This application claims priority to the European Patent Application No. 17 205 467.8 filed Dec. 5, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated in full by this reference.
The present invention relates to a card reader comprising a contacting unit for exchanging data with a chip card and comprising a plastic drilling protection cover which covers the contacting unit and/or an electronic component, which is connected to said contacting unit, and has a plastic back-moulded conductor track foil which has an area-covering drilling protection conductor track structure, and also to a drilling protection cover composed of plastic, in particular drilling protection hood comprising a plastic back-moulded conductor track foil which has an area-covering drilling protection conductor track structure.
A card reader with a cover of this kind has been disclosed, for example, by EP 3 196 799 A1.
This known card reader has an injection-moulded plastic part in the form of a drilling protection hood with a drilling protection conductor track structure provided on the injection-moulded plastic part. The drilling protection hood is an injection-moulded plastic part, the inner side of which is back-moulded with a two-layer conductor track foil which has an area-covering drilling protection conductor track structure comprising at least one continuous electrical conductor track. The conductor track foil is cohesively connected or fused to the plastic material of the drilling protection hood. If the drilling protection hood is drilled or ground down for manipulation purposes, the continuous conductor track across which current flows during operation is also severed in the process. This interruption in the circuit is identified by a monitoring unit which then no longer permits a reading process and/or takes the contacting unit out of operation.
In comparison, the object of the present invention is to make a card reader of the kind mentioned in the introductory part even more secure against manipulation.
According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the drilling protection conductor track structure is applied, in particular printed, onto the conductor track foil using an electrically conductive, transparent ink. The conductor track foil preferably has a single-layer or multi-layer drilling protection conductor track structure which can be in each case applied, in particular printed, onto a carrier layer or an intermediate layer of the conductor track foil.
Transparent or clear electrically conductive ink is sold, for example, by NanoIntegris Technologies, Inc., by Henkel under the name Loctite ECI 5000 and by Applied Ink Solutions under the trade name OrgaCon™. These known inks contain, for example, electrically conductive polymers or silver nanowires. Transparent electrically conductive structures can be printed onto flexible and rigid substrates composed of, for example, PET, PC, PMMA, PI or glass up to a resolution of 100 μm using these electrically conductive inks.
On account of the transparent ink, the conductor track(s) of the printed-on drilling protection conductor track structure is/are not visible to a viewer and, because the intermediate space present between two conductor tracks cannot be identified, therefore even more effectively prevent unnoticed drilling of the drilling protection conductor track structure to which current is applied during operation.
The conductor track foil advantageously forms that side of the drilling protection cover which faces the contacting unit or the electronic component, so that the plastic of the drilling protection cover would first have to be removed (ground down) in order to reach the conductor track foil at all.
The thinner the line thickness of the conductor tracks and the lower the line spacing between the conductor tracks of the drilling protection conductor track structure, the better the protection against manipulation. The at least one drilling protection conductor track advantageously has a line width of at most 0.2 mm, in particular at most 0.15 mm, and a line spacing of at most 0.3 mm, in particular at most 0.2 mm.
The card reader can be mounted on a printed circuit board which makes electrical contact with the drilling protection conductor track structure. The at least one drilling protection conductor track, at its two ends, preferably has in each case electrical connection contacts, in particular in the form of exposed electrical contact areas, which are contacted by electrical mating contacts of the card reader which, in turn, can be connected to a monitoring unit.
The drilling protection cover is particularly preferably designed as a drilling protection hood, the hood inner side or hood outer side of which being formed by the conductor track foil. Up to a card insertion opening through which a chip card is inserted into the card reader up to its data exchange position, the contacting unit can be completely covered by the drilling protection hood.
In a further aspect, the invention also relates to an drilling protection cover composed of plastic for protecting electronic components or data lines, comprising a plastic back-moulded conductor track foil which has an area-covering drilling protection conductor track structure which, according to the invention, is applied, in particular printed, onto the conductor track foil using an electrically conductive, transparent ink. The conductor track foil preferably has a single-layer or multi-layer drilling protection conductor track structure which is in each case applied, in particular printed, onto a carrier layer or an intermediate layer of the conductor track foil.
On account of the transparent ink, the printed-on drilling protection conductor track structure is not visible to a viewer and additionally prevents unnoticed drilling of the drilling protection conductor track structure to which current is applied during operation. Electronic components may be, for example, processors which encrypt the data to be exchanged, and the data lines may be electrical lines.
The drilling protection conductor track structure preferably has at least one drilling protection conductor track with a line thickness of at most 0.2 mm, in particular at most 0.15 mm, and with a line spacing of at most 0.3 mm, in particular at most 0.2 mm. The at least one drilling protection conductor track, at its two ends, can advantageously have in each case electrical connection contacts, in particular in the form of exposed electrical contact areas. The drilling protection cover is particularly preferably designed as an drilling protection hood, the hood inner side and/or hood outer side being formed by the conductor track foil.
Further advantages of the invention are evident from the description, the claims and the drawing. The features mentioned above and those presented further can likewise be used in each case by themselves or as a plurality in any desired combinations. The embodiment shown and described should not be understood as an exhaustive list, but rather is of exemplary character for portraying the invention.
In the drawings:
The card reader 1 shown in
The contact carrier 5, together with the contacting unit 6, is covered at the bottom side by a drilling protection cover composed of plastic in the form of an drilling protection hood 8, the hood inner side of which is formed by a plastic back-moulded conductor track foil 9 (
The flexible conductor track foil 9 is shown as a planar foil blank in
The erected conductor track foil 9 is placed into the injection-moulding die of the drilling protection hood 8, wherein the side walls of the erected conductor track foil 9 overlap, so that the erected conductor track foil 9 has a gap-free drilling protection conductor track structure 10 in an area-covering manner. During the subsequent in-mould injection-moulding process, the conductor track foil 9 is back-moulded with plastic which then forms the hood inner side, as shown in
Four mating contacts 13 in the form of double contact pads which each make contact with two of the total of eight connection contacts 12a-12d of the drilling protection hood 8 are arranged on the bottom side of the contact carrier 5. The mating contacts 13 are guided laterally beside the contact carrier 5 upwards until they are above the contact carrier 5.
As shown in
As shown in
In
If the drilling protection hood 8 is drilled or ground down from the outside for manipulation purposes, the non-visible drilling protection conductor track structure 10 thereof across which current flows during operation is necessarily destroyed as a result, and consequently the electrical circuit which had been closed up until that point is interrupted. This is identified by a monitoring unit (not shown) of the printed circuit board 14 which then no longer permits a reading process and/or takes the contacting unit 6 out of operation. If the drilling protection hood 8 is lifted off from the printed circuit board 14 for manipulation purposes, the electrical contact between the connection contacts 12a-12d of the drilling protection hood 8 and the mating contacts 13 of the contact carrier 5 is necessarily interrupted as a result, and consequently the electrical circuit which had been closed up until that point is interrupted. This is also identified by the monitoring unit which then no longer permits a reading process and/or takes the contacting unit 6 out of operation. Therefore, unnoticed manipulation of the card reader 1 is not possible, as a result of which a “secure card reader” is provided.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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17 205 467.8 | Dec 2017 | EP | regional |