TWI508873B - Protective lens for electronic device and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

Protective lens for electronic device and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to a protective lens, and more particularly to a protective lens for an electronic device.

Fig. 1A shows a protective lens of a conventional electronic device, and Fig. 1B is a cross-sectional view thereof. Generally, the electronic device has a logo pattern of a brand or a control button. In the conventional protective lens, these marking patterns are formed by screen printing, and the ink coating layer 102 and the pattern 103 are repeatedly formed on the substrate 101 in accordance with the thickness requirement. Due to the difficulty in alignment of the repeated printing, the alignment offset a of the ink coating 102 between multiple printings will cause pattern size deviation, and thus it is difficult to grasp the uniformity of the pattern size during mass production.

In addition, the existing screen printing process is limited by the existing screen size, and the resulting pattern generally has the problem of uneven edge burrs. Moreover, limited by the factors such as ink viscosity and screen size, only a simple pattern can be produced, and complicated patterns can not be produced, thereby further restricting the design of the pattern. The volatility of the ink also affects the stability of the continuous process of screen printing, resulting in problems such as large pattern differences and low yield in the continuous process.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method of protecting a lens that can be adapted to a continuous process and cost-effective patterned electronic device, and that improves pattern quality and stability, and further increases throughput.

In order to form a stable-sized, edge-finished pattern on a cover lens of an electronic device, the present invention performs patterning by laser engraving, thereby solving the problem of repeated printing. The process steps are complicated, and the problems of alignment difficulties and edge burrs are effectively improved, and the productivity of the patterned protective lens is effectively improved.

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method of forming a protective lens for an electronic device, comprising: forming a first material layer on at least a portion of a substrate; and engraving the first material layer with a laser to form a first a pattern.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a protective lens for an electronic device, comprising a first material layer formed on at least a portion of a substrate, and a first pattern formed in the first material layer, wherein the first A pattern is formed by laser engraving.

101‧‧‧Substrate

102‧‧‧Ink coating

103‧‧‧ pattern

201‧‧‧Substrate

202‧‧‧First material layer

203‧‧‧Laser

204‧‧‧ first pattern

401‧‧‧Substrate

402‧‧‧First material layer

403‧‧‧Laser

404‧‧‧second pattern

405‧‧‧Second material layer

A‧‧‧ alignment offset

D‧‧‧depth

H‧‧‧thickness

1A shows a protective lens of a conventional electronic device; FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of a protective lens of a conventional electronic device; FIGS. 2A and 2B show an embodiment of a method for forming a protective lens of the present invention; FIG. 2C shows a formed by the present invention. One embodiment of a protective lens; Figure 3 shows another embodiment of the protective lens formed by the present invention; and Figure 4 shows yet another embodiment of the protective lens formed by the present invention.

2A and 2B show a method of forming a protective lens for an electronic device disclosed in the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a first material layer 202 is formed on at least a portion of the substrate 201; then, as shown in FIG. 2B, the first material layer 202 is engraved with a laser 203 to form a first pattern 204. 2C shows that the first pattern 204 formed by the method provided by the present invention has a flat edge and a uniform size. The formed first pattern 204 can be a brand logo, a control button pattern, or other desired pattern. By the method of the invention, the existing screen printing process can be simplified, the desired pattern can be formed by a single patterning step, the process process can be simplified, the problem that the screen printing alignment is not easy, the edge burrs of the pattern are not smooth, and the like can be solved. The resulting graphic size is stable and the edge quality is good.

In a preferred embodiment, the first material is an ink, which may be a conductive ink, or a non-conductive ink, which is formed by printing, including screen printing, embossing, inkjet printing, or may be rotated. The ink is formed on at least a portion of the substrate by coating or the like. Further, the thickness of the first material layer 202 ranges from about 100 μm, depending on actual design requirements. In yet another preferred embodiment, the thickness ranges from about 3 to 60 μm, and in another preferred embodiment, the thickness ranges from about 10 to 70 μm.

The depth d of the first material layer 202 by laser marking may be equal to the thickness h of the first material layer 202, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2B, or the depth d of the first pattern 204 is smaller than the first material layer as shown in FIG. The thickness h of 202 causes a semi-hollowed pattern to be formed on the substrate 201. In a preferred embodiment, different degrees of semi-hollow patterns can be engraved by controlling the energy of the laser, so that the electronic device can be operated to form a backlight semi-transparent effect.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one parameter such as energy, focal length, and dot pitch of the laser may be further adjusted according to the color, material, thickness, and the like of the ink to achieve the desired pattern. In addition, by adjusting the spot size of the laser, it is even possible to perform patterning with a diameter of less than 10 μm to complete the fabrication of complex graphics. Further, it is possible to set a program for continuous operation in the laser device, that is, it is possible to continuously operate to further increase the yield.

In a preferred embodiment, the laser engraving hollow pattern process method for protecting the functional coating of the lens, the main process path is as follows: First step: making the desired hollow image into an electronic image file (CAD, Coreldraw, Pro/E, etc.) The second step: import the electronic image file into the software connected to the laser engraving machine and convert it into a laser engraving program; the third step: adjust the laser engraving machine to set the engraving parameters; and the fourth step: the printing will be printed The protective coating of the functional coating is placed on the laser engraving machine processing platform, and the parameters such as the focal length, energy, and dot spacing are adjusted according to the color and thickness of the functional coating, and the first working piece can be continuously operated by the start.

In a preferred embodiment, substrate 201 can be a glass, plastic, resin, acryl, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), tantalum or elastomeric substrate, or a composite thereof.

Figure 4 shows a protective lens of yet another preferred embodiment. On the first material layer 402 formed on a substrate 401, a second material layer 405 may be further formed, and then engraved by the laser 403 to form a second pattern 404, wherein the second material may be a conductive ink containing silver Glue, conductive carbon, conductive polymer, poly(dioctyl-bisthiophenol) (PEDOT), containing nano metal particles, such as nano gold, nano silver or ink containing other conductive materials. In another preferred embodiment, the second material layer 405 can be formed on the first material layer 402 by screen printing, embossing, inkjet printing or spin coating. The second material layer 405 can be individually patterned or patterned along with the first material layer 402 by laser engraving.

In a further preferred embodiment, the second pattern 404 can comprise circuitry required for the electronic device, such as sensing circuitry, driver circuitry, electrodes, conductive bezels, interconnect circuitry, and the like. The formed protective lens can be applied to window type electronic products such as tablet computers, LCD TVs, mobile phone screens, and other glass lens products (such as printer glass cover plates).

In a preferred embodiment, the depth of the laser engraving can be adjusted according to a graphic design. The second material layer 405 can be separately engraved by laser, or the first material layer 402 and the second material layer 405 can be engraved at a time, that is, a laser. The depth of the engraving may be less than or equal to the total thickness (sum of thickness) of the first material layer 402 and the second material layer 405.

While the technical content and features of the present invention are as described above, many variations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the teachings and disclosure of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is not to be construed as limited by the scope of the appended claims

201‧‧‧Substrate

202‧‧‧First material layer

203‧‧‧Laser

204‧‧‧ first pattern

H‧‧‧thickness

Claims (13)

A method of forming a protective lens for an electronic device, comprising: forming a first material layer on at least a portion of a substrate; engraving the first material layer with a laser to form a first pattern; forming a second material Laminating on the first material layer; and engraving the second material layer with the laser to form a second pattern, wherein the first pattern is different from the second pattern. The method of claim 1, wherein the first material layer is formed by printing, and the first material layer is an ink layer having a thickness ranging from 100 μm or less. The method of claim 2, wherein the first material layer has a thickness ranging from 3 μm to 60 μm. The method of claim 2, wherein the depth of the first pattern is less than or equal to the thickness of the first material layer. The method of claim 1, wherein the material of the second material layer is a conductive material; and wherein the laser engraving depth is less than a sum of thicknesses of the first material layer and the second material layer. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of laser engraving comprises adjusting at least one parameter of a focal length, an energy, and a dot pitch of the laser according to a color, a thickness, or a material of the first material layer. A protective lens for an electronic device, comprising: a first material layer formed on at least a portion of a substrate, a first pattern formed in the first material layer, wherein the first pattern is formed by laser engraving ,and a second material layer formed on the first material layer and having a second pattern engraved by laser, wherein the first pattern is different from the second pattern. The protective lens of claim 7, wherein the first material layer is an ink layer having a thickness ranging from 100 μm or less. The protective lens of claim 8, wherein the first material layer has a thickness ranging from 3 μm to 60 μm. The protective lens of claim 8, wherein the depth of the first pattern is less than or equal to the thickness of the first material layer. The protective lens according to claim 7 is formed on the first material layer, wherein the material of the second material layer is a conductive material. The protective lens of claim 11, wherein the second pattern comprises at least one of the following: a sensing circuit, a driving circuit, an electrode, and a conductive bezel. The protective lens of claim 7, wherein the substrate is glass, plastic, polymethyl methacrylate, ruthenium, an elastic substrate or a composite material thereof.