Patent Application
20060038286
The present invention relates to a package, preferably of an optical data carrier such as a CD or DVD, comprising an electrically conductive layer. Further, the present invention relates to a method for producing such a package as well as a device for producing the package.
Generally, packages of goods, such as packages of CDs and DVDs or beverage boxes, are used to identify and protect the goods. The identification provided on a package is generally meant for human beings, but often also provided in a machine readable form, e.g. as a barcode that might be directly printed on the package or applied to the package in form of a sticker. Further, the package serves for the application of stickers that carry anti theft devices, such as small transponders. However, these machine readable information stickers and “transponder stickers” can be easily exchanged with other stickers or removed to circumvent the payment of the correct price for the respective good. Such an exchange is in particular easy and will not be recognized for similar looking goods, such as optical data carriers, e.g. audio CDs and video DVDs. In other words, security devices, which are placed on the CD/DVD case (which is also a kind of package itself) or the package thereof, e.g. the wrapping of the case, are bypassed and do not provide enough security for the stores.
Furthermore, it would be desirable to have a simple and cheap identification and communication means arranged directly on a package.
In view of the above, it is an object underlying the present invention to provide an improved package preferably having an additional security device/data device integrated on the package.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing a package having improved security/data characteristics and a device for producing such packages.
According to the present invention, this object is solved by a package, a method and a device having the features of independent claims 1, 11, 12 and 16, respectively. Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the respective dependent claims.
According to the inventive package, the package comprises an electrically conductive layer, which is arranged on a base material. Further, the package comprises a chip connected to the conductive layer. The conductive layer is configured as an antenna element for transferring data and/or energy between the chip and an external device. To enable this, the conductive layer comprises at least one non-conductive portion. Thus, according to the present invention, the electrically conductive layer is used as the antenna element. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a separate antenna element. In other words, the antenna element is an integrative part of the package and the antenna element is provided by parts existing in many packages anyway. Consequently, production costs of the inventive package can be significantly reduced. For example, the chip can be provided with specific circuits sending a signal, if the package is for example transported out of a store. Further, the chip can be provided such that, if a customer pays for the good at the cashier, a signal sent by the chip can be restrained or amended by the cashier, so that no alarm will be given when the customer leaves the shop. According to a preferred embodiment, the chip is an IC-element or a RFID-element (Radio Frequency Identification). The antenna element of such RFID-elements is the electrically conductive layer of the package. Thereby, active and passive RFID-elements can be used.
Preferably, the transfer of data and/or energy is an inductive transfer. To enable this function, the conductive layer preferably comprises one or several loops formed by the provision of the non-conductive portion. Thus, the antenna element has the shape of one open ring or a coil. The chip is connected to both ends of the open ring and is preferably arranged between the two ends of the open ring.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transfer of data and/or energy is a capacitive transfer, wherein the conductive layer is separated by the non-conductive portion into at least two parts.
Preferably, the non-conductive portion has a closed ring-like shape and separates the electrically conductive layer into two ring-like parts. More preferably, the two ring like parts are concentric to each other.
Alternatively, the non-conductive portion is configured as a straight line, which begins at one edge of the electrically conductive layer and ends at the opposite edge of the electrically conductive layer. That is, the whole conductive layer is used as antenna element. Thus, the non-conductive portion can be manufactured very easily and the two parts of the conductive layer are electrically not connected.
Further preferable, the chip is connected to the conductive layer by means of a conductive adhesive. Thus, an electrical connection between the chip and the electrically conductive layer can be easily provided at low costs. According to another preferred embodiment, a connection between the chip and the antenna element can be realized by means of mechanical contacts.
Further preferable, the package comprises a first electrically conductive layer and a second electrically conductive layer, wherein the second electrically conductive layer is arranged parallel to the first electrically conductive layer. Thereby, the first and/or the second electrically conductive layers are configured as an antenna element for transferring data and/or energy.
Preferably, the non-conductive portion has a width of less than 300 μm, preferably less than 100 μm, further preferably approximately 75 μm.
The package is preferably a CD or a DVD or a SACD or a Blu-ray disc package.
According to the inventive method for producing a package comprising an electrically conductive layer arranged on a base material, the method comprises the steps of:
Alternatively, according to the inventive method for producing a package comprising an electrically conductive layer arranged on a base material, the method comprises the steps of:
Preferably, e.g. if the package is a beverage box, a surface layer, preferably a protective layer, such as a film or lacquer, is applied over the electrically conductive layer and the chip. It has to be noted, that preferably the thickness of the chip either has to be smaller than the thickness of the surface layer or that the chip is placed at least partly in a recess, formed in the base material of the package so that a protruding portion at the position of the chip can be prevented.
If the package is a multi-layer package, preferably the chip can be placed between two layers of the package and can be embedded into a bonding layer for bonding the two layers of the package together.
According to a further preferred method of the present invention, the metal material of the electrically conductive layer for providing the non-conductive portion is removed by means of a laser or a flat or rotary die cutter.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the inventive method, there is provided an additional step before the step of applying the metal, wherein the additional step is to place a line-like auxiliary element on the base material. The line-like auxiliary element is also covered with metal when applying the metal material. Then, the line-like auxiliary element is removed, thereby producing the non-conductive portion of the electrically conductive layer. For example the line-like auxiliary element may be a wire, a thread or an adhesive tape.
The inventive device for producing a package comprises a device for applying metal material for the electrically conductive layer on a base layer and a device for partially removing the electrically conductive layer for providing the at least one non-conductive portion. Preferably, the device for partially removing the electrically conductive layer is a laser or a flat or rotary die cutter or a line-like element, which is removed after applying the electrically conductive layer on the basis layer. Again, the line-like auxiliary element may be a wire, a thread, an adhesive tape, etc.
The present invention can be used in different ways, depending on the design of the chip. For example, the present invention can be used as an anti-theft protection, as an identification means for point of sale terminals, as a protection against copying, or as a means for watching packaged goods in a supply chain or in ware housing.
Of course, the present invention in all its aspects set-out above applies also to package raw material with which a respective package can be assembled and to a method and device to produce package raw material that show the features set-out above for the method and device to produce a package.
All different aspects of the present invention as set-out above and further elucidated below might be combined in any way. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention, wherein:
The illustration of
To build the package raw material, as shown in
Further, a conductive layer 3, such as a metal foil, which is arranged on the side of the base material to which the special glue is applied, passes through a rotary die cutter 10 to cut away parts of the conductive layer 3 so as to build at least one non-conductive portion 4 therein. The parts of the conductive layer 3 that are cut away are removed by a suction device 16 that is arranged in the vicinity of the rotary die cutter 10. After the passing through the rotary die cutter 10, the conductive layer 3 passes along an IC placing unit 11 that places chips 5 onto the conductive layer 3 in predetermined positions. Thereafter, a second gluing unit 14 applies special glue onto the conductive layer 3 at the side that does not face the base material 2 in case the package raw material should comprise a further layer, e.g. a protective layer 8.
After the passing through the second guide rollers 13, the protective layer 8 (when applied), the conductive layer 3, which passed through the rotary die cutter 10, onto which chips 5 are applied and which is coated with special glue (if applicable), and the base material 2 which is coated with special glue pass through a pressing unit 17 that presses the single layers of the package raw material together so that they will properly stick to each other due to the special glue between the layers.
Further, as shown in
Further, the package 1 comprises a chip 5, for example in the form of a RFID-element. The chip 5 is used for identification by means of radio frequency. In this embodiment, the chip 5 has the function of an identification of the package 1 to avoid a theft of the package (and preferably also its contents) in a shop. At the cashier, the chip 5 can be deactivated to avoid that a customer, who bought the package legally, will not activate an alarm when he will leave the shop with the package. However, if the package is not deactivated, an alarm will be activated, if the package is taken out of the shop.
Further, the package 1 comprises a protective layer 8 so that the electrically conductive layer 3 is arranged between the base material 2 and the protective layer 8. Furthermore, it has to be noted that the chip may be arranged in a recess provided either in the base material 2, as shown in
Next, referring to
The package 1 according to the first embodiment uses a capacitive transfer of data and/or energy. As shown in
The non-conductive portion 4 has a width of approximately 75 μm.
It has to be noted, that the non-conductive portion 4 does not have to be necessarily on a line through the centre of the package. The non-conductive portion 4 may also be arranged such that it cuts the electrically conductive layer 3 in two parts having different sizes. Furthermore, there might be also used more than one non-conductive portion 4 so that the electrically conductive layer 3 is divided in several, electrically not connected parts corresponding to the number of non-conductive portions.
Next, referring to
This package 1 according to the second embodiment is a box which is shown with a punched raw material in a not assembled state. The box is generally similar to the package of the first embodiment described above, but the strip-like non conductive portion 4 is arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The electrically conductive layer 3 shown in
Next, referring to
In this third embodiment, the chip 5 is fixed to the electrically conductive layer 3 and connected to both sides of an open ring-like part 3′ of the conductive layer 3. As shown in
In the third embodiment, the antenna element comprises one or more loops and is configured for an inductive transfer of data and/or energy. Thus, the antenna element (Part 3′) has an open ring-like shape. Next, referring to
This package 1 is a box which is shown with a punched raw material in a not assembled state. The box and antenna configuration is generally similar to that of the package of the third embodiment described above, but the ring-like antenna element built by the ring-like part 3′ of the conductive layer 3 is replaced by a rectangular configuration, i.e. a rectangular part 3′ is surrounded by an outer part 3″ and separated from the outer part 3″ by a non-conductive portion 4. As with the third embodiment, the antenna element built by the rectangular part 3′ comprises one or more rectangular loops and is configured for an inductive transfer of data and/or energy. Thus, the antenna element (Part 3′) has an open rectangular shape.
The antenna elements according to the third and fourth embodiments are arranged on one side surface of the assembled package 1.
Next, referring to
The package 1 according to the fifth embodiment also uses a capacitive transfer of data and/or energy, as the packages of the first and second embodiments. As shown in
Next, referring to
The package 1 according to the sixth embodiment also uses a capacitive transfer of data and/or energy, as the packages of the first, second and fifth embodiments. As shown in
Next, referring to
The package 1 according to the seventh embodiment also uses a capacitive transfer of data and/or energy, as the packages of the first, second, fifth and sixth embodiments. As shown in
Next, referring to
In this eighth embodiment, the chip 5 is fixed to the electrically conductive layer 3 and connected to an open ring-like part 3′ of the conductive layer 3, as in the third embodiment described above and in particular shown in detail and described in connection with
Next, referring to
Further, the package 1 comprises a chip 5 having the functionality of that described above in connection with
Further, as also possible with the package or package raw material shown in
Furthermore, it has to be noted that the chip may be arranged in a recess provided in the base material 2, as shown in
The first to eighth embodiments of the invention might be combined in any way, e.g. to achieve a separation of the transfer of energy and the transfer of data. In this way it is also possible to use one of the inductive coupling technology and the capacitive coupling technology for the transfer of energy and the other one for the transfer of data.
Further, the first to eighth embodiments of the invention or their combinations might be realized with either one of the package raw materials shown in cross section in
Thus, according to the present invention, no separate additional antenna element is necessary, since the yet existing electrically conductive layer 3 is used as antenna element. Therefore, the production costs of a package 1 according to the present invention can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, the number of parts can be reduced and the package has a simple structure.
The non-conductive portion 4 can be made for example by means of a laser, after the electrically conductive layer has been applied on the base material. Alternatively, as described above, a rotary or flat die cutter might be used to produce the non-conducting portion 4. After the non-conductive portion 4 has been formed, the chip 5 is fixed to the electrically conductive layer 3 thus that the chip 5 uses one or more loops of the conductive layer as a ring-like inductive antenna element or two parts of the conductive layer as capacitive antenna elements. The capacitive antenna elements might also be arranged in several layers of a multi-layer package or package raw material.
It has to be further noted, that according to the present invention the non-conductive portion of all described embodiments may be provided by means of a laser, a mask technique, adhesive strips, a wire or a thread which are provided before the applying of the electrically conductive layer and are then removed.
Further, the capacitive and inductive antenna elements formed by removing the non-conductive portion 4 from the conductive layer 3 might have arbitrary shapes so as to suit the information and/or energy transfer needs of the respective transponder chip used for the transfer of information.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04019484.7 | Aug 2004 | EP | regional |
