JP2008036913A - Manufacturing method of case for electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of cases for electronic equipment which are strong and whose design can easily be changed. <P>SOLUTION: The thermoformable panel material 10 is composed by laminating a transparent, high-hardness outer material layer 13, a pattern layer 12 designed by the printing method and the like and an inner surface layer 11 and filled with a substrate 20 consisting of a foamable material and the like that has been molten in a molding die to be molded into an integral form. The outer material layer of the outermost layer has high hardness and protects the inside pattern layer, the design can easily be changed by changing the pattern layer, and the equipment within the case can be protected from shock by the substrate layer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a kind of case manufacturing method. In particular, it is a processing method in which a panel material is bonded to a base material to form a composite case. The composite technology provides the substrate surface with extremely excellent wear resistance, vibration absorption, and good appearance, thereby adding value to the product. The present invention relates to a case manufacturing method that can be improved.

Electronic products in a broad sense, such as general mobile phones, PDAs, game consoles, notebook PCs, and electrical products, all use a plastic case and fix a circuit board inside to meet the needs of appearance. .
The case of the mobile phone terminal structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is integrally formed by fixing or engaging an upper lid 91 and a lower lid 92 having a certain hardness with screws. A circuit board 93 is fixed between the upper lid 91 and the lower lid 92, and peripheral components are mounted so as to correspond to each other, thereby achieving an expected function of the electronic product.
The upper lid 91 and the lower lid 92 are formed by injection mold molding shown in FIG. 3 and meet the demand for mass production, but have various drawbacks.
JP 2006-44259 A

The known structure has the following drawbacks.
1. Appearance is not beautiful enough: Consumers' demand for electronic products is not only for functions but also for many characteristics such as design, pattern, color and touch. The case of integral injection molding cannot fundamentally express a small amount of diversified patterns and color changes, and can simply change the color, and the beauty of the case appearance is clearly not sufficient.
Second, easy to break: The upper and lower lids are fixed to each other and have the function of accommodating the circuit board, but the upper and lower lids are simple integrated materials that cannot meet the vibration absorption needs. There is no anti-seismic structure between the lower lid and the circuit board. When the electronic product is dropped or impacted on the ground, the case can be easily damaged. In severe cases, the circuit board can be damaged by impact. Loss of the intended function of the product.
This invention provides the case manufacturing method which solved the problem of the said structure.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following case manufacturing method.
It mainly provides a case manufacturing method, which uses a panel material that stacks and composites an outer material layer, a design layer, and an inner surface layer, the panel material has a very beautiful appearance, and the panel material has a three-dimensional shape. Molding the base material in the installation space formed by the case body contour, and integrally bonding the base material and the case body outline;
In addition to expanding the appearance changeability of the case by this processing method, the composite structure can greatly enhance the vibration resistance and wear resistance of the case, and can solve the defects caused by the known integral injection manufacturing method. It is a case manufacturing method characterized by improving quality and presenting a solution to a known problem of insufficient appearance performance of case processing.

  As described above, the present invention is a method of integrally bonding a wear-resistant panel material corresponding to the appearance of the base material, and can reliably protect and beautify the base material. It is an advanced invention based on the technical philosophy that can overcome the defects of defects, and can greatly improve the added value of electronic products.

The present invention includes the following steps.
a) As shown in FIG. 4, the present invention first prepares a panel material 10 made of a thermoplastic material. The panel material 10 is formed by stacking an inner surface layer 11, a design layer 12, and an outer material layer 13. The inner surface layer 11 has good heat resistance and is made of a material such as high-performance industrial plastic, general-purpose industrial plastic, styrene resin, transparent resin, elastic body, fluororesin, or polyolefin. A plain woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a fiber fabric may be used as the inner surface layer 11. The pattern layer 12 forms necessary colors and images by printing or an ink jet method. The outer material layer 13 is a light-transmitting or translucent wear-resistant material, and its hardness is between shore A98-20 in order to meet the demand for vibration absorption. Next, the outer material layer 13 is bonded to the bottom surface of the design layer 12, and the inner surface layer 11 is bonded to the upper surface of the design layer 12. Thus, by integrally forming the sandwich-like abrasion-resistant panel material 10 structure, the panel material 10 has a very beautiful appearance. Furthermore, the panel material 10 is mixed with a material having antistatic properties and conductivity, so that the structure of the panel material 10 of the present invention can meet safety requirements. Further, in order to enhance the surface performance of the outer material layer 13, in the present invention, a pattern can be formed in advance on the outer surface of the outer material layer 13, or a texture like hair can be formed in advance by polishing, thus the panel material. A raster pattern can be formed on the surface 10. When the design layer 12 is combined with this, it is possible to express a 3D three-dimensional effect and a different layer, color, and depth changing effect due to a difference in visual angle.
b) As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the panel member 10 is set in a vacuum molding die, and the panel member 10 is heated and vacuum sucked to be molded into a case body contour having a three-dimensional shape. An installation space 14 is provided in the outline of the case body, the inner surface layer 11 is formed on the inner surface, and the outer material layer 13 is formed on the outer surface. The molding die used in the present invention may be a hot pressing die.
c) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a resin raw material is injected from the upper mold of the molding die, and the resin raw material is filled into the installation space 14 of the panel material 10 to mold the base material 20. The contact surfaces adjacent to each other of the base material 20 and the panel material 10 are welded to each other and are integrally joined, thereby forming the base material 20 directly in the installation space 14. Moreover, the wear-resistant panel material 10 is formed on the outer layer of the base material 20 to form a composite case structure of the product, and thus the panel material 10 achieves protection and beautification of the appearance of the base material 20.
d) When the case is removed from the mold and the molding burr of the panel material 10 or the base material 20 is cut, a case having both appearance performance and vibration resistance is completed. The structure can be installed on the mobile phone terminal shown in FIG. 9, and thus the case can bring significant added value to the electronics industry.

The improvements of the present invention will be described below.
First, the case of the present invention is configured by combining the panel material 10 and the base material 20. Since the hardness of the outer material layer 13 of the combined panel material 10 is between shore A98-20, it has an extremely excellent vibration preventing effect and can greatly reduce the influence of external force on the base material 20. In this way, it is possible to overcome the disadvantage that the known case is damaged by dropping or colliding or the circuit is easily damaged.
2. Appearance changeability: In the present invention, the design layer 12 is isolated from the outside by the light transmitting outer material layer 13, and the design layer 12 is provided with a pattern, villi or raster on the outer surface of the outer material layer 13. The appearance performance of the panel material 10 can be strengthened, whereby the case can have a rich, three-dimensional and lively appearance. In addition, the present invention can produce a case appearance that is diversified in a small amount by simply replacing the design layer 12 having a different visual effect at the time of manufacture, and meets the requirements for individualization of current electronic products. Moreover, in the present invention, a special treatment is applied to the surface of the panel material 10, and a visual effect can be realized by utilizing a difference in visual angle to reveal a layer, color and depth changing effect different from the 3D stereoscopic effect. It is.
3. The color and the image are clear: the design layer 12 of the present invention does not directly contact the high-temperature mold and is located between the outer material layer 13 and the inner surface layer 11 in the mold. Since the heat does not become so high and the heat received is very uniform, the color and image of the pattern layer 12 are very stable and no problem such as blurring occurs.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the base material 20 of the present invention can also use a highly economical foaming raw material. In that case, the base material 20 is formed by installing in the installation space 14 of the foam molding or the case body contour, one side of the base material 20 is bonded to the panel material 10, and the opposite surface forms the hollow chamber 21. . The hollow chamber 21 is used for the purpose of installing a circuit board or saving materials. Similarly, the panel material 10 can achieve the effect according to a wide range of uses by directly installing an aluminum magnesium alloy base material 20 as another kind of raw material in a pre-formed installation space 14.
Furthermore, in the present invention, a necessary design is directly installed on the outer surface of the outer material layer 13, or gold or silver glitter material having an effect of flashing light is mixed in the outer material layer 13, or the outer material layer 13 is mixed. An electroplated film having a thickness of 0.01 mm or less can be installed on the outer surface. By these methods, the effect of the design layer 12 can be enhanced. Similarly, the outer material layer 13 can also be molded into a layered structure in which 3D light flashes by a thermoplastic material, and the three-dimensional effect and color of the panel material 10 differ depending on the viewing angle, together with the pattern layer 12. Demonstrate the whisper effect.
The manufacturing method of the present invention can be widely applied to various electronic products such as the display shown in FIG. 11, the camera shown in FIG. 12, or the notebook PC shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3, 12, and 13, the manufacturing method according to the present invention includes the following steps.
a) First, a heat-moldable panel material 10 is prepared.
b) The panel material 10 has a relatively low melting point and is made of a soft material. The panel material 10 is set on the mold cavity 310 of the concave mold 31, and the concave mold 31 is the mold. An insertion pin 311 is provided at the periphery of the cavity 310. The panel material 10 is provided with holes 15 for positioning through the insertion pins 311 in advance, and then another convex mold 32 is combined from the top to the bottom corresponding to the concave mold 31. The convex mold 32 has a mold head 320 smaller than the mold cavity 310 and is provided with a pin hole 321 into which the insertion pin 311 is inserted. Positioned by pin 311. Thus, the panel material 10 is pressed and fixed by the mold head 320 and is pressed into the mold cavity 310 to be molded. At this time, the melted base material 20 is injected from the injection passage 322 provided in advance in the convex mold 32, and the panel material 10 is made into the concave mold 32 mold by utilizing the temperature of the molten base material 20. Mold according to the cavity 310. In this way, the spring back stress of the decorative material 10 is eliminated, and the base material 20 and the panel material 10 are joined together, and the panel material 10 constitutes the outer layer of the base material 20 to form the appearance of the base material 20. Is protected and beautified.

It is a disassembled instruction diagram of a known mobile phone terminal. It is an instruction figure showing signs that a publicly known cellular phone terminal case is injection-molded in a metal mold. It is an exploded view of the panel material of the present invention. It is an instruction figure of the present invention panel material molding. It is a solid instruction | indication figure of a mode that this invention panel material is shape | molded by the case body outline. It is an instruction | indication figure of a mode that this invention case body outline is installed in a shaping die. It is a shaping | molding instruction | indication figure of this invention base material. It is an Example instruction | indication figure which implements this invention in a mobile telephone terminal. FIG. 4 is an instruction diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention joins a foam material. It is an instruction | indication figure of the Example which implements this invention to a camera. FIG. 3 is an instruction diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is implemented in a notebook PC. It is another Example disassembly instruction | indication figure with which this invention panel material couple | bonds with a base material. It is another Example combination cross-sectional instruction | indication which this invention panel material couple | bonds with a base material.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Panel material 11 Inner surface layer 12 Pattern layer 13 Outer material layer 14 Installation space 15 Hole 20 Base material 21 Hollow chamber 31 Concave die 310 Mold cavity 311 Insertion pin 32 Convex die 320 Mold head 321 Pin hole 322 Injection passage 91 Top cover 92 Lower lid 93 Circuit board

Claims (14)

In the case manufacturing method for electronic devices,
a) A heat-moldable panel material is formed by laminating and bonding the outer material layer, the design layer, and the inner surface layer, and the hardness of the outer material layer is between shore A98-20, and the inner surface layer has heat resistance. Prepared,
b) Vacuuming the panel material from the outer concave mold side in the mold to form a case body contour with a three-dimensional shape in contact with the outer concave mold and corresponding to the base material layer on the inner surface layer side Forming a space,
c) A method for manufacturing a case of electronic equipment, wherein a molten base material layer is injected into the space on the inner side of the contour of the case body and is integrally formed with the inner surface layer of the panel material. In the case manufacturing method for electronic devices,
a) A heat-moldable panel material is formed by stacking and adhering an outer material layer, a design layer, and an inner surface layer, and the hardness of the outer material layer is between shore A98-20, and the inner surface layer has heat resistance. ,
b) The panel material is made of a soft material having a relatively low melting point, and is set on the mold cavity of the concave mold, and the concave mold is positioned on the corresponding convex mold. At the periphery, and positioned with respect to the corresponding holes provided in the panel material and the convex mold, and by aligning both molds, the panel material is adjusted by the mold head of the convex mold. Press molding, injecting the base material melted from the convex mold, and fusing the inner surface layer of the panel material and the base material at the melting temperature to form them integrally, eliminating the springback stress of the panel material It is characterized by
Case manufacturing method for electronic devices. The method for manufacturing a case of an electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an antistatic material is mixed in the panel material. The method for manufacturing a case of an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a conductive material is mixed in the panel material. 3. The case manufacturing of an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the base material is a foaming raw material, and the foaming raw material is foamed or placed in an installation space of the case body outline to form the base material. Method. 3. The method of manufacturing an electronic device case of the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the outer material layer has light transmittance. The method for manufacturing a case of an electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer surface of the outer layer of the panel material has a pre-shaped pattern. The method for manufacturing a case of an electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer surface of the outer layer of the panel material forms a hairy texture by polishing. 3. A method for manufacturing a case of electronic equipment according to claim 1, wherein a lame material having a light flashing effect is added to the case. 3. A case manufacturing method for electronic equipment according to claim 1, wherein a pattern is formed on an outer surface of the outer layer of the panel material. 3. The method of manufacturing an electronic device case according to claim 1, wherein an electroplated film having a thickness of 0.01 mm or less is formed on an outer surface of the outer layer of the panel material. The method for manufacturing a case of an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface layer is a cloth layer having good heat resistance and adhesiveness. 3. The method for manufacturing a case of an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the outer material layer is formed of a thermoplastic material and has a layered structure that gives a visual effect of flashing three-dimensional 3D light. 14. The case manufacturing method for an electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the outer material layer is a pattern layer formed by printing or an inkjet method.

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