JPWO2015029489A1 - Method for manufacturing antenna device - Google Patents

Abstract

The wireless IC element attached to the antenna is effectively protected with a sealing member. A pair of radiation electrode portions (20a) having a predetermined width in a plan view and a connection portion (20b) that is located at one opposing end of the pair of radiation electrode portions (20a) and is recessed on both sides in a plan view. An antenna device comprising: a dipole antenna (20) having a wireless IC element (30) connected to the connection portion (20b); and a sealing member (40) covering the wireless IC element (30). The sealing member (40) covers the wireless IC element (30) including the one end portion of the radiation electrode portion (20a) and the connection portion (20b), and the recessed portion of the connection portion (20b) And the dipole antenna (20) is continuous on the front side and the back side.

Description

  The present invention relates to an antenna device, and more particularly to an antenna device used in an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In recent years, as an article information management system, a reader / writer that generates an induced magnetic field and an RFID tag (also referred to as a wireless IC device) attached to the article are communicated in a non-contact manner using an electromagnetic field, and predetermined information is transmitted. An RFID system for transmission has been put into practical use. This RFID tag includes a wireless IC element that stores predetermined information and processes predetermined wireless signals, and an antenna device that transmits and receives high-frequency signals, and is attached to various articles to be managed (or packaging materials thereof). Used by sticking.

  As the RFID system, an HF band RFID system using a 13 MHz band and a UHF band RFID system using a 900 MHz band are generally used. In particular, the UHF band RFID system is promising as an article management system because it has a relatively long communication distance and can read a plurality of tags at once.

  In recent years, application of the RFID system to a clothes washing company called a linen company has been studied. Garment washing companies mainly provide laundry services to industries that require hygiene and environmental management, such as hotels, medical care, nursing care, and food. In order to manage a large number of clothes to be washed in a washing process, this type of clothes washing company reads necessary information from an RFID tag attached to the clothes with a reader / writer, and collects, washes, and reduces the temperature. Management of bacteria treatment, delivery and disposal.

  A clothes washing company covers the RFID tag including the wireless IC element and the antenna device with a cloth label, and attaches the cloth label to the clothes by thermocompression bonding or sewing. However, there has been a problem that when the clothes are vigorously swollen in the washing process and the stress is repeatedly applied to the connection portion between the antenna device and the wireless IC element, the connection portion is easily damaged.

  Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the IC chip and the antenna portion provided on the substrate, there are at least two through-hole portions penetrating from the front surface to the back surface. There has been proposed a configuration in which an IC chip including a connection part is covered with a mold part provided on the front and back surfaces of a substrate through a through-hole part. However, with this configuration, it is difficult to increase the size of the through-hole portion formed in the substrate in the current situation where the tag is downsized. If the through-hole portion is narrowed, the resin to be molded becomes difficult to flow into the through-hole portion, and the IC chip cannot be sufficiently protected. Or since the through-hole part is thin, it has the problem that sufficient attachment strength by resin cannot be obtained.

JP 2010-176451 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an antenna device that can effectively protect a wireless IC element attached to an antenna with a sealing member, and a manufacturing method thereof.

The antenna device according to the first aspect of the present invention is:
A pair of radiation electrode portions having a predetermined width in a plan view; and a connection portion located at one end opposite to the pair of radiation electrode portions and recessed in both sides in a plan view. A dipole antenna to which the elements are connected;
A sealing member that covers the wireless IC element;
With
The sealing member covers the wireless IC element including the one end portion of the radiation electrode portion and the connection portion, and the front side and the back surface of the dipole antenna through the recessed portion of the connection portion. To be continuous with the side,
It is characterized by.

The manufacturing method of the antenna device which is the 2nd form of the present invention,
A dipole antenna comprising a pair of radiation electrode portions having a predetermined width in a plan view, with one end of each of the pair of radiation electrode portions facing each other, and a plurality of pairs juxtaposed,
Forming a through-opening in a shape in which both sides are recessed in plan view at one end of each of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode parts;
Connecting a wireless IC element to one end of the pair of radiation electrode parts;
Covering the wireless IC element with a sealing member including one end of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode parts;
Separating the dipole antenna including the sealing member for each pair of radiation electrode parts;
With
The sealing member is continuous with the front side and the back side of the dipole antenna through a recessed portion of one end of the pair of radiation electrode parts;
It is characterized by.

  The antenna device is integrated with a wireless IC element and attached to a clothing as an RFID tag (wireless IC device), for example, and used for process management such as washing and delivery by communicating with a reader / writer of the RFID system. Is done. In the antenna device, the wireless IC element is covered and protected by a sealing member, and the sealing member is continuous with the front side and the back side of the dipole antenna in a state where the both sides of the dipole antenna are recessed. Therefore, the required fixing strength can be maintained even if the IC tag is small. Therefore, there is no possibility that the connection portion between the wireless IC element and the dipole antenna will be damaged even if clothes are rubbed in the washing process or the like.

  According to the present invention, the wireless IC element attached to the antenna can be effectively protected by the sealing member.

The wireless IC device provided with the antenna apparatus which is one Example is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is a front view. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1A, and FIG. -C sectional drawing, (D) is DD sectional drawing of FIG. 1 (A). The wireless IC device shown in FIG. 1 in a state excluding the sealing resin is shown, (A) is a plan view, and (B) is a front view. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the wireless IC device shown in FIG. 3. It is a top view which expands and shows the modification of a dent. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the said wireless IC device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process (continuation of FIG. 6) of the said wireless IC device. It is sectional drawing which shows the time of filling of the sealing member in the said manufacturing process. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st example of the jig | tool used by the said manufacturing process. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd example of the jig | tool used by the said manufacturing process. It is a perspective view which shows the 3rd example of the jig | tool used by the said manufacturing process. The equivalent circuit diagram of the radio | wireless IC device which comprised the radio | wireless IC element as a module of IC chip and electric power feeding circuit board. (A), (B), (C) is an equivalent circuit diagram which shows the said electric power feeding circuit, respectively.

  Embodiments of an antenna device and a manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, common parts and portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(Wireless IC device provided with an antenna device, see FIGS. 1 to 4)
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the wireless IC device is used for UHF band communication, and has a flexible base sheet 10 and a dipole antenna provided on the sheet 10. 20, the wireless IC element 30, and the sealing resin 40 that covers the wireless IC element 30 are configured as a so-called RFID tag.

  The base sheet 10 preferably has, for example, heat resistance and chemical resistance, and a thermoplastic resin material such as polyimide, PET, or LCP can be suitably used. The dipole antenna 20 is formed on the base material sheet 10 so as to have flexibility by a metal film mainly composed of silver, copper, aluminum, or the like provided on almost the entire surface of the sheet 10. The sealing resin 40 is, for example, a silicone resin.

  The dipole antenna 20 includes a pair of radiating electrode portions 20a having a predetermined width in a plan view, and a connecting portion 20b which is located at one end where the radiating electrode portions 20a face each other and both sides are recessed (dent 20c) in a plan view. The wireless IC element 30 is connected and fixed to the connection portion 20b. Further, the base sheet 10 also has a recessed portion (recess 10a) having the same width as the connection portion 20b of the dipole antenna 20 in a plan view.

  The wireless IC element 30 processes an RF signal and is configured as a silicon semiconductor integrated circuit chip, for example, and includes a clock circuit, a logic circuit, a memory circuit, and the like, and necessary information is stored in the memory. Such a wireless IC element 30 (IC chip) is provided with an input / output electrode and a mounting electrode on the back surface thereof, and the input / output electrode is connected to a connecting portion 20b of the dipole antenna 20 via a metal bump or the like. Are electrically connected and fixed. In addition, Au, solder, etc. can be used as a material of a metal bump. The wireless IC element 30 and the dipole antenna 20 may be electromagnetic coupling.

  The sealing resin 40 entirely covers the wireless IC element 30 including the one end portion of the radiating electrode portion 20 a of the dipole antenna 20 and the connection portion 20 b and also including the base material sheet 10. The sealing resin 40 is continuous to the front surface side and the back surface side of the antenna 20 and the sheet 10 through the recess 20 c of the dipole antenna 20 and the recess 10 a of the base sheet 10.

  The sealing resin 40 protects the wireless IC element 30 from moisture and the surrounding environment, and the antenna 20 and the surface side of the sheet 10 in a state where the both sides of the dipole antenna 20 and the base sheet 10 are recessed are wrapped around. And the back surface side, the strength of fixing to the antenna 20 and the sheet 10 is high (hard to peel off). Therefore, even when the wireless IC device is downsized, the necessary fixing strength between the connection portion 20b of the dipole antenna 20 and the wireless IC element 30 can be maintained. As a result, there is no possibility that the connecting portion between the wireless IC element 30 and the dipole antenna 20 will be damaged even if clothes are rubbed in the washing process or the like.

  The wireless IC element 30 is preferably arranged inside the region A (see FIG. 3A) where the recesses 10a and 20c are formed. Thus, the sealing resin 40 can protect the wireless IC element 30 even in the short side direction. In particular, if the centers of the recesses 10 a and 20 c (region A) and the center of the wireless IC element 30 are overlapped, stress due to deformation of the resin 40 due to temperature and humidity is unlikely to act on the element 30.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 (C) and 2 (D) as a cross section in the short side direction of the base sheet 10, the sealing resin 40 wraps around greatly at both side parts in the short side direction. It is difficult to peel off and the sealing property is good. Further, both side portions of the sealing resin 40 have the same width as both side portions of the base sheet 10 in plan view. That is, in this wireless IC device, as shown in FIG. 1A, both side portions in the short side direction are straight and have no protruding portion, and there is no possibility of interference with other articles such as clothing. Further, the back surface side portion of the sealing resin 40 has an inclined surface 40 a that narrows away from the dipole antenna 20. By providing the inclined surface 40a, the corner of the back surface side portion of the sealing resin 40 becomes a protrusion and does not interfere with other articles.

  With respect to the shape of the recesses 10a and 20c, since the resin 40 can be filled in a small space due to the square shape, there is an advantage that the holding strength is sufficient and the reliability is high. However, the shape of the recesses 10a and 20c is not limited to a quadrangular shape, and may be formed in a curved or polygonal shape such as an arc shape or an elliptical shape as shown in FIG. If the dents 10a and 20c have right-angled edges, impedance mismatch occurs and power loss is likely to occur. If the dents 10a and 20c are formed with curves or polygons with few edges, such power loss is unlikely to occur. On the other hand, the resin 40 can be held more firmly in a small space by using a rectangular shape.

  The wireless IC device is attached to a large number of clothes by, for example, a clothes laundry company, and is used for managing clothes using an RFID system. The communication operation of the wireless IC device will be schematically described. When the radiation electrode unit 20a receives a high frequency signal from the outside, power is supplied to the wireless IC element 30 through the connection unit 20b. On the other hand, when a predetermined high-frequency signal is transmitted from the wireless IC element 30 to the radiation electrode part 20a via the connection part 20b, it is emitted from the radiation electrode part 20a to the outside. As a result, the wireless IC element 30 communicates with a reader / writer (not shown).

(Manufacturing process, see FIGS. 6 to 8)
Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the wireless IC device will be described with reference to FIGS. This manufacturing method is based on a so-called multi-chip method in which a plurality of wireless IC devices are manufactured as a collective substrate and then cut one unit at a time.

  First, as step (1), a plurality of pairs of radiating electrode portions 20a to be dipole antennas 20 are juxtaposed on a base material sheet 10 having a large area with their one end portions facing each other. The radiation electrode portion 20a is formed as a metal film on almost the entire surface of the sheet 10, and is formed in a strip shape by a process such as etching.

  Next, as a process (2), the opening part 11 penetrated in the front and back of the sheet | seat 10 is formed in the shape which both sides dent in planar view in the one end part of a pair of radiation electrode part 20a. Thus, the connecting portion 20b and the recesses 20c and 10a are formed. Next, as a step (3), the wireless IC element 30 is connected to the pair of connecting portions 20b facing each other by soldering or conductive paste.

  Next, as a step (4), the wireless IC element 30 is continuously covered with the sealing resin 40 including one end portions of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode portions 20a. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, a jig 50 having a recess 51 is disposed on the back surface side of the base sheet 10, and a resin liquid (for example, a silicone resin liquid) is applied from above the wireless IC element 30. The applied resin liquid covers the wireless IC element 30 and wraps around the back side of the sheet 10 through the recesses 20c and 10a.

  Next, as a step (5), the dipole antenna 20 is cut at a position indicated by a one-dot chain line X including the sealing resin 40 for each pair of radiation electrode portions 20a. Thus, a wireless IC device including one unit of antenna device is manufactured. The jig 50 is made of a plate material such as stainless steel, and the jig 50 is removed in this cutting process.

(Manufacturing jig, see FIGS. 9 to 11)
Specifically, the jig 50 shown in FIG. 8 can use the first example shown in FIG. 9, the second example shown in FIG. 10, and the third example shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the jig 50 according to the first example is one in which a recess 51 is formed at a location corresponding to each wireless IC element 30 on one jig plate 50 </ b> A. As shown in FIG. 10, the jig 50 according to the second example includes a plate 50 </ b> B formed with a recess 51 as a through-opening portion on the front and back surfaces at a position corresponding to each wireless IC element 30. It is a combination.

  Further, the recess 51 does not need to be formed corresponding to each wireless IC element 30. Even if the recess 51 is a continuous recess 51 as shown in FIG. Good.

(Wireless IC module, see FIGS. 12 and 13)
The wireless IC element 30 may be a wireless IC chip that processes a high-frequency signal as described above, or includes a wireless IC chip 31 and a resonance circuit having a predetermined resonance frequency as shown in FIG. The power supply circuit 32 may be configured as a module. The power feeding circuit 32 supplies the high frequency signal received by the dipole antenna 20 to the wireless IC chip 31 and transmits a high frequency signal having a predetermined frequency transmitted from the wireless IC chip 31 to the dipole antenna 20. Since the power feeding circuit 32 has a predetermined resonance frequency, it is easy to match the impedance of the wireless IC chip 31 and the impedance of the dipole antenna 20.

  When the wireless IC element 30 is configured by the wireless IC chip 31 and the power feeding circuit 32, as shown in FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C, various power feeding circuits 32 (resonance) are provided on the power feeding circuit board 35. Circuit / matching circuit). A pair of electrodes 36 a provided on the back surface of the power supply circuit board 35 is connected to the connection portion 20 b, and a pair of electrodes 36 b provided on the surface is connected to the input / output electrodes 32 a of the wireless IC chip 31. The power supply circuit board 35 can be formed of a multilayer board such as a ceramic sheet, for example. If the inductance and capacitance are built in by patterning a conductive material on the ceramic sheet, the feeder circuit board 35 can be thinned and the tolerance of characteristics can be reduced. The power supply circuit board 35 may be configured by embedding a chip type inductance or capacitance in a resin multilayer board. In this case, since a large value of inductance or capacitance can be provided, matching can be easily achieved.

  The wireless IC chip 31 and the power feeding circuit 32 may be electrically connected (DC connection), or may be coupled via an electromagnetic field (not shown). The feed circuit 32 and the dipole antenna 20 may also be coupled via DC connection or an electromagnetic field.

(Other examples)
The antenna device and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist.

  In particular, the material, shape, and size of the base sheet, dipole antenna, and sealing resin may be appropriately selected according to the application. The shape of the dipole antenna is arbitrary, and may be a meander shape or curved. Furthermore, the article to which the wireless IC device is attached is not necessarily limited to clothing, and may be various products such as surgical gauze.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for an antenna device and a manufacturing method thereof, and is particularly excellent in that a wireless IC element attached to an antenna can be effectively protected with a sealing member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Base material sheet 10a ... Depression 20 ... Dipole antenna 20a ... Radiation electrode part 20b ... Connection part 20c ... Depression 30 ... Wireless IC element 31 ... Wireless IC chip 32 ... Feeding circuit 35 ... Feeding circuit board 40 ... Sealing resin

The present invention is an antenna device, particularly to a manufacturing method of antenna equipment for use in an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system.

An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method of an antenna equipment which a wireless IC device attached to the antenna can be effectively protected by the sealing member.

A method for manufacturing an antenna device according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
A dipole antenna comprising a pair of radiation electrode portions having a predetermined width in a plan view, with one end of each of the pair of radiation electrode portions facing each other, and a plurality of pairs juxtaposed,
Forming a through-opening in a shape in which both sides are recessed in plan view at one end of each of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode parts;
Connecting a wireless IC element to one end of the pair of radiation electrode parts;
Covering the wireless IC element with a sealing member including one end of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode parts;
Separating the dipole antenna including the sealing member for each pair of radiation electrode parts;
With
The sealing member is continuous with the front side and the back side of the dipole antenna through a recessed portion of one end of the pair of radiation electrode parts;
It is characterized by.

It will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings embodiments of an antenna equipment manufacturing method according to the present invention. In each figure, common parts and portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(Other examples)
The manufacturing method of antenna equipment according to the present invention is not limited to the embodiments can be modified in various ways within the scope of the invention.

As described above, the present invention is useful in the production method of the antenna equipment, in particular, has excellent wireless IC device attached to the antenna in that it can effectively protect at the sealing member.

Claims (7)

A pair of radiation electrode portions having a predetermined width in a plan view; and a connection portion located at one end opposite to the pair of radiation electrode portions and recessed in both sides in a plan view. A dipole antenna to which the elements are connected;
A sealing member that covers the wireless IC element;
With
The sealing member covers the wireless IC element including the one end portion of the radiation electrode portion and the connection portion, and the front side and the back surface of the dipole antenna through the recessed portion of the connection portion. To be continuous with the side,
An antenna device characterized by the above.   The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is made of a resin material. Comprising a planar substrate sheet for holding the dipole antenna;
The base sheet has a recessed portion with substantially the same width in plan view as the connection portion of the dipole antenna,
The sealing member is continuous to the front side and the back side of the base sheet through the recessed part of the base sheet,
Both side portions in plan view of the sealing member have the same width as both side portions of the base sheet,
The antenna device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a back surface side portion of the dipole antenna of the sealing member has an inclined surface that narrows in a direction away from the dipole antenna.   5. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless IC element is a wireless IC chip that processes a predetermined wireless signal.   5. The wireless IC device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless IC element includes a wireless IC chip that processes a predetermined wireless signal and a power supply circuit board including a power supply circuit having a predetermined resonance frequency. The antenna device according to 1. A dipole antenna comprising a pair of radiation electrode portions having a predetermined width in a plan view, with one end of each of the pair of radiation electrode portions facing each other, and a plurality of pairs juxtaposed,
Forming a through-opening in a shape in which both sides are recessed in plan view at one end of each of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode parts;
Connecting a wireless IC element to one end of the pair of radiation electrode parts;
Covering the wireless IC element with a sealing member including one end of the plurality of pairs of radiation electrode parts;
Separating the dipole antenna including the sealing member for each pair of radiation electrode parts;
With
The sealing member is continuous with the front side and the back side of the dipole antenna through a recessed portion of one end of the pair of radiation electrode parts;
A manufacturing method of an antenna device characterized by the above.

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