 2
It is mounted separately on the b side.

Further, on the substrate sheet 13, test terminal portions 19a and 19b comprising a plurality of terminals for inspecting circuit wiring in the IC card 1 are provided near the control section 15 and the power supply section 17. .

Here, the substrate sheet 13 of FIG. 1 is shown transparently on the back surface of the substrate sheet 13 for convenience of explanation. Actually, the circuit pattern 2 is provided on the back surface of the substrate sheet 13.
4 is printed, and the control unit 15 and the communication unit 1
6 and the chip of the power supply unit 17 are attached. The transmission / reception antenna 18 is printed on both sides to increase the number of turns of the antenna.

The spacer sheet 14 absorbs the convex shapes of the plurality of chips (the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17) attached to the IC card 1, and
Of the substrate sheet 1 in the drawing.
In order to adjust the thickness of the chip attached to the back surface of 3, the openings 20, 21,
22 are formed. Similarly, test terminals 19a,
Openings 23a and 23b are also formed at positions corresponding to 19b.

The pair of cover sheets 11 and 12 protect the substrate sheet 13 and the spacer sheet 14 and print the outer surfaces A and B of various IC cards 1 and 2.
Is provided.

In this embodiment, the pair of cover sheets 11, 12 and the substrate sheet 13 and the spacer sheet 14 constituting the card body 2 are made of a white PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet material.
In this white PET sheet, since the thickness of the card body 2 is less than 0.5 mm, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 and the circuit pattern 24 printed on the substrate sheet 13 through the cover sheets 11 and 12 are provided. Alternatively, the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, the power supply unit 17, and the like are seen through. In particular, in this embodiment, there is a large difference between the appearance of the inside of the front surface A and the inside of the front surface B which is the back surface. That is, since the front surface A covers the receiving antenna 18 printed on both sides of the substrate sheet 13 with only the cover sheet 11, the inside is easily visible. On the other hand, since the spacer sheet 14 is provided between the cover sheet 12 and the substrate sheet 13 on the surface B, the inside is less visible than the surface A. In general, the card issuer description surface 4 is to make a third party clearly recognize the issuing company, and therefore all the issuing companies print the entire surface in various colors. On the other hand, the cautionary description surface 6 of the front surface B, which is the back surface of the front surface A, is printed on the entire surface, but the background is based on white in order to display the explanatory characters for ease of viewing.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the card issuer writing surface 4 to be printed on the entire surface is the surface A where the inside is easy to see, and the caution explanation writing surface 6 whose background is based on white is the surface B where the inside is hard to see. By doing so, the number of printing steps for both sides is reduced. Further, the card owner column 5 is provided on the long side 2b where the receiving antenna 18, the circuit pattern 24 or the control unit 15 and the communication unit 16 are not arranged, and at a position avoiding the power supply unit 17. . Where, in general,
Since the owner column 5 is mainly composed of characters and the background is based on white as in the case of the cautionary description, the designability may be impaired because there is nothing visible even if the inside is visible. Absent.

As described above, according to the non-contact IC card 1 according to the present embodiment, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18
The chip is attached by printing the circuit pattern 24 or the spacer sheet 1 between the pair of cover sheets 11 and 12.
4, the structure is easy to manufacture. Moreover, by providing the spacer sheet 14 for absorbing the unevenness of the main functional element, the IC card 1 can be easily made to have a uniform thickness. In this embodiment, an IC having a thin laminated structure employing the spacer sheet 14 is used.
Utilizing the difference between the surface A which makes the inside of the card 1 easily visible and the surface B which is hard to see, the card issuer writing surface 4 and the caution explanation writing surface 6 are specified and the cover sheets 11 and 12 are printed. As a result, the number of printing steps is reduced and the design is improved.

Further, in this embodiment, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is arranged on one side of the long side 2a of the IC card 1 and is distributed to both long sides 2a and 2b, and on one side 2d in the longitudinal direction. Since the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17 are offset, the card owner column 5 is provided on the long side 2 b having no functional element opposite to the transmission / reception antenna 18. In addition, the number of printing steps is reduced and the design is improved. Moreover, since no other functional elements are provided inside the card holder column 5,
Even if the card owner's name etc. is given, for example, uneven characters,
Since the function as the IC card 1 is not impaired, a conventional embossing identification method can be employed, so that it can be easily used in combination with another card.

Further, since the chip composed of the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17 is arranged at a distance from the center of the IC card 1, the chip of the chip due to the maximum bending stress generated at the center of the IC card 1. Since damage can be reduced, portability can be improved. In addition, by providing the test terminal portions 19a and 19b near the chip, the wiring of the circuit pattern 24 can be minimized, and the inspection can be performed easily.

Hereinafter, the IC card 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First, the outer shape of a non-contact IC card will be described with reference to FIG. 2A and 2B are external views of a non-contact IC card. FIG. 2A is a front view, and FIG. 2B is a rear view.

The IC card 1 of this embodiment has a thickness similar to various prepaid cards having a thickness of about 0.25 mm, and its appearance is large enough to be used in cash cards and various prepaid cards. It has a substantially rectangular shape with an edge.

In FIG. 2, as described above, the IC card 1 according to this embodiment has the card issuer writing surface 4 as shown in FIG. The surface B shown in FIG. The front surface A is subjected to multi-color printing of full-surface printing for printing on the entire card surface, and issuance of an IC card 1 such as, for example, a “XXXXX card” on one long side 2a side of the card body 2 Card issuer column 4 where company is listed
The card issuer description surface 4 is configured to include “a”. The card issuer description surface 4 also serves as a "face" of the card, and is used to make it distinguishable from other cards or to make it stand out. It assumes multicolor printing with the following colors. In other words, although it is shown in the drawing by diagonal lines, it is composed of, for example, symbolic photographs and designs of card issuers, various landscape photographs, people, characters, and the like. The layout of the card issuer column 4a is not particularly specified, and it is sufficient that the card issuer column 4a has a card identification effect in combination with a card design or the like.

On the other long side 2b side of the card issuer column 4a, the name of the owner who owns the IC card 1 such as "0101666 999999" is transferred from the card issuer. An owner column 5 is provided, such as "Taro Yamada", which is indicated by a member number and a name. In this embodiment, the owner column 5 is provided on the front surface A in consideration of the importance of the card owner information. However, the owner column 5 may be provided at the same position on the front surface B as the back surface of the front surface A. In this way, since the front surface A can be used as a dedicated area of the card issuer writing surface 4, various designs are possible. In addition, the owner column 5
And the functional elements such as the transmission / reception antenna 18 are provided separately, so that, for example, the notation in the owner column 5 can be expressed by embossed characters.

On the other hand, the front surface B, which is the back surface of the IC card 1 shown in FIG. 2B, is subjected to white solid printing of full-surface printing for printing on the entire card surface, so that precautions in card use are indicated. The noted attention explanation column 6a is printed.

In this embodiment, the sheet material is a PET film which is preferable in terms of mechanical strength and cost. However, since this PET film has a glossy surface and has a water-repelling property, it is a material that is difficult to print due to poor paint adhesion. Further, with a PET film, it is difficult to print characters and symbols by printing such as sublimation, melting, and thermal transfer. Therefore, in this embodiment, the entire surface is printed with a UV (ultra violet) curable resin paint in order to solve the above problem. That is, offset printing or silk printing is performed with a UV curable resin paint (ultraviolet curable resin paint),
The UV-curable resin paint is dried by irradiating ultraviolet rays.

Also, in this embodiment, the notation information on the card holder is personal information and cannot be attached at the time of the printing in which a large amount of printing is performed, and therefore, the receiving layer (coating material, surface treatment curtain, etc.) is required at the time of the printing. ) Is applied to form the owner column 5, and then the receiving layer is provided with letters and symbols relating to the card owner by a thermal transfer method. For example, in order to improve the adhesion between the printing material (the surface of the IC card 1) and the printing paint, a primer having an SP value close to the SP value (solubility parameter) of the printing material may be used. S of PET material used in this embodiment
Since the P value is 10.7, an SP value close to this SP value,
For example, a primer having an SP value of 1.0 or less as a receiving layer
It is applied to the surface of the IC card 1 to create the owner column 5. Further, as the printing paint, a paint having reactivity such as acid modification (hydroxyl group, hydrogen group) or the like to the material used as the primer may be used.

In place of the receiving layer, the surface of the owner column 5 is physically or scientifically roughened to improve ink paste, and an area having a different surface roughness from other portions is formed. Is also good. For example, blasting may be performed by spraying a large number of fine plastic balls or fine sand. In this case, since no functional element is provided inside the owner column 5, the processing does not impair the function of the IC card 1. Further, the owner column 5
May be created with another sheet member (seal) and attached with an adhesive or the like.

As described above, according to the IC card 1 of the present embodiment, the non-contact IC card 1 capable of performing various design processes while maintaining mechanical strength is provided. In addition, since the owner column 5 is provided, which can also be described with uneven characters, the discriminability can be improved.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a system configuration employing the non-contact IC card according to the present embodiment and a circuit configuration of the non-contact IC card will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the non-contact IC card according to the present invention and peripheral devices, and FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the non-contact IC card according to the present invention.

In FIG. 3, a non-contact type according to this embodiment is shown.
The IC card 1 transmits and receives power and signals between the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 provided inside and the transmitting / receiving antenna 240 provided in an external device such as the reader / writer 200.

The IC card 1 has a power supply circuit 110 including a power supply circuit section 111 and a capacitor section 112;
Transmission / reception control circuit 120, CPU 130, memory 14
0 and a pair of transmitting and receiving antennas 18. on the other hand,
The reader / writer 2 includes a power transmission circuit 210, a reader / writer control circuit 220, a modulation / demodulation circuit 230
And a transmitting / receiving antenna 240.

The reader / writer 200 is connected to a host controller 300, for example, a personal computer or the like, via a signal line, and transmits an information signal and power of the host controller 300 to the IC card 1 based on an operation instruction of the host controller 300. Send to The reader / writer control circuit 220 generates a 4.91 MHz clock (which is also a carrier signal for power supply), and
The two-phase PSK modulation with a 90-degree phase determined by IS010536 in the modulation / demodulation circuit 230 and the P-phase modulation with the 90-degree phase
The SK modulation signal (digital signal) is converted into a sine wave signal and amplified to generate data (downlink data) to the IC card 1 and drive the transmitting / receiving antenna 240
It is transmitted to the IC card 1 by radio waves (electromagnetic waves).

The data (uplink data) from the IC card 1 to the reader / writer 200 is transmitted and received by the transmission / reception antenna 24.
0, and the demodulation circuit 230 performs amplification, extracts necessary waveforms, performs digital signal conversion, and performs PSK demodulation, demodulates and reproduces data (upstream data), and transmits signals to the host controller 300.

On the other hand, the IC card 1 is
, The power supply circuit 110 generates a DC voltage, and the transmission / reception control circuit 120 demodulates downlink data and modulates uplink data.
The demodulated signal writes data to the memory 140 via the CPU 130, and conversely, the uplink data read from the memory 140 is transmitted to the CPU 140 and the transmission / reception control circuit 1.
The transmission / reception antenna 18 is driven via 20 and transmitted to the reader / writer 200 side by radio waves (electromagnetic waves).

The IC card 1 according to the present embodiment comprises the control unit 1 shown in FIG.
5, the transmission / reception control circuit 120 and the power supply circuit unit 111 constitute a chip of the communication unit 16, and the capacitor unit 112 constitutes a chip of the power supply unit 17.
The detailed circuit of the IC card 1 will be further described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, first, the CPU 130 constituting the control unit 15 includes a VCC terminal 131, a DI01 terminal 132, a DI02 terminal 133, and a CLK terminal 134.
, An RST terminal 135, and a GND terminal 136. In this embodiment, at least the VCC terminal 131 and DI01 are used to check the operation state of the CPU 130.
A signal line is drawn from the terminal 132, the DI02 terminal 133, the CLK terminal 134, the RST terminal 135, and the GND terminal 136, or from a partner terminal connected to the terminal, and connected to each terminal of the test terminal portions 19a and 19b. I have.
In addition, the test terminals 19a and 19b are provided with test terminals connected to input / output terminals (shown by a circle in the drawing) of signal lines provided on the chip of the communication unit 16 shown in FIG. A more detailed inspection may be possible.

The IC card 1 can obtain power and a signal by the transmission / reception antenna 18 electromagnetically coupled to the transmission / reception antenna 240 of the reader / writer 200. The signal guided to the communication unit 16 is the power supply circuit unit 1
11 is connected to the VCC terminal 131 of the CPU 130. In the power supply circuit section 111, a rectifier circuit 113 generates a DC voltage, a limiter 114 limits a voltage and reduces power concentration, and a constant voltage circuit 115 stabilizes the DC power supply to a predetermined voltage. In the power supply circuit section 111, a smoothing capacitor (1) 112a is provided between the rectifier circuit 113 and the limiter 114 to smooth current, and a smoothing capacitor (1) is provided between the VCC terminal 131 and the chip of the communication section 16. 2) By providing 112b, current is smoothed and voltage drop due to load fluctuation is reduced.

The current stabilized by the constant voltage circuit 115 is also connected to the power-on RES circuit 116. The power-on RES circuit 116 detects power-on and
A PWRRES-N signal for initializing the circuit of the card 1 is output, and the signal is input to the timing generation circuit 127. Upon receiving the signal, the timing generation circuit 127 informs the downlink data demodulation circuit 124 of the initial value of the signal according to the timing based on IS010536.
N signal and RST signal
To the RST terminal 135 to initialize the IC card 1.

The signal guided to the communication section 16 is transmitted to the DI0 of the CPU 130 through the transmission / reception control circuit 120.
2 terminal 132, CLK terminal 134 and RST terminal 135
Connected to. In the transmission / reception control circuit 120, the reception signal branched from the transmission / reception antenna 18 is
The signal is converted from 1 into a digital signal by the binarization circuit 122, and the downstream signal demodulation circuit 124 performs processing such as demodulation using the digital signal, and connects to the DI01 terminal of the CPU 130. The clock generated by the clock generation circuit 123 is generated based on the digital signal, and the demodulated signal is obtained by sampling the digital signal at the rising edge of the clock signal. Clock generation circuit 1
The clock 23 branches and is connected to the timing generation circuit 127, and is connected to the CLK terminal 134 and the RST terminal 135 of the CPU 130.

On the other hand, an output signal (uplink data) output from the CPU 130 via the DI02 terminal is modulated via the uplink data modulation circuit 125 and
6. The transmitting / receiving antenna 18 via the resonance capacitor 128
It is driven to apply a load to the output.

Next, the printing position and the arrangement position of each part of the non-contact IC card 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a schematic layout diagram of the non-contact IC card according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a wiring diagram of the non-contact IC card according to the present invention.

In FIG. 5, an IC card 1 according to the present embodiment
Are the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17.
By specifying the range of the chip arrangement surface 30 on which each chip is arranged, when the IC card 1 is bent, breakage of the chip due to the bending stress is reduced.

That is, since the IC card 1 is formed to be very thin, there is a high possibility that the IC card 1 is bent in actual use. As shown in FIG. 2B, the bending stress is easily subjected to a force (arrow) sandwiching from both sides, and in this case, the IC card 1 receives the maximum bending stress at its center Y0.

Since the IC card 1 is carried in a wallet, a commuter pass, or the like, a bending stress is also applied to the periphery (corner or end) of the IC card 1 protruding from the wallet or the like. Easy to receive. Therefore, in the IC card 1 according to the present embodiment, the chip arrangement surface 30 is set by providing a gap between the center and the periphery of the IC card 1.

More specifically, a first chip arrangement surface 30a, a second chip arrangement surface 30b, a third chip arrangement surface 30c, and a fourth chip arrangement surface are provided on all sides (four corners) of the IC card 1. 30d is set. The size is the card body 2
X1 inward from the ends of the short sides 2c and 2d in the longitudinal direction, and the short sides 2c and 2d from the center between the short sides 2c and 2d.
X2 at the end of the long side 2a, 2b from the end of the long sides 2a, 2b, and the size of Y2 at the end of the long sides 2a, 2b from the center position between the long sides 2a, 2b. The four chip arrangement surfaces 30 (30a to 30d) formed are set. In this embodiment, the length X of the long sides 2a and 2b of the IC card 1 is about 86 mm, the length Y of the short sides 2c and 2d is about 54 mm,
The thickness is set to be as thin as about 0.25 mm, and based on the experimental verification of a card of this size, the X1 is changed from 5 mm to 8 m.
m, X2 is 24 to 26 mm, Y1 is 5 mm to 8 m
By setting m and Y2 in the range of 7 mm to 10 mm, the IC card 1 in which the chip is hardly damaged even when subjected to bending stress is realized.

Further, since the four chip arrangement surfaces 30 are arranged apart from each other, it is desirable to arrange the chips as much as possible in one place in consideration of wiring and the like. For example, when the first chip arrangement surface 30a at the upper left of the drawing is used as a reference, it is desirable that the chips be concentrated on the first chip arrangement surface 30a. The first arrangement surface 30
In the case where the chips cannot be completely arranged on the first arrangement surface a, by dispersing and providing the second arrangement surface 30b closest to the first arrangement surface 30a, the length of the wiring is reduced and the arrangement is less susceptible to stress. It can be. Similarly, the second arrangement surface 3
If the arrangement is not possible even with 0b, the arrangement is performed in the order of the third arrangement surface 30c and the fourth arrangement surface 30d.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 15 and the communication unit 16 are arranged on a first chip arrangement surface 30a, and the power supply unit 17 is arranged on a second chip arrangement surface 30b. . Here, in the case where the circuit is distributed over a plurality of chips as in the present embodiment, those that need to exchange signals between chips at high speed are arranged on the same chip arrangement surface, and compared with this. A chip that does not require high speed is provided on another chip arrangement surface. In this embodiment, the control unit 15 and the communication unit 16 that require high-speed signal exchange are provided on the first chip arrangement surface 30a, and the second chip arrangement surface 3
A power supply unit 17 composed of a plurality of capacitors that does not require high speed is disposed at 0b. In this embodiment, the smoothing capacitor (1) 112a, the smoothing capacitor (2) 112b and the resonance capacitor 128 shown in FIG. 4 are provided.

In this embodiment, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is provided by utilizing the dead space between the first chip arrangement surface 30a and the third chip arrangement surface 30c set on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the IC card 1. ing. The transmitting / receiving antenna 1
8 is provided with a pair of antennas 18a and 18b having a phase of 90 degrees in accordance with the standard of IS010536 on both sides at the center in the longitudinal direction.

Since the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is provided close to the first chip arrangement surface 30a, the wiring between the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 and the control unit 15 and the communication unit 16 can be shortened. Further, according to this arrangement, a blank space 5a in which no functional element is arranged can be formed on the long side 2b opposite to the transmitting / receiving antenna 18. In the present embodiment, the owner column 5 is provided in the blank space 5a, and the member number and name of a normal owner are printed. In addition, since the owner column 5 is not provided with the transmitting / receiving antenna 18, the chip, or the functional elements such as the circuit pattern 24, it is possible to emboss a convex character which greatly affects the internal cross section. is there.

As shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the test terminals 19a and 19b are connected between the chip arrangement surface 30 and the long sides 2a and 2b or the short sides 2c and 2d. It is provided in a region (gap) to be formed. With this arrangement, the dead space in the IC card 1 can be effectively used, and the test terminals 19a and 19b can be provided at the end of the card when performing an inspection. Connection with the inspection terminals (not shown) connected to the portions 19a and 19b can be easily performed.

In FIG. 5, in the IC card 1 according to the present embodiment, among the plurality of chip arrangement surfaces 30, an unused arrangement surface can be another arrangement area. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the fourth chip arrangement surface 30d, which is the least frequently used, is set as the arrangement surface of the owner column 5, so that the owner column 5 is enlarged and the visibility of the name and the like is improved. And handleability has been improved. Similarly, if the chips are arranged only on the first chip arrangement surface 30a, the second chip arrangement surface 30b can be used as the arrangement surface of the owner column 5, so that the visibility and the handleability are further improved. Can be improved.

Next, the sectional structure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an internal sectional view. As mentioned above,
The IC card 1 of the present embodiment has a laminated structure composed of four sheets. The transmitting / receiving antenna 18, the wiring pattern 24, and the test terminal portions 19a and 19b (not shown) are printed on the substrate sheet 13, and the control portion 15 (the communication portion 16,
The power supply unit 17 is also attached) with the conductive adhesive 26. Then, the spacer sheet 14 having the opening 21 and the like is replaced with the substrate sheet 1 on which chips such as the control unit 15 are arranged.
3, the cover sheets 11 and 12 are attached with an adhesive so that the substrate sheet 13 and the spacer sheet 14 are sandwiched therebetween.

In the IC card 1 according to this embodiment, the chip such as the control unit 15 is set to be located at the center of the thickness Z1 of the IC card 1 in order to reduce breakage of the chip due to bending stress. ing. That is, the spacer sheet 14
When the thickness Z3 of the cover sheet 11 is set to be substantially the same as the thickness of the chip of the control unit 15 and the like, and the thickness Z4 of the cover sheet 11, the thickness Z2 of the substrate sheet 13, and the thickness Z5 of the cover sheet 14,
It is set so that the relationship of 4 + Z2 = Z5 substantially holds. That is, the cover sheet 12 is provided thicker than the other sheets.

In the IC card 1 according to the present embodiment having the above structure, the functional element provided on the substrate sheet
1 and the case viewed from P2 of the surface B are significantly different. The transmitting and receiving antenna 1 occupying the largest area among the functional elements provided on the substrate sheet 13.
Verify in case of 8.

The transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is provided on the substrate sheet 13.
Since it is provided on both sides, when viewed from the above P1,
What blocks the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is the cover sheet 11.
Is only the thickness Z4. On the other hand, when viewed from the point P2, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 can be shielded by the thickness Z5 of the thick cover sheet 12 and the thickness Z3 of the spacer sheet 14. Therefore, according to the structure of this embodiment, the functional elements inside the surface A are easier to see than the surface B.

In this embodiment, since the sheet is made of a white PET material, if the thickness Z1 of the IC card 1 is 0.5 mm or more, which is the same as the license, the inside of the IC card 1 is basically invisible unless seen through light. It is hard to see. However, the thickness Z1 of the thin IC card 1 of 0.5 mm or less as in this embodiment
Then, the internal functional elements can be seen through the sheet.
In particular, the inside becomes easy to see from the surface A. In this embodiment,
This is a major challenge as it assumes a 0.38 mm prepaid card or a 0.25 mm thin card. The difference in the thickness Z1 of the IC card 1 can be easily achieved by changing the thickness of the cover sheets 11 and 12 without changing the basic design.

The problem that the inside can be seen through is that not only the internal structure that has no merit for the user is projected on the outer surface to impair the design property, but also that the inside can be seen,
It gives the user an unnecessary urge to want to damage the circuit or antenna with a needle or the like.

The above problem can be solved by performing thick printing on the surface of the IC card 1. For example, the thickness Z10 of the printing applied to the surface of the cover sheet 11 constituting the surface A in which the inside is easy to see is made larger than the thickness Z11 of the printing applied to the surface of the cover sheet 12 constituting the surface B in which the inside is hard to see. Can be resolved. However, thin coating must be performed a plurality of times in order not to impair the design effect, to withstand large bending and bending, and to enable brilliant multicolor printing, resulting in increased costs due to an increase in the number of printing steps. Although it cannot be specified unconditionally in relation to the printing machine or other equipment, it is necessary to perform thin (for example, about 0.002 to 0.005 mm ) printing a plurality of times. Therefore, it is extremely effective if the number of times of printing and drying can be reduced.

Therefore, the present inventors have considered that this type of card has a card issuer description surface 4 that requires many printing steps and requires decorativeness, and a caution explanation description surface 6 that requires fewer printing processes and requires visibility by characters. By paying attention to the fact that the two sides are integrated and the difference between the appearance of the front surface A and the front surface B, which is a peculiar phenomenon of the present IC card 1, by effectively combining the two,
The IC card 1 that reduces the number of printing steps and enhances design is realized. This combination will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 9 based on FIG.

Next, FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a combination of printing on the surfaces A and B of the IC card and printing, and FIG. 9 is an external view of the IC card by partial printing. First, when printing is performed on the IC card 1, there are full printing in which printing is performed on the entire surface of the card and partial printing in which printing is performed on a part of the card.

The IC card 1 shown in FIG. 2 is intended to be printed by full-surface printing. According to this full printing,
Since the entire surface A and surface B of the IC card 1 are printed, a shielding effect and a design effect that make the inside difficult to see can be obtained. On the other hand, the IC card 1 shown in FIG. 9 is assumed to be performed by partial printing. According to this partial printing, although a printed portion can obtain a shielding effect that makes the inside difficult to see, a non-printed portion can see the inside because the inside is visible, and the shielding effect is reduced by half, and a large design effect cannot be obtained. However, it is low and effective from the viewpoint of printing cost.

In the case of full-surface printing, the printing is basically overprinting, and can be roughly classified into multicolor printing and solid printing. The multicolor printing is for printing various colors a plurality of times, and is suitable for the card issuer writing surface 4. In addition, solid printing is performed in a single color, and is suitable for the background of the caution explanation writing surface 6. Further, the multicolor printing can be divided into four-color full-color printing and special-color multicolor printing. The four-color full-color printing expresses various colors by a combination of four colors including C, M, Y, and K (cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow (yellow), and black). Represented by countless halftone dots, it is possible to express delicate expressions such as color photographs. In addition, the special color multicolor printing uses a plurality of special colors (an ink made of one color) and is suitable for graphic expression and the like.

FIG. 8 shows a plurality of combinations of the partial printing and the full printing on the IC card 1.

First, case 1 shows a case where both sides of the IC card 1 are partially printed. In this case, the shielding effect by printing cannot be expected, so that the design effect is given priority. FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the case 1. (A) shows the surface B, and (b) shows the surface A. According to this IC card 1, the card issuer writing surface 4 is provided on the surface B where the inside is difficult to see in order to improve the discriminability and the recognizability, and to some extent the design, with the frequency of use. The description surface 6 is provided on the surface A where the inside is easily visible. In the embodiment of the IC card 1, the card issuer column 4
b is provided on the long side 2a side that hides the transmission / reception antenna 18, and the owner column 5a is provided on the opposite long side 2b side off the chip.

As a result, the see-through portion can be reduced, so that the visibility of the card issuer column 4b and the owner column 5a is improved, and the design effect is improved by combination with the front surface B. be able to. In addition,
The transmission / reception antenna 18 may be provided as a part of the design, and the card issuer column 4a and the owner column 5a may be provided on the long side b side. In this case, it is better to make the transmission / reception antenna 18 a surface A clearly visible. . However, in this case, it is better to use a transparent sheet.

According to this case 1, since the cost can be kept low, it is suitable, for example, for an ID card in a workplace or a use where the period of use is limited.

Next, Case 2 and Case 3 are the IC card 1
Is partially printed on one side and full-face printed on the other side. In these two cases, in case 2 in which the full-screen printing is light-colored, as in case 1, the front surface A is a cautionary description surface 6 for partial printing, and the front surface B is a card issuer writing surface 4 for full-surface printing. In case 3 where the entire printing is dark,
The front surface A is a card issuer writing surface 4 of full-surface printing, and the front surface B is a caution explanation writing surface 6 of partial printing.

The reason for the above setting is that the full-face printing is more expensive than the partial printing, but has a great design effect. Therefore, in the IC card 1, the card issuer description surface 4 which can be called a "face" is printed on the entire surface. It is assumed that. Further, in printing the IC card 1, the appearance of the inside greatly differs depending on the color of the paint to be printed. Although the light transmittance also differs depending on the color of the paint, the inside is easy to see in a light color with a white tint overall, and the inside is hard to see in a dark color with a whole black tint.

In general, the meaning of full-surface printing is to apply an intended design, photograph, or the like to the surface, which has a large design effect. That is, this means that the printing of the light color is a design based on the light color, and it is not expected that the unnecessary transmitting / receiving antenna 18 or the like is reflected on the background. Therefore, if the inside of the surface A is easy to see
If the entire surface is printed in a light color, the number of printing steps increases to make the inside difficult to see, resulting in high cost. Therefore,
In case 2, when the entire surface is printed in a light color, the front surface B is entirely printed as the card issuer writing surface 4; A.

The “light” and “dark” of the printing means that the value of the brightness of the object (paint) to be printed is larger than the brightness of the object (for example, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18) seen through the cover sheet 11 or 12. It can be described as "thin" or "dark" if it is small. Generally, color is "brightness"
It can be defined by three of “saturation” and “hue”. “Lightness” is defined between 0 and 10 according to Munsell's rule, with 0 being the darkest (black) and 10 being bright (white). The saturation is most vivid at 0, and the larger the value, the more muddy the color. The hue is red, yellow, or the like that constitutes the color wheel.

Of the three definitions, "brightness" has the most influence on the light shielding property. For example, a transmitting / receiving antenna 1 having a brightness of 8
If the same lightness 8 is printed on 8, there is no difference in lightness between the two, and the transmission / reception antenna 18 becomes difficult to see. Also, if the lightness of the transmission / reception antenna 18 with the brightness 8 is printed, the dark transmission / reception antenna 18 stands out from the surroundings and becomes conspicuous. Conversely, if printing with a dark brightness of 7 is performed on the transmission / reception antenna 18 with a brightness of 8, the bright transmission / reception antenna 18 is hidden by a dark print color and becomes inconspicuous.

In the IC card 1 having a thickness of 0.25 mm according to the present embodiment, the brightness of the cover sheets 11 and 12 using a white PET sheet is about 9.6, and the surface A where the inside is easy to see is provided.
The brightness of the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 seen from the front is about 8.5, and the brightness of the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 seen from the surface B where the inside is hard to see is about 9.1. From this fact, if the surface A is printed with a color (dark) having a numerical value smaller than 9.5 and the surface B is printed with a color (dark) with a numerical value smaller than 9.5, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 is printed. Can be made inconspicuous.

In case 2 above, since the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 on the front surface A, which is easy to see inside, is not easily concealed in full-surface printing with a lightness (thinness) larger than 8.5, the entire surface printing is performed on the front surface B. To be applied. In this way, it is more difficult to make the transmission / reception antenna 18 invisible on the surface B than in the surface A.
Can be reduced. On the other hand, the surface on which partial printing is performed is not affected so much because the inside can be seen through anyway. The variation in the brightness of the entire printed surface is determined as appropriate in consideration of the size and location.

Next, the cases 4 to 7 have the surfaces A and B
In both cases, printing is performed on the entire surface. The intention to perform full-surface printing on both sides is based on the premise that a design effect can be obtained on both sides. Also in this case, the surfaces A and B are selected based on the judgment of the print color “light” or “dark”. That is, in the combination of the “light” color and the “dark” color of the case 4, the “light” color is applied to the surface B where the inside is difficult to see, and the “dark” color is applied to the surface A where the inside is easy to see. In the case of the IC card 1, the caution explanation surface 6 has a “light” color based on white.
The card issuer writing surface 4 is based on a "dark" color, and the caution explanation writing surface 6 is based on a "light" color on the surface B where the inside is difficult to see.

Further, in the case of full printing of both cases 5 in the “light” color, for the above reason, the card issuer writing surface 4 is set to the surface B where the inside is hard to see, and the caution explanation writing surface 6 is set to the inside where the inside is hard to see. It is assumed that the surface A is easy. Furthermore, both are "dark"
In the full-color printing case 6 based on color, basically, as in the case of “full-color printing” in which the inside is hardly seen as in the case 7, the entire surface may be set to the front surfaces A and B. In order to make the interior difficult to see and obtain a design effect, it is better to print the cautionary description surface 6 on the surface A and the card issuer surface 4 on the surface B.

In the case where the background of the cautionary description surface 6 is set to a dark color and characters are raised, the setting of the case 4 may be reversed. When an opaque ink having a low internal transmittance, for example, a metallic paint such as silver paint is applied, the case 6 or 7 is applied to both surfaces, and the surface A is applied to one surface.

Next, test terminals 19a and 19b will be further described with reference to FIG. 6 based on FIG. FIG.
In FIG. 2, (a) is a cross-sectional view of the test terminal section 19b and the control section 15 of the IC card 1, and (b) is a state in which the inspection terminal 25 is pierced in FIG. Is shown.

As described above, in the IC card 1 of the present embodiment, the test terminal portions 19a and 19b are provided on the chip arrangement surface 30 or between the chip arrangement surface 30 and the peripheral end of the IC card 1. The test terminal section is provided divided into one or a plurality of groups.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, between the control unit 15 arranged on the first chip arrangement surface 30a and the long side 2a,
Test terminal units related to the connection between the communication unit 16 and the control unit 15, for example, the DI01 terminal 132, DI0 described in FIG.
A test terminal portion 19b composed of two terminals 133 and the like is
They are arranged concentratedly in the area corresponding to the opening 23b indicated by the dotted line. In addition, a test terminal related to the connection with the power supply unit 17 between the power supply unit 17 and the short side 2d disposed on the second chip placement surface 30b, for example, an opening indicated by a dotted line for a terminal related to the power supply circuit 110 They are concentrated in the area corresponding to the section 23a.

The test terminals 19a and 19b will be further described with reference to the sectional view of FIG. In FIG. 10, a wiring pattern 24, a test terminal portion 19a,
19b and the transmitting / receiving antenna 18 not shown are printed,
The control unit 15 (similarly for the communication unit 16 and the power supply unit 17) is attached with a conductive adhesive. Then, the openings 21 and 23
The plurality of openings 21 and 23b are aligned with the corresponding communication unit 16 and test terminal unit 19b on one surface side of the substrate sheet 13 on which chips such as the control unit 15 are arranged. Then, the substrate sheet 13 and the spacer sheet 14 are attached with an adhesive so as to be sandwiched therebetween. As mentioned above,
According to this structure, the thick control unit 15 and communication unit 16
The thickness of the card body 2 is made uniform by the spacer sheet 13 so that the card body 2 can be made uniform.

On the other hand, the test terminal portions 19a, 19b
Is provided in a space filled with an adhesive formed between the substrate sheet 13 and the cover sheet 12. For this reason,
In the destructive inspection as shown in FIG. 10B, the inspection terminals 25 may be penetrated through the cover sheet 14 without penetrating the spacer sheet 14 when connecting the inspection terminals 25 and the test terminal portions 19 a. Therefore, the inspection can be easily performed.

Here, the IC card 1 of the present embodiment is designed on the assumption that the circuit board is inspected in two systems. One is a non-destructive inspection in which the spacer sheet 14 is inspected before being attached. In the state of the substrate sheet 13 shown in FIG. 6, an inspection is performed by connecting the inspection terminals 25 (not shown) to the test terminal portions 19a and 19b. The other is a destructive inspection for investigating the cause when there is a problem in the operation state in a state where the IC card 1 is assembled. In this destructive inspection, as shown in FIG. 10A, an inspection terminal is pierced from the cover sheet 12 side, and the inspection terminal 25 is connected to the test terminal portion 19a.

According to the structure shown in FIG. 10, in the non-destructive inspection before assembling, the test terminals 19a and 19b are concentrated and exposed in the vicinity of the chip arrangement surface 30, so that the handling in the inspection is easy. Can be improved. On the other hand, after the IC card 1 is assembled, the test terminals 19
Since the test terminals 19a and 19b are sealed in the card body 2, it is possible to eliminate corrosion of the terminals caused when the test terminal portions 19a and 19b are exposed from the ends and troubles caused by static electricity transmitted from the exposed terminals. Furthermore, in the destructive inspection after manufacturing, the connection between the inspection terminal 25 and the test terminal portions 19a and 19b can be easily achieved.

Next, an outline of a method of manufacturing the non-contact IC card 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the IC card 1 is manufactured by the following steps.

(1) Step of Cutting Each Sheet into a Predetermined Size (Step 500) First, a pair of cover sheets 11 and 12, which constitute the substantially rectangular card body 2, a substrate sheet 13, and a spacer sheet 14 Is cut to a predetermined size. In this case, in the case of mass production, a plurality of IC cards 1 are manufactured simultaneously with one sheet of all paper 400, and then the IC cards 1 are cut into a predetermined size and manufactured. For example, in FIG. 11, a total of nine IC cards 1 are manufactured simultaneously in three columns and three rows, and later, the IC cards 1 are manufactured.
Is cut into a predetermined size. Cover sheets 11, 12
Similarly, the entire sheet cover sheets 411 and 412 and the entire sheet spacer sheet 414 are cut in accordance with the entire sheet board 413.

On the other hand, in the case of small-volume production, the pair of cover sheets 11 and 12, the substrate sheet 13 and the spacer sheet 14 are cut into a predetermined size of the IC card 1 at this stage.

The size of the whole paper sheet 400 is as follows.
Considering the number of sheets that can be taken at once from all the paper sheets 400, the setting is made in accordance with the equipment such as the print production line.

In this embodiment, the four sheets constituting the IC card main body 2 are formed of white PET sheet material. In addition, the sheet material can be formed of a material such as a general plastic film such as a polycarbonate film, a polyethylene film, and a polyimide film or a sheet or a glass fiber reinforced plastic sheet, which is an insulating material. Employs the white PET film which is preferable in terms of mechanical strength and cost.

(2) Printing of circuit pattern and transmitting / receiving antenna (Step 510)
The transmitting / receiving antenna 18 disposed at the center in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the above, the test terminal portions 19a and 19b disposed on one side of the substrate sheet 13 in the longitudinal direction, and the test terminal portions 19a and 19b are disposed. A wiring pattern 24 to which the control unit 15, the transmission / reception 16 and the power supply unit 17 are attached is printed on one side in the longitudinal direction. In this printing, for example, a conductive paste such as a silver paste is applied and dried by silk screen printing.

(3) Mounting of chip (step 52)
0) The respective chips of the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17 are placed at predetermined positions of the wiring pattern 24 by the conductive adhesive 26.
Install with.

(4) Inspection (Step 530) The test terminal portions 19a corresponding to the respective substrate sheets 13
The operation of the circuit corresponding to each IC card 1 is confirmed via 19b.

(5) Step of Manufacturing Spacer Sheet (Step 540) In the entire paper spacer sheet 414, the protrusions of the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17 are absorbed at predetermined positions of each spacer sheet 14. Openings 20, 21, 22
Openings 23a and 23b are formed at positions corresponding to the test terminals 19a and 19b. This step may be performed simultaneously with the step (1).

(6) Card Body Assembling Step (Step 550) The all-paper substrate sheet 413 and the all-paper spacer sheet 4
14 and the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 1 respectively.
7 is positioned so as to fit into the openings 20, 21, 22 and filled with a conductive adhesive, and the entire paper substrate sheet 4 is placed between the pair of full paper cover sheets 411, 412.
13 and the whole-sheet spacer sheet 414 are bonded to produce the whole-sheet sheet 400. As the conductive adhesive, one obtained by mixing conductive particles such as silver particles and copper particles with a polyester-based, phenol-based, or epoxy-based resin is used.

(7) Printing Step (Step 560) Printing is performed on the front surface A and the front surface B of the entire paper sheet 400 based on the judgment described in FIG. For example, as described above, in the example shown in FIG. 2, in order to perform full-color printing (four-color full-car printing) on the front surface A and solid printing on the whole surface B, a UV resin paint Do it on line. The coating line is provided with offset printing and an ultraviolet lamp in a casing of a printing apparatus, and passes the positioned entire paper sheet 400 through the printing apparatus via a conveyer, so that the entire paper sheet 400 is coated with a UV resin paint. To perform offset printing, and irradiate with ultraviolet rays to dry and print.

In this step, a receiving layer is further applied to a predetermined position of the owner column 5 to provide the owner column 5. In this case, the receiving layer is printed directly on the PET sheet by masking, or further printed on the printing surface. Further, as described above, the owner column 5 is provided scientifically or physically. At this point, the owner information may be embossed without providing the owner column 5.

(8) Die Cutting Process (Step 570) The printed whole paper sheet 400 is cut into a predetermined size of the IC card 1 via a die cutting device. The IC card 1 is completed when this die-cutting step is completed.

(9) Printing of Cardholder (Step 58)
0) In the owner column 5 of the IC card, the owner information such as the name and identification number of the card owner transferred or lent from the card issuer is printed in the owner column 5. As a printing method, a thermal transfer type printing apparatus may be employed. Note that the owner information may be printed on a sticker or the like by a printing device and attached to a predetermined position of the owner column 5 of the IC card 1. Moreover, you may perform by embossing.

In order to prevent chip breakage, if offset printing is to be performed using a concave and convex mold, step 5 is required.
50 before the assembling step.
Perform full-surface printing on two or both sides. According to the offset printing of the concave and convex mold, it is possible to perform printing with a feeling of irregularity. In this case, when a clear coat is applied to the printing surface, an uneven feeling can be obtained while obtaining more gloss on the surface. In the case where unevenness is partially applied to the blank space 5a, printing may be performed after assembly. In addition, as another printing method for more expressing the unevenness, screen printing in which the paint is raised from the printing surface may be adopted.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, printing with paint is performed.
Although the external appearance of the IC card 1 is disguised, a thin sheet with a pattern may be attached to the surface of the IC card 1. Thereby, the inside can be further made invisible.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the manufacturing process of the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and the power supply unit 17, including a plurality of chips, which requires high accuracy is integrated into the manufacturing process of the substrate sheet 13. Further, by adopting a laminated structure of a plurality of sheets, it is possible to reduce costs and improve accuracy by decentralizing manufacturing.

Further, in this embodiment, the test terminals 19a and 19b are printed at a position separated from the end of the substrate sheet 13, and the openings are formed at positions corresponding to the test terminals 19a and 19b on the spacer sheet 14. Parts 23a, 23b
By forming the IC card 1, it is possible to manufacture the IC card 1 which can be shielded from the outside and prevent corrosion and malfunction from the test terminal portions 19 a and 19 b without increasing the number of manufacturing steps.

Next, another embodiment relating to the arrangement of the chip, the circuit pattern 24 and the test terminal portion 19 provided inside the IC card 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 16 are wiring diagrams of another embodiment of the non-contact IC card according to the present invention.

First, FIG. 12 shows that the test terminals 19a and 19b separated into two parts in the above-mentioned embodiment are arranged in one place to facilitate the inspection. In the figure, in this embodiment, test terminals 19 are arranged in a line along the short side 2d in the gap between the power supply unit 17 and the short side 2d. The other parts have the same configuration as that of the embodiment shown in FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, when the circuit pattern 24 is printed, the portion 1 of the IC card 1 which is outside the predetermined size is printed.
A test terminal portion 19a is printed on 3a. After the inspection, the circuit pattern 24a indicated by oblique lines near the end of the IC card 1 is removed.
In addition to cutting off the portion 13a provided with the test terminal portion 19, corrosion or malfunction from the test terminal portion 19a which may occur after assembling of the IC card 1 is prevented. For example, as a removing method, in FIG. 13 in which the circuit pattern 24 printed with the silver paste is wiped off with a solvent or the like, in this embodiment, one of the test terminal portions 19a and 19b provided in two parts is provided. The test terminal portion 19b is similar to the embodiment of FIG.
It is provided apart from the end 2a of the IC card 1, and another test terminal portion 19a is provided at a portion to be cut off before assembly. According to this structure, test terminals used only for inspection before assembly can be provided in the test terminal portion 19a, and test terminals used for inspection after assembly can be provided in the test terminal portion 19b. Of course, the test terminal 19b may be formed like the test terminal 19a.

Thus, the IC card 1 according to this embodiment
In addition, according to the manufacturing method, the inspection is facilitated by providing the test terminal portion 19a capable of performing various tests at the time of manufacturing, and thereafter, the unnecessary test terminal portion 19a after manufacturing can be easily removed. Further, since the upper portion of the test terminal portion 19a can be covered with the spacer sheet 14 like other portions,
Slight distortion caused by forming the opening 19b in the spacer sheet 14 can be reduced.

FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show an embodiment in which chips are concentrated on the first chip arrangement surface 30a. According to this embodiment, the space on the long side 2b opposite to the long side 2a on which the first chip arrangement surface 30a is provided can be a blank space 5a, and wiring can be provided near the chip arrangement surface 30a. Since the patterns 24 can be integrated, the connection can be shortened.

In FIG. 14, in this embodiment, the control unit 15, the communication unit 16, and each chip of the power supply unit 17 for miniaturizing each capacitor are arranged on the first chip arrangement surface 30a. Chip arrangement surface 30a, long side 2a and short side 2
Test terminal portions 19a and 19b are provided between the terminals.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
6 and the miniaturization of the smoothing capacitor (1) 112a and the smoothing capacitor (2) 112b and the resonance capacitor 128 constituting the power supply unit 17, thereby making the function of the power supply unit 17 in the chip of the communication unit 16 possible. Is provided. For this reason, in this embodiment, the two chips of the communication unit 16 and the control unit 15 having the function of the power supply unit 17 are arranged on the first chip arrangement surface 30a, and the first chip arrangement surface 30a and the short side 2 are arranged.
The test terminal portion 19 is arranged in a concentrated manner between the test terminal portion d.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 16 has the same structure as that of FIG. 12 as a result, but the manufacturing method is different. In this embodiment, the opening 23c of the test terminal portion 19 is cut out in a "U" shape on the short side 2d side, and the opened portion of the opening 23c is filled with another member 23d during assembly. Is also good. In this case, the method may be combined with the method of removing the circuit pattern 23 described with reference to FIG.

Next, referring to FIG. 17, an IC according to the present invention will be described.
Another embodiment relating to the appearance of the card will be described. FIG. 17 is an external view of a non-contact IC card, and FIG.
(B) is a rear view.

In the IC card 1 according to this embodiment, the surface A in which the inside is easy to see as shown in FIG. The surface B is the cautionary description surface 6.

In FIG. 17 (a), the front surface A of the IC card 1 is subjected to full-color printing (photograph of a darker color) by printing over the entire card surface.
A magnetic stripe 3 for storing information and a card issuer column 4a are provided on one long side 2a side of the card body 2, and a member number and a name are attached to the other long side 2b side by a thermal transfer method. An owner column 5 is provided. Further, the owner column 5 may be processed by embossing so that the owner's name and member number are raised on the front side, or the name and the like may be printed, or a printed seal may be attached. .

On the other hand, the front surface B serving as the back surface of the IC card 1 shown in FIG. 17 (b) is subjected to white solid printing for printing on the entire card surface, and the back surface of the magnetic stripe 3 is printed. A note description column (1) 6b with a note on use of the card in the position, a card holder's signature column 7 on the back of the card issuer column 4, and a note on the back of the owner column 5a. (2) 6c is provided. In this embodiment, the caution explanation column is divided into two for the sake of convenience. However, the caution explanation column may be provided on the entire back surface, and the signature column 7 may be provided at the predetermined position.

Here, in the IC card 1 according to the present embodiment, a chip is arranged on one end 2d side in the longitudinal direction of the IC card 1 shown in the left end of FIG. 17B. For this reason, by providing the owner column 5 offset so as to form a blank portion 9 on the right side, damage to the IC card 1 during embossing can be eliminated, and damage to the chip due to pressure during printing can be reduced. doing. For the same reason, the sign field 7 has a sign field 7a at the left end, and a substantial sign field 7b is provided on the right side. Has been reduced.

In the above embodiment, the magnetic stripe 3
Is provided on the surface A, but may be provided at the same position on the surface B.
Further, the owner column 5 may also be provided at the same position on the surface B. In this way, by using the front surface A as the card issuer description surface 4 to which only the card issuer column 4a is added, it is possible to improve the design effect by full-surface printing.

As described above, according to the IC card 1 of the present embodiment, the magnetic stripe 3, the owner columns 6b and 6c, and the signature column 7 are provided while having the function of the non-contact IC card 1. Thus, in addition to non-contact usage, usage similar to that of a card having a magnetic stripe currently in circulation can be performed.

Next, another embodiment relating to the laminated structure of the IC card according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19 are internal sectional views. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, since the chip such as the control unit 15 is located at the center of the thickness Z1 of the IC card 1, the thickness of the four sheets, particularly the cover sheet, is set so that the relationship of Z4 + Z2 = Z5 substantially holds. Twelve thicknesses Z5 were set to be larger than the thicknesses of the other sheets. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, similar effects can be obtained with other laminated structures shown in FIGS.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 18, a fifth thickness adjusting sheet 14a (thickness Z6) is provided between the spacer sheet 14 and the cover sheet 12. According to this structure, since the thicknesses Z4 and Z5 of the cover sheets 11 and 12 can be made the same, material procurement is easy and cost can be reduced.

Further, the embodiment shown in FIG.
The thicknesses Z4 and Z5 of the spacer sheets 11 and 12 are set to be the same, and the thickness Z3 of the spacer sheet 11 is set to be large. Accordingly, the same operation and effect as in FIG. 18 can be obtained only by adjusting the thickness Z3 of the spacer sheet 11 without increasing the number of parts. However, in this embodiment, a recess 21a or the like is formed in the spacer sheet 11, and the thickness of the chip such as the control unit 15 or the like is absorbed in the recess 21a.

Although the embodiment in which a plurality of chips are provided as shown in FIGS. 1 to 19 has been described, the same operation and effect can be obtained with one chip.

In the present embodiment, the owner column 5 is filled with a blank space 5a on the long side 2b opposite to the transmitting / receiving antenna 18.
For example, the card issuer column 4 may be provided large on the entire front surface, and the owner column 5 may be provided at a predetermined position on the back surface.

Further, in the above embodiment, the transmitting / receiving antenna 18
Although a non-contact IC card provided with a transmission / reception antenna 18, a contact IC card without the transmission / reception antenna 18 may be used. In this case, by providing one or a plurality of chips or a contact point with a reader / writer on the chip arrangement surface 30, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0128]

According to the present invention, the design process can be improved by reducing the number of printing steps.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a development view of an embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of one embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the IC card according to the embodiment of the present invention and peripheral devices.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of one embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic layout diagram of an embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a wiring diagram of one embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows surfaces A and B of one embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a combination of the printing and the printing.

FIG. 9 is an external view of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of an embodiment of an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a manufacturing process diagram of one embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a wiring diagram of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a wiring diagram of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a wiring diagram of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a wiring diagram of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a wiring diagram of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an external view of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the IC card according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: IC card, 2: Card body, 2a, 2b: Long side, 2
c, 2d: short side, 4: card issuer description surface, 4a: card issuer column, 5: owner column, 6: caution explanation description surface, 6a
... Caution explanation column, 11, 12 ... Cover sheet, 13 ... Substrate sheet, 14 ... Spacer sheet, 15 ... Control unit, 16 ...
Communication unit, 17: power supply unit, 18: transmitting / receiving antenna, 19
a, 19b: test terminal section, 24: circuit pattern, 2
0, 21, 22, 23a, 23b: openings, A: surface where the inside is easy to see, B: surface where the inside is hard to see.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kazutaka Tsuji 1-280 Higashi Koigakubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo Inside the Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A main body of an IC card is constituted by a thin laminate having a substrate sheet and a spacer sheet provided between a pair of cover sheets, wherein the substrate sheet is electromagnetically coupled with an external device. Thus, a transmission / reception antenna for transmitting power and transmitting an information signal, a circuit pattern, and a control unit having a memory for storing information are provided. The spacer sheet has the control unit located therein. The cover sheet adjacent to the substrate sheet is provided with a first printing surface forming an outer surface thereof, and the other of the cover sheet is a back surface of the first printing surface. The cover sheet has a second surface that constitutes the outer surface thereof.
Wherein the first printing surface and the second printing surface are entirely printed so as to conceal the transmitting / receiving antenna appearing on the front surface via a cover sheet; The IC card is characterized in that the surface is a card issuer description surface and the second description surface is a caution explanation description surface.
card. 2. The card issuer writing surface is formed so as to have a lower brightness than the caution explanation writing surface, and is further printed by a printing darker than the brightness of the transmitting / receiving antenna appearing on the first printing surface via a cover sheet. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein