IC card laminate and method for manufacturing IC card laminate

Abstract

To ensure electrical continuity between an IC module and a conductive plate.SOLUTION: An IC card laminate includes an antenna 25 and an antenna built-in layer 12. An IC module concave portion 30 is formed in the antenna built-in layer 12, and a conductive plate 40 is placed on a stepped portion 32 of the concave portion. The conductive plate 40 includes a plate body 41 and a silver-plating layer 42, and a portion of the antenna built-in layer 12 remains as a residual portion 45 on a side wall 30a of the concave portion 30, which locates on the silver-plating layer 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an IC card laminate including an IC module, such as a credit card, cash card, or ID card, and a method for manufacturing the IC card laminate. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, IC card laminates, such as various plastic cards containing IC modules, have been adopted in a variety of fields and industries, including credit cards, cash cards, ID cards, and customer point service cards. The IC card laminate includes an antenna-embedded layer and a pair of core layers provided on both sides of the antenna-embedded layer. The IC module is mounted in a recess formed by cutting one of the core layers and the antenna-embedded layer. A conductive plate that electrically connects the IC module and the antenna is placed in the recess of the IC card laminate, and the conductive plate and IC module are bonded together with a conductive adhesive.

[0003] In such an IC card laminate, the conductive plate has a plate body and a plating layer on the plate body, and it has been conventionally required to ensure electrical continuity between the IC module and the conductive plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2000-71658 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2000-71659 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide an IC card stack that can reliably establish electrical continuity between an IC module and a conductive plate, and a method for manufacturing an IC card stack. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present disclosure relates to an IC card laminate having an IC module built in, comprising: an antenna connected to the IC module; and an antenna-built-in layer having the antenna built in; the antenna-built-in layer has an opening facing outward from the IC card laminate and a step on which the IC module is placed; an IC module recess for accommodating the IC module is formed; the IC module is mounted in the IC module recess; a conductive plate that electrically connects the antenna and the IC module is disposed on the step of the IC module recess; the conductive plate has a plate body and a plating layer provided on the opening side of the plate body; and a portion of the antenna-built-in layer remains as a remaining portion on the plating layer of the conductive plate provided on the step, on the side wall side of the IC module recess.

[0007] The present disclosure is an IC card laminate in which the plating layer of the conductive plate provided on the step portion is exposed in the IC module recess except for the remaining portion.

[0008] The present disclosure is an IC card laminate in which a conductive adhesive sheet is interposed between the IC module and the conductive plate.

[0009] The present disclosure is an IC card laminate, wherein the conductive adhesive sheet is made of an anisotropic conductive film.

[0010] The present disclosure is an IC card laminate, in which the plating layer is made of a material having higher corrosion resistance than the plate body.

[0011] The present disclosure is an IC card laminate in which the plate body is made of copper and the plating layer is made of silver plating.

[0012] In a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate incorporating an IC module, the present disclosure includes a step of preparing a laminate having an antenna connected to the IC module and an antenna-containing layer containing the antenna, a step of forming, by cutting using a cutting blade, an IC module recess having an opening facing outward of the laminate and a step portion on which the IC module is placed in the antenna-containing layer, a step of arranging a conductive plate on the step portion, and a step of mounting the IC module in the IC module recess. The conductive plate has a plate body and a plating layer provided on the opening side of the plate body. When forming the IC module recess by cutting, the tip of the cutting blade is separated from the plating layer of the conductive plate by a predetermined distance and cutting is performed, and a part of the antenna-containing layer is left as a remaining part on the plating layer of the conductive plate and on the side wall side of the IC module recess.

[0013] The present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate in which the plating layer of the conductive plate provided on the step portion is exposed into the IC module recess except for the remaining part.

[0014] The present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate in which, when forming the IC module recess by cutting, the tip of the cutting blade is separated from the plating layer of the conductive plate by the thickness of the plating layer × n (1 < n < 40).

[0015] The present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate in which a conductive adhesive sheet is interposed between the IC module and the conductive plate.

[0016] The present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate in which the conductive adhesive sheet is made of an anisotropic conductive film.

[0017] The present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate, in which the plating layer is made of a material having higher corrosion resistance than the plate body.

[0018] The present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate, in which the plate body is made of copper and the plating layer is made of silver plating. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] As described above, according to the present disclosure, electrical continuity between the IC module and the conductive plate can be reliably established. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of an IC card showing the present embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an IC module. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the connection relationship between the antenna and the conductive plate. [Figure 3B] Figure 3B shows the connection relationship between the antenna and the IC module. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a side view showing a cutting operation using a cutting blade. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a side view showing a cutting operation using a cutting blade. [Figure 5C] FIG. 5C is a side view showing a cutting operation using a cutting blade. [Figure 5D] FIG. 5D is a plan view showing the conductive plate after cutting. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a side view showing a cutting operation of Comparative Example 1. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a plan view showing the conductive plate after cutting in Comparative Example 1. [Figure 7A]FIG. 7A is a side view showing a cutting operation of Comparative Example 2. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a plan view showing the conductive plate after cutting in Comparative Example 2. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a state in which a recess is formed in a laminate by cutting. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a state in which an IC module is mounted in a recess of the laminate. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an IC card. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0022] 1 to 9 are diagrams showing an embodiment of an IC card laminate according to the present disclosure. First, an IC card 10 having a laminate with a built-in IC module will be described as an example of an IC card laminate with a built-in IC module, with reference to the plan view shown in Fig. 10.

[0023] 9, IC card 10 has an IC module 20 built in, and this IC module 20 is exposed to the outside on the surface of IC card 10. In this embodiment, IC card 10 is a dual-interface IC card that is both contact and contactless.

[0024] The IC card 10 includes a magnetic recording section 19, and a picture print 16A appears on the surface of the IC card 10.

[0025] Next, the cross-sectional structure of IC card 10 constituting an IC card laminate with a built-in IC module will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4C.

[0026] The IC card 10 includes an IC module 20, and is equipped with an antenna 25 connected to the IC module 20, an antenna-embedded layer 12 that incorporates the antenna 25, a pair of core layers 13a, 13b provided on both sides of the antenna-embedded layer 12, and a pair of over-sheet layers 14a, 14b provided on both sides of each of the core layers 13a, 13b.

[0027] Of these, the antenna-embedded layer 12 incorporates an antenna 25 connected to the IC module 20 inside as described above, and has a first antenna layer 12a and a second antenna layer 12b on which the antenna 25 is placed, a first inner layer 12c provided on the surface of the first antenna layer 12a and sandwiching and holding the antenna 25 between the first antenna layer 12a and the first antenna layer 12a, and a second inner layer 12d provided on the back surface of the second antenna layer.

[0028] Further, of the pair of over-sheet layers 14a, 14b, a concealing layer 15 is provided on the over-sheet layer 14a on the surface side, a picture print layer 16 located on the concealing layer 15 and including a picture print 16A, and a peel-off layer 17 made of a transparent body located on the picture print layer 16.

[0029] Further, a magnetic recording portion 19 is provided on the over-sheet layer 14a on the front side and the over-sheet layer 14b on the back side, and the magnetic recording portion 19 on the front side is covered with a concealing layer 15 so that it cannot be seen from the outside.

[0030] The laminate 10A is also composed of an antenna-embedded layer 12 consisting of a first antenna layer 12a, a second antenna layer 12b, a first inner layer 12c, and a second inner layer 12d, a pair of core layers 13a and 13b, a pair of over-sheet layers 14a and 14b, a concealing layer 15, a pattern-printed layer 16, and a peel-off layer 17.

[0031] A recess (also called an IC module recess) 30 is formed on the surface of the laminate 10A having such a configuration, and the above-mentioned IC module 20 is mounted in this recess 30 to obtain the IC card 10. Note that although the recess 30 in FIG. 1 is illustrated as having a wide space (gap) between the IC module 20 and each of the layers 12, 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b, 15, 16, and 17, in reality there is almost no gap. The same applies to the gaps in FIGS. 4A to 4C described below.

[0032] Next, the IC module 20 mounted in the recess 30 of the laminate 10A will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] The IC module 20 has a substrate 21, an IC chip 22a provided on the substrate 21, and a conductive portion 23 provided on the substrate 21, with the IC chip 22a and a portion of the conductive portion 23 covered with a sealing resin 22b. The IC chip 22a and the conductive portion 23 are connected by wiring 22c. The IC chip 22a, the sealing resin 22b, and the wiring 22c constitute an IC chip body 22 (see FIG. 2).

[0034] The IC module 20 having such a structure is mounted in the recess 30, and is connected to an antenna 25 built into the antenna-built-in layer 12. In this case, a conductive plate 40 is provided on the first antenna layer 12a of the antenna-built-in layer 12, and the IC module 20 is connected to the antenna 25 via a conductive adhesive sheet 27 and the conductive plate 40. Note that a conductive paste may be used instead of the conductive adhesive sheet 27. FIGS. 3A and 3B show the relative positions of the antenna 25, IC module 20, and conductive plate 40. Here, the antenna 25 is sandwiched between the first antenna layer 12a and the first inner layer 12c as described above, and is made of copper.

[0035] As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the IC card laminate 10 has a rectangular outer shape, and a triple-wound antenna 25 extends along the periphery of the IC card laminate 10. In Figures 3A and 3B, a pair of conductive plates 40 are disposed on the left side of the IC card laminate 10, and the antenna 25 is connected to each conductive plate 40. The IC module 20 is mounted on the pair of conductive plates 40. In Figure 3B, the IC module 20 as viewed from the front and the IC module 20 as viewed from the back are shown side by side.

[0036] Next, the configuration of the recess 30 in the laminate 10A and the IC module 20 mounted in this recess 30 will be further described. As shown in Fig. 1, the recess 30 formed in the laminate 10A is formed by cutting from the surface side of the laminate 10A through the release layer 17, the picture-printed layer 16, the concealing layer 15, one over-sheet layer 14a, one core layer 13a, the first inner layer 12c, the first antenna layer 12a, the second antenna layer 12b, and the second inner layer 12d, using a cutting blade 50 (described later). In this embodiment, the recess 30 is formed from the surface side of the laminate 10A and has an opening 31 facing outward from the laminate 10A and a step 32 on which the IC module 20 is placed.

[0037] The above-mentioned conductive plate 40 is disposed on the step 32 of the recess 30. That is, the recess 30 has the step 32 formed between the first inner layer 12c and the first antenna layer 12a, and the conductive plate 40 is disposed on the first antenna layer 12a that forms the step 32.

[0038] When the recess 30 is formed by cutting as described above, the portion 40A of the conductive plate 40 on the recess 30 side is exposed inside the recess 30, and the other portion 40B is embedded in the first antenna layer 12a without being exposed inside the recess 30, and the portion 40A of the conductive plate exposed inside the recess 30 is positioned on the step portion 32.

[0039] The conductive plate 40 has a plate body 41 made of copper and a silver plating layer 42 provided on the surface of the plate body 41 on the opening 31 side.

[0040] In this embodiment, the copper plate body 41 of the conductive plate 40 has a thickness of 90 μm to 110 μm. The silver plating layer has a thickness of 0.5 μm to 1.0 μm. In this embodiment, by using a copper plate body 41 of the conductive plate 40, costs can be reduced compared to when a silver plate body is used. Furthermore, by applying a silver plating layer 42 on the copper plate body 41, it is possible to prevent the conductive plate 40 from oxidizing over time and reducing its solder wettability.

[0041] Therefore, when the conductive plate 40 and the IC module 20 are bonded together with the conductive adhesive sheet 27 as described below, the conductive plate 40 and the IC module 20 can be bonded together while ensuring electrical continuity.

[0042] In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the conductive plate 40 has a copper plate body 41 and a silver plating layer 42, but this is not limiting and a plate having a plate body and a plating layer having higher corrosion resistance than the plate body may also be used.

[0043] Furthermore, in the conductive plate 40 provided on the step portion 32, i.e., the portion 40A of the conductive plate 40 exposed inside the recess 30, a portion of the first inner layer 12c (which can also be said to be a portion of the antenna-embedded layer) that remains when the recess 30 is formed by cutting remains as a remaining portion 45 on the silver plating layer 42 on the side wall 30a side of the recess 30.

[0044] When cutting the laminate 10A using the cutting blade 50, the cutting blade 50 is brought from above close to the conductive plate 40 provided on the first antenna layer 12a to form the recess 30. At this time, the recess 30 has an opening 31 and a step 32, and is formed while processing so that the conductive plate 40 is positioned on the step 32.

[0045] In this case, the cutting edge 50 reaches directly above the conductive plate 40 from above. However, since the thickness of the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 is small, it is conceivable that due to machining errors, the cutting edge 50 reaches the silver plating layer 42 during machining and cuts the silver plating layer 42.

[0046] In the present embodiment, when forming the concave portion 30 by cutting using the cutting edge 50, the tip (lower end) of the cutting edge 50 is separated from the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 by a predetermined distance, for example, the thickness of the silver plating layer 42 × n (1 < n < 40). Preferably, when the thickness of the silver plating layer 42 is 5 to 6 μm, it is separated by about 30 μm.

[0047] As a result, the tip of the cutting edge 50 does not reach the silver plating layer 42 and does not cut the silver plating layer 42. Also, although the first inner layer 12c remains in a thin film shape on the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 during cutting using the cutting edge 50, most of the thin film of the first inner layer 12c on the silver plating layer 42 is peeled off from the silver plating layer 42 due to vibration during cutting, and a part of the thin film of the first inner layer 12c remains on the side wall 30a side of the concave portion 30 to form a remaining portion 45. In this case, the thickness of the remaining portion 45 is 30 μm, and its width W is 1 mm (in FIG. 1, the thickness of the remaining portion 45 is exaggerated compared to the width W).

[0048] In the present embodiment, when forming the concave portion 30 in the laminate 10A, before mounting the IC module 20 in the concave portion 30, the remaining portion 45 remaining on the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 can be visually confirmed. As a result, it can be confirmed that the silver plating layer 42 has not been cut by the cutting edge 50 and that the thin film of the first inner layer 12c has been peeled off from the silver plating layer 42.

[0049] Incidentally, the IC module 20 mounted in the concave portion 30 of the laminate 10A is connected to the antenna 25 via the conductive adhesive sheet 27 and the conductive plate 40.

[0050] In this case, the conductive adhesive sheet 27 can be an anisotropic conductive film, and has adhesive 27a containing solder particles 27b mixed therein.

[0051] Next, the materials of each member constituting the laminate 10A will be described. There are no particular limitations on the resins that are used to make the built-in-antenna layer 12, which is made up of the first antenna layer 12a, the second antenna layer 12b, the first inner layer 12c, and the second inner layer 12d, and the pair of core layers 13a and 13b, but specific examples include synthetic resins such as polyvinyl chloride resin, vinyl acetate resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, butadiene resin, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin, polycarbonate resin, polyamide resin, cellulose resin, polyester, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol, acrylic resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, styrene resin, urethane resin, fluororesin, and mixtures thereof.

[0052] The pair of over-sheet layers 14a and 14b are both made of polycarbonate resin.

[0053] As described above, the concealing layer 15, the picture printed layer 16, and the release layer 17 are provided on the over-sheet layer 14a on the surface side in this order from the inside to the outside.

[0054] In this embodiment, the concealing layer 15 includes, for example, silver, black, gold, or red, and the silver concealing layer is made of aluminum.

[0055] The picture print layer 16 is obtained by applying ink to form a picture print 16 A. Although the picture print layer 16 in Fig. 1 is a solid print on the entire surface of the layer, the picture print layer 16 may also be a partial print such as the picture print 16 A in Fig. 5.

[0056] The above-mentioned shielding layer 15 and the pattern printing layer 16 are provided on a transfer sheet base material (not shown) through a release layer 17 in advance. The shielding layer 15 and the pattern printing layer 16 are formed on the oversheet layer 14a on the surface side by transferring the shielding layer 15 and the pattern printing layer 16 on the transfer sheet base material together with the release layer 17 onto the oversheet layer 14a.

[0057] In the present embodiment, the release layer 17 is made of a transparent body and is obtained from ink. Among these, as the ink for forming the release layer, those having the following configurations can be considered.

[0058] Resin 1 (acrylic resin) content 20 - 30%, Resin 2 (vinyl chloride acetate resin) content 5% or less, Resin 3 (polyester resin) content 1% or less, ultraviolet absorber content 2% or less, methyl ethyl ketone content 30 - 40%, toluene (300) content 34.0 - 36.0%, polyethylene wax content 1% or less.

[0059] <Method for manufacturing an IC card laminate> Next, a method for manufacturing the IC card laminate 10 having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C.

[0060] First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a laminate 10A is prepared, which includes an antenna 25 connected to an IC module 20, an antenna built-in layer 12 containing the antenna 25, a pair of core layers 13a and 13b provided on both surfaces of the antenna built-in layer 12, and a pair of oversheet layers 14a and 14b provided on both surfaces of the pair of core layers 13a and 13b.

[0061] In this case, the antenna built-in layer 12 of the laminate 10A has a first antenna layer 12a and a second antenna layer 12b, and a first inner layer 12c and a second inner layer 12d, and the antenna 25 is sandwiched between the first antenna layer 12a and the first inner layer 12c.

[0062] The laminate 10A further has a concealment layer 15 provided on the upper sheet layer 14a on the surface side, a pattern printing layer 16, and a release layer 17, and further has magnetic recording portions 19 provided on the surface side and the back side.

[0063] Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a concave portion 30 is formed by performing a cutting process on the laminate 10A from the surface side of the laminate 10A using a cutting blade 50. In this case, the cutting blade 50 is lowered from the surface side (upper side) of the laminate 10A, and the cutting blade 50 is brought close to directly above the conductive plate 40 to form the concave portion 30. At this time, the concave portion 30 has an opening 31 and a stepped portion 32, and the concave portion 30 is formed while being processed by the cutting blade 50 so that the conductive plate 40 comes onto this stepped portion 32.

[0064] Here, the cutting process for forming the concave portion 30 in the laminate 10A using the cutting blade 50 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C.

[0065] First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a conductive plate 40 is provided between the first antenna layer 12a and the first inner layer 12c of the laminate 10A. During the cutting process, the cutting blade 50 cuts the first inner layer 12c. In this case, the tip (lower end) of the cutting blade 50 cuts the first inner layer 12c at a position separated from the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 by a predetermined distance, for example, the thickness of the silver plating layer 42 × n (where 1 < n < 40) to form the concave portion 30.

[0066] In the present embodiment, for example, when the thickness of the silver plating layer 42 is 5 to 6 μm, the cutting process is performed so that the tip of the cutting blade 50 does not reach the silver plating layer 42 and the lowermost end position of the tip of the cutting blade 50 is separated from the silver plating layer 42 by a predetermined distance of 30 μm.

[0067] This can prevent the cutting blade 50 from reaching the silver plating layer 42 and cutting the silver plating layer 42 during the cutting process.

[0068] 5B, during cutting using the cutting blade 50, a portion of the first inner layer 12c remains as a thin film 45A on the silver plated layer 42 of the conductive plate 40. Most of this thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c on the silver plated layer 42 is peeled off from the silver plated layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 due to vibration during cutting. A portion of it remains on the side wall 30a side of the recess 30, forming a remaining portion 45 (see FIG. 5C).

[0069] The reason why most of the thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c is peeled off from the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 due to vibration during cutting is because no adhesive is interposed between the conductive plate 40 and the first inner layer 12c.

[0070] In this embodiment, after forming the recess 30 in the laminate 10A, and before mounting the IC module 20 in the recess 30, the remaining portion 45 remaining on the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 is visually checked from above. This makes it possible to confirm that the cutting blade 50 has not cut the silver plating layer 42 and that the thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c has peeled off from the silver plating layer 42. After such confirmation, the IC module 20 can be mounted in the recess 30 without any problems.

[0071] Fig. 5D is a plan view of the conductive plate 40 placed in the recess 30 shown in Fig. 5C. As shown in Fig. 5D, the silver plating layer 42 remains clearly on the plate body 41 of the conductive plate 40 placed in the recess 30, and a remaining portion 45 of the first inner layer 12c is formed on the silver plating layer 42 on the side wall 30a of the recess 30.

[0072] Next, a specific cutting operation using cutting blade 50 will be further described with reference to Figures 8A and 8B. As shown in Figure 8A, conductive plate 40 is placed parallel to laminate 10A within laminate 10A, and the distance between the surface of laminate 10A and the upper surface of conductive plate 40 is 200 µm. In this case, cutting is performed while adjusting the position of cutting blade 50 so that the lowest end of cutting blade 50 is 170 µm from the surface of laminate 10A.

[0073] This allows cutting to be performed on the laminate 10A while adjusting the lowest end position of the tip of the cutting blade 50 so that it is 30 μm away from the silver plating layer 42. This prevents the cutting blade 50 from reaching the silver plating layer 42, thereby preventing cutting of the silver plating layer 42. Next, an IC module 20 consisting of a substrate 21 and an IC chip body 22 having an IC chip 22a and sealing resin 22b is mounted in the recess 30 of the laminate 10A (see FIG. 8B).

[0074] Here, Figure 8A is a diagram showing the state in which a recess 30 having an opening 31 and a step portion 32 is formed in the laminate 10A by cutting using a cutting blade 50, and Figure 8B is a diagram showing the state in which an IC module 20 is mounted in the recess 30 of the laminate 10A.

[0075] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be explained in comparison with a comparative example.

[0076] 6A and 6B are a side view and a plan view showing Comparative Example 1, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are a side view and a plan view showing Comparative Example 2. FIG.

[0077] In Comparative Example 1 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, during cutting using cutting blade 50, the lowest end position of the tip of cutting blade 50 is adjusted to be on the upper surface of silver plating layer 42 of conductive plate 40.

[0078] 6A and 6B, during cutting, the tip of cutting blade 50 reaches the upper surface of silver plating layer 42 of conductive plate 40, leaving cutting marks 42a of cutting blade 50 on silver plating layer 42. Alternatively, depending on the cutting accuracy, the tip of cutting blade 50 may reach into silver plating layer 42 of conductive plate 40. In this case, since the thickness of the silver plating layer is small, it is conceivable that cutting blade 50 will peel silver plating layer 42 from the top of plate body 41.

[0079] In addition, in Comparative Example 2 shown in Figures 7A and 7B, during cutting using cutting blade 50, the lowest end position of the tip of cutting blade 50 is adjusted to be slightly below the upper surface of silver plating layer 42 of conductive plate 40.

[0080] 7A and 7B, in Comparative Example 2, because the thickness of silver plating layer 42 is small, the tip of cutting blade 50 may reach plate body 41 during cutting, in which case silver plating layer 42 is completely cut and removed from plate body 41. Then, cutting marks 41a of cutting blade 50 remain on plate body 41.

[0081] In contrast, according to the present embodiment, as shown in Figures 5A to 5D, the laminate 10A is cut so that the lowest end of the tip of the cutting blade 50 is located a predetermined distance of 30 µm away from the silver plating layer 42, thereby forming the recess 30. This reliably prevents the cutting blade 50 from reaching the silver plating layer 42 during the cutting process and cutting and removing the silver plating layer 42. Furthermore, during the cutting process using the cutting blade 50, a portion of the first inner layer 12c remains as a thin film 45A on the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40. However, most of the thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c on the silver plating layer 42 is peeled off from the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 due to vibrations during the cutting process. Therefore, the thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c remaining on the silver plating layer 42 does not interfere with electrical continuity between the IC module 20 and the conductive plate 40.

[0082] Thereafter, IC module 20 is mounted in recess 30 of laminate 10A as shown in FIG. 4C. Then, IC module 20 mounted in recess 30 of laminate 10A is placed on and adhered to step 32 of recess 30 by conductive adhesive sheet 27. At this time, conductive portion 23 of IC module 20 is electrically connected to conductive plate 40 through conduction with the solder particles of conductive adhesive sheet 27. In this way, IC module 20 is reliably electrically connected to antenna 25 via conductive adhesive sheet 27 and conductive plate 40. By mounting IC module 20 in recess 30 of laminate 10A in this way, IC card (IC card laminate) 10 is obtained.

[0083] As described above, according to this embodiment, the tip of the cutting blade 50 does not reach the silver plating layer 42, and cutting processing is performed so that the lowest end position of the tip of the cutting blade 50 is located a predetermined distance away from the silver plating layer 42, thereby forming the recess 30.

[0084] This prevents the cutting blade 50 from reaching the silver plating layer 42 during cutting and cutting the silver plating layer 42. This ensures that the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 remains intact.

[0085] Furthermore, during cutting using the cutting blade 50, a portion of the first inner layer 12c remains as a thin film 45A on the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40, but most of this thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c on the silver plating layer 42 is peeled off from the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 due to vibration during cutting. A portion of it remains on the side wall 30a of the recess 30, forming a remaining portion 45. Therefore, the thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c remains on the silver plating layer 42, and does not interfere with conductivity between the IC module 20 and the conductive plate 40.

[0086] In this embodiment, after forming the recess 30 in the laminate 10A, and before mounting the IC module 20 in this recess 30, the remaining portion 45 remaining on the silver plating layer 42 of the conductive plate 40 is visually checked. It can then be confirmed that the cutting blade 50 has not cut the silver plating layer 42 and that the thin film 45A of the first inner layer 12c has peeled off from the silver plating layer 42. After such confirmation, the IC module 20 can be mounted in the recess 30 without any problems.

[0087] 4C, the IC module 20 is mounted in the recess 30 of the laminate 10A. In this case, the silver plating layer 42 can be reliably left on the conductive plate 40, thereby maintaining the solder wettability of the conductive plate 40. This ensures that when the conductive portion 23 of the IC module 20 is connected to the conductive plate 40 via the conductive adhesive sheet 27, the solder particles of the conductive adhesive sheet and the conductive plate 40 are electrically connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 10 IC Card 10A laminate 12 Antenna built-in layer 12a First antenna layer 12b Second antenna layer 12c First inner layer 12d Second inner layer 13a Core layer 13b Core layer 14a Oversheet layer 14b Oversheet layer 15 Hidden Layer 16 Picture printing layer 17 Peeling layer 19 Magnetic Recording Unit 20 IC modules 21 PCB 22 IC chip body 22a IC chip 22b Sealing resin 22c wiring 23 Conductive part 25 Antenna 27 Conductive adhesive sheet 30 recess 31 Aperture 32 Stepped section 40 Conductive Plate 41 Plate body 42 Silver plating layer 45 Remaining part 50 cutting blade

Claims

1. In an IC card laminate having an IC module built in, an antenna connected to the IC module; an antenna-embedded layer that houses the antenna, an IC module recess for accommodating the IC module is formed in the built-in antenna layer, the IC module recess having an opening facing outward from the IC card stack and a step on which the IC module is placed, and the IC module is mounted in the IC module recess; a conductive plate that electrically connects the antenna and the IC module is disposed on a step of the IC module recess; the conductive plate includes a plate body and a plating layer provided on the opening side of the plate body, an IC card laminate in which a part of the antenna-embedded layer remains as a remaining portion on the plating layer of the conductive plate provided on the step portion and on the side wall side of the IC module recess;

2. 2. The IC card stack according to claim 1, wherein the plating layer of the conductive plate provided on the step portion is exposed in the IC module recess except for the remaining portion.

3. 3. The IC card stack according to claim 1, wherein a conductive adhesive sheet is interposed between said IC module and said conductive plate.

4. 4. The IC card laminate according to claim 3, wherein said conductive adhesive sheet is made of an anisotropic conductive film.

5. 2. The IC card laminate according to claim 1, wherein said plating layer is made of a material having higher corrosion resistance than said plate body.

6. 6. The IC card stack according to claim 5, wherein said plate body is made of copper, and said plating layer is made of silver plating.

7. A method for manufacturing an IC card laminate having an IC module built in, comprising: preparing a laminate having an antenna connected to the IC module and an antenna-embedded layer incorporating the antenna; forming an IC module recess in the built-in antenna layer by cutting using a cutting blade, the IC module recess having an opening facing outward from the laminate and a step on which the IC module is to be placed, and arranging a conductive plate on the step; and mounting the IC module in the IC module recess, the conductive plate has a plate body and a plating layer provided on the opening side of the plate body, a method for manufacturing an IC card laminate, wherein when forming the recess for the IC module by cutting, the tip of the cutting blade is spaced a predetermined distance from the plating layer of the conductive plate and cutting is performed, leaving a portion of the antenna-embedded layer as a remaining portion on the plating layer of the conductive plate and on the side wall side of the recess for the IC module.

8. 8. The method for manufacturing an IC card laminate according to claim 7, wherein the plating layer of the conductive plate provided on the step portion is exposed in the IC module recess except for the remaining portion.

9. 8. The method for manufacturing an IC card laminate according to claim 7, wherein when forming the recess for the IC module by cutting, the tip of the cutting blade is spaced from the plating layer of the conductive plate by a distance equal to the thickness of the plating layer times n (1<n<40).

10. 8. The method for manufacturing an IC card laminate according to claim 7, wherein a conductive adhesive sheet is interposed between said IC module and said conductive plate.

11. 11. The method for manufacturing an IC card laminate according to claim 10, wherein the conductive adhesive sheet is made of an anisotropic conductive film.

12. 12. The method for manufacturing an IC card laminate according to claim 7, wherein the plating layer is made of a material having higher corrosion resistance than the plate body.

13. 13. The method for manufacturing an IC card laminate according to claim 12, wherein the plate body is made of copper, and the plating layer is made of silver plating.

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