Information carrier and process for production thereof

• US 6,482,495 B1
• Filed: 03/12/1997
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Maxell Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Maxell Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sueyoshi, Toshinobu, Daido, Kazuhiko, Takasugi, Wasao, Kohama, Kyouichi, Fukao, Ryuzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmad, Nasser
• Application Number:
  US08/814,921
• Time in Patent Office: 2,078 Days
• Field of Search: 428/67, 428/64.1, 428/64.4, 428/66.5, 428/68, 428/74, 428/76, 428/138, 428/203, 428/916, 406/25, 406/26, 235/492, 235/488
• US Class Current: 428/67
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/02 characterised by the selection of materials, e.g. to avoid wear during transport through the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/0401 Bonding areas specifically adapted for bump connectors, e.g. under bump metallisation [UBM]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16 of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/21 Circular sheet or circular blank
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/216 Ornamental, decorative, pattern, or indicia
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/22 Nonparticulate element embedded or inlaid in substrate and visible
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/23 Sheet including cover or casing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/237 Noninterengaged fibered material encased [e.g., mat, batt, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/239 Complete cover or casing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24331 including nonapertured component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24868 Translucent outer layer

Abstract

The present invention provides an information carrier which has flat surfaces, is excellent in beautiful appearance and permits beautiful necessary printing, and a production process which permits easy and inexpensive production of such an information carrier. An IC chip 1 and a coil 2 connected to the IC chip are embedded in a substrate 3 composed of a nonwoven fabric. The IC chip and the coil are held between two nonwoven fabrics produced according to a conventional production procedure. The laminate of the nonwoven fabrics is fed to a roller or a press and the two nonwoven fabrics are hot-pressed, whereby their mating surfaces are joined with or without an adhesive (including low-melting synthetic resin fiber) incorporated into the webs. After positioning of the coil in the thus obtained raw product of information carrier, the laminate of the nonwoven fabrics and cover sheets is cut to obtain an information carrier of predetermined shape and size.

Claims

1. An information carrier comprising a substrate of necessary shape and size, a cover sheet made of a synthetic resin provided on the surface of the substrate and a fitting disposed within and supported by the substrate, the substrate being composed of a compressed body or deformed body of a material having compressibility or deformability in the direction of thickness, the substrate material comprising a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a nonwoven fabric itself having thermocompression-bondability without using resin, the substrate and the cover sheet being united in an inseparable body using part of the substrate material and the cover sheet material, the fitting being completely embedded in the substrate in a region of the substrate which is in a partially deformed or compressed state surrounding the fittings to, thereby, securely hold the fitting therein.

2. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the woven fabric, knitted fabric or nonwoven fabric having thermocompression-bondability as itself is one using conjugate fiber as stock fiber.

3. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the woven fabric, knitted fabric or nonwoven fabric having thermocompression-bondability as itself is a mixed yarn fabric or mixture of two or more synthetic resin fibers having different melting points.

4. An information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the woven fabric, knitted fabric or nonwoven fabric having thermocompression-bondability as itself is one using glass fiber, carbon fiber, Kevlar fiber, chemical fiber, natural fiber or a combination thereof as stock fiber and obtained by bonding between stock fiber with a resin binder.

5. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is provided with necessary printing and the contents of the printing can be seen through the cover sheet from the outside.

6. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the substrate and the cover sheet are formed of a material which does not emit chlorine gas on combustion.

7. The information carrier according to claim 6, wherein the synthetic resin portion of the substrate is selected from the group consisting of polyethyleneterephthalate resin and polyethylenenaphthalate resin.

8. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the fitting is embedded in the middle of the thickness direction of the substrate, with the obverse and reverse side of the substrate being flat.

9. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the fitting is embedded in an indent formed in one side of the substrate, with the obverse, including the surface of the embedded fitting and reverse of the substrate being flat.

10. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the fitting is at least one of IC chips, IC modules, means for non-contact transmission of data and/or power source, electrode terminals for transmitting data and/or power source, capacitors, resistors, solar cells, liquid crystal display devices, image displayers, optical recording media, magneto-optical recording media, magnets or ferromagnetics for locating the information carrier at the carrier-setting position of a reader/writer with high precision, and combinations of these elements with other parts.

11. The information carrier according to claim 1, wherein a necessary circuit pattern is directly formed on the fitting mounted surface of the substrate, and the circuit pattern and the input-output terminals of an electronic element in the fitting are connected electrically.

12. The information carrier according to claim 11, wherein the circuit pattern includes a coil as a means for non-contact transmission of data and/or power source.