Card-type media

Abstract

This card-type medium is provide with: a card body; an included component embedded in the card body; an exposed component disposed so as to be partially exposed on the front surface of the card body; and a circuit board to which the included component and the exposed component are joined. The circuit board includes: a first connection to which the included component is joined; a second connection to which the exposed component is joined and which is disposed at a position different from that of the first connection, in a card thickness direction connecting the front surface of the card body and the back surface which is opposite to the front surface; and a connection wiring which extends in a direction including the card thickness direction and connects the first connection and the second connection.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a card-type medium. This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2020-103094, 2020-103095, and 2020-103096, filed on June 15, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0002] Many types of card-type media have been available for some time, including credit cards, cash cards, prepaid cards, membership cards, gift cards, and membership certificates. Furthermore, in recent years, card-type media (hereinafter simply referred to as "IC cards") that realize various functions by embedding an IC (Integrated Circuit) module with a communication function have also become widespread. Such IC cards with communication functions also perform contactless communication with a reader / writer using, for example, electromagnetic induction communication technology such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier).

[0003] An IC card has a circuit board, and elements such as an IC module and an antenna mounted on the circuit board, embedded in the card body. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration including a secure element and a fingerprint processing unit connected to a flexible circuit board, and a contact pad electrically connected to the secure element. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japan Special Publication No. 2019-511058 [Patent Document 2] Japan Special Publication No. 2011-521377 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the contact pads are supported by a spacer (extension block) to expose them on the surface (front) of the card body. The spacer is sandwiched between the flexible circuit board and the contact pads. The spacer is electrically coupled to both the flexible circuit board and the contact pads via their respective contact points. Therefore, when mounting the contact pads, it is necessary to bond one surface of the spacer to the flexible circuit board and the other surface of the spacer to the contact pads. In this way, supporting components with the spacer increases the number of bonding points. As a result, there is a risk of increased bonding effort and costs in the IC card manufacturing process. Furthermore, the increased number of bonding points may increase the risk of connection failures.

[0006] Patent Document 1 also describes a configuration in which the contact pads are arranged so as to be exposed on the surface (front surface) of the card body, and are housed inside an opening formed on the surface of the card body. Furthermore, credit cards that use metal for the card body are also being offered to give the card a sense of luxury, etc. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which a metal sheet is used for the card body and back panel.

[0007] In such a configuration, it is desirable to minimize the gap between the opening formed in the card body and the exposed components, such as contact pads, that are exposed on the surface of the card body. However, if the card body is made of metal, reducing the gap between the opening and the exposed components can cause, for example, solder electrically connecting the exposed components to the circuit board to come into contact with the inner periphery of the opening. In such a case, if the opening formed in the card body is made of metal, a short circuit can occur.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a card-type medium that can reduce the manufacturing effort and cost, and the risk of connection failure.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a card-type medium that can suppress electrical short circuits between the card body and components mounted on the card body, even when a metal material is used for the card body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A card-type medium according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a card body, an internal component embedded in the card body, an exposed component arranged with a portion exposed on the surface of the card body, and a circuit board to which the internal component and the exposed component are joined, wherein the circuit board comprises a first connection portion to which the internal component is joined, a second connection portion arranged at a position different from the first connection portion in the card thickness direction connecting the surface of the card body to the back surface opposite the surface, and to which the exposed component is joined, and a connection wiring portion extending in a direction including the card thickness direction and connecting the first connection portion and the second connection portion. The circuit board has slits formed around one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion and the connection wiring portion, the slits being formed on both sides of the connection wiring portion and extending continuously in the extension direction of the connection wiring portion, and the circuit board is bent along a line connecting one end of the slit formed on one side of the connection wiring portion to one end of the slit formed on the other side of the connection wiring portion, and a line connecting the other end of the slit formed on one side of the connection wiring portion to the other end of the slit formed on the other side of the connection wiring portion. . A card-type medium according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a card body, an internal component embedded within the card body, an exposed component arranged with a portion exposed on the surface of the card body, and a circuit board to which the internal component and the exposed component are joined, wherein the circuit board comprises a first connection portion to which the internal component is joined, a second connection portion arranged at a different position from the first connection portion in the card thickness direction connecting the surface of the card body to the back surface opposite the surface and to which the exposed component is joined, and a connection wiring portion extending in a direction including the card thickness direction and connecting the first connection portion and the second connection portion, wherein the circuit board has a slit formed around one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion and the connection wiring portion, and the slit extends to surround one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion except for a portion where the connection wiring portion is connected to at least one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion, and the circuit board is bent along a line connecting one end of the slit to the other end.

[0011] A card-type medium according to an aspect of the present invention includes a card body, a component at least partially embedded in the card body, a circuit board embedded in the card body and having a component connection portion to which the component is joined, and a spacer embedded in the card body and disposed on the opposite side of the component across the component connection portion. a plurality of components having different component thicknesses in a card thickness direction connecting a front surface of the card body and a back surface opposite to the front surface; a plurality of component connection portions to which the plurality of components are respectively joined; and a plurality of spacers arranged in contact with the respective component connection portions and having different spacer thicknesses in the card thickness direction. . A card-type medium according to an aspect of the present invention includes a card body, a component at least partially embedded in the card body, a circuit board embedded in the card body and having a component connection portion to which the component is joined, and a spacer embedded in the card body and disposed on the opposite side of the component across the component connection portion. the card body includes a plurality of components having different component thicknesses in a card thickness direction connecting the front surface of the card body to the back surface opposite the front surface, and a plurality of component connection portions to which the plurality of components are respectively joined, the spacer having a plurality of support surfaces in contact with the plurality of component connection portions, the plurality of support surfaces being at different positions in the card thickness direction .

[0012] A card-type medium according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a card body formed containing a metal material, an exposed component housed inside an opening formed on the surface of the card body and arranged with a portion exposed on the surface, and a circuit board embedded within the card body and to which the exposed component is joined, wherein the opening has a surface-side opening located on the surface side in the card thickness direction connecting the surface of the card body to the back surface opposite the surface, and a back-side opening formed contiguous to the surface-side opening on the back surface side in the card thickness direction and having a larger opening dimension in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction than the surface-side opening. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a card-type medium that can reduce the manufacturing effort and cost, and the risk of connection failure.

[0014] Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a card-type medium that can prevent electrical short circuits between the card body and components mounted on the card body, even when the card body is made of a metal material. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view of an IC card according to a first embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front side. [Figure 2] 2 is a plan view showing exposed components, embedded components, and a circuit board provided on the IC card of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow BB in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow CC in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow DD in FIG. 2. [Figure 7] 1A to 1C are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing process for manufacturing an IC card according to a first embodiment of the present invention by stacking a plurality of card substrates. [Figure 8]8 is a cross-sectional view showing an IC card manufactured by stacking a plurality of card base materials shown in FIG. 7. FIG. [Figure 9] 1A to 1C are cross-sectional views showing a manufacturing process for manufacturing an IC card according to a first embodiment of the present invention by filling a mold with a resin material and curing it. [Figure 10] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an IC card formed using the mold shown in FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a plan view showing exposed components, encapsulated components, and a circuit board provided on an IC card according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows EE in FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a plan view showing exposed components, encapsulated components, and a circuit board provided on an IC card according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow FF in FIG. 13. [Figure 15] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrows GG in FIG. 13. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a plan view showing exposed components, embedded components, and a circuit board provided on an IC card according to a first modified example of the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a plan view showing exposed components, embedded components, and a circuit board provided on an IC card according to a second modified example of the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow HH in FIG. 17. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing exposed components, embedded components, and a circuit board provided on an IC card according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow II in FIG. 19. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an IC card according to a modified example of the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an IC card according to another modified example of the first to fourth embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is an external view of an IC card according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front side. [Figure 24]24 is a plan view showing components and a circuit board provided on the IC card of FIG. 23. FIG. [Figure 25] 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow JJ in FIG. 24. [Figure 26] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of a spacer provided in an IC card according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a spacer member used in a spacer in a modified example of the fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an IC card using the spacer member. FIG. [Figure 29] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the spacer member. [Figure 30] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing still another modified example of the spacer member. [Figure 31] FIG. 10 is an external view of an IC card according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front side. [Figure 32] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an IC card according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 33] FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of an IC card in a first modified example of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 34] FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of an IC card in a second modified example of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] (First embodiment of card-type medium) An IC card according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Fig. 1 is an external view of an IC card according to this embodiment, seen from the front side. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing exposed components, encapsulated components, and a circuit board provided on the IC card of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in Fig. 2. 1 to 6, IC card (card-type medium) 1 is a dual-interface IC card equipped with contact terminal 21, which is a contact-type interface, and antenna 50, which is a contactless-type interface. IC card 1 also has a biometric authentication function using fingerprint sensor 22. IC card 1 is equipped with card body 10, embedded component 30, exposed component 20, circuit board 40, and antenna 50.

[0017] The card body 10 is plate-shaped and rectangular when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, which is perpendicular to the front surface 10f of the card body 10. Here, the card thickness direction Dt is the direction connecting the front surface 10f and the back surface 10g of the card body 10. The card body 10 is formed to have a thickness in the card thickness direction Dt of, for example, about 0.5 to 1.0 mm (for example, if the IC card 1 is a credit card, the thickness of the card body 10 is 0.76 mm).

[0018] The card body 10 is formed using an insulating plastic base material such as a polyester-based material such as amorphous polyester, a vinyl chloride-based material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a polycarbonate-based material, or PET-G (polyethylene terephthalate copolymer). The card body 10 may also be formed using a metal sheet or a magnetic material. The card body 10 may also be molded into a card shape using a plastic material with high fluidity and insulating properties, such as a UV-curable type or a mixed liquid reactive curable type.

[0019] The exposed component 20 is disposed with a portion thereof exposed on the surface 10f of the card body 10. In this embodiment, the IC card 1 includes a contact terminal 21 and a fingerprint sensor 22 as the exposed component 20. The contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are each housed in an opening (recess) 12 formed on the surface 10f side of the card body 10.

[0020] The contact terminal 21 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The contact terminal 21 can be brought into contact with and electrically coupled to an external contact terminal provided on an external contact device such as an automated teller machine. The contact terminal 21 is made of an insulating substrate such as glass epoxy or polyimide (PI) on whose surface a conductor pattern is formed by etching or the like, and plated with nickel, palladium, gold, or the like. In this embodiment, the contact terminal 21 is located on one side (LH side) of the center of the surface 10f of the card body 10 in the long side direction D1 along the surface 10f of the card body 10.

[0021] The fingerprint sensor 22 is formed in a rectangular plate shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The fingerprint sensor 22 has a configuration in which a protective film is provided to cover a large number of electrodes. The fingerprint sensor 22 is disposed on the other side (RH side) of the card body 10 in the long side direction D1 with respect to the center of the surface 10f of the card body 10.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 , the contained component 30 is embedded in the card body 10. In this embodiment, the IC card 1 has an IC chip 31 as the contained component 30. The IC chip 31 is electrically connected to the contact terminals 21, the fingerprint sensor 22, and the antenna 50 (described later) via wiring formed on the circuit board 40. The IC chip 31 is a so-called secure IC microcomputer and has functions such as communication with the outside via the contact terminals 21 and the antenna 50 and fingerprint authentication using the fingerprint sensor 22. The IC chip 31 may be a chip with a known configuration having contact and contactless communication functions. The IC chip 31 is rectangular when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The IC chip 31 is disposed between the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 in the long side direction D1. The IC chip 31 is disposed biased toward one side (LW side) of the short side direction D2, which is perpendicular to the long side direction D1, in a plane along the surface 10f of the card body 10.

[0023] The circuit board 40 is embedded in the card body 10. When viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, the circuit board 40 is disposed inside the outer edge of the card body 10. When viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, the circuit board 40 has a rectangular outer shape. The thickness of the circuit board 40 in the card thickness direction Dt is, for example, 15 to 50 μm (micrometers).

[0024] The circuit board 40 is made of a flexible circuit board. The circuit board 40 has a base substrate made of an insulating material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), or polyimide (PI). On the surface of the base substrate of the circuit board 40, a predetermined wiring pattern made of a conductive thin film of aluminum, copper, or the like is arranged, which is formed by etching or the like.

[0025] The circuit board 40 is disposed on the back surface 10g side of the card body 10 in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31. The contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31 are mounted on a board surface 40f facing the front surface 10f of the card body 10. The contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31 are mounted on the board surface 40f of the circuit board 40 by soldering, a conductive adhesive, thermocompression welding, or the like.

[0026] The antenna 50 is formed along the periphery of the circuit board 40 in a rectangular shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The antenna 50 is formed around the periphery of the circuit board 40 by one or more turns. The antenna 50 is formed, for example, as part of a wiring pattern formed on the circuit board 40. The antenna 50 may also be separate from the circuit board 40. When the antenna 50 is separate from the circuit board 40, the antenna 50 may be formed, for example, by arranging a metal plate, metal foil, or metal wire formed into a predetermined antenna shape. In this case, the antenna 50 and the wiring pattern of the circuit board 40 are joined by soldering, welding, pressure welding, or the like.

[0027] The circuit board 40 has a contact terminal wiring portion 41 , a fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 , and an antenna wiring portion 43 .

[0028] The contact terminal wiring portion 41 electrically couples (connects) the IC chip 31 and the contact terminals 21. As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the contact terminal wiring portion 41 has a first connection portion 41s, a second connection portion 41t, and a connection wiring portion 41u. The first connection portion 41s is joined to the IC chip 31. The second connection portion 41t is joined to the contact terminals 21. The connection wiring portion 41u connects the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t. The connection wiring portion 41u has a chip-side wiring portion 41a, a folded-back portion 41b, and a terminal-side wiring portion 41c. The chip-side wiring portion 41a extends from the first connection portion 41s toward the other side (UP side) in the short-side direction D2. The folded-back portion 41b is folded back in a U-shape on the other side of the short-side direction D2 of the circuit board 40 when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The terminal-side wiring portion 41c extends from the folded-back portion 41b to one side (LW side) in the short-side direction D2 and is continuous with the second connection portion 41t.

[0029] The fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 electrically couples the IC chip 31 and the fingerprint sensor 22. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 has a first connection portion 42s, a second connection portion 42t, and a connection wiring portion 42u. The first connection portion 42s is bonded to the IC chip 31. The second connection portion 42t is bonded to the fingerprint sensor 22. The connection wiring portion 42u connects the first connection portion 42s and the second connection portion 42t. The connection wiring portion 42u has a chip-side wiring portion 42a, a bent portion 42b, and a sensor-side wiring portion 42c. The chip-side wiring portion 42a extends from the first connection portion 42s toward the other side (UP side) in the short-side direction D2, parallel to the chip-side wiring portion 41a. The bent portion 42b is bent in an L-shape at the middle of the short-side direction D2 of the circuit board 40 when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The sensor-side wiring portion 42c extends from the bent portion 42b to the other side (RH side) in the long-side direction D1 and continues to the second connection portion 42t.

[0030] 2 and 5, the antenna wiring portion 43 is disposed on the opposite side of the IC chip 31 from the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 in the short side direction D2, with the IC chip 31 interposed therebetween. The antenna wiring portion 43 extends from the IC chip 31 toward one side in the short side direction D2 and is connected to the long side portion 50a of the antenna 50.

[0031] 2, the circuit board 40 has a cutout portion 45. The cutout portion 45 is an opening formed by cutting out the circuit board 40 along the outer edges of the contact terminal wiring portion 41, the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, and the antenna wiring portion 43. As a result, the contact terminal wiring portion 41, the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, and the antenna wiring portion 43 are each formed in a strip shape extending in the extension direction of each portion.

[0032] 3, 5, and 6, the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are arranged biased toward the front surface 10f of the card body 10 relative to the IC chip 31 in the card thickness direction Dt. As a result, the second connection portion 41t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the contact terminal 21 is arranged at a different position in the card thickness direction Dt relative to the first connection portion 41s. The second connection portion 42t of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 joined to the fingerprint sensor 22 is arranged at a different position in the card thickness direction Dt relative to the first connection portion 42s. The second connection portions 41t, 42t are arranged closer to the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt than the first connection portions 41s, 42s. The first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are arranged at the same position (in the same plane) as the antenna 50 and the antenna wiring portion 43 in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, the chip-side wiring portion (first inclined portion) 41a of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 extends from the first connection portion 41s toward the other side (UP side) of the short-side direction D2, inclined toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt, and is connected to the folded-back portion 41b. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal-side wiring portion (second inclined portion) 41c of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 extends from the folded-back portion 41b toward one side (LW side) of the short-side direction (first direction) D2, inclined toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt, and is connected to the second connection portion 41t. In this way, the connection wiring portion 41u connecting the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t extends in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt. Here, the direction including the card thickness direction Dt refers to a direction inclined with respect to the card thickness direction Dt, such as the direction in which the chip-side wiring portion 41a and the terminal-side wiring portion 41c of the connection wiring portion 41u extend. The direction including the card thickness direction Dt may be the card thickness direction Dt. In other words, the chip-side wiring portion 41a and the terminal-side wiring portion 41c may extend in the card thickness direction Dt between the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 5, the chip-side wiring portion 41a as a first inclined portion extends obliquely toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt toward the other side (second side, UP side) of the short-side direction D2 intersecting the card thickness direction Dt. The direction in which the chip-side wiring portion 41a extends is defined as a first direction C1. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal-side wiring portion 41c as a second inclined portion extends obliquely toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt toward one side (first side, LW side) of the short-side direction D2 that intersects the card thickness direction Dt and is oriented differently from the other side (second side, UP side) of the short-side direction D2. The direction in which the terminal-side wiring portion 41c extends is defined as a second direction C2. The first direction C1 and the second direction C2 are different directions, and the chip-side wiring portion 41a as a first inclined portion and the terminal-side wiring portion 41c as a second inclined portion extend and incline in different directions with respect to the card thickness direction Dt. The directions in which the chip-side wiring portion 41a and the terminal-side wiring portion 41c extend are not limited to this. For example, the chip-side wiring portion 41a as the first inclined portion may extend at an incline toward the short-side direction D2, and the terminal-side wiring portion 41c as the second inclined portion may extend at an incline toward the long-side direction D1. Furthermore, the first direction C1 and the second direction C2 may be the same direction.

[0035] 2 and 3, the sensor-side wiring portion 42c of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 extends from the bent portion 42b toward the other side (RH side) in the long-side direction D1, inclined toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt, and is connected to the second connecting portion 42t. In this manner, the connecting wiring portion 42u connecting the first connecting portion 42s and the second connecting portion 42t extends in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt. The connecting wiring portion 42u may extend in the card thickness direction Dt between the first connecting portion 42s and the second connecting portion 42t.

[0036] 2, 3, and 6, the second connection portions 41t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 are formed large enough to protrude outward beyond the contact terminals 21 when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The second connection portions 42t of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are formed large enough to protrude outward beyond the fingerprint sensor 22 when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The second connection portions 41t and 42t are arranged to cover (block) the openings 12 of the card body 10, in which the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are housed, from the back surface 10g side in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0037] Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process for manufacturing an IC card according to this embodiment by stacking a plurality of card substrates. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an IC card manufactured by stacking the plurality of card substrates shown in Fig. 7. 7 and 8, the card body 10 of the IC card 1 described above can be formed by stacking multiple sheet-like card substrates 101, 102, and 103 in the card thickness direction Dt. In this case, the card substrate 103, which is disposed on the front surface 10f side of the card body 10, has an opening 12 formed therein to accommodate the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The opening 12 penetrates the card substrate 103 in the card thickness direction Dt. The opening 12 is closed from the back surface 10g side by the second connection portions 41t and 42t described above. An internal opening 14 is formed in card substrate 102, which is located between card substrate 101, which is located on the back surface 10g side, and card substrate 103, which is located on the front surface 10f side, in the card thickness direction Dt. Internal opening 14 accommodates IC chip 31, which is an included component 30. By integrating these card substrates 101, 102, and 103 by converting using heat press lamination or adhesive, an IC card 1 equipped with contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31 is formed.

[0038] Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a manufacturing process for manufacturing an IC card according to this embodiment by filling a mold with a resin material and hardening it. Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an IC card formed using the mold shown in Fig. 9. 9 and 10, the card body 10 of the IC card 1 described above can also be formed by resin molding using a mold 200. In this case, a card substrate 202 arranged on the front surface 10f side and a card substrate 201 arranged on the back surface 10g side are housed in the mold 200. An opening 12 is formed in the card substrate 202 to house the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The opening 12 penetrates the card substrate 202 in the card thickness direction Dt. The opening 12 is closed from the back surface 10g side by the second connection portions 41t and 42t described above. The IC chip 31 is temporarily fixed on the card substrate 201. In the mold 200, a resin material 203 such as a thermosetting, UV-setting, or mixed liquid reaction-curing resin is filled between the card substrate 201 and the card substrate 202 and cured, thereby forming the IC card 1 having the contact terminals 21, the fingerprint sensor 22, and the IC chip 31. At this time, since the opening 12 is blocked from the rear surface 10g side by the second connecting portions 41t, 41t, the resin material 203 filled in the mold 200 is prevented from entering the opening 12.

[0039] The IC card 1 of this embodiment includes an exposed component 20 partially exposed on the surface 10f of the card body 10, and a contained component 30 embedded within the card body 10. This allows the contained component 30 and the exposed component 20 to be positioned at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. In this configuration, the first connection portions 41s, 42s to which the contained component 30 is joined and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to which the exposed component 20 is joined are positioned at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The connection wiring portions 41u, 42u connecting the first connection portions 41s, 42s and the second connection portions 41t, 42t extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt. This allows the contained component 30 and the first connection portions 41s, 42s, and the exposed component 20 and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to be directly joined without a spacer. Therefore, it is possible to provide an IC card 1 that can suppress the increase in manufacturing effort and cost, and the risk of connection failure.

[0040] According to the IC card 1 of this embodiment, the circuit board 40 includes cutout portions 45 cut out along the outer edges of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 including the first connecting portions 41s, 42s, the second connecting portions 41t, 42t, and the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u, and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42. As a result, the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are each formed in a strip shape extending in the extension direction of each portion. This makes it easy to arrange the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u to extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt.

[0041] According to the IC card 1 of this embodiment, the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u extend obliquely toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt in the direction in which the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u extend. This allows the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u to be arranged in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt between the first connection portions 41s, 42s and the second connection portions 41t, 42t. As a result, the enclosed component 30 and the exposed component 20 can be supported at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt without using a spacer.

[0042] According to the IC card 1 of this embodiment, the connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 includes a chip-side wiring portion 41a extending obliquely in the card thickness direction Dt toward the other side (first direction) of the short side direction D2, and a terminal-side wiring portion 41c extending obliquely in the card thickness direction Dt toward one side (a direction different from the first direction) of the short side direction D2. This allows the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t to be disposed at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt within a limited space.

[0043] According to the IC card 1 of this embodiment, the card body 10 has an opening 12 on the front surface 10f side, into which the exposed component 20 is housed. The second connection portions 41t, 42t are arranged on the back surface 10g side of the exposed component 20 in the card thickness direction Dt, so as to cover the entire opening 12. In this way, by covering the opening 12 from the back surface 10g side with the second connection portions 41t, 42t, it is possible to prevent the resin material from entering the opening 12 when the card body 10 is formed by resin molding.

[0044] (Second embodiment of card-type medium) A second embodiment of the card-type medium of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components common to those already described will be assigned the same reference numerals and redundant description will be omitted. Note that the following embodiments all differ from the first embodiment in the circuit board 40B. Therefore, the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the IC card 1B includes a card body 10, an enclosed component 30, an exposed component 20, a circuit board 40B, and an antenna 50.

[0045] The contained component 30 (IC chip 31), the first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the contained component 30, and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are arranged on one side (first side, LW side) in the short side direction D2 along the surface 10f of the card body 10. The exposed component 20 (contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22), the second connection portion 41t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the exposed component 20, and the second connection portion 42t of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are arranged on the other side (second side, UP side) in the short side direction D2 along the surface 10f of the card body 10. In this embodiment, the antenna wiring portion 43 extends from the IC chip 31 to the other side (second side, RH side) in the short side direction D2 and is connected to the antenna 50. The connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, together with the antenna wiring portion 43, extend from the IC chip 31 in the short side direction D2 along the front surface 10f.

[0046] In this embodiment, the circuit board 40B does not have a cutout portion 45 (see FIG. 2). The circuit board 40B has a bent portion 44 bent in a crank shape as viewed from the long side direction D1 between a first side and a second side in the short side direction D2 along the surface 10f. As a result, the circuit board 40B has a portion 44a on the first side in the short side direction D2 where the included components 30 (IC chip 31) are arranged and a portion 44b on the second side in the short side direction D2 where the exposed components 20 (contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22) are arranged, which are positioned differently in the card thickness direction Dt. The connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt at the bent portion 44.

[0047] In the IC card 1B of this embodiment, the contained component 30 and the exposed component 20 are arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The first connection portions 41s, 42s to which the contained component 30 is joined and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to which the exposed component 20 is joined are arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The connection wiring portions 41u, 42u connecting the first connection portions 41s, 42s and the second connection portions 41t, 42t extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt at the bent portion 44 of the circuit board 40B. This allows the contained component 30 and the first connection portions 41s, 42s, and the exposed component 20 and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to be directly joined without a spacer. This makes it possible to provide an IC card 1B that reduces manufacturing effort and cost and the risk of connection failure.

[0048] (Third embodiment of card-type medium) A third embodiment of the card-type medium of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the IC card 1C includes a card body 10, an enclosed component 30, an exposed component 20, a circuit board 40C, and an antenna 50.

[0049] In this embodiment, the circuit board 40C has the second connection portion 41t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the second connection portion 42t of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 arranged at the same position (on the same plane) in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the antenna 50 and the antenna wiring portion 43. A slit 46 is formed in the circuit board 40C. The slit 46 penetrates the circuit board 40C in the card thickness direction Dt. The slit 46 extends continuously in a direction along the board surface 40f of the circuit board 40. The slit 46 is formed to surround the first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, which are joined to the IC chip 31. The slit 46 is formed along three sides of the first connection portions 41s and 42s, except for the portions where the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u are connected to the first connection portions 41s and 42s. A part of the slit 46 is formed around the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u. A part of the slit 46 is formed on both sides of the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u, and extends continuously in the extension direction of the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u.

[0050] Such a circuit board 40C is bent along a line L1 connecting one slit end 46a and the other slit end 46b of the slit 46. As a result, the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u are bent at portions intersecting the line L1 near the IC chip 31. As a result, the first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the IC chip 31 and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are disposed at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the second connection portions 41t, 42t.

[0051] Here, the circuit board 40C is bent along a line L1 connecting one slit end 46a and the other slit end 46b of the slit 46. Therefore, it is preferable to set the positions of the one slit end 46a and the other slit end 46b of the slit 46 so that the line L1 does not interfere with the IC chip 31 and is located away from the IC chip 31 on the outer circumferential side.

[0052] In the IC card 1C of this embodiment, the contained component 30 and the exposed component 20 are arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The first connection portions 41s, 42s to which the contained component 30 is joined and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to which the exposed component 20 is joined are arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt from the first connection portions 41s, 42s. The connection wiring portions 41u, 42u connecting the first connection portions 41s, 42s and the second connection portions 41t, 42t extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt. This allows the contained component 30 and the first connection portions 41s, 42s, and the exposed component 20 and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to be directly joined without a spacer. This makes it possible to provide an IC card 1C that reduces manufacturing effort and cost and the risk of connection failure.

[0053] According to the IC card 1C of this embodiment, the circuit board 40 has slits 46 formed around the first connection portions 41s, 42s and the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u. These slits 46 make it easier to bend a part of the circuit board 40C and arrange the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u to extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt.

[0054] (First Modification of the Third Embodiment of the Card-Type Medium) In the third embodiment, the slits 46 are formed to extend along the three sides of the first connecting portions 41s, 42s, but the present invention is not limited to this. 16, in an IC card 1D that is a variation of the IC card 1C, a slit 47 is formed in an L-shape on a circuit board 40D when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The slit 47 has a portion 47s that extends in the short side direction D2 on the side of the first connection portions 41s, 42s, and a portion 47t that extends in the long side direction D1 on one side of the first connection portions 41s, 42s in the short side direction D2.

[0055] The circuit board 40D is bent along a line L2 connecting one slit end 47a and the other slit end 47b of the slit 47. As a result, the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u are bent at portions intersecting the line L2 near the IC chip 31. As a result, the first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the IC chip 31 and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are disposed at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the second connection portions 41t and 42t.

[0056] In this case, too, the circuit board 40D is bent along a line L2 connecting one slit end 47a and the other slit end 47b of the slit 47. Therefore, it is preferable to set the positions of one slit end 47a and the other slit end 47b of the slit 47 so that the line L2 does not interfere with the IC chip 31 and is located away from the IC chip 31 toward the outer periphery.

[0057] (Second Modification of the Third Embodiment of the Card-Type Medium) 17 and 18, in an IC card 1E that is a modification of the IC card 1C, an IC chip 31 is disposed between the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 in the long side direction D1. In a circuit board 40E, a connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and a connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are disposed on both sides of the IC chip 31 (first connection portions 41s, 42s) in the long side direction D1. The connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 each extend in the long side direction D1.

[0058] Slits 48A and 48B are formed in the circuit board 40E. The slits 48A and 48B are formed around the first connection portions 41s and 42s joined to the IC chip 31 and the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u. The slits 48A and 48B are arranged on both sides of the IC chip 31 in the short side direction D2. The slits 48A and 48B each extend on both sides in the long side direction D1, centered on the first connection portions 41s and 42s joined to the IC chip 31.

[0059] The circuit board 40E is bent along a line L3 connecting the slit ends 48a, 48b on both sides of the long-side direction D1 of the slits 48A, 48B. As a result, the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u are bent at the portions where they intersect with the line L3 near the IC chip 31. As a result, the first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the IC chip 31 and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are disposed at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt relative to the second connection portions 41t, 42t. In this case, too, it is preferable to set the lengths of the slits 48A, 48B so that the line L3 does not interfere with the IC chip 31 and is positioned away from the IC chip 31 toward the outer periphery.

[0060] (Fourth embodiment of card-type medium) A fourth embodiment of the card-type medium of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, an IC card 1F includes a card body 10, an enclosed component 30, an exposed component 20, a circuit board 40F, and an antenna 50.

[0061] In the IC card 1F, the IC chip 31 is disposed between the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 in the long side direction D1. The contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are disposed on either side of the IC chip 31 (first connection portions 41s, 42s) in the long side direction D1. The connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 each extend in the long side direction D1.

[0062] The circuit board 40F includes a cutout portion 49 cut out outside the outer edges of the contact terminal wiring portion 41, including the first connecting portions 41s, 42s, the second connecting portions 41t, 42t, and the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u, and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42. The cutout portion 49 is formed continuously so as to surround the contact terminal wiring portion 41, including the first connecting portions 41s, 42s, the second connecting portions 41t, 42t, and the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u, and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, except for the portion where the antenna wiring portion 43 is connected to the IC chip 31. As a result, the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are each formed in a strip shape extending in the extension direction thereof.

[0063] In the circuit board 40F, the connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 extends obliquely toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt between the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t in the extension direction of the connection wiring portion 41u (one side in the long side direction D1, the LH side). The connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 extends obliquely toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt between the first connection portion 42s and the second connection portion 42t in the extension direction of the connection wiring portion 42u (the other side in the long side direction D1, the RH side).

[0064] In the IC card 1F of this embodiment, the contained component 30 and the exposed component 20 are arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The first connection portions 41s, 42s to which the contained component 30 is joined and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to which the exposed component 20 is joined are arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The connection wiring portions 41u, 42u connecting the first connection portions 41s, 42s and the second connection portions 41t, 42t extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt. This allows the contained component 30 and the first connection portions 41s, 42s, and the exposed component 20 and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to be directly joined without a spacer. This makes it possible to provide an IC card 1F that can reduce manufacturing effort and cost and the risk of connection failure.

[0065] According to the IC card 1F of this embodiment, the circuit board 40F includes cutout portions 49 cut out along the outside of the outer edges of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, which include the first connecting portions 41s, 42s, the second connecting portions 41t, 42t, and the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u. As a result, the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are each formed in a strip shape extending in the extension direction thereof. This makes it easy to arrange the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u to extend in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt.

[0066] (Modifications of the first to fourth embodiments of the card-type medium) In each of the above embodiments, the first connection portions 41s, 42s to which the contained components 30 are joined and the second connection portions 41t, 42t to which the exposed components 20 are joined are located at positions different from the first connection portions 41s, 42s in the card thickness direction Dt. In such a configuration, as shown in Fig. 21 , the exposed components 20 of the IC card 1G may be supported via a spacer 70 on the card substrate 101 that forms the back surface 10g side of the card body 10G.

[0067] The spacer 70 is positioned on the opposite side of the exposed component 20 (contact terminal 21, fingerprint sensor 22) from the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 in the card thickness direction Dt, which are joined to the exposed component 20.

[0068] As a result, the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 of the circuit board 40G are directly joined to the contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. Therefore, it is possible to provide an IC card 1G that can suppress the manufacturing effort and cost, as well as the increase in the risk of connection failure. Furthermore, by supporting the exposed component 20 with the spacer 70, the exposed component 20 can be stably supported during the manufacturing process.

[0069] (Other Modifications of the First to Fourth Embodiments of the Card-Type Medium) As shown in FIG. 22, in a card body 10H of an IC card 1H, a card substrate 303 arranged on the front surface 10f side may be made of, for example, metal.

[0070] The card body 10H is constructed by stacking multiple sheet-like card substrates 301 and 303 in the card thickness direction Dt. The card substrate 303, which is disposed on the front surface 10f side of the card body 10H, has an opening 312 formed therein for accommodating the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The surface of the card substrate 303 facing the back surface 10g has a recess 313 formed therein that is recessed toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt. The recess 313 accommodates an IC chip 31.

[0071] Card substrate 301, which is disposed on the back surface 10g side of card body 10H, is made of, for example, resin. Circuit board 40H is disposed between card substrate 301 and card substrate 303. Card substrate 301 and card substrate 303 are bonded together by bonding layer 305, which is made of a ferrite layer or the like.

[0072] The exposed component 20 of the IC card 1H is supported on a card substrate 301 that forms the back surface 10g side of the card body 10H via a spacer 70. The spacer 70 is arranged on the opposite side of the exposed component 20 in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 that are joined to the exposed component 20 (contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22).

[0073] In the circuit board 40H, the connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 extends obliquely in the card thickness direction Dt along the extension direction of the connection wiring portion 41u (long side direction D1) between the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t. The connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 extends obliquely in the card thickness direction Dt along the extension direction of the connection wiring portion 42u (long side direction D1) between the first connection portion 42s and the second connection portion 42t.

[0074] The opening 312 formed in the card substrate 303 has an expanded diameter portion 3121 on the back surface 10g side in the card thickness direction Dt. The expanded diameter portion 3121 is formed so that its opening dimension in directions intersecting the card thickness direction Dt (long side direction D1 and short side direction D2) is larger than the opening dimension on the front surface 10f side of the opening 312. The connection wiring portions 41u and 42u extending in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt between the first connection portions 41s and 42s and the second connection portions 41t and 42t are housed between the spacer 70 and the inner wall surface of the expanded diameter portion 3121.

[0075] As a result, the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 are directly joined to the contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. Therefore, it is possible to provide an IC card 1G that can reduce manufacturing effort and cost, and reduce the risk of connection failure.

[0076] (Fifth embodiment of card-type medium) An IC card according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Fig. 23 is an external view of the IC card according to this embodiment as seen from the front side, Fig. 24 is a plan view showing components and a circuit board provided on the IC card of Fig. 23, and Fig. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line J-J of Fig. 24. 23 to 25, IC card (card-type medium) 1J is a dual-interface IC card equipped with contact terminal 21, which is a contact-type interface, and antenna 50, which is a contactless-type interface. IC card 1J also has a biometric authentication function using fingerprint sensor 22. IC card 1J is equipped with card body 10J, embedded component 30, exposed component 20, circuit board 40J, and antenna 50.

[0077] The card body 10J is plate-shaped and rectangular when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, which is perpendicular to the front surface 10f of the card body 10J. Here, the card thickness direction Dt is the direction connecting the front surface 10f and the back surface 10g of the card body 10J. The card body 10J is formed to have a thickness in the card thickness direction Dt of, for example, about 0.5 to 1.0 mm (when the IC card 1J is a credit card, the thickness of the card body 10J is 0.76 mm).

[0078] As shown in FIG. 25, the card body 10J includes a frame material 111, a front surface skin material 112, and a back surface skin material 113.

[0079] Frame material 111 is formed in a frame shape extending along the outer edge of card body 10J. A space 114 is formed inside frame material 111. Frame material 111 has a predetermined thickness in the card thickness direction Dt. Included components 30 (see FIG. 24), exposed components 20, and circuit board 40J are housed in space 114 inside frame material 111. Frame material 111 is formed using an insulating plastic base material such as a polyester-based material such as amorphous polyester, a vinyl chloride-based material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a polycarbonate-based material, or PET-G (polyethylene terephthalate copolymer).

[0080] The front surface side skin material 112 forms the front surface 10f of the card body 10J. The front surface side skin material 112 closes a space 114 inside the frame material 111 on the front surface 10f side in the card thickness direction Dt relative to the frame material 111. The front surface side skin material 112 has an opening 115 for accommodating contact terminals 21 and a fingerprint sensor 22, which will be described later. The back surface side skin material 113 forms the back surface 10g of the card body 10J and closes a space 114 inside the frame material 111 on the back surface 10g side in the card thickness direction Dt relative to the frame material 111. The front surface side skin material 112 and the back surface side skin material 113 are sheet materials made of, for example, a resin material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PU), or a metal material such as an aluminum alloy or stainless steel.

[0081] 24 and 25, the exposed component 20 is embedded in the front surface 10f of the card body 10J with a portion of the exposed component 20 exposed. In this embodiment, the IC card 1J includes a contact terminal (component) 21 and a fingerprint sensor (component) 22 as the exposed component 20. The contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are each arranged so as to be exposed to the outside from an opening 115 formed in the front surface skin material 112 of the card body 10J.

[0082] As shown in Fig. 24, the contact terminal 21 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The contact terminal 21 has a contact surface 21a that can come into contact with and be electrically coupled to an external contact terminal provided on an external contact device such as an automated teller machine. The contact terminal 21 has a conductive pattern formed on the surface of an insulating base material such as glass epoxy or polyimide (PI) by etching or the like, and then plated with nickel, palladium, gold, or the like to form the contact surface 21a. In this embodiment, the contact terminal 21 is located on one side (LH side) of the center of the surface 10f of the card body 10J in the long side direction D1 along the surface 10f of the card body 10J.

[0083] The fingerprint sensor 22 is formed in a rectangular plate shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The fingerprint sensor 22 has a configuration in which a protective film is provided to cover a large number of electrodes. The fingerprint sensor 22 is disposed on the other side (RH side) of the card body 10J in the long side direction D1 with respect to the center of the front surface 10f of the card body 10J.

[0084] The contained component 30 is embedded in the card body 10J by being disposed in the space 114. In this embodiment, the IC card 1J has an IC chip 31 as the contained component 30. The IC chip 31 is electrically connected to the contact terminals 21, the fingerprint sensor 22, and the antenna 50 (described later) via wiring formed on the circuit board 40J. The IC chip 31 is a so-called secure IC microcomputer and has functions such as communication with the outside via the contact terminals 21 and the antenna 50 and fingerprint authentication using the fingerprint sensor 22. The IC chip 31 may be a chip with a known configuration having contact and contactless communication functions. The IC chip 31 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The IC chip 31 is disposed between the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 in the long side direction D1. The IC chip 31 is disposed biased toward one side (LW side) of the short side direction D2 perpendicular to the long side direction D1 in a plane along the surface 10f of the card body 10J.

[0085] The circuit board 40J is embedded in the card body 10J. When viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, the circuit board 40J is disposed in a space 114 inside the frame material 111 of the card body 10J. When viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, the circuit board 40J has a rectangular outer shape. The thickness of the circuit board 40J in the card thickness direction Dt is, for example, 15 to 50 μm (micrometers).

[0086] Circuit board 40J is a flexible circuit board. Circuit board 40J has a base substrate made of an insulating material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), or polyimide (PI). On the surface of the base substrate of circuit board 40J, a predetermined wiring pattern made of a conductive thin film of aluminum, copper, or the like is arranged, formed by etching or the like.

[0087] The circuit board 40J is disposed on the back surface 10g side of the card body 10J in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31. The contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31 are mounted on a board surface 40f facing the front surface 10f of the card body 10J. The contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22, and IC chip 31 are mounted on the board surface 40f of the circuit board 40J by soldering, a conductive adhesive, thermocompression welding, or the like.

[0088] The antenna 50 is formed along the periphery of the circuit board 40J in a rectangular shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The antenna 50 is formed around the periphery of the circuit board 40J by one or more turns. The antenna 50 is formed, for example, as part of a wiring pattern formed on the circuit board 40J. The antenna 50 may also be separate from the circuit board 40J. When the antenna 50 is separate from the circuit board 40J, the antenna 50 may be formed, for example, by arranging a metal plate, metal foil, or metal wire formed into a predetermined antenna shape. In this case, the antenna 50 and the wiring pattern of the circuit board 40J are joined by soldering, welding, pressure welding, or the like.

[0089] The circuit board 40J has a contact terminal wiring portion 41, a fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, and an antenna wiring portion 43.

[0090] The contact terminal wiring portion 41 electrically couples (connects) the IC chip 31 and the contact terminals 21. The contact terminal wiring portion 41 has a first connection portion 41s, a second connection portion (component connection portion) 41t, and a connection wiring portion 41u. The first connection portion 41s is joined to the IC chip 31. The second connection portion 41t is joined to the contact terminals 21. The connection wiring portion 41u connects the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t. The connection wiring portion 41u has a chip-side wiring portion 41a, a folded-back portion 41b, and a terminal-side wiring portion 41c. The chip-side wiring portion 41a extends from the first connection portion 41s toward the other side (UP side) in the short-side direction D2. The folded-back portion 41b is folded back in a U-shape on the other side of the short-side direction D2 of the circuit board 40J when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The terminal-side wiring portion 41c extends from the folded-back portion 41b to one side (LW side) in the short-side direction D2 and is continuous with the second connection portion 41t.

[0091] The fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 electrically couples the IC chip 31 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 has a first connection portion 42s, a second connection portion (component connection portion) 42t, and a connection wiring portion 42u. The first connection portion 42s is bonded to the IC chip 31. The second connection portion 42t is bonded to the fingerprint sensor 22. The connection wiring portion 42u connects the first connection portion 42s and the second connection portion 42t. The connection wiring portion 42u has a chip-side wiring portion 42a, a bent portion 42b, and a sensor-side wiring portion 42c. The chip-side wiring portion 42a extends from the first connection portion 42s toward the other side (UP side) in the short-side direction D2, parallel to the chip-side wiring portion 41a. The bent portion 42b is bent in an L-shape at the middle of the short-side direction D2 of the circuit board 40J when viewed from the card thickness direction Dt. The sensor-side wiring portion 42c extends from the bent portion 42b to the other side (RH side) in the long-side direction D1 and continues to the second connection portion 42t.

[0092] The antenna wiring portion 43 electrically couples the IC chip 31 and the antenna 50. The antenna wiring portion 43 is arranged on the opposite side of the IC chip 31 from the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 in the short side direction D2. The antenna wiring portion 43 extends from the IC chip 31 toward one side in the short side direction D2 and is connected to the long side portion 50a of the antenna 50.

[0093] The circuit board 40J has a cutout portion 45. The cutout portion 45 is an opening formed by cutting out the circuit board 40J along the outer edges of the contact terminal wiring portion 41, the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, and the antenna wiring portion 43. As a result, the contact terminal wiring portion 41, the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, and the antenna wiring portion 43 are each formed in a strip shape extending in the extension direction of each portion.

[0094] 25, the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are arranged offset toward the front surface 10f of the card body 10J in the card thickness direction Dt relative to the IC chip 31. The contact surfaces 21a of the contact terminals 21 and the touch surface 22a of the fingerprint sensor 22 are arranged at the same position on the front surface 10f of the card body 10J in the card thickness direction Dt. The component thickness T1 of the contact terminals 21 in the card thickness direction Dt is different from the component thickness T2 of the fingerprint sensor 22 in the card thickness direction Dt. In this embodiment, the component thickness T1 of the contact terminals 21 is smaller than the component thickness T2 of the fingerprint sensor 22. As a result, the bonding surface 21b of the contact terminals 21 that is bonded to the second connection portion 41t and the bonding surface 22b of the fingerprint sensor 22 that is bonded to the second connection portion 42t are located at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. Accordingly, the second connection portion 41t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 joined to the joining surface 21b of the contact terminal 21 and the second connection portion 42t of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 joined to the joining surface 22b of the fingerprint sensor 22 are positioned differently in the card thickness direction Dt. The second connection portion 41t is disposed at a position closer to the surface 10f of the card body 10J in the card thickness direction Dt than the second connection portion 42t.

[0095] Spacers 70J1 and 70J2 are arranged on the opposite side of the contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22 across the second connecting portions 41t and 42t. In this embodiment, the spacers 70J1 and 70J2 are individually provided for the contact terminals 21 and second connecting portion 41t, and for the fingerprint sensor 22 and second connecting portion 42t. The spacer 70J1 is arranged on the opposite side of the contact terminals 21 across the second connecting portion 41t. The spacer 70J1 is sandwiched between the second connecting portion 41t and the rear surface skin material 113. The spacer 70J2 is arranged on the opposite side of the fingerprint sensor 22 across the second connecting portion 42t. The spacer 70J2 is sandwiched between the second connecting portion 42t and the rear surface skin material 113. The spacers 70J1 and 70J2 may simply be in contact with the second connecting portions 41t and 42t, or may be joined by adhesion, welding, or the like. In this way, the spacer 70J1 provided in contact with the second connection portion 41t and the spacer 70J2 provided in contact with the second connection portion 42t have different spacer thicknesses in the card thickness direction Dt. The spacer thickness S1 of the spacer 70J1 provided in contact with the second connection portion 41t is greater than the spacer thickness S2 of the spacer 70J2 provided in contact with the second connection portion 42t. In this manner, the contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22, which are the exposed components 20, are supported by the spacers 70J1 and 70J2.

[0096] The second connection portion 41t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 to which the contact terminal 21 is joined and the second connection portion 42t of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 to which the fingerprint sensor 22 is joined are mechanically (physically) connected by the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u. Between the second connection portion 41t and the second connection portion 42t, the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u are inclined in the card thickness direction Dt toward their extension direction.

[0097] The IC card 1J of this embodiment includes a card body 10J, contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22 at least partially embedded in the card body 10J, a circuit board 40J embedded in the card body 10J and having second connection portions 41t and 42t to which the contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22 are joined, and spacers 70J1 and 70J2 embedded in the card body 10J and disposed on the opposite side of the contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22 across the second connection portions 41t and 42t. This allows the contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensor 22 to be directly joined to the second connection portions 41t and 42t, respectively. This makes it possible to provide an IC card 1J that can reduce manufacturing effort and cost and the risk of connection failure.

[0098] According to the IC card 1J of this embodiment, the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22, which are arranged with a part exposed on the front surface 10f of the card body 10J, can be stably supported by the spacers 70J1 and 70J2.

[0099] The IC card 1J of this embodiment includes a plurality of contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensors 22 having different component thicknesses T1, T2, a plurality of second connection portions 41t, 42t to which the plurality of contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensors 22 are respectively joined, and a plurality of spacers 70J1, 70J2 having different spacer thicknesses S1, S2 and arranged in contact with the second connection portions 41t, 42t. As a result, the spacers 70J1, 70J2 are individually provided for the plurality of contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensors 22 having different component thicknesses T1, T2. Therefore, by providing the spacers 70J1, 70J2 according to the component thicknesses T1, T2 of the plurality of contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensors 22, the contact terminals 21 and fingerprint sensors 22 can be accurately positioned in the card thickness direction Dt even if they have different component thicknesses T1, T2.

[0100] According to the IC card 1J of this embodiment, the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u are provided between the plurality of second connection portions 41t, 42t, extending in a direction including the card thickness direction Dt and connecting the second connection portions 41t, 42t to each other. This allows the connection wiring portions 41u, 42u to be properly arranged between the second connection portions 41t, 42t that are located at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0101] (Modification of the fifth embodiment of the card-type medium) In the above embodiment, the spacers 70J1 and 70J2 are provided for the contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22, respectively, but the form of the spacers is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Fig. 26, one spacer 70J3 may be provided for the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The spacer 70J3 extends continuously in a direction (long side direction D1 or short side direction D2) intersecting the card thickness direction Dt. The spacer 70J has a plurality of support surfaces 71, 72 that contact the plurality of second connection portions 41t, 42t, respectively. The support surface 71 is formed so as to contact the second connection portion 41t to which the contact terminal 21 is joined. The support surface 72 is formed so as to contact the second connection portion 42t to which the fingerprint sensor 22 is joined. The plurality of support surfaces 71, 72 are located at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt. The spacer 70J3 has an inclined surface 74 between the support surfaces 71 and 72 that is aligned with the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u.

[0102] According to the configuration of this modified example, the number of spacers 70J3 can be reduced, and the manufacturing effort can be reduced. Also, the inclined surface 74 can stably support the connection wiring portions 41u and 42u.

[0103] (Another modification of the fifth embodiment of the card-type medium) As shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the spacers 70J1 to 70J3 described in the above embodiment and its modified examples may be replaced by a spacer member 75 as shown below. The spacer member 75 has a recess 76 on a support surface 75f that contacts the second connection portions 41t, 42t. The recess 76 is recessed from the support surface 75f in the card thickness direction Dt. When a component such as the contact terminal 21 or fingerprint sensor 22 joined to the second connection portions 41t, 42t has a protrusion 28, the protrusion 28 can be accommodated in the recess 76. In this case, holes 77 are formed in the second connection portions 41t, 42t to allow the protrusion 28 to pass through.

[0104] 29, the spacers 70J1 to 70J3 shown in the above embodiment and its modified examples may be replaced by a spacer member 78A as shown below. The spacer member 78A has an outer dimension in a direction intersecting the card thickness direction Dt that is larger than the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The spacer member 78A has a curved surface 78x on the outer periphery of a surface 78f that contacts the second connection portions 41t and 42t. Providing the curved surface 78x on the spacer member 78A makes it possible to prevent stress from concentrating on the contact terminal wiring portion 41 or the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 when the contact terminal wiring portion 41 or the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 that contacts the spacer member 78A is curved or bent in the card thickness direction Dt. As shown in FIG. 30, spacer members 78B having a curved surface and an inclined surface 78y on the outer periphery, instead of the curved surface 78x, may be used as spacers 70J1 to 70J3.

[0105] (Sixth embodiment of card-type medium) An IC card according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Fig. 31 is an external view of the IC card according to this embodiment as seen from the front side, and Fig. 32 is a cross-sectional view of the IC card according to this embodiment. 31 and 32, IC card (card-type medium) 1K is a dual-interface IC card equipped with contact terminal 21, which is a contact-type interface, and antenna 50, which is a contactless-type interface (see FIG. 32). IC card 1K also has a biometric authentication function using fingerprint sensor 22. IC card 1K is equipped with card body 10K, embedded component 30, exposed component 20, circuit board 40K, and antenna 50.

[0106] The card body 10K is plate-shaped and rectangular when viewed in a card thickness direction Dt (see FIG. 32) perpendicular to the front surface 10f. Here, the card thickness direction Dt is the direction connecting the front surface 10f and the back surface 10g of the card body 10K. The card body 10K is formed to have a thickness in the card thickness direction Dt of, for example, about 0.5 to 1.0 mm (if the IC card 1K is a credit card, the thickness of the card body 10K is 0.76 mm).

[0107] As shown in FIG. 32, the card body 10K is configured by stacking a plurality of sheet-like card substrates 401 and 402 in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0108] An opening 410 is formed in the card substrate 402 arranged on the front surface 10f side of the card body 10K, and houses the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The opening 410 is formed to penetrate the card substrate 402 in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0109] In the card substrate 402, an internal opening 420 is formed in the substrate back surface 42g facing the back surface 10g in the card thickness direction Dt. The internal opening 420 is recessed from the substrate back surface 42g toward the front surface 10f in the card thickness direction Dt. The internal opening 420 accommodates the contained component 30 (an IC chip 31 described below). The opening 410 and the internal opening 420 are formed by laser processing or cutting.

[0110] The card substrate 401, which is placed on the back surface 10g side of the card body 10K, is formed using an insulating plastic substrate such as a polyester-based material such as amorphous polyester, a vinyl chloride-based material such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a polycarbonate-based material, or PET-G (polyethylene terephthalate copolymer).

[0111] Card substrate 402 is made of a conductive metal material such as stainless steel, titanium alloy, etc. Card substrate 402 has a thickness in the card thickness direction Dt of, for example, 100 to 500 μm.

[0112] Exterior resin layers 403 and 404 are formed on the front surface 10f and back surface 10g of the card body 10K. Exterior resin layer 403, which forms front surface 10f, covers card substrate 402 except for opening 410. Exterior resin layer 404, which forms back surface 10g, covers the entire card substrate 401. Exterior resin layers 403 and 404 are formed of, for example, a laminate (film).

[0113] Card substrate 401 and card substrate 402 are integrated by converting processing using heat press lamination or adhesive. Card substrate 401 and card substrate 402 may also be integrated by cold press lamination processing using two-component curing resin, room temperature curing resin, or UV curing resin. Furthermore, ferrite layer 405 may be disposed between card substrate 401 and card substrate 402.

[0114] The opening 410 has a front-side opening 411 and a back-side opening 412. The front-side opening 411 is located on the front surface 10f side in the card thickness direction Dt. The back-side opening 412 is formed contiguous with the front-side opening 411 on the back surface 10g side in the card thickness direction Dt. An opening dimension Z2 of the back-side opening 412 in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction Dt of the front-side opening 411 is larger than an opening dimension Z1 of the front-side opening 411 in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction Dt. In other words, the back-side opening 412 is an expanded diameter portion with a larger opening dimension than the front-side opening 411.

[0115] The exposed component 20 is disposed with a portion thereof exposed on the front surface 10f of the card body 10K. In this embodiment, the IC card 1K includes a contact terminal 21 and a fingerprint sensor 22 as the exposed component 20. The contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are each housed in an opening 410 formed on the front surface 10f side of the card body 10K.

[0116] The contact terminal 21 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The contact terminal 21 can be brought into contact with and electrically coupled to an external contact terminal provided on an external contact device such as an automated teller machine. The contact terminal 21 is made of an insulating base material such as glass epoxy or polyimide (PI) on whose surface a conductor pattern is formed by etching or the like, and plated with nickel, palladium, gold, or the like. In this embodiment, the contact terminal 21 is located on one side (LH side) of the center of the surface 10f of the card body 10K in the long side direction D1 along the surface 10f.

[0117] The fingerprint sensor 22 is formed in a rectangular plate shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The fingerprint sensor 22 has a configuration in which a protective film is provided to cover a large number of electrodes. The fingerprint sensor 22 is disposed on the other side (RH side) of the card body 10K in the long side direction D1 with respect to the center of the front surface 10f of the card body 10K.

[0118] The contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are each joined to the circuit board 40K by a conductive bonding material 450 such as solder or silver paste. The contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are arranged with a gap G1 between them and the inner circumferential surface of a front-side opening 411 of the opening 410. The contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are arranged with a gap G2 between them and the inner circumferential surface of a back-side opening 412 of the opening 410. The opening dimension Z2 of the back-side opening 412 is larger than the opening dimension Z1 of the front-side opening 411. Therefore, the gap G2 between the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 and the inner circumferential surface of the back-side opening 412 is larger than the gap G1 between them and the inner circumferential surface of the front-side opening 411. Therefore, even if the conductive bonding material 450 that joins the contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 to the circuit board 40K protrudes outside the joint between the contact terminal 21, the fingerprint sensor 22 and the circuit board 40K, the conductive bonding material 450 is prevented from coming into contact with the metal card substrate 402.

[0119] The contained component 30 is embedded in the card body 10K. In this embodiment, the IC card 1K has an IC chip 31 as the contained component 30. The IC chip 31 is electrically connected to the contact terminals 21, the fingerprint sensor 22, and the antenna 50 (described later) via wiring formed on the circuit board 40K. The IC chip 31 is a so-called secure IC microcomputer, and has functions such as communication with the outside via the contact terminals 21 and the antenna 50, and fingerprint authentication using the fingerprint sensor 22. The IC chip 31 can be a chip with a known configuration that has contact communication and contactless communication functions. The IC chip 31 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0120] The circuit board 40K is embedded in the card body 10K. When viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, the circuit board 40K is disposed inside the outer edge of the card body 10K. When viewed in the card thickness direction Dt, the circuit board 40K has a rectangular outer shape. The thickness of the circuit board 40K in the card thickness direction Dt is, for example, 15 to 50 μm (micrometers).

[0121] The circuit board 40K is made of a flexible circuit board. The circuit board 40K has a base substrate made of an insulating material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide (PI), glass epoxy, etc. On the surface of the base substrate of the circuit board 40K, a predetermined wiring pattern made of a conductive thin film of aluminum, copper, etc. is arranged, which is formed by etching or the like.

[0122] The circuit board 40K is disposed on the back surface 10g side of the card body 10K in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the contact terminals 21, the fingerprint sensor 22, and the IC chip 31. The contact terminals 21, the fingerprint sensor 22, and the IC chip 31 are mounted on the board surface 40f facing the front surface 10f of the card body 10K.

[0123] The antenna 50 is formed along the periphery of the circuit board 40K in a rectangular shape when viewed in the card thickness direction Dt. The antenna 50 is formed around the periphery of the circuit board 40K by one or more turns. The antenna 50 is formed, for example, as part of a wiring pattern formed on the circuit board 40K. The antenna 50 may also be separate from the circuit board 40K. When the antenna 50 is separate from the circuit board 40K, the antenna 50 may be formed, for example, by arranging a metal plate, metal foil, or metal wire formed into a predetermined antenna shape. In this case, the antenna 50 and the wiring pattern of the circuit board 40K are joined by soldering, welding, pressure welding, or the like.

[0124] The circuit board 40K has a contact terminal wiring portion 41, a fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42, and an antenna wiring portion (not shown). In this embodiment, the circuit board 40K is disposed along a card substrate 401 on the back surface 10g side of the card body 10K, in a plane perpendicular to the card thickness direction Dt.

[0125] The contact terminal wiring portion 41 electrically couples (connects) the IC chip 31 and the contact terminal 21. The contact terminal wiring portion 41 has a first connection portion 41s, a second connection portion 41t, and a connection wiring portion 41u. The first connection portion 41s is joined to the IC chip 31. The second connection portion 41t is joined to the contact terminal 21. The connection wiring portion 41u connects the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t.

[0126] The fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 electrically couples the IC chip 31 and the fingerprint sensor 22. The fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 has a first connection portion 42s, a second connection portion 42t, and a connection wiring portion 42u. The first connection portion 42s is joined to the IC chip 31. The second connection portion 42t is joined to the fingerprint sensor 22. The connection wiring portion 42u connects the first connection portion 42s and the second connection portion 42t.

[0127] The antenna wiring section (not shown) electrically couples the IC chip 31 and the antenna 50 together.

[0128] In the IC card 1K of this embodiment, an opening 410 formed in the card body 10K includes a front-side opening 411 located on the front surface 10f side in the card thickness direction Dt and a back-side opening 412 formed contiguous to the back surface 10g side in the card thickness direction Dt. The back-side opening 412 has a larger opening dimension in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction Dt than the front-side opening 411. As a result, a gap G2 is formed between the opening 410 and the exposed component 20 housed inside the opening 410. This makes it possible to prevent electrical short-circuiting between the exposed component 20 mounted on the card body 10K and the card body 10K, even when the card body 10K is made of a metal material.

[0129] (First Modification of the Sixth Embodiment of the Card-Type Medium) In the sixth embodiment, the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 are directly joined to the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the circuit board 40K, but the joining manner of the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 is not limited to this.

[0130] 33, the contact terminals 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 may be joined to the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the circuit board 40L via intermediate spacers 471, 472. The intermediate spacers 471, 472 are sandwiched between the exposed components 20 and the circuit board 40L. The intermediate spacers 471, 472 are housed inside a rear opening 412 of an opening 410 formed in the card body 10L.

[0131] Intermediate spacers 471, 472 have connection electrodes (not shown) made of copper foil or the like formed on the front and back of an insulating base material such as glass epoxy. The connection electrodes on the front and back of intermediate spacers 471, 472 are electrically connected to each other by through holes or vias formed by copper plating or the like. Such intermediate spacers 471, 472 are electrically coupled to second connection portions 41t, 42t of circuit board 40L, contact terminal 21, and fingerprint sensor 22, respectively.

[0132] By using such intermediate spacers 471, 472, even if the component thickness of the contact terminal 21 in the card thickness direction Dt is different from the component thickness of the fingerprint sensor 22, the positions of the contact terminal 21 and the fingerprint sensor 22 in the card thickness direction Dt can be aligned by making the heights of the intermediate spacers 471, 472 different.

[0133] In such an IC card 1L, the back-side opening 412 has a larger opening dimension in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction Dt than the front-side opening 411. Therefore, a gap G3 can be formed between the intermediate spacer 471 housed inside the opening 410 and the inner circumferential surface of the back-side opening 412. Therefore, even if a metal material is used for the card body 10L, electrical short-circuiting between the exposed component 20 mounted on the card body 10L and the card body 10L can be suppressed.

[0134] (Second Modification of the Sixth Embodiment of the Card-Type Medium) In the sixth embodiment and its first modified example, the circuit boards 40K and 40L are arranged along the card substrate 401 in a plane perpendicular to the card thickness direction Dt, but the form of the circuit boards is not limited to this. For example, as in the IC card 1M shown in Figure 34, the first connection portion 41s of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the first connection portion 42s of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 on the circuit board 40M, and the second connection portions (component connection portions) 41t, 42t may be arranged at different positions in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0135] The exposed component 20 of the IC card 1M is supported on a card substrate 401 that forms the back surface 10g side of the card body 10M via a spacer 470. The spacer 470 is arranged on the opposite side of the exposed component 20 in the card thickness direction Dt with respect to the second connection portions 41t, 42t of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 and the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 that are joined to the exposed component 20 (contact terminals 21, fingerprint sensor 22).

[0136] In the circuit board 40M, the connection wiring portion 41u of the contact terminal wiring portion 41 extends obliquely in the card thickness direction Dt along the extension direction of the connection wiring portion 41u between the first connection portion 41s and the second connection portion 41t. The connection wiring portion 42u of the fingerprint sensor wiring portion 42 extends obliquely in the card thickness direction Dt along the extension direction of the connection wiring portion 42u between the first connection portion 42s and the second connection portion 42t. The connection wiring portions 41u, 42u may extend in the card thickness direction Dt.

[0137] An opening 410 formed in the card substrate 401 has a back surface opening 412 on the back surface 10g side in the card thickness direction Dt. The connection wiring portions 41u and 42u are housed between a spacer 470 and the inner circumferential surface of the back surface opening 412. The connection wiring portions 41u and 42u are arranged inside the back surface opening 412 with a gap G4 between them and the inner circumferential surface of the back surface opening 412.

[0138] In this IC card 1M, the back-side opening 412 has a larger opening dimension in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction Dt than the front-side opening 411. This allows a gap G4 to be formed between the back-side opening 412 and the spacer 470 housed inside the opening 410. Therefore, even if a metal material is used for the card body 10M, electrical short-circuiting between the card body 10M and the exposed component 20 mounted on the card body 10M can be suppressed.

[0139] Each embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and configuration changes and combinations within the scope that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included.

[0140] For example, the components mounted as contained components 30 and exposed components 20 are not limited to IC chip 31, contact terminal 21, and fingerprint sensor 22, and other components may be mounted as appropriate. Also, in each of the above embodiments, two types (two pieces) of exposed components 20, namely, contact terminal 21 and fingerprint sensor 22, are provided, but this is not limiting. The types and numbers of exposed components 20 and contained components 30 can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the positions of the second connection portions 41t, 42t in the card thickness direction Dt are different from those of the first connection portions 41s, 42s, but the positions of multiple second connection portions in the card thickness direction Dt may also be different from each other. Although IC cards 1, 1B to 1M used as credit cards have been exemplified as card-type media, there are no limitations on their form or use. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 1, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1H, 1J, 1K, 1L, 1M IC card (card-type medium) 10, 10G, 10H, 10J, 10K, 10L, 10M card body 10f surface 10g back side 12, 312, 410 aperture 20 Exposed parts 21 Contact terminal (part) 22 Fingerprint sensor (component) 30 Included Parts 31 IC chip 40, 40B, 40C, 40D, 40E, 40F, 40G, 40H, 40J, 40K, 40L, 40M Circuit Board 41a Chip side wiring portion (first inclined portion) 41c Terminal side wiring part (second slope part) 41s, 42s first connection part 41t, 42t Second connection part (part connection part) 41u, 42u connection wiring section 45, 49 Cutouts 46, 47, 48A, 48B slits 50 Antennas D2 Short side direction Dt Card thickness direction C1 First direction C2 Second direction 70J1, 70J2, 70J3, 470 spacer 71, 72 Support surface 75f support surface S1, S2 spacer thickness T1, T2 part thickness 471, 472 Intermediate spacer G1, G2, G3, G4 clearance Z1, Z2 opening dimensions

Claims

1. The card body and A contained component embedded in the card body; an exposed component that is partially exposed on the surface of the card body; a circuit board to which the included components and the exposed components are joined, The circuit board includes: A first connection portion to which the internal part is joined; a second connection portion that is disposed at a position different from the first connection portion in a card thickness direction that connects the front surface of the card body to a back surface opposite to the front surface, and to which the exposed component is joined; a connection wiring portion extending in a direction including the card thickness direction and connecting the first connection portion and the second connection portion, The circuit board includes: a slit formed around one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion and the connection wiring portion; the slits are formed on both sides of the connection wiring portion, and extend continuously in the extension direction of the connection wiring portion; the circuit board is bent along a line connecting one end of a slit formed on one side of the connection wiring portion to one end of a slit formed on the other side of the connection wiring portion, and along a line connecting the other end of the slit formed on one side of the connection wiring portion to the other end of the slit formed on the other side of the connection wiring portion; Card-type media.

2. The card body and A contained component embedded in the card body; an exposed component that is partially exposed on the surface of the card body; a circuit board to which the included components and the exposed components are joined, The circuit board includes: A first connection portion to which the internal part is joined; a second connection portion that is disposed at a position different from the first connection portion in a card thickness direction that connects the front surface of the card body to a back surface opposite to the front surface, and to which the exposed component is joined; a connection wiring portion extending in a direction including the card thickness direction and connecting the first connection portion and the second connection portion, The circuit board includes: a slit formed around one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion and the connection wiring portion; the slit extends so as to surround one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion, except for a portion where at least the connection wiring portion is connected to one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion; The circuit board is bent along a line connecting one end and the other end of the slit. Card-type media.

3. the circuit board further includes cutout portions cut out along outer edges of the first connection portion, the second connection portion, and the connection wiring portion, or cutout portions cut out along outer edges of the outer edges, The card-type medium according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the connection wiring portion extends obliquely in the card thickness direction along the extension direction of the connection wiring portion; The card-type medium according to claim 1 .

5. The connection wiring portion is a first inclined portion extending in a first direction inclined with respect to the card thickness direction; a second inclined portion extending in a second direction inclined with respect to the card thickness direction, The first direction and the second direction are different directions. The card-type medium according to claim 4 .

6. the internal component and the first connection portion are disposed on a first side of the card body in a direction along the surface of the card body; the exposed part and the second connection part are disposed on a second side in the direction; the connection wiring portion extends in the direction between the first side and the second side in the direction, and the circuit board is bent between the first side and the second side in the direction; The card-type medium according to claim 1 .

7. the card body has an opening on the front surface side for accommodating the exposed component, The second connection portion is disposed on the back surface side of the exposed component in the card thickness direction so as to cover the entire opening. The card-type medium according to claim 1 .

8. The circuit board includes: an antenna formed along the periphery of the card body; the exposed component and the contained component are disposed inside the antenna; The card-type medium according to claim 1 .

9. one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion is disposed at the same position as the antenna in the card thickness direction; The card-type medium according to claim 8 .

10. The exposed part is a contact terminal for contacting an external contact-type device; a fingerprint sensor for detecting a user's fingerprint; The internal component includes an IC chip having contact and non-contact communication functions. The card-type medium according to claim 8 or 9.

11. The card body and a component at least partly embedded in the card body; a circuit board embedded in the card body and having a component connection portion to which the component is joined; a spacer embedded in the card body and disposed on the opposite side of the component with the component connection portion interposed therebetween; Equipped with a plurality of components having different component thicknesses in a card thickness direction connecting a front surface of the card body and a back surface opposite to the front surface; a plurality of component connection portions to which the plurality of components are respectively joined; a plurality of spacers arranged in contact with the component connection portions, the spacers having different thicknesses in the card thickness direction; Equipped with Card-type media.

12. The card body and a component at least partly embedded in the card body; a circuit board embedded in the card body and having a component connection portion to which the component is joined; a spacer embedded in the card body and disposed on the opposite side of the component with the component connection portion interposed therebetween; Equipped with a plurality of components having different component thicknesses in a card thickness direction connecting a front surface of the card body and a back surface opposite to the front surface; a plurality of the component connection portions to which the plurality of components are respectively joined, the spacer has a plurality of support surfaces that contact the plurality of component connection portions, respectively; The plurality of support surfaces are located at different positions in the card thickness direction. Card-type media.

13. The component is disposed with a part exposed on the surface of the card body. The card-type medium according to claim 11 or 12.

14. The circuit board includes: a connection wiring portion extending in a direction including the card thickness direction between the plurality of component connection portions and connecting the plurality of component connection portions to each other; The card-type medium according to any one of claims 11 to 13.

15. a card body formed including a metal material; an exposed component that is accommodated inside an opening formed on the surface of the card body and is arranged with a part of it exposed on the surface; a circuit board embedded in the card body and to which exposed components are joined; The opening is a front-side opening located on the front side in a card thickness direction connecting the front side of the card body to a back side opposite to the front side; a back-side opening formed continuously with the front-side opening on the back side in the card thickness direction, the back-side opening having a larger opening dimension in a plane intersecting the card thickness direction than the front-side opening, Card-type media.

16. an intermediate spacer sandwiched between the exposed component and the circuit board; The intermediate spacer is accommodated inside the opening together with the exposed component. The card-type medium according to claim 15.

17. The circuit board includes: a component connection portion to which the exposed component is joined inside the opening; a connection wiring portion connected to the component connection portion, extending in a direction including the card thickness direction, and disposed inside the rear surface opening with a gap between it and an inner circumferential surface of the rear surface opening, a spacer disposed on the opposite side of the exposed component across the component connection portion; The card-type medium according to claim 15.

Images