Methods and apparatus for embedding wire in substrates for secure documents
View Patent ↗A booster antenna (BA) for a smart card comprises a card antenna (CA) component extending around a periphery of a card body (CB), a coupler coil (CC) component at a location for an antenna module (AM), and an extension antenna (EA) contributing to the inductance of the booster antenna (BA). A method of wire embedding is also disclosed, by controlling a force and ultrasonic power applied by an embedding tool at different positions on the card body (CB).
1. A method of embedding a wire in a surface of a substrate, comprising:
with an embedding tool, feeding wire onto the surface of the substrate while applying a given downward force and while imparting an ultrasonic vibration to the embedding tool;
controlling at least one of the downward force which is exerted by the embedding tool and a power of the ultrasonic vibration while embedding the wire in the surface of the substrate; and
establishing a force profile and applying different forces at different positions, during the embedding process, in a controlled manner.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the embedding tool comprises:
a linear actuator for urging at least a portion of the embedding tool downward.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
while controlling the force, controlling a power of the ultrasonic vibration imparted to the embedding tool.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a card body of a smart card.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is an inlay substrate.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a substrate of a secure document.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises one or more layers of material selected from the group consisting of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), PET-G (Polyethylene Terephtalate Glycol-modified), Copolyester (Tritan), Teslin™, synthetic paper, paper and the like.
8. A method of embedding a wire in a surface of a substrate, comprising:
with an embedding tool, feeding wire onto the surface of the substrate while applying a given downward force and while imparting an ultrasonic vibration to the embedding tool; and
controlling at least one of the downward force which is exerted by the embedding tool and a power of the ultrasonic vibration while embedding the wire in the surface of the substrate;
wherein:
different downward forces are applied by the embedding tool at different positions being embedded.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the substrate is a card body of a smart card.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the substrate is an inlay substrate.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the substrate is a substrate of a secure document.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the substrate comprises one or more layers of material selected from the group consisting of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), PET-G (Polyethylene Terephtalate Glycol-modified), Copolyester (Tritan), Teslin™, synthetic paper, paper and the like.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the embedding tool comprises:
a linear actuator for urging at least a portion of the embedding tool downward.
14. A method of embedding a wire in a surface of a substrate, comprising:
with an embedding tool, feeding wire onto the surface of the substrate while applying a given downward force and while imparting an ultrasonic vibration to the embedding tool; and
controlling at least one of the downward force which is exerted by the embedding tool and a power of the ultrasonic vibration while embedding the wire in the surface of the substrate;
wherein the wire forms a booster antenna component having a plurality of turns, and further comprising:
applying different downward forces depending upon which of the plurality of turns is being embedded.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the substrate is a card body of a smart card.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the substrate is an inlay substrate.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the substrate is a substrate of a secure document.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the substrate comprises one or more layers of material selected from the group consisting of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), PET-G (Polyethylene Terephtalate Glycol-modified), Copolyester (Tritan), Teslin™, synthetic paper, paper and the like.
19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the embedding tool comprises:
a linear actuator for urging at least a portion of the embedding tool downward.