Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8550364B2/en
Timestamp: 2018-05-27 08:43:31
Document Index: 788990104

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 102', 'arts 32', 'arts 32', 'arts 32', 'arts 32', 'arts 32']

US8550364B2 - Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device - Google Patents
Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device Download PDF
US8550364B2
US8550364B2 US13135650 US201113135650A US8550364B2 US 8550364 B2 US8550364 B2 US 8550364B2 US 13135650 US13135650 US 13135650 US 201113135650 A US201113135650 A US 201113135650A US 8550364 B2 US8550364 B2 US 8550364B2
US13135650
US20120012659A1 (en )
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, for example, in the above card key, a circuit board 101 is integrally covered with a resin material 104 for formation into a shape of a plate. The circuit board 101 is mounted with electronic parts 102 that perform radio communication with an on-vehicle device. This card key 100 is provided with a battery accommodating hole 104 a having a closed cross section for accommodating a battery 105, and a key accommodating hole 104 b having a closed cross section for accommodating a mechanical key 106. Also, a logo 107 of a vehicle maker is attached to the card key 100.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the card key 100 described above is manufactured by injection molding of a resin using a die 200. The die 200 includes a lower die 201 (core plate), an upper die 202 (cavity plate) and a slide core 203 (bush). The slide core 203 is moved rightward, as viewed in FIG. 3, passing between battery terminals 103, 103 to form the battery accommodating hole 104 a. Although not shown, the die 200 also includes a slide core for forming the key accommodating hole 104 b. This slide core is moved leftward, as viewed in FIG. 3, to form the key accommodating hole 104 b.
In this way, in the conventional art, the slide core 203 and the like have been used to form the battery accommodating hole 104 a and the key accommodating hole 104 b. For this reason, the structure of the die 200 has been unavoidably complicated, and thus, as the card key 100 becomes thinner, more manufacturing cost has been incurred. When the card key 100 is formed into a thin shape using the die 200, only a uniform design (appearance design) has been available, and thus it has been difficult to provide a variety of aesthetic designs.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the circuit board 31 is a substantially rectangular-shaped plate. One short side of the circuit board 31 has a mid portion which is cut off. The circuit board 31 has corners 31 a, 31 a sandwiching this cut-off portion and projecting parallel to a center line L that extends in the longitudinal direction of the circuit board 31. The circuit board 31 has a front surface (upper surface as viewed in FIG. 7B) on the side of which the electronic parts 32 are mounted, and a rear surface (lower surface as viewed in FIG. 7B) that is a non-mounted flat surface where no electronic parts 32 are mounted.
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B as well as FIG. 10, the corners 31 a, 31 a of the circuit board 31 are provided with battery terminals 33, 34 which are parallel to each other in a plan view and extending in a direction perpendicular to the center line L to bridge between the corners 31 a, 31 a. The battery terminals 33, 34 have the respective ends connected to (e.g., soldered onto) a wiring pattern on the circuit board 31. The battery terminal 33 is on a positive-pole side being in contact with the positive pole of the battery 41. The terminal 34 is on a negative-pole side being in contact with the negative pole of the battery 41. The battery terminals 33, 34 each have a bent form so that the respective intermediate portions are apart from each other by a length slightly smaller than the thickness of the battery 41.
The key body 10 is formed of a resin material, such as epoxy resin (EP), by using insert molding. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B as well as FIG. 10, the resin material forms corners C1, C1 of the key body 10 to cover the corners 31 a, 31 a, respectively, of the circuit board 31, with the intermediate portions of the battery terminals 33, 34 being exposed. The corners C1, C1 are opposed to each other so that the distance therebetween will be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the battery 41. The key body 10 has a principal front surface S1 (upper surface as viewed in FIG. 5A) in which a main body recess 12 is formed for mounting the sheet body 20 and the battery cover 42.
In the key body 1, the main body recess 12 is formed in the principal front surface S1, on the side of which the electronic parts 32 are mounted, sinking to a predetermined depth level. Specifically, the main body recess 12 is configured to have a bottom surface 12 a for the sheet body 20 and a bottom surface 12 b for the battery cover 42. The bottom surface 12 a is positioned at a depth level from the principal front surface S1 of the key body 10, which corresponds to the thickness of the sheet body 20. The bottom surface 12 b is positioned at a depth level from the principal front surface S1 of the key body 10, which corresponds to the thickness of the battery cover 42 (which is substantially the same as the thickness of the sheet body 20). Each of the corners C1, C1 of the key body 10 has a stepped shape with a step 12 c being provided along the boundary between the principal front surface 51 and the bottom surface 12 b. Thus, the battery cover 42 is ensured to be held by the bottom surface 12 b and the steps 12 c (see FIGS. 5A and 5B).
The key body 10 is also provided with a battery accommodating recess 13, a key accommodating recess 14 and a hook holding recess 15. These recesses are each formed so as to further sink with reference to the main body recess 12 and to have an opening in the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12.
The battery accommodating recess 13 has a bottom surface 12 d confronting a portion of the battery 41 and positioned at a depth level from the bottom surface 12 a, exceeding the thickness of the battery 41. Thus, a battery accommodating portion 11A is formed between the sheet body 20 covering for fixation the main body recess 12 and the bottom surface 12 d of the battery accommodating recess 13. In other words, the battery accommodating portion 11A corresponds to a space defined by the bottom surface 12 d and a plane extending from the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12 (see FIG. 6). The battery 41 is partially accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 11A in a state of being sandwiched between the battery terminals 33, 34, with the remaining part being located between the corners C1, C1.
The key accommodating recess 14 has a bottom surface 12 e confronting the mechanical key 51 and positioned at a depth level from the bottom surface 12 a, which corresponds to the thickness of the mechanical key 51. The hook accommodating recess 15 has a bottom surface 12 f continuous to the bottom surface 12 e of the key accommodating recess 14. The bottom surface 12 e of the key accommodating portion 14 is located in the vicinity of one long side of the key body 10 so as to be parallel to the long side. Further, the bottom surface 12 e extends along the longitudinal direction of the key body 10, which is a direction opposite to the corners C1, C1, and forms a corner C2.
The bottom surface 12 f of the hook accommodating portion 15 confronts the key fixing hook 52, being located at a position near a short side on the side of the corner C2. The bottom surface 12 f is continuous to the bottom surface 12 e on the side opposite to the corner C2 with reference to the direction along which one short side of the key body 10 is provided. Thus, a key accommodating portion 11B is formed between the sheet body 20 covering for fixation the main body recess 12 and the bottom surface 12 e of the key accommodating portion 14. In other words, the key accommodating portion 11B corresponds to a space defined by the bottom surface 12 e and a plane extending from the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12. Further, a hook accommodating portion 11C is formed between the sheet body 20 and the bottom surface 12 f of the hook accommodating recess 15. In other words, the hook accommodating recess 11C corresponds to a space defined by the bottom surface 12 f and a plane extending from the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12 (see FIG. 6).
The circuit board 31 is embedded at a depth level that would not permit the circuit board 31 to be exposed to any of the bottom surfaces 12 d, 12 e and 12 f of the battery accommodating recess 13, the key accommodating recess 14 and the hook accommodating recess 15, respectively (see FIG. 7B). Meanwhile, the electronic parts 32 are embedded at a depth level that would not permit the electronic parts 32 to be exposed to the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12 (see FIG. 7B).
The mechanical key 51, as schematically shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 (key groove and the like are omitted), is an L-shaped metal plate member formed such as by blanking which is used in press work. The mechanical key 51 is accommodated in the key accommodating recess 14 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the card key 1. The mechanical key 51 is provided with a grip 51 a having a back in which a notched engaged portion 51 b is formed. Meanwhile, the key fixing hook 52 is provided with an engaging portion 52 a. The engaged portion 51 b of the mechanical key 51 is engaged with the engaging portion 52 a of the key fixing hook 52. Thus, the mechanical key 51 is fixed to the key body 10 via the key fixing hook 52, thereby being prevented from coming off from inside the key accommodating recess 14.
The key fixing hook 52 is a substantially U-shaped resin product, such as of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) or polyamide (PA). The key fixing hook 52 is elastically deformed depending on the position of the mechanical key 51 in the key accommodating recess 14. Specifically, in the state where the engaging portion 52 a and the engaged portion 51 a are in engagement, the key fixing hook 52 is slightly elastically deformed with the interval in the U shape being widened so that the shape of the hook resembles the original shape (state where the spring force caused by the elastic deformation is small). In the state where the engaging portion 52 a and the engaged portion 51 a are in disengagement, the key fixing hook 52 is greatly elastically deformed with the interval in the U shape being narrowed (state where the spring force caused by the elastic deformation is large). For example, the spring force may be controlled by changing, as appropriate, the 15, thickness or the height of the key fixing hook 52, and adding glass as a component of the material of the hook.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, a plurality of sheet bodies 20 are provided on a single printing sheet 2, which are used by being peeled off from a base paper 2 a. It should be appreciated that the printing sheet 2 may favorably be prepared by a dealer selling the vehicle. The printing sheet 2 has a front surface on which the inkjet accepting ink is printed as mentioned above. Thus, an individual user is able to create an original design using a personal computer at home and print the design on each of the sheet bodies 20 using an inkjet printer.
The sheet body 20 is pasted onto the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12 via a double-faced adhesive tape 21 (e.g., product model No. 5000: manufactured by NITTO) having strong adhesiveness, which would not be peeled off in a normal usage state unless a force is applied thereto to intentionally peel off the sheet body 20.
The lower die 61, with the circuit board 31 being arranged, is moved upward as viewed in FIG. 13 (moved to a die-closing position, operation position) so as to be hermetically in contact with the upper die 62 (die-closing step). In this die-closed state, a cavity 62 a corresponding to the main body recess 12, the battery accommodating recess 13, the key accommodating recess 14 or the hook accommodating recess 15 is formed in the upper die 62.
Then, a liquid epoxy resin is injected from an injection molding nozzle (not shown) through a sprue 62 b and a gate 62 c of the upper die 62 and filled in the cavity 62 a (resin filling step). Then, the epoxy resin thus filled in is cured in the die 60 (resin curing step).
At the time of insert molding the key body 10, the battery accommodating recess 13 is formed in the key body 10. The battery accommodating recess 13 has the bottom surface 12 d at a depth level deeper than the depth level of the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12. Thus, the battery accommodating recess 13 is also formed by the die-opening/closing motion of the die 60 consisting of the lower and upper dies 61 and 62. Accordingly, a slide core, for example, dedicated to the formation of the battery accommodating recess 13 is not required to be used. Thus, even when the battery accommodating recess 13 is to be formed, the labor of placing the circuit board 31 on the die 60 is simplified, whereby the manufacturing cost of the key body 10 is prevented from being increased.
At the time of insert molding the key body 10, the key accommodating recess 14 is formed in the key body 10. The key accommodating recess 14 has the bottom surface 12 e at a depth level deeper than the depth level of the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12. Thus, similar to the battery accommodating recess 13, the key accommodating recess 14 is also formed by the die-opening/closing motion of the die 60 configured by the lower and upper dies 61 and 62. Accordingly, a slide core, for example, dedicated to the formation of the key accommodating recess 14 is not required to be used. Thus, even when the key accommodating recess 14 is to be formed, the labor of placing the circuit board 31 on the die 60 is simplified, whereby the manufacturing cost of the key body 10 is prevented from being increased.
In the conventional art, the mechanical key 106 is inserted into and pulled out of the key accommodating hole 104 of the card key 100. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, covers 106 b, 106 c are formed by welding or insert molding to sandwich a metal key body 106 a in a thickness direction, which configures the mechanical key 106. At the same time, a coil spring 106 d and a knob 106 e are assembled between the covers 106 b, 106 c. Thus, the knob 106 e is ensured to be constantly biased by the coil spring 106 d and to be exposed outside through an opening 106 f formed in the cover 106 c. In other words, the mechanical key 106 and the card key 100 are held by the spring force of the coil spring 106 d via the knob 106 e.
Such a conventional configuration increases the number of parts of the mechanical key 106 and, being coupled with the necessity of forming the coil spring 106 d and the knob 106 e into a very small size, makes it more difficult to reduce the cost of the card key 100. In this regard, in the configuration of the above embodiment, the key fixing hook 52 is accommodated in the hook accommodating portion 11C. Thus, the problems of the conventional art are favorably eliminated.
The sheet body 20 is configured to be pasted, through its rear surface, to the bottom surface 12 a of the main body recess 12 via the double-faced adhesive tape 21. This may facilitate the work of mounting the sheet body 20 on the key body 10 and also facilitate the change of the sheet body 20 with another sheet body 20 having a different design, more favorably raising the degree of satisfaction of the user.
1. A card key, comprising:
a plate-shaped key body which is mounted with a circuit board being covered with a resin material, the circuit board being mounted with electronic parts that configure an electronic circuit for performing radio communication with an on-vehicle device; and a sheet body having an exterior appearance different from the resin material and being suitable for a card user to personalize the appearance of the card by removably fitting the sheet body to a main body recess of the key body to a main body recess of the key body; wherein
the key body has a principal front surface on a side of which the electronic parts are mounted, the key body being provided with a main body recess sinking to a predetermined depth level from the principal front surface, and a key component accommodating recess further sinking to a level deeper than the main body recess and opened in a bottom surface of the main body recess;
the key body forms an outline of the card key together with the sheet body fitted to the main body recess for coverage of the main body recess, wherein an inkjet accepting mat or a thermofusible transfer accepting mat that enables inkjet printing or thermofusible transfer printing is coated on the front surface of the sheet body;
the sheet body and the key component accommodating recess are formed to provide a key component accommodating portion therebetween, the key component accommodating portion having a closed cross section and accommodating a key component therein,
the circuit board is embedded in the resin material at a depth level that avoids the circuit board from being exposed to a bottom surface of the key component accommodating recess; and
the electronic parts are embedded in the resin material at a depth level that avoids the electronic parts from being exposed to a bottom surface of the main body recess.
2. The card key according to claim 1, wherein
the key component accommodating recess is a battery accommodating recess that accommodates a battery for supplying electric power to the circuit board; and
the card key further comprising a battery accommodating portion between the sheet body and the battery accommodating recess to restrict movement of the battery in a thickness direction of the key body.
3. The card key according to claim 2, wherein
the key component accommodating recess is a key accommodating recess that accommodates a manually operated mechanical key; and
the card key further comprising a key accommodating portion between the sheet body and the key accommodating recess to restrict movement of the mechanical key in a thickness direction of the key body.
4. The card key according to claim 3, wherein
the key body is provided with a hook accommodating recess for accommodating a key fixing hook which fixes the mechanical key to the key body by being engaged with an engaged portion formed in the mechanical key, the hook accommodating recess being formed further sinking to a depth level deeper than that of the main body recess, and being opened in a bottom surface of the main body recess; and
the card key further comprising a hook accommodating portion between the sheet body and the hook accommodating recess to restrict movement of the key fixing hook in a thickness direction of the key body.
5. The card key according to claim 4, wherein
the key accommodating recess and the hook accommodating recess have respective bottom surfaces located so as to be flush with a surface of the mechanical key;
the key fixing hook has a substantially U-shaped form and is located on a bottom surface of the hook accommodating recess, the key fixing hook being elastically deformed in a direction parallel to the bottom surface of the hook accommodating recess so that an interval in the U shape is narrowed in a state where the key fixing hook is disengaged from the engaged portion, compared to a state where the key fixing hook is engaged with the engaged portion.
6. The card key according to claim 1, wherein
7. The card key according to claim 6, wherein
8. The card key according to claim 7, wherein
the key accommodating recess and the hook accommodating recess have respective bottom surfaces located so as to be continuous at a depth level corresponding to the thickness of the mechanical key; and
9. A card key, comprising:
a plate-shaped key body which is mounted with a circuit board being covered with a resin material, the circuit board being mounted with electronic parts that configure an electronic circuit for performing radio communication with an on-vehicle device; and a sheet body having an exterior appearance different from the resin material and being suitable for a card user to personalize the appearance of the card by removably fitting the sheet body to a main body recess of the key body to a main body recess of the key body,
the key body forms an outline of the card key together with the sheet body fitted to the main body recess for coverage of the main body recess, wherein the sheet body has a front surface or a rear surface on which a certain design is printed in advance;
10. A card key, comprising:
the key body forms an outline of the card key together with the sheet body fitted to the main body recess for coverage of the main body recess, wherein the sheet body is configured to be pasted through a rear surface thereof onto a bottom surface of the main body recess via an adhesive;
11. A card key according to claim 10, wherein
the sheet body has a front surface that enables printing on the front surface.
12. A card key according to claim 10, wherein
the sheet body has a front surface or a rear surface on which a certain design is printed in advance.
13. A card key, comprising:
the key body forms an outline of the card key together with the sheet body fitted to the main body recess for coverage of the main body recess, wherein the sheet body has a front surface that enables printing on the front surface;
US13135650 2010-07-13 2011-07-12 Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device Active 2031-09-08 US8550364B2 (en)
JP2010158736 2010-07-13
JP2010-158736 2010-07-13
JP2011-132310 2011-06-14
JP2011132310A JP5163776B2 (en) 2010-07-13 2011-06-14 Key card
US13732581 US20130119146A1 (en) 2010-07-13 2013-01-02 Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device
US13732581 Division US20130119146A1 (en) 2010-07-13 2013-01-02 Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device
US20120012659A1 true US20120012659A1 (en) 2012-01-19
US8550364B2 true US8550364B2 (en) 2013-10-08
ID=45403104
US13135650 Active 2031-09-08 US8550364B2 (en) 2010-07-13 2011-07-12 Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device
US13732581 Abandoned US20130119146A1 (en) 2010-07-13 2013-01-02 Card key having function of performing radio communication with on-vehicle device
US (2) US8550364B2 (en)
JP (1) JP5163776B2 (en)
KR (2) KR101303520B1 (en)
CN (1) CN102392558B (en)
DE (1) DE102011051785A1 (en)
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Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SUGIMOTO, KEIICHI;NAKAGAWA, MITSURU;REEL/FRAME:026805/0410