Patent Grant
8047445
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless integrated circuit (IC) device and to a method of manufacturing the wireless IC device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a wireless IC device including a wireless IC that is used in radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and to a method of manufacturing the wireless IC device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A non-contact IC card described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-10264 is an example of a known wireless IC devices used for access management, commuter passes, credit cards and other applications.
In the non-contact IC card 100 illustrated in
However, with the non-contact IC card 100, as will be described below with reference to the drawings, the inventors of the present invention discovered that the resonant frequency varies during use.
In the non-contact IC card 100, the antenna coil 104 winds a plurality of times in a spiral shape on the main surface of the substrate 102. In the non-contact IC card 100, as illustrated in
However, even when the shape of the antenna coil 104 is designed so that the desired resonant frequency can be obtained, the inventors of the present invention discovered that the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100 varies during use. Consequently, the inventors of the present invention performed experiments and computer simulations and investigated the cause of the variations of the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100. As a result, the occurrence of a phenomenon described below in the non-contact IC card 100 was determined to be the cause of the variations of the resonant frequency.
The non-contact IC card 100 is used, for example, for access management or as a commuter pass or a credit card. This type of non-contact IC card 100 is usually used by being moved close to a dedicated reader/writer while being held in a person's hand. Therefore, as illustrated in
The manner in which the non-contact IC card 100 is held often differs during use, and therefore, the positional relationship between the wires of the antenna coil 104 and the person's hand is not fixed. Accordingly, the amount by which the capacitance C100 increases also varies during use and the amount by which the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100 decreases also varies during use. In other words, the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100 varies during use. Since the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100 varies during use, the desired resonant frequency cannot be obtained by trimming an adjustment capacitor during manufacturing to adjust the resonant frequency.
To overcome the problems described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless IC device in which variations of the resonant frequency during use are prevented and a method of manufacturing the wireless IC device.
A wireless IC device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, includes an insulating sheet and a plurality of coil electrodes that define an antenna coil by being arranged so as to sandwich the insulating sheet therebetween and to be connected to one another, the plurality of coil electrodes being superposed with one another so as to define a single ring when viewed in plan from a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the main surface the insulating sheet extends.
A method of manufacturing the wireless IC device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a step of forming coil electrodes on a plurality of insulating sheets and a step of stacking the plurality of insulating sheets on top of one another so that the plurality of coil electrodes are superposed with one another so as to form a single ring when viewed in plan from a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the main surface the insulating sheet extends.
With the wireless IC device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the method of manufacturing the wireless IC device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of coil electrodes are superposed with one another so as to define a single ring when viewed in plan from a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the main surface the insulating sheet extends. Therefore, in the wireless IC device, the coil electrodes are not arranged side by side with one another such that the coil electrodes are close to each other in a direction in which the main surface of an insulating sheet extends. Consequently, leaking of the electric force lines generated between the coil electrodes to outside the wireless IC device is prevented. As a result, variations of the resonant frequency of the wireless IC device due to changes of the capacitance generated in the coil electrodes due to the manner in which the wireless IC device is held are greatly reduced.
The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Wireless IC devices and a method of manufacturing the wireless IC devices according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings, common components and portions are denoted by the same reference symbols and repeated description thereof is omitted.
A wireless IC device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The wireless IC device 10a preferably has a resonant frequency of about 13.56 MHz, for example, and communicates transmission and reception signals to and from a reader/writer via an electromagnetic induction method. As illustrated in
The insulating sheets 12 are preferably rectangular sheets composed of an insulating material, for example, and are preferably manufactured using chloroethylene or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin sheets, for example. A direction perpendicular to the insulating sheets 12 corresponds to the z-axis direction.
The coil electrodes 14a to 14d are respectively arranged on the insulating sheets 12a to 12d and are preferably made of a metal foil, such as copper foil or aluminum foil, for example, so as to have the same or substantially the same line width. The coil electrodes 14a to 14d are connected to one another and thereby define an antenna coil L having a helical shape that spirals and extends in the z-axis direction. More specifically, each of the coil electrodes 14 is preferably arranged such that four line-shaped electrodes that extend along the edges of the insulating sheet 12 are connected to one another so as to define a rectangular ring from which a portion has been cut out, for example. In other words, the coil electrodes 14 each wind through a length less than one circuit about a coil axis of the antenna coil L.
Furthermore, as illustrated in
The via hole conductor b1 is a connection conductor that is arranged to extend through the insulating sheet 12a and connect the coil electrode 14a and the coil electrode 14b to each other. The via hole conductor b2 is a connection conductor that is arranged to extend through the insulating sheet 12b and connect the coil electrode 14b and the coil electrode 14c to each other. The via hole conductor b3 is a connection conductor that is arranged to extend through the insulating sheet 12c and connect the coil electrode 14c and the coil electrode 14d to each other. In this manner, the coil electrodes 14a to 14d are electrically connected to one another and define the antenna coil L. In addition, when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction, as illustrated in
The wireless IC 18 is mounted on the insulating sheet 12a and is an integrated circuit arranged to process transmission and reception signals exchanged with the reader/writer. When the wireless IC device 10a is used as a commuter pass, the wireless IC 18 preferably stores information regarding, for example, the zones in which the commuter pass can be used and the owner of the commuter pass. Such information may preferably be rewritable and an information processing function other than that of the RFID system including the reader/writer and the wireless IC device 10a may preferably be provided.
The connector 16 is preferably defined by a metal foil arranged on the insulating sheet 12a located on the uppermost side in the z-axis direction and is connected to the wireless IC 18.
The connector 20a is preferably defined by a metal foil arranged on the insulating sheet 12a located on the uppermost side in the z-axis direction and is connected to the coil electrode 14a and the wireless IC 18. In more detail, one end of the connector 20a is connected to an end portion of the coil electrode 14a on the side not connected to the via hole conductor b1 and the other end of the connector 20a is connected to the wireless IC 18.
The connector 20d is preferably defined by a metal foil arranged on the insulating sheet 12d located on the lowermost side in the z-axis direction and is connected to the coil electrode 14d. In more detail, one end of the connector 20d is connected to an end portion of the coil electrode 14d on the side not connected to the via hole conductor b3. Furthermore, the other end of the connector 20d is superposed with the connector 16 when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction.
The via hole conductors b11 to b13 are preferably arranged so as to extend through the insulating sheets 12a to 12d and connect the connectors 16 and 20d with each other. The via hole conductors b11 to b13 are provided at the same or substantially the same position when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction.
The wireless IC device 10a is preferably formed by stacking the plurality of insulating sheets 12a to 12d on top of one another, as illustrated in
Furthermore, in the wireless IC device 10a, in a state in which the insulating layers 12a to 12d have been stacked on top of one another, the minimum value of the distance between the outer edge of the ring defined by the coil electrodes 14 and the outer edges of the insulating sheets 12 illustrated in FIG. 2A is preferably greater than the distance between the coil electrodes 14 in the z-axis direction. As illustrated in
With the wireless IC device 10a, variations of the resonant frequency during use greatly reduced, as will be described below.
In the non-contact IC card 100 of the related art, since the antenna coil 104 winds in a spiral shape a plurality of times on a main surface of a substrate 102, as illustrated in
Then, since the manner in which the non-contact IC card 100 is held often differs depending on the use, the positional relationship between the wires of the antenna coil 104 and the person's hand is not fixed. Therefore, the amount by which the capacitance C100 increases also varies during use and the amount by which the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100 decreases also varies during use. In other words, the resonant frequency of the non-contact IC card 100 varies during use.
In contrast, in the wireless IC device 10a, the coil electrodes 14a to 14d are superposed with one another in the axial direction as illustrated in
The inventors of the present invention conducted the experiments described below. Specifically, a sample of the non-contact IC card 100 (first sample) illustrated in
As illustrated in
From the above experiment, it was possible to theoretically and experimentally clarify that, with the wireless IC device 10a, between being in a state in which the device is held in a hand and being in a state in which the device is not held in a hand, the resonant frequency negligibly changes. Furthermore, it can also be understood that the resonant frequency of the wireless IC device 10a does not vary with the manner in which the wireless IC device 10a is held from the fact that, between being in a state in which the wireless IC device 10a is held in a hand and being in a state in which wireless IC device 10a is not held in a hand, the resonant frequency of the wireless IC device 10a negligibly changes.
In addition, with the wireless IC device 10a, as will be described below, variations of the resonant frequency due to the material of an overlay sheet is not likely to occur. The non-contact IC card 100 and the wireless IC device 10a are typically used in a state in which they are sandwiched from above and below by overlay sheets on which a design is printed. Such overlay sheets are typically manufactured using a resin, paper or other suitable material, for example, and therefore, have a dielectric constant that is greater than that of air. Therefore, with the non-contact IC card 100 shown in
However, since overlay sheets can be manufactured from a variety of materials having different dielectric constants, such as resins and paper, for example, the dielectric constants of the overlay sheets vary depending on the material. Therefore, with the non-contact IC card 100, the resonant frequency varies depending on the material used for the overlay sheets and in some circumstances the desired resonant frequency cannot be obtained.
In contrast, with the wireless IC device 10a, as illustrated in
Furthermore, with the wireless IC device 10a, since the resonant frequency negligibly changes before and after adhesion of the overlay sheets, it is unnecessary to predict the amount by which the resonant frequency will be reduced by the overlay sheets when designing the wireless IC device 10a. As a result, designing of the wireless IC device 10a can be simplified and the cost of designing the wireless IC device 10a can be reduced.
In addition, with the wireless IC device 10a, since the resonant frequency negligibly changes before and after adhering of the overlay sheets, it is also not necessary to adjust the resonant frequency by trimming the adjustment capacitor 108 during manufacturing, as was necessary with the non-contact IC card 100 described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-10264. Trimming the adjustment capacitor 108 has been problematic due to the fact that, for example, since the adjustment capacitor 108 has often been trimmed by being burned away by irradiation of a laser beam, manufacturing defects have arisen due to holes being formed in the insulating sheets and shorting of contacts. In contrast, with the wireless IC device 10a, since the adjustment capacitor 108 is unnecessary, this kind of problem does not arise.
Furthermore, with the wireless IC device 10a, the minimum value of the distance D1 between the outer edge of the ring defined by the coil electrodes 14 illustrated in
In more detail, for example, the wireless IC device 10a is sometimes held by grasping the long edges or the short edges thereof as illustrated in
Consequently, with the wireless IC device 10a, as illustrated in
In addition, in the wireless IC device 10a, when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction, the via hole conductors b1 to b3 are arranged at locations so as to be superposed with the coil electrodes 14a and 14d, as illustrated in
A wireless IC device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The difference between the wireless IC device 10a and the wireless IC device 10b is that the coil electrodes 14a and 14d of the wireless IC device 10a are replaced with the coil electrodes 24a and 24d in the wireless IC device 10b. The line width of the coil electrodes 24a and 24d is set to be greater than the line width of the coil electrodes 14a and 14b. Accordingly, the coil electrodes 24a and 24d, which are arranged at either end in the z-axis direction, have a line width that is greater than the line width of the coil electrodes 14b and 14c.
Furthermore, the coil electrodes 24a and 24d cover at least a portion of the coil electrodes 14b and 14c in the line width direction when viewed in the plan from the z-axis direction. As illustrated in
The phase “covers at least a portion of” means, for example, that the coil electrode 24a need not entirely cover the coil electrode 14b, since there is a portion, such as portion a in
In addition, since the remaining configuration of the wireless IC device 10b is the same or substantially the same as that of the wireless IC device 10a, description thereof is omitted.
A wireless IC device according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference the drawings.
The difference between the wireless IC device 10b and the wireless IC device 10c is that the insulating sheet 12c is not provided and the coil electrode 14b is replaced with a coil electrode 34b.
In contrast to the wireless IC device 10b, which was preferably formed by stacking four of the insulating sheets 12, the wireless IC device 10c is preferably formed by stacking three of the insulating sheets 12, as illustrated in
In addition, since the remaining configuration of the wireless IC device 10c is the same or substantially the same as those of the wireless IC device 10b, description thereof will be omitted.
As described above, provided that the coil electrodes 24a and 24d, which are arranged at either end in the z-axis direction, preferably wind through a length of less than about one circuit about the coil axis of the antenna coil L, the coil electrode 34b may wind through a length of at least one circuit about the coil axis of the antenna coil L. As a result of the wireless IC device 10c having the above-described configuration, as will be described below, variations of the resonant frequency during use can be prevented and the number of turns of the antenna coil L can be increased with a reduced number of stacked layers.
In more detail, since the coil electrode 34b winds a plurality of times around the coil axis as illustrated in
However, since the coil electrode 34b is not arranged at either end of the antenna coil L in the z-axis direction, there is a sufficient distance between the coil electrode 34b and the outside of the wireless IC device 10c. Therefore, as illustrated in
In particular, as illustrated in
A wireless IC device according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The difference between the wireless IC device 10a and the wireless IC device 10d is that, in the wireless IC device 10d, instead of the coil electrodes 14 being connected to one another using the via hole conductors b in the wireless IC device 10a, the coil electrodes 14 are preferably connected to one another using a pouching process in the wireless IC device 10d. This difference will be described below.
A pouching process is a process for connecting two or more electrodes that oppose one another while sandwiching insulating sheets therebetween. Specifically, by pressing a needle or a blade through one electrode, a small hole is formed that extends through the one electrode and an insulating sheet. At this time, the one electrode is plastically deformed so as to extend to another electrode along the inner circumference of the hole. As a result, the two electrodes are connected with an insulating sheet sandwiched therebetween.
Here, in the pouching process, the insulating sheets are preferably penetrated with a needle, for example. Accordingly, so as not damage the coil electrodes 14 that are not subjected to the connection process, the wireless IC device 10d includes connectors 20b, 20c, 20d, 40c, 40d, 42b and 42c, as illustrated in
The connector 20b is connected to the coil electrode 14b and is arranged to extend towards the inside of the coil electrode 14b so as not to be superposed with the coil electrodes 14a, 14c and 14d in the z-axis direction. The connector 20c is connected to the coil electrode 14c and is arranged to extend toward the inside of the coil electrode 14c so as not to be superposed with the coil electrodes 14a, 14b and 14d in the z-axis direction. Ends of the connector 20b and the connector 20c are superposed with each other in the z-axis direction and are connected to each other through a connector c2 preferably formed by performing the pouching process.
Furthermore, the connector 40c is connected to the coil electrode 14c and is arranged to extend towards the inside of the coil electrode 14c so as not to be superposed with the coil electrodes 14a, 14b and 14d in the z-axis direction. The connector 40d is connected to the coil electrode 14d and is arranged to extend towards the inside of the coil electrode 14d so as not to be superposed with the coil electrodes 14a, 14b and 14c in the z-axis direction. Ends of the connector 40c and the connector 40d are superposed with each other in the z-axis direction and are connected to each other through a connector c3 preferably formed by performing the pouching process.
In addition, the connector 16 is connected to the wireless IC 18 on the insulating sheet 12a, which is arranged on the uppermost side in the z-axis direction. The connectors 42b and 42c are respectively arranged on the insulating sheets 12b and 12c, which are insulating sheets other than the insulating sheets 12a and 12d located on the uppermost and lowermost sides in the z-axis direction, so as to be superposed with the connector 16 when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. In addition, the connector 20d arranged on the insulating sheet 12d, which is located on the lowermost side in the z-axis direction, is superposed with the connector 16 when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction and is connected to the coil electrode 14d. Then, the connectors 16, 42b, 42c and 20d are all connected together at the same or substantially the same location when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction through the connectors c11, c12 and c13 that are preferably formed by the pouching process, as illustrated in
The remaining configuration of the wireless IC device 10d is the same as or similar to that of the wireless IC device 10a and therefore description thereof will be omitted.
Similar to the wireless IC device 10a, variations of the resonant frequency during use can be effectively prevented with the wireless IC device 10d.
Furthermore, in the wireless IC device 10d, the connectors 16, 42b, 42c and 20d are arranged so as to be superposed with one another when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. Therefore, the connectors can be connected to one another by performing the pouching process a single time. As a result, the number of processes used to manufacture the wireless IC device 10d can be reduced and the cost of manufacturing the wireless IC device 10d can be reduced.
A wireless IC device according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
It is not necessary for the wireless IC device according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention to include a plurality of the insulating sheets 12, as has been described for the wireless IC devices 10a to 10d. In other words, as shown in the wireless IC device 10e illustrated in
The wireless IC device 10e includes an insulating sheet 12, the connectors 16 and 20a, the wireless IC 18, coil electrodes 54a and 54b, a connector 56, and via hole conductors b21 and b22. The insulating sheet 12, the connectors 16 and 20a, and the wireless IC 18 are the same or substantially the same as the insulating sheet 12, the connectors 16 and 20a, and the wireless IC 18 of the wireless IC device 10a, and therefore, descriptions thereof will be omitted.
The coil electrode 54a is arranged on a main surface of the insulating sheet 12 on the upper side in the z-axis direction as illustrated in
The connector 56 is connected to the coil electrode 54b and extends toward the inside of the coil electrode 54b. The via hole conductor b21 connects the coil electrode 54a and the coil electrode 54b to each other. The via hole conductor b22 connects the connector 16 and the connector 56 to each other.
Variations of the resonant frequency during use can be prevented with the wireless IC device 10e, in a similar manner as the wireless IC device 10a.
Hereafter, a wireless IC device according to a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the wireless IC device 10f, the wireless IC 18 is connected to the connectors 16 and 20a through a feeder circuit board 70, in contrast to in the wireless IC device 10a in which the wireless IC 18 is directly connected to the connectors 16 and 20a. In the wireless IC device 10f, the wireless IC 18 and the feeder circuit board 70 define the electromagnetic coupling module 60.
In more detail, connection electrodes 58 are provided on the lower surface of the wireless IC 18, as illustrated in
Next, the feeder circuit board 70 will be described in detail with reference to
The feeder circuit board 70 is preferably formed by stacking, pressure bonding and baking ceramic sheets 71A to 71H preferably made of a dielectric, for example. Connection electrodes 72a and 72b, electrodes 72c and 72d and via hole conductors 73a and 73b are provided on and through the sheet 71A, a capacitor electrode 78a, conductor patterns 75a and 75b, and via hole conductors 73c to 73e are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71B, and a capacitor electrode 78b and via hole conductors 73d to 73f are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71C. Furthermore, conductor patterns 76a and 76b and via hole conductors 73e, 73f, 74a, 74b and 74d are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71D, conductor patterns 76a and 76b and via holes conductors 73e, 73f, 74a, 74c and 74e are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71E, a capacitor electrode 77, conductor patterns 76a and 76b and via hole conductors 73e, 73f, 74f and 74g are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71F, conductor patterns 76a and 76b and via hole conductors 73e, 73f, 74f and 74g are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71G, and conductor patterns 76a and 76b and a via hole conductor 73f are provided on and through the ceramic sheet 71H.
The ceramic sheets 71A to 71H are stacked on top of one another and thereby an inductance element L1 is defined by the conductor patterns 76a preferably connected in a helical shape, for example, through the via hole conductors 74c, 74d and 74g, an inductance element L2 is defined by the conductor patterns 76b preferably connected in a helical shape, for example, through the via hole conductors 74b, 74e and 74f, a capacitance element C1 is preferably defined by the capacitor electrodes 78a and 78b, and a capacitance element C2 is preferably defined by the capacitor electrodes 78b and 77.
One end of the inductance element L1 is connected to the capacitor electrode 78b through the via hole conductor 73d, the conductor pattern 75a and the via hole conductor 73c, and one end of the inductance element L2 is connected to the capacitor electrode 77 through the via hole conductor 74a. Furthermore, the other end the inductance element L1 and the other end of the inductance element L2 are connected each other on the ceramic sheet 71H and are connected to the connection electrode 72a through the via hole conductor 73e, the conductor pattern 75b and the via hole conductor 73a. Furthermore, the capacitor electrode 78a is electrically connected to the connection electrode 72b through the via hole conductor 73b.
In addition, the connection electrodes 72a to 72d are connected to the wireless IC 18 through the connection electrode 58.
Furthermore, external electrodes 79a and 79b are provided on the bottom surface of the feeder circuit board 70 preferably by coating conductor paste or other suitable method, for example, the external electrode 79a is coupled with the inductance elements L (L1 and L2) through a magnetic field, and the external electrode 79b is electrically connected to the capacitor electrode 78b through the via hole conductor 73f.
In addition, the inductance elements L1 and L2 are preferably configured such that the two conductor patterns 76a and 76b are arranged so as to be parallel or substantially parallel to each other. The two conductor patterns 76a and 76b preferably have different line lengths and can have different resonant frequencies, and the frequency band of the wireless IC device can be broadened.
Furthermore, each of the ceramic sheets 71A to 71H may preferably be a sheet made of a magnetic ceramic material, for example, and the feeder circuit board 70 can be more easily obtained using a process of manufacturing a multilayer board, such as a sheet lamination method or a thick film printing method used in the background art, for example.
In addition, the ceramic sheets 71A to 71H, for example, may be flexible sheets composed of a dielectric, such as polyimide or a liquid-crystal polymer, for example, electrodes and conductors may preferably be formed on the sheets by a thick film forming method, for example, these sheets may preferably be laminated by stacking the sheets on top of one another and subjecting them to thermocompression bonding or other suitable process, for example, and the inductance elements L1 and L2 and the capacitance elements C1 and C2 may preferably be built into the laminated sheets.
In the feeder circuit board 70, the inductance elements L1 and L2 and the capacitance elements C1 and C2 are arranged at different locations when viewed in plan, and the magnetic field generated by the inductance elements L1 and L2 is magnetically coupled to the external electrode 79a, and the external electrode 79b is one of the electrodes included in the capacitance element C1
Therefore, the electromagnetic coupling module 60 in which the wireless IC 18 is mounted on the feeder circuit board receives high-frequency signals through the antenna coil L from a reader/writer, which is not illustrated, causes the resonance circuit magnetically coupled with the external electrodes 79a and 79b through the antenna coil L to resonate, and supplies only received signals of a predetermined frequency band to the wireless IC 18. However, a predetermined amount of energy is extracted from the received signal and this energy is used as a driving source. After matching a predetermined frequency in the resonance circuit, a signal including information stored in the wireless IC 18 is transmitted to the reader/writer through external electrodes 79a and 79b and the antenna coil L.
In the feeder circuit board 70, a resonant frequency characteristic is determined in the resonance circuit defined by the inductance elements L1 and L2 and the capacitance elements C1 and C2. The frequency of a signal from the antenna coil L is substantially determined by the self-resonance frequency of the resonance circuit.
In addition, the remaining configuration of the wireless IC device 10f is the same or substantially the same as those of the wireless IC device 10a and therefore description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the feeder circuit board 70 can also be applied to the wireless IC devices 10b to 10e.
Variations of the resonant frequency during use can be prevented with the above-described wireless IC device 10f, in a similar manner as with the wireless IC device 10a.
Hereafter, a wireless IC device according to a seventh preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The difference between the wireless IC device 10a and the wireless IC device 10g is that, in the wireless IC device 10g, the wireless IC 18 is configured so as to be superposed with a single ring defined by the plurality of coil electrodes 14a to 14c when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. This difference will be described below.
In the wireless IC device 10g, the wireless IC 18 is arranged so as to be superposed with the single ring defined by the plurality of coil electrodes 14a to 14c when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. Consequently, the wireless IC 18 is connected to one end of the coil electrode 14a.
Furthermore, one end of the connector 16 is arranged so as to be superposed with the single ring defined by the plurality of coil electrodes 14a to 14c and is connected to the wireless IC 18. The other end of the connector 16 extends to the inside of the single ring and is connected to a connector 20c through the via hole conductors b11 and b12.
In addition, the remaining configuration of the wireless IC device 10g is the same or substantially the same as those of the wireless IC device 10a and therefore description thereof will be omitted.
Variations of the resonant frequency during use can be effectively prevented with the wireless IC device 10g, in a similar manner as with the wireless IC device 10a.
Furthermore, with the wireless IC device 10g, as will be described below, when the insulating sheets 12 are bent, the load acting on the wireless IC 18 can be reduced. Since the insulating sheets 12 are flexible, the insulating sheets 12 are occasionally bent during in use. Since the wireless IC 18 includes a semiconductor substrate, the wireless IC 18 is more rigid than the insulating sheets 12. Therefore, when the insulating sheets 12 are bent, stress is concentrated on the wireless IC 18 and on a portion connecting the wireless IC 18 and the antenna coil L, and there is a risk that the wireless IC 18 could break or be disconnected from the antenna coil L.
Accordingly, in the wireless IC device 10g, the wireless IC 18 is arranged so as to be superposed with the single ring defined by the coil electrodes 14a to 14c. The single ring does not easily bend as compared to other components of the wireless IC device 10g, since the coil conductors 14a to 14c are superposed with one another. Consequently, even when the insulating sheets 12 are bent, significant bending of the portion in which the wireless IC 18 is arranged can be effectively prevented. As a result, the load acting on the wireless IC 18 and the portion connecting the wireless IC 18 and the antenna coil L is reduced.
Furthermore, with the wireless IC device 10g, as will be described below, magnetic field disturbance is not likely to be generated. In more detail, a magnetic field is generated so as to circulate around the coil electrodes 14. Therefore, if the wireless IC 18 were arranged so as not to be superposed with the coils 14a to 14c when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction, as with the wireless IC device of the reference example illustrated in
In contrast, in the wireless IC device 10g, the wireless IC 18 is arranged so as to be superposed with the coil electrodes 14a to 14c when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. Consequently, as illustrated in
Wireless IC devices according to preferred embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described wireless IC devices 10a to 10g according to the first to seventh preferred embodiments and may be modified within the scope of the claims of the invention.
Furthermore, the phrase “the coil electrode 14 has a length less than one circuit” means that the coil electrode 14 has a length substantially less than one circuit. Therefore, the length of the coil electrode 14 may slightly exceed one circuit as long as the resonant frequency of the wireless IC device 10 does not vary during use.
In addition, although touching of the wireless IC device 10 by a person's hand was described as being the cause of the variations of the resonant frequency, causes of the variations of the resonant frequency are not limited to touching by a person's hand. For example, when the wireless IC device 10 is used after being inserted into a card case or other structure, the resonant frequency may vary due to the fact that the card case or other structure is in contact with the wireless IC device 10.
Furthermore, it is not necessary that the insulating sheet 12 have a rectangular shape, but it is preferable that no large holes or cut-out portions are provided inside the antenna coil L. If large holes or cut-out portions are provided in the insulating sheet 12 inside the antenna coil L, then there is a risk of, for example, the electric force lines E10a passing through the person's hand through the holes or cut-out portions when the person's finger Fin3 approaches from the left side of
In addition, in the wireless IC devices 10a to 10g, the coil electrodes 14, 24 and 34 are arranged so as to be superposed with one another in the line-width direction when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. However, the coil electrodes 14, 24, and 34 on the lower side in the z-axis direction may slightly protrude with respect to the coil electrodes 14, 24 and 34 on the upper side in the z-axis direction when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. However, it is necessary that the coil electrodes 14, 24 and 34 only protrude by an amount that does not adversely affect the resonant frequency.
In particular, when the coil electrodes 14, 24 and 34 are arranged so as to be staggered with respect to one another, as in the enlarged view of the coil electrode 14a of the wireless IC device 10a illustrated in
A method of manufacturing a wireless IC device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereafter, a method of manufacturing the wireless IC device 10d, as an example of a wireless IC device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, will be described. In addition, a method of manufacturing a wireless IC card 80 will be described.
The insulating sheets 12 preferably made of, for example, a glass epoxy substrate, polyimide, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), PET-G or a liquid crystal polymer resin, for example, are prepared. On the respective insulating sheets 12, the coil electrodes 14 illustrated in
Furthermore, simultaneously with forming the coil electrodes 14, the connectors 16, 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 40c, 40d, 42b and 42c are also formed preferably using, for example, an etching process. On the insulating sheet 12a, the connector 20a, which is connected to the coil electrode 14a, is formed and the connector 16 is formed at a location separated from the connector 20a by an area in which the wireless IC 18 is to be mounted. Furthermore, when the insulating sheets 12a to 12d are stacked on top of one another, the connectors 42b and 42c are formed on the insulating sheets 12b and 12c so as to be superposed with the connector 16 when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. Furthermore, simultaneously with forming the connectors 42b and 42c, the connectors 20b and 20c, which are connected to the coil electrodes 14b and 14c are also formed on the insulating sheets 12b and 12c. In addition, the connector 20d, which is connected to the coil electrode 14d, is also formed on the insulating sheet 12d and is superposed with the connector 16 when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. Simultaneously with forming the connector 20d, the connector 40d, which is connected to the coil electrode 14d, is also formed on the insulating sheet 12d.
In addition, the coil electrodes 14a to 14d and the connectors 16, 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 40c, 40d, 42b and 42c may also preferably be formed using a screen printing method in which a conductive paste is applied, for example.
Next, the plurality of insulating sheets 12a to 12d are aligned and stacked on top of one another, such that the plurality of coil electrodes 14a to 14d are superposed with one another and thereby form a single ring when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. At this time, the connectors 16, 42b, 42c and 20d are also superposed with one another when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction. Once stacking of the insulating sheets 12a to 12d is complete, the insulating sheets 12a to 12d are heated and pressure bonded.
Next, the coil electrode 14a and the coil electrode 14b, the connector 20b and the connector 20c, the connector 40c and the connector 40d, and the connector 16, the connector 42b, the connector 42c and the connector 20d are connected to one another at four locations preferably using a pouching process, for example. At this time, since the connector 16, the connector 42b, the connector 42c, and the connector 20d are superposed with one another when viewed in plan from the z-axis direction, they are connected together by performing a single pouching process.
Next, the wireless IC 18 is mounted on the connectors 16 and 20a of the insulating sheet 12a. Specifically, the wireless IC 18 is preferably mounted by performing a flip chip mounting process in which an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) is used, for example. At this time, after the wireless IC 18 has been aligned and temporarily affixed so as to be connected to the connectors 16 and 20a, hot pressing is performed so as to attach the wireless IC 18. By performing the above process, the wireless IC device 10d is completed.
Once the wireless IC device 10d has been completed, as illustrated in
In addition, in the method of manufacturing a wireless IC device, a method of manufacturing the wireless IC device 10d was described, but the wireless IC devices 10a to 10c can be manufactured using substantially the same manufacturing method. However, in the wireless IC devices 10a to 10c, the coil electrodes 14, 24 and 34 are connected to one another using the via hole conductors b instead of by a pouching process. Therefore, a step of forming the via hole conductors b in the respective insulating sheets 12 is performed instead of the step of performing the pouching process. The via hole conductors b are preferably formed by irradiating the insulating sheets 12 with a laser beam to form via holes and then filling the via holes with a conductive paste, for example. In particular, when the coil electrodes 14, 24 and 34 are formed by a screen printing method, simultaneously with the step of filling the via holes with the conductive paste, the coil electrodes 14, 24 and can be formed by applying the conductive paste to the insulating sheets 12.
In addition, when manufacturing the wireless IC device 10f, the electromagnetic coupling module 60, which includes the wireless IC 18 and the feeder circuit board 70, is mounted instead of the wireless IC 18.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are advantageous for wireless IC devices and methods of manufacturing wireless IC devices, and are particularly advantageous to effectively prevent variations of a resonant frequency during use.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2009/056698 | Mar 2009 | US |
| Child | 12940103 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/JP2009/059259 | May 2009 | US |
| Child | PCT/JP2009/056698 | US |
