Patent Publication Number: US-2007096917-A1

Title: Label of radio frequency identification by thermal transfer printing antenna

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the invention  
      This invention relates to a label of radio frequency identification (hereafter:RFID) by a thermal transfer printing antenna, particularly to one using a conductive metal foil as a material to print an antenna on a substratum by a thermal transfer printer to form an antenna substratum, which is then adhered with a RFID chip by a flip chip bonder or a wire bonder, obtaining a quick mass production and a lower cost of the RFID label.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Commonly, in order to speed up passing of an object through a checkpoint or a cashier, an identity component is always applied. Most of the identity data used conventionally are based on a Barcode label or a current RFID label. Although the Barcode label attached on an object is easy to produce, low in cost and not affected by metal or conductive environment or electromagnetic wave, it is easy to be damaged by a foreign force, disabling it to be identified, and can&#39;t be used repeatedly and updated. As for the current RFID label, although it is not easy to be damaged and capable to be used repeatedly and updated, but, due to a conductive metal antenna having to be produced by etching or carving, it costs high and needs a long time for manufacturing. So this invention has been devised to improve the disadvantages mentioned above.  
      So the conventional identity component has the following drawbacks.  
      1. The identity component is a Barcode attached on a goods, and it is easily to be damaged or fall off, becoming impossible to be identified, and it can not be used repeatedly or updated  
      2. The identity compoments is a current RFID label, which costs high and need rather a long time to make.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The prime object of this invention is to offer a RFID label by thermal transfer printing antenna.  
      The main characteristics of the invention are mainly a thermal transfer printing antenna RFID substratum and a RFID chip. A conductive metal foil is used as a material to transfer the antenna onto a substratum by thermal transfer printing to form the antenna substratum, which is then adhered with the RFID chip by a flip chip bonder or a wire bonder. Then, a protective resin is coated on the chip, forming a single-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label. The single-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label can be further adhered with an upper protective layer to form a multi-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label. The process can result in a quick mass production and a lower cost. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      This invention is better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label in the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a conductive metal foil of the preferred embodiment in the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of manufacturing a conductive metal foil for thermal transfer printing of the preferred embodiment in the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart of manufacturing a thermal transfer printing RFID antenna substratum of the preferred embodiment in the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart of manufacturing the thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label of the preferred embodiment in the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a double-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label in the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of a thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label by a thermal transfer printing  1  in the present invention includes mainly an antenna  10 , a RFID antenna substratum  11  and a RFID chip  12 . Their related technologies are described as below.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , for making a thermal transfer printable conductive metal foil  15 , a carrier  100  is first coated with a isolated layer  101  and then, plating the metallic solution on the isolated layer  101  by means of vacuum plating, thus forming a conductive metal foil  103 , which is successively coated with a glue  104  to make a thermal transfer printing conductive metal foil  105  The carrier  100  is used as a substrate for vacuum plating. The isolated layer  101  is located between the carrier  100  and the metal foil  102 , enabling the metal foil  102  to be peeled off the carrier  100  easily. Thus, the metal foil  103  is constituted as shown in  FIG. 2 . The glue layer  104  is an adhesive to combine together the conductive metal foil  103  with a substratum  110 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , by moving down a thermal transfer printer  111  and a transfer zinc plate mold  112 , the conductive metal foil  105  placed on the transfer zinc plate mold  112  is pressed down by the thermal printer  111  to form the antenna  10  from the conductive metal antenna  105  on the substratum  110 , becoming the antenna substratum  11 . Owing to a quick mass production obtained by the thermal transfer printer  111  and the transfer zinc plate mold  112 , cost can be lowered. The substrate  110  used for carrying out thermal transfer printing of the antenna  10  can be a paper, a glass-fiber reinforced plastic or various plastics. The transfer zinc plate mold  112 , a relief metal plate, is made primarily by etching or carving a zinc plate with a shape of the antenna  10 .  
      Next,  FIGS. 5 and 6  show a flowing chart of making a thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label.  
      At first, a RFID chip  12  is adhered on the antenna substratum  11  in a flip chip bonder or a wire bonder  120 . Next, a protective resin is coated on the chip  12  by a resin dispenser  121  to form the single-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label  1 . In addition, an upper layer  20  with a resin-filled cavity  200  is adhered on the single-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label  1  to make a double-layer thermal transfer printing antenna RFID label  2 . The upper layer  20  is to protect the chip  12  and the antenna  10 .  
      Finally, the advantage of the RFID label by a thermal transfer printing antenna is described as below:  
      1. The label can be produced with a low cost by means of the thermal transfer printer  111  and the transfer zinc plate mold  112 , the conductive metal foil  105  is used as a material to print the antenna  10  on the substratum  110  to become the antenna substratum  11 , achieving a quick mass production and a lower cost.  
      While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.