Patent Application
20080160253
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to plastic coated edge structures and methods for making the same, and more particularly, to a plastic coated edge structure used for a portable electronic device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Presently, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) generally include a plurality of metallic components that includes metallic sheets. The metallic sheets are generally very thin. A plastic layer is applied to coat a fringe portion of the metallic sheet so as to form a plastic coated edge structure. The plastic coated edge structure has a high physical strength and can further prevent the fringe portion of the metallic sheet from damages and/or causing injuries.
Typically, a method for forming the plastic coated edge structure, a melted plastic material is injected from an exterior side of the metallic sheet to an opposite inner side of the metallic sheet to form the plastic layer at the two sides of the fringe of the metallic sheet. However, the melted plastic material is prone to solidify quickly and an injection path from the exterior side of the fringe portion of the metallic sheet to the opposite inner side of the fringe portion of the metallic sheet is relatively long, and if the plastic layer is very thin, the plastic material will not adequately coat the fringe portion of the metallic sheet. In addition, because the plastic layer for coating the fringe of the metallic sheet is thin, the plastic layer cannot engage with the fringe portion firmly and may be easy to disengage from the metallic sheet.
Therefore, a new plastic coated edge structure is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings. A method for making such plastic coated edge structure is also desired.
In one aspect, a plastic coated edge structure used for a portable electronic device includes a base sheet and at least one protective plastic layer. At least one fringe portion of the base sheet defines a plurality of through holes. The at least protective plastic layer coats the at least fringe portion of the base sheet, and part of the protective plastic layer engages in the through holes.
In another aspect, a method for making the plastic coated edge structure includes: providing a base sheet including a fringe portion, and the fringe portion defining a plurality of though holes; putting the base sheet into an injection mold; injecting a melted plastic material into the injection mold from a side of the fringe portion of the base sheet to an opposite side of the fringe portion of the base sheet from the through holes to form a protective plastic layer for coating the fringe portion of the base sheet; solidifying the plastic material to form the plastic coated edge structure; and taking the plastic coated edge structure out of the injection mold.
Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present plastic coated edge structure (and method). Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and all the views are schematic.
Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe preferred embodiments of the present plastic coated edge structure in detail.
Referring to
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The protective plastic layers 12, 22, 32 partly engages in the through holes 15, 25, 35 correspondingly, thus the protective plastic layers 12, 22, 32 engages with the base sheets 11, 21, 31 firmly and is not easy to be disengaged from the metallic sheets 11, 21, 31.
An exemplary method for making a plastic coated edge structure will now be described. A base sheet 41 includes a fringe portion 44 is provided and the fringe portion 44 defines a plurality of though holes 45. The base sheet is put into an injection mold 50. A melted plastic material is injected into the injection mold 50 from one side of the fringe portion 44 of the base sheet 41 and the melted plastic material flows to the opposite side of the fringe portion 44 of the base sheet from the through holes to form a protective plastic layer 42 for coating the fringe portion 44. When the flow plastic material is solidified, the plastic coated edge structure (not labeled) is formed and is taken out of the injection mold 50.
As described above, the plastic material is injected from a side of the fringe portion of the base sheet to an opposite side of the fringe portion of the metallic sheet from the through holes, thus the plastic material can adequately coat the fringe portion of the base sheet.
In alternative embodiments, the base sheet can be made of other sturdy nonmetallic materials such as glass. The though holes can be of other shapes such as pentagon or hexagon. The though holes can also have different shapes from each other. The through holes are aligned in several rows parallel to the fringe of the base sheet.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200610201469.7 | Dec 2006 | CN | national |
