Process for manufacturing transponders of small dimensions

• US 5,895,235 A
• Filed: 10/07/1997
• Issued: 04/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: EM Microelectronic - Marin SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Original Assignee: EM Microelectronic - Marin SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Droz, Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Krynski, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAM, CATHY FONG FONG
• Application Number:
  US08/930,571
• Time in Patent Office: 560 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.17, 340/870.18, 340/825.54, 343/873, 438/110, 438/127, 342/51, 606/116, 606/117, 257/701, 119/215, 119/200, 128/899, 600/432, 29/605, 428/36.9
• US Class Current: 438/127
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 15/00 Tags attached to, or associated with, an object, in order to enable detection of the object record carriers for use with machines having a detectable tag or marker G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/0095 hermetically-sealed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/139 Open-ended, self-supporting conduit, cylinder, or tube-type article

Abstract

A device, notably a transponder, comprising an electronic arrangement and a coating formed by an envelope defining a pocket and by a solidified binding in which is embedded the electronic arrangement. The envelope presents an opening having served for the introduction of the electronic arrangement and the binding during the manufacture of the device. The external surface of the device in the region of the opening is formed by the solidified binding. For the manufacture of the device such has described hereabove, it is envisaged to use a reservoir acting to fill the pocket by the binding and to recover a surplus of provided binding, this surplus of binding and the reservoir being separated from the device after the binding has at least partially solidified.

Claims

1. Process of manufacturing a transponder characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

providing an envelope defining a pocket having an upper opening;

providing a reservoir disposed above said envelope, this reservoir communicating with said pocket by said upper opening and having at least one filling opening;

providing a binding material in liquid form in said reservoir;

providing an electronic arrangement in said pocket by said upper opening;

hardening of said binding material which entirely fills said envelope; and

separation of said transponder, formed by said envelope and said electronic arrangement embedded in said solidified binding material, from said reservoir.

2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that the quantity of said binding material provided is greater than a quantity of this binding material incorporated in said transponder resulting after said separation step, this separation being effectuated by a sectioning at the level of said upper opening of said envelope.

3. Process according to claim 2, characterized in that said reservoir is made from the same material as and integral with said envelope, said initially provided reservoir and said envelope forming a single piece of a same material.

4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said provided envelope presents a hole in its lower part.

5. Process according to claim 4, characterized in that said hole opens into an external recess provided in said envelope.

6. Process according to claim 4, characterized in that said hole is closed on the external side of said envelope by sealing means during the provision of said electronic arrangement in said pocket formed by said envelope.

7. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said reservoir acts as funnel for the filling of said pocket by said binding material, a contour of the filling opening of said reservoir defining a surface whose two principal dimensions are greater than at least the smallest dimensions of the upper opening of said envelope.

8. Process according to claim 1, by which it is envisaged to simultaneously manufacture several transponders, characterized in that several envelopes are provided with a single common reservoir communicating with the pockets, defined by said envelopes, by the upper openings of these envelopes, several electronic arrangements being provided and introduced respectively in said pockets.

9. Process according to claim 8, characterized in that said electronic arrangements are initially connected to each other by a support, these electronic arrangements being located under said support with a regular spacing corresponding to the spacing of said provided envelopes, said electronic arrangements being simultaneously introduced into said pockets with the aid of said support, this support being separated from these electronic arrangements during said separation step in which the transponders, respectively formed by said envelope and said electronic arrangements embedded in said binding material filling these envelopes are separated from said common reservoir.