KR101741556B1 - Card-type smart key and method there of - Google Patents

Abstract

This specification discloses a card-type smart key and a method of manufacturing the same. The card-type smart key includes a printed circuit board and a support member. After the support member is assembled with the printed circuit board in consideration of the external shape of the card-type smart key and the position of the component on the printed circuit board, A molding process is performed so that the support member is not exposed on the external shape.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a smart card,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card type smart key and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a card-type smart key that improves physical strength and wireless communication performance, and a method of manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, a smart key for a vehicle widely available enables a driver to open and close a door and start a vehicle from the outside without inserting a separate key or operating an operation button.

That is, when a driver holding a smart key approaches the vehicle, the door is automatically unlocked to open the door from the outside, and even after the vehicle has been loaded into the vehicle, the vehicle can be started without inserting the starter key into the starter key groove have.

The appearance of smart keys for automobiles is also diversifying. Among them, the card type smart key is formed as a thin card to improve the design and portable convenience of the existing smart key.

Particularly, the card type smart key is manufactured by applying a molding method or a potting method. Molding or potting is performed by putting a circuit board on which a component is mounted into a mold and then applying a liquid state EMC (epoxy mold compound) Or similar materials, or hardened after injection to make the appearance of the product.

If a card-type smart key is manufactured with a thickness of less than 3 mm through a molding or potting method, a warping phenomenon occurs more in the production process. In addition, when an external impact such as dropping or bending of a product is applied, the durability is rapidly lowered, and the quality and merchantability are deteriorated.

On the other hand, as the thickness of the card-type smart key becomes thinner, the use of components for wireless communication is restricted, and communication performance with the vehicle is reduced.

Therefore, there is a need for a technique for securing the physical durability of a card-type smart key made to have a gradually reduced thickness and for improving radio communication performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a card type smart key and a method of manufacturing the card type smart key that improve physical strength and wireless communication performance.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a smart card type smart card comprising: a printed circuit board; And a support member formed on the outer surface of the printed circuit board, the support member being formed in consideration of an external shape of the card-type smart key and a position of a component on the printed circuit board, And a molding process is performed so as not to be formed.

The support member may be connected to a first surface on which the component is located or a second surface opposite to the first surface on the printed circuit board or a third surface formed on the outermost edge of the printed circuit board In the present invention.

The card type smart key further includes an input / output member for wireless communication, and the support member is connected to the input / output member to perform an antenna function.

The supporting member may be at least one of a radio frequency (RF) antenna, a low frequency (LF) antenna, and a near field communication (NFC) antenna.

The support member may be made of metal using at least one of a rectangle, a square, a circle, an H-beam, and a box beam .

The thickness of the card-type smart key is 3 mm or less.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a card-type smart key, the method comprising the steps of: mounting a component on a printed circuit board; Manufacturing a support member in consideration of an external shape of the card-type smart key and a position of the component; Coupling the printed circuit board and the support member; And performing a molding process on the coupled printed circuit board and the supporting member so that the supporting member is not exposed on the outer shape.

Wherein the coupling comprises: coupling the support member to a first surface on which the component is positioned on the printed circuit board; Coupling the support member to a second surface opposite to the first surface; And bonding the support member to a third surface formed at the outermost edge of the printed circuit board.

The card type smart key further includes an input / output member for wireless communication, and connecting the input / output member and the support member so that the support member performs the function of the antenna.

The supporting member may be at least one of a radio frequency (RF) antenna, a low frequency (LF) antenna, and a near field communication (NFC) antenna.

The step of fabricating the support member may include at least one of a Rectangle, a Square, a Circle, an H-beam, and a Box beam. and a step of fabricating the substrate using a metal.

The step of performing the molding process may include injecting a molding member into the coupled printed circuit board and the supporting member to seal the supporting member so that the supporting member is not exposed.

According to the card-type smart key and the method of manufacturing the same, the outer shape of the card-shaped smart key in the final product state and the arrangement position of the components are examined in advance to create the support member and then bonded to the printed circuit board. It is possible to improve the productivity by solving the bending phenomenon caused by the thin thickness of the card type smart key due to the thickness of the mold together and improve the durability against the physical external force applied in the longitudinal and transverse directions to improve the quality and merchantability .

In addition, since the supporting member is completely sealed by the molding and is not exposed to the external shape of the card-type smart key, an external electrostatic discharge (ESD) is prevented from flowing directly into the printed circuit board, thereby ensuring electrical reliability.

In addition, since the support member is electrically connected to the input / output member for wireless communication to perform the function of the antenna, the transmission / reception performance and the power efficiency of the wireless communication can be improved without providing a separate antenna.

Also, since the supporting member is completely encapsulated in the epoxy mold compound by the molding, the user's body does not come into direct contact with the supporting member which operates as the antenna, so that the performance variation according to the use environment can be reduced.

1 is a view schematically showing an example of a card-type smart key according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figs. 2 to 4 are views showing various examples of the section of the card-type smart key shown in Fig. 1. Fig.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a card-type smart key according to an embodiment of the present invention.

It is noted that the technical terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. It is also to be understood that the technical terms used herein are to be interpreted in a sense generally understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs, Should not be construed to mean, or be interpreted in an excessively reduced sense. Further, when a technical term used herein is an erroneous technical term that does not accurately express the spirit of the present invention, it should be understood that technical terms that can be understood by a person skilled in the art are replaced. In addition, the general terms used in the present invention should be interpreted according to a predefined or prior context, and should not be construed as being excessively reduced.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout the several views, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing an example of a card-type smart key according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 2 to 4 are views showing various examples of the section of the card-type smart key shown in Fig. 1. Fig.

The card type smart key is formed in a thin card form to improve design and portable convenience over the existing smart key. Particularly, a card type smart key having a thickness of 4 mm or less is manufactured by molding or potting. Molding or potting is performed by placing a circuit board on which a component is mounted in a mold, Epoxy mold compound, or similar material, or injection (molding at high temperature and high pressure) and then curing to make the appearance of the product.

The card - type smart keys are designed to improve customer 's satisfaction with improved portability, but consumers need to make thinner card - type smart keys while maintaining design and wireless communication performance.

When the card type smart key is manufactured to be less than 3 mm thinner than the conventional one in order to meet such a demand, warping may occur in the process of producing the card type smart key due to the thinner thickness, The durability is drastically lowered due to an external impact such as a bending or the like, and the merchantability is lowered. Further, due to the thinner thickness, the use of parts for wireless communication is restricted, and the communication performance with the vehicle is reduced. Accordingly, the present invention proposes a method of improving the physical strength and improving the wireless communication performance while manufacturing a card-type smart key with a thin thickness while maintaining the existing card-type smart key manufacturing method (molding, potting, etc.) do.

1, a card-type smart key 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a component 103 for driving a card-type smart key on a printed circuit board 101, And a support member 104 made of a metal is coupled and then molded with a molding member such as an epoxy mold compound to mold the outer shape.

At this time, the support member 104 has durability against external physical force applied to the card-type smart key 100, and at the same time, does not affect the arrangement of the components 103 positioned on the printed circuit board 101, The external appearance of the card-type smart key 100 in the final product state and the arrangement position of the component 103 are taken into consideration (in advance) to be manufactured in various forms. The support member 104 may be partially cut if necessary in order to minimize the interference between the pattern 103 and the component 103 located on the printed circuit board 101. In addition, the support member 104 is manufactured in consideration of the optimum thickness and rigidity so that it is completely sealed by the molding and is not exposed to the external shape.

Although the support member 104 is shown in the form of an H-beam and a box beam in the embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this, A combination of structures or structures such as a rectangle, a square, and a circle according to the arrangement position of the parts 103 may be designed in an optimal shape having physical durability and not interfering with the arrangement of parts .

The support member 104 thus manufactured is combined with the printed circuit board 101 by various methods according to the shape, production process and structural specificity of the card-type smart key, and then molded.

2, the support member 104 is coupled to a first surface (top plate) on which the component 103 is disposed on the printed circuit board 101, and then a molding member 105 (e.g., epoxy mold compound) So as not to be exposed to the external shape.

3, the support member 104 is coupled to the second surface (lower plate) opposite to the first surface on which the component 103 is not disposed on the printed circuit board 101, And can be molded so as not to be exposed to the external shape.

4, the support member 104 is bonded to the outermost third surface of the printed circuit board 101 and then is completely sealed by the molding member 105 so as not to be exposed to the external shape Can be molded. That is, the third surface formed at the outermost edge of the printed circuit board 101 is coupled to be surrounded by the support member 104 having a predetermined thickness.

In the process of coupling the printed circuit board 101 and the support member 104 by the various methods described above, the support member 104 supports the input / output member 1031 for wireless communication among the components 103 for driving the card- And can operate as an antenna.

That is, the support member 104 is an antenna for radio signal transmission / reception such as a radio frequency (RF) / low frequency (LF) / near field communication (NFC) Is used. At this time, the supporting member 104 is designed in such a shape that the performance of the wireless communication can be optimized by reflecting the transmission / reception simulation result of the wireless signal.

The support member 104 can be operated as an RF antenna, an LF antenna, an NFC antenna, or the like by connecting the support member 104 to the input / output member 1031 for wireless communication.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a card-type smart key according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The method of manufacturing the card-type smart key may be performed by an apparatus for manufacturing a card-type smart key according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A concrete procedure of the method of manufacturing the card type smart key is as follows. The thickness of the card-type smart key may be 3 mm or less.

2 and 5, the apparatus for manufacturing a card-type smart key mounts a component 103 for driving a card-type smart key on a printed circuit board 101 (S100).

Next, the apparatus is designed to have a durability against external physical force applied to the card-type smart key 100 and at the same time, to prevent the influence of the card-type smart key 100 on the placement of the components 103 positioned on the printed circuit board 101, The supporting member 104 is manufactured to have a thickness and a rigidity enough to be completely sealed at the time of molding in consideration of the external shape of the key 100 and the position of the part 103 (S110).

Then, the apparatus combines the printed circuit board 101 and the supporting member 104 in various ways according to the shape, manufacturing process and structural specificity of the card-type smart key (S120). The combination of the printed circuit board and the support member according to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed by various methods such as a surface mount device (SMD), a hole-after-hole wave soldering, .

At this time, the apparatus can further perform a process of electrically connecting to the input / output member 1031 for wireless communication among the components 103 disposed on the printed circuit board 101.

Next, the apparatus performs a molding process in which the molding member 105 is injected into the printed circuit board 101 and the support member 104 combined by various methods to completely enclose the support member so as not to be exposed The outer shape of the card-type smart key is formed (S130).

The card-type smart key manufactured in this manner is a card-type smart key in which the appearance of the card-type smart key in the finished product and the arrangement position of the components are reviewed in advance to create a support member and then bonded to the printed circuit board. It is possible to improve the productivity by solving the bending phenomenon caused by the thickness of the mold together with the thickness of the mold due to the thickness of the smart key, and to improve the durability against the physical external force applied in the longitudinal / transverse direction, thereby improving the quality and merchantability.

In addition, since the supporting member is completely sealed by the molding and is not exposed to the external shape of the card-type smart key, an external electrostatic discharge (ESD) is prevented from flowing directly into the printed circuit board, thereby ensuring electrical reliability.

Further, since the support member is electrically connected to the input / output member for wireless communication to perform the function of the antenna, it is possible to improve the transmission / reception performance and power efficiency of the wireless communication without providing a separate antenna, As it is completely encapsulated in an epoxy mold compound (EMC), the user's body does not come into direct contact with the supporting member which operates as an antenna, so that the performance variation according to the use environment can be reduced.

This specification is not intended to limit the specification to the specific terminology presented. Thus, while this disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the above examples, those skilled in the art will be able to make adaptations, modifications and variations to these examples without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present specification do.

100: Card smart key
101: printed circuit board
103: Parts
1031: Input / output member
104: Support member
105: Molding member

Claims (12)

A printed circuit board; And
A card type smart key including a support member,
The support member made in consideration of the outer shape of the card type smart key and the position of the component on the printed circuit board is coupled with the printed circuit board and then a molding process is performed so that the support member is not exposed on the outer shape However,
Wherein the card-type smart key further comprises an input / output member for wireless communication,
Wherein the support member comprises:
Wherein the card-type smart key is connected to the input / output member to perform an antenna function. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the support member comprises:
And is coupled to a first surface of the printed circuit board on which the component is located or to a second surface opposite to the first surface or to a third surface formed on the outermost edge of the printed circuit board Card smart key. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the support member comprises:
A radio frequency (RF) antenna, a low frequency (LF) antenna and an NFC (Near Field Communication) antenna. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the support member comprises:
And is fabricated using a metal in at least one of a rectangle, a square, a circle, an H-beam, and a box beam. Smart key. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the card-type smart key has a thickness of 3 mm or less. A method of manufacturing a card type smart key,
Mounting a component on a printed circuit board;
Manufacturing a support member in consideration of an external shape of the card-type smart key and a position of the component;
Coupling the printed circuit board and the support member; And
And performing a molding process on the coupled printed circuit board and the supporting member so that the supporting member is not exposed on the outer shape,
Wherein the card-type smart key further comprises an input / output member for wireless communication,
Output member and the support member so that the support member performs the function of the antenna. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the combining comprises:
Coupling the support member to a first surface on which the component is positioned on the printed circuit board;
Coupling the support member to a second surface opposite to the first surface; And
And bonding the support member to a third surface formed at the outermost edge of the printed circuit board. delete 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the support member comprises:
Wherein the at least one antenna operates as at least one of a radio frequency (RF) antenna, a low frequency (LF) antenna, and an NFC (Near Field Communication) antenna. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the step of fabricating the support member comprises:
A step of fabricating the support member using a metal in a structure of at least one of a rectangle, a square, a circle, an H-beam, and a box beam; The method comprising the steps of: 8. The method of claim 7,
The step of performing the molding process may include:
And injecting a molding member into the coupled printed circuit board and the supporting member to seal the supporting member so that the supporting member is not exposed.

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