JPS6313840B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a mobile card for a signal processing device and to a method for manufacturing such a card.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In many areas where a person has access to a certain device by using an object, this object is increasingly formed by a portable card.
An example of this is credit cards, which have been in use for over 20 years and are still becoming more and more widespread.

Recently, the International Standards Organization (International Standards Organization)
The Standarde Organization has set standards for the dimensional characteristics of credit cards (ISO/DIS Standard 2894). According to this standard, a standard card must be 0.762 mm thick and 85.72 mm x 55.98 mm rectangular. For example, the alphanumeric characters intended to indicate the name and address of the bearer to which the card belongs can be formed by stamping, the height of which is approximately 0.5 to one of the sides of the card.
Must not exceed mm.

Among the cards currently in common use,
The only non-alphanumeric information used to permit the card bearer access to the electrical signal processing equipment is recorded on magnetic tape or strips affixed to the card. In some applications, the tape recording alone is sufficient, but in other applications, such as credit cards, it is very advantageous to increase the amount of information, and the card has It is extremely advantageous to incorporate a processing circuit and possibly a storage device or memory which can interact with the signal processing device. Equipped with such a circuit, a credit card can inter alia perform all debit and/or cash operations in conjunction with a processing unit and record the results.

In view of the foregoing, numerous attempts have been made, most notably to incorporate integrated circuits into cards. However, various problems arise with credit cards. The small thickness (0.762 mm) required by international standards must be sufficient to accommodate an integrated circuit capable of performing the above operations, and at the same time the card must not endanger the operation of the device. It must have a certain degree of flexibility.

Many embodiments of credit cards incorporating integrated circuits are already known. 1
In one example, a capsule containing an integrated circuit is connected to a conductor array formed on a rectangular sheet of given length, and the conductors terminate in a contact area across a widthwise portion of the sheet. . A second sheet of the same thickness as the capsule has an opening of the same length and width as the capsule, but not as long as the first sheet, so that the contact area mentioned above is exposed. . This second sheet is applied to the first sheet to encapsulate the capsule. Finally, a third cover having the same length and width as the second sheet covers the second sheet and the capsule.

The above method of making credit cards requires sheets of three different shapes:
The disadvantage is that these sheets must be properly overlapped and bonded or welded. Also,
In order for the card to comply with the above-mentioned standards, the total thickness of the three sheets mentioned above must not exceed 0.762 mm, so each sheet must be thin. This makes handling of the sheet difficult. On the other hand, the capsule must also be very thin and special techniques must be used for joining or welding.

In other known methods, cards are made from only two sheets. One of the sides of the first sheet is provided with an array of conductors terminating in the same number of external contact areas and an integrated circuit is mounted on this first sheet. The second sheet is arranged on top of the first sheet. The two sheets are made from a material that softens at high temperatures, so heating to this temperature causes the two sheets to be welded together through the device. This type of assembly method requires the use of two sheets of material with carefully defined properties, and also requires controlled welding performed at high temperatures, making it difficult to integrate the equipment. The state of devices such as circuits may be affected.

It is therefore an object of the invention to substantially alleviate and eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

According to the present invention, a sheet 12 is provided with a cavity 20 and an integrated circuit assembly 30 having a substrate 28, the substrate supporting an electronic device 22 having a plurality of terminals 74 thereon. Electronic device 2
an inner end and a peripheral end 26 connected to the terminals of 2;
the integrated circuit assembly supports a radial conductor array 24 having a
(a) the card is a standardized card having a predetermined surface area and a predetermined maximum thickness of the sheet 12; (b) the cavity 20 has an opening on the surface 12B of the sheet 12 and a chamber for accommodating the integrated circuit assembly 30; (c) the integrated circuit assembly 30 has a is maintained fixedly within the cavity 20 by a cover 50 closing the cover 50, the outer surface of the cover 50 being approximately in the plane of the surface 12B of the sheet 12; (d) a notch 34 extending through the cover 50; (e) said peripheral ends 26 of radial conductors 68 of said conductor array 24 are provided with said cutouts filled with conductive material 52 and used as external contact terminals for said card 10; A card is provided, characterized in that the card is arranged to contact the inner end of the terminal.

The card according to the invention can therefore consist of a single sheet with a closed cavity in which the device is placed. The fact that the device and its conductor arrangement are already provided on the substrate provides benefits in terms of fabrication process and manufacturing costs. Also, according to one of the basic features of the invention, the permissible depth (0.5 mm) of the reference characters formed by embossing
Using this, it is possible to insert an integrated circuit device into a cavity formed by embossing the part of the card where the character appears in the same way as the embossing for forming the character. In this case, the integrated circuit device can be embedded in a medium whose total thickness is equal to the standard thickness of the card (0.762 mm) plus the height of the characters (approximately 0.48 mm).

The invention also provides a step 1 of providing a plurality of sheets 12 provided with voids 20, an electronic device 22 having a plurality of terminals 74, an inner end of the electronic device 22 connected to said terminals and Conductor arrangement 2 of radial conductors 68 with peripheral ends 26
step 2 of providing a plurality of integrated circuit assemblies 30 with a substrate 28 supporting a plurality of integrated circuit assemblies 30; (a) each of the cards in step 1 has a predetermined surface area and a predetermined maximum thickness; a standardized card in which each of the blanks 20 corresponds to the sheet 1.
(b) in step 2, the integrated circuit assembly is cut from the first strip 84; (c) said step 3 includes inserting one of said integrated circuit assemblies in its entirety into said chamber of said cavity of a corresponding card, and providing covers 50, each of said covers 50 over said opening of said cavity; a cutout 34 passing through the cover 50 and having a peripheral shape corresponding to the shape of the integrated circuit assembly; is fixed within the cavity so that the cavity is closed with one of the covers 50 such that the exterior surface of the cover is approximately in the plane of the surface 12B of the sheet and the interior of the contact terminal A method of manufacturing a card is provided, characterized in that an end is brought into contact with the peripheral end 26 of the conductor 68.

This method is very simple. Only well-known techniques are required to carry out the method. For example, each of the wafers described above may be formed from the same strip carrying a series of conductor arrangements and associated integrated circuit devices on the same substrate. In addition,
This substrate, which occupies a very small area compared to the total area of the card, can be easily and effectively welded using well-known high frequency welding methods. It has also been found that conventional bonding methods can be employed equally advantageously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings showing various embodiments of cards according to the invention.

The specific example that will be covered in the following explanation is a standard credit card, and from the point of view that standardization imposes the above-mentioned restrictions,
It can be said that this is an outstanding embodiment of the present invention, which has the features and advantages of the present invention.

Further, a preferred embodiment to which the present invention is directed is the fourth embodiment.
1 and 2, which are the subject matter of Japanese Patent Application No. 51-157669 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-30315), to aid in further understanding of the present invention. The explanation begins with what is shown in the figure. The present application is a divisional application of the patent application filed in Sho.

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 and 2. In these drawings, the card 10 is a rectangular sheet 12, 85.72 mm long and 53.98 mm long, which complies with the aforementioned international standards.
mm wide and 0.762 mm thick and made from laminated PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PVCA (polyvinyl chloride acetate) or materials with comparable or superior processing properties and suitable for stamping. It is formed from a rectangular sheet 12.

According to the standard, the part 14a of the card included between one of the long edges and a parallel border 15 (indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 1) contains, for example, the name and address of the cardholder. Used to hold reference or standard data such as This reference data may be, for example, an alphanumeric character formed by stamping, such as the reference character 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The reference data can also be written on a thin-walled element, for example made of paper, which is connected to the surface portion 14a of the card 10, such as the element 18 shown in FIG. In any case, according to standards, the stamped reference character 16 as well as the connected element 18 should not exceed a height of about 0.5 mm from the upper surface 12a of the card 10 on which the reference data appears. The permissible character height will therefore be equal to approximately 2/3 of the thickness of the sheet 12.

A void space 20 is provided in the sheet 12. In the embodiment shown, this cavity is a hole through the sheet. This hole is a device 22 for processing electrical signals.
formatted to accept. The device is connected to a conductor array 24 in which each terminal area is provided.

Apparatus or device 22 and conductor arrangement 24
are provided on the same substrate 28 having a relatively smaller thickness and area than the sheet 12 forming the card. By way of example, an assembly formed by a wafer 30 including device 22, array 24 and substrate 28 may be
51-99975 and JP-A-51-139777 and French Patent No. 2205800.

As is clear from FIG. 2, the hole 20 opens into a shallow recess 32 formed in the lower surface 12b of the card. The geometry of the depression 32 corresponds to the shape of the substrate 28, but the area is slightly larger than the latter.
The depth is determined such that the substrate fits within the recess with one surface of the substrate flush with surface 12b.

In addition, a notch 34 is formed in the card in the area where the terminal areas 26 of the conductors of the array 24 will be located when the substrate is placed on the card. In this specific example, the notch is a hole penetrating the sheet 12. These cutouts allow the card's external electrodes (not shown in FIG.
It is designed to be able to make electrical contact with.

In the specific example shown in FIG.
is secured to sheet 12 by an electrically insulating filler material 36 filling hole 20 as shown. This material, in the example shown in FIG.
a, but the material can be raised to a height acceptable to the stamped part 16. This is advantageous in that a device 22 of larger size can be used while maintaining a defined thickness of the card.

It should also be noted that the substrate shown in FIG. 2 must in this case be constructed from a relatively robust material.
Alternatively, a cover (not shown) made of a more robust material than the substrate may be used under the conditions shown in FIG. If there is no cover,
Substrate 28 is bonded or welded to sheet 12.

Another basic feature is found in the configuration that allows the device to be placed in the corner areas of the card, where the torsional stresses exerted on the card, which are made from relatively stiff materials, are lower than those exerted on the central area. The advantage of this is that the substrate occupies a relatively small portion of the area of the card and terminal contact can be made directly to the electrodes via the cutouts 34, so that there is no need to pass conductors through the card. This is due to the fact that it is susceptible to twisting and bending.

Another feature is that processing by device 22 is compatible with other means such as magnetic tape or strips which can be applied to area 14b as defined by international standards. This area is the portion of the card 10 that is complementary to portion 14a and is delimited by a dashed line 15 extending in the longitudinal direction of the card as shown in FIG. In accordance with current practice, as indicated by reference numeral 38,
A magnetic tape is provided, which is typically coupled to the underside 12b of the card. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, neither device 22 nor the conductors of array 24 interfere with the area intended for information being recorded on the magnetic tape.

FIG. 3 shows a specific example of a modified card. In this embodiment, the wafer 30 for the processing device 22 is placed on the side 12a of the card 10, rather than on the opposite side as in the example shown in FIG. This configuration offers a number of advantages compared to those previously described. In view of the height allowed on the surface 12a of the card 10 under the requirements of international standards, the recess 3 shown in FIG.
It is no longer necessary to form a recess such as 2 and, moreover, enveloping the assembly with a cover 40 made of a harder material than the material comprising the substrate 28 of the wafer 30, thereby achieving even more satisfactory protection. Is possible. This results in easier construction and better protection. Additionally, note that the cutout 34 provided for external electrical connections to the card opens into the underside 12b of the card.
This configuration has no effect on the accessibility of device 22 to external electrical signal processing equipment that needs to communicate with the card.

A plug 42 may also be provided to close the hole 20 on the side opposite the side on which the wafer 30 and its substrate 28 are arranged. Such a plug can of course also be used in the case of a card as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, although not explicitly shown in the drawings, it should be noted that the cover 40 is welded or bonded to the card 10.

FIG. 4 depicts a preferred embodiment of the invention in which the voids 20 are not holes but are stamped moldings 44 of the sheet 12 forming the card 10.
The height of this embossed portion satisfies standard specifications. That is, even if it is large, the punched out portion 16
(approximately 0.5mm). Since this height is approximately 2/3 of the thickness of the card, the additional room created by this embossing is not negligible and presents many advantages. The device 22 is housed in a cavity 46 created by the stamp 44, while a first insertion stage 48 is also provided for holding the substrate 28 of the wafer 30. Third
As in the case shown, a cover 50, equivalent to cover 40 of FIG. 3, can be provided to make the assembly more robust.

A wafer 30 similar to that shown in FIGS. 1-3 could be used. For this purpose, the notch 34 must open on the card surface 12a. However, FIG. 4 illustrates another construction method that may be employed. In the case of FIG. 4, the device 22 and the conductor array 24 are not both located on the same side of the substrate, as in the case of FIGS. 1-3, but as clearly shown in FIG. , one on each side of the substrate. Therefore, it is in the cover 50 that the contact notch 34 is formed. However, in order to prevent dust and other fine debris from accumulating in the notch 34 and interfering with the electrical connections that form the link between the device 22 and the processing equipment to which it is connected, The void can be filled with a conductive material 52. This material can in particular be a lead-tin alloy or an electrically conductive polymer.

Figure 5 shows a cover 50 covering the lower side of the card in Figure 4.
It is shown with it removed. In this specific example, wafer 30
A rectangular central opening 54 is formed in the substrate,
The conductors of conductor array 24 extend into this opening.
Electrical or electronic circuitry 56 included in device 22
Each output contact of is positioned in contact with an extension of these conductors. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 is that there is no opening 54 and that the combination formed by device 22 and array 24 are disposed on the same side of the substrate. , in that the device is mechanically secured to the substrate by means other than electrical connections of the device, either on the side carrying the circuitry 56 or on the opposite side thereof. In the cards shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the wafer 30
has the advantages of simple construction and high reliability, and these characteristics can be further improved by applying a substance on the surface of the circuit 56 of the device 22 that cannot be removed from the device without impairing the operation of the circuit 56. be done. According to this configuration, fraudulent acts are reliably prevented. The material is provided in the cross-hatched area 58 located directly below the device 22 in FIGS. 2 and 4.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment using a device 22 secured to the array 24 by a surface carrying electrical or electronic circuitry. Therefore, the conductors of array 24 must be bent to reach the height of the top surface of the device where the processing circuitry is located. Due to these circumstances, both the device and the conductor arrangement are
They are provided on the same side of the substrate 28. The card of FIG. 6 is also provided with a board 58, which cannot be removed from the device without impairing circuit operation. A suitable potting material for enclosing the device 22 is indicated by the reference numeral 60, and this is also the case in all other figures.

A novel feature can also be seen in the case of the card in Figure 6. That is, this card is not a single sheet, but two sheets.
It is composed of two sheets 62 and 64.
As can be seen, the wafer 30 is inserted between these two sheets 62 and 64, and the sheet 62 is pre-stamped.
In manufacturing, two sheets 62 and 64 are used.
are joined or welded together.

FIG. 7 shows yet another specific example. This card uses a single sheet 12 that is simply perforated to form contact notches 34. Fifth
The wafer 30 as shown in the figure is the surface 12a of the sheet.
will be placed in For this purpose, the cap is slightly welded to the sheet 12 in such a way that the thickness of the card where the device is located is equal to the thickness where the stamping 16 is located. It's being launched.

It will of course be understood that the specific examples described above are merely illustrative of some of the various configurations. It goes without saying that various combinations of the embodiments described above (with those shown in FIG. 4) are also possible within the scope of the invention.

The present invention also provides means to ensure a good electrical connection between the device 22 of the card and the devices with which it is required to cooperate. Figures 8a to 10 show some embodiments of this means.

In the configuration of FIGS. 8a and 8b, identical conductors 68 from array 24 associated with device 22
cooperate with two contact recesses 34a and 34b facing the wide contact area 26. Therefore, two electrodes 70a and 70b are required to test contact between each conductor 68 and the processing equipment (not shown) in which the card is used. A power source 72 connected to these electrodes 70a and 70b applies a predetermined voltage between these two electrodes. If the contact is satisfactory, a given current of 2
It flows through the two notches 34a, 34b and the terminal area 26.

According to the configuration shown in FIGS. 9a and 9b,
It is possible to detect possible bad contacts on the card in a more satisfactory manner. In this example, each conductor 68 of array 24 has two conductors 68a
and 68b, the latter being divided into respective notches 34a and 34 formed in the card 10 through the respective terminal areas 26a and 26b.
I am in contact with b. In device 22, the external terminal of the electrical or electronic circuit is contact 74, which is itself divided into terminals 74a and 74b, corresponding to conductors 68a and 68b, respectively.

Electrodes 70a, 70b and cutouts 34a, 34
By applying a voltage to the conductors from the power supply 72 through the terminal area 26a, the conductor 68a, the contact 74a, the contact 7
Connection between 4a and 74b, contact 74b, conductor 68
b, along a path consisting of terminal region 26b and notch 34b. In this way, it is ensured that all connections to device 22 are good.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment in which each conductor 68 terminates in a terminal area 26 carried through the substrate 28 by an aperture 76. FIG. In this embodiment, therefore, two terminal areas 26a, 26b are provided, one on each of the two sides of the substrate. Two cutouts 34a and 34b are connected to regions 26a and 26b, respectively, and thus electrode 7
By applying a predetermined voltage across 0a and 70b, it is ensured that good contact is made if a current above a predetermined level flows.

FIG. 11 is a highly simplified schematic diagram of equipment that can be used to make cards according to the invention. This apparatus is shown to illustrate a method that can be employed to manufacture cards.

In carrying out the method of making a card, first a first roll 78 of a first strip 80 is prepared. The width of this strip is at least equal to one dimension of the card, namely the length or width of the card. The first strip constitutes the material of the card, and if the card is formed from a single sheet, the thickness of the strip 80 will of course be the same as the standard thickness of the card.

While feeding out the strip 80, the forming device 82
A plurality of equally spaced cavities 20 are formed by this. As previously mentioned, these cavities may be holes or stampings and are shown in phantom in FIG. 11.

On the other side, a second sheet 86 comprises a second sheet 86;
A roll 84 is provided. This second sheet is provided with a series of devices 22 provided with a conductor arrangement 24 . As this strip, those disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sho and the French patent specification can be used.

Assembly device 88 cuts second strip 86 as indicated by arrow 90 to trim wafer 30 as described above. This device 88 also connects device 22 to
As the strip 80 is unwound, each wafer 30 is inserted into each of the cavities 20 and inserted into the strip 80.
It plays the role of connecting to. Strip 80 is arrow 9
After cutting as shown at 2, a card 10 according to the invention is obtained.

A third roll 9 consisting of a third strip 96
4 is used to form the previously described cover 40 or 50 by making incisions at the locations indicated by arrows 98 in device 88. Card 10 emerging from device 88 schematically shows the combination of cavity 20, wafer 30 and cover 40.

In another case, a third roll may form a second sheet 64, such as when producing a card as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

Apparatus 88 may similarly be used to bond and weld together card components such as those previously described.

In fact, the small area of the wafer 30 and/or the cover 40 or 50 compared to the card 10 allows for effective welding at the edges using conventional welding methods such as radio frequency welding. However,
Using the same method, it is nearly impossible to weld large surfaces corresponding to substantially the entire area of the card. And this is the main advantage of the present invention over the prior art.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific examples, the present invention is not limited to these specific examples, and these specific examples are merely examples for carrying out the present invention, and do not fall within the scope of the present invention. numerous variations,
It goes without saying that exchanges or combinations of modified equivalents can be easily conceived.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a developed perspective view showing a first specific example of the card, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the card taken along the line - in FIG. Figure 4 is the third specific example of the card,
5 is a bottom view of the card of FIG. 4 with the cover removed; FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross sections of fourth and fifth embodiments of the card. 8a is a cross-sectional view of the card in the area where the external contact terminals of the signal processing device provided on the card are located, FIG. 8b is a diagram showing a part of the board having the structure of FIG. 8a, FIG. Figure 9b is a diagram similar to Figures 8a and 8b, respectively, showing a modified example of the contact terminal according to the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of another embodiment of a contact terminal, and FIG. 11 is a schematic representation of an apparatus for carrying out the method for manufacturing a card according to the invention. 10...Card; 12...Rectangular sheet; 16...
... Alphanumeric characters for reference; 20 ... Blank space; 22 ... Electrical signal processing device (integrated circuit); 24 ... Conductor arrangement;
28... Substrate; 30... Wafer; 32... Hollow; 34... Notch; 36... Filler; 38...
Magnetic tape.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet 12 provided with a void space 20, and a substrate 2
8, the substrate supports an electronic device 22 having a plurality of terminals 74 and has inner and peripheral edges 26 connected to the terminals of the electronic device 22. In a card supporting a radial conductor array 24 and wherein the integrated circuit assembly is secured to the sheet 12 such that the electronic device 22 is inserted into the cavity 20, (a) the card comprises: a standardized card having said sheet 12 of a predetermined surface area and a predetermined maximum thickness; (c) the integrated circuit assembly 30 is fixedly maintained within the cavity 20 by a cover 50 closing the cavity 20, the outer surface of the cover 50 being approximately in the plane of said face 12B of said sheet 12; (d) through said cover 50 a notch 34 is provided, said notch 34 being filled with a conductive material 52 and used as an external contact terminal for said card 10; and (e) the peripheral ends 26 of the radial conductors 68 of the conductor array 24 are arranged to contact the inner ends of the contact terminals. 2. The card according to claim 1, wherein the conductor array 24 faces the inner surface of the cover 50. 3. The card according to claim 2, wherein the terminal 74 of the electronic device 22 faces the inner surface of the cover 50 through an opening 54 provided in the substrate 28. 4. At least over the entirety of the circuitry 56 of the electronic device 22, a substance is applied which, if removed, would impair the operation of the circuitry 56, thereby improving the reliability of the integrated circuit assembly 30. Cards listed in Section 2 or Section 3. 5. The card according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least the electronic device 22 of the integrated circuit assembly 30 is provided with an embedded material 60. 6. step 1 of providing a plurality of sheets 12 provided with voids 20; an electronic device 22 having a plurality of terminals 74; Conductor arrangement 2 of conductor 68
step 2 of providing a plurality of integrated circuit assemblies 30 with a substrate 28 supporting a plurality of integrated circuit assemblies 30; (a) each of the cards in step 1 has a predetermined surface area and a predetermined maximum thickness; a standardized card in which each of the blanks 20 corresponds to the sheet 1.
(b) in step 2, the integrated circuit assembly is cut from the first strip 84; (c) said step 3 includes inserting one of said integrated circuit assemblies in its entirety into said chamber of said cavity of a corresponding card, and providing covers 50, each of said covers 50 over said opening of said cavity; a cutout 34 passing through the cover 50 and having a peripheral shape corresponding to the shape of the integrated circuit assembly; is fixed within the cavity so that the cavity is closed with one of the covers 50, with the exterior surface of the cover approximately in the plane of the surface 12B of the sheet and the interior of the contact terminal. A method for manufacturing a card, characterized in that an end thereof is brought into contact with the peripheral end 26 of the conductor 68. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said sheet is cut from a second strip 78. 8. The method of manufacturing a card according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the cover 50 is cut from the third strip 96.