JPH11149535A - Radio module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly reliable radio module in which the connection strength of an electronic component with a conductor can be improved. SOLUTION: A first conductive pattern is formed, and an electronic component 14 is mounted on a surface 10a of an insulating substrate 10, and the electronic component 14 is connected with the first conductive pattern. A second conductive pattern is formed on a back face 10b of the insulating substrate. The first conductive pattern is formed of conductive materials whose hardness is higher than that of the second conductive pattern. One part of the second conductive pattern is put through the insulating substrate 10 by crimping, and deformed at the first conductive pattern side so that a through hole 22 conducted to the first conductive pattern can be formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless module having an antenna and an electronic component connected to the antenna, and performing non-contact data communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a wireless module used for a wireless card, a wireless tag, and the like generally includes a substrate made of an insulating material, an antenna provided on the substrate, and an electronic device mounted on the substrate and connected to the antenna. Components such as an LSI and a capacitor are provided.

A conductor pattern is formed on each of the front and back surfaces of the substrate, and the antenna and electronic components are connected to the conductor pattern. Usually, these conductive patterns are formed using the same conductive material, for example, copper.

[0004] Electrical connection between the conductor pattern on the front side and the conductor pattern on the back side is made by forming through holes by so-called clipping. In other words, according to the crimping connection method, a part of the semiconductor pattern on one surface side is pushed through the insulating substrate to the semiconductor pattern on the opposite surface side to make it conductive.

On the other hand, a sheet capacitor is used as a capacitor provided on a substrate. This sheet capacitor is formed by forming sheet-shaped conductors on both sides of a substrate so as to face each other, and using the substrate as a dielectric.

Generally, a communication antenna is formed by a conductor pattern formed on a substrate, or is formed by winding a wire in a coil shape. When using an antenna configured using wires, the antenna is connected and fixed to a substrate by soldering or the like.

[0007]

In the wireless module having the above-described structure, the crimping connection is performed by, for example, pushing up a part of the conductor pattern on the rear surface toward the conductor pattern on the front surface to deform the conductor pattern. To make contact, the conductor must be somewhat soft. On the other hand, when the electronic component is connected to the conductor pattern by wire bonding, the wire is pulled with a predetermined tension in order to perform a wire connection strength test. In the connection strength test, a part of the conductor may peel off together with the wire during the connection strength test, resulting in a connection failure.

Further, when a sheet capacitor is formed on a substrate of a wireless module using electrodes made of a conductor pattern, in order to increase the capacitance of the capacitor without changing the dielectric constant and thickness of the substrate, the electrodes need to be formed. It is necessary to increase the area. However, as the area of the electrodes increases, the sheet capacitor itself becomes a shield for the antenna,
The power induced in the antenna decreases. As a result, the communication distance of the wireless module becomes short.

Further, when an antenna formed by winding a wire is used, the antenna is supported by being adhered and fixed to a substrate, and therefore, the substrate has a size larger than the outer shape of the antenna. Therefore, the area of the substrate increases, which contributes to an increase in manufacturing cost.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable wireless module with improved connection strength between an electronic component and a conductor. It is another object of the present invention to provide a wireless module capable of increasing the capacity of a capacitor without shortening the communication distance of an antenna. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless module capable of reducing the size of a substrate and the manufacturing cost.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a wireless module according to the present invention comprises an insulating substrate having first and second surfaces facing each other, and a wireless module on the first and second surfaces of the insulating substrate. A first and a second conductor pattern respectively formed on the first surface, an electronic component mounted on the first surface and connected to the first conductor pattern, and an antenna connected to the electronic component and performing data communication. Prepared,
The first conductor pattern is formed of a conductor material having a higher hardness than the second conductor pattern, and a part of the second conductor pattern penetrates the insulating substrate and is crimped to the first conductor pattern side to form the first conductor pattern. And a through-hole that connects the second conductor pattern is formed.

According to the wireless module having the above configuration, the first
Since the through-hole is formed by crimping a part of the second conductive pattern formed of a conductive material having a lower hardness than the conductive pattern, the through-hole can be formed relatively easily. On the contrary,
Since the first conductor pattern to which the electronic component is connected is formed of a material having a higher hardness than the second conductor pattern, the connection strength with the electronic component is improved, and the conductor pattern is peeled off at the time of a strength test or the like. Can be prevented.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless module comprising: an insulating substrate having first and second surfaces facing each other; and first and second surfaces formed on the first and second surfaces of the insulating substrate, respectively. A two-conductor pattern, an electronic component mounted on the first surface and connected to the first conductor pattern, an antenna connected to the electronic component and performing data communication, and a second antenna formed by the first conductor pattern 1
An electrode, and a sheet capacitor formed by the second conductor pattern and having a second electrode opposed to the first electrode with the insulating substrate interposed therebetween, wherein the portion of the sheet capacitor is folded into a plurality of layers. , Being provided on the insulating substrate.

According to the wireless module having the above configuration, the mounting area can be reduced even when the capacity of the sheet capacitor is increased by providing the sheet capacitor in a folded state. Therefore, the sheet capacitor is unlikely to be a shield for the antenna, and a sufficient communication distance can be secured.

Further, another wireless module according to the present invention includes an insulating substrate, a conductor pattern formed on the insulating substrate, an electronic component mounted on the insulating substrate and connected to the conductor pattern, and a wire. And an antenna connected to the electronic component and performing data communication, wherein the insulating substrate has an area smaller than an area inside the antenna, and an inner space of the antenna. , And at least two fixing portions of the antenna are fixed.

Further, the insulating substrate is formed in a parallelogram shape having a diagonal line having a length substantially equal to the outer diameter of the antenna, and both ends in the diagonal direction constitute the fixing portions. I have.

According to the wireless module having the above configuration, the insulating substrate is formed to have a small area inside the antenna, and the antenna is supported and fixed on the fixing portion of the insulating substrate. Therefore, the size of the insulating substrate can be reduced, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, the antenna can be stably supported, and the manufacturability can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, by forming a parallelogram-shaped insulating substrate by punching a base material wound in a reel shape, the insulating substrate can be obtained without waste. it can.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a radio module according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wireless module M according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an insulating substrate 10, an antenna 12, an LSI 14 as an electronic component mounted on the surface of the insulating substrate, and a sheet capacitor 16. Have.

The insulating substrate 10 is made of an insulating material such as
It is formed of polyethylene terephthalate having a thickness of about 0.025 mm. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a first conductor pattern 18a and a second conductor pattern 18b are formed on the front surface (first surface) 10a and the back surface (second surface) 10b of the insulating substrate 10, respectively. . These first and second conductor patterns 18a, 18
b is formed in a desired shape as a conductor by patterning, for example, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 0.02 mm.

The first and second conductor patterns 18
a and 18b are formed of aluminum having different hardnesses. For example, the first conductor pattern 18a is made of H material (with annealing) manufactured by Toyo Aluminum Co., Ltd.
The second conductor patterns 18b are each formed of an O material (without annealing) manufactured by Toyo Aluminum Co., Ltd., and the first conductor patterns have higher hardness than the second conductor patterns.

First and second conductor patterns 18a, 18
b denotes connection pads 20 opposed to each other with the insulating substrate 10 interposed therebetween.
a, 20b, and these connection pads are electrically connected to each other through a pair of through holes 22.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 4, each through hole 22 is formed by a crimping connection method.
That is, each through hole 22 is formed in the second conductor pattern 1.
8b, that is, a part of the connection pad 20b provided on the conductor pattern on the lower hardness side is connected to the first conductor pattern 18
The connection pad 20a is formed by being pushed up toward the connection pad 20a and deforming, and penetrating through the insulating substrate 10 to contact the connection pad 20a on the first conductor pattern side.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
Are mounted on the surface 10a of the insulating substrate 10 and are connected to the first conductor pattern 18a having high hardness by wire bonding.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each sheet capacitor 16 includes a first electrode 24a formed by a part of the first conductor pattern 18a and a second conductor pattern 18a.
and a second electrode 24b formed by a part of the first electrode b. The first and second electrodes 24a and 24b are arranged to face each other with the insulating substrate 10 interposed therebetween. The insulating substrate 10 sandwiched between the first and second electrodes 24a and 24b is used as a dielectric, and the first, second electrodes and the dielectric constitute the sheet capacitor 16.

Each of the first and second electrodes 24a and 24b is formed by continuously connecting four rectangular electrode portions 26 via a bridge portion 28. Each of the electrode portions 26 is formed, for example, in a size of 1 cm × 1 cm and has a capacity of about 100 PF.
It has a capacity of

As can be clearly understood from FIG.
Are formed with slit rows 30 each extending in a direction orthogonal to the bridge portion 28, and each slit row 30 is constituted by, for example, a plurality of circular slits. Further, the insulating substrate 10 includes, among the electrodes 24a and 24b,
A substantially U-shaped cut 32 surrounding the three electrode portions 26 and the three slit rows 30 is formed.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 5, each sheet capacitor 16 is cut and raised along the notch 32 on the front surface 10a side of the insulating substrate 10 and further bent 180 degrees along each slit row 30. It is installed on the surface 10a of the insulating substrate 10 in a state of being folded four times.

As a result, each sheet capacitor 16
The mounting area is reduced to about 1/4 without changing the capacitance.
Also, by folding, the thickness H of the entire sheet capacitor 16 increases from 0.065 mm before folding to 0.26 mm, which is four times as large, but the surface 10 of the insulating substrate 10 is not folded.
The thickness of the LSI 14 mounted on a is about 0.35 m
m, the thickness of the entire wireless module M does not increase.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the antenna 12 is formed by winding a wire in a ring shape.
The outer diameter is 18 mm and the inner diameter is 15 mm. Also,
The insulating substrate 10 is formed in a parallelogram shape, and its area is
It is set to be smaller than the area inside the antenna 12, and is formed so that the dimension of the longer diagonal line substantially matches the outer diameter of the antenna 12. Insulating substrate 10
Of these, the portions located on both ends of the longer diagonal line respectively constitute the antenna fixing portions 11.

The insulating substrate 10 is disposed so as to face the inner region of the antenna 12, and the antenna 12 is bonded and fixed to the antenna fixing portion 11 of the insulating substrate 10 at two locations. Thereby, the insulating substrate 10 and the antenna 12
Are integrated. The LSI 14 and the sheet capacitor 16 mounted on the insulating substrate 10 are housed inside the antenna 12.

The entire wireless module M configured as described above is embedded in a sealing material 40 made of a synthetic resin or the like, and constitutes a coin-shaped wireless tag as a whole. According to the wireless module M configured as described above, the second conductor pattern 18b is
Since the second conductor pattern 18b is formed of a material having a hardness lower than that of the second conductor pattern 18a, the through hole 22 can be easily formed by clipping the second conductor pattern 18b. Conversely, the first conductor pattern 18a is formed of a material having a higher hardness than the second conductor pattern 18b, and since the LSI 14 is wire-bonded to the first conductor pattern, the connection between the first conductor pattern and the wire is made. Strength is improved, and peeling of the conductor pattern and occurrence of connection failure at the time of a strength test or the like can be prevented. Thereby, the reliability of the wireless module can be improved.

The first and second conductor patterns need only be formed of materials having a difference in hardness, and are not limited to the same metal but may be formed of different metals. For example, copper may be used as the material of the first conductor pattern 18a, and aluminum may be used as the material of the second conductor pattern. If the first and second conductor patterns have different coefficients of thermal expansion, it is desirable to prevent the warpage of the insulating substrate 10 by changing the thickness.

Further, according to the wireless module, since each sheet capacitor 16 is provided on the insulating substrate 10 in a state of being folded into a plurality of layers, the mounting area can be reduced while maintaining a large capacity. Can be. Therefore, a reduction in the induced power of the antenna 12 due to the sheet capacitor 16 can be suppressed, and the communication distance of the wireless module can be prevented from being shortened.

Further, according to the radio module, the area of the insulating substrate 10 is formed smaller than the area inside the antenna 12 and the antenna fixing portion 11 is provided on the insulating substrate, so that the insulating substrate can be downsized and manufactured. Cost can be reduced. At the same time, the insulating substrate 10 and the antenna 1
2 can be integrated to increase the connection strength. For example, it is possible to prevent the wireless module from being damaged and to improve the handleability during the wireless tag manufacturing process, and to automate the manufacturing process.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet capacitor 16 is configured to be bent along a row of slits formed only in the insulating substrate 10. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the electrodes 24a and 24b of the sheet capacitor 16 are connected to each other. Each slit row 30 may be formed in a rectangular shape and formed by slits extending through the electrodes 24a and 24b and the insulating substrate 10, and the sheet capacitor may be bent along these slit rows. In this case, the capacity of the sheet capacitor 16 can be adjusted by the slit row formed in the electrode.

The slits constituting each slit row are not limited to a circular shape, but may have any other shape. Also,
The insulating material used for the insulating substrate 10 is not limited to polyethylene terephthalate, and other insulating materials such as glass epoxy may be used. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the wireless module may be formed using a reel base material 50 made of a glass epoxy substrate having a thickness of 0.1 mm and a width of 35 mm. That is, the first and second conductor patterns are formed on the reel base material and the LSI is mounted on the reel base material so that two insulating substrates 10 are formed in the width direction of the reel base material 50, and then the reel base material is placed on the insulating substrate. Punch out the outline. After that, connect the antenna to the insulating substrate,
A wireless tag is formed by covering the whole with a synthetic resin. Note that even when the insulating substrate is a parallelogram,
From the reel base material, the same number of insulating substrates as the rectangular insulating substrates generally used in the related art can be punched out.

Further, according to the present invention, the insulating substrate is formed to have a smaller area than the inner area of the antenna, and
It is only necessary to have the antenna fixing portion, and the shape is not limited to the parallelogram shape and may be another shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the insulating substrate 10 may have a square shape, and may have a configuration including an antenna fixing portion 11 extending from two opposing corners. Further, the wireless module according to the present invention is applicable not only to wireless tags but also to wireless cards and the like.

[0039]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the first conductor pattern formed on the first surface of the insulating substrate is made smaller than the second conductor pattern formed on the second surface of the insulating substrate. By using a conductor having high hardness, the connection strength between the electronic component and the conductor is improved, and a highly reliable wireless module can be provided.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wireless module capable of increasing the capacity of a capacitor without shortening the communication distance of an antenna by folding and providing a sheet capacitor provided on an insulating substrate in a plurality of layers. can do.

Further, according to the present invention, the insulating substrate is formed to have a smaller area than the inner area of the antenna and has a structure for fixing the antenna, so that the insulating substrate can be downsized and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Possible wireless modules can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a wireless tag including a wireless module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wireless tag along a line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a part of the wireless module.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a sheet capacitor of the wireless module and a cross-sectional view taken along line CC.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state before the sheet capacitor is folded, and a sectional view taken along line DD.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the sheet capacitor and a cross-sectional view taken along line EE.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a reel base material used for manufacturing a wireless module.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a modification of the insulating substrate of the wireless module.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Substrate 10a ... Front surface 10b ... Back surface 11 ... Antenna fixing part 12 ... Antenna 14 ... LSI 16 ... Sheet capacitor 18a ... 1st conductor pattern 18b ... 2nd conductor pattern 22 ... Through hole 24a ... 1st electrode 24b ... 2nd electrode 26 ... electrode part 30 ... slit row 50 ... reel base material

Claims (15)

[Claims] An insulating substrate having first and second surfaces facing each other; first and second conductor patterns formed on the first and second surfaces of the insulating substrate, respectively; An electronic component mounted on the first conductive pattern and connected to the first conductive pattern; and an antenna connected to the electronic component and performing data communication, wherein the first conductive pattern has a higher hardness than the second conductive pattern. A part of the second conductor pattern is formed of a conductor material, and a part of the second conductor pattern is crimped to the first conductor pattern side through the insulating substrate to form a through hole that conducts the first and second conductor patterns. Characteristic wireless module. 2. The wireless module according to claim 1, wherein the first and second conductor patterns are formed of different types of conductor materials having different hardnesses. 3. The wireless module according to claim 1, wherein the first conductive pattern has a larger film thickness than the second conductive pattern. An insulating substrate having first and second surfaces opposed to each other; first and second conductor patterns formed on the first and second surfaces of the insulating substrate, respectively; An electronic component mounted on the first conductor pattern and connected to the first conductor pattern, an antenna connected to the electronic component and performing data communication, a first electrode formed by the first conductor pattern, and the second conductor pattern A wireless module comprising: a sheet capacitor formed and having a second electrode facing the first electrode with the insulating substrate interposed therebetween, and a sheet capacitor provided in a state of being folded into a plurality of layers. 5. The wireless device according to claim 4, wherein the portion of the sheet capacitor is cut and raised from the insulating substrate, folded into a plurality of layers, and provided on the first surface of the insulating substrate. module. 6. The insulating substrate according to claim 4, wherein said insulating substrate has a plurality of slits formed at predetermined intervals and said sheet capacitor is bent along said slits. A wireless module according to claim 1. 7. The sheet capacitor has a plurality of slits which are formed at predetermined intervals and extend through the insulating substrate and the first and second electrodes, and are bent along the slits. The wireless module according to claim 4, wherein the wireless module is provided. 8. An insulating substrate, a conductor pattern formed on the insulating substrate, an electronic component mounted on the insulating substrate and connected to the conductor pattern, and formed by winding a wire, An antenna connected to the electronic component and performing data communication, wherein the insulating substrate has an area smaller than an area inside the antenna, and is arranged to face an inner space of the antenna. A wireless module having a fixed portion to which at least one of the antennas is fixed. 9. The insulating substrate is formed in a parallelogram shape having a diagonal line having a length substantially equal to the outer diameter of the antenna, and both ends in the diagonal direction constitute the fixing portion. The wireless module according to claim 8, wherein 10. The wireless module according to claim 9, wherein the insulating substrate is formed by punching a base material wound in a reel shape. 11. The insulating substrate has first and second surfaces facing each other, and the conductor pattern is formed on first and second conductors respectively formed on the first and second surfaces of the insulating substrate. A first electrode formed by the first conductor pattern; and a second electrode formed by the second conductor pattern and opposed to the first electrode with the insulating substrate interposed therebetween. The wireless module according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising a sheet capacitor provided in a folded state. 12. The electronic component is mounted on the first surface and connected to the first conductor pattern, wherein the first conductor pattern is formed of a conductor material having a higher hardness than the second conductor pattern. A part of the second conductor pattern is formed so as to penetrate the insulating substrate and be crimped toward the first conductor pattern to form a through-hole that conducts the first and second conductor patterns. 12. The wireless module according to any one of 4 to 7 and 11. 13. The antenna according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is formed by winding a wire, the insulating substrate has an area smaller than an area inside the antenna, and is arranged to face an inner space of the antenna. The wireless module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least two portions of the antenna have fixed portions. 14. The semiconductor device according to claim 14, wherein the insulating substrate is formed in a parallelogram shape having a diagonal line having a length substantially equal to the outer diameter of the antenna, and both ends in the diagonal direction constitute the fixing portions. The wireless module according to claim 13, wherein: 15. The wireless module according to claim 14, wherein the insulating substrate is formed by punching a base material wound in a reel shape.