TW201401968A - Device shell and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A manufacturing method for a device shell is provided. First, a transparent substrate is provided. Then, a film is disposed on the transparent substrate, wherein the film includes a central portion and a surrounding portion, and the central portion is surrounded by the surrounding portion. At least one coating layer is disposed on the transparent substrate, wherein the film is covered by the coating layer. A part of the coating layer is removed, such that a first opening is formed on the coating layer, wherein the first opening is aligned to the central portion, and the surrounding portion obstructs between the transparent substrate and the periphery of the first opening. In addition, a device shell manufactured through the manufacturing method is also provided.

Description

Device housing and method of manufacturing same

The present invention relates to a device housing and a process thereof, and more particularly to a device housing having a light transmissive substrate and a process therefor.

In recent years, the technology industry has become increasingly developed, and the use of electronic products such as smart phones, digital cameras, notebooks, and tablet PCs has become more common and convenient. A versatile and aesthetically pleasing design direction is being developed. In order to make the appearance of the electronic device more aesthetic, the device casing including the light-transmitting substrate and the coating layer may be used as the outer casing of the electronic device or as a protective plate for the display surface of the electronic device.

In detail, in the manufacturing process of the above-described device casing, a coating layer is first disposed inside the light-transmitting substrate, and then the coating layer is laser-engraved to form an opening in the coating layer. The shape of the opening can be designed as needed to present a pattern or text in a region of the light transmissive substrate corresponding to the opening. When performing laser engraving on the coating layer, the laser tends to hit the exposed area of the transparent substrate, and the surface of the transparent substrate is tarnished and rough. In addition, if the inner wall of the opening formed by the laser engraving is not flat enough, it will also affect the aesthetics of the device housing.

The invention provides a method for manufacturing a device housing, which can be manufactured with A preferred appearance of the device housing.

The present invention provides a device housing having a preferred appearance.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a device housing. First, a light transmissive substrate is provided. Next, a film layer is disposed on the light transmissive substrate, wherein the film layer includes a central portion and a surrounding portion, and the surrounding portion surrounds the central portion. At least one coating layer is disposed on the light transmissive substrate, wherein the coating layer covers the film layer. A portion of the coating layer is removed to form a first opening in the coating layer, wherein the first pair of openings is located at a central portion, and the surrounding portion is shielded between the periphery of the first opening and the light transmissive substrate.

In one embodiment of the invention, the step of removing a portion of the coating layer includes a laser scriber process.

In an embodiment of the invention, the method of manufacturing the device housing further includes removing the central portion after forming the first opening.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method for manufacturing the device housing further includes: forming a plating layer on the coating layer; removing a portion of the plating layer to form a second opening in the plating layer, wherein the second opening pair is located at the An opening.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of forming a plating layer includes an evaporation process or a sputtering process.

A device housing includes a light transmissive substrate, a film layer and at least one coating layer. The film layer is disposed on the light transmissive substrate and includes a surrounding portion. The coating layer is disposed on the transparent substrate and covers the surrounding portion, wherein the coating layer has a first opening, and the surrounding portion is shielded between the periphery of the first opening and the transparent substrate.

In an embodiment of the invention, the film layer further includes a central portion surrounding the central portion and the first opening pair is located at the central portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, the device housing further includes a plating layer, wherein the plating layer is disposed on the coating layer and has a second opening, and the second opening pair is located at the first opening.

In an embodiment of the invention, the material of the transparent substrate comprises glass.

In an embodiment of the invention, the peripheral edge of the first opening has a sawtooth structure, and the surrounding portion is shielded between the sawtooth structure and the transparent substrate.

Based on the above, in the manufacturing process of the device casing of the present invention, the film layer is disposed on the light-transmitting substrate, and the center portion of the film layer is located at a predetermined opening of the coating layer. Thereby, when the opening is formed in the coating layer by laser engraving, the film layer can protect the portion of the light-transmitting substrate corresponding to the opening, and avoid the laser strike on the light-transmitting substrate to maintain the gloss of the surface of the light-transmitting substrate. In addition, the surrounding portion of the film layer is blocked between the periphery of the opening and the transparent substrate, so that the user cannot see the peripheral portion of the opening through the transparent substrate to prevent the unevenness of the peripheral edge of the opening from affecting the appearance of the device casing.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

1A to 1E are flow charts of a method of manufacturing a device housing according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, referring to FIG. 1A, a transparent substrate 110 is provided. Next, referring to FIG. 1B, a film layer 120 is disposed on the transparent substrate 110, wherein the film layer 120 includes a central portion 122 and a surrounding portion 124, and the surrounding portion 124 surrounds the central portion 122. Referring to FIG. 1C, at least one coating layer 130 (shown as a plurality of layers) is disposed on the transparent substrate 110, and a plating layer 140 is formed on the coating layer 130 by an evaporation process or a sputtering process, wherein the coating layer 130 covers the film layer 120. Referring to FIG. 1D, a portion of the plating layer 140 and a portion of the coating layer 130 are removed by a laser engraving process to form a first opening 132 in the coating layer 130 and a second opening 142 in the plating layer 140, wherein the first opening The pair of 132 is located at the central portion 122 , and the second opening 142 is located at the first opening 132 , and the surrounding portion 124 is shielded between the peripheral edge 132 a of the first opening 132 and the transparent substrate 110 .

Referring to FIG. 1E, the central portion 122 of the film layer 120 is removed to complete the fabrication of the device housing 100. The shapes of the first opening 132 and the second opening 142 can be designed according to requirements, so that a pattern or a character is presented in a region of the transparent substrate 110 corresponding to the first opening 132 and the second opening 142. In the above manufacturing process, since the coating layer 120 is disposed on the transparent substrate 110 before the coating layer 130 is disposed on the transparent substrate 110, the central portion 122 of the film layer 120 is disposed on the coating layer 130. Opening, so when the first opening 132 is formed in the coating layer 130 by laser engraving, the film layer 120 can protect the portion of the transparent substrate 110 corresponding to the first opening 132, avoiding laser strike on the transparent substrate 110 To maintain the gloss of the surface of the transparent substrate 110.

As shown in FIG. 1E , the device housing 100 of the present embodiment includes a transparent substrate 110 , a film layer 120 , a coating layer 130 , and a plating layer 140 . The material of the transparent substrate 110 is, for example, glass or other suitable transparent material. The film layer 120 is disposed on the light transmissive substrate 110 and includes a surrounding portion 124. The coating layer 130 is disposed on the transparent substrate 110 and covers the surrounding portion 122 and has a first opening 132 . plating The layer 140 is disposed on the coating layer 130 and has a second opening 142 , and the second opening 142 is located at the first opening 132 . The surrounding portion 122 is shielded between the peripheral edge 132a of the first opening 132 and the transparent substrate 110. Therefore, the user cannot see the peripheral edge 132a of the first opening 132 through the transparent substrate 110 to avoid the periphery 132a of the first opening 132. The unevenness affects the appearance of the device housing 100.

When the device housing 100 is applied to a housing of an electronic device, a protective panel of a display surface of the electronic device, or other type of housing, the first side S1 of the device housing 100 is, for example, toward the exterior of the electronic device, and the second side of the device housing 100 S2 is, for example, facing the inside of the electronic device. The user can see the color of the coating layer 130 through the transparent substrate 110, and can see the pattern formed by the first opening 132 and the second opening 142 through the transparent substrate 110. Or text. In other embodiments, the central portion 122 of the film layer 120 may not be removed. The film layer 120 further includes a central portion 122 as shown in FIG. 1D. The central portion 122 is surrounded by the surrounding portion 124. The light substrate 110 sees the color appearing in the central portion 122. In addition, in other embodiments, the plating layer 140 may not be formed on the coating layer 130, which is not limited by the present invention.

Figure 2 is a partial enlarged view of the device housing of Figure 1E at the surrounding portion. Figure 3 is a top plan view of the coating layer and surrounding portion of Figure 1E. In order to make the drawings clearer, the transparent substrate 110 is not shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in detail, when the first opening 132 is formed by the laser engraving process as described above, the sawtooth structure 132b or other irregularities may be generated at the periphery 132a of the first opening 132. structure. The surrounding portion 124 is shielded from the zigzag Between the structure 132b and the transparent substrate 110, the user can see the sawtooth structure 132b through the transparent substrate 110, so that the device housing 100 has a good appearance. In FIG. 3, the serrated structure 132b is shielded by the surrounding portion 124 and is shown in dashed lines. In addition, FIG. 3 illustrates the first opening 132 as a rectangle, which is merely illustrative, and the first opening 132 may actually be other shapes to form a pattern or text.

In summary, in the manufacturing process of the device casing of the present invention, the film layer is disposed on the light-transmitting substrate, and the central portion of the film layer is located at a predetermined opening of the coating layer. Thereby, when the opening is formed in the coating layer by laser engraving, the film layer can protect the portion of the light-transmitting substrate corresponding to the opening, and avoid the laser strike on the light-transmitting substrate to maintain the gloss of the surface of the light-transmitting substrate. In addition, the surrounding portion of the film layer is blocked between the periphery of the opening and the transparent substrate, so that the user cannot see the peripheral portion of the opening through the transparent substrate to prevent the unevenness of the peripheral edge of the opening from affecting the appearance of the device casing.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧ device housing

110‧‧‧Transparent substrate

120‧‧‧ film layer

122‧‧‧Central Department

124‧‧‧ Surrounding

130‧‧‧coating layer

132‧‧‧ first opening

132a‧‧‧ Periphery

132b‧‧‧Sawtooth structure

140‧‧‧ plating

142‧‧‧ second opening

S1‧‧‧ first side

S2‧‧‧ second side

1A to 1E are flow charts of a method of manufacturing a device housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a partial enlarged view of the device housing of Figure 1E at the surrounding portion.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the coating layer and surrounding portion of Figure 1E.

110‧‧‧Transparent substrate

120‧‧‧ film layer

122‧‧‧Central Department

124‧‧‧ Surrounding

130‧‧‧coating layer

132‧‧‧ first opening

140‧‧‧ plating

142‧‧‧ second opening

Claims (10)

A method for manufacturing a device housing, comprising: providing a transparent substrate; arranging a film layer on the transparent substrate, wherein the film layer comprises a central portion and a surrounding portion, and the surrounding portion surrounds the central portion; At least one coating layer on the light transmissive substrate, wherein the coating layer covers the film layer; and removing a portion of the coating layer to form a first opening in the coating layer, wherein the first opening pair is located The central portion is shielded between the periphery of the first opening and the transparent substrate. The method of manufacturing a device casing according to claim 1, wherein the step of removing a portion of the coating layer comprises a laser engraving process. The method of manufacturing a device housing according to claim 1, further comprising: removing the central portion after forming the first opening. The method of manufacturing the device casing of claim 1, further comprising: forming a plating layer on the coating layer; and removing a portion of the plating layer to form a second opening in the plating layer, wherein the Two pairs of openings are located in the first opening. The method of manufacturing a device casing according to claim 4, wherein the step of forming the plating layer comprises an evaporation process or a sputtering process. A device housing comprising: a light transmissive substrate; a coating layer disposed on the transparent substrate and including a surrounding portion; and at least one coating layer disposed on the transparent substrate and covering the surrounding portion, wherein the coating layer has a first opening, and the coating layer has a first opening The surrounding portion is shielded between the periphery of the first opening and the transparent substrate. The device casing of claim 6, wherein the film layer further comprises a central portion surrounding the central portion, and the first opening pair is located at the central portion. The device housing of claim 6, further comprising a plating layer, wherein the plating layer is disposed on the coating layer and has a second opening, and the second opening pair is located at the first opening. The device housing of claim 6, wherein the material of the transparent substrate comprises glass. The device housing of claim 6, wherein the peripheral edge of the first opening has a sawtooth structure, and the surrounding portion is shielded between the sawtooth structure and the transparent substrate.