Abstract
A method is provided for testing a card body with a metallic core layer for a contactless or dual-interface chip card, and a method is provided for manufacturing a contactless or dual-interface chip card. The method involves testing the functionality of the card body before the chip module employed for testing, or a corresponding chip module, is fixed into the cavity of the card body. A card body having impurities, a partial closure or full closure in the slot of its metallic core layer fails the test and is not used at all for fixing the chip module and for the subsequent manufacturing steps.
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A method for testing a card body with a metallic core layer for a contactless or a dual-interface chip card, comprising the steps of: making available the metallic core layer with a cavity for fixing a chip module in a fixing position in the cavity and with at least one slot which extends from the cavity to an edge of the metallic core layer; making available the or a chip module with an oscillating circuit which comprises a chip and an antenna coil coupled to the chip; positioning the chip module made available in the cavity in or above the fixing position; and testing the oscillating circuit of the positioned chip module before a fixing of the chip module in the cavity.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step of positioning comprises the following substep of: connecting the chip module to a measuring head of a test apparatus.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, in the step of positioning, the chip module is positioned by means of the measuring head.
19. The method according to claim 16, wherein, in the step of positioning, the chip module is positioned in the cavity in or above the fixing position up to a distance of 3 mm relative to the fixing position.
20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the testing step comprises the following substeps of: exciting the oscillating circuit by means of the test apparatus; and detecting an oscillation of the oscillating circuit produced through the excitation.
21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the excitation step is carried out by inductive excitation by means of a pulsed magnetic field.
22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the pulsed magnetic field is produced by a single current pulse, by a direct current pulse in the form of a Dirac pulse.
23. The method according to claim 20, wherein a decay of the oscillation is detected in the detection step.
24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the detecting step comprises the following substeps of: determining a quality Q on the basis of the decay of the oscillation and comparing the quality Q with a reference value.
25. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step of making available the metallic core layer comprises the substeps of: making available the metallic core layer; producing the at least one slot in the metallic core layer; laminating the metallic core layer with at least one cover layer; producing the cavity in the at least one cover layer and the metallic core layer, so that the at least one slot adjoins the cavity; and if the at least one slot does not extend to an edge of the metallic core layer, trimming the laminated metallic core layer such that the at least one slot extends to an edge of the metallic core layer.
26. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step of making available the metallic core layer comprises the substeps of: making available a metallic multi-up sheet for a multiplicity of contactless or dual-interface chip cards, wherein the metallic multi-up sheet comprises a corresponding multiplicity of metallic core layers; producing a multiplicity of slots in the metallic multi-up sheet, such that each metallic core layer of the multiplicity of metallic core layers of the metallic multi-up sheet comprises at least one slot; producing a multiplicity of cavities in the metallic multi-up sheet for fixing a corresponding multiplicity of chip modules therein, wherein each metallic core layer of the multiplicity of metallic core layers of the metallic multi-up sheet comprises a cavity and, in each metallic core layer, the at least one slot extends from the corresponding cavity either to an edge of the metallic multi-up sheet or to at least one cutting line along which the metallic core layer will be separated from the metallic multi-up sheet; and separating the multiplicity of metallic core layers from the metal multi-up sheet.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the step of making available the metallic core layer comprises the further substeps of: laminating the metallic multi-up sheet with at least one cover layer; producing a multiplicity of cavities in the at least one cover layer and the metallic multi-up sheet for fixing a corresponding multiplicity of chip modules therein.
28. The method for manufacturing a contactless or a dual-interface chip card, comprising the following steps of: carrying out the method according to claim 16; and later fixing the chip module or a chip module in the fixing position in the cavity.
29. The method according to claim 16, wherein the antenna coil is an inductively coupling antenna coil, with at least one winding.
30. The method according to claim 16, wherein the chip is an RFID or an NFC chip.
Description
[0019] The present invention will hereinafter be described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. The figures are described as follows:
[0020] FIG. 1 a plan view of a metallic core layer and of a chip module for a contactless or dual-interface chip card to be inserted into the cavity of the metallic core layer;
[0021] FIG. 2 a cross-sectional view of a card body for the contactless or dual-interface chip card, wherein the chip module is connected to a measuring head of a test apparatus;
[0022] FIG. 3 a cross-sectional view of the card body according to FIG. 2, wherein the chip module is positioned in a fixing position in the cavity;
[0023] FIG. 4 steps of a test method for testing the functionality of the car body;
[0024] FIG. 5 an oscillation curve showing the time profile of a decaying oscillation after excitation of an oscillating circuit of the chip module;
[0025] FIG. 6 steps of a manufacturing method including the test method of FIG. 4;
[0026] FIG. 7A a plan view of a metallic multi-up sheet for a multiplicity of metallic core layers for a corresponding multiplicity of contactless or dual-interface chip cards;
[0027] FIG. 7B a detail of a metallic core layer from FIG. 7A with a cavity for a chip module and a slot adjoining thereto, which extends to an edge of the multi-up sheet;
[0028] FIG. 7C a detail of another metallic core layer from FIG. 7A with a cavity for a chip module and a slot adjoining thereto, which extends to a cutting line; and
[0029] FIG. 8 steps of a test method for testing the functionality of card bodies separated from the multi-up sheet of FIG. 7A.
[0030] FIG. 1 shows the plan view of a metallic core layer 10 for a contactless or dual-interface chip card. The metallic core layer 10 comprises a cavity 20 for fixing a chip module 30 in a fixing position 40 (see FIG. 3) in the cavity 20 and a slot 50 which extends from the cavity 20 to an edge 60 of the metallic core layer 10. The slot 50 has a through opening 90 over its entire length, in which the two walls 51, 52 of the slot 50 thus do not contact one another. Alternatively, the slot 50 can extend from the cavity 20 to one of the other three edges 61, 62, 63 of the metallic core layer 10. Deviating from FIG. 1, the length, depth, width, shape, direction and angle position between the slot 50 and an edge 60, 61, 62, 63 of the metallic core layer 10 and the number of slots can be varied as required. FIG. 1 likewise shows in plan view the chip module 30 to be inserted into the cavity, which comprises an oscillating circuit with a chip, preferably an RFID or NFC chip, and an antenna coil, preferably an inductively coupling and planar antenna coil with at least one winding.
[0031] FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional view of a card body 100 which comprises the metallic core layer 10 according to FIG. 1 and two cover layers 1 and 2. The upper side 11 of the metallic core layer 10 is laminated with the cover layer 1, while the lower side 12 of metallic core layer 10 is laminated with the cover layer 2. Alternatively, only one or both cover layers 1 and 2 can be located on only one of the two sides 1 or 2 of the metallic core layer 10. Depending on the intended use, the number, position, thickness and material of the cover layers can be varied. Security features and/or an individual pattern can also be provided on and/or in the cover layers. FIG. 2 also shows the chip module 30 according to FIG. 1, which is connected to a measuring head 70 of a test apparatus 200 and is positioned by means of the measuring head 70 in or above the cavity 20 of the metallic core layer 10 and the cover layer 1. The slot 50 extends from the cavity 20 to the edge 60 of the card body 100 and is completely covered on both sides by the two cover layers 1 and 2.
[0032] FIG. 3 shows the cross-sectional view of the card body 100 according to FIG. 2, wherein the chip module 30 is positioned here in the fixing position 40 in the cavity 20.
[0033] FIG. 4 shows the steps of the method for testing the functionality of the card body 100 when the chip module 30 according to FIG. 3 is positioned in the fixing position 40 in the cavity 20 or at a small distance of no more than 3 mm thereabove (see FIG. 2). The first three steps S5.1 to S5.3 according to FIG. 4 substantially correspond to FIGS. 1 to 3, i.e. first the card body 100 with the metallic core layer 10 and the chip module 30 employed for testing or another chip module 30 are made available (S5.1), thereafter the chip module 30 made available is connected to the measuring head 70 of the test apparatus 200 (S5.2), and then the connected chip module 30 is positioned in or above the fixing position 40 of the cavity 20 of the card body 100 (S5.3). In steps S5.4 to S5.6, the oscillating circuit of the chip module 30 positioned in this manner is excited (S5.4) and the oscillation produced by the excitation is detected by means of the test apparatus 200 (S5.5). For this purpose, the test apparatus 200 can comprise an oscillograph which can represent a corresponding oscillation curve which indicates the time profile of the decaying current or of the decaying voltage and/or at which the individual values of the current or of the voltage can be read. Finally, a quality Q is determined in step S5.6 and compared with a reference value R.
[0034] FIG. 5 shows the oscillation curve represented by means of the oscillograph. The horizontal axis X and the vertical axis Y of the oscillation curve correspond to the time t and the current I or the voltage U of the oscillating circuit of the chip module 30. As already mentioned, the detected oscillation is actually a decaying oscillation. This means that, over the course of time t, the current I or the voltage U of the oscillating circuit has a general downward trend, and the oscillation amplitude An+1 of a consecutive phase is always smaller than the oscillation amplitude An of a preceding phase. The original and maximum oscillation amplitude A0 of the decaying oscillation means the maximum current or maximum voltage of the oscillating circuit when the oscillating circuit of the chip module 30 starts oscillating. The quality Q can be ascertained e.g. from a difference D of two successive oscillation amplitudes An and An+1 from two successive phases.
[0035] FIG. 6 relates to the preparation of the metallic core layer 10 of the card body 100 according to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, the metallic core layer 10 is made available (S1) in which at least the slot 50 is produced, which extends to the edge 60, 61, 62, 63 of the metallic core layer 10 (S2). The metallic core layer 10 is laminated (S3) with at least one of the two cover layers 1, 2. Subsequently, the cavity 20 is produced (S4) in the metallic core layer 10 and in at least one of the cover layers 1, 2. If no cover layers 1, 2 are laminated with the metallic core layer 10, the cavity 20 is produced only in the metallic core layer 10 (S3′, S4). In this case, the cavity 20 is produced in such a manner that it adjoins the at least one slot 50. If the slot 50 does not extend to the edge 60, 61, 62, 63 of the metallic core layer 10, the card body 100 is trimmed such that the at least one slot 50 extends to the edge 60, 61, 62, 63 of the metallic core layer 10 (S4.1). Steps S5.1 to S5.6 are subsequently carried out according to the test method of FIG. 4. As a result, the quality Q is either smaller than the reference value R and the card body is rejected, as shown in step S6a of FIG. 6, or the quality Q is at least as great as the reference value R and the chip module 30 employed for testing or another chip module 30 is fixed in the fixing position 40 in the cavity 20, as shown in step 6b of FIG. 6.
[0036] FIG. 7A shows the plan view of a metallic multi-up sheet 80 with a multiplicity of metallic core layers 10A, 10B for a corresponding multiplicity of contactless or dual-interface chip cards. Each metallic core layer 10 of the multiplicity of metallic core layers 10A, 10B comprises at least one slot 50 and one cavity 20. The multi-up sheet 80 has a quadrangular shape with two mutually opposite edges 82, 83 and 81, 84, respectively. In addition, the multi-up sheet 80 has a multiplicity of cutting lines 90 along which the multiplicity of metallic core layers 10A, 10B are separated from the multi-up sheet 80. The cutting lines 90, which are either parallel to the edges 82, 83 of the multi-up sheet 80 or parallel to the edges 81, 84 of the multi-up sheet 80, can be visible and/or virtual lines. Deviating from FIG. 7A, the number of the multiplicity of metallic core layers 10A, 10B can be varied as required.
[0037] FIGS. 7B and 7C respectively show a detail A and B, respectively of two different metallic core layers 10A, 10B of the multi-up sheet 80, wherein the first metallic core layer 10A adjoins one of the edges 81, 82, 83, 84 of the multi-up sheet 80 with its slot 50, while the second metallic core layer 10B does not adjoin one of the edges 81, 82, 83, 84 with its slot 50, but instead adjoins one of the cutting lines 90 of the multi-up sheet 80.
[0038] FIG. 8 shows a method for testing the functionality of card bodies 100 separated from the multi-up sheet 80 according to FIG. 7A. First of all, the metallic multi-up sheet 80 with the multiplicity of metallic core layers 10A, 10B is made available (S1′), and thereafter a corresponding multiplicity of slots 50 are produced in the multi-up sheet 80 (S2′). The metallic multi-up sheet 80 can be laminated with at least one cover layer 1, 2 (S3′) as described above on the basis of a single card body 100, and subsequently a corresponding multiplicity of cavities 20 are produced in at least one of the cover layers 1, 2 and in the metallic multi-up sheet 80 (S4′). When no cover layers 1, 2 are laminated with the metallic multi-up sheet 80, the multiplicity of cavities 20 are formed only in the multi-up sheet 80 (S3″, S4′). Preferably, each metallic core layer 10 of the multiplicity of metallic core layers 10A, 10B of the metallic multi-up sheet 80 comprises at least one slot 50 and one cavity 20 produced such that the slot 50 extends from the cavity 20 to either an edge 81, 82, 83, 84 of the metallic multi-up sheet 80, as shown in FIG. 7B, or to a cutting line 90 of the metallic multi-up sheet 80 as shown in FIG. 7C. Finally, the steps S5.1 to S5.6 according to FIG. 4 are carried out on each card body 100 separated from the multi-up sheet 80.
