Technical field

The present invention generally relates to smartcards of any type, such as credit cards, payment cards, key cards, electronic labels, datapages of security documents, and the like, in which a card-type substrate includes electronic components for providing information and/or responding to external stimuli, and the like.

Background art

Usage of smartcards of such types as specified above has developed into a widespread concept for handling sensitive information. In recent developments, not only tamper resistance and superior security of information represent important aspects, but also the incorporation of increases functionality into card-type substrates is considered vital in order to meet the demands of the many aspects encountered in our complex society. For example, card-type substrates are increasingly used in managing financial transactions in the form of credit cards, payment cards, and the like. To this end, many types of smart cards have implemented therein more or less complex electronic components so as to impart specific capabilities to the smartcard, such as responding to external stimuli, providing and/or processing sensitive information, providing wireless connectivity, presentation of information, providing a pleasant outer appearance, and the like, depending on the overall requirements associated with the specific context, in which the smartcard is to be used.

Basically, a smartcard is typically composed of a plurality of material layers that are processed so as to form a substantially monolithic block of material, also briefly referred to hereinafter as mono block, that may have incorporated therein any respective electronic components, such as one or more antennas, for instance, for imparting RFID (radio frequency identity) capabilities to the smartcard, electronic modules for storing and processing information, additional components for inductively and/or capacitively interconnecting card-internal components, and the like. Consequently, a plurality of techniques have been developed aiming at connecting the various material layers so as to form the substantially mono block while at the same time appropriately enclosing the relevant functional components.

Smartcards may have to withstand environmental influences and may have, in particular, to resist mechanical forces, which may act on the smartcard when being worn in a wallet, being taken in and out of the wallet and brought into contact with an external reader device. Since a direct electrical contact of the smartcard with the external reader device may result in significant wear and tear RF capabilities in connecting with the reader device are increasingly gaining in importance.

However, since smartcards in the form of identity cards or documents, such as data pages of security documents, are increasingly used for additional purposes, such as performing payment transactions, gathering information, authentication for buying products over the Internet, and the like, a typical lifespan of payment cards, which may range from approximately 2 to 5 years, is increasingly assessed to be insufficient for a plurality of smartcard types, since, for instance, a lifespan of approximately 10 years is required for certain types of identity cards, and the like. Since in particular internal electrical contact between the electronic module and the card internal antenna has been identified as a major source of failure when subjected to frequent mechanical stress, wireless communication within the smartcard is increasingly implemented by providing an electronic module including its own module antenna, which in turn may wirelessly communicate with the card internal antenna, thereby avoiding any failure prone direct electrical contacts between the electronic module and the card antenna.

Although this concept of implementing card internal wireless communication between the electronic module and the card antenna may provide for significant advantages for the card manufacturer, since a plurality of well established manufacturing processes may still be used upon forming a pre-form of the smartcard prior to incorporating the electronic module including the module antenna (also referred to as coil on module, CoM), there is still room for improvement, in particular with respect to aesthetic aspects associated with the incorporation of an electronic module into the smartcard during the final manufacturing steps, such as forming further material layers on and above the electronic module. In particular, since the total thickness of the smartcard may have to be less than approximately 800 pm reduced flexibility in designing and configuring the final smartcard may have to be dealt with upon the late incorporation of the electronic module having incorporated therein the module antenna.

In view of the situation described above it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide increased flexibility in incorporating an electronic module with integrated antenna into a smartcard, while eliminating or at least reducing one or more of the problems identified above.

Disclosure of the invention

In view of the technical problem identified above the present invention is generally based on the concept that superior flexibility in forming smartcards may be accomplished by incorporating an electronic module with integrated module antenna in an early stage of the overall production process. To this end, it has been recognized that the electronic module with integrated module antenna may efficiently be incorporated into the pre-form of a smartcard, i.e. into a substrate having the basic features as required for finalizing a smartcard, that may be used by a smartcard manufacturer so as to impart custom specific features to the smartcard in the final manufacturing processes. For example, it has been recognized that in particular the optical appearance may specifically be designed during an early manufacturing stage by incorporating the electronic module with module antenna in combination with the card antenna and incorporating material layers so as to make at least the card antenna invisible. Depending on the overall configuration of the pre-form of the smartcard, for instance if a dual interface smartcard is considered or a smartcard without requiring direct contact to an external reader device is considered, also at least a portion or the entire electronic module may be blocked from being visible from the outside. In this manner, substantial technical features of the final smartcard may remain hidden by appropriately configuring the pre-form of the smartcard, thereby providing for increased flexibility for designing the final smartcard on the basis of additional manufacturing processes without requiring the consideration of the optical appearance of the card antenna and/or the electronic module, the visibility of which is frequently undesired. Consequently, additional security features and/or aesthetic features may readily be incorporated without being affected by the design, geometry, position, size and shape of respective components, in particular of the card antenna and/or electronic module.

It is to be noted that the term "smartcard", as used in this specification, is to be understood as covering any type of card-type substrate that includes electronic components for providing information and/or responding to external stimuli. Specific examples of smartcards according to the foregoing definition in particular comprise credit cards, payment cards, key cards, identification cards, electronic labels, driver licenses, data pages of security documents, such as electronic passports, and the like.

According to one aspect of the present invention the above-specified technical object is solved by a pre-form for a smartcard. The pre-form includes a card antenna formed in a central layer of material, wherein the card antenna is configured to wirelessly communicate with an external reader device. The pre-form further includes an electronic module that has incorporated therein a module antenna, wherein the module antenna is configured to wirelessly communicate with the card antenna. Additionally, the pre-form includes a first opaque layer and a second opaque layer, wherein the first and second opaque layers sandwich the electronic module and the card antenna so as to inhibit visibility of at least the card antenna.

Consequently, according to this aspect of the present invention the electronic module including the module antenna for the wireless card internal communication is provided in the pre-form of a smartcard, wherein at least the card antenna is invisible for a viewer, thereby enabling card manufacturer to perform any additional manufacturing processes, such as including specific security features, for instance by incorporating additional components, by printing and/or engraving marks and other items as to provide for custom specific components, without having to take into consideration in particular the card antenna, which typically is provided within a significant surface area of the smartcard. The invisibility of at least the card antenna is obtained by the first and second opaque layers, which appropriately sandwich and thus enclose the card antenna, thereby also providing for superior mechanical robustness of the card antenna.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the first and second opaque layers are arranged so as to also inhibit or block visibility of the electronic module. In this manner, both the card antenna and the electronic module, representing significant parts of the smartcard having a pronounced optical appearance, may no longer be visible. Therefore, by also making the electronic module invisible from the outside even further flexibility in designing the final smartcard may be achieved for the card manufacturer.

In one advantageous embodiment, the electronic module comprises a contact surface for directly connecting to a contact-type reader device. In this embodiment, the pre-form may be appropriate for producing a dual interface smartcard, i.e. , a smartcard that allows wireless contact to the external reader device and also providing for the possibility of establishing direct contact with legacy reader devices, which may enhance overall compatibility of the final smartcard with respect to the existing smartcard infrastructure.

In further advantageous embodiments the central layer of material and the first and second opaque layers are formed of plastic material. In particular embodiments these layers are formed of polycarbonate and/or PVC and/or TPU. Although basically the present invention may, in some illustrative embodiments, not be restricted to plastic materials, it is highly advantageous to use plastic material so as to achieve a high degree of compatibility with current card related processes. In particular, the present invention may be be practised on the basis polycarbonate polyvinyl chloride (PVC), PUT, and the like. These materials have proven to be viable materials that may meet the requirements of sophisticated applications. For example, polycarbonate is mandatory for a plurality of smartcard types used for federal purposes, such as identity cards, and the like. In particular with respect to safety and mechanical robustness providing polycarbonate, PVC, PUT as the central layer and at least the first and second opaque layers may result in sophisticated characteristics upon performing a lamination process so as to form a mono block of material.

In a further illustrative embodiment, a combined thickness of the central layer of material and the first and second opaque layers is 500 pm or less. Consequently, the pre-form may be fabricated with a moderately low thickness, thereby achieving high flexibility in designing the final smartcard, since the application of further material layers on the pre-form may readily be feasible upon providing a reduced overall thickness. In particular, the first and second opaque layers and the central layer may be provided with a thickness of approximately 450 pm and even less.

In a further illustrative embodiment an adhesive tape material is formed on one main surface of the electronic module. The adhesive tape material may thus enable an appropriate mechanical attachment of the electronic module prior to performing a lamination process in a later manufacturing stage, without adversely affecting the overall characteristics of the preform. For example, respective adhesive tape materials with high compatibility to polycarbonate are available with superior tackiness to those the material of the electronic module and the material of the central layer and may efficiently be used in this context.

In a further illustrative embodiment, the card antenna is a wire embedded antenna. To this end, well-established copper-based wires may be used and appropriately attached to the central layer and/or even embedded in the central layer in an early manufacturing stage on the basis of well-established process techniques. Thus, respective compatibility with well- established process steps may be maintained for forming the pre-form of the present invention.

In other illustrative embodiments, the card antenna may be formed on the basis of any appropriate material, by, for instance, establishing a desired antenna pattern on the basis of etch techniques for structuring any appropriate conductive material formed on an appropriate carrier material. In other cases, respective selective deposition technique may be applied so as to form a respective antenna pattern on an appropriate carrier material, such as a plastic material, and the like. In still other cases, the card antenna may even be provided in the form of a "heavy" structure formed of any appropriate conductive material having basically sufficient stability so as to be provided without any further carrier material. In this manner, the antenna may add weight to the pre-form, which may be desirable for some specific applications, and/or may contribute to superior mechanical robustness upon being embedded into the pre-form. Respective heavy card antennae may be formed on the basis of punching appropriate structures out from conductive foils, and the like, or may be obtained on the basis of additive deposition techniques, and the like.

In further illustrative embodiments, the pre-form further includes a first transparent layer formed on the first opaque layer and a second transparent layer formed on the second opaque layer. In this manner, the pre-form may be provided so as to offer additional surface areas, in which custom specific features may be incorporated, for instance, by engraving, and the like. As discussed above, in particular when invisibility of both the card antenna and the electronic module is achieved, a high degree of flexibility in specifically designing custom specific features may be gained on the basis of the first and second transparent layers.

In a further illustrative embodiment, the first and second transparent layers are formed of plastic material, such as polycarbonate, PVC, PUT, thereby enabling the formation of a mono block of material based on these plastic materials, as may be required in many use cases.

In a further illustrative embodiment, the combined thickness of the pre-form, which includes the first and second transparent layers, is 500 pm and less. As already discussed above, a reduced combined thickness of the pre-form may result in increased flexibility for finalising a smartcard on the basis of the pre-form, since more additional material layers may be added to the pre-form without exceeding a typical card thickness of 800 pm, which may represent an upper limit according to a currently valid standards in the field of smartcards.

According to a further aspect of the present invention the above-identified technical object is solved by a smartcard that includes the pre-form as discussed in any of the embodiments disclosed herein in combination with at least one further layer that is laminated to the preform, thereby forming a mono block with the pre-form. Consequently, the smartcard of the present invention includes the pre-form, which in turn includes card internal wireless communication, wherein the pre-form may provide for superior characteristics in terms of optical appearance, for instance by having incorporated therein an invisible card antenna, thereby providing for the possibility of adding the at least one further layer, such as a plastic layer, without requiring to take into consideration the size, position and shape of the card internal antenna. As also discussed above, when making also the electronic module invisible in the pre-form additional design flexibility may be achieved when adding the at least one further layer, for example one further plastic layer.

According to a further aspect of the present invention the above-identified technical object is solved by a method of forming a pre-form for a smartcard. The method includes the act of forming a card antenna in and/or on a central layer. Furthermore, the method includes the act of forming a window opening or a recess in the central layer. Moreover, the method includes attaching an adhesive tape to a first main surface of an electronic module, wherein the electronic module includes a module antenna. Moreover, the method includes the act of attaching the adhesive tape to the window opening or recess for positioning the electronic module with respect to the window opening or recess so as to maintain a buffer space below a central portion of the adhesive tape. Finally, the method includes the act of attaching a first opaque layer and a second opaque layer so as to sandwich the card antenna between the first and second opaque layers. As a consequence, the present invention provides a technique for incorporating an electronic module having wireless card internal communication capabilities into the pre-form of a smartcard, thereby shifting the incorporation of the electronic module into an early manufacturing phase, in which custom specific features may not have to be implemented. Furthermore, by providing the first and second opaque layers freedom of design in configuring the final smartcard is provided to the card manufacturer, as size, shape and position of the card antenna and/or electronic module may no longer be relevant for designing custom specific features, as already discussed above.

In a further illustrative embodiment, the method additionally includes the act of attaching a first transparent layer above the first opaque layer and a second transparent layer above the second opaque layer. In this manner, additional potential for including safety and/or aesthetic features may be provided in an early manufacturing stage, as also discussed above.

In a further illustrative embodiment, the method additionally includes the act of performing a lamination process by applying pressure and heat to the pre-form, thereby forming the preform into a mono block or monolithic block having embedded therein the card antenna and the electronic module, wherein at least the card antenna is invisible. As already discussed above, in this manner a building block for a smartcard is obtained in the form of a mono block of material, wherein essentially card internal wireless communication capabilities as well as the wireless communication capability with respect to an external device are already implemented.

In illustrative embodiments of the inventive method a total thickness of the pre-form is maintained at 500 pm or less, thereby enabling at least one further material layer to be laminated to the pre-form in a subsequent process. As also discussed above, maintaining the overall thickness of the pre-form at 500 pm and even less results in superior design flexibility for the card manufacturers, when implementing the one or more additional layers and respective security and/or aesthetic features.

Brief description of the drawings

Further illustrative embodiments and other aspects of the present invention will be described in more detail in the following specification, while also referring to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a pre-form according to illustrative embodiments; and Figure 2 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a smartcard according to illustrative embodiments.

Best mode(s) for carrying out the invention

The present invention will now be described in more detail while referring to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a pre-form 100 according to illustrative embodiments of the present invention.

As illustrated, the pre-form 100 includes a central layer of material 110, which may also be referred to as an inlay, which may be made of any appropriate material, such as a plastic material. In one advantageous embodiment, the central layer 110 is made of a polycarbonate material. In other cases, the central layer 110 is made of PVC and/or PUT. A thickness of the central layer 110, i.e. in Figure 1 , the vertical extension of the central layer 110, may be in the range of 100-200 pm, for example, approximately 150 pm, depending on the overall design criteria. In the embodiment shown, the central layer 110 includes a window opening 115, which may penetrate through the entire layer 110 and may have any appropriate size, shape and position within the layer 110 so as to accommodate at least a portion of an electronic module 130. In other illustrative embodiments (not shown) the layer 110 may have, instead of the window opening 115, a recess of appropriate size, shape and position in order to accommodate a portion of the electronic module 130. That is, the corresponding recess may not entirely penetrate through the layer 110.

The electronic module 130 may be provided in the form of any appropriate electronic module including respective circuitry for receiving power and data signals, sending and processing information as required by specific use cases. Respective electronic modules are well established in the field of smartcards. In particular, the electronic module 130 may include a module antenna, schematically shown and denoted by reference sign 131, wherein the electronic module 130 in combination with the module antenna 131 is appropriately configured so as to wirelessly communicate with a card antenna 120 that may be formed in and/or on the central layer 110. The card antenna 120 is appropriately configured for wirelessly communicating with an external reader device (not shown), as is well known in the field of smartcards. As already discussed above, the card antenna 120 may be provided in some illustrative embodiments as an embedded wire structure having an appropriate number of turns so as to have the capability for wireless communication with both the module antenna 131 and the external reader device.

In other embodiments the card antenna 120 may be provided in the form of conductive traces formed in and/or on an appropriate carrier material. In still other cases, the card antenna 120 may be provided as a heavy antenna formed of massive conductive material with high stability, if the corresponding additional weight is desirable for the pre-form 100.

As illustrated, the electronic module 130 is attached with one main surface thereof to an adhesive tape material 140, which in turn is attached to the central layer 110 so as to appropriately position the electronic module 130 with respect to the window opening or recess 115. The adhesive tape material 140 may represent any appropriate adhesive material that provides for sufficient tackiness and stickiness with respect to both the electronic module 130 and the central layer 110. Furthermore, the adhesive tape material 140 may be highly compatible with the material of the central layer 110 so as to form a more or less seamless connection upon performing a lamination process in a later manufacturing stage.

In the embodiment shown, the pre-form 100 further includes a first opaque layer 152 and a second opaque layer 151 that "vertically" enclose and thus sandwich the central layer 110 and therefore the electronic module 130 and the adhesive tape material 140. The layers 152, 151 may be made of a plastic material or combinations thereof, such as polycarbonate, PVC, PUT. A thickness of the first and second opaque layers may range from approximately 50 pm to 150 pm, and may preferably be in the range of approximately 100 pm so that in some illustrative embodiments, a combined thickness of the central layer 110, and the first and second opaque layers 152 and 151 is 500 pm and less, such as approximately 350 pm in some embodiments, with the thickness of the first and second opaque layers 152, 151 being approximately 100 pm and a thickness of the central layer 110 being of approximately 150 pm.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown, a first substantially transparent layer 162 may be formed on the first opaque layer 152 and a second substantially transparent layer 161 may be formed on the second opaque layer 151. The first and second transparent layers 162, 162 may be made of one or more plastic materials, such as polycarbonate, PVC, PUT. The thickness of the first and second transparent layers 162, 161 may be selected in accordance with overall design criteria, for instance for enabling card manufacturer to incorporate security features and/or aesthetic features, for instance, by laser engraving, and the like. For example, a thickness of the first and second transparent layers 162, 161 may range from approximately 40 to 100 pm, for instance 50 pm. Consequently, in some illustrative embodiments, the total thickness of the pre-form as shown in Figure 1 may be 500 pm and less, for instance approximately 450 pm and less.

During a manufacturing process for forming the pre-form 100, the central layer 110 may appropriately be prepared based on a respective sheet material, for instance, based on polycarbonate material, wherein the window opening or recess 115 may be formed by punching, milling, stamping, and the like, as is well established in the art of fabricating smartcards. The adhesive tape material 140 may be prepared so as to comply with the lateral size of the electronic module 130. The electronic module 130 may have to removed from a reel, for instance, by punching out a single unit, wherein prior to singling out the electronic module 130 the tape material 140 may be attached so as to provide for chip transfer to the central layer 110, which may be accomplished by well known pick and place process techniques.

Prior to or after placing the electronic module 130 in combination with the adhesive material 140 the antenna 120 may be provided on and/or in the central layer 110, for instance, by well-established wire embedding techniques, and the like. Thereafter, the first and second opaque layers 152, 151 be positioned "above" and "below" the central layer 110 having attached thereon card antenna 120 and the electronic module 130 in combination with the adhesive tape material 140.

It should be appreciated that any “absolute” positional terms, such as above, below, under, on, and the like, are to be understood to be referenced to an orthogonal direction of the plane of the central layer. For example, in Figure 1 the orthogonal or normal direction of the central layer extends along the vertical direction of the drawing plane of Figure 1.

The layers 152, 151 may be attached by using any appropriate adhesive material on the basis of well-established mounting techniques used in manufacturing smartcards. Next, the layers 162, 161 may be attached to the respective free surfaces of the layers 152, 151 , also by using an appropriate adhesive material on the basis of well-established mounting techniques.

Thereafter, a lamination process may be carried out, for instance by applying appropriate pressure and heat to the pre-form 100, thereby basically deforming the various material layers and initiating a material flow between the various individual layers so to connect to each other, thereby forming a substantially monolithic material block having embedded therein the card antenna 120 and the electronic module 130. Furthermore, during the corresponding lamination process the window opening or recess 115 may provide for sufficient "buffer" space so as to accommodate additional material of the neighbouring material layers and also prevent the electronic module 130 from forming cracks.

In this stage, the pre-form 100 may be shipped to a card manufacturer, who may incorporate additional material layers so as to establish the custom specific features of a final smartcard. Figure 2 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a smartcard 290 including a preform 200, which may have basically the configuration as described in the context of the preform 100 of Figure 1 , thereby providing non-visibility of, for instance, a card antenna (not shown) and an electronic module (not shown), as discussed above. In the embodiment shown, the smartcard 290 may comprise one or more layers 280 formed "above" the preform 200 and one or more layers 270 formed "below" pre-form 200. The one or more additional layers 280, 270 may be provided on the basis of a plastic material that is compatible with a material of the pre-form 200, for instance, the layers may be formed of material based on polycarbonate, PVC, PUT as discussed above. The layers 280, 270 may be laminated to the pre-form 200 on the basis of well-established process techniques, thereby imparting the desired final features and characteristics to the smartcard 290. Consequently, the type, the number, the functionality, and the like of the one or more layers 280, 270 may be selected on the basis of specific use cases without having to take into consideration the presence of specific components of the pre-form 200, such the card antenna and the electronic module, as discussed above in the context of the pre-form 100.

It should be appreciated that in certain embodiments (not shown) the electronic module may have an appropriate contact structure so as to enable the positioning of a further contact structure for direct electrical contact to the electronic module through the layer 280 and a portion of the pre-form 200, if a dual interface smartcard and, thus, a wired electrical contact with an external reader device is required. Also in this case, the pre-form 200 may advantageously be used, in which the corresponding electronic module may be incorporated in an early manufacturing stage and the wired contact is established in a late stage, while still maintaining may of the above-specified advantages associated with the early incorporation of the electronic module.