JP7345163B2 - IC tag - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an IC tag that is easy to handle.

IC tags that can read and write information wirelessly are widely used for article management in logistics and production. One of the widely used IC tags is an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) tag.

An IC tag includes an IC chip for holding and inputting/outputting information and an antenna for wireless communication (hereinafter, the IC chip and antenna are collectively referred to as an "inlay"). Since inlays are precision devices, they are vulnerable to external shocks, and in applications where IC tags are expected to be subjected to shocks, inlays are required to maintain the ability to read and write information via wireless communication. must be protected from impact.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for manufacturing an IC tag (wireless communication medium tag) in which an IC chip base (inlay) is covered with a shock absorbing material made of a foamed sponge sheet. In this way, the sponge-like material protects the inlay from impact.

JP2005-316718

However, since the sponge-like material is flexible, it is difficult to control the amount of force when handling it manually. If the IC tag is gripped with weak force for fear of damaging the inlay, there is a risk that the IC tag may fall. On the other hand, if a strong force is applied to securely grip the inlay, the flexible spongy material can easily deform, causing force to be applied to the inlay and potentially damaging it. Therefore, with the conventional IC tag coated with a sponge-like material, there is a problem in that it is necessary to pay careful attention to the delicate amount of force applied, which poses a problem in handling.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an IC tag that can be easily handled.

The IC tag of the present invention includes an IC chip, a sheet-like resin base material that supports the IC chip, and a one-to-two sheet that protects the IC chip and is made of a sponge-like material. One sheet is adhered to the resin base material so as to cover the IC chip, and the other sheet is adhered to a surface of the resin base material that is different from the surface to which the one sheet is adhered. and a protective material, wherein the resin base material has an exposed portion exposed from the protective material at an outer peripheral portion.

Further, the protective material is a polygon having at least one set of opposing sides, and the exposed portion is provided on each of the opposing sides.

Further, the exposed portion is characterized in that a distance from an end of the protective material to an end of the resin base material is 25% or less of the thickness of one sheet of the protective material.

According to the IC tag of the present invention, since the exposed portion that is not covered with the sponge-like protective material is provided at the outer edge of the resin base material, a person handling the IC tag can grasp the exposed portion and apply the soft protective material. Rather, the relatively hard resin base material allows the IC tag to be lifted without worrying about the amount of force applied. Therefore, according to the IC tag of the present invention, it is possible to easily carry the tag without worrying about failure or the like.

In addition, since the exposed portions are provided on opposite sides of the polygon, if the user grips the device by pinching it between the fingers using a natural motion, the fingers will come into contact with the exposed portions without being particularly conscious. Therefore, the IC tag of the present invention has the effect that it can be handled more easily.

In addition, the distance from the end of the protective material to the end of the resin base material in the exposed part is set to 25% or less of the thickness of one sheet of the protective material, so even if the IC tag is dropped, it will hardly be damaged. In this case, the protective material comes into contact with the object below before the resin base material. Therefore, although it has a relatively hard exposed portion for gripping, it also has the effect of preventing damage to the object on which it falls.

(a) Schematic diagram showing the components of the RFID tag 1, (b) Schematic diagram showing the state in which the RFID tag 1 is constructed by bonding each component A diagram schematically showing the RFID tag 1 viewed straight from the surface of the sponge material 4a. A diagram schematically showing a modification of the RFID tag 1

Hereinafter, an RFID tag 1 that is an embodiment of the invention according to the present application (hereinafter referred to as "the present invention") will be described. First, each element constituting the RFID tag 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. 1(a). The RFID tag 1 of the present invention is composed of a sponge material 3a, a sponge material 3b, a resin sheet 4, and an inlay 2.

The inlay 2 is a known component that includes an IC chip and an antenna (not shown) necessary for RFID, and has functions such as holding and communicating information such as a unique identifier. The inlay 2 is adhered to the resin sheet 4. The resin sheet 4 is a sheet-like base material made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

The sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b are sheet-like protective materials made of urethane material and have a thickness of about 2.0 mm, and are used to buffer external impacts. The sponge material 3a is adhered to the surface of the resin sheet 4 to which the inlay 2 is adhered so as to completely cover the inlay 2.

The sponge material 3b is bonded to the surface of the resin sheet 4 opposite to the surface to which the sponge 3a is bonded.

As explained above, a state in which the resin sheet 4, inlay 2, sponge material 3a, and sponge 3b are laminated and bonded is shown in FIG. 1(b). As clearly shown in FIG. 1(b), the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b are laminated so that one surface is in contact with almost the entire area. In the RFID tag 1 of this embodiment, since the resin sheet 4 is made of PET having a certain degree of elasticity, the RFID tag 1 as a whole allows for a certain degree of deformation. Due to this characteristic, the RFID tag 1 has improved impact resistance as a whole.

Here, the resin sheet 4 is formed to have a length approximately 1.0 mm larger than the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b in the vertical direction (from the front left to the rear right in FIG. 1, the same applies hereinafter). . Therefore, in the laminated and bonded state as shown in FIG. 1(b), the larger resin sheet 4 protrudes from the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b. FIG. 2 shows the RFID tag 1 in the state of FIG. 1(b) viewed from the side of the sponge material 3a, and shows that the resin sheet 4 covers the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b in the portions 4a and 4b. Instead, the RFID tag 1 protrudes by approximately 0.5 mm.

Because the portions 4a and 4b of the resin sheet 4 protrude, when handling the relatively soft RFID tag 1, the portions 4a and 4b catch on the fingers, making it difficult to firmly support the RFID tag 1 with the fingers. can. Therefore, the RFID tag 1 can be handled stably.

In addition, the protrusion distance of the portions 4a and 4b (distance from the outer edge of the sponge materials 3a and 3b to the outer edge of the resin sheet 4) is set to 25% or less of 2.0 mm, which is the thickness of the sponge materials 3a and 3b. The size of the resin sheet 4 is adjusted to be within the range of approximately 0.5 mm.

This is a configuration to prevent the resin sheet 4 from colliding with an object below and damaging the object in the event that the RFID tag 1 is dropped. Alternatively, by setting the thickness to 25% or less of the thickness of the sponge material 3b, in most cases when the resin sheet 4 falls, the sponge material 3a or the sponge material 3b comes into contact with the lower part first before the resin sheet 4. By adjusting the sizes of the portions 4a and 4b in this way, it is possible to prevent the RFID tag 1 from damaging other objects.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment of the RFID tag 1, the wireless communication medium tag of the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Needless to say, it can be applied.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is also possible to provide the RFID tag 1 with a hole 10 for hanging from a hook or the like. At this time, if the hole 10 is configured so that the portion 4c of the resin sheet 4 is exposed from the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b in the same way as the portions 4a and 4b, when a hook or the like is passed through the hole 10, the sponge material 3a and 3b can be prevented from being damaged, and the durability of the RFID tag 1 can be improved.

Further, although the embodiment describes the substantially rectangular RFID tag 1, the present invention can also be applied to polygons such as hexagons and octagons. In this case, the portions of the resin sheet 4 exposed from the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b are preferably provided on each of the two opposing sides. This is because by providing a pair of opposing sides with locations that are easy to support with hands and fingers, the action of lifting the RFID tag 1 can be performed more naturally.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, it has been explained that the resin sheet 4 is exposed from the sponge material 3a and the sponge material 3b at a portion (parts 4a, 4b) of the outer periphery of the RFID tag 1, but the resin sheet 4 is exposed over the entire outer periphery of the RFID tag 1. Of course, it is also possible to configure it so that 4 is exposed. In this case, the person handling the RFID tag 1 can touch the resin sheet 4 anywhere on the outer periphery of the RFID tag 1, and therefore can easily handle the RFID tag 1 without worrying about its orientation, which is very convenient.

1 RFID tag (IC tag)
2 Inlay 3a, 3b Sponge material (protective material)
4 Resin sheet (resin base material)
10 holes

Claims (2)

IC chip and
a sheet-shaped resin base material that supports the IC chip;
The IC chip is protected by one to two sheets made of a sponge-like material, one sheet is adhered to the resin base material so as to cover the IC chip, and the other sheet is bonded to the resin base material so as to cover the IC chip. one of the sheets includes a protective material adhered to a surface of the resin base material different from a surface to which the one sheet is adhered,
The resin base material has an exposed portion exposed from the protective material at an outer peripheral portion.and
The IC tag is characterized in that the exposed portion has a distance from an end of the protective material to an end of the resin base material that is 25% or less of the thickness of one sheet of the protective material.
The protective material is a polygon having at least one set of opposing sides,
The IC tag according to claim 1, wherein the exposed portion is provided on each of the opposing sides.

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