Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02227148 1998-01-16
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AN IC CARD MODULE AND ALSO A METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR
THE PRODUCTION ~ EREOF
The present invention relates to a method for
producing an IC card module according to the preamble
of claim 1 and a device for producing an IC card module
according to claim 4.
0 IC card~, which are used, for example, in ca~hless
money trans~ers, generally consi~t of a so-called ~'IC
card module" having a carrier layer, which is for
example ~ormed from a film carrier, and a transponder
unit arranged thereon having a coil acting as an
15 antenna and at lea~t one IC, and al80 of protective
laminate layers which are applied on both sides thereof
and are used, for example, as advertisement carriers or
even to identify the card holder by means of a
photogxaph.
An IC card ~odule iB known from EP O 481 776 A2,
which ~odule has, on a film carrier, a coil structure
which in addition to being fitted with an IC i8 also
fitted with further electronic components. Basically,
the possibility exists of producing such a coil
structure ~y mean~ of the application of a
corre~pondingly formed metallic coating, for example
electrogalvanically or by mean~ of an etching proce~s,
or by mean~ o~ a winding coil, the winding wire turns
of which are applied to the carrier layer. The fir~t-
mentioned metal-coating methods certainly have the
advantage that adhesion between the carrier layer and
t~e coil structure resul~s as an inherent ~eature of
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the method, yet the known method~ are very expen~ive to
carry out and require a corre~pondingly large outlay in
terms of operating arrangeme~t~ to bring them about.
When u~ing a winding coil for the production o~ such an
IC card module it ha~ proved to be di~advantageous that
in addition to applying the coil to the carrier layer
in a ~3eparate method step it i8 also neces~;ary to
ensure that the coil i8 connected to the carrier layer
in o~der to be able to utilize the I~ card module,
which has the carrier layer and the coil, a~ a unit in
the manu~acture of IC card~.
A method for producing an I~ card module i8 known
from DE,A,44 10 732, in which the arrangement of a wire
coil on a thermoplastic carrier layer is effected by
laying the wire on the carrier layer with the wire
being embedded in the carrier layer at le~st in place~.
A method for producing an IC card i~ known from
WO,A,94/22 111, in which a winding coil is arranged
between two layers o~ material and i~ completely
embedded in the two layer3 of material.
The underlying object o~ the present invention is
to propose an IC card moduLe and also a method and a
device for the production thereo~, which method and/or
device ~implify the production o~ an IC card module.
This object is achie~ed by means o~ a method for
producing an IC card module having the features of
claim 1 and al~o ~y means o~ a device for producing an
IC card module ha~ing the feature~ o~ claim 4.
In the case o~ the method according to the
invention for producing an IC card module according to
claim 1, the coil, after having been produced on a
winding tool, i~ pre~ed into the carrier layer by
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means of said winding tool under ~he influence of
temperature ~o that it i~ not necessary to tran~fer the
ready wound ~oil from the winding tool to a ~eparate
application device for the purpose of applying the coil
to the carrier layer, and direct transfer by the
W; n~; ng tool to the carrier layer i8 possi~le.
The connection of the coil ~y means of the w;~; n~
tool can be carried out in a particularly ~imple manner
if the coil, a~ter it ha~ been produced on the winding
tool, is preq8ed into the carrier layer by means of a
W; n~; ng-wire in~talling element o~ the winding tool
tha~ i~ arranged so a~ to be parallel to the coil
plane, and a restoring movement of a winding core,
which receives the windi.ng-wire in8talling element,
take~ place.
The restoring movement or the receding movement of
the win~ing core
.
/
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20 / during the application of the coil to
the carrier layer prevents da~age to or de~or~ation of
the carrier layer by means o~ the winding core.
The re~torinq movement o~ the w;nAin~ core can be
ef~ected by means of a corre~ponding advancing movement
of the carrier layer.
The device according to the invention for
producirg an IC card module ha~ a heatable winding
tool, which ha~ a windin~ core and a winding-wire
installing element arranged thereon; and al~o a
carrier-layer pre~~.Ln~ -~evice that ha~ a receiving
plane ~or the planar device of the carrier layer
parali~l to the w.inding-wire installi~g element, with
CA 02227148 1998-01-16
the carrier-layer preBsing device being movable toward~
the w;~ing-wire installing element or vice versa, and
with the winding core being movable in relation to the
w~n~;ng-wire in~talling element.
In order to avoid damage to the thermoplastic
carrier layer particularly in the case where the
restoring movement o~ the winding core is effected by
means o~ the carrier layer or rather by mean~ of the
carrier-layer pressing device arranged underneath, it
10 i8 possible for the winding core to be ~orrned at least
in the region of its end face that faces the carrier-
layer pressing device so as to be thermally insulating.
Such ~ub~tantially thermally occasioned damage to
the carrier layer can al90 be avoided if the w; n~l; n~
core ha~ an end face which i~ reduced in size in
relation to its cross-~ectional area. Thi~ can be
achie~ed, for example, by ~orming the corre~ponding end
o~ the winding core in a concave manner 80 that the end
~ace ~ubstantially con~ist~ of a ring-shaped area.
soth m~asures mentioned abo~e for thermally protecting
the carrier layer can of course also be combined with
each other~
It ha3 proved to be particularly advantageous if
the carrier-layer pres~ing devlce is provided with a
vacuum de~rice in order to effect adhesion of the
carrier layex to the receiving plane
Protection of the carrier layer against thermal
o~erlo~ding can al~o be achieved by forming the
carrier-layer pre~sing device from a material that has
a high level of thermal conductivity.
Th~ pos~ibil~ty also exists o~ providing the
wlnding ccre ~nd/or the carrier-layer pre~ing device
CA 02227148 1998-01-16
with a cooling device.
The IC card module according to the invention as
well as the me~hod according to the invention for
producing an IC card module and a device according to
the invention that can be used in this connection are
explained in greater detail in the following with
re~erence to the drawing~, in which:
Figure 1 shows an IC card module having a
transponder unit which is arranged on a
carrier layer and con~ists of a coil and
an IC;
Figure 2 shows a representationr in partial
section, of the IC card module which is
represented in Figure 1 along the course
o~ the line o~ intersection II-II;
Figure 3 shows the repre~entation of a ~ariant of
the method for producing an IC card
module wlth a winding too'. in a winding
con~iguration;
Figure 4 shows the winding tool, which is
represented in Figure 3, in an
application confi~urati~n before
trans~erring the wlnding coil to the
carrier layer;
Figure 5 shows the winding tool during
application of the w; ~A; n~ coil to the
carrier layers
Figure 6 shows a plan view of a winding-wire
installing ~lement of the winding tool.
Figure 1 ~hows an IC card module 10 having a
carrier layer 11 and a tran~ponder unit 12 arran~ed
thereon. The tran~ponder unit 12, in the case of the
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exemplary embodiment represented here, con~ists of a
winding coil 14, which i8 produced of wi n~; ng wire 13
and the w; n~; n~ wi~e end9 18, 19 o~ which are connected
~o terminal ~aces 16, 17 of an IC 15.
As Figure 2 show~, the surface of the carrier
layer 11 i~ plastically deformed in the region of coil
turns 21, with there ~eing adhesion between the coil 14
and the carrier layer ll which consist~ of a
thermoplastic material, such as PVC or polycarbonate.
In this connection, the coil turns 21 are practically
pressed into the surface of the carrier layer 11 and an
adhe~ive effect i~ achieved.
A variant of the method for producing the IC card
module 10, which i~ represented in Figures 1 and 2, by
means of a device which can be u~ed in this connection
is explained by way of example in the following with
re~erence to Figures 3, 4 and S.
Fiqure 3~ in a greatly diagrammatic
representation, shows a w;~; n~ tool 22 which has a
winding core 23 with a winding-wire inst.~lling element
24 arranged thereon and a counter-holder 25. The
winding core 23 thus together with the winding-wire
installing element 24 and the counter-holder 25 form~ a
winding ~.atrix which by means of rotation about a
winding axis 26 in con~equence of a corresponding
winding~up movement of the winding wire 13 renders
possible the formation of the winding wire coil 14.
During the production of the winding coil 14 the
~ou.n~er-holder 25 i~ connec~ed to the winding core 23
in order to enable the coil turns 21 to be formed in an
ordered ~anner as represented in Figure 3. During
prod~.lction of a w~nding coil 14 of high frequency that
CA 02227l48 l998-0l-l6
is wound out o~ winding wire of a comparatively large
diameter (approximately 150 ~m) and which only ha8 a
few coil turns 21, it is possible to dispense with the
counter-holder 25 in particular whilst he~ting the
5 wi n~t n~ tool 22 or the winding wire 13 in order to
attain adhesion between the baked ~n~mel surfaces of
the coil turns 21.
Figure 6, in a plan view of the winding-wire
installing element 24 of the winding tool 22,
illu~trateR the formation of the winding coil 14 at the
end of the winding process and the pos~ibility of
utilizing the winding-wire installing element 24 for
the purpo~e of producing the whole tran~ponder unit 12
in addition to and at the same time as using it to ~orm
the w; n~lng COll 14.
For thi~ purpose, the winding-wire in6talling
elem.ent 24, at its peripheral edge 27, i8 provided with
two holding devices 28, 29 which are used to receive
the winding wire ends 18, 19 in a clamping manner
before and at the end o~ the actual winding process.
For this purpose, hefore the start o~ the w; n~l;ng
process the winding wire end 18 is ~irst guided by
mean~ of a suitable wire guide, which is not
repre~ented further here, through the holding de~ice 28
and i~ clamped there. Sub~equently, the winding coil
14 i8 formed by rotating the windin~ tool 22 about the
windlng axis 2~, with the winding wire 13 being guided
Ollt ~f the wire guide. After the desired number of
turns has been attained, finally the second winding
wire end 19 is clamped by guiding the wire guide
throllgh the ~econd holding device 29 so that the
configur~tion which i~ represented in Figure 6 appear~.
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In the winding-wire in~:talling element 24 there iR
a receiving device 30 for receiving the IC 15 in ~uch a
way that the terminal faces 16, 17 o~ the IC 15 are
located in a position o~ overlap with the winding wire
ends 18, 19. The IC 15 can either be inserted into the
winding-wire installing element 24 before the w; n~; n~
process or el~e after the windin~ process can be pushed
~rom behind through the receiving device 30, which i8
for example shaped as a through-opening, with its
terminal face~ 16, 17 against the winding wire end~ 18
and 19 respectively. By means of a connecting tool,
which i~ not repre~ented further, it i8 possible for
the winding wire e~d~ 18, 19 to be ~onnected to the
terminal face~ 16, 17 and also for the winding wire
ends 18, 19 to be severed ~etween the terminal ~aces
16, 17 and the holding device~ 28, 29.
Accommodated in this way in the winding-wire
in~talling element 24, the transponder unit 12, formed
~rom the winding coil 14 and the IC 15, as represented
in Fi~ure 4, i. applicable a~ter removal o~ the
counte~-holder 25, in the application con~iguration of
~he windirg tool 22 can then be applied to the carrier
layer :L1 which is arranged on a receiving plane 31 o:E a
carrier-layer pre~sing device 32.
For this purpose, the carrier layer 11, which can
be formed as a continuous film running past the
carrier-layer pressing device 32 or as a ~heet that has
IC card ~;m~n~ions, i8 pressed by means o~ the carrie~-
layer pre~sing device 32, as indicated by means of the
arrow 33 n Figure 4, against the winding-wire
installin~ element 24 with interposition o~ the winding
coll 14 Qr the tran~ponder unit 12. Depending on the
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deformation characteristics of the thermoplastic
carrier layer material, heating o~ the winding-wire
installing element 24 or of the winding wire 13 may be
effected in order to render po~sible plastic
deformation of the surface of the carrier layer 11, as
represented in Figure 2, under the influence of
pres~ure and temperature.
Figure 5 also shows, in accordance with the
representa~ion in Figure 2, how the coil ~urns 21 of
the winding coil 14 in the ca~e of the coil application
are pressed at least in part into the surface of the
carrier layer 11. In order to prevent a situation from
occurring where as a re~ult of the w; n~; n~ core ~3
cont~cting the carrier layer ll the latter is de~ormed
or e~en de~troyed, with the pressing movement (arrow
33) of the carrier-layer pre3sing device 32 a re~toring
movemen~ ~arrow 34) of the winding core 23, which can
be moved in relation to the winding-wire installing
element 24, takes place.
