FR3150024A3 - Method of manufacturing an assembly formed by a SIM card holder and a SIM card - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing an assembly formed by a SIM card holder (20) and a SIM card (24) comprising the following steps: providing at least one holder (20) of ID-1 card format, cutting by punching a through cavity (22) in each of the ID-1 card format holders, the cavity (22) being delimited by an edge (25) of thickness of the plate material, forming the SIM card (24), inserting the SIM card (24) into the ID-1 format holder (20) such that the edge (38) of the SIM card (24) comes into contact against the edge (25) of the cavity (22) and the SIM card (24) is held in the holder (20) by friction, the biodegradable material of the holder (20) having a thickness equal to or greater than the thickness of the plastic material forming the body (36) of the SIM card (24).

Description

Method of manufacturing an assembly formed by a SIM card holder and a SIM card

The invention relates to smart cards containing a microcontroller and a memory used in mobile telephony to store information specific to a subscriber of a mobile network. This type of card is usually called a SIM card, an acronym for "subscriber identification module".

More particularly, the invention relates to a support for such a SIM card so that the latter can be transported from a manufacturing point to a delivery location, or can be moved to the different stations of a production line, in particular during the customization steps.

There are currently three SIM card formats, called 2FF, 3FF and 4FF respectively. For the sake of simplification of this description, the concept of SIM card will correspond to one of these formats. These SIM smart cards, from the English Subscriber Identification Module, have a standardized format that allows them to be inserted into a mobile phone, or where appropriate into other communications devices or readers for connected objects. They have a rectangular card body of 15mm x 25mm and a thickness of between 0.68mm and 0.76mm, with a 3mm by 3mm polarizer, on one corner of the card holder. This format is also called ID-100 format (ISO/IEC 7810) or Plug-in UICC or 2FF is specified in the ISO/IEC 7810 standard. The trend towards miniaturization of mobile phones has led manufacturers to reduce the size of SIM cards. Thus the so-called third generation "3G plug" cards or mini-UICC cards, or 3FF have the following dimensions: 15mm X 12mm with a thickness between 0.68mm and 0.76mm, with also a 2.5mm by 2.5mm key, on a corner of the card support. Finally the latest 4FF format, commercially called "Nano SIM", stipulated in the ETSI TS 102 221 standard, has the dimensions 12.30mm X 8.80mm with a thickness between 0.60mm and 0.67mm.

SIM cards have relatively small dimensions. They are smaller than an ID-1 bank card, the size of which is specified in the ISO 7810 standard: 85.6mm*54mm*0.76mm.

Different ways of making SIM cards are known from the prior art. SIM cards 10 are generally manufactured from a plastic card 12 of ID-1 format, by simple transformation of the ID-1 card 12 into a SIM card 10 by detaching the latter from the ID-1 card 12 by breaking straps 14 or connecting bridges connecting the SIM card 10 to the ID-1 card body 12, this breaking being able to be carried out manually. The SIM card 10 is thus directly manufactured from the body of an ID-1 format card 12. This is illustrated by the of this application.

The SIM card thus has a plastic body that is resistant to heat and deformation as specified in the manufacturing standards. However, after detaching the SIM card body from the ID-1 format card, the user is left with the plastic ID-1 card body for which he has no use. Usually this card body is thrown in the garbage without being able to be recycled.

According to a particular embodiment, it is also known to produce the three SIM card formats on the same ID-1 format card, by successive punching as in the ID-1 card as explained in detail in the patent application published under number FR2985345.

All these cards are generally made by punching, or sometimes by molding, from materials such as PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) or ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene).

However, plastic materials constitute almost 95% by weight of the ID-1 card and SIM card assembly. As a result, there is a significant loss of plastic material in the current design of SIM cards. This is expensive and, in addition, the material constituting the support is a non-biodegradable plastic material and therefore harmful to the environment. The aim of the present invention is to develop a smart card of the SIM card type that is inexpensive and, above all, limits the use of non-biodegradable and poorly recyclable plastic material.

New SIM card manufacturing processes make it possible to produce a plastic SIM card directly by molding or by directly assembling the body on the coils of modules carrying the chip. It is thus possible to avoid the production of a plastic body in ID-1 format and therefore the unnecessary waste of the quantity of plastic required for the production of ID-1 format bodies.

But the SIM format being much smaller than that of the ID-1 card, in fact its surface area represents almost 1/12th of the surface area of the ID-1 card, this format remains difficult to handle for its transport on the production lines or even for its delivery to the end customer.

A solution was therefore sought to reduce the quantity of plastic used in the manufacture of a SIM card, without structurally modifying the production lines currently in place and without weakening the SIM card during the various stages of its transport.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing an assembly formed by a SIM card holder and a SIM card comprising the following steps: providing a plate of biodegradable material delimiting at least one ID-1 card format holder, cutting out at least one ID-1 format holder from the plate of biodegradable material, the cutting being carried out by inserting cutting blades into the thickness of the material, cutting out by punching a through cavity in each of the ID-1 card format holders, the cavity being delimited by an edge of thickness of the plate material, the edge surrounding a theoretical area for positioning the contacts for the ID-1 card format holder, forming the SIM card comprising a module comprising contact pads and a body made of plastic material delimited by an edge of thickness of the plastic material, inserting the SIM card into the ID-1 format holder so that the edge of the SIM card comes into contact with the edge of the cavity and the SIM card is held in the holder by friction, the material biodegradable support having a thickness equal to or greater than the thickness of the plastic material forming the body of the SIM card.

Thanks to these provisions, it is possible to limit the amount of plastic for the manufacture of a SIM card only to the SIM card body. It is also possible to ensure the protection and maintenance of the SIM card during delivery transport through the support. Finally, it is also possible to obtain a support format compatible with the production lines usually used for the production of ID-1 format smart cards.

Other advantageous and non-limiting characteristics of the method according to this first embodiment, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations, are as follows:

the punching cut is performed so that the contact pads of the SIM card are positioned in the theoretical contact positioning area of the ID-1 card format holder,

The method includes a step of cutting a groove in the thickness of the material, near the cavity so as to reduce the mechanical stresses in the support,

The method further comprises at least one step of rotation of 180° around a central axis perpendicular to the support followed by a step of cutting by punching a second through cavity and a step of inserting a second SIM card,

Before or after the step of inserting the SIM format card into the cavity of the support, the method comprises a step of depositing a label at least partially covering the cavity so as to form a cavity bottom,

the support is made of a material formed from a single layer of biodegradable material with a maximum thickness of 1.1 times the thickness of the SIM card,

the plate has a front face and a back face, the method comprising a printing step on at least one of the faces of the plate.

The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a support made of biodegradable material provided with a cavity receiving a SIM card, the cavity being made so as to hold the SIM card by friction of the edge of the cavity (22) of the biodegradable material on the edge of the SIM card.

Other embodiments and advantages of the invention are described below with reference to the figures, in which:

represents a SIM card according to the prior art

, , And schematically represent the successive stages of manufacturing an assembly according to the invention,

represents an alternative embodiment of an assembly according to the invention.

Figures 2 to 5 represent steps in the method of manufacturing the assembly according to the invention. Shown in the a support 20 of ID-1 format. The latter is made from a plate made of a biodegradable or easily recyclable material, such as natural cellulose fibers such as paper or cardboard, as described in US patent 5,888,624, from which several ID-1 format supports are cut by means of cutting blades cutting into the thickness of the biodegradable material. For reasons of simplification, only one ID-1 format support 20 is shown, but the invention can be applied in the same way to a plate from which one or more ID-1 format supports are cut. In the latter case, the plate is cut on each of the ID-1 format support 20 contours by cutting blades.

Each support 20 is intended to undergo a cut, in its entire thickness, delimiting a cavity 22 of SIM format as illustrated in dotted lines on the .

The material has a thickness at least equal to that of the SIM card 24 that it receives. Thus, for a 2FF or 3FF SIM card 24, the support 20 has a thickness at least equal to 0.76 mm and for a 4FF card, the support 20 has a card with a thickness at least equal to 0.67 mm. This ensures that a SIM card 24 is correctly held over its entire thickness when it is inserted into the cavity 22 formed in the support 20 as will be described in more detail in the remainder of the description.

Advantageously, the front face and the back face of the support 20 are printed to include a logo chosen by the customer.

illustrates the support 20 comprising a cavity 22 passing through the entire thickness of the support. This cavity 22 is delimited by a contour or edge 25 having substantially the dimensions of a SIM format card, illustrated in the by a 2FF format. According to an alternative embodiment, the cavity 22 could be cut according to a 3FF or 4FF SIM format as defined further below.

The through cavity 22 is made by punching. The cavity 22 is made so that it is delimited by an edge 25 of thickness of the support, the edge 25 surrounding a theoretical area for positioning the contacts for the ID-1 card format support 20, and consequently an area of the contact pads 26 of the SIM card 24. Indeed, the ID-1 cards and SIM cards have in common that they comprise the same module comprising a microcircuit and contact pads 26 connected to the microcircuit. The contact pads 26 are arranged in two columns as specified in the ISO7816-2 standard. Conventionally, the microcircuit and the contact pads 26s are carried by a plate, on the respective faces thereof, with which they form the module mounted in a cavity 22 in the body that each card comprises.

These contact pads 26 are intended to allow communication of the card in question with a contact communication device. In the case of ID-1 or 2FF or 3FF cards, the contact pads 26 are commonly designated by the names C1 to C8 usually distributed over two substantially parallel columns. A first column may include contact pads called C1 to C4 and a second column may include contact pads called C5 to C8. The IS0 7816-2 standard defines in particular the minimum areas of these contact pads, namely 2 millimeters wide and 1.7 millimeters high. This standard also defines the relative positions of these contact pads as well as their dimensions.

The contact pads 26 are positioned relative to the upper edge 28 and the left edge 30 of the ID-1 format support 20 but also relative to the edges 38a, 38b of the SIM card 24. The contact pads 26 used for the ID-1 card format are the same as those used for the SIM format, it is therefore possible to determine the outline of the cavity 22 receiving the SIM card 24 relative to the position of the theoretical area of the pads of the ID-1 support 20.

The SIM card 24 has a plastic card body 36 which is force-fitted into the through-cavity 22 of the holder 20 so that all edges 38 of the SIM card 24 come into contact against the edge 25 of the cavity 22 and the SIM card 24 is held in the holder 20 by friction as schematically illustrated by the . Since the thickness of the support 20 is at least equal to that of the body 36 of the SIM card 24, the SIM card 24 is held by friction by contact of the edge of the SIM card 24 against the edge 25 of the cavity 22. The edge 38 of the SIM card 24 being constituted by the thickness of the body 36 of the SIM card 24, the SIM card 24 is therefore in contact with the edge 25 of the cavity 22 over its entire thickness. According to a variant, the support 20 in a material formed from a single layer of material with a maximum thickness of 1.1 times the thickness of the SIM card 24. This guarantees an insertion tolerance of the SIM card 24 in the support 20 so that the SIM card 24 is well held over its entire thickness.

It is then possible to produce an assembly formed of the support 20 and the SIM card 24 of a format compatible with traditional machines dedicated to the production or personalization of ID-1 format smart cards, such as laser marking on the SIM card or the transfer and verification of data in the SIM card via the contact pads 26 of the SIM card. It is also possible to limit the quantity of plastic for the production of a SIM card 24 to the minimum quantity necessary for the body 36 of the SIM card 24. Finally, the protection of the SIM card 24 during its transport to the end user is ensured by the support 20 which guarantees a stiffened zone around the SIM card 24.

According to an embodiment variant illustrated on the , the assembly formed by the SIM card holder 20 24 and the SIM card 24 comprises a through groove 40, made in the thickness of the holder, in the vicinity of the cavity. This step is preferably carried out after or simultaneously with the step of punching the cavity 22 and is carried out near the corner opposite the corner of the foolproofing device 42 as illustrated in the . The groove 40 makes it possible to reduce the mechanical stresses in the support. Indeed, the SIM card 24 is held by friction against the edge 25 of the cavity 22. A pressure is therefore exerted all along the edge 25 of the cavity 22 of the support 20 and the edge 38 of the SIM card 24. So that this pressure does not deform the SIM card 24 or the support, the groove 40 located near these edges 25, allows a local deformation of the support 20 and thus to reduce the stresses exerted on the edges 25, 38 of the SIM card and the cavity 22 of the support. According to a variant, two grooves may be provided passing through the thickness of the support, preferably substantially symmetrical along the axis passing through a center of the SIM card 24. The assembly obtained thus comprises a support 20 made of biodegradable material, a SIM card 24 and grooves 40s passing through the thickness of the support.

According to another variant illustrated on the , the method comprises an additional step of forming a second cavity 22 in the same ID-1 format support 20. For this purpose, the method comprises, after forming the first cavity 22, a step of rotating it 180° around a central axis perpendicular to the body of the ID-1 format support 20, followed by a step of cutting by punching the second through cavity. A second SIM card 24b is then inserted into the second cavity.

Thanks to this additional step, it is possible to position two SIM cards in the same ID-1 format support 20. This variant has the advantage of reducing the quantity of material of the support 20 by half while having the advantage of protecting the SIM card 24 during its delivery transport to the end user. This variant also allows the reuse of existing machine production lines dedicated to ID-1 format cards, by carrying out the production or customization steps related to the first SIM card 24 on the one hand, then after a 180° rotation relative to the perpendicular axis of the support 20 to carry out the production or customization operations related to the second SIM card 24b. These operations related to the first card can be carried out successively or alternately with the operations related to the second card.

The assembly obtained therefore has an ID-1 format card body made of degradable material and two SIM cards positioned substantially symmetrically relative to the central axis of the card. The support 20 is then cut along a transverse line illustrated in , so that SIM cards, distinct from each other, can be delivered to end users.

According to an embodiment variant shown in the , the method comprises, before or after the step of inserting the SIM format card into the cavity 22 of the support, a step of depositing a label 44 44 at least partially covering the cavity 22 so as to form a cavity bottom. The label 44 can cover a portion or the entire surface of the cavity 22. It also has a perimeter extending beyond the cavity 22, the perimeter having an adhesive surface for adhering to the support. Preferably, the face of the label 44 forming the bottom of the cavity 22 does not have an adhesive layer so that the SIM card 24 can be easily removed from the support 20 by the end user.

Claims (8)

1. Method for manufacturing an assembly formed of a SIM card holder (20) and a SIM card (24) comprising the following steps:
- provision of a plate of biodegradable material delimiting at least one support (20) of ID-1 card format,
- cutting from the biodegradable material plate at least one support (20) of ID-1 format, the cutting being carried out by inserting cutting blades into the thickness of the material
- cutting by punching a through cavity (22) in each of the ID-1 card format supports, the cavity (22) being delimited by an edge (25) of thickness of the material of the plate, the edge (25) surrounding a theoretical zone for positioning the contacts for the ID-1 card format support (20),
- formation of the SIM card (24) comprising a module comprising contact pads (26) and a body made of plastic material delimited by an edge (38) of thickness of the plastic material,
- inserting the SIM card (24) into the ID-1 format holder (20) so that the edge (38) of the SIM card (24) comes into contact against the edge (25) of the cavity (22) and the SIM card (24) is held in the holder (20) by friction, the biodegradable material of the holder (20) having a thickness equal to or greater than the thickness of the plastic material forming the body (36) of the SIM card (24). Method of manufacturing an assembly formed by a support (20) and a SIM card (24) according to the preceding claim, in which the punching cutting of the cavity is carried out so that the contact pads (26) of the SIM card (24) are positioned in the theoretical positioning zone of the contacts of the support (20) of ID-1 card format. Method of manufacturing an assembly formed of a SIM card (24) support (20) and a SIM card (24) according to the preceding claim, comprising a step of cutting a groove (40) in the thickness of the material, in the vicinity of the cavity (22) so as to reduce the mechanical stresses in the support (20). Method for manufacturing an assembly formed by a support (20) and a SIM card (24) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one step of rotation of 180° around a central axis perpendicular to the support (20) followed by a step of cutting by punching a second through cavity and a step of inserting a second SIM card (24b) Method for manufacturing an assembly formed by a support (20) and a SIM card (24) according to one of the preceding claims, in which, before or after the step of inserting the SIM format card into the cavity (22) of the support, the method comprises a step of depositing a label (44) at least partially covering the cavity (22) so as to form a cavity bottom. Method of manufacturing an assembly formed of a support (20) and a SIM card (24) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the support (20) is made of a material formed of a single layer of biodegradable material with a maximum thickness of 1.1 times the thickness of the SIM card (24). Method for manufacturing an assembly formed of a support (20) and a SIM card (24) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the plate has a front face and a rear face, the method comprising a step of printing on at least one of the faces of the plate. Assembly comprising a support (20) made of biodegradable material provided with a cavity (22) receiving a SIM card (24), the cavity (22) being made so as to hold the SIM card (24) by friction of the edge (25) of the cavity (22) of the biodegradable material on the edge (38) of the SIM card (24).