Patent Application
20100112293
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a device housing and a method for manufacturing the device housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic devices such as mobile phones usually fabricate their housings with decorative sprayed paints. The painted exterior surface of the housing is then printed with patterns layers. However, the printed pattern layer may be boring and cannot present a graceful metallic appearance. Further, due to exposure to the outside, the pattern layers tend to be worn or eroded, which may degrade the aesthetic appearance of the housing.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
Many aspects of the new device housing and a method for manufacturing the device housing can be better understood with reference to the following drawing. The components in the drawing are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the new device housing and a method for manufacturing the device housing.
The FIGURE is a cross section of an exemplary device housing as disclosed.
The FIGURE shows an exemplary device housing 100 including a base housing 10, a bottom coating 11 directly formed on the base housing 10, a vacuum evaporation coating 13 directly formed on the bottom coating 11, an intermediate coating 15 directly formed on the vacuum evaporation coating 13, a fill coating 17 directly formed on the intermediate coating 15, and a top coating 19 exposed to the outside. The top coating 19 covers portions of the intermediate coating 15 and the fill coating 17.
The base housing 10 can be a plastic housing molded of one or more plastics selected from a group consisting of polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Alternatively, the base housing 10 can be a metallic housing. The base housing 10 has a plurality of recessed textured portions 102. The bottom of the textured portions 102 has a predetermined textured pattern formed by a process of molding or chemically etching.
The bottom coating 11 is an ultraviolet (UV) coating. The UV coating may contain a preformed polymer of acrylic polyurethane and a UV initiator.
The vacuum evaporation coating 13 is vacuum evaporated on the bottom coating 11 by using a target made of a metallic material selected from a group consisting of indium (In), tin (Sn), aluminum (Al), stainless steel, chromium (Cr), silicon (Si), and silicon dioxide (SiO2). The bottom coating 11 bonds well with the vacuum evaporation coating 13, and further enhances the glossy appearance of the vacuum evaporation coating 13.
The intermediate coating 15 allows at least some light transmittal therethrough and is made of a UV paint, a polyurethane paint or an unsaturated polyester paint. The intermediate coating 15 bonds well with the vacuum evaporation coating 13.
The bottom coating 11, the vacuum evaporation coating 13 and the intermediate coating 15 are stacked on the base housing 10. Due to the textured portions 102, the stacked base housing 10 have corresponding recessed sections 104. The fill coating 17 allows at least some light transmittal therethrough and is made of ink or a colloidal solution. The fill coating 17 fills in the recessed sections 104 to make them coplanar with the intermediate coating 15. The fill coating 17 can have a different color from the intermediate coating 15, enabling the pattern on the bottom of the textured portions 102 to have more contrast with each other.
The top coating 19 is transparent and made of a UV paint, a polyurethane paint or an unsaturated polyester paint. The top coating 17 has a high rigidity to provide a good protection for the intermediate coating 15 and the fill coating 17 from, for example, wear and tear.
A method for manufacturing the device housing 100 as described may include the following steps.
The base housing 10 is provided with the plurality of textured portions 102 for example by molding. A predetermined pattern is molded or chemically etched on the bottom of the textured portions 102. The bottom coating 11 is sprayed onto the exterior surface of the base housing 10.
The vacuum evaporation coating 13 is vacuum evaporated onto the exterior surface of the bottom coating 11. During this step, an opaque cover housing with hollowed portions covers the bottom coating 11 of the base housing 10. The hollowed portions correspond to the vacuum evaporation coating 13 in shape and size. The cover housing and the base housing 10 are vacuum evaporated to form the vacuum evaporation coating 13 through the hollowed portions on the bottom coating 11. After completing of the vacuum evaporation, the cover housing is removed.
The intermediate coating 15 is sprayed on the vacuum evaporation coating 13. In this case, the preformed base housing 10 has the recessed sections 104 corresponding to the textured portions 102. The fill coating 17 is filled into the recessed sections 104. The middle coating 15 is sprayed on the vacuum evaporation coating 13. The top coating 19 is sprayed on and covers the intermediate coating 15 and the fill coating 17.
It is to be understood, however, that even through numerous characteristics and advantages of exemplary embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200810305410.1 | Nov 2008 | CN | national |
