IC module and IC card

Abstract

An IC module according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a module board; an IC chip provided on the module board; and an antenna terminal having a pair of terminal portions disposed on an outer periphery of the IC chip in the module board, at least one of the pair of terminal portions being disposed along at least two continuous sides of an outer peripheral edge of the IC chip.

Description

IC module and IC card

[0001] FIELD An embodiment of the present invention relates to an IC module and an IC card.

[0002] Dual-interface IC cards are known that communicate with external devices both via contact and contactless methods. For example, they include a card substrate with an embedded antenna for contactless communication and an IC module for contact communication attached to the card substrate.

[0003] The card substrate has a housing portion for housing an IC module. The IC module includes a module substrate and an IC chip. Antenna terminals are disposed on both sides of the IC chip in one direction. The antenna embedded in the card substrate is adhered to the antenna terminals with a conductive paste, a conductive adhesive, or the like.

[0004] In such IC cards, it is required to ensure a degree of freedom in the position of the connection portion that bonds the IC module and the card substrate, and to improve designability.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-17658

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an IC module and an IC card that can improve designability.

[0007] An IC module according to an embodiment includes a module substrate, an IC chip provided on the module substrate, and an antenna terminal having a pair of terminal portions arranged on the outer periphery of the IC chip, with at least one of the pair of terminal portions being arranged across the outer periphery of at least two consecutive sides of the outer periphery of the IC chip.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an IC card according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a card substrate of the IC card; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the card substrate; FIG. 4 is a plan view of an IC module of the IC card; FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the IC module; FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing method of the IC card; FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing method of the IC card; FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an IC module of an IC card according to another embodiment; FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an IC module of an IC card according to another embodiment. Embodiment

[0009] The configurations of an IC module 20 and an IC card 1 according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an IC card 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of a card substrate of an IC card, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the card substrate. FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan and bottom views of an IC module. FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams showing a manufacturing method of an IC card. In the drawings, X, Y, and Z respectively represent three mutually orthogonal directions. In this embodiment, the X direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the card substrate 10, is referred to as the first direction, the Y direction, which is the lateral direction, is referred to as the second direction, and the Z direction, which is the thickness direction of the card substrate 10, is referred to as the third direction.

[0010] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the IC card 1 includes a card substrate 10 having an antenna 12 and an IC module 20 .

[0011] The card substrate 10 is a plate- or film-shaped member made of a resin or metal material and is configured, for example, in a rectangular shape that is long in one direction. For example, the card substrate 10 may be configured by stacking multiple plates or films.

[0012] The card substrate 10 also has a storage section 11, which is a recess for storing the IC module 20. The storage section 11 is a recess with a bottom that opens to one side in the Z direction, which is the front side of the card substrate 10, and has a stepped bottom. For example, the storage section 11 has a two-stage structure having a first recess 13 that follows the outline of the module substrate 21 and a second recess 14 that follows the outline of the IC chip 22.

[0013] The first recess 13 is a recess formed to a predetermined first depth D1, which is the dimension in the Z direction from the surface of the card substrate 10, and has an outer shape corresponding to the outer edge of the module substrate 21 of the IC module 20. The first recess 13 is configured, for example, in a rectangular shape with rounded corners, and has a bottom wall 13a perpendicular to the thickness direction and two sets of parallel inner walls 13b, 13b, 13c, 13c extending in two directions perpendicular to the thickness direction. For example, the inner walls 13b, 13b, which form side walls on both sides in the first direction, form surfaces extending along the second direction. Furthermore, the inner walls 13c, 13c, which form walls on both ends in the second direction, form surfaces extending along the first direction. For example, the bottom wall 13a is located shallower than the antenna 12 in terms of depth along the third direction, i.e., on the surface side of the card substrate 10.

[0014] The second recess 14 is a recess formed in the center of the bottom wall portion 13a within the first recess 13, and has a predetermined second depth D2 from the surface of the card substrate 10 that is deeper than the first recess 13.

[0015] The second recess 14 has an inner wall surface that conforms to the outer shape of the IC chip 22 of the IC module 20. For example, the second recess 14 is rectangular and has a bottom wall 14a that is perpendicular to the thickness direction and two sets of parallel inner walls 14b, 14b, 14c, 14c that extend in two directions perpendicular to the thickness direction. For example, the inner walls 14b, 14b that form side walls on both sides in the first direction form surfaces that conform to the second direction. Furthermore, the inner walls 14c, 14c that form walls on both ends in the second direction form surfaces that conform to the first direction. For example, the bottom wall 14a is located deeper than the antenna 12 in terms of depth along the third direction, i.e., on the back side of the card substrate 10.

[0016] Furthermore, in the card substrate 10, a connection hole 15 is formed in the bottom wall portion 13a of the first recess 13. The connection holes 15 are formed on the bottom surface portion of the first recess 13, on both sides in a first direction, which is the width direction of the second recess 14. The connection hole 15 is circular and has a third depth D3 that reaches the depth position of the antenna 12 embedded in the card substrate 10. That is, in the card substrate 10, a part of the meander portion 122 of the antenna 12 is exposed at the connection hole 15. For example, the portion of the meander portion 122 facing the connection hole 15 is electrically connected to each of the terminal portions 251, 252 of the antenna terminal 25 via the conductive adhesive 16, forming the connection portion 123.

[0017] The antenna 12 is a wound antenna embedded in the card substrate 10. The antenna 12 has an outer peripheral portion 121 arranged along the outer periphery of the card substrate 10 and a pair of meander portions 122, 122 arranged at the bottom of the storage portion 11.

[0018] The meander portions 122 are formed in a wave shape by folding back multiple times at both ends of the antenna 12. For example, the meander portions 122 are arranged on both side portions of the accommodation portion 11 in the first direction, which is the width direction.

[0019] The antenna 12 is electrically connected to the IC module 20 at the meander portion 122. That is, the meander portion 122 of the antenna 12 constitutes a communication interface for the IC module 20.

[0020] The IC module 20 includes a module substrate 21 , an IC chip 22 , contact terminals 24 , and an antenna terminal 25 .

[0021] The module substrate 21 is fitted into the first recess 13 of the card base 10. Contact terminals 24 are mounted on the front side of the module substrate 21. An IC chip 22 is mounted on the back side of the module substrate 21.

[0022] The IC chip 22 is configured by molding and sealing an IC 22a having electronic components such as an LSI with a resin material 22b. The IC chip 22 is mounted on the module substrate 21 by wire bonding using gold wires. In this embodiment, the IC chip 22 is configured in the shape of a rectangular block.

[0023] 4, the contact terminals 24 are communication terminals for contact communication and are mounted on the front surface of the module substrate 21. The contact terminals 24 are provided on the opposite side of the module substrate 21 from the IC chip 22. In other words, the contact terminals 24 are provided on the outer surface of the module substrate 21 and are exposed to the outside.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 5, the antenna terminal 25 is a communication terminal for contactless communication that is provided on the outer periphery of the IC chip 22 and is connected to the connection portion 123 of the antenna 12 provided on the card substrate 10 when mounted.

[0025] For example, the antenna terminal 25 has a pair of terminal portions 251, 252. Each of the pair of terminal portions 251, 252 is formed in a strip shape and is provided along the outer periphery of at least two consecutive sides of the outer periphery of the IC chip 22. For example, the terminal portions 251, 252 are formed along the outer periphery of two or more sides that are continuous with each other via corners. For example, in this embodiment, the IC chip 22 has a rectangular shape with four sides, and the outer periphery of the IC chip 22 has two sides that are both end edges in a first direction and the other two sides that are both end edges in a second direction.

[0026] In this embodiment, the pair of terminal portions 251, 252 extend from both sides of the IC chip 22 in the first direction, and are arranged along the outer periphery of the IC chip 22. For example, the pair of terminal portions 251, 252 extend while winding around the outer periphery of the IC chip 22 in the same direction, and are arranged spaced apart from each other with a predetermined gap G between them. In this embodiment, the pair of terminal portions 251, 252 each extend around the outer periphery of the four sides of the rectangular IC chip 22 by one revolution, and surround the outer periphery of the IC chip 22.

[0027] As an example, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, one terminal portion 251 continuously comprises a first extension portion 251a extending linearly from one side in the first direction to one side in the second direction, a second extension portion 251b bending from the end of the first extension portion 251a and extending linearly toward the other side in the first direction, a third extension portion 251c bending from the end of the second extension portion 251b and extending linearly toward the other side in the second direction, and a fourth extension portion 251d bending from the end of the third extension portion 251c and extending linearly toward the other side in the first direction. The other terminal portion 252 comprises, in succession, a first extension portion 252a extending linearly from the other side of the first direction to the other side of the second direction, a second extension portion 252b bending from the end of the first extension portion 252a and extending linearly toward one side of the first direction, a third extension portion 252c bending from the end of the second extension portion 252b and extending linearly toward one side of the second direction, and a fourth extension portion 252d bending from the end of the third extension portion 252c and extending linearly toward one side of the first direction.

[0028] Here, the third extending portion 252c of the other terminal portion 252 is arranged on the outside of the first extending portion 251a of one terminal portion 251, with a gap G therebetween, and the third extending portion 251c of the terminal portion 251 is arranged on the outside of the first extending portion 252a of the terminal portion 252, with a gap G therebetween. In addition, the fourth extending portion 252d is arranged on the outside of the second extending portion 251b of the terminal portion 251, with a gap G therebetween, and the fourth extending portion 251d is arranged on the outside of the second extending portion 252b, with a gap G therebetween.

[0029] The IC module 20 configured in this manner is placed in the accommodation section 11 of the card substrate 10, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. At this time, an IC chip 22 is accommodated in the second recess 14. The module substrate 21 is joined to the bottom wall section 13a of the first recess 13 by an adhesive 17. Furthermore, terminal sections 251, 252 of the antenna terminal 25 provided on the outside of the IC chip 22 are arranged opposite the pair of connection holes 15 in the Z direction, and are electrically connected to the meander sections 122 at both ends of the antenna 12 by a conductive adhesive 16 such as an anisotropic conductive film or conductive paste.

[0030] In the method for manufacturing the IC card 1 according to this embodiment, first, the accommodation section 11 is formed in the card substrate 10 in which the antenna 12 is embedded, and then the connection hole 15 is formed at a predetermined position above the meander section 122 in the accommodation section 11. As a result, a part of the meander section 122 of the antenna 12 is exposed from the connection hole 15.

[0031] Then, conductive adhesive 16 is supplied to connection hole 15, adhesive 17 is supplied to module substrate 21, and IC module 20 is accommodated in and bonded to accommodation section 11, thereby mounting IC module 20 on card substrate 10. At this time, IC chip 22 is placed in second recess 14, module substrate 21 is placed in first recess 13, and antenna terminal 25 is placed in connection hole 15, thereby electrically connecting IC module 20 and antenna 12.

[0032] According to the IC module 20 and IC card 1 of this embodiment, at least one of the terminal portions 251, 252 of the antenna terminal 25 in the IC module 20 is disposed over the periphery of at least two sides, thereby improving the degree of freedom in designing the position of the connection portion 123. That is, according to the above embodiment, the position and shape of the meander portion 122 of the antenna 12 and the connection hole 15 can be appropriately set over a wide range facing the terminal portions 251, 252. Furthermore, since the terminal portions 251, 252 of the antenna terminal 25 are disposed over a wide range on the periphery of the IC chip 22, alignment of the connection work in the manufacturing process is also facilitated, improving connectivity.

[0033] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the antenna terminal 25 is illustrated as surrounding the entire periphery of the rectangular IC chip 22 with the extending portions 251a-251d and 252a-252d arranged on the outer periphery of the four sides of the IC chip 22, but this is not limited thereto. For example, as another embodiment, the antenna terminal 25 may be arranged along only three of the four sides constituting the outer periphery of the IC chip 22, as in the IC module 20A shown in FIG. 8 . Alternatively, the antenna terminal 25 may be arranged along two of the four outer periphery sides. Furthermore, while the antenna terminal 25 is illustrated as being bent at right angles at each of the four corners of the outer periphery of the IC chip 22, this is not limited thereto. For example, the antenna terminal 25 may be curved partially or entirely. For example, in another embodiment, at least one of the terminal portions 251 and 252 may extend from an outer region of the edge of the IC chip 22 in a predetermined direction to an outer region of the edge in another direction intersecting the predetermined direction. Alternatively, at least one of the terminal portions 251 and 252 may be arranged over a range with a central angle of 90 degrees or more on the outer periphery of the IC chip 22. In these configurations, as in the above embodiment, the effect of ensuring design freedom can be obtained.

[0035] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, an example has been shown in which the pair of terminal portions 251, 252 of the antenna terminal 25 each extend along the outer periphery of a plurality of sides that form edges in a plurality of different directions on the outer periphery of the IC chip 22. However, this is not limiting. As shown in Fig. 9, for example, only one terminal portion 252 may extend along the outer periphery of a plurality of sides on the outer periphery of the IC chip 22, and the other terminal portion 251 may be disposed in a region corresponding to, for example, a part of one side that forms one side edge of the IC chip 22.

[0036] In the above embodiment, one connection hole 15 and one connection portion 123 are provided for each terminal portion 251, 252, but this is not limiting. For example, as in the IC module 20A shown in FIG. 8 , multiple connection holes 15 may be provided for each terminal portion 251, 252, and multiple connection portions 123 may be formed. The shapes of the connection holes 15 and the connection portions 123 may be elongated in one direction along the strip-shaped terminal portions 251, 252. While the two terminal portions 251, 252 are formed in a strip shape with a constant width, this is not limiting and the width may vary depending on the location. The multiple terminal portions 251, 252 may extend in different directions.

[0037] Furthermore, the arrangement and shape of the meander portion 122 and the connection holes 15 are not limited to those in the above embodiment, but can be changed as appropriate.

[0038] The IC card 1 may include other components as needed in addition to the above components, or may exclude certain components. In addition to the IC module 20, the IC card 1 may further include other electronic components such as a sensor module, a battery, and a display such as electronic paper.

[0039] According to at least one of the embodiments of the IC module 20 and the IC card 1 described above, designability can be improved.

[0040] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims.

[0041] 1...IC card, 10...card substrate, 11...storage section, 12...antenna, 13...first recess, 13a...bottom wall section, 13b...inner wall section, 13c...inner wall section, 14...recess, 14a...bottom wall section, 14b...inner wall section, 14c...inner wall section, 15...connection hole, 16...adhesive, 17...adhesive, 20...IC module, 21...module substrate, 22...IC chip, 24...contact terminal, 25...antenna terminal, 121...outer periphery, 122...meander section, 123...connection section.

Claims

1. An IC module comprising: a module substrate; an IC chip provided on the module substrate; and an antenna terminal on the module substrate, the antenna terminal having a pair of terminal portions arranged on the outer periphery of the IC chip, at least one of the pair of terminal portions being arranged across the outer periphery of at least two consecutive sides of the outer periphery of the IC chip.

2. An IC module as described in claim 1, comprising a contact terminal arranged on the surface of the module substrate opposite the antenna terminal, one of the terminal portions having a first extension portion arranged along a side portion of one end in a first direction of the IC chip, and a second extension portion continuous with the first extension portion and arranged along a side portion of one end in a second direction.

3. The IC module according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said terminal portions extends over the outer periphery of three consecutive sides of the IC chip.

4. An IC module comprising: a module substrate; an IC chip provided on the module substrate; and an antenna terminal having a terminal portion extending from an outer region of an edge of the IC chip in one direction to an outer region of the edge in another direction intersecting the one direction, on the outer periphery of the IC chip.

5. An IC card comprising: an IC module according to any one of claims 1 to 4; a card substrate having a housing section for housing said IC module; and an antenna embedded in said card substrate and connected to said terminal section.

6. An IC card as set forth in claim 5, wherein the antenna has meander sections arranged in a wavy pattern at both ends, the accommodating section has a first recess for accommodating the module substrate and a second recess formed inside the first recess for accommodating the IC chip, and is also formed with connection holes that expose parts of the meander sections, and the pair of terminal sections are each electrically connected to the meander sections at the connection holes.

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