Radio frequency IC tag and method for manufacturing same

• US 20060267843A1
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sakama, Isao, Ashizawa, Minoru
• Granted Patent: US 7,365,686 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 343/700.MS
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/22 by structural association with other equipment or articles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/285 Planar dipole H01Q9/065 takes precedence; patch antenna H01Q9/0407
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49016 Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49018 with other electrical component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49121 Beam lead frame or beam lead device
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49146 with encapsulating, e.g., potting, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49169 Assembling electrical component directly to terminal or elongated conductor

Abstract

A small radio frequency IC tag which can obtain sufficiently long communication distance with radio wave in the microwave band even if an antenna is made small and the radio frequency IC tag is embedded in metal material. An O-shaped antenna is formed to narrow the width of a neck part in which an IC chip is mounted and widen the width of radiating electrodes constituting radiating part of radio wave. The radiating electrodes are formed into offset structure on right and left sides of the feeding point so that areas of right and left radiating parts of the feeding point in which the IC chip is mounted are unsymmetrical. Further, a ground electrode is provided so that a dielectric body is held between the radiating electrodes and the ground electrode and the radiating electrode is connected to the ground electrode at the side of the dielectric body.

Claims

1. A radio frequency IC tag including an IC chip for recording information and an antenna for transmitting the information recorded in the IC chip by radio, the antenna comprising:

a radiating electrode having width that is narrowed at a feeding part in which the IC chip is mounted and including radiating parts of radio wave that spread on both sides of the feeding part and are widened;

a ground electrode disposed opposite to one surface of the radiating electrode and electrically connected to the radiating electrode; and

a dielectric body disposed between the radiating electrode and the ground electrode.

2. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 1, wherein the radiating electrode is formed into offset structure so that areas of the radiating parts existing on both sides of the feeding part are unsymmetrical.

3. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 2, wherein the radiating electrode is structured so that each of the radiating parts existing on both sides of the feeding part is formed into semicircle and the feeding part and the radiating parts are formed into circle.

4. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 2, wherein the radiating electrode is structured so that the feeding part and the radiating parts existing on both sides thereof are formed into H-shape.

5. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 2, wherein the radiating electrode is structured so that the feeding part and the radiating parts existing on both sides thereof are formed into polygon.

6. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 5, wherein the radiating electrode and the ground electrode are electrically connected to each other at the side of the dielectric body.

7. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 5, wherein the radiating electrode and the ground electrode are electrically connected to each other through through-holes formed in the dielectric body.

8. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 6, wherein the radiating electrode is connected to the ground electrode at the radiating-part having a small area.

9. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 8, wherein the dielectric body disposed between the radiating electrode and the ground electrode is made of any of ceramics, resin, air or inert gas having a predetermined dielectric constant.

10. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 9, wherein the dielectric body is made of material used in semiconductor IC packages and containing epoxy resin.

11. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 8, wherein a space between the radiating electrode and the ground electrode is in a vacuum state.

12. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 11, wherein the IC chip is disposed on the surface or the back of the feeding part in the radiating electrode.

13. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 3, wherein the radiating electrode is formed with a slit for matching an impedance between the IC chip and the antenna and the IC chip is mounted to straddle the slit so that terminals of the IC chip are connected to electrodes on both sides of the slit.

14. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 13, wherein the slit is formed in the radiating part having a larger area.

15. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 14, wherein the radiating electrode radiates radio wave in the state that the ground electrode is electrically connected to metal material constituting a mounting body.

16. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 15, wherein the ground electrode is fixedly mounted to the metal material by means of conductive material.

17. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 15, comprising an auxiliary antenna disposed on the surface of the radiating electrode with a dielectric sheet being interposed between the surface of the radiating electrode and the auxiliary antenna in order to extend a communication distance of radio wave by the radiating electrode.

18. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 17, wherein the auxiliary antenna has length equal to λ

/2 where λ

is a wavelength of radio wave radiated by the radiating electrode.

19. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 17, wherein the auxiliary antenna has length that is varied depending on a dielectric constant of the dielectric sheet.

20. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 19, wherein the auxiliary antenna has length that is set to be short when the dielectric constant of the dielectric sheet is large and is set to be long when the dielectric constant of the dielectric sheet is small.

21. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 17, wherein the dielectric sheet is a nonmagnetic sheet formed of a sheet body made of any of polyethylene, polypropylene, Teflon (registered trademark), vinyl chloride and synthetic rubber and having the surface of the sheet body to which an adhesive is applied or a magnetic sheet.

22. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 21, wherein the dielectric sheet uses the magnetic sheet when the metal material is magnetic material and the dielectric sheet uses the nonmagnetic sheet when the metal material is nonmagnetic material.

23. A radio frequency IC tag according to claim 17, wherein the auxiliary antenna is fixedly adhered to the dielectric sheet by the adhesive.

24. A method for manufacturing a radio frequency IC tag including an IC chip for recording information and an antenna for transmitting the information recorded in the IC chip by radio, comprising the steps of:

forming a lead frame including a radiating electrode having a neck part and radiating parts of radio wave spreading on both sides of the neck part and a ground electrode connected to the radiating part;

mounting the IC chip in the neck part;

injecting resin into the radiating electrodes;

hardening the injected resin;

coating lead frame projecting outside of the radiating electrode with a protection agent;

cutting the radiating electrode from the lead frame; and

forming the ground electrode along the surface of the hardened resin.