Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems – Plural power supplies – Plural cathode and/or anode load device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-10
2002-07-02
Wong, Don (Department: 2821)
Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems
Plural power supplies
Plural cathode and/or anode load device
C235S380000, C340S005400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06414441
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a flat carrier having a power supply and an electroluminescent device.
Data carriers with integrated circuits are used in the form of credit cards, bank cards, cash payment cards and the like in an extremely wide range of service sectors, for example in cashless payment transactions or for access authorization within a company. Such a data carrier is generally composed of two layers, a module being provided which has at least one semiconductor chip and contact elements, and a power supply for the semiconductor chip being provided. In a large number of these data carriers, the power supply and/or the data exchange is carried out in contact with external devices via the external contact surfaces of an electronic module. Data carriers of this type have contact surfaces that are exposed in order to connect the data carriers to a read/write device. In this case, there is the risk of contamination of the contact surfaces, as a result of which, because of poor contact-making, it is possible for erroneous data transfer between the data carrier and the relevant read/write device of the terminal to occur. Irrespective of this, erroneous data transfer can also occur because of the erroneous positioning of the contact surfaces in the read/write device of the terminal.
Published, European Patent Application EP 0 682 321 A2 discloses data carriers which draw their energy and transfer data without contact, for example inductively. For this purpose, the data carrier has to be led past a read/write device at a specific distance, in order to permit the exchange of data. The range of the read/write devices is generally only a small distance. In addition, the user is not in a position to detect when a data transfer has taken place or not.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a flat carrier with an indicating device that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which informs the user about an operating state.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a flat carrier having a power supply with terminals. An electroluminescent device having two electrodes lying flat on each other is provided. The two electrodes are connected to the terminals of the power supply. Furthermore, an electroluminescent paste is disposed between the two electrode.
The invention is based on the idea that, on the flat carrier that has a power supply, an electroluminescent device is fitted. The electroluminescent device contains two electrodes lying flat on each other and an electroluminescent paste located between the electrodes. The electrodes of the electroluminescent device are connected to terminals of the power supply of the carrier.
This configuration ensures that at least two operating states, namely “in operation” and “not in operation” can easily be detected. The use of the electroluminescent device specified as an indicating device is simple and cost-effective and can be produced in virtually any form. The electroluminescent devices have a low current demand, are easy to handle and flexible and can be produced from thick-layer pastes that can be screen-printed. This ensures a low overall height of the electroluminescent device. Electroluminescent devices contain, for example, polymer thick-layer pastes that are conductive and can be screen-printed, or etched copper tracks, which are built up as a capacitor structure. In this case, the electroluminescent light-active pastes contain microencapsulated luminescent materials that are dispersed in a polymer matrix. In the case of a layer structure, the pastes are placed between the two electrodes, of which one is formed by a transparent, conductive layer. The finished electroluminescent device is a flexible film that is operated with alternating current.
The power supply of the electroluminescent device can be of a different type, depending on the carrier used. In the case of a carrier operating without contact, the electroluminescent device located on the carrier draws power from the coil, which is coupled in inductively by a read/write device. The electroluminescent device is supplied with alternating voltage via the coil of the carrier. Since the coil can provide power only when the carrier is located in the active range of a read/write device, the electroluminescent device can illuminate only when it is in the active range. This could be applied, for example, when the contact-free carrier was being used as a visible check of an access authorization. The excitation of the electroluminescent device with a specific voltage and frequency must in this embodiment be ensured by the read/write device acting from outside.
If the necessary voltage and frequency of the electroluminescent device cannot be impressed by the read/write device, then a device between the electroluminescent device and the power supply has to be provided for this purpose, and then provides the voltage and frequency needed by the electroluminescent device. This is the case, for example, when the carrier is used in an advantageous refinement as a data carrier in the form of a chip card. Such a data carrier has a module, the module has at least one semiconductor chip and contact elements. The task of providing the necessary voltage and frequency is performed by a so-called inverter, which is provided in integrated form and is advantageously accommodated in the module.
In addition, the module can have an intelligent semiconductor chip, which is provided for transferring or determining data. The inverter can be implemented as a separate semiconductor chip, or can advantageously be integrated into the intelligent semiconductor chip provided for transferring or determining data. It is also conceivable for the coil that supplies the intelligent semiconductor chip to be used at the same time as a power supply for the inverter and the electroluminescent device as well. However, the electroluminescent device and inverter can also be supplied via their own coil.
If the power which the coil of a data carrier supplies should not be sufficient to supply the electroluminescent device and/or the semiconductor chip, an energy store, for example in the form of a battery, can be provided on the data carrier and provide the missing energy difference.
In the following text, the term “power supply” implies both the power supply present in a specific form and also the inverter which may possibly be needed.
If the electroluminescent device is connected directly or via the inverter to the terminals of a power supply, then the indicator merely shows that the carrier is located in the active range of the read/write device. However, there is also the possibility that the electrodes of the electroluminescent device, in an advantageous refinement, are connected to the intelligent semiconductor chip located on the carrier. In this case, the illumination of the electroluminescent device can be controlled by specific logic states of the intelligent semiconductor chip. Of course, it is also possible for a number of electroluminescent devices to signal different states.
In this case, the intelligent semiconductor chip also at the same time performs the function of the inverter for driving the power supply of the electroluminescent device. It is also conceivable for the intelligent semiconductor chip and the inverter to be implemented as two semiconductor chips, the interconnection of the two semiconductor chips being performed, for example, by conductor tracks or wires. The electroluminescent device and the contact elements of the semiconductor chip can be connected, for example, by conductor tracks.
In a further refinement, it is also conceivable for the electroluminescent device, whose size on the data carrier can be varied, to be used as a background illuminating device for a display device, for example a liquid crystal display (LCD).
The carrier according to the invention contains at least one layer. If the carrier is built up
Fries Manfred
Friess Wolfgang
Alemu Ephrem
Greenberg Laurence A.
Infineon - Technologies AG
Locher Ralph E.
Stemer Werner H.
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