TWI491507B - Device housing and method for making the device housing - Google Patents

Description

Electronic device housing and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to an electronic device housing and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly to an electronic device housing having a glamorous pearlescent and metallic appearance and a method of manufacturing the electronic device housing.

The housing of conventional electronic products (such as mobile phones, PDAs, etc.) is often plated with a metal layer or a metal oxide layer to give the product a metallic feel, thereby attracting consumers' attention. The metal layer is typically formed by electroless plating because the metal layer is non-conductive, thereby preventing interference with the signal. The non-conductive metal layer or metal oxide layer is generally transparent, and after being formed on the casing, together with the substrate of the casing or other paint layers formed on the casing, the casing exhibits a colored metal Textured appearance.

However, although the above-mentioned casing has a color metallic appearance, it cannot exhibit a pearly appearance, and its appearance is not attractive, and it is difficult to make the product more competitive.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide an electronic device housing having a glamorous pearlescent and metallic appearance.

In addition, it is also necessary to provide a method of fabricating the above-described electronic device housing.

An electronic device housing comprising a substrate, a metal texture layer and a topcoat layer formed on the surface of the substrate in sequence, the metal texture layer being a non-conductive layer formed by vacuum coating, the metal texture layer being a plurality of titanium oxide layers and a composite layer in which a plurality of layers of ceria layer are alternately laminated, the reflectivity of the metal texture layer is 50-80%, and the top coat layer contains a pearlescent pigment, and the particle size of the pigment particles of the magic pearl pigment is 200- 900nm.

A method for manufacturing an electronic device housing, comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a metal texture layer on a surface of the substrate; the method for forming the metal texture layer is vacuum plating, wherein the metal texture layer is a plurality of layers of titanium oxide and multiple layers a composite layer in which the ruthenium dioxide layers are alternately laminated, the reflectivity of the metal texture layer is 50-80%; a topcoat layer is formed on the metal texture layer, and the topcoat layer contains a magical pearlescent pigment, the illusion The pigment particles of the pearlescent pigment have a particle diameter of 200 to 900 nm.

The pigment particles in the topcoat layer can form multiple scattered light to the incident light. When the scattered light is refracted and reflected by the interface between the topcoat layer and the metal texture layer having different refractive indices, various refracted light and reflected light are The space forms a complex interference enhancement zone to produce a magical pearlescent effect.

Since the refractive index of the titanium oxide layer in the metal texture layer is substantially different from the refractive index of the ceria layer, the metal texture layer is highly reflective to external light, and the reflected light can form a complex interference enhancement region in the space. In this way, the magical pearlescent effect can be made more intense, and the electronic device casing exhibits a strong glare pearlescent and metallic appearance appearance, which gives a fashionable and beautiful enjoyment, greatly improved. Product appeal and competitiveness.

10‧‧‧Electronic device housing

11‧‧‧ base

13‧‧‧ Primer layer

15‧‧‧Metal texture layer

17‧‧‧Chinese paint layer

19‧‧‧Face paint layer

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a vacuum coating member of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an electronic device housing 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a base 11 and a primer layer 13 , a metal texture layer 15 , a middle lacquer layer 17 and a topcoat layer 19 which are sequentially formed on the surface of the base 11 .

The base 11 can be a plastic substrate which can be made by injection molding. The plastic for injection molding the substrate 11 may be selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polycarbonate and acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene copolymer. Any of the mixtures (PC + ABS). The substrate 11 can also be a glass substrate or a ceramic substrate.

The primer layer 13 can be formed by spraying a polyurethane varnish on the surface of the substrate 11. The primer layer 13 is a colorless, transparent paint layer having a smooth, flat surface that enhances the adhesion of the subsequent coating to the primer layer 13. The primer layer 13 may have a thickness of 5 to 10 μm.

The metal texture layer 15 may be formed on the surface of the primer layer 13 by vacuum coating. The vacuum coating may be vacuum sputtering, vacuum evaporation, or the like. The metal texture layer 15 may have a thickness of 50 to 500 nm. The metal texture layer 15 has a high reflectivity to external light (the reflectance is between 50 and 80%), so that it exhibits a metallic mirror effect. The metal texture layer 15 is a composite layer formed by alternately laminating a plurality of titanium oxide layers and a plurality of ceria layers, and the total number of layers of the titanium oxide layer and the ceria layer may be between 3 and 7 layers.

The intermediate lacquer layer 17 may have a thickness of 10 to 50 μm. The paint used to form the middle lacquer layer 17 can be The ultraviolet curable paint may also be a general heat curing paint such as a polyurethane paint or an unsaturated polyester paint. Preferably, the paint forming the intermediate paint layer 17 is a polyurethane paint. The intermediate lacquer layer enhances the adhesion of the subsequent topcoat layer.

The topcoat layer 19 may have a thickness of 20-30 μm. The paint used to form the topcoat layer 19 can be a polyurethane lacquer which has a relatively high hardness and thus provides good surface protection. The polyurethane paint contains a magic pearlescent pigment, so that the electronic device housing 10 exhibits a magic pearl effect. The mass percentage of the variegated pearlescent pigment relative to the polyurethane lacquer is from 1% to 3%. The variegated pearlescent pigment has a particle size of 200-900 nm.

The pigment particles in the topcoat layer 19 can form multiple scattered light to the incident light, and the scattered light is generated in the interface between the topcoat layer 19 and the intermediate paint layer 17, the intermediate paint layer 17 and the metal texture layer 15 having different refractive indexes. In the refraction and reflection, various refracted light and reflected light form a complex interference strengthening region in space to produce a magical pearlescent effect.

Since the refractive index of the titanium oxide layer in the metal texture layer 15 (having a refractive index between 1.9 and 2.0) and the refractive index of the ruthenium dioxide layer (the refractive index of which is between 1.42-1.46) are large, the metal is The texture layer 15 is highly reflective to the external light, and the reflected light can form a plurality of interference enhancement regions in the space, so that the magical pearlescent effect can be made stronger, and the electronic device casing exhibits a strong The effect of the glamorous pearlescent and metallic texture gives a sense of fashion and beauty, which greatly enhances the attractiveness and competitiveness of the product.

It can be understood that the primer layer 13 can be omitted, that is, the metal texture layer 15 is directly formed on the surface of the substrate 11.

It can be understood that the middle lacquer layer 17 can also be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 1, a method for manufacturing the electronic device housing 10 includes the following steps. Step: A substrate 11 is provided. The substrate 11 can be a plastic, glass or metal substrate. The substrate 11 is subjected to a pre-cleaning treatment such as washing the surface of the substrate 11 with a cleaning liquid containing an organic solvent such as ethanol or isopropyl alcohol to remove oil stain on the surface of the substrate 11.

The primer layer 13 is sprayed on the surface of the substrate 11.

The metal texture layer 15 is vacuum-coated on the surface of the primer layer 13. The vacuum coating may be vacuum sputtering, vacuum evaporation, or the like.

In order to make the metal texture layer 15 have a metallic mirror effect and not to conduct electricity, the target gas is a target of a cerium oxide target and a titanium target, and the reaction gas is oxygen. In order to enable the substrate 11 of the metal texture layer 15 to be evaporated as a casing of a communication device (such as a mobile phone), it does not interfere with the transmission or reception of the radio frequency (ie, has good electromagnetic wave penetration performance), and needs to be controlled. The thickness of the metal texture layer 15. In order to achieve the above effects, the metal texture layer 15 has a thickness ranging from about 50 nm to about 500 nm.

A transparent intermediate paint layer 17 is sprayed on the surface of the metal texture layer 15. The intermediate lacquer layer 17 may be a UV-curable lacquer or a general heat-curing lacquer such as a urethane lacquer or an unsaturated polyester lacquer.

A topcoat layer 19 is sprayed on the surface of the intermediate lacquer layer 17. The topcoat layer 19 can be a polyurethane lacquer containing a magical pearlescent pigment having a mass percent value of from 1% to 3% relative to the polyurethane lacquer.

The electronic device housing 10 can be a housing of a product such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a notebook computer, an MP3, an MP4, a GPS navigator, a Bluetooth headset, and a digital camera.

In summary, the present invention complies with the requirements of the invention patent and submits a patent application according to law. However, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is familiar with the skill of the present invention. Equivalent modifications or variations of the person in accordance with the spirit of the present invention are intended to be included in the scope of the following claims.

10‧‧‧Electronic device housing

11‧‧‧ base

13‧‧‧ Primer layer

15‧‧‧Metal texture layer

17‧‧‧Chinese paint layer

19‧‧‧Face paint layer

Claims (10)

An electronic device housing comprising a substrate and a metal texture layer formed on a surface of the substrate, the metal texture layer being a non-conductive layer formed by vacuum coating, the metal texture layer being a plurality of layers of titanium oxide and a plurality of layers of dioxide The composite layer alternately laminated with the enamel layer is improved in that the reflectivity of the metal texture layer is 50-80%; the electronic device housing further includes a topcoat layer formed on the metal texture layer, wherein the topcoat layer is Containing a magical pearlescent pigment, the pigment particles of the magical pearlescent pigment have a particle size of 200-900 nm. The electronic device housing according to claim 1, wherein the metal texture layer has a thickness of 50-500 nm, and the topcoat layer has a thickness of 20-30 μm. The electronic device casing of claim 1, wherein the topcoat layer is a polyurethane paint, and the mass percentage of the magic pearlescent pigment relative to the polyurethane paint is from 1% to 3%. The electronic device housing of claim 1, wherein the electronic device housing further comprises a primer layer formed between the metal texture layer and the substrate. The electronic device housing of claim 1, wherein the electronic device housing further comprises a middle lacquer layer formed between the metallic texture layer and the topcoat layer. The electronic device housing of claim 5, wherein the intermediate lacquer layer has a thickness of 10 to 50 μm. The electronic device housing of claim 1, wherein the substrate is made of plastic, glass or ceramic. A method for manufacturing an electronic device housing, comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; forming a metal texture layer on a surface of the substrate; the method for forming the metal texture layer is vacuum plating, wherein the metal texture layer is a plurality of layers of titanium oxide and multiple layers Composite layer of alternating layers of cerium oxide layer The metal texture layer has a reflectivity of 50-80%; a topcoat layer is formed on the metal texture layer, and the topcoat layer contains a magical pearlescent pigment, and the particle size of the pigment particle of the magical pearlescent pigment is 200-900 nm. The method of fabricating an electronic device housing according to claim 8, wherein the method of fabricating the electronic device housing further comprises the step of spraying a primer layer on the substrate before forming the metal texture layer. The manufacturing method of the electronic device casing of claim 8, wherein the manufacturing method of the electronic device casing further comprises the step of spraying the intermediate paint layer on the metal texture before forming the topcoat layer.