JP7312355B2 - IC tag, method for manufacturing IC tag, and method for manufacturing IC holding part - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an IC tag used for any purpose such as product management, a method for manufacturing an IC tag, and a method for manufacturing an IC holding portion.

In recent years, IC tags have been widely used. In one example, an IC tag equipped with an IC (integrated circuit) chip that stores information about a product, article, etc. is attached to the product, article, etc., and the information is read in a non-contact manner by a reader device, thereby managing the product, article, etc.

As an IC tag manufacturing method, a method of forming an antenna on a base material by a method such as chemical etching, and then bonding the IC chip by thermocompression bonding is the mainstream method. In addition, there is also a demand for an IC tag whose part including the IC chip can be easily removed when the part including the IC chip is removed and discarded after purchasing the product to which the IC tag is attached. In addition, it is desired to improve the performance of IC tags by impedance matching and the like.

International Publication No. 2010/082413 (Patent No. 5041077) International Publication No. 2012/032974 (Patent No. 5062372) Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-200632 JP 2018-200635 A JP 2018-207387 A JP 2019-3354 A JP 2019-8553 A

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an IC tag, a method for manufacturing an IC tag, or a method for manufacturing an IC holding part, which achieves reduction in manufacturing cost, simplification of removal of a portion including an IC chip, improvement in performance due to impedance matching or the like, or has some other advantage.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises an IC holding portion having a first substrate, an IC chip, and a first conductor; a second conductor holding portion having a second substrate and a second conductor fixed to the second substrate; To provide an IC tag having a positional relationship such that a path starting from and reaching an IC chip appears to be formed using a first conductor and a second conductor.

An example of the above IC tag may be one in which the IC chip is fixed to the first substrate in the IC holding portion, at least a portion of the first conductor is electrically connected to at least one terminal portion of the IC chip, and the second conductor is fixed to the first conductor by an adhesive or adhesive.

An example of the IC tag may have a laminated structure in which a second base material, a second conductor, an adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive, an IC holding portion, and peelable paper are laminated in order.

An example of the above IC tag may be one in which the first conductor is fixed to the first base material in the IC holding portion, at least one terminal portion of the IC chip is electrically connected to at least a part of the first conductor, and the first base material or the IC chip is fixed to the second conductor by an adhesive or adhesive.

An example of the above IC tag may have a laminate structure in which a cover, a cover-side adhesive or adhesive, an IC holding portion, an adhesive or adhesive, a second conductor, a second base material, a peelable paper-side adhesive or adhesive, and peelable paper are laminated in sequence.

An example of the IC tag may be one in which a loop-shaped matching circuit is formed by at least partially overlapping the first conductor and the second conductor when viewed in the stacking direction.

In one example of the IC tag, the first conductor and the second conductor are formed as conductors having sheet resistance (surface resistivity) values different from each other, and the sheet resistance value of the second conductor may be ten times or more the sheet resistance value of the first conductor.

In one example of the IC tag, the second conductor may be formed as a conductor having a sheet resistance value of 0.1 Ω/square (Ω/sq., ohms per square) or more and 1000 Ω/square or less.

In one example of the IC tag, the first conductor or the second conductor may be formed using a metal material using any one of etching, foil stamping, and printing.

In one example of the IC tag, the first conductor or the second conductor may be made of a material containing metal particles, carbon particles, or carbon nanotubes, and further containing resin.

In one example of the above IC tag, the area that appears to be surrounded by the IC chip and the path in the plane viewed in the stacking direction may have a portion that becomes wider with increasing distance from the IC chip side within the area.

In addition, the present invention includes an IC holding portion including a first base material, a first conductor, and an IC chip, a second conductor holding portion including a second base material and a second conductor fixed to the second base material, an adhesive or adhesive material at least partially disposed between the IC holding portion and the second conductor holding portion, and peelable paper disposed so as to cover the IC holding portion, wherein the IC holding portion is not directly fixed to the peelable paper, and the second conductor holding portion and the second conductor holding portion are provided. An IC tag is provided in which an adhesive material or adhesive material is at least partially cut along a line surrounding an IC holding portion in a plane viewed in a stacking direction.

An example of the above IC tag may be one in which the positional relationship between the IC chip, the first conductor, and the second conductor in a plane viewed from the stacking direction is such that a path starting from the IC chip and reaching the IC chip appears to be formed using the first conductor and the second conductor.

The present invention also includes fixing an IC chip to an IC chip fixing position of a first base material, which includes fixing the IC chip after forming a first adhesive or adhesive material on the IC chip fixing position, or including fixing the IC chip to the IC chip fixing position of the first base material in which a layer containing a first adhesive or adhesive is formed at least on a surface including the IC chip fixing position, and a first conductor provided on a surface of the IC chip different from the IC chip fixing position side. At least one terminal portion and at least a part of the first conductor are electrically connected to each other, wherein when the IC chip is fixed to the IC chip fixing position, the first base material is deformed so that the difference between the height of the first base material around the IC chip fixing position and the height of the terminal part of the IC chip in the plane of the IC chip fixing position side is less than half the thickness of the IC chip, and the first conductor is formed in a compressed state of the first base material.

Further, the present invention includes manufacturing an IC holding part by the above-described method, forming a second conductor on a second base material, forming an adhesive or adhesive material on the second conductor, and arranging the IC holding part on the adhesive or adhesive material. To provide a method for manufacturing an IC tag, in which an IC holding part is arranged so as to have a positional relationship that looks like an IC tag.

According to the present invention, in one example, an IC tag, an IC tag manufacturing method, or an IC holding portion manufacturing method having some other advantage can be achieved, such as a reduction in manufacturing cost by miniaturizing and commonizing a portion containing an IC chip to increase mass production efficiency, facilitating removal of a portion containing an IC chip by providing at least a partial cut, or the like, improving performance due to the positional relationship between the IC chip and the first conductor and the second conductor in a plane viewed from the stacking direction, or having some other advantage.

1 is an external perspective view of an IC tag according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 1B is a view for explaining the laminated structure by showing the constituent elements included in the IC tag of FIG. 1A; FIG. 2 is a perspective plan view of IC tags (in a state in which a plurality of them are connected) according to the first embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the stacking direction; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how a first terminal portion (first connection electrode) and a second terminal portion (second connection electrode) of an IC chip are connected to one conductor portion and the other conductor portion of a first conductor, respectively; FIG. 2 is a plan view of an IC strap portion (a plurality of connected state), which is an example of an IC holding portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the IC tag shown in FIG. 1A taken along line A-A′ in FIG. 1A and cut along the stacking direction (the stacking direction is shown upside down from FIG. 1B). FIG. 1B is a conceptual equivalent circuit diagram for explaining the function of the IC tag shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, etc. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for manufacturing an IC strap portion used in the IC tag according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining preferable conditions when fixing the IC chip to the IC chip fixing position on the first base material, and is shown as a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 ; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the IC tag manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the placement of the IC strap portion during the manufacturing method explained with reference to FIG. 7; FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the IC tag according to the second embodiment of the present invention, taken along the stacking direction, corresponding to the A-A′ line cross section in FIG. 1A. FIG. 9B is a diagram showing how the first terminal portion (first connection electrode) and the second terminal portion (second connection electrode) of the IC chip are connected to one conductor portion and the other conductor portion of the first conductor, respectively (cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 9A). FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of a modification of the IC tag according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the IC strap portion is arranged upside down in the stacking direction in the configuration of FIG. 9A; 1 is a perspective plan view of an IC tag according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from a stacking direction; FIG. FIG. 11B is a plan perspective view of the IC tag according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the stacking direction when the mode of the first conductor is changed from the mode of FIG. 11A. 11B is a plan perspective view of the IC tag according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the stacking direction when the mode of the first conductor is changed from the mode of FIGS. 11A and 11B. FIG. FIG. 11 is a view for explaining placement of the IC strap portion on the second conductor holding portion; FIG. 11 is a plan perspective view of the IC tag according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the stacking direction when the mode of the second conductor is changed from the mode of FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for measuring sheet resistance of a conductor used as a first conductor or a conductor used as a second conductor; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a plan perspective view of IC tags (in a state in which a plurality of them are connected) provided with a cut along a line surrounding an IC strap portion according to a third embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the stacking direction, and showing a state in which an IC strap portion and its peripheral portion are separated from other portions along the cut along one of the IC tags. FIG. 11 is a perspective plan view showing a configuration in which the cut is partial (at least a part of which is provided with an “uncut”) as a modified example of the IC tag according to the third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of an IC tag provided with cuts, taken along the stacking direction corresponding to the A-A′ line cross-section in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for manufacturing an IC tag according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, an IC tag, an IC tag manufacturing method, and an IC holding portion manufacturing method, which are exemplary embodiments of the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. However, it should be noted that the IC tag, the method for manufacturing the IC tag, and the method for manufacturing the IC holding portion according to the present invention are not limited to the specific embodiments described below, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the following description, as an example of the IC chip holding portion, an IC chip holding portion in which the first conductor has a string-like shape when viewed in the stacking direction (sometimes referred to as an "IC strap portion") will be used, but the shape of the first conductor in the IC chip holding portion is not limited to such a shape and may be arbitrary. It is also not essential that the first conductor consist of two conductor portions as in the embodiments described later. The first conductor may be a single integrated conductor or may include any two or more conductor portions. The IC chip may be of a type that does not include bumps. The shape, size, material, etc. of other constituent elements are also arbitrary. The IC tag may be any type of IC tag, such as passive type, active type, semi-active type. In addition, in the following embodiments, the IC tag will mainly be described as including peelable paper, but a tag that does not include peelable paper may also be referred to as an IC tag. In the following embodiments as well, there are cases in which an IC tag that does not include peelable paper is referred to as an IC tag, and in which an IC tag that includes peelable paper is referred to as an IC tag. Any releasable material may be used in place of the releasable paper, or the element corresponding to the releasable paper may be omitted. Within the scope of the present invention, any component among the components included in the IC tag and the IC chip holding portion described in the embodiments may be deleted or changed, or another component may be added, and within the scope of the present invention, any component among the components included in the IC tag manufacturing method and the IC holding portion manufacturing method described in the embodiments may be deleted, changed, or another component added. In this specification, an example of "adhesion" is "adhesion", and an example of "adhesive" is "adhesive", but "adhesion" and "adhesive" may be any "adhesion" and "adhesive" other than "adhesive" and "adhesive", respectively. Note that the scale and aspect ratio of each drawing are not necessarily constant.

(First embodiment)
Structure of IC tag
FIG. 1A is an external perspective view of the IC tag according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing constituent elements included in the IC tag of FIG. 1A and explaining a laminated structure. The IC tag 1 includes a peelable paper 2, a first substrate 3, an IC chip 4, a first conductor 5 (consisting of one conductor portion 5a and the other conductor portion 5b), an adhesive 6 such as an adhesive, a second conductor 7, and a second substrate 8. Furthermore, it has a structure in which a peelable paper 2 is attached to an adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material from the IC strap portion side (see FIG. 1B). For convenience of explanation, the IC chip 4 and the first conductor 5 are connected and the first base material 3 is drawn separately in FIG. 1B. However, it should be noted that in the example of the manufacturing method of the IC strap portion described with reference to FIGS. Also, when the first conductor 3 is compressed and deformed as shown in FIG. 3A to be described later, the IC tag 1 may have a slight bulge at a position corresponding to the IC chip 4 in the plane of the peelable paper 2 in FIG. 1B.

FIG. 2 is a plan perspective view of IC tags (a state in which a plurality of IC tags are connected) according to the first embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the stacking direction. 1A and 1B, the second base material 8 is formed in a rectangular shape with four rounded ends, and a plurality of IC tags 1 share the same peelable paper 2 (the same peelable paper 2 is attached to a plurality of IC tags 1 that do not contain the peelable paper 2). It can be seen that the positional relationship between the IC chip 4, the first conductor 5 (consisting of one conductor portion 5a and the other conductor portion 5b), and the second conductor 7 in the plane viewed from the stacking direction is such that a path starting from the IC chip 4 and leading to the IC chip 4 (broken line path in FIG. 2) is formed using the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 have such a positional relationship to form a loop-shaped impedance matching circuit (the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 can also have such a positional relationship in the second and third embodiments described later).

The IC chip 4 is configured using a semiconductor chip including a memory, a control circuit, and the like. One conductor portion 5a of the first conductor 5 is electrically connected to the first connection electrode 4a of the IC chip 4, and the other conductor portion 5b of the first conductor 5 is electrically connected to the second connection electrode 4b of the IC chip 4 (see FIG. 3A). As will be described later, the IC chip 4 is mounted on the first base material 3 while an adhesive (e.g., thermoplastic resin, thermosetting resin, solvent-drying type (vinyl acetate, nitrile rubber), water-soluble (glue)) is formed on the surface of the first base material 3, the IC chip 4 is fixed on the surface, and pressure is applied to deform (bend, etc.) the first base material 3 and compress the first base material 3. However, it is possible to deform the first base material 3 and fix the IC chip 4 simply by pressing the IC chip 4 without using an adhesive such as an adhesive. The first conductor 5 is composed of two conductor portions (one conductor portion 5a and the other conductor portion 5b) as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, and functions as an antenna on the IC chip 4 side in wireless communication between the IC chip 4 and the reader/writer device. In the state where the first base material 3 is deformed and compressed as described above, the first conductor 5 can be formed by, for example, printing conductive ink such as silver paste on the surface of the first base material 3 by a screen printer or the like, transferring a foil stamping tape made of metal such as aluminum to the surface of the first base material 3 by a foil stamping machine or the like, or by forming a metal vapor deposition film such as aluminum on the surface of the first base material 3 and molding it by etching (paragraph [0024] in Patent Document 3, patent See paragraph [0021] in Document 5, etc.). Alternatively, ACP (Anisotropic Conductive Paste) may be used to electrically connect the first connection electrode 4a (bump) and one conductor portion 5a, and the second connection electrode 4b (bump) and the other conductor portion 5b. The first base material 3 and the second base material 8 may each be a base material made of any material such as cloth, nonwoven fabric, paper, ceramic, resin, etc. The material of the first base material 3 and the material of the second base material 8 may be the same or different. The adhesive material 6 is an adhesive material in one example, and may be an acrylic, rubber, or silicone adhesive. The second conductor 7 can be formed on the surface of the second substrate 8 by printing, foil stamping, etching, or the like in the same manner as the first conductor 5 . As the material of the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7, any material such as metal particles, carbon particles, carbon nanotubes, etc. can be used, and any of these materials can further contain a resin (for example, it is formed by a method such as adding carbon particles to a binder and printing). The material of the first conductor 5 and the material of the second conductor 7 may be the same or different, but in one example, the first conductor 5 is made of metal, and the second conductor 7 is made of conductive particles such as resin-containing metal particles, carbon particles, carbon nanotubes, or the like.

FIG. 3B is a plan view of an IC strap portion (in a state in which a plurality thereof are connected), which is an example of an IC holding portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 2, 8, and other drawings are similarly simplified.). As shown in FIG. 3B, if a plurality of IC strap portions having the same configuration are manufactured together, and later separated one by one and combined with the second conductor holding portion on the auxiliary antenna side, a reduction in manufacturing cost can be expected due to the effect of mass production. Further, as will be described later, by adjusting the combination of the IC strap portion and the second conductor holding portion, or by adjusting the shape of the first conductor 5 in the IC strap portion and the shape of the second conductor 7 in the second conductor holding portion, it is possible to match the impedance between the IC chip 4, the antenna (first conductor 5), and the auxiliary antenna (second conductor 7) (the same applies to the second and third embodiments described later).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the IC tag shown in FIG. 1A taken along the line A-A' in FIG. 1A and cut along the stacking direction (the stacking direction is shown upside down from FIG. 1B). In order from the top in FIG. 4, a second base material 8, a second conductor 7, an adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material, a first conductor 5 (one conductor part 5a, the other conductor part 5b), an IC chip 4, a first base material 3, and a peelable paper 2 are arranged. The adhesive used for fixing the IC chip 4 on the first base material 3 and other adhesives (if used) are omitted as appropriate. 9A and 10, which will be described later, the IC strap portion may be arranged in the upside down direction with respect to the stacking direction from the direction in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual equivalent circuit diagram for explaining the function of the IC tag shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, etc. FIG. The electrical resistance R1 represents the resistance of one conductor portion 5a of the first conductor 5, the electrical resistance R2 represents the resistance of the other conductor portion 5b of the first conductor 5, and the electrical resistance R3 represents the resistance of the second conductor 7. An electric capacitance (electrostatic capacitance) C1 represents a capacitance generated by the presence of the adhesive 6 between the conductor portion 5a on one side and the second conductor 7, and an electric capacitance (electrostatic capacitance) C2 represents a capacitance generated by the presence of the adhesive 6 between the other conductor portion 5b and the second conductor 7. The inductance L, as shown in FIG. 2, represents the inductance generated in response to the fact that the IC chip 4, the first conductor 5, and the second conductor 7 appear to form a loop-shaped path when viewed from the stacking direction. Antennas A1 and A2 are conceptual representations of antenna functions realized by the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 . In an example where the IC tag is a passive tag, the IC tag receives an electromagnetic wave (inquiry signal) such as a radio wave emitted from a reader device with an antenna, the IC tag operates using the electromagnetic wave as an energy source, transmits information stored in its memory as an electromagnetic wave from the antenna of the IC tag, and the reader device acquires information by receiving the electromagnetic wave from the IC tag with its own antenna. The circuit shown in FIG. 5 can function as an impedance matching circuit. For example, the thickness of the adhesive material 6 such as the adhesive material 6 can be changed, the size of the overlapping portion between the conductor portion 5a and the second conductor 7 when viewed from the stacking direction, the size of the overlapping portion between the other conductor portion 5b and the second conductor 7 when viewed from the stacking direction can be changed, or the area that appears to be surrounded by the IC chip 4, the first conductor 5, and the second conductor 7 when viewed from the stacking direction. It is possible to adjust the impedance by changing the size (see FIG. 2) to match the impedance between the IC chip 4 and other parts (the same applies to the second and third embodiments described later).

IC Tag Manufacturing Method FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining a method for manufacturing the IC strap portion used in the IC tag according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for manufacturing the IC tag according to the first embodiment of the present invention using the manufactured IC strap portion. In FIGS. 6A and 7, each process is illustrated so as to proceed to the right along the time series.

As shown in FIG. 6A, first, an adhesive such as an adhesive or an adhesive material is formed on the IC chip fixing position on the first substrate 3, or a layer (adhesive functional layer) containing an adhesive such as an adhesive or an adhesive is formed on at least the surface including the IC chip fixing position, and then the IC chip 4 is fixed to the IC chip fixing position. During this fixation, the first base material 3 is compressed and deformed (bent, etc.) by pressing the IC chip 4 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. In one example, when the IC chip 4 is fixed to the IC chip fixing position, the first base material 3 is deformed so that the difference between the height of the first base material 3 around the IC chip fixing position in the plane of the IC chip fixing position side and the height of the terminal portion of the IC chip is less than half the thickness of the IC chip, and the first base material 3 is in a compressed state (d and h in FIG. It is preferable to form the body 5 (this also applies to the case where the IC chip 4 is fixed on the first base material 3 in the embodiment described later). This is because if the first conductor 5 is formed in such a state, the first conductor 5 can be formed on a surface with relatively small unevenness, and the performance of the first conductor 5 as an antenna is considered to be stable. Of course, depending on the thickness of the first base material 3, the IC chip 4 may be completely embedded in the first base material 3 so that h=0 if possible. The formation of the first conductor 5 is performed by a technique such as printing, foil stamping, etching, etc., as already described, and as shown in FIG. The fixing of the IC chip 4 with an adhesive or adhesive (including compression and deformation of the first base material 3) and the formation of the first conductor 5 are performed multiple times on the first base material 3 at intervals. As a result, as shown in FIG. Since high-precision work is often required for the electrical connection between the IC chip 4 and the first conductor 5, if a plurality of IC strap portions are manufactured collectively in this way, efficiency improvement can be expected by standardizing the work.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, a second conductor 7 is printed as an auxiliary antenna on a second base material 8 (paper here) (for example, a plurality of second conductors 7 shaped as shown in FIG. 2 are printed at intervals as shown in FIG. 2). Furthermore, an adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material is applied to the surface on which the second conductor 7 is printed, and the IC strap part 9a is fixed on the adhesive material 6 in such a direction that the first conductor 5 side faces the adhesive material 6 side, whereby the IC strap part 9a is mounted. Next, the peelable paper 2 is attached from the first substrate 3 side of the IC strap portion 9a. As shown in FIG. 7, the releasable paper 2 adheres to the adhesive 6 present in the spaced area between the IC strap portions 9a. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to apply an adhesive or the like to the surface of the first base material 3 opposite to the IC chip 4. After that, as shown in FIG. 7, the layers of the second base material 8 and the adhesive material 6 are cut so as to separate the IC tags one by one, and the second base material 8 and the adhesive material 6 are removed (removing unnecessary parts. For example, in FIG. 2, the second base material 8 and the adhesive material 6 are partially removed by the waste removal, and the shape is smaller than the releasable paper 2 (the four ends of the rectangle are rounded).), and then wound into a roll shape.

(Second embodiment)
Structure of IC tag
FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view of the IC tag according to the second embodiment of the present invention, taken along the stacking direction, corresponding to the AA′ line cross section in FIG. 1A. In order from the top in FIG. 9A, the cover 10, the first adhesive layer 11 made of adhesive or adhesive, the IC chip 4, the first conductor 5 (one conductor part 5a, the other conductor part 5b), the first substrate 3, the second adhesive layer 12 made of adhesive or adhesive, the second conductor 7, the second substrate 8, the third adhesive layer 13 made of adhesive or adhesive, and the peelable paper 2 are arranged. The adhesive used when forming the first conductor 5 on the first base material 3 (unnecessary when forming by printing, etc.), the adhesive used when fixing the IC chip 4 on the first conductor 5, and other adhesives (if used) are omitted as appropriate. Also, descriptions of elements and configurations that may be the same as in the first embodiment are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9A, although the layer structure of the IC tag according to the second embodiment is different from the layer structure of the IC tag according to the first embodiment (FIG. 4), the plan perspective view seen from the stacking direction may be the same as the plan perspective view shown in FIG. 11D, adjustable as described using FIG. 12.), the second embodiment, and the IC tag according to the third embodiment described later can also function as an impedance matching circuit as described using FIG. Electrical connection between the first connection electrode 4a of the IC chip 4 and one conductor portion 5a of the first conductor 5, and electrical connection between the second connection electrode 4b of the IC chip 4 and the other conductor portion 5b of the first conductor 5 are as shown in FIG. 9B, for example.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a modification of the IC tag according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the IC strap portion is arranged upside down in the stacking direction in the configuration of FIG. 9A. In order from the top in FIG. 10, the cover 10, the first adhesive layer 11 made of adhesive or adhesive, the first base material 3, the first conductor 5 (one conductor part 5a, the other conductor part 5b), the IC chip 4, the second adhesive layer 12 made of adhesive or adhesive, the second conductor 7, the second base 8, the third adhesive layer 13 made of adhesive or adhesive, and the peelable paper 2 are arranged. As in FIG. 9A, the adhesive used when forming the first conductor 5 on the first base material 3 (unnecessary when forming by printing, etc.), the adhesive used when fixing the IC chip 4 on the first conductor 5, and other adhesives (if used) are omitted as appropriate. Also, descriptions of elements and configurations that may be the same as in the first embodiment are omitted. The IC tag 1 having the layered structure shown in FIG. 10 can function in substantially the same way as the IC tag 1 having the layered structure shown in FIG. 9A.

Here, the way the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 overlap when viewed from the stacking direction (the way the one conductor portion 5a and the second conductor 7 overlap, the way the other conductor portion 5b and the second conductor 7 overlap), the positional relationship, the size, etc. are not limited to the mode shown in FIG. 2 and can be changed. Examples of different overlapping methods, positional relationships, sizes, etc. from those in FIG. 2 are shown as plan perspective views in FIGS. 11A to 11C. As shown in these figures, by appropriately adjusting the overlapping manner and the like, it is possible to appropriately adjust the electrostatic capacitance related to the overlapping of the one conductor portion 5a and the second conductor 7 viewed from the stacking direction, the capacitance related to the overlapping of the other conductor portion 5b and the second conductor 7 viewed from the stacking direction, the above-mentioned inductance, and the like. For example, when the IC strap portion is mounted on the second conductor holding portion as shown in FIG. 11D, by adjusting the mounting position of the IC strap portion and increasing or decreasing the area that appears to be surrounded by the IC chip 4, the first conductor 5, and the second conductor 7 in FIG. 11C, the inductance described above can be changed. By increasing or decreasing the magnitude of each, the capacitance caused by each overlap can be changed.

The shape of not only the first conductor 5 but also the second conductor 7 can be changed as appropriate. For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , the shape of the second conductor 7 may be changed so that an area (in FIG. 12 , an area surrounded by the dashed line path and the IC chip 4) that appears to be surrounded by the IC chip 4 and the path starting from the IC chip 4 formed by the one conductor portion 5a of the first conductor 5, the other conductor portion 5b, and the second conductor 7 has a portion that widens as the distance from the IC chip side increases. By adopting such a shape of the second conductor 7, even if the mounting position of the IC strap portion is slightly displaced in the vertical direction, the displacement of the inductance due to the displacement can be made relatively small.

As already described, as the material of the first conductor 5 and the material of the second conductor 7, for example, metal, metal particles containing resin, carbon particles, carbon nanotubes, etc. can be used, and the material of the first conductor 5 and the material of the second conductor 7 may be the same or different from each other, but in one example, the first conductor 5 is formed of metal, and the second conductor 7 is formed of conductive particles such as metal particles containing resin, carbon particles, carbon nanotubes, and the like. Considering the electrical connectivity with the terminal portion of the IC chip 4, the material of the first conductor 5 is preferably a metal with particularly high conductivity. On the other hand, as the material of the second conductor 7 functioning as an auxiliary antenna, even if a material with low conductivity compared to metal is used, relatively good performance can be obtained. (communication distance) can be obtained). By combining the first conductor 5 as an antenna and the second conductor 7 as an auxiliary antenna, the communicable distance of the IC tag can be extended as compared with the case without the auxiliary antenna.

In one example, the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 are respectively formed as conductors having sheet resistance (surface resistivity) values different from each other, and the sheet resistance value of the second conductor 7 can be 10 times or more the sheet resistance value of the first conductor 5. For example, when an antenna is made of conductive ink, the resistance is high, and the sheet resistance may be ten times or more that of ordinary aluminum foil or the like. As such a set of the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7, for example, a metal (first conductor 5) that is a good conductor of electricity, such as aluminum, silver, and copper, and nanoparticles (metal nanoparticles such as gold, silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, or powder of carbon, graphite, etc.) dispersed in a vehicle (binder) (second conductor 7) can be used. As an example of the second conductor 7, black conductive ink using carbon or graphite also exists as a product. Epoxy resin is generally used as the vehicle (binder), but urethane, silicone, acrylic, polyimide, other thermosetting resins, and thermoplastic resins can also be used depending on the required properties and the location of use. The specific sheet resistance values of the first conductor and the second conductor may be arbitrary, but as an example, the second conductor may be formed as a conductor having a sheet resistance value of 0.1 Ω/square (Ω/sq., ohms per square) or more and 1000 Ω/square or less. In one example, the sheet resistance of the second conductor 7 can be adjusted by adjusting the concentration of carbon particles in the second conductor 7, and the ratio of the sheet resistance of the second conductor 7 to the sheet resistance of the first conductor 5 (such as silver) can also be adjusted. The ratio between the sheet resistance value of the first conductor 5 and the sheet resistance value of the second conductor 7, and the specific sheet resistance values of the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 may be the same in the first and third embodiments.

In one example, the sheet resistance of each of the first conductor 5 and the second conductor 7 can be measured by preparing a first sheet of the same material and the same thickness as the first conductor 5 formed in the IC tag 1 and a second sheet of the same material and the same thickness as the second conductor 7 formed in the IC tag 1, and measuring the sheet resistance of each of the first sheet and the second sheet by a method such as a four-probe method. The measured value of the sheet resistance of the first sheet at this time may be taken as the sheet resistance value of the first conductor 5 , and the measured value of the sheet resistance of the second sheet may be taken as the sheet resistance value of the second conductor 7 .

Any method can be used to measure the sheet resistance. For example, the measurement configuration shown in FIG. 13 can be used. In the configuration of FIG. 13, the first sheet is cut into a rectangular (rectangular) shape with a length of 1 mm and a width of 10 mm (not cut in the thickness direction), and a DC voltage is applied across the cut first sheet with a width of 10 mm to measure the DC current, thereby measuring the electrical resistance (=DC voltage/DC current) of the cut first sheet. /sq.). Regarding the sheet resistance value of the second conductor 7, similarly, the second sheet is cut into a rectangular (rectangular) shape with a length of 1 mm and a width of 10 mm (not cut in the thickness direction), and a DC voltage is applied across the cut second sheet with a width of 10 mm to measure the DC current, thereby measuring the electrical resistance (=DC voltage/DC current) of the cut second sheet. Ω/□, or Ω/sq.).

Unlike the layer structure shown in FIG. 4, in the IC strap portion of the IC tag 1 having the layer structure shown in FIG. 9A or 10, the first conductor 5 is formed on the first base material 3, and the IC chip 4 is arranged on the first conductor 5 (FIG. 9B. However, the adhesive etc. are omitted). Therefore, unlike the method of manufacturing the IC strap portion described with reference to FIG. 6A, in manufacturing the IC strap shown in FIG. 9A or FIG. The first connection electrode 4a) is electrically connected to one conductor portion 5a of the first conductor 5, and the second terminal portion (second connection electrode 4b) of the IC chip 4 is electrically connected to the other conductor portion 5b of the first conductor 5.).

On the other hand, the manufacturing method of the second conductor holding portion may be the same as the manufacturing method described using FIG. 7, and the second conductor 7 is formed on the second base material 8 by printing or the like. A second adhesive layer 12 is formed with an adhesive on the second conductor 7 side of the second conductor holding portion, and the IC strap portion is placed on the second adhesive layer 12 (in the layer structure of FIG. 9A, the first base material 3 of the IC strap portion is arranged to face the second conductor 7 side, and in the layer structure of FIG. 10, the direction of the IC strap portion is reversed with respect to the stacking direction). Furthermore, a first adhesive layer 11 is formed using an adhesive on the surface of the IC strap portion (the IC chip side in the layer structure of FIG. 9A, and the first base material 3 side in the layer structure of FIG. 10), and the cover 10 is attached.

(Third embodiment)
Structure of IC tag
FIG. 14 is a perspective plan view of IC tags (a plurality of connected tags) provided with a cut along a path surrounding the IC strap portion according to the third embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the stacking direction, and shows a state in which the IC strap portion and its peripheral portion are separated from the rest of the IC tag along the cut. FIG. 15 is a perspective plan view showing a configuration in which the cut is partial (at least part of which is provided with an "uncut") as a modified example of the IC tag according to the third embodiment of the present invention. By cutting a part of the IC tag 1 along the cut or the cut with an uncut (having an uncut part) 15, the IC chip 4 which may become an obstacle for disposal and the IC strap part including the first conductor 5 containing metal in one example can be separated.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an IC tag provided with cuts, taken along the stacking direction, corresponding to the cross-section taken along the line A-A' in FIG. 1A. In order from the top in FIG. 16, a second base material 8, a second conductor 7, an adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material, an IC chip 4, a first conductor 5 (one conductor part 5a, the other conductor part 5b), a first base material 3, and a peelable paper 2 are arranged. Note that the adhesive used when fixing the IC chip 4 on the first conductor 5 and other adhesives (if used) are omitted as appropriate. No adhesive such as adhesive is formed between the IC strap portion and the peelable paper 2, and the IC strap portion is not directly fixed to the peelable paper 2 (the peelable paper 2 is attached to the second conductor holding portion with an adhesive 6 such as an adhesive, and the IC strap portion is sandwiched between the peelable paper 2 and the second conductor holding portion on which the adhesive 6 such as an adhesive is formed). Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the second base material 8, the second conductor 7, and the adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material are provided with cuts or cuts with uncuts 15 described with reference to FIGS. can be separated (since the IC strap portion is attached to the adhesive material 6 such as the adhesive material in the portion to be cut off, the IC strap is also removed together with the portion to be cut off). As shown in FIG. 4, the structure of the IC strap may be such that the IC chip 4 is first fixed on the first substrate and the first conductor 5 is formed thereon. 4 and 16, the IC strap may be placed upside down in the stacking direction, as described with reference to FIGS. 9A and 10. FIG. The manner of connection between the first connection electrode 4a of the IC chip 4 and one conductor portion 5a of the first conductor 5, and the manner of connection between the second connection electrode 4b of the IC chip 4 and the other conductor portion 5b may be the same as those shown in FIGS. 3A, 9B, and the like. In one example of use, a merchandise dealer peels off a detachable paper 2 from an IC tag 1, attaches a portion other than the paper 2 to the packaging of merchandise from the side of an adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material, uses it for merchandise management (assuming that management information is stored in a memory of an IC chip), and sells the merchandise. A consumer who has purchased the merchandise separates and discards the IC strap part by cutting off a part of the IC tag 1 from the cut or the cut with an uncut 15, and separately discards the package with the remaining part of the IC tag 1 stuck.

IC Tag Manufacturing Method FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of an IC tag manufacturing method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 17, each process is illustrated so as to proceed to the right along the time series. The method of manufacturing the IC strap portion 9a may be the same as the method in the already described embodiments. A second conductor 7 is printed as an auxiliary antenna on a second base material 8, and an adhesive material 6 such as an adhesive material is applied to the printed surface of the second conductor 7. An IC strap part 9a is mounted on the adhesive material 6 by fixing the IC strap part 9a on the adhesive material 6 in such a direction that the IC chip 4 side faces the adhesive material 6 side. Each one is separated and implemented.). Next, the peelable paper 2 is attached from the first substrate 3 side of the IC strap portion 9a. As shown in FIG. 17, the peelable paper 2 adheres to the adhesive material 6 present in the spaced area between the IC strap portions 9a. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to apply an adhesive material or the like to the surface of the first base material 3 opposite to the IC chip 4. After that, as shown in FIG. 17, the layers of the second base material 8 and the adhesive material 6 are cut (cut) so as to separate each IC tag one by one, waste removal is performed, and the cut described with reference to FIGS.

The features described in the first, second, and third embodiments can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in all industries, including management of products, parts, etc. in the manufacturing industry and product management in the retail industry.

1 IC tag 2 Peelable paper 3 First substrate 3a Adhesive (adhesive etc.)
4 IC chip 4a first connection electrode (bump)
4b Second connection electrode (bump)
5 First conductor 5a Conductor part 5b on one side Conductor part 6 on the other side Adhesive material (adhesive material, etc.)
7 second conductor 8 second base material 9a IC strap (IC holder)
9b Second conductor holding portion 10 Cover 11 First adhesive layer 12 Second adhesive layer 13 Third adhesive layer 14 First conductor or second conductor (for sheet resistance measurement)
15 Cuts or cuts with uncut R1 to R4 Electric resistance C1 to C2 Electric capacity (capacitance)
L Inductance A1-A2 Antenna

Claims (10)

an IC holder comprising a first base material, an IC chip, and a first conductor;
a second conductor holder comprising a second base material and a second conductor fixed to the second base material;
an adhesive material or adhesive material at least partially disposed between the IC holding portion and the second conductor holding portion;
with
The positional relationship between the IC chip, the first conductor, and the second conductor in a plane viewed from the stacking direction is such that a path starting from the IC chip and reaching the IC chip appears to be formed using the first conductor and the second conductor,
The first conductor and the second conductor are respectively formed as conductors having sheet resistance (surface resistivity) values different from each other, and the sheet resistance value of the second conductor is 10 times or more the sheet resistance value of the first conductor.
IC tag. an IC holder comprising a first base material, an IC chip, and a first conductor;
a second conductor holder comprising a second base material and a second conductor fixed to the second base material;
an adhesive material or adhesive material at least partially disposed between the IC holding portion and the second conductor holding portion;
with
The positional relationship between the IC chip, the first conductor, and the second conductor in a plane viewed from the stacking direction is such that a path starting from the IC chip and reaching the IC chip appears to be formed using the first conductor and the second conductor,
An area that appears to be surrounded by the IC chip and the path in the plane viewed from the stacking direction has a portion that widens in the area as the distance from the IC chip side increases.
IC tag. In the IC holding portion, the IC chip is fixed to the first substrate, and at least a portion of the first conductor is electrically connected to at least one terminal portion of the IC chip,
The second conductor is fixed to the first conductor by the adhesive or adhesive material,
The IC tag according to claim 1 or 2 . Having a laminated structure in which the second base material, the second conductor, the adhesive or adhesive material, the IC holding portion, and peelable paper are sequentially laminated,
The IC tag according to claim 3 . In the IC holding portion, the first conductor is fixed to the first base material, and at least one terminal portion of the IC chip is electrically connected to at least a portion of the first conductor,
The first base material or the IC chip is fixed to the second conductor by the adhesive or adhesive material,
The IC tag according to claim 1 or 2 . The cover, the cover-side adhesive or adhesive, the IC holding portion, the adhesive or adhesive, the second conductor, the second base material, the peelable paper-side adhesive or adhesive, and the peelable paper are laminated in this order.
The IC tag according to claim 5 . A loop-shaped matching circuit is formed by at least partially overlapping the first conductor and the second conductor when viewed in the stacking direction.
The IC tag according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . 8. The IC tag according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said second conductor is formed as a conductor having a sheet resistance value of 0.1Ω/□ or more and 1000Ω/□ or less. 9. The IC tag according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said first conductor or said second conductor is formed using a metal material using any one of etching, foil stamping, and printing. 10. The IC tag according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first conductor or the second conductor contains any one of metal particles, carbon particles, and carbon nanotubes, and is formed of a material containing resin.

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