Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-24
2004-10-12
Gibson, Randy W. (Department: 2841)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S800000, C361S797000, C257S090000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06804121
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a housing for biometric sensor chips.
Biometric sensor chips are being increasingly used for identity recognition, for example, for cash dispensers, for stocks and shares and/or for capital transfers through electronic media, or for recognizing access authorizations to bank accounts and databanks or else to other data records that are dependent on access authorizations. For such a purpose, in contrast to housings for microelectronic standard semiconductor chips, the housing for biometric sensor chips must have an area in which a fingerprint checking area of the biometric sensor chip is freely accessible. On the other hand, it is necessary to prevent the sensor chip from being destroyed, for example, as a result of electrostatic charging of a fingertip, as a result of a spark discharge when the fingerprint checking area is touched. Such a configuration should advantageously allow automatic mass production in a cost-effective manner based upon the rising demand for such housings with biometric sensor chips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a housing for biometric sensor chips that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and that, for appliances and systems in which access is controlled by a pin number, such as cash dispensers, mobile telephones, and computers, provides such a housing for biometric sensor chips, in which the active structure of the sensor chip points outward on the appliance or system so that the operator can place a finger directly on the sensor chip, and to provide an economic manufacturing method for fitting such housings for biometric sensor chips.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a housing for chips, including at least one biometric sensor chip having a freely accessible fingerprint checking area and a ground contact surface, a mount substrate having contact outer surfaces, the mount substrate being a mounting strip with perforated edges, a housing frame disposed at the mount substrate, the contact outer surfaces being disposed on the mount substrate partially outside the housing frame, the sensor chip disposed within the housing frame, and the ground contact surface of the sensor chip being connected to the housing frame to form a ground frame.
A housing according to the invention for biometric sensor chips includes a freely accessible fingerprint checking area on the sensor chip, a mount substrate, and an outer contact surface on the mount substrate and has the advantage that it can be manufactured in large quantities using simple technology on a mount substrate that forms a mounting strip with perforated edges. The outer contacts can be disposed partially outside a housing frame on the mounting strip, and the sensor chip may be positioned within the housing frame. To protect the sensor chip, the housing frame is electrically connected to a ground contact surface of the sensor chip in order to form a ground frame that, like a lightning conductor, dissipates electrostatic charges on a fingertip away from the sensitive fingerprint checking area so that the electrostatic charge can be discharged through the ground frame without endangering the sensor chip.
For such a purpose, the housing frame is preferably produced from an electrically conductive material, or is at least coated with an electrically conductive material. The electrically conductive bushings for the outer contacts to the interior, which is surrounded by the housing frame, are electrically insulated from the housing frame so that it is impossible for a short circuit to occur between the outer contacts through the housing frame. The outer contacts may be disposed on the upper face of the mount substrate, which is also fitted with the sensor chip, or on the opposite lower face of the mount substrate.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, if the outer contacts are disposed in a preferred manner on the lower face of the mount substrate, then they are connected through bonding openings in the mount substrate and bonding wires to the contact surfaces of the sensor chip, which is disposed on the upper face of the mount substrate.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, if the outer contacts are disposed in a preferred manner on the upper face of the mount substrate, on which the sensor chip is also provided, then bonded wires can advantageously be connected between the contact surfaces on the sensor chip through contact connecting surfaces of the contact outer surfaces, directly without any bonding openings in the mount substrate.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the mount substrate has a chip side, the sensor chip is connected to the chip side, and the contact outer surfaces are disposed on the chip side.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the contact surfaces of the sensor chip and the contact outer surfaces of the mount substrate are disposed on an edge of the sensor chip or of the mount substrate so that short and uniformly spaced bonding connections are possible by bonding wires, and so that bonding of the sensor chips, which are installed in advance on the mount substrate, and of the associated contact outer surfaces can be carried out quickly, easily and uniformly because all the bonding connections have the same shape and the same length.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the contact outer surfaces are located along one of the perforated edges of the mounting strip. Such a housing configuration makes it possible to use epoxy mounting strips, such as those that can also be used for smart card module manufacture. The mounting of the components together with the housing according to the invention into corresponding end appliances and end systems can be carried out as an SMT mounting process or, universally, with a flexible circuit fitting for making contact through connectors. The perforation in the edges of the mounting strip may for such a purpose be provided with a standard perforation in which, in one preferred development of the invention, the ground contact surface of the sensor chip is electrically connected to the housing frame through a structured metal coating on the mounting strip so that a grounded ground frame can be produced, which, at the same time, grounds the sensor chip.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the structured metal coating of the mounting strip can be produced by structuring of metal plating on the mounting strip. During such structuring process, the ground contact connections between the housing frame and the sensor chip and the connections for the outer contact surfaces can be prepared at the same time. For such a purpose, the structured metal coating preferably has contact outer surfaces that lead from the inside of the housing frame to the outside of the housing frame, are provided with bonding wires within the housing frame, and are freely accessible for further plug connections outside the housing frame.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the mounting strip has a structured metal coating of an insulating material and the sensor chip has a ground contact surface electrically connected to the housing frame through the structured metal coating.
To prevent a short circuit between the contact outer surfaces, the electrically conductive housing frame is mounted on the substrate mount in the area of the contact outer surfaces by an insulating adhesive, and, in the rest of the area of the substrate mount, is electrically connected to the ground contact surface of the sensor chip through a conductive adhesive. This variation in the type of adhesive allows all the areas of the housing frame to be fixed on the differently structured metal coating of the mount substrate.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, housing frame may substantially form a
Fischbach Reinhard
Fries Manfred
Bui Hung
Gibson Randy W.
Greenberg Laurence A.
Infineon - Technologies AG
Locher Ralph E.
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