Registers – Records – Conductive
Patent
1990-11-19
1993-04-06
LaRoche, Eugene R.
Registers
Records
Conductive
235487, 235488, G06K 19077, G06K 1907
Patent
active
052006018
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable electronic token and in particular it relates to a portable token of credit card sized dimensions and containing electronic circuits for data storage and processing. Such a token is commonly termed a "Smart Card" or "integrated circuit card". The term "token" as used herein is to be understood to include "card".
2. Background Information
A Smart Card generally comprises one or more components such as integrated circuits mounted on a substrate and encapsulated within a plastics material or laminate of credit card sized dimensions, typically 8.5.times.5.4.times.0.075 cms. It is important that such cards are flexible so that they can be placed in the user's pocket, wallet or purse and be capable of withstanding bending forces. Furthermore, for the card to be compatible with present day systems it must include a magnetic strip and meet with the flexing requirements imposed upon cards to be used in cash dispensing machines, which are governed by ISO standards.
It has been previously proposed to provide a contact-type smart card structure which protects the components, either by mounting them on a metal foil and encapsulating them in a hard resin as described in EP0068539A, or by providing a box-like structure of a plastics material within the token which encloses the components as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,661.
The present invention seeks to provide an alternative structure which is particularly applicable to contactless smart cards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a portable electronic token comprising a plurality of discrete components encapsulated in a plastics material and at least one respective high tensile member associated with each component and disposed such that a region of the token encompassing the component is substantially constrained from flexing, the components being mounted on a flexible substrate which extends between the components so as to form resilient hinge portions between adjacent components.
In a preferred embodiment, the token comprises a pair of face members defining opposite surfaces of the token and the flexible substrate is disposed between said members. The token is typically a "contactless" Smart Card, that is information is passed to and from the card by inductive coupling such that no direct electrical contact is needed between the components and the surface members.
The face members of, for example, polycarbonate act as strengthening skins and may also act as labels for the token.
In one preferred embodiment two high tensile members are provided which are associated with each component, in which case one may be provided above the component and a complementary one below the component, where above and below are terms denoting the relative position of the member with respect to the substrate. The second member may be integral with the substrate or may be an extra component.
The high tensile members are advantageously made of a metal foil such as nickel, stainless steel or high tensile steel.
In the embodiments described above, the reinforcing effect of the high tensile members can be supplemented by providing a hard resin around the component.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The present invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which the single FIGURE shows a diagrammatic side view of an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a portable token 1 of credit card sized dimensions. The card comprises a plurality of electronic components 2 such as integrated circuits. The circuits will generally include microprocessing and memory functions and are mounted upon a flexible substrate 3 which may be a polyimide or polyester. The components 2 are mounted upon the substrate by a bonding material 4 and connected by further bonds 5 to electronic interconnections on the substrate (not shown). The ca
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IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 28, No. II, Apr. 1986, pp. 4723-4725, "IBM Smart Credit Card".
McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science & Technology Second Edition, 1989, p. 1445.
Glembocki Christopher R.
LaRoche Eugene R.
W. & T. Avery Limited
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