Antenna module

• US 9,607,258 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Original Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Inventors: Murayama, Hiromi, Dokai, Yuya, Mukai, Tsuyoshi, Higashibata, Kazuaki, Nomura, Masato, Kato, Noboru
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAYLOR, APRIL ALICIA
• Application Number:
  US14/629,536
• Publication Number:
  US 20150170017A1
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• Field of Search: 235/492
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07722 the record carrier being multilayered, e.g. laminated sheets flat articles in general, see B32B37/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07783 the coil being planar
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07784 the inductive antenna consisting of a plurality of coils stacked on top of one another
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00012 Relevant to the scope of the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/181 Encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2283 mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

An antenna module includes an antenna element including coil patterns and via conductors coupling together two adjacent two coil patterns. At least one of the coil patterns has a spiral shape, is wound three or more turns parallel or substantially parallel to an outer edge of a principal surface of a multilayer body, includes a first partial pattern including an outer end portion, a second partial pattern extending parallel or substantially parallel with the first partial pattern and being adjacent to the first partial pattern with a first gap provided therebetween, and a third partial pattern extending parallel or substantially parallel with the second partial pattern and being adjacent to the second partial pattern with a second gap provided therebetween, the second gap being smaller than the first gap.

Claims

1. A structure for attachment of an antenna module to an object article, wherein:

the antenna module includes a multilayer body including a plurality of insulative layers, a first principal surface, a second principal surface, an IC chip provided on or in the multilayer body, and an antenna element coupled to the IC chip;

the antenna element includes a plurality of coil patterns arranged in a stacking direction of the insulative material of the multilayer body;

the antenna module is attached to the object article with the first principal surface of the multilayer body defining an attachment surface of the multilayer body to the object article;

one of the plurality of coil patterns arranged farther from the first principal surface includes a larger number of turns than another one of the plurality of coil patterns arranged nearer to the first principal surface than the one of the plurality of coil patterns; and

the IC chip is provided on one of the first principal surface and the second principal surface of the multilayer body.

2. The structure for attachment according to claim 1, wherein the IC chip is sealed by an overmold layer, and the antenna module is attached to the object article via an outer surface of the overmold layer.

3. The structure for attachment according to claim 1, wherein the object article is a metal article.

4. The structure for attachment according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of coil patterns has the same or substantially the same outer diameter as one another.