JP2011156587A - Method for manufacturing exterior component, and exterior component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exterior component manufacturing method capable of efficiently manufacturing an exterior component having aesthetic property and functionality, and the exterior component. <P>SOLUTION: The exterior component manufacturing method includes: a forging step S2 of forming a three-dimensional shape by forging a part area of a workpiece 10 consisting of a metal plate; a cutting step S3 of cutting a part of the area to the predetermined shape after the forging step S2; and a press step S4 of forming the outer peripheral shape of the exterior component by pressing the workpiece 10 after the cutting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an exterior part and the exterior part. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an exterior part such as a part used for an exterior of an automobile part or an electronic equipment casing used for an exterior of an electronic apparatus, and such an exterior part.

  Conventionally, various exterior parts are generally known. Specifically, for example, parts used for exterior parts of automobile parts, electronic equipment cases used for exterior parts of electronic equipment, and the like are known.

  For example, notebook computers and electronic notebooks are generally known as the above-described electronic devices. FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional electronic device. As shown in FIG. 6, the electronic device 100 includes a main body portion 101 having a keyboard and the like, and a display portion 102 having a liquid crystal display device and the like, and the main body portion 101 and the display portion 102 are connected by a connecting portion 103. ing. And the said display part 102 is provided with the electronic device housing | casing 104 which covers the back surface of a liquid crystal display device (for example, refer patent document 1). Fig.7 (a) is a top view of the conventional electronic device housing | casing, (b) is XX sectional drawing in (a). As shown in FIG. 7, the conventional electronic device housing 104 is a member formed in a U shape in a cross-sectional view, and stands from a plate-like top plate portion 105 and a peripheral portion of the top plate portion 105. And a side surface portion 106. In addition, the electronic device housing 104 includes a cylindrical boss 107 protruding from the surface of the top plate portion 105. Further, in manufacturing the electronic device casing 104 having such a configuration in the prior art, first, the boss 107 is joined to the surface of the metal plate as the material of the electronic device casing 104 by welding. Thereafter, the metal plate to which the boss 107 is bonded is forged over the entire surface to deform the metal plate, and the electronic device casing 104 having the top plate portion 105 and the side surface portion 106 is manufactured.

JP 2007-50424 A

  By the way, in an electronic device casing related to a general notebook computer or electronic notebook, a boss for fixing a screw is provided to screw the electronic device casing and other members such as a liquid crystal display device. It is preferable to have. In addition, recent electronic devices need to be equipped with an antenna in order to have a wireless communication function such as a wireless LAN. In the case of a metal casing having a high electromagnetic shielding property, the periphery of the antenna mounting part is not covered with metal, and the electromagnetic shielding It is covered with a resin member having low properties, and a shape having a boss is also desired for attaching the resin cover.

  However, in the method of manufacturing an electronic device casing as described above, since the boss 107 is joined by welding, there is a problem in that it takes time for processing. Further, in the manufacturing method as described above, since the metal plate that is the material of the electronic device casing 104 is forged over the whole, the forging process remains on the entire electronic device casing 104 that is manufactured, There was a problem that the appearance of the electronic device casing 104 was damaged. Further, in order to process the processing trace of the forging process, the entire electronic device housing 104 is subjected to buffing and the like, and there is a problem that dust is generated and troublesome.

  In addition, a die casting method has been conventionally known as a method for manufacturing an electronic device casing having a complicated shape. However, in this die casting method, the thickness of the electronic device casing becomes thick due to a problem of fluidity of molten metal. There was a case. In the die casting method, casting defects such as sink marks may occur on the surface of the electronic device casing, and runners and burrs may occur on the edges. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes time and effort to fill the putty and a post process to remove them.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an exterior component manufacturing method and an exterior component capable of efficiently manufacturing an exterior component excellent in aesthetics and functionality. To do.

  The present invention is a method for manufacturing an exterior part for solving the above-described problem, comprising a forging step of forging a partial region of a workpiece made of a metal plate to form a three-dimensional shape, and after the forging step And a cutting step for cutting a part of the region into a predetermined shape, and a pressing step for forming the outer peripheral shape of the exterior part by pressing the workpiece after cutting.

  Further, in the above manufacturing method, the exterior component is a casing of an electronic device, and the forging step generates a boss or a rib that fixes a cover member inside the casing, and the pressing step includes the step of A region where the wireless communication antenna is arranged outside the housing can be generated.

  According to such a configuration, a protruding boss or rib can be formed by the forging step. As a result, a boss for fixing a screw or the like is formed, so that an exterior part capable of easily attaching and detaching other parts is obtained. Moreover, since the rib which reinforces exterior components is formed, the rigidity and intensity | strength of exterior components can be improved. Moreover, since the forging process is only performed on a part of the workpiece and not on the whole, the appearance of the exterior component is not impaired. In addition, since the forging process is partial, the processing trace can be easily covered. Moreover, since the top plate part and the side part are formed by pressing, the appearance of the exterior part is not impaired. Therefore, according to the method for manufacturing an exterior part according to the present invention, an exterior part having excellent aesthetics and functionality can be efficiently manufactured.

  Further, the present invention is an exterior part for solving the above-described problem, and a forging region in which a workpiece made of a metal plate is forged to form a three-dimensional shape, and an outer peripheral shape by pressing the workpiece. The forging area is covered with a cover member.

  The exterior component is a housing of an electronic device, and the housing includes an electromagnetic shielding region on the inside and a non-electromagnetic shielding region on the outside, and the three-dimensional shape protrudes from the inside of the housing. The non-electromagnetic wave shielding region may be covered with the cover member, and the cover member may be fixed using the boss.

  In the exterior component, a radio communication antenna may be housed in the non-electromagnetic shielding region, and the cover member may be made of a resin having a lower electromagnetic shielding property than the workpiece.

  The workpiece is preferably made of a magnesium alloy or an aluminum alloy.

  According to the method for manufacturing an exterior component according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently manufacture an exterior component that is excellent in aesthetics and functionality.

1 is a perspective view of a notebook computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a notebook computer. It is a perspective view of the electronic device case concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the manufacturing method of an electronic device housing | casing. It is a figure explaining the manufacturing method of an electronic device housing | casing. It is a side view of the conventional electronic device. (A) is a top view of the conventional electronic device housing | casing, (b) is XX sectional drawing in (a).

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, an electronic device casing will be described as an example of an exterior component. First, an electronic device provided with an electronic device casing manufactured by the method for manufacturing an exterior component according to the present invention will be described. Although it does not specifically limit as an electronic device, For example, a notebook personal computer, an electronic notebook, etc. are mentioned, In this embodiment, it is set as the notebook personal computer. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the notebook computer. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the notebook computer 20 includes a main body portion 21, a display portion 22, and a connecting portion 23 that connects the main body portion 21 and the display portion 22. The main body 21 includes a main board 24, a keyboard 25, and the like. The display unit 22 includes a liquid crystal display device 26 and the like. In addition, the display unit 22 includes a U-shaped electronic device casing 1 that covers a back surface 28 of the liquid crystal display device 26. The connection part 23 connects the main body part 21 and the display part 22 so that they can be opened and closed by a hinge. In addition, a resin cover member 27 that covers a short-range wireless communication antenna or the like (not shown) is attached in the vicinity of the connecting portion 23 of the electronic device casing 1. The attachment position of the wireless communication antenna or the like and the cover member 27 can be changed as appropriate. The cover member 27 is made of a resin having a lower electromagnetic wave shielding property than the workpiece 10 described later, and is screwed using a boss 4 described later.

  Next, the electronic device casing manufactured by the manufacturing method according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the electronic device casing 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic device casing 1 includes a flat top plate portion 2 and a side surface portion 3 formed on the peripheral portion of the top plate portion 2. For example, a metal such as a magnesium alloy or an aluminum alloy can be used as the material of the electronic device casing 1. In this case, the inside of the electronic device casing 1 is a region having a high electromagnetic shielding property (an electromagnetic shielding region). . The paper surface in FIG. 3 is the inner surface of the top panel 2, and when the notebook computer 20 is assembled, this inner surface faces the back surface 28 of the liquid crystal display device 26. Moreover, the top plate part 2 includes bosses 4 and ribs 5 provided so as to protrude in the vertical direction from the inner side surface. The boss 4 and the rib 5 are formed in the vicinity of the periphery of the top plate portion 2. The boss 4 is for fixing a screw, a pin, or the like, and is a cylindrical protruding portion formed thick. The cover member 27 can be fixed to the boss 4 with a screw. The rib 5 is used to reinforce the flat plate-shaped top plate portion 2 and is a thick protruding portion formed so as to extend along the inner surface of the top plate portion 2.

  The side surface portion 3 stands up from the peripheral portion of the top plate portion 2 so as to be orthogonal to the top plate portion 2 and is formed so as to surround the top plate portion 2. Further, the side surface portion 3 extends while being partially bent along the circumferential direction of the top plate portion 2. A concave area AT corresponding to the outer side of the bent concave area is an area in which a wireless communication antenna or the like is accommodated, and is covered with a cover member 27 from the outer side. The cover member 27 is fixed by screwing from the inside of the housing using the boss 4 near the concave area AT. Since the wireless communication antenna or the like is located in a region outside the housing (non-electromagnetic shielding region) that has a lower electromagnetic shielding property than the inside of the housing, transmission / reception characteristics can be improved. The wireless communication antenna or the like may be attached to the cover member 27 or may be attached to the electronic device casing 1 using the boss 4 near the recessed area AT. The bent shape of the side surface portion 3 can be appropriately changed according to the function of the notebook computer 20.

  Next, a method for manufacturing an electronic device casing according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the manufacturing method. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the manufacturing method. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in order to manufacture the electronic device casing 1, first, a workpiece 10 that is a material of the electronic device casing 1 is prepared (preparation step S <b> 1: FIG. 5A). . The workpiece 10 is made of a metal plate member, and the thickness of the workpiece 10 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.4 mm to 4 mm. Examples of the metal include a magnesium alloy and an aluminum alloy. In addition, the workpiece 10 is rectangular in this embodiment, and has four sides 10a to 10d.

  Next, an intermediate workpiece 11 having a three-dimensional shape is produced by partially forging the workpiece 10 (forging step S2: FIG. 5B). Specifically, by deforming a partial region of the workpiece 10 by forging, an intermediate workpiece 11 in which the three-dimensional bosses 4 and ribs 5 protrude from the surface of the metal plate is generated. In the present embodiment, the boss 4 and the rib 5 are formed in the vicinity of the one side 10a by forging the vicinity of the one side 10a among the four sides 10a to 10d of the workpiece 10. Thereby, the intermediate workpiece 11 having the boss 4 and the rib 5 is formed in the vicinity of the periphery of the metal plate. At this time, the forging process is performed on a predetermined range near one side 10a of the workpiece 10, and is not performed on other parts of the workpiece 10 (parts other than the vicinity of the one side 10a). Moreover, a forging area is formed by forging. The forging region is a region where the boss 4 and the rib 5 are formed, and is a portion that is covered and hidden by the cover member 27 when the cover member 27 is attached to the electronic device casing 1. In this specification, forging refers to a plastic working method that obtains a product having a required shape and size by compressing a plate or a bulk (bulk) material using a mold or a tool. This refers to a process in which the material thickness is greatly increased or decreased. In the forging process, the plate thickness reduction ratio is preferably 50% or less. Moreover, although the processing temperature in a forge process has preferable 280 to 400 degreeC, when using a material with good workability, you may process at lower temperatures, such as normal temperature. As a forging device for forging, a known forging device or press device can be used.

  Subsequently, the intermediate workpiece 11 is cut (trimmed) into a predetermined shape (cutting step S3: FIG. 5C). Specifically, the peripheral portion (four sides 10a to 10d) of the intermediate workpiece 11 is cut into a predetermined shape so that the manufactured electronic device casing 1 has a predetermined shape. More specifically, a part of the forged region is cut into a predetermined shape. In the present embodiment, the four corners of the rectangular intermediate workpiece 11 and one side 10a are cut into a predetermined shape. The cutting shape can be changed as appropriate.

  Then, the electronic device housing | casing 1 is produced | generated by pressing the intermediate workpiece 11 (press step S4: FIG.5 (d)). Specifically, the side surface portion 3 that forms the outer peripheral shape of the electronic device casing 1 is formed by bending the peripheral edge portion of the intermediate workpiece 11 by press working. Thereby, the electronic device housing | casing 1 which has the top-plate part 2 and the side part 3 which stands up from the peripheral part of the top-plate part 2 is formed. The bent shape of the side surface portion 3 in the press working can be changed as appropriate. Further, the boss 4 and the rib 5 are disposed in the vicinity of the side surface portion 3. Further, a press region is formed by press working. In the present embodiment, the press region is a region where the top plate portion 2 and the side surface portion 3 are formed. In addition, an electromagnetic wave shielding region is formed inside the electronic device housing 1 and a non-electromagnetic shielding region is formed outside the electronic device housing 1 by press working. A wireless communication antenna can be disposed in the non-electromagnetic shielding region. In this specification, the press work is a cylindrical container, a rectangular container, which is subjected to shearing, bending, (plate) forming, drawing, etc. on a metal base plate using a tool called punch, die, mold, wrinkle presser, etc. , Refers to the processing method to obtain products with various other shapes, and refers to processing with little increase or decrease in material thickness. A known press apparatus can be used as a press apparatus for performing the press working. The processing temperature in the press processing is preferably 250 ° C to 350 ° C. Depending on the material, processing may be performed at a temperature lower than the above processing temperature, such as normal temperature.

  Thereafter, finishing is performed (finishing step S5). Specifically, the electronic device casing 1 is subjected to chemical conversion treatment or painting.

  According to the method for manufacturing an electronic device casing according to the present embodiment as described above, the forging step S1 for partially forging the workpiece 10 made of a metal plate to generate the intermediate workpiece 11, and the intermediate processing Since the press step S4 for generating the electronic device casing 1 by pressing the object 11 is provided, the protruding bosses 4 and ribs 5 can be formed by the forging step S1. Thereby, for example, since the boss 4 for fixing the screw is formed, the electronic device casing 1 in which other components can be easily attached and detached is obtained. Further, with such an electronic device casing 1, since other components can be easily attached and detached, it is easy to repair components when the notebook personal computer 20 fails or to collect components when recycling. Moreover, since the rib 5 which reinforces the electronic device housing | casing 1 is formed, the curvature of the electronic device housing | casing 1, a twist, etc. can be prevented and rigidity and intensity | strength can be improved. In addition, the forging process is only performed on a part of the workpiece 10 and not on the whole, so that a large force is not required, and it can be processed by a small and general forging apparatus or pressing apparatus. . Further, since the forging process is used for a portion that is covered by the cover member 27 or the like, it is not necessary to buff the processed trace and the time is not required. Moreover, since the top plate part 2 and the side part 3 are formed by press work, the external appearance of the electronic device housing 1 is not impaired. Therefore, according to the method for manufacturing an electronic device casing according to the present invention, an electronic device casing having excellent aesthetics and functionality can be efficiently manufactured. Such a manufacturing method is particularly effective when manufacturing an electronic device casing that requires many bosses 4 and ribs 5 in order to incorporate a wireless communication antenna device in the notebook computer 20.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the specific aspect of this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, the boss 4 and the rib 5 do not necessarily have to be formed, and only one of them may be formed. Moreover, these numbers and shapes are not particularly limited.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the electronic device housing | casing 1 which concerns on electronic devices, such as a notebook personal computer and an electronic notebook, was demonstrated as an exterior component, it is not limited to the electronic device housing | casing 1 as an exterior component, It is on the exterior of a motor vehicle component. It may be a component to be used. The present invention can be applied to any part that can be formed by pressing a part exposed to the appearance during normal use and forging a part that is covered with another member and is invisible to the user. .

  In addition, the attachment position of the wireless communication antenna and the like and the cover member 27 that covers the wireless communication antenna may not be in the vicinity of the connecting portion 23. In consideration of the transmission / reception characteristics of the antenna, the attachment position is close to the upper portion when the notebook computer is opened. It may be provided.

  In this specification, the magnesium alloy and the aluminum alloy include pure magnesium and pure aluminum.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device housing | casing 2 Top plate part 3 Side part 4 Boss 5 Rib 10 Work piece 11 Intermediate work piece 20 Notebook PC 21 Main-body part 22 Display part 23 Connection part

Claims (6)

A forging step of forging a partial region of a workpiece made of a metal plate to form a three-dimensional shape;
After the forging step, a cutting step for cutting a part of the region into a predetermined shape;
And a pressing step for forming the outer peripheral shape of the exterior part by pressing the workpiece after cutting. The exterior component is a casing of an electronic device,
The forging step generates a boss or a rib for fixing a cover member inside the housing,
2. The method of manufacturing an exterior part according to claim 1, wherein the pressing step generates a region in which a wireless communication antenna is disposed outside the casing. A forging area in which a three-dimensional shape is formed by forging a workpiece made of a metal plate;
A press region in which an outer peripheral shape is formed by press working on the workpiece,
The forged region is covered with a cover member. The exterior component is a casing of an electronic device,
The housing includes an electromagnetic shielding region on the inside and a non-electromagnetic shielding region on the outside,
The three-dimensional shape is a boss or rib protruding from the inside of the housing,
4. The exterior component according to claim 3, wherein the non-electromagnetic shielding region is covered with the cover member, and the cover member is fixed using the boss. In the non-electromagnetic shielding region, a wireless communication antenna is housed,
5. The exterior component according to claim 4, wherein the cover member is made of a resin having a lower electromagnetic wave shielding property than the workpiece. 6. The exterior part according to claim 3, wherein the workpiece is made of a magnesium alloy or an aluminum alloy.

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