IC card having a built-in semiconductor integrated circuit device

A first aspect of the present invention comprises a card substrate having a front surface and a reverse surface, a magnetic stripe provided on the reverse surface for storing information therein, a module provided on a given region of the front surface with a built-in semiconductor integrated circuit device provided with ready access terminals for connecting to an external device, wherein an end portion of the module is positioned perpendicular to the magnetic stripe. With such an arrangement of the IC card, deformation in thickness of the card substrate is reduced at the portion adjacent to the upper portion of the module, and hence stress to be applied to this portion is relaxed. Furthermore, according to a second aspect of the present invention, the thickness of an end portion is gradually thinned so that deformation in thickness of the card substrate is further reduced at the portion adjacent to the upper portion of the module, and hence the stress to be applied to this portion is further relaxed. Still furthermore, according to a third aspect of the invention, since a part of the end portion is structured to have a tip end portion and the module is disposed in the manner that an end portion of the end portion is point-shaped, deformation in thickness of the card substrate is reduced at the portion adjacent to the upper portion of the module, and hence the stress to be applied to this portion is relaxed. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an IC card having high durability.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to an IC card with a built-in semiconductor 
integrated circuit device, particularly to a structure of an IC card 
having a front surface on which ready access terminals are provided for 
connecting to an external device and a reverse surface on which a magnetic 
body line (magnetic stripe) is provided for storing information therein. 
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY 
An IC card comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory circuit 
which are respectively built in a card. That is, the IC card is a kind of 
computer. Accordingly, the IC card can be applied to a variety of 
purposes. 
To make the IC card generalized, the standardization of the IC card is now 
under progress internationally according to a standard of an International 
Organization for Standardization (hereinafter referred to as an ISO) and 
in Japan according to a standard of a Japanese Industrial Standard 
(hereinafter referred to as a JIS). 
For example, according to ISO7816-1, ISO7816-2 (corresponding to JISX6303), 
a distance A ranging from an upper end 101 of an IC card 100 to an upper 
side of ready access terminals 103-1, 103-2 (a side nearest to the upper 
end 101 among sides defining terminals) of an IC chip module 103 is set to 
be 19.23 mm in maximum, as illustrated in FIG. 15. 
According to an ISO7811-5 (corresponding to JISX6302), a distance B ranging 
from the upper end 101 of the IC card 100 to a base of a third track 105a 
of a magnetic stripe 105 is prescribed to be 15.32 mm at minimum, and 
15.82 mm at maximum as illustrated in FIG. 16. 
FIG. 17 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of the IC 
card provided with a magnetic stripe which meets the standard as set forth 
above (which is a so-called JIS-I type IC card in Japan). A positional 
relation between the IC chip module 103 and the magnetic stripe 105 can be 
easily understood from FIG. 17. 
In this case, a distance C ranging from the upper end 101 of the IC card to 
a base of the magnetic stripe 105 comes to 16.82 mm which is the sum of 
the distance B ranging from the upper end 101 to the base of the third 
track 105a, i.e. 15.82 mm in maximum and a 1 mm margin for covering 
errors. Since the distance A ranging from the upper end 101 to the upper 
sides of the ready access terminals 103-1,103-2 is 19.23 mm in maximum, a 
distance D ranging from the upper end 101 to the upper side of the IC chip 
module 103 comes to 18.23 mm which is the difference between the distance 
A and a 1 mm margin to be involved in manufacturing the module. 
Accordingly, a gap E (=D-C), i.e. between the base of the magnetic stripe 
105 and the upper side of the IC chip module 103 comes to 1.41 mm. 
If stress is applied to the IC card to bend the IC card in a direction of a 
short side thereof as illustrated in FIG. 18, the stress is concentrated 
to the portion adjacent to the gap E, particularly to the portion adjacent 
to the upper side of the IC chip module 103 since deformation in thickness 
of the card substrate is sharp at the portion adjacent to the gap E. 
It is an object of the invention to provide an IC card capable of relaxing 
stress and enhancing durability compared with the prior art IC card. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
An IC card according to a first aspect of the invention comprises a card 
substrate having front and reverse surfaces, a magnetic stripe formed on 
the reverse surface for storing information therein and a module which is 
formed on a given region of the front surface and includes a semiconductor 
integrated circuit device therein provided with ready access terminals for 
connecting with an external device, wherein an end portion of the module 
is positioned perpendicular to the magnetic stripe. 
An IC card according to a second aspect of the invention is structured in 
that the thickness of the end portion of the module is gradually thinned. 
An IC card according to a third aspect of the invention is structured in 
that a part of the end portion of the module is point-shaped. More in 
detail, the module is formed pentagonal or hexagonal and is arranged in a 
manner that a tip end of the end portion of the module is point-shaped.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
An optimum embodiment of the present invention will be described with 
reference to attached drawings. 
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with 
reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. 
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an IC card according to the present embodiment. 
This plan view is typically illustrated for explaining the present 
invention. 
An IC card 1 which is the same as a general IC card in that it comprises an 
IC chip module 5 (hereinafter referred to as a module) which is provided 
on the front surface of an IC card substrate 3 and includes a 
semiconductor circuit device therein provided with a plurality of reads 
access terminals 5-1 for connecting to an external device and a magnetic 
stripe 7 (i.e., magnetic body) which is provided on a reverse (back) 
surface of the card substrate 3 for storing information therein. 
A feature of the present invention resides in that an end (side) 5a of the 
module 5 (denoted at one dotted chain line in FIG. 1) is positioned to 
extend to an upper portion of the magnetic stripe 7 provided on the 
reverse surface of the card substrate 3. 
This is explained with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 schematically shows the 
IC card of FIG. 1. The IC card 1 has a distance L ranging from an upper 
end (long side) 3a of the card substrate 3 to an upper end of the module 
5. Distance L is set to be smaller than a distance M ranging from the 
upper end 3a of the card substrate 3 to a base (end face) 7a of the 
magnetic stripe 7. That is, the module 5 is structured and disposed in the 
manner that the gap between the module and the magnetic stripe (=L-M) is 
set to be a negative value. 
A cross-sectional view of a main portion of the IC card as taken along X-X' 
of FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 3 so that the positional relation between 
the module 5 and the magnetic stripe 7 is easily understood. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the IC card of the present embodiment has the module 
end portion of which is positioned to extend to the upper portion of the 
magnetic stripe 7. That is, as mentioned above, the module 5 is disposed 
so that the distance L is less than the distance M. 
The module 5 comprises a substrate 5-2, a semiconductor circuit device 5-3 
mounted on one surface of the substrate 5-2, a mold resin 5-4 for covering 
the substrate 5-2 and the semiconductor circuit device 5-3 and ready 
access terminals 5-1 provided on the other surface of the substrate 5-2 to 
connect to an external device (not shown). The module is generally 
accommodated in a module accommodation portion which is a so-called spot 
facing defined on the front surface of the card substrate and its 
neighboring portion. Likewise, the magnetic stripe 7 is also accommodated 
in the so-called spot facing defined on the reverse surface of the card 
substrate and its neighboring portion. 
Although the structure per se of the module of the present invention is the 
same as that of the general IC card, the overall structure of the module 
is different from that of the general IC card in that the end portion 5a 
of the module of the present invention is positioned to extend to the 
upper portion of the magnetic stripe and this is the feature of the 
present invention. 
With such an arrangement, since deformation in thickness of the card 
substrate becomes gentle at the portion adjacent to the gap between the 
module and the magnetic stripe, the stress to be applied to this portion 
is relaxed. 
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with 
reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. In this embodiment, components which are the 
same as those explained in the first embodiment are denoted at the same 
numerals and explanation thereof is omitted. 
FIG. 5 is a plan view of an IC card typically illustrating the present 
embodiment. The IC card in this embodiment has a point-shaped portion 5b 
which is formed as illustrated in FIG. 6 at the end portion 5a of the 
module 5 of the IC card in the first embodiment and the thickness of the 
end portion 5b is gradually thinned toward a tip end 5c as illustrated in 
FIG. 7. As is easily understood from FIGS. 6 and 7, the module is 
pentagonal in plan view and the thickness of the module 5 is gradually 
thinned from a base 5d of the end portion 5b toward the tip end 5c. That 
is, the end portion 5b has a tapered portion 5e. It is a matter of course 
that in this IC card, a distance N ranging from the upper end 3a of the IC 
card substrate 3 to the upper end, i.e., tip end 5c of the module 5 is 
formed to be less than a distance M ranging from the upper end 3a to a 
base 7a of the magnetic stripe 7. 
A cross-sectional view of the main portion taken along Y-Y' of FIG. 5 is 
illustrated in FIG. 8 so that the positional relation between the module 5 
and the magnetic stripe 7 is easily understood. 
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the IC card of the present embodiment has the 
module 5 end portion of which is positioned to extend to the upper portion 
of the magnetic stripe 7 and the thickness of the end portion is gradually 
thinned. 
A portion which enlarges and describes the module 5 in detail is 
illustrated in FIG. 9. As is evident from FIG. 9, the end portion 5b of 
the module 5 is formed to be gradually thinned in its thickness toward the 
tip end 5c thereof. 
According to the second embodiment as described above, since deformation in 
thickness of the card substrate is gentler at the portion adjacent to the 
gap between the module and the magnetic stripe than that of the first 
embodiment, the stress to be applied to this portion is more relaxed. 
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with 
reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. In this embodiment, components which are the 
same as those explained in the first and second embodiments are denoted at 
the same numerals and explanation thereof is omitted. 
FIG. 10 is a plan view of an IC card typically illustrating the present 
embodiment. 
FIG. 10 a is plan view of the IC card typically illustrating the present 
embodiment. The IC card in this embodiment further includes an end portion 
5f at the portion opposite to the end portion 5b of the module 5 in the 
second embodiment. In the first and second embodiments, there is a "gap" 
portion alone where the stress for bending the IC card in the direction of 
the short sides thereof is most concentrated. According to this 
embodiment, there is a lower portion of the module 5 where such a stress 
is secondly concentrated to obtain the IC card having enhanced durability. 
The end portion 5f has the same shape as the end portion 5b. That is, the 
end portion 5f is formed symmetrically in its shape with the end portion 
5b as illustrated in FIG. 11. Further, the end portion 5f is gradually 
thinned in its thickness toward a tip end 5g thereof as illustrated in 
FIG. 12. As is easily understood from FIGS. 11 and 12, the module 5 is 
hexagonal in plan view and the thickness of the end portion 5f is 
gradually thinned in its thickness from the base 5h thereof toward the tip 
end 5g. That is, the end portion 5f has a tapered portion 5i. It is a 
matter of course that in this IC card, the distance N ranging from the 
upper end 3a of the card substrate 3 to the upper end, i.e., tip end 5c of 
the module 5 is formed to be less than the distance M ranging from the 
upper end 3a to the base 7a of the magnetic stripe 7. 
A cross-sectional view of the main portion taken along Z-Z' of FIG. 10 is 
illustrated in FIG. 13 so that the positional relation between the module 
5 and the magnetic stripe 7 is easily understood. 
In the IC card of the present embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 13, the end 
portion of the module 5 is positioned to extend to the upper portion of 
the magnetic stripe 7 and the thickness thereof is gradually thinned and 
an end portion opposite to this end portion is formed symmetrically in its 
shape with this end portion. 
A portion which enlarges and explains the module 5 in detail is illustrated 
in FIG. 14. As is evident from FIG. 14, the end portion 5f of the nodule 5 
is formed to be gradually thinned in its thickness toward the tip end 5g 
like the end portion 5b. 
According to the aforementioned third embodiment, since deformation in 
thickness of the card substrate is gentle at the portion adjacent to the 
gap between the module and the magnetic stripe, the stress to be applied 
to this portion is relaxed, and further the stress is likewise relaxed at 
the portion where the stress is secondly concentrated. 
According to the present invention as explained above, even if the stress 
for bending the IC card in the direction of short sides thereof is applied 
to the IC card, the stress can be relaxed, which leads to the provision of 
the IC card having high durability. 
INDUSTRIAL UTILIZATION 
The present invention can be applied to an IC card with a built-in 
semiconductor integrated circuit device, particularly to an IC card 
including ready access terminals provided on the front surface thereof for 
connecting to an external device and a magnetic body line (magnetic 
stripe) provided on the reverse surface thereof for storing information 
therein. 
According to the first aspect of the invention, since the end portion of 
the module is disposed to extend to the upper portion of the magnetic 
stripe, deformation in thickness of the card substrate is reduced at the 
portion adjacent to the upper portion of the module so that the stress to 
be applied thereto is relaxed. 
Furthermore, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the 
module is structured in that the thickness of the end portion thereof is 
gradually thinned, deformation in thickness of the card substrate is 
further reduced at the portion adjacent to the upper portion of the module 
so that the stress to be applied thereto is more relaxed. 
Still furthermore, according to the third aspect of the invention, since 
the module is structured in that a part of the end portion thereof has a 
point-shaped portion, more in detail, the module is formed pentagonal or 
hexagonal and it is disposed in the manner that the tip end of the end 
portion is point-shaped, deformation in thickness of the card substrate is 
reduced at the portion adjacent to the upper portion of the module so that 
the stress to be applied thereto is relaxed. 
If the first, second and third embodiments of the present invention are 
applied to the lower portion of the module, in addition to the upper 
portion of the module of the IC card, the stress can be relaxed at the 
portion where it is most concentratedly applied in the direction of the 
short sides of the IC card and at the portion where it is secondly 
concentratedly applied to the lower portion of the module 5. As a result, 
it is possible to provide an IC card having high durability.