WO1997026620A1

WO1997026620A1 - Chip-card body for use in the production of a chip card containing a coil

Info

Publication number: WO1997026620A1
Application number: PCT/DE1997/000046
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Gruber
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 1996-01-16
Filing date: 1997-01-13
Publication date: 1997-07-24
Also published as: JP2000503429A; CN1208487A; DE19601391A1; KR19990077139A; EP0875040A1

Abstract

The chip-card body described is characterized in that the coil in it is formed by a conduction path (20) which forms a single unit with the chip-card body (1).

Description

description

_Ch ip _k body types for producing a chip card to a coil enthalten¬

The present invention relates to a chip card body for producing a chip card containing a coil.

Such chip cards can be used, for example, as contactless chip cards (identification systems) in which the

Signal transmission between a chip provided in the chip card and a chip card reading and / or writing system takes place wirelessly via coils acting as transmitters and / or receivers.

Conventional chip cards of this type are composed of a chip card body and a chip module to be inserted into a corresponding recess in the same.

In the case under consideration, the chip module consists of a carrier element, a chip mounted on the carrier element and a wound coil also mounted on the carrier element; in addition, stiffening elements and / or casting compounds protecting the chip and / or the coil can additionally be provided on the chip module, but these are not to be discussed in more detail.

The size available for the chip module is determined by the size of the recess in the chip card body receiving the chip module. The maximum size of the recess of the chip card body is in turn dependent on the desired mechanical properties of the chip card, in particular its stability and durability.

The recess of the chip card body and thus also the chip module to be inserted therein are generally relatively small. The packing density of. In the chip module Elements that are to be mechanically and / or electrically connected can therefore become very large, as a result of which the production of such chip cards is very difficult, time-consuming and prone to failure.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of developing a chip card body in accordance with the preamble of patent claim 1 in such a way that the production of a chip card containing a coil can be simplified.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the feature claimed in the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

Accordingly, it is provided that the coil is formed by a line path forming a unit with the chip card body.

By providing this feature, the coil can be formed essentially outside of the recess, as a result of which the number of elements to be accommodated in the recess of the chip card can be reduced. This in turn enables (under otherwise constant conditions) a reduction in the packing density of the discrete components to be implanted in the recess, so that the high requirements for mechanical and / or electrical assembly can be reduced.

A chip card body was therefore created which enables the production of a chip card containing a coil to be simplified.

Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing. Show it FIG. _{1 shows} a plan view of a partially completed chip card containing a chip card body according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view along the line A-A shown in FIG. 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B shown in Figure 1.

The chip card body 1 of the chip card shown in the figures essentially has the shape of the finished chip card. To complete the chip card, all that is required is that shown in plan view in FIG. 1

Cover (upper) and the opposite (lower) surface with a film or the like.

The chip card body 1 has a recess 10 shown in FIG. 1 in plan view and in section in FIGS. 2 and 3, but is otherwise equipped with an essentially flat surface.

The recess 10 has an essentially rectangular shape. Two of its side walls, namely a left side wall 11 as shown in FIG. 1 and a right side wall 12 of the recess 10 drop vertically downward from the chip card surface to a bottom section 13 of the recess. The other two side walls, namely an upper side wall 14 and a lower side wall 15 of the recess 10 as shown in FIG. 1, as can be seen particularly well in FIG. 3, fall relatively flatly downward from the chip card surface to the bottom section 13 of the Recess 10 from.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the depth of the recess 10 is approximately 0.4 mm, the chip card body 1 being one Total thickness of about 0.6 mm. However, the invention is not limited to chip cards or chip card bodies dimensioned in this way.

A first coil connection 21 and a second coil connection 22 are provided in the recess 10.

The first coil connection 21 is provided on the bottom section 13 near the left side wall 11 of the recess 10 as shown in FIG. 1, and the second coil connection 22 is on the bottom section as shown in FIG

13 near the right side wall 11 of the recess 10.

Starting from the first coil connection 21, one runs

Electrical path 20 forming the line path over the bottom portion 13 of the recess 10 and over the upper side wall

14 of the recess 10 out of the recess 10, then runs in the manner shown in FIG. 1 clockwise along the outer edges of the chip card and finally returns via the lower side wall 15 of the recess 10 to the bottom portion 13 of the recess 10 , whereby a coil pattern corresponding to a coil winding is formed. By repeating or continuing this conductor routing, a corresponding one of a large number of coil turns can be made

Create a (spiral-like) coil pattern. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a coil comprising five turns is formed in this way. The electrical conductor 20 ends at the second coil connection 22.

The coil pattern including the first coil connection 21 and the second coil connection 22 runs on the surface of the chip card body (including the surface of the recess 10) shown in the top view in FIG. 1 or in one provided in the corresponding surface sections for protection and / or for isolation and / or for the immovable positioning of the indentation serving for the coil pattern.

The coil is therefore no longer a discrete coil to be inserted into a recess, but rather a coil integrated in the chip card body or a coil which forms an inseparable unit with the chip card body and which can be provided entirely or at least essentially outside a recess.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, although it is strictly three-dimensional, the coil pattern represents an essentially surface-like (two-dimensional) structure (surface or surface coil).

The electrical conductor 20 and the coil connections 21, 22 are preferably implemented as a conductor track, which was formed by coating with an electrically conductive material. Printing processes (for example screen printing) and / or electroplating processes are currently preferred as coating processes. However, the invention is not limited to this. In principle, all methods can be used as coating methods by means of which a layer having a coil pattern can be produced using the desired materials.

The coil pattern can also be produced using an electrically conductive wire which can be connected to the chip card body, for example, by gluing and / or fusing.

Regardless of the manner in which the coil pattern is implemented, a chip 30 is provided between the coil connections provided in the recess 10, preferably between the first coil connection 21 and the coil pattern section running through the recess, which chip 30 there, for example Gluing is fixed to the bottom portion 13 of the recess 10. Connections of the chip 30 assigned to the coil connections 21, 22 are electrically connected to the coil connections 21, 22 by wire bonding. Instead of wire bonding, of course, any other connection technology can also be used - for example, direct contacting using the so-called bump technique is also possible.

The intermediate steps for producing a chip module containing the chip and to be implanted in the chip card body can be omitted due to the direct mounting of the chip on the chip card body.

The chip 30 mounted on the chip card body is molded with a covering compound 31 which can be hardened under UV light (so-called globe-top cover) in order to protect the chip 30 and its connection to the coil.

To complete the chip card, the chip card body shown in this state in FIGS. 1 to 3 is to be provided with foils or the like on its top and bottom (the same is preferably applied by lamination). If required, the recess 10 can additionally be completely filled with the said covering compound 31 or covered by a separate cover.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the coil pattern is formed on a surface of the chip card body. If the chip card body is made up of several layers, it is of course also possible instead to provide the coil pattern on a surface of any chip card body layer that does not coincide with the surface of the chip card body. In this way it can be achieved, for example, that the coil pattern runs along a non-curved surface, the height of which is the height of the _S pulenanschlüsse 21, 22 supporting the bottom portion 13, he _d recess 10 corresponds; the conductor guide on the o _b ere side wall 14 of the recess 10 and the lower Seiten¬ wall 15 of the recess 10 and possibly also among other things, provided for this purpose inclined courses of these Seiten¬ walls could then be omitted.

The coil pattern also does not necessarily have to run on the surface of the chip card body or a chip card body layer or in depressions provided on these surfaces. Instead, it can also be provided that the coil raster inside the chip card body or a chip card body layer, i.e. to be provided in an (embedded) state (with the exception of the coil connections) surrounded on all sides by chip card body or chip card body layer or other material.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the coil pattern is essentially two-dimensional within a single (curved) surface of the chip card body. However, there is also no restriction to this. The coil pattern can rather run arbitrarily within the chip card body and on the chip card body. In particular, it is also conceivable, for example, to use sections of the chip card body as the coil body, which the conductor 20 can rotate around repeatedly, similarly to a coil wound in one layer.

Regardless of the type of coil integration in the chip card body, in contrast to conventional chip card bodies, the chip card body according to the invention is at least partially given the function of a printed circuit board on which certain elements (for example chips and the like) can be mounted directly and in which, if required, certain other elements (in addition to the coils mentioned, for example also resistors, capacitors, transistors etc.) can be integrated outside the recess (for example using thin film or thick film technology); The chip module previously carrying all the electrical and electronic components can be freed of its component carrier function and can be omitted entirely or replaced by a cover covering the recess.

Claims

_1st C _h _k ip body types adurchgekennzeichnet for preparing a a coil ent retaining smart card, _d, that the coil is formed by a forming a unit with the chip card body (1) conduction path (20).

2. Chip card body according to claim 1, so that the chip card body (1) is composed of several chip card body layers.

3. Chip card body according to claim 1 or 2, so that the line path (20) is designed as an electrically conductive coil pattern coating or as an electrically conductive coil pattern wire arrangement on one or more chip card body and / or chip card body layer surface (s)

4. Chip card body according to claim 3, so that the coil pattern coating and / or the coil pattern wire arrangement run in lowered portions of the chip card body and / or chip card body layer surface (s).

5. Chip card body according to claim 1 or 2, so that the conduction path (20) is designed as an electrically conductive coil pattern coating or as an electrically conductive coil pattern wire arrangement which is embedded in the chip card body (1) or a chip card body layer.

6. Chip card body according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that _d ate the line trail a substantially flächen¬ even expansion and has a predetermined Flächen¬ _REA several times with different distances rotates.

7. Chip card body according to one of claims 3 to 6, that the coil pattern coating is formed by a printing process and / or a galvanizing process.

8. Chip card body according to one of the preceding claims, so that the chip card body (1) has a recess (10) for inserting a chip (30).

9. Chip card body according to claim 8, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the recess (10) and coil connections (21, 22) of

Coil is arranged relative to each other in such a way that the coil connections are freely accessible via the recess.

10. Chip card body according to claim 8 or 9, so that the line path (20) forming the coil extends partially over the surface of the recess (10).

11. Chip card body according to one of claims 8 to 10, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the recess (10) is formed such that the chip (30) can be glued into this.

12. Chip card body according to claim 11, characterized in that the recess (10) and the coil connections (21, 22) are arranged relative to one another in such a way that the coil connections are freely accessible even after the chip (30) has been glued into the recess . ₁₃ . _Ch ipkartenkörper according to any preceding Ansprü ^¬ che, adurchgekennzeichnet _d in that connection points of the chip (30) to the coil terminals (21, 22) are electrically connected using a bonding method.

14. Chip card body according to one of the preceding claims, that the connection points of the chip (30) with the coil connections (21, 22) can be electrically connected using a bump method.