Electricity: conductors and insulators – Boxes and housings – Hermetic sealed envelope type
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-24
2001-07-17
Reichard, Dean A. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Boxes and housings
Hermetic sealed envelope type
C336S092000, C336S096000, C361S811000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06262368
ABSTRACT:
Data carrier comprising an implanted module based on a metal lead frame with a double-sided chip cover.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a data carrier constructed for the contactless communication with a write/read station and comprising a carrier body and comprising a trough-shaped recess in the carrier body and including a module which has been implanted in the recess after it has been formed and which is electrically insulated with respect to the environment of the data carrier, which module comprises a carrier/contact configuration and a chip carried by the carrier/contact configuration and a chip cover of an electrically insulating material, which cover is connected to the carrier/contact configuration and covers the chip and two module contacts realized by means of the carrier/contact configuration, each module contact being electrically connected both to a chip contact of the chip and to a coil contact of a transmission coil embedded in the data carrier for the purpose of contactless communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a data carrier of the type defined in the opening paragraph is known from, for example, the document WO 97/05569 A1. In the known data carrier the carrier/contact configuration of the module is manufactured with the aid of a so-called epoxy frame and comprises a continuous carrier plate of an epoxy material and two module contacts arranged on the carrier plate at its side which is remoter from the data carrier environment, which contacts each consist of a copper layer, preferably applied to the carrier plate with the aid of a printed circuit technology. Such a carrier/contact configuration is comparatively expensive, has a comparatively large overall height and has a comparatively high resistance to bending loads, which is particularly undesirable when the data carrier is a card-shaped data carrier, such as a credit card, which is often subjected to bending loads, because in that case bending loads may relatively easily give rise to interruption of the electrical connections between the module contacts and the coil contacts in the transitional area to the module contacts.
SUMMARY OF THE RELATED ART
It is an object of the invention to preclude or at least mitigate the aforementioned problems and to provide an improved data carrier. According to the invention, in order to achieve this object, a data carrier of the type defined in the opening paragraph is characterized in that the carrier/contact configuration of the implanted module has been manufactured by means of a metal lead frame and comprises two side parts and a central part which is substantially coplanar with the two side parts and is situated between the two side parts, the two side parts and the central part being electrically insulated with respect to one another and being mechanically connected to one another with the aid of the chip cover, and the two side parts forming the two module contacts and the central part carrying the chip, and the chip cover has a double-sided construction in relation to the carrier/contact configuration and comprises an outer part situated nearer the environment of the data carrier and an inner part which is remoter from the environment of the data carrier and has two passages, and a module contact and a coil contact are electrically connected via each passage by means of an electrically conductive medium.
The measures in accordance with the invention have the advantage that a carrier/contact configuration manufactured with the aid of a so-called metal lead frame and, consequently, a module thus manufactured can be used in a data carrier manufactured in accordance with the so-called implant technology. In comparison with a carrier/contact configuration manufactured with the aid of an epoxy frame such a carrier/contact configuration manufactured with the aid of a metal lead frame has the substantial advantages that, in the first place, such a carrier/contact configuration based on a metal lead frame can have a smaller overall height, in the second place, it exhibits a greater flexibility in the case of bending loads, so that even when a data carrier in accordance with the invention is subjected to comparatively large bending loads this does not result in any adverse effects on the carrier/contact configuration of the data carrier module and in interruptions between the module contacts and the coil contacts and, in the third place, it can also be manufactured at substantially lower cost. A further great advantage of such a construction in accordance with the invention is that no separate means are required to insulate the module with respect to the environment of the data carrier because the outer part of the chip cover performs this insulation function. Furthermore, the passages of the inner part of the chip cover ensure that the electrically conductive connection medium for connecting the module contacts and the coil contacts can be available only in the space defined by the passages, as a result of which the connection medium cannot cause undesired short-circuits.
A variant of the invention has the advantage that the electrical connections between the module contacts and the chip contacts, on the one hand, and the electrical connection between the module contacts and the coil contacts, on the other hand, can be provided and arranged independently of one another because they are disposed at opposite sides of the carrier/contact configuration.
A variant of the invention has the advantage that by means of the outer part of the chip cover the trough-shaped recess can be filled up completely, so that the trough-shaped recess is wholly closed by the outer part of the chip cover.
A variant of the invention has the advantage that the connection medium contained in each passage serve not only for the electrically conductive connection of the module contacts and the coil contacts but also contribute to the mechanical fastening of the module in the trough-shaped recess. It is to be noted that instead of a conductive adhesive other electrically conductive connection medium may be provided, for example an electrically conductive paste such as conductive silver paste, but also other materials.
The above-mentioned as well as further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the example of an embodiment described hereinafter and will be elucidated with reference to this example.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4996411 (1991-02-01), Rebjock
patent: 4999742 (1991-03-01), Stampfli
patent: 5953213 (1999-09-01), Napierala
patent: 0011320A2 (1980-05-01), None
patent: WO9705569 (1997-02-01), None
Posch Stefan
Riener Thomas
Ngo Hung V
Reichard Dean A.
Slobod Jack D.
U.S. Philips Corporation
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