Card-type information substrate including frame and preform thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a card-type information substrate such as a payment card and a preform thereof, wherein, in some embodiments, a frame is combined with a metal-containing plate to give the card-type substrate increased weight and / or a better appearance, wherein the influence of the frame and the metal-containing plate (if provided) on the RF performance of the card-type substrate is taken into consideration. For example, in an illustrative embodiment, the influence of the conductive material in the frame and / or plate is reduced by selecting one or more appropriate features to offset the negative impact on the RF performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a card-type information substrate, such as a card used for payment activities, which includes wireless information exchange capabilities through wireless interaction with a corresponding reader device. Background Art

[0002] In many technical fields, wireless information exchange is utilized to provide better handling of information carriers and allow enhanced functionality. For example, more and more transactions, such as payment transactions, can be completed or at least triggered based on a specially designed information substrate, which can contain sensitive user information and the technical platform required to initiate the corresponding transaction. For example, any type of corresponding payment card can generally be used to initiate financial transactions or any other activities that require the exchange of sensitive user information with a corresponding counterpart device, where wireless information exchange via radio frequency (RF) is increasingly relied upon. That is, although as an example of a card-type information substrate, many traditional payment cards can still be based on the physical contact of the corresponding electronic module provided in the card base material and the exposure of the contact pad to interact with the corresponding contact pad of the reader device, additionally or alternatively, such payment cards are increasingly equipped with corresponding antennas to interact wirelessly with the corresponding reader device. Therefore, specific RF characteristics may have to be implemented and dedicated specifications must be met so that the corresponding payment card can be used in combination with a standardized reader device.

[0003] In addition to the steadily improving technical capabilities of any such card-type information substrates, such as payment cards, other characteristics of the card-type information substrates must meet specific requirements in order to meet user expectations of the operation and optical appearance of these information substrates. For example, such card-type information substrates may have to exhibit significant mechanical robustness in order to withstand mechanical stresses such as bending forces over an extended period of time. In addition, in general, the substrate itself may have to exhibit a high degree of tamper resistance in order to substantially avoid the possibility of unintended changes in the information and / or functions of the card-type substrate. In addition to any such requirements, the optical and tactile appearance of the card-type substrate is also increasingly important in order to provide the competitiveness of such substrates.

[0004] For example, metal components such as metal pads are often added to the card base material to give the card substrate increased weight or a better appearance. In other ways, the corresponding card information substrate is formed based on the metal base material to obtain a heavy weight and a specific appearance, which can make it possible to express the higher value of the corresponding payment card. Typically, such metal-based payment cards are designed for contact-based coupling to a corresponding reader device, however, due to wear and tear of the contact points, the service life is significantly limited, and due to the lack of wireless connection, the user experience is also limited.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to allow for a better appearance and / or weight of a card-type information substrate while increasing flexibility regarding wireless connection capabilities of the card-type information substrate. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of the above, the present invention is generally based on the technical concept that additional weight and / or a better appearance can be given to a card-type information substrate by providing a frame made of a material different from the card base material so as to at least add additional weight to the card without changing the specific external dimensions of the card-type substrate. In addition, regardless of the type of material used in the card frame, the card-type information substrate can still have wireless connection capabilities. In illustrative embodiments, one or more heavy components such as metal-containing plates or blocks can be additionally incorporated to enhance the weight and / or optical effects that can be achieved based on a frame made of heavy materials.

[0007] Therefore, in one aspect of the present invention, the above technical purpose is achieved by a card-type information substrate. The card-type information substrate includes a substrate material made of plastic and an electronic module embedded in the substrate material. In addition, the card-type information substrate includes a frame formed around the periphery of the substrate material, wherein the frame gives the card-type information substrate increased weight and / or a better appearance. In addition, the card-type information substrate includes an antenna located within the outline of the frame and operably connected to the electronic module for wireless communication.

[0008] It should be noted that the frame may be connected to the substrate material by direct connection or via any intermediate medium.

[0009] According to this aspect of the invention, the size, shape and material composition of the frame can be selected to achieve increased weight and / or better appearance, which can be achieved by using one or more materials of appropriate types based on appropriately selected structures and incorporating the (one or more) materials into the card base material.

[0010] In this regard, it should be understood that the increased weight is understood as the difference in weight of the card substrate of the present invention in which the frame is formed compared to a substantially identical card substrate in which the frame would be replaced by the substrate material of the remainder of the card substrate. That is, for otherwise identical overall dimensions of the card substrate, the volume occupied by the frame material has a greater weight than the base material made of plastic. For this purpose, any suitable material can be used that has a substantially higher specific gravity than the substrate material in plastic form, wherein generally many such suitable frame materials can additionally impart better mechanical robustness to the card-type information substrate than would be the case if the substrate material in plastic form were to be used for the entire card.

[0011] Furthermore, it should be understood that the term "frame" should be understood as a component that surrounds at least a majority of the substrate material while still leaving a significant central area uncovered by the frame material. For example, although in some embodiments, the width of the frame can vary along the circumferential direction, it can be limited to approximately 3% to 25% of the total extension of the smaller of the two orthogonal lateral dimensions of the card substrate. For example, for a card substrate having a length (as the larger of the two lateral dimensions) of approximately 85.6 mm and a width (as the smaller of the two lateral dimensions) of approximately 54.0 mm, the width of the frame can be in the range of approximately 2 mm to 13.5 mm.

[0012] Thus, by applying the concept of providing a frame for a card substrate, the corresponding desired properties of any such appropriate frame material can be utilized while still providing sufficient area for implementing electronic modules and antennas within the outline of the frame. That is, when selecting the appropriate geometry of the frame in conjunction with providing the desired frame material, the total size of the interior area enclosed by the frame can be appropriately designed to accommodate electronic modules and antennas with desired RF characteristics. For example, when maximizing the card interior area enclosed by the frame, the size of the antenna can be appropriately adjusted to provide sufficient area for antenna design to obtain sufficient RF performance of the antenna.

[0013] In another illustrative embodiment, the card-type information substrate includes an eddy current limiting component that is configured and arranged to limit eddy currents in the frame. In this embodiment, the characteristics of many types of materials regarding their RF performance hindering behavior are taken into account. For example, certain materials with even lower conductivity may exhibit a tendency to generate eddy currents when exposed to electromagnetic fields in a specific frequency range. For example, many standardized payment cards may operate in a frequency range of approximately 11 to 20 MHz, which may cause corresponding eddy currents to be generated in the frame material, which in turn may have a negative impact on the RF performance of the antenna.

[0014] In this regard, it should be understood that the term eddy current is understood to have a meaning including any physical mechanism that results in loss of electromagnetic radiation transmitted or received by the antenna due to the presence of the frame material. Therefore, by taking into account the possibility of eddy currents being generated in the frame material, the eddy current limiting assembly can be appropriately adjusted so as to avoid or at least limit the amount of damping, thereby limiting the size of the eddy currents to an acceptable level.

[0015] In one illustrative embodiment, at least a portion of the frame is formed of a conductive material. As already discussed in the introduction to the specification, metallic materials are often used in conventional payment cards in order to increase the weight of such cards and enhance their appearance. Therefore, by using one or more metallic materials in at least a portion of the frame, the possibility of appropriately designing the weight and / or appearance of the card substrate can be provided, however, any negative impact of the (one or more) metallic materials on the RF performance of the antenna can be taken into account by design and / or other mechanisms (such as the eddy current limiting component discussed above).

[0016] In another illustrative embodiment, the frame is formed of a non-conductive material, which in one illustrative embodiment may be provided in the form of ceramic. In this way, the desired features of the frame according to the present invention may be obtained, such as increasing the weight of the card substrate and / or enhancing its appearance without substantially negatively affecting the RF performance of the antenna. In one illustrative embodiment, the frame may be made entirely of ceramic or any other suitable non-conductive material without any intermediate conductive or metallic portions, thereby minimizing the impact on the RF performance of the antenna.

[0017] In another illustrative embodiment, the eddy current limiting assembly discussed above includes a slit formed in the frame. That is, in this illustrative embodiment, the frame can be "interrupted" by the slit, but the frame can also completely surround the substrate material of the card substrate. In this case, it has been recognized that even for conductive frame materials, the corresponding damping mechanism (i.e., eddy currents) can be sufficiently limited so as to still provide the desired RF performance of the antenna. The width of the slit (i.e., the size of the slit along the circumferential direction of the frame) can be selected so as to obtain the desired eddy current limiting function while still achieving the desired optical and mechanical behavior of the frame.

[0018] In another illustrative embodiment, as described above, the eddy current limiting assembly includes a resistive portion that is connected to the frame and has a lower electrical conductivity than the electrical conductivity of the base material of the frame. That is, the resistive portion can be physically and / or electrically connected to the frame so as to reduce the overall electrical conductivity of the frame, which in turn can produce a reduction in any damping mechanism (i.e., eddy currents that may otherwise be generated in large quantities in the frame during antenna operation).

[0019] In one illustrative embodiment, the resistive portion may comprise a slit combined with a filling material exhibiting reduced electrical conductivity. In this way, the resistive portion is provided as part of a frame physically connected and thus represents a part of the frame, while reducing the overall electrical conductivity of the frame even though the remainder of the frame may be formed of metal or any other conductive material. In this way, a substantially closed loop may be provided in the form of a frame based on any suitable frame base material, while the (one or more) resistive portion provides reduced losses when operating the antenna. As already indicated, therefore, the (one or more) resistive portion may represent a part of the frame, which in turn may be provided as a closed loop, thereby increasing the overall mechanical robustness and also providing a better appearance of the frame.

[0020] In other illustrative embodiments, the frame is at least partially conductive and has an overall conductivity corresponding to a conductivity of 50 S / m (Siemens per meter) or less. As described above, using a conductive material as the basis for the frame may be advantageous in certain respects, such as in achieving a desired appearance of the frame with a reduced amount of frame material to create additional weight and / or by using specific alloys, etc. to provide specific optical effects, while still being able to control the overall conductivity within the above-specified value range in order to maintain loss mechanisms at a low level, thereby still achieving the desired RF performance of the antenna. For example, the frame can be made of a base material with a conductivity of 50 S / m or less without any other reduced conductivity material, thereby achieving consistent material properties extending along the entire perimeter of the frame while still ensuring appropriate RF performance of the antenna.

[0021] In other illustrative embodiments, the frame is generally conductive and includes at least one portion of reduced conductivity in order to obtain the desired overall conductivity specified as described above. In this way, a high degree of flexibility is provided in establishing the desired overall conductivity, while on the other hand a plurality of conductive materials (i.e. materials of increased conductivity) can be used, while by providing at least one portion of reduced conductivity, regulation of the overall conductivity can still be reliably ensured.

[0022] In one illustrative embodiment, the at least one portion of reduced conductivity comprises an area of ​​reduced material thickness. In this way, a desired overall conductivity can be easily adjusted for many types of conductive materials while maintaining a consistent optical appearance on at least one surface of the frame.

[0023] In the illustrative embodiment, the antenna is a planar antenna formed by metal traces formed on a carrier material. In this way, established manufacturing techniques can be applied in order to obtain an overall antenna structure of the desired type for a planar architecture. For example, techniques for selectively depositing materials, as well as non-selective deposition techniques combined with photolithography processes and etching techniques, etc. can be used, thereby enabling even highly complex antenna geometries to be generated based on cost-effective manufacturing techniques that ensure minimal process variations and, therefore, reproducible RF behavior.

[0024] In other illustrative embodiments, the antenna is formed by a wire embedded in a carrier material. Therefore, any such "wire embedded" structure for the antenna can also be effectively implemented into a card-type information substrate, because the RF behavior can be adjusted by adapting the frame structure to the specific antenna design based on the techniques described above.

[0025] In further illustrative embodiments, the operable coupling between the electronic module and the antenna is established by a direct electrical connection (i.e., a wired connection) between the antenna and the electronic module. That is, in these embodiments, a wired connection is established between the electronic module and the antenna, thereby helping to reduce the overall loss of the entire system consisting of the electronic module and the antenna disposed within the outline of the frame. Therefore, electronic modules can be used without module-internal coupling antennas incorporated therein, which in turn can provide better overall RF performance of the module-antenna system established for wireless information exchange with an external reader device.

[0026] In other illustrative embodiments, the operable coupling between the electronic module and the antenna is established by inductive coupling between the antenna and the electronic module. In this way, a mature electronic module that has incorporated a coil for inductive coupling can be used, while based on the above-mentioned technology, even if the antenna is provided within the outline of the frame, the required RF performance of the antenna for communicating with an external reader device can still be achieved.

[0027] In a further illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the card-type information substrate has two opposite long sides, wherein the antenna is arranged symmetrically with respect to the two opposite long sides. Therefore, by taking into account the corresponding design of the symmetry with respect to the long sides of the card, even if the frame includes a conductive material such as metal, the influence of the frame on the antenna can generally be reduced. In this regard, the symmetry of the antenna with respect to the long sides of the substrate should be understood to refer to a structure in which the distances of each antenna long side to each adjacent long side of the substrate are equal. That is, the antenna is centered with respect to the width dimension of the substrate.

[0028] In one illustrative embodiment, the distance of the antenna from the two opposite long sides is at least 6 mm. The inventors have recognized that a distance of at least 6 mm can result in a significant improvement in the RF performance of the antenna when standard dimensions are applied in the lateral and thickness dimensions of the card-type information substrate. Therefore, as described above, by appropriately adjusting the size of the frame, the usable area of ​​the card surrounded by the frame can be adjusted so that for a given lateral dimension of the antenna, the distance described above can be obtained.

[0029] In the illustrative embodiments disclosed herein, the card-type information substrate is a payment card having a standard size. That is, in these illustrative embodiments, the framework can be advantageously implemented in a standard payment card while still ensuring efficient wireless information exchange capabilities with an external reader device, for example, by complying with established RF standards for wireless communications in the payment card field.

[0030] However, it should be understood that the principles disclosed herein may also be used in conjunction with other card substrates having any different lateral dimensions and / or thickness dimensions, as may become necessary to achieve in certain applications.

[0031] According to another aspect of the present invention, the above technical purpose is achieved by a preform of a card-type information substrate. The preform includes a frame formed around the periphery of the base material, wherein the frame gives the preform increased weight. In addition, the preform includes at least one metal-containing plate arranged within the outline of the frame. In addition, the preform includes an antenna located within the outline of the frame and configured to enable wireless communication.

[0032] Based on this concept, the present invention provides a preform of a card-type information substrate, which, in addition to a frame with increased weight, includes additional components made of heavy materials, thereby enhancing the overall effect of the final card-type information substrate. Because the preform enables a generally standard manufacturing process for completing the card-type information substrate without the need for a specially designed manufacturing process, significant advantages can be obtained by providing the card-type information substrate with a corresponding heavy component as a preform (which may still have to undergo a specific manufacturing process such as laminating one or more additional material layers). In addition, as described above and as described below, heavy components such as a frame and at least one metal-containing plate or block can be designed and arranged so that the desired performance of antenna-based wireless communication can be achieved.

[0033] In the illustrative embodiment, the frame comprises a metal material, thereby also achieving the same effects as already discussed above. For example, by including a metal material into at least some parts of the frame, the preform can be given better stability and / or optical appearance and / or weight and / or tactile properties, thereby achieving the respective desired final structure in combination with the metal-containing plate.

[0034] In another illustrative embodiment, the preform further comprises a first insulating layer, which covers the frame, the base material, at least one metal-containing plate and the antenna at the first surface of the preform. Therefore, the insulating layer can obtain an improved surface appearance because the different components in the body of the final card substrate will not be obvious due to the different heat dissipation of the components. In addition, because the heat during, for example, card manufacturing (lamination process) will have a smaller impact on the surface quality, the first insulating layer can provide a larger process window for the production of the card substrate. Another effect of the first insulating layer is to improve the card tactile feel, because, for example, when epoxy glass tape is used, the card (i.e., the final card information substrate) will have a higher flexibility (rebound effect) when it is bent and the bending is not plastic (destructive), whereas, when the frame is made of SST alone, the frame will remain twisted / bent. Similarly, when the card substrate is bent during operation, the card substrate itself may remain deformed.

[0035] In addition, the first isolation layer can serve as a kind of "heat barrier" to protect the outer layer still made of plastic during card production (e.g. when the card is milled on metal during card production (card forming process). Milling generates heat. That is, the isolation layer can therefore provide the appropriate surface characteristics of the preform so as to solve the differences of different materials and different material properties in the preform during further manufacturing processes, which may be required to complete the card-type information substrate. In this sense, the isolation layer can basically "separate" the preform from the remaining components still attached to the preform, so as to obtain the desired card-type information substrate. Therefore, the isolation layer can make it possible to further process the preform based on a substantially standardized lamination process (i.e., a process of attaching one or more material layers or sheets by applying increased pressure and elevated temperature) without being affected by the "core" material of the preform.

[0036] The barrier layer may be attached to the "core" component of the preform by a first adhesive layer, thereby providing a strong physical connection between the core component and the first barrier layer.

[0037] In another illustrative embodiment, the preform includes a second insulating layer covering the frame, the base material and the at least one metal-containing plate at a second surface of the preform opposite to the first surface. Thus, by providing the second insulating layer, similar advantages can be achieved at the opposite surface of the preform with respect to further processing of the preform as discussed above in the context of the first insulating layer.

[0038] Also in this case, the second release layer can be attached via a second adhesive layer.

[0039] In addition, in further illustrative embodiments, as discussed above in the context of the frame of the card-type information substrate, the preform can have similar features and structures with respect to adapting RF performance. That is, in some embodiments, the frame of the preform is at least partially formed of a conductive material such as stainless steel, thereby providing the effects and advantages described above.

[0040] Similarly, in some demonstrative embodiments, the frame of the preform is formed of a non-conductive material, such as ceramic, in order to help increase the overall weight of the preform while affecting RF performance in a less significant manner.

[0041] Furthermore, as described above, according to an illustrative embodiment, an eddy current limiting component is provided in the preform, wherein the eddy current limiting component is configured and arranged to limit eddy currents in the frame and / or the metal-containing plate. Thus, in this manner, eddy currents in the frame and / or the metal-containing plate can be reduced, thereby also reducing the RF loss of the antenna of the preform, similar to the manner discussed above in the context of the card-type information substrate frame.

[0042] In an illustrative embodiment, the eddy current limiting assembly includes one or more slits formed in the frame and / or metal-containing plate. In this way, the occurrence of eddy currents, and therefore the occurrence of undue RF losses, can be reduced without substantially affecting the overall appearance, size and shape of the frame and / or metal-containing plate.

[0043] In one illustrative embodiment, the eddy current limiting assembly comprises a resistive portion connected to the frame and / or metal-containing plate, the resistive portion having a lower specific conductivity than the conductivity of the remaining material of the frame and / or metal-containing plate. Thus, by providing the resistive portion, a reliable mechanism for reducing eddy currents, and thereby reducing RF losses, is achieved without substantially affecting the overall structure of the frame and / or metal-containing plate. For example, the resistive portion may be implemented based on one or more than one slit and a filler material with reduced conductivity, thereby enabling the frame and / or metal-containing plate to be provided as a mechanical single component while still significantly reducing eddy currents.

[0044] According to some demonstrative embodiments, the resistor portion is provided as part of a frame and / or a metal-containing plate so as to allow the frame and / or the metal-containing plate to be provided as a single component already incorporating the resistor portion.

[0045] In other illustrative embodiments, the frame forms a closed loop, thereby providing a highly mechanically stable edge before the preform is processed into a corresponding card-like information substrate.

[0046] In other illustrative embodiments, the metal-containing sheet is a continuous single material. In this way, the process of manufacturing the preform is simplified because the metal-containing sheet as a single component can be easily produced in a separate manufacturing process and can be incorporated into the preform, such as by lateral attachment to a base material, etc.

[0047] In other illustrative embodiments, the metal-containing plate comprises two or more metal-containing plates. In these embodiments, the two or more metal-containing plates can be arranged side by side to achieve a reduced contact surface or completely avoid any direct contact, thereby also significantly contributing to reducing the overall conductivity and thus reducing eddy currents.

[0048] In a further illustrative embodiment, the frame and / or metal-containing plate is electrically conductive and includes at least one portion of reduced conductivity. Also in this case, the corresponding RF losses may be reduced due to the increased resistance provided to any eddy currents introduced by the RF radiation.

[0049] In one illustrative embodiment, the at least one portion of reduced conductivity comprises an area of ​​reduced material thickness. In this way, by selecting the reduced material thickness, the size and shape of the portion of reduced material thickness, the overall conductivity of the frame and / or the metal-containing plate can be easily adjusted. For example, material can be removed from the frame and / or the metal-containing plate by grinding, drilling, etching, etc., in order to locally obtain a reduced material thickness.

[0050] In some illustrative embodiments, the metal-containing plate includes tungsten as the metal, thereby contributing to a significant increase in weight due to the high weight of tungsten.

[0051] Generally, in some illustrative embodiments, the design and characteristics of the frame, (one or more) metal-containing plates, and antenna can be tuned to achieve the required minimum RF performance sufficient for the desired performance of wireless communication with an external reader device, without requiring any further modifications (such as those described above).

[0052] According to another aspect of the present invention, the above object is achieved by a card-type information substrate, which includes a substrate material made of plastic and an electronic module disposed in the substrate material. In addition, as described above or as will be discussed in the subsequent detailed description, the card-type information substrate includes a preform, wherein the preform is attached to the substrate material, and an antenna of the preform is operably connected to the electronic module for wireless communication.

[0053] The above technical object is also achieved by a method for forming a card-type information substrate. The substrate includes a frame, an antenna for wireless communication, and an electronic module operably connected to the antenna. The method includes determining at least one metric representing the desired radio frequency performance of the antenna. In addition, the method includes selecting the overall conductivity of the frame and / or the position of the antenna within the outline of the frame and / or the performance of the electronic module based on the at least one metric to achieve the desired radio frequency performance.

[0054] In this aspect of the invention, the presence of a frame in a card information substrate can be estimated by determining a metric representing the RF performance of the antenna. That is, the effect of the frame on the radio performance can be evaluated based on at least one metric or parameter value, which specifies the RF performance when the frame is present. Based on the desired RF performance, appropriate measures can be taken to tune the actual RF performance of the antenna. To this end, the influence of one or more features, such as the total conductivity of the frame, the tendency to generate eddy currents in the frame, the design of the antenna and its position within the outline of the frame, the RF performance of the electronic module, and / or any combination of these features, can be evaluated to establish an appropriate design and structural concept for implementing the various features into the frame and / or the antenna and / or the electronic module to approach a predetermined metric. The corresponding evaluation of various measures or features for establishing the desired RF performance of the antenna in the presence of the frame can include experimental and / or simulation calculations, which can produce corresponding parameter values ​​or ranges that allow the desired metric to be approached within the desired tolerance range.

[0055] For example, for the conductive material and given dimensions of the frame under consideration, a corresponding metric in the form of a maximum allowable total conductivity can be established based on experiments and / or calculations to quantify the impact of the design of the frame and the total conductivity on the RF performance of the antenna. Similarly, the overall design and / or lateral dimensions and / or lateral distance of the antenna relative to the frame can be quantified based on appropriate parameters or parameter ranges to provide a numerical value for estimating the impact on the overall RF performance of the antenna. Similarly, the RF characteristics of the electronic module itself and the type of coupling between the electronic module and the antenna (i.e., direct coupling or inductive coupling) can also be evaluated based on experiments and / or simulations to obtain corresponding numerical parameter values ​​or value ranges. Therefore, after the desired or required RF performance of the card-type information substrate has been determined based on the basic card structure including the frame and the antenna located within the outline of the frame, the corresponding impact of various factors and characteristics that affect the overall RF performance can be considered by referring to the established parameter values ​​or value ranges. In addition, the interrelationships of various parameters can be predetermined to evaluate the comprehensive impact on RF behavior and provide better flexibility when designing each card-type information substrate.

[0056] For example, if a specific minimum width and a specific material composition of the frame are set in advance as desired design criteria, reference to the previously determined various RF-related parameters (which, in combination with the parameters representing the frame width and material composition of the frame) can allow the RF behavior to be estimated and, therefore, produce the desired RF performance without the need for extensive prototyping.

[0057] In this way, representative parameters have been established for multiple impacts on RF performance, the desired design criteria that must be met can be pre-set, and the remaining parameters can provide sufficient flexibility and appropriate adjustment of other design aspects to achieve the desired RF performance. For example, if weight and / or appearance criteria can be pre-set, other aspects (such as the overall RF performance of the electronic module, the overall conductivity of the metal frame, which may be combined with the design, structure and location of the antenna) can be selected based on the pre-established parameter values ​​to achieve the desired RF performance.

[0058] In an illustrative embodiment, any such parameter matching process can be implemented in a computer device based on a suitably designed instruction set, wherein the various parameters representing the RF-related characteristics of the card-type information substrate can be stored in various databases that can be accessed by various program instructions. Generally, the various databases can be continuously updated based on experiments, simulations, and data obtained from actual cards operating under real life conditions. In this way, the entire process of developing and producing frame-based card substrates can be "automated" to a certain extent, thereby improving the reproducibility and yield of the manufacturing process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] Further illustrative embodiments and other aspects of the present invention will be described in more detail in the following description also with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0060] Figure 1A schematically shows a top view of a card-type information substrate according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0061] Figure 1B Schematically shows a Figure 1A A cross-sectional view of a card-type information substrate;

[0062] Figure 2A and Figure 2B A top view schematically illustrates structures of different placements of antennas relative to a frame of a card-type information substrate according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0063] Figure 2C Schematically showing the Figure 2A and Figure 2B A table of parameters or measures of RF performance of the structure;

[0064] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D schematically illustrates a top view of a card-type information substrate having a frame including an eddy current limiting assembly according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0065] Figure 3E The RF metrics are shown in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D The table associated with the structure in;

[0066] Figure 4A and Figure 4B schematically illustrates a top view of a card-type information substrate having at least one structurally varied eddy current limiting assembly according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0067] Figure 4C schematically illustrates a representation of a parameter or metric for representing or evaluating the RF performance of a card substrate when varying at least one characteristic, such as a gap size of a slot formed in a frame, according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0068] Figure 5A and Figure 5B schematically illustrates a top view of a card substrate design with direct electrical connection of an electronic module to an antenna according to yet another exemplary embodiment;

[0069] Fig. 6A schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of a preform having a conductive frame and a metal-containing sheet according to an illustrative embodiment;

[0070] Figure 6B Schematically shows Fig. 6A A top view of a preform;

[0071] Figure 6C and Fig.6D The schematic diagrams respectively show the Figure 6B A top view of a preform frame and a metal-containing plate;

[0072] Fig. 6E , Fig. 6F , Figure 6G Schematically shows a further illustrative embodiment according to Fig. 6A A top view of a preform, a frame contained in the preform, and a metal-containing plate;

[0073] Figure 6H , Fig.6I , Figure 6J Schematically shows a further illustrative embodiment according to Fig. 6A A top view of a preform, a frame contained in the preform, and a metal-containing plate;

[0074] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B The schematic diagrams respectively show the Fig. 6A – Figure 6J A top view of the front and back sides of the card-type information substrate of each preform shown without the isolation layer; and

[0075] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B The schematic diagrams respectively show the Fig. 6A A top view of the front and back sides of a card-type information substrate preform with an isolation layer is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] Further illustrative embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0077] Figure 1A The top view of the card-type information substrate 100 is schematically shown, wherein the card-type substrate should be understood as a substrate whose lateral dimension is significantly larger than the dimension in the thickness direction. It should be understood that Figure 1A The lateral dimensions in correspond to Figure 1A The dimensions are in the drawing plane, while the thickness direction is perpendicular to Figure 1A For example, the lateral dimension of the card substrate 100 may be several centimeters, while the dimension in the thickness direction may be several millimeters or significantly smaller, such as several hundred microns, etc. In the illustrative embodiment, the card substrate 100 represents a card used for payment or other transactions, and its lateral and thickness dimensions are set by corresponding standards established for many types of payment cards, credit cards, etc.

[0078] The card substrate 100 includes a substrate material 140, which may generally include any type of suitable plastic, such as various types of polymer materials, such as, for example, polycarbonate and PVC materials. It should be understood that the substrate material 140 may generally be provided in the form of a plurality of functional layers laminated to achieve various requirements of the substrate 100. An electronic module 120 is provided, at least partially embedded in the substrate material 140, which may implement any desired functions therein, such as to store information, respond to externally supplied signals, etc. Any such electronic modules are well known in the art and may be effectively used in conjunction with the present invention.

[0079] In addition, the card substrate 100 includes a frame 110, which is physically connected to the substrate material 140 and / or can be embedded therein, depending on the overall structure. Basically, as previously described, the frame 110 gives the card substrate 100 additional weight, thereby contributing to better handling of the substrate 100. In addition, the frame 110 can contribute to a better appearance of the substrate 100, for example by generating specific optical effects such as metallic reflections. As also previously described, the frame 110 has a width 110W, which can represent a dimension in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the frame 110. The width 110W, which in some embodiments can vary along the circumferential extension of the frame 110, is selected to expose a considerable internal area of ​​the card substrate 100, thereby enabling the placement of the electronic module 120 and the antenna 130, which is designed to enable wireless communication with an external reader device (not shown). To this end, the width 110W is selected to be 3% or less of the selected total lateral dimension of the card substrate 100, and up to 25% of the smaller lateral dimension of the lateral dimension of the substrate 100, such as 15% or 10%. Figure 1A In the embodiment, the card substrate 100 is Figure 1A In the top view of the substrate 100, the substrate 100 has a rectangular structure including two long sides 110L and two short sides 110S. In this case, the width 110W can be within the above range based on the short side 110S. In some illustrative embodiments, the width 110W can vary along the periphery of the substrate 100. For example, within the above-mentioned reference limit, the width of the frame 110 along the long side 110L can be different from the width of the frame 100 along the short side 110S. In addition, any other structure of the frame 110 with different widths can be realized. For example, the frame 110 can have a repeating or non-repeating pattern of sections with different width sizes along a certain part or along its entire circumference, such as an alternating sequence of sections with alternating increasing and decreasing widths. In this way, a specific cross structure relative to the substrate material 140 can be obtained on the inner and / or outer periphery of the frame 110, thereby increasing the mechanical robustness of the connection between the frame 110 and the substrate material 140 and / or facilitating greater flexibility in designing the visual effect of the substrate 100.

[0080] In addition, in Figure 1A In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 110 may represent a closed loop and thus may completely surround the interior area of ​​the card substrate 100, while in other cases, as will be discussed later, the frame 110 may be interrupted at at least one location to form an interruption or slit extending circumferentially to break up the frame 110.

[0081] The antenna 130 formed within the outline of the frame 110 (ie, in the inner area of ​​the card substrate 100) is configured to be operably coupled to the electronic module 120 so as to allow wireless communication between the electronic module 120 and an external reader device.

[0082] In some illustrative embodiments, antenna 130 is provided in the form of a planar antenna formed by conductive traces formed on a suitable carrier material. In other cases, discrete wire materials may be used, wherein corresponding portions of the wires may be embedded in the carrier material, which may represent a separate carrier material or may represent at least one layer of substrate material 140.

[0083] However, it should be understood that the antenna 130 may be provided in any suitable form based on any suitable material, as long as the design, structure and placement of the antenna 130 is suitable for providing the desired RF performance.

[0084] Figure 1B Schematically shows a Figure 1A 1 is a cross-sectional view of a card substrate 100. As shown, as described above, according to the structure (i.e., design and weight criteria), the card substrate 100 includes a frame 110 having a width 110W. In addition, the thickness 110T of the frame 110 can be selected according to the overall design requirements in order to obtain the desired characteristics of the frame 110. For example, the thickness 110T can correspond approximately to the total thickness of the card substrate 100, thereby allowing a maximum amount of material to be achieved for a given width 110W, which is advantageous in terms of obtaining additional weight of the card substrate 100 and also provides better mechanical robustness for impacts acting laterally on the card substrate 100. It should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, as shown in the portion 110R, the thickness 110T of the frame 110 can be varied at least in some portions, such as by providing at least one portion with reduced thickness, so as to locally adjust the characteristics of the frame 110. For example, when the frame 110 is provided based on a material having a certain basic conductivity, reducing the thickness of one or more portions can reduce the overall conductivity of the frame 110.

[0085] As already discussed above, using a conductive material as a base material for frame 110 may result in a negative impact on the RF performance of antenna 130, and therefore, in some illustrative embodiments, a specific conductive material having a specific low conductivity, such as approximately 50 S / m (Siemens per meter), may be used, which may be combined with other measures such as eddy current limiting components in order to adjust the overall conductivity of frame 110. Thus, as described above, using a base material with reduced conductivity may allow frame 110 to be configured as a closed loop while still maintaining loss mechanisms such as eddy currents at an acceptable level.

[0086] Furthermore, the card substrate 100 includes an electronic module 120 embedded in the substrate material 140. In some embodiments (not shown), the module 120 may include contact elements designed and positioned to allow direct contact with corresponding complementary contact elements of an external reader device. In this case, the card substrate 100 may communicate with the external reader device based on direct contact and based on wireless communication.

[0087] In addition, as shown, the antenna 130 can be provided in the form of conductive traces 130A and 130B, for example, in the form of copper traces formed on a suitable carrier material 131. As described above, the specific structure of the antenna 130 is not limited as long as the corresponding structure and design are compatible with the overall structure of the card substrate 100 so as to achieve the desired RF performance.

[0088] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the electronic module 120 may be directly connected to the antenna 130 (not shown), while in other cases, such as Figure 1A and Figure 1B As shown, the electronic module 120 may be inductively coupled to the antenna 130. As will be discussed in more detail later, the corresponding coupling of the electronic module 120 to the antenna 130 may have to be considered when selecting particular components or measures to adjust the final RF performance of the card substrate 100.

[0089] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Schematically shows the top view of the card substrates 200A and 200B. Figure 2A In the card substrate 200A, the structure of the electronic module 220 can be roughly the same as Figure 2B The corresponding structure in the card substrate 200B is the same. Figure 2A In the embodiment, the lateral position of the structure of the components 220, 230 relative to the frame 210 can be different from that of the structure of the components 220, 230. Figure 2B As shown, the distances 210F, 210E of the antenna 230 relative to the corresponding long sides 210L of the frame 210 can be approximately 2.6 mm and 9.9 mm, respectively, thereby providing an asymmetric geometry relative to the long sides 210L. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the distances 210F, 210E can be selected differently to meet specific design criteria. In addition, as described above, Figure 1A As discussed in the context of the frame 100 of FIG. 2 , the frame 210 may have varying widths. In this case, the distances 210F, 210E may represent the shortest distances between the respective sections of the frame 210 and the antenna 230.

[0090] on the other hand, Figure 2BThe structure in provides a generally symmetrical structure of the antenna 230 relative to the long side of the frame 210, thereby obtaining a distance 210D of approximately 6.2 mm, wherein it should be understood that the overall lateral dimensions of the card substrates 200A, 200B can meet the standards of typical payment cards. It should be understood that generally increasing the distance 210D is advantageous in terms of RF performance, so a symmetrical design with a distance 210D of 6 mm or more is used in some illustrative embodiments.

[0091] Figure 2C The RF performance related metrics are shown as Figure 2A and Figure 2B That is, as shown, three RF related metrics or parameters are provided, such as the resonant frequency of the antenna 230, the strength reduction due to coupling to a standardized coupling coil (not shown) according to a standardized process for evaluating RF performance (also referred to and known as the S11 value), and the corresponding pass rate in the standardized EMVCo test. Basically, the pass rate value indicates the RF strength at multiple specific locations on the antenna. From Figure 2C It can be clearly seen that the card base 200A has a resonance frequency of 14.5 MHz, an S11 value of negative 1.3, and a pass rate of 63 / 91.

[0092] On the other hand, the card substrate 200B has a resonant frequency of 14.3 MHz, while the S11 value is negative 1.8 and the pass rate is 77 / 91. Therefore, for substantially the same design and relative placement of the electronic module 220 relative to the antenna 230, a significant improvement in RF performance can be obtained for the substrate 200B, as shown by the S11 value (where higher negative values ​​indicate better RF performance). In addition, the pass rate (where higher values ​​indicate better RF performance) is significantly increased compared to the card substrate 200A. Therefore, at least from the perspective of the long side 210L, the symmetrical structure of the antenna 230 relative to the frame results in better overall RF performance. Such a concept of increasing the distance 210D in a symmetrical manner can be efficiently combined with any further measures for enhancing overall RF performance. It should be understood that Figure 2C The various measurements may reflect the results of the closed loop frame 210 being formed of a conductive material such as stainless steel, or any other metal or metal alloy that may be considered suitable for increasing the weight and / or enhancing the appearance of the card substrate 200A, 200B.

[0093] It should be understood that, in other aspects, the card substrates 200A, 200B may have substantially the same structure as discussed above with reference to the card substrate 100. Therefore, description of any such other aspects of the card substrate will be omitted.

[0094] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3DA top view of each card substrate 300A to 300D is schematically shown, wherein the card substrate 300A is provided without a frame, while the card substrates 300B to 300D are formed based on a conductive frame. In addition, the card substrates 300C and 300D can be additionally provided with eddy current limiting components, which can significantly improve the overall RF performance in the case where the frame has a tendency to generate eddy currents when exposed to an electromagnetic field.

[0095] Figure 3A Schematically illustrated is a card substrate 300A, which may be considered as a conventional card including an electronic module 320, an antenna 330 and any other components, however without a frame, which components are not specifically described in this context for convenience.

[0096] On the other hand, the card substrate 300B represents an illustrative embodiment in which a frame 310 is provided in combination with a module 320 and an antenna 330. In an illustrative embodiment, the frame 310 may be formed of a non-conductive material such as a ceramic material, thereby substantially avoiding the generation of any eddy currents, so that substantially similar RF performance to that obtained with the card substrate 300A may be obtained. However, in Figure 3B In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 310 may be provided in the form of a conductive material such as stainless steel, any other metal or metal alloy, etc., to meet the design requirements of a particular application.

[0097] Figure 3C A card substrate 300C is schematically shown, which includes a frame 310 formed of a conductive material and further includes an eddy current limiting component 360 , which may be implemented in the form of a slit 360C, thereby interrupting the closed loop design of the frame 310 .

[0098] As mentioned above, Figure 3D A card substrate 300D having a frame 310 made of a conductive material is schematically shown, as shown in symbolic form by a cutout or slit in the frame 310 and a resistor electrically bridging the slit or cutout, wherein an eddy current limiting component 360 may be provided in the form of a resistor portion 360D. However, it should be understood that in some illustrative embodiments, the resistor portion 360D represents a slit combined with a suitable filling material to provide a mechanically stable closed loop frame, while in other cases, the base material of the frame 310 may include one or more portions of reduced thickness. For example, as in Figure 1B As discussed in the context of , when the reduced thickness portion 110R is involved, the overall conductivity of the frame 310 may be reduced even if the conductivity of the base material of the frame 310 is moderately high.

[0099] In other illustrative embodiments, the resistive portion 360D may represent any portion in which the material properties of the base material may have been appropriately modified, such as by incorporating additional substances into the structure of the base material, such as by ion implantation, by causing significant damage to the basic crystal structure of the base material, etc. Providing one or more resistive portions of the frame 310 by modifying the properties of the base material can advantageously maintain a certain mechanical stability while still obtaining significant modification of the electrical behavior. In this case, the processing of the frame 310 when connecting the frame 310 to the substrate material of the card substrate can still be based on processing a single frame component while still providing electrically very distinct portions of the frame 310.

[0100] For any other components of each card base, please refer to the above Figures 1A to 2C Description in context.

[0101] Figure 3E A table associating various parameters or metrics representing the RF performance of various antennas 330 with various structures is schematically illustrated.

[0102] Obviously, Figure 3A The substrate 300A in FIG. 1 (i.e., a card without any frame, in particular, a card without any conductive frame) has a resonant frequency of 13.3 MHz, while the S11 value is negative 7.3, and the pass rate is 89 / 91, indicating good RF performance. As described above, in some embodiments, when the frame 310 is provided based on a non-conductive material (such as a ceramic material), substantially the same RF-related metric values ​​are obtained. That is, for example, Figure 3B The frame 310 shown is formed of a non-conductive material, which basically obtains Figure 3E The value of the first row in the table.

[0103] On the other hand, when the frame 310 is provided as a metal frame of moderately high conductivity (such as stainless steel) to meet the corresponding design criteria, a resonant frequency of 14.2 MHz, an S11 value of negative 1.9, and a pass rate of 77 / 91 can be obtained. In many cases, these metrics may be considered inappropriate to represent the desired RF performance of the antenna 330. Therefore, in some illustrative embodiments, a conductive material with a conductivity of less than 50 S / m may be used in order to achieve acceptable RF performance. In one illustrative embodiment, the antenna 330 is provided in the form of a closed loop and has, for example, the above-mentioned Figure 1A and Figure 1B In the context of discussing the electrical conductivity of the base material of the structural frame 310 , the electrical conductivity of the conductive material may be selected to be less than 50 S / m, such as 10 S / m in some embodiments.

[0104] The eddy current limiting assembly 360 includes a slit 360C in the form of a slot 360C for the frame 310 base material (which has a moderately high electrical conductivity typically associated with a metallic material selected in consideration of certain design criteria). Figure 3C The structure can obtain a resonant frequency of 13.3MHz, an S11 value of -6.9 and a pass rate of 89 / 91, which is consistent with Figure 3A The structure described and shown in the context of is equivalent to that without the conductive frame.

[0105] Similarly, the resistor portion 360 is included as the eddy current limiting component 360. Figure 3D The same resonant frequency is obtained with the structure of , where the S11 value is negative 4.6 and the pass rate is 90 / 91, thereby obtaining the desired RF performance. As described above, in some illustrative embodiments, when the eddy current restriction component 360 is provided in the form of a slit, the slit may also be filled with any suitable filling material with reduced conductivity (e.g., conductivity less than 0.5 S / m), and / or the gap size of the slit 360B may be varied to obtain the desired measure of RF performance.

[0106] It should be understood that FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D The illustrated embodiment refers to antennas such as antenna 330 formed from metal traces such as copper traces, for example, formed on a carrier material by an etching process. Substantially the same principles and results also apply to antennas formed from embedded wires. Thus, regardless of the technology used to form the antenna, frame 310 can be provided to achieve the desired RF performance.

[0107] Figure 4A and Figure 4BThe top view of the card substrate 400A, 400B is schematically shown respectively, wherein the eddy current limiting component is realized in the form of a suitable filling material with a slit combined with insulating properties or reduced conductivity. As shown in the figure, the card substrate 400A, 400B includes a respective frame 410 with a respective eddy current limiting component 460A, 460B. In this case, these components 460A, 460B are represented by gaps of different sizes, and a filling material with reduced conductivity (e.g., 0.5S / m or less, such as 0.2S / m and less) is incorporated into the gap. As described above, in particular, when the frame 410 is processed as a single component during the manufacture of the card substrate 400A, 400B, a slit with different gap sizes is provided and the slit is filled with a suitable filling material to obtain a better mechanical stability of the entire frame. That is, when the frame is mechanically fixed to the substrate material, the entire frame can be processed in the form of a single component. Furthermore, by allowing the use of filler materials with specific electrical conductivity (that is, no insulating material is required), greater flexibility in designing the overall structure of the frame 410 can be achieved. For example, the filler material can be selected based on optical appearance, mechanical robustness, and connection behavior relative to the frame-based material, etc., wherein an insulating material does not necessarily have to be used when such an insulating material will not meet one or more desired criteria such as optical appearance, etc.

[0108] Figure 4C RF-related metrics or parameters associated with different gap sizes of the slits 460A, 460B are schematically shown. For example, curves 1 to 7 represent RF metrics for each of the substrates 400A, 400B for different gap sizes (for other identical parameters). That is, the gap size varies from 5 mm represented by curve 1 to 35 mm represented by curve 7. Therefore, in this case, multiple parameters and value ranges can be established, which correspond to and quantify the corresponding RF performance of the card-type substrate. In this way, a set of parameter values ​​can be obtained, which can be efficiently used to design individual card-type information substrates that meet one or more RF-related metrics, wherein the RF-related metrics can be predetermined to meet specific performance requirements.

[0109] Figure 5A and Figure 5BA top view of a card substrate 500A, 500B is schematically shown, respectively, in which the corresponding electronic module 520 can be directly connected (i.e., connected by wires) to the corresponding antenna 530, thereby taking advantage of the fact that the direct connection between the electronic module and the antenna can obtain better RF performance compared to the inductive coupling of the electronic module and the corresponding antenna. Therefore, by designing the frame 510 so as to give the corresponding substrate increased weight and / or enhanced appearance, the direct coupling can obtain increased design flexibility, because the corresponding measures to consider the influence of the frame 510 (especially when it includes conductive materials) may be increased due to the enhanced RF performance of the directly coupled electronic module 520 itself.

[0110] exist Figure 5A , the distance 510E is selected to be approximately 3 mm, and in Figure 5B , the distance 510E is about 3 mm, and the distance 510D is about 5.5 mm. It should be understood that these values ​​are merely examples of designs for demonstrating the wired connection structure between the module 520 and the antenna 530. In other cases, the distances 510D, 510D may be selected differently to meet the design and RF requirements of a particular use case.

[0111] It should be noted that any of the above-mentioned concepts for reducing the influence of damping mechanisms such as eddy currents can be appropriately combined to achieve the desired RF performance in combination with specific design goals in terms of card weight and / or appearance and / or mechanical robustness of the card-type information substrate. That is, for example, when certain design aspects are pre-set with respect to providing a frame for the card-type substrate and by appropriately considering the characteristics of one or more materials used to form the frame, one or more RF-related metrics that must be met can be determined. Based on these one or more RF-related metrics, appropriate measures can then be taken to adjust the RF behavior that is ultimately to be achieved. For example, if it is predetermined that a non-conductive frame material based on a ceramic material can meet the specific requirements of the card-type substrate, the corresponding design of the antenna can be completed based on the lateral dimensions of the frame, and any influence of loss mechanisms such as eddy currents can be roughly ignored. If in other cases, specific design criteria require the use of conductive materials in the frame, and if specific dimensions of the frame can be preset to meet specific requirements, then as described above, the appropriate overall design can be provided with reference to the obtained individual parameter values, which guides the predetermined one or more metrics about RF behavior.

[0112] For example, the following operations may be applied as design techniques, for example based on pre-established ranges of various parameter values, in order to obtain a desired structure that meets the necessary RF performance, i.e., implementation of slots and / or providing appropriate filling materials for the slots, and / or adjusting and / or selecting the basic conductivity of the frame base material, and / or selecting the type of operable coupling between the electronic module and the antenna, and / or selecting a specific electronic module with a specific RF behavior. In some illustrative embodiments, the design of the card substrate may be performed in a highly automated manner by maintaining a database that stores various RF-related metrics in association with their physical implementation in the card, so that, for example, when one or more design goals are input into the corresponding system, one or more alternative designs may be output based on the data and associations stored in the database.

[0113] In an illustrative embodiment, as will be described below, one or more additional "heavy" components such as a metal-containing block or a metal-containing plate can be incorporated into the central portion of the substrate, thereby further increasing the weight of the substrate while maintaining better RF performance. That is, even if any other heavy components can be implemented in addition to a heavy frame such as a metal-containing frame, the principles disclosed herein provide the possibility of adapting the overall RF behavior of the card-type information substrate. In particular, when using conductive materials such as metal-containing blocks for one or more additional heavy components, the RF performance is still adjustable to meet the RF requirements of a specific use case.

[0114] Fig. 6A Schematically shown is a cross-sectional view of a preform 690 comprising a frame 610 and a metal-containing plate 680 attached to a base material 691, which also carries an antenna 630. Preform 690 (also often referred to as a pre-laminate) may represent a pre-processed assembly for forming a card-type information substrate, such as the substrates described in the context of FIGS. 1-5 above, for example, by laminating additional sheets of material to preform 690. Thus, preform 690 may have appropriate lateral dimensions and thickness suitable for forming a desired type of information substrate, such as a payment card or the like.

[0115] The frame 610 may have substantially similar features as discussed above in the context of the frames 110, 210, 310, 410, and 510. That is, the frame 610 may be configured as described above with respect to overall size, material composition, and corresponding structure in terms of reducing eddy currents and thus reducing RF losses, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 610 may be provided in the form of a closed loop formed based on a stainless steel material.

[0116] exist Fig. 6AIn the embodiment of FIG. 6 , the metal-containing plate 680 is shown so as to have substantially the same thickness as the frame 610, while in other cases, the metal-containing plate 680 may have any appropriate structure, such as a portion with reduced material thickness, a portion with increased resistivity obtained by forming slits and / or through holes with or without any additional filling material in the corresponding cavity, etc., so as to appropriately adjust the electrical behavior of the metal-containing plate 680. In one illustrative embodiment, the metal-containing plate 680 is formed of tungsten in order to obtain a desired high weight for a given lateral size and a given thickness of the metal-containing plate 680.

[0117] However, it should be understood that in other illustrative embodiments, metal-containing plate 680 may include other materials, such as gold, silver, platinum, lead, copper, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0118] Antenna 630 is shown as an "embedded wire" antenna, while in other illustrative embodiments, such as also described in the context of FIGS. 1 to 5 , any other type of antenna may be used. For example, antenna 630 may represent any suitable conductive trace pattern formed of one or more suitable materials such as copper, aluminum, and any type of alloy on a desired carrier material. The antenna pattern may be formed on a carrier material such as an epoxy-based substrate by deposition and etching techniques, by selective deposition of conductive materials, and / or by selective deposition of masking materials and subsequent etching, by selective electrodeposition or by non-patterned electrodeposition and subsequent removal of excess material by, for example, etching. In other cases, the antenna may be provided as a self-supporting structure formed of a suitable conductive material without the need for additional carrier material. For example, the pattern of the antenna may be formed by adding a deposition technique such as 3D printing, or the pattern may be formed on a preliminary carrier based on any of the above techniques with sufficient mechanical stability and may be removed from the preliminary carrier prior to insertion into preform 690, thereby also representing a wire-embedded "type".

[0119] The base material 691 of the preform 690 may be any suitable type of material, such as polycarbonate and PVC, to allow for attachment of the frame 610 , the metal-containing plate 680 , and the antenna 630 .

[0120] exist Fig. 6AIn the illustrated embodiment, the preform 690 additionally includes a first isolation layer 692 attached to the other components of the preform 690 by an adhesive layer 693. The isolation layer 692 can provide a well-defined surface of the preform 690 during further processing so that the different behaviors of the "core" components of the preform 690 (such as the frame 610, the metal-containing plate 680, the antenna 630, and the base material 691) do not unduly affect the corresponding lamination process (i.e., applying elevated temperatures and increased pressures to adhere more material sheets to the preform 690) to obtain a complete card-type information substrate. In some illustrative embodiments, the isolation layer 692 can be provided in the form of a rigid material such as epoxy glass or PET, which will not easily soften or flow to the corresponding steps formed by the thickness difference of the materials of the different components, such as the base material 691 and the components 680, 610 or in the steps. Thus, when subjected to elevated temperatures and increased pressures during the lamination process, the isolation layer 692 covering the antenna 630, frame 610, base material 691, and metal-containing plate 680 can respond in a highly uniform manner to allow for reliable and highly predictable process results when laminating one or more material layers to the isolation layer 692. Thus, the isolation layer 692 substantially isolates the core component of the preform 690 from the lamination parameters and provides a flat and smooth surface for the final card substrate.

[0121] exist Fig. 6A In the illustrated embodiment, the second release layer 695 may be attached to the preform 690 via the second adhesive layer 694 , thereby achieving similar properties as described above with respect to further processing at the opposite surface of the preform 690 .

[0122] Figure 6B A top view of a preform 690 is schematically shown without the isolation layers 692, 695 shown or provided. As shown, the frame 610 is shown as a closed loop structure to outline the internal area, in which the metal-containing plate 680 and the antenna 630 are arranged, including the corresponding contact pads 631. For convenience, Figure 6B The base material 691 is not shown.

[0123] Figure 6C A top view of a frame 610 with exemplary dimensions is schematically shown, which may be suitable for a standard payment card, wherein the width of the various frame portions may be appropriately selected to combine with the following: Figure 6B The antenna 610 shown and Fig.6D The metal-containing plate 680 shown is used to obtain the desired RF performance. That is, the lateral size and shape of the metal-containing plate 680 can be selected in combination with the lateral size of the frame 610 for given material properties and given material thickness values ​​to obtain the desired RF performance.

[0124] The above disclosed concepts may also be referred to for appropriately selecting the size, material properties and lateral shape of the frame 610, especially the metal-containing plate 680. That is, for a given material, by changing the lateral shape and size of the frame 610 and the plate 680, the required RF performance may be determined based on simulation and / or experiment, while also considering the overall structure of the antenna 610.

[0125] For example, in Fig.6D In the illustrated embodiment, the frame width, lateral size, and shape of metal-containing plate 680 are selected to allow for laterally surrounding contact pad 631 on three sides. Furthermore, in some illustrative embodiments, metal-containing plate 680 may be provided as a continuous single material, such as a single tungsten plate, which may be easily manufactured based on well-established and effective manufacturing techniques.

[0126] In other cases, if it may be necessary to select other materials for the frame 610 and / or plate 680, the frame 610 can accommodate appropriate components to reduce the overall resistivity of the frame 610, which, as described above, can contribute to better RF performance compared to a closed loop structure without additional measures to reduce the overall conductivity of the frame 610.

[0127] In addition to or as an alternative to providing a measure for reducing the overall conductivity of the frame 610, the conductivity of the metal-containing plate 680 may be adjusted, for example, by incorporating reduced conductivity portions or "windows" 681 having any suitable lateral shape and size. For example, the (one or more) portions 681 may represent portions of reduced material thickness, or a portion of the original metal material may be replaced with a material of reduced conductivity, etc. Additionally or alternatively, one or more slots 682 may be incorporated into the plate 680, wherein the (one or more) slots 682 may extend substantially completely through the entire thickness of the plate 680, thereby also reducing the overall conductivity of the plate 680. For example, by selecting an appropriate geometry of the slots 682, the occurrence of eddy currents in the plate 680 may be significantly reduced.

[0128] It should be appreciated that slot 682 may be formed with a reduced width so as not to significantly affect the overall weight of plate 680, but may significantly affect the electrical responsiveness of plate 680. In yet other illustrative embodiments, plate 680 may be provided in the form of a plurality of individual plates that may be separated to reduce the overall conductivity, thereby enhancing the RF performance of antenna 610 by reducing the damping effect of plate 680.

[0129] Fig. 6E A top view of a preform 690 including a frame 610, an antenna 630, and a metal-containing plate 680 is schematically shown, wherein the base material 691 is not shown for the sake of convenience. Fig. 6F As shown, the frame 610 may have an increased width, while Figure 6G As shown, Fig.6D The overall area of ​​the metal-containing plate 680 can be slightly reduced compared to the structure of the plate 680. On the other hand, the lateral shape of the plate 680 is selected so as to enable the contact pad 631 to be connected to the antenna wire based on the increased area not occupied by the plate 680.

[0130] As described above, the lateral dimensions and shapes of the frame 610 and metal-containing plate 680 may be selected based on RF performance and customer-specific requirements for further processing of the preform 690 .

[0131] Figure 6H A top view of a preform 690 is schematically shown, wherein the corresponding structures are Fig. 6E The structure shown is similar.

[0132] like Fig.6I As shown, Fig. 6E The frame 610 may have an even further increased width compared to the frame 610 of Figure 6G Compared to the total area of ​​board 680 , the total area of ​​board 680 can be reduced, thereby also achieving the desired RF performance.

[0133] It should be understood that, for example, the above reference Figure 6B , Figure 6C and Fig.6D The same is true for Fig. 6E and Figure 6H The preform 690 may apply appropriate measures with respect to the electrical characteristics of the frame 610 and / or the metal-containing plate 680 .

[0134] Therefore, for the dimensions of the preform 690 compatible with a standard payment card, as shown in FIG6 , the lateral dimensions of the frame 610 (i.e., its width), thus its lateral size, and the lateral dimensions and shape of the plate 680 can be selected in conjunction with the structure of the antenna 630 so as to achieve the desired RF performance and obtain the weight of the final card substrate. On the other hand, as described above, if further tuning of the RF characteristics is required or desired, the frame 610 and / or the plate 680 can be modified. To this end, similar techniques for evaluating RF performance for the varied structures of the frame 610 and / or the plate 680 can be applied, as described above in the context of FIGS. 1 to 5 .

[0135] Furthermore, it should be understood that FIG. 6B to FIG. 6JThe lateral dimensions given in represent examples only, and these lateral dimensions may be appropriately adapted to a particular use case. Furthermore, as described above, in order to balance weight, optical appearance, and tactile properties with the RF performance required for the antenna, variations in the shape, thickness, and size of the frame and / or metal-containing plate may be determined based on evaluation techniques. Furthermore, as also described above, it should be understood that when designing the preform, the characteristics of the electronic module to be attached to the preform in a later manufacturing stage may also be considered in order to obtain the desired performance of the finished card-type information substrate.

[0136] On the basis of the preform 690, a card-type information substrate can be produced by adding other components such as an electronic module that can be directly connected to the antenna 630 via the contact pad 631, and by adding other material sheets through a corresponding lamination process, wherein the isolation layers 692, 695 (if provided) can obtain a clearly defined interface for further processing.

[0137] Fig. 7A Schematically shows a preform 690 (see FIG. 6A to FIG. 6J ) After the manufacturing process is completed, a card-type information substrate 700 with a front face 700FS in the form of, for example, a payment card or any other information substrate is obtained. The card-type substrate 700 can be obtained based on the preform 690 from which the isolation layers 692 and 695 are omitted, thereby obtaining a more or less obvious optical and tactile appearance of the frame 710, because, as described above, the various core components of the preform 690, such as the frame, the metal-containing plate and the antenna, can have different behaviors during the lamination process from other materials that can be used to form other components of the card-type information substrate 700, such as the base material of the preform 690 and other materials such as polycarbonate and PVC. It should be understood that the substrate 700 has incorporated an electronic module (such as the module also discussed and described in the context of Figures 1 to 5), thereby providing the desired functions of the substrate 700, in particular providing wireless communication.

[0138] Figure 7B A substrate 700 is schematically shown with a back side 700BS, wherein, as described above, a frame 710 is also recognizable due to the absence of an isolation layer.

[0139] Wireless communication can be achieved via the front side 700FS and the back side 700BS due to the highly symmetrical structure of the substrate 700. Thus, better handling of the card-type information substrate 700 can be achieved due to the substantially symmetrical behavior of the faces 700FS, 700BS with respect to wireless communication.

[0140] Fig. 8A The card-type information substrate 800 is schematically shown, which has a Fig. 6AThe preform 690 of the present invention may be provided with a spacer layer 692, which is opposite to the substrate 700. Therefore, when forming the substrate 800, a highly consistent behavior may be achieved during the lamination process, thereby producing a flat and smooth front surface 800FS, because the spacer layers 692, 695 may provide appropriate interface properties during the lamination process. Therefore, the corresponding frame may be less noticeable in terms of optical and tactile properties.

[0141] Figure 8B A card-type information substrate 800 is schematically shown with a back side 800BS, wherein the optical and tactile properties of the frame may also be less pronounced due to the presence of the isolation layer 695, thereby producing a flat and smooth surface.

[0142] Similarly, as discussed above in the context of substrate 700, wireless communications may be achieved through the front side 800FS and the back side 800BS.

[0143] Therefore, by combining a frame made of heavy materials such as metal-containing materials, ceramics, etc., and in particular a frame made of stainless steel, with a metal-containing plate, the desired high total weight of the card-type information substrate can be achieved, while in particular, the provision of a preform (especially when the preform is provided with one or more isolation layers) significantly relaxes any constraints on the manufacturing process for forming the card-type information substrate.

Claims

1. A preform of a card-type information substrate, comprising: a frame formed around the periphery of a base material, said material of said frame having a higher specific gravity than the base material in the form of plastic, thereby imparting increased weight to said preform; a metal-containing plate that is disposed within the outline of the frame and imparts additional weight to the preform; as well as an antenna positioned within the outline of the frame and configured to enable wireless communication; It is characterized in that The preform further comprises: a first insulating layer covering the frame, the base material, the metal-containing plate and the antenna and forming a first surface of the preform, wherein the first isolation layer comprises a rigid material that does not soften or flow onto or into a corresponding step formed by a thickness difference of the frame, the base material, the metal-containing plate, or the antenna during lamination of other components to the preform, and Wherein, the thickness of the frame corresponds to the total thickness of the card-type information substrate.

2. The preform according to claim 1, wherein: The frame comprises a metal material.

3. The preform according to claim 2, wherein: The first isolation layer is attached by a first adhesive layer.

4. The preform according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a second insulation layer covering the frame, the base material and the metal-containing plate at a second surface of the preform opposite to the first surface.

5. The preform according to claim 4, wherein: The second isolation layer is attached by a second adhesive layer.

6. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein At least a portion of the frame is formed from a conductive material.

7. The preform according to claim 6, wherein: The conductive material is stainless steel.

8. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The frame is formed of a non-conductive material.

9. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an eddy flow restriction assembly configured and arranged to restrict eddy flows in at least one of the frame and the metal-containing plate.

10. The preform according to claim 9, wherein: The eddy current restriction assembly includes one or more slots formed in at least one of the frame and the metal-containing plate.

11. The preform according to claim 9, wherein: The eddy current limiting assembly includes a resistive portion connected to at least one of the frame and the metal-containing plate and having a lower specific conductivity than a conductivity of a remaining material of the at least one of the frame and the metal-containing plate.

12. The preform according to claim 11, wherein The resistor portion includes a slit and a filler material having reduced electrical conductivity.

13. The preform according to claim 11, wherein: The resistor portion is provided as a portion of the at least one of the frame and the metal-containing plate.

14. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The frame forms a closed loop.

15. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The metal-containing sheet is a continuous single material.

16. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The metal-containing plates include two or more metal-containing plates.

17. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein At least one of the frame and the metal-containing plate is electrically conductive and includes at least one portion having reduced electrical conductivity.

18. The preform according to claim 17, wherein The at least one portion of reduced conductivity comprises a region of reduced material thickness.

19. The preform according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The metal-containing plate includes tungsten.

20. A card-type information substrate, comprising: a substrate material made of plastic; an electronic module disposed in the substrate material; as well as A preform according to any one of claims 1 to 19, attached to the substrate material, wherein the antenna of the preform is operatively connected to the electronic module for wireless communication, and wherein the frame of the preform is formed around the periphery of the substrate material, wherein the thickness of the frame corresponds to the total thickness of the card-type information substrate, and wherein the material of the frame has a higher specific gravity than the base material in plastic form.

21. A method for forming a preform of a card-type information substrate, comprising: Select substrate material; providing a frame around the periphery of the substrate material, wherein the material of the frame has a higher specific gravity than the base material in the form of plastic, thereby imparting an increased weight to the preform, and wherein the thickness of the frame corresponds to the total thickness of the card-like information substrate; providing an electronic module for the substrate material; providing an antenna for the substrate material; providing a metal-containing plate for the substrate material; It is characterized in that The method further comprises: providing a first insulating layer, which covers the frame, the base material, the metal-containing plate and the antenna and forms a first surface of the preform, Wherein, the first isolation layer comprises a rigid material which will not soften or flow onto or into corresponding steps formed by thickness differences of materials of the frame, the base material, the metal-containing plate or the antenna during lamination of other components to the preform.

22. A method for forming a card-type information substrate, comprising: Forming a preform of a card-type information substrate according to the method of claim 21; providing a substrate material made of plastic; An electronic module disposed in the substrate material; The preform, the substrate material and the electronic module are laminated.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the steps of: determining at least one metric representative of desired radio frequency performance of the antenna; selecting at least one of an overall conductivity of the frame, a position of the antenna within an outline of the frame, and a performance of the electronics module based on the at least one metric to achieve the desired radio frequency performance; as well as At least one of a size and a shape of a metal-containing plate configured to contour the frame is selected to achieve the desired radio frequency performance.

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