The subject matter herein generally relates to housings, and more particularly, to a housing, a method for making the housing, an electronic device using the housing, and an automotive interior component using the housing.
Housings applied in electronic devices (such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and multimedia players) may include a substrate and a resin layer formed on the substrate. Typically, the substrate may include at least one recess for receiving a logo.
Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.
The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape, or other feature that the term modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series and the like.
The housing 100 includes a substrate 10. The substrate 10 can be made of a metal or an alloy. The metal is selected from a group consisting of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), magnesium (Mg), titanium (Ti), or any combination thereof. One surface 11 of the substrate 10 defines a groove 13. An interior wall 130 of the groove 13 defines at least one through hole 15 passing through the substrate 10. A width of the through hole 15 can be less than 100 gm. In at least one embodiment, the through hole 15 is defined in a bottom of the groove 13 along a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom of the groove 13.
A protective layer 40 is formed on the interior wall 130 of the groove 13 and the surface 11 of the substrate 10 beside the groove 13, and is fully attached to the internal wall of the groove 13. The protective layer 40 can have a thickness of about 10 μm to about 100 μm. The protective layer 40 can be made of a resin material selected from a group consisting of a thermoplastic polymer, a thermosetting polymer, and an UV curable polymer.
In at least one embodiment, a recess 43 aligned with the groove 13 is formed by a portion of the protective layer 40 located in the groove 13. Furthermore, a desired three-dimensional (3D) relief pattern 42 is formed on a surface 41 of the protective layer 40 away from the substrate 10, and is located at positions beside the recess 43. The pattern 42 includes a plurality of projection-shaped structures or concave structures. An inlay 50 is fixedly received in the recess 43. The inlay 50 can be formed into a pattern, such as a logo.
Referring to
At block 41, the substrate 10 is provided. The surface 11 of the substrate 10 defines a groove 13.
At block 42, at least one through hole 15 is defined at the interior wall 130 of the groove 13 which passes through the substrate 10. In at least one embodiment, the surface 11 of the substrate 10 is engraved by a laser beam to form the through hole 15.
At block 43, a mold 20 (shown in
At block 44, the substrate 10 is loaded into the mold cavity, with the groove 13 of the substrate 10 facing the protrusion 232 of the male mold core 23. The molding surface 230 is spaced from the surface 11 of the substrate 10 to form a gap 26. The gap 26 communicates with the through hole 15.
At block 45, a vacuum generator (not shown) is provided and coupled with the through hole 15 through a suction pipe (not shown). The vacuum generator is configured to evacuate the mold cavity via the through hole 15, thereby generating a negative pressure in the gap 26. In at least one embodiment, the female mold core 21 further defines at least one drain hole (not shown) each aligned with one corresponding through hole 15 of the substrate 10. The suction pipe is coupled with the drain hole of the female mold core 21, thereby evacuating the mold cavity via the drain hole and the through hole 15.
At block 46, the gap 26 is filled with a molten resin material, and the protrusion 232 formed at the male mold core 23 is depressed into the resin material. Since the gap 26 is in a negative pressure, the resin material is capable of being fully attached to the interior wall 130 of the groove 13 and the surface 11 of the substrate 10 beside the groove 13. Furthermore, the viscosity of the resin material should be high enough to prevent the resin material in the gap 26 from entering the through hole 15.
At block 47, the resin material is solidified to form a protective layer 40 on the surface 11 of the substrate 10, and the surface 41 of the protective layer 40 away from the substrate 10 includes the recess 43 corresponding to the protrusion 232 and aligned with the groove 13. The protective layer 40 is fully attached to the internal wall of the groove 13 and the surface 11 of the substrate 10 beside the groove 13, and no bubbles are generated at corners of the groove 13.
At block 48, the substrate 10 with the protective layer 40 is separated from the mold 20. In at least one embodiment, the bonding force between the resin material and the substrate 10 is greater than the bonding force between the resin material and the mold 20. As such, the substrate 10 with the protective layer 40 can be easily separated from the mold 20.
At block 49, the inlay 50 is fixed in the recess 43. In at least one embodiment, this can be carried out by coating the interior wall of the recess 43 with adhesive, followed by fixing the inlay 50 to the recess 43 via the adhesive. Then, the housing 100 including the inlay 50 is formed.
It is to be understood, even though information and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the present embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only; changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present embodiments to the full extent indicated by the plain meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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103138315 | Nov 2014 | TW | national |