WO2011134282A1

WO2011134282A1 - Antenna device and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2011134282A1
Application number: PCT/CN2011/000760
Authority: WO
Inventors: 毛利坚
Original assignee: 上海莫仕连接器有限公司; 莫列斯公司
Priority date: 2010-04-30
Filing date: 2011-04-29
Publication date: 2011-11-03
Also published as: CN102237568A; CN102237568B; JP5897550B2; JP2013527689A

Abstract

Disclosed are an antenna device and a manufacturing method thereof. The manufacturing method of the antenna device comprises the following steps: Step One, burying a metal sheet into a plastic body by using insert molding, and making the metal sheet partly exposed to the atmosphere outside the plastic body, for producing a casing member; Step Two, on the plastic body, forming an antenna pattern which can be used to deposit metal; and Step Three, putting the casing member into chemic plating liquid containing metal ions, and making the metal ions reduced and deposited on the antenna pattern so as to form an antenna composed by a metal layer; at the same time, providing a power supply, connecting the positive pole of the power supply to the metal sheet part which is exposed to the atmosphere outside the plastic body and connecting the negative pole of the power supply to an electrode in the chemic plating liquid, and then applying a positive voltage to the metal sheet so as to prevent the metal layer reduced from the metal ions from being deposited on the surface of the metal sheet.

Description

Antenna device and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to an antenna device and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly to an antenna device capable of preventing a metal layer deposited by electroless plating from being partially exposed to a metal piece of the plastic body and a method of fabricating the same. Background technique

Plastics are widely used in the outer casing of electronic products, and their advantages are that they are easy to mold and can be mass-produced. For example, most of the housings of portable electronic devices are made of plastic.

However, as the size of electronic products is shrinking, the thickness of the outer casing is also reduced. Therefore, in order to improve the structural strength of the plastic outer casing, metal sheets are often fitted in the plastic outer casing to enhance the plastic outer casing against external impact. Strength of.

For example, Taiwan Patent Publication No. 200917570 discloses a protective casing for a wireless transmission device, which comprises a plurality of metal sheets to increase the strength of the protective casing. In addition, the above-mentioned publication No. 570 discloses that providing a plurality of metal sheets in the protective casing has the following advantages: (1) can be used as a decorative feature; (2) can be used as a functional feature, For example, a metal button or the like; in other words, the metal piece is structurally exposed to the protective casing to achieve a metallic luster decorative or operation interface key function.

On the other hand, laser-direct-stmcturing (LDS) has been increasingly applied to the fabrication of circuits on plastic housings. The laser direct molding manufacturing process is: firstly, an injection molded outer casing is provided, which is formed by solidifying a thermoplastic material by one injection molding; then, an activation region is formed by laser on the inner wall surface of the outer casing, and the activation region has a metal The activated core, that is, the activated core of the activated region can be used to catalyze a physical or chemical reaction; next, a metal formation process, such as electroless plating, is used to form a metal in the activated region to form a line.

Therefore, when the above laser direct forming process is performed using a plastic case having a metal piece, since the metal ions in the electroless plating cause a reduction reaction on the surface of the metal piece exposed to the plastic case, the surface of the metal piece exposed to the plastic case is caused. Electroless plating of metal layers is deposited on the surface, creating the following problems:

(1) The adhesion between the metallized metal layer and the surface of the metal sheet exposed to the plastic outer casing is poor, so the deposited metal layer will be peeled off and peeled off from the surface of the metal sheet, resulting in metal particles and powder. At the end, it will be scattered in the internal space of the electronic product. These metal particles and powder may cause short circuit of the circuit board inside the electronic product.

(2) As in the above (1), the adhesion between the electroless metal layer and the surface of the metal sheet exposed to the plastic case is poor, so that the electroless metal layer may form a wrinkled, rough or peeled surface. The function of causing the metal piece to lose its decorative properties.

The inventor of the present invention has invented a structure which is reasonable in design and effective in improving the above problems, in view of the defects of the above-mentioned prior art in actual application, and accumulating the experience of individuals engaged in relevant industry development practice for many years, and meticulously researching. Summary of the invention

The main object of the present invention is to provide an antenna device and a manufacturing method thereof, which utilizes the concept of reverse reaction of electroplating to connect a positive electrode of an external power source to a metal piece embedded in a partially exposed plastic body to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece. Therefore, the problem of depositing the metal material on the bare portion of the metal sheet during the electroless plating of the metal layer can be avoided; in other words, the metal sheet partially exposed to the plastic body does not deposit the electroless metal layer, so The metal sheet can still maintain its decorative properties. Moreover, the present invention can also solve the short circuit problem caused by the peeled metal layer mentioned in the prior art.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an antenna device, comprising: a plastic body having an antenna pattern thereon; a metal sheet embedded in the plastic body to form a housing member, and the metal sheet portion is exposed a plastic body; and a metal layer deposited on the antenna pattern by electroless plating to form an antenna; wherein, during electroless deposition of the metal layer, a portion of the metal piece exposed to the plastic body is connected to a positive electrode of a power source And applying a positive voltage to the metal piece to prevent the metal layer from being deposited on the surface of the metal piece.

The invention also provides a method for fabricating an antenna device, comprising the following steps: Step 1: embedding a metal piece in a plastic body by insert molding, and exposing the metal piece to the plastic body Forming a case member; Step 2: forming an antenna pattern for depositing metal on the plastic body; and Step 3: placing the case member in an electroless plating solution having metal ions to reduce metal ions and Depositing on the antenna pattern to form a metal layer antenna; at the same time, providing a power source, connecting the anode of the power source to the metal piece partially exposed to the plastic body, and connecting the negative electrode of the power source to the chemical An electrode in the plating solution to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece, thereby preventing the metal layer reduced by the metal ions from depositing on the surface of the metal piece. The invention has the following beneficial effects: using an external power source to provide a positive voltage to the metal piece partially exposed to the plastic body, so that when the electroless metal ion is subjected to a reduction reaction, only the antenna pattern deposited on the plastic body is The metal piece exposed on the plastic body may be deposited in the above part, so that the decorative form provided by the metal piece can be maintained, and the problem of adhesion between the metal layer and the metal piece deposited by electroless plating can be avoided. Short circuit and other defects.

For a better understanding of the features and technical aspects of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings. DRAWINGS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the metal piece of the present invention embedded in the plastic body to form a housing member.

Fig. 1A shows a perspective view of an antenna pattern on a plastic body of the present invention having a metal depositable.

Fig. 1B is a schematic perspective view showing the metal layer of the present invention formed on the antenna pattern.

2 is an exploded perspective view showing the antenna device of the present invention, together with a circuit board and a conductive element. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the combination of the antenna device, the circuit board and the conductive component of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing the electroless plating of the casing member of the present invention, wherein the positive electrode of the power source is connected to the metal piece.

The reference numerals are as follows:

1 housing parts

10 plastic body 101

102 inner surface

103 outer surface

11 metal sheet

12

20 circuit board 201 line

21 conductive components

30 power supply 301 electrode

302 bracket 40 Electroless plating solution

The invention provides an antenna device and a manufacturing method thereof, which can solve the problems caused by depositing an electroless metal layer on a bare portion of a metal piece embedded in a plastic body in a conventional process, such as a metal layer deposited by electroless plating. The adhesion between the metal sheets is poor, and the metal layer is peeled off to cause a short circuit of the circuit or a problem of internal contamination of the apparatus.

The method for fabricating the antenna device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps. First, in step 1, a metal piece 11 is embedded in a plastic body 10 by insert molding, and the metal is made. The sheet 11 is partially exposed to the plastic body 10 to form a housing member 1 (please refer to FIG. 1).

In this embodiment, the housing member 1 can be a back cover of a mobile communication device, such as a mobile phone back cover, but not limited to the above, which first embeds and exposes the metal sheet 11 by embedding molding. The plastic body 10 is formed into the above-mentioned mobile phone back cover; in other words, the metal piece 11 is firmly fitted into the plastic body 10 by embedding molding, and the metal piece 11 may be stainless steel or other corrosion-resistant metal to form The housing part 1 has a high strength, a decorative, or an electromagnetic shielding effect.

On the other hand, in order to make the plastic body 10 be modified by a laser to form an antenna pattern for depositing metal on the plastic body 10 (please be shown in FIG. 1A), the plastic body 10 is a metal-containing, metal-containing metal. A plastic material of a catalytic material or an organic material thereof, which can be modified by a laser to form an activated region having a metalized activated core, whereby the activated core of the activated region catalyzes a physical or chemical reaction.

Next, in the second step, an antenna pattern 101 for depositing metal is formed on the plastic body 10 (please refer to FIG. 1A). Specifically, this step is to use a laser to modify a predetermined area of the surface of the plastic body 10 to form an active area (ie, the antenna pattern 101), so that the conductive metal material of the next step is directly deposited and attached to the plastic body. An active area of 10 is formed to form an antenna that can receive signals. It should be noted that the antenna pattern 101 is not in contact with the metal piece 11 to prevent the subsequent step of applying a positive voltage to affect the reaction of the electroless plating metal on the antenna pattern 101.

Next, referring to FIG. 1B , and in conjunction with FIG. 4 , step 3 is to place the housing member 1 into an electroless plating solution 40 having metal ions to reduce and deposit metal ions in the antenna pattern 101 . Forming an antenna of the metal layer 12; at the same time, providing a power source 30, connecting the anode of the power source to the metal piece 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10, and connecting the negative electrode of the power source 30 to the chemical The electrode 301 in the plating solution 40 is applied with a positive voltage to the metal piece 11, thereby preventing the metal layer 12 reduced by the metal ions from being deposited on the surface of the metal piece 11.

Therefore, in this step, the metal deposition technique, such as electroless plating, is used to directly deposit the conductive metal material on the antenna pattern 101 of the plastic body 10 to form a metal capable of receiving signals. The antenna of layer 12. For example, the electroless plating solution 40 may contain at least copper ions, so that the copper metal layer 12 may be deposited to form an antenna for receiving signals; for example, the electroless plating solution 40 may contain at least nickel ions, so that a nickel metal layer may be deposited. 12, to form an antenna for receiving signals, but not limited to the above.

On the other hand, since the metal ions in the electroless plating solution 40 are deposited on the surface of the metal piece 11 exposed to the plastic body 10 during the reduction process, the present invention utilizes a power source during the electroless plating process. 30 providing a positive voltage to the metal sheet 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10, such that the metal sheet 11 exposed to the plastic body 10 may cause a reverse reaction of electroplating. Specifically, the present invention connects the positive electrode of the power source 30. The metal piece 11 exposed to the plastic body 10 is partially exposed, and the negative electrode of the power source 30 is connected to the electrode 301 located in the electroless plating solution 40 to load a positive voltage of about 0.4 V to partially expose the plastic body 10. The metal sheet 11 is subjected to an oxidation reaction on the metal sheet 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10, so that the electroless plating is deposited on the metal layer 12 partially exposed on the surface of the metal sheet 11 of the plastic body 10. And again reduced to an ionic state, so that the metal layer 12 formed by electroless plating is not deposited on the surface of the metal sheet 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10. As shown in Fig. 4, the present invention can utilize the bracket 302 to sub-assemble eight housing members 1, and connect the end of the bracket 302 to the positive pole of the power source 30, thereby enabling batch production.

Therefore, a first embodiment of the present invention is to fabricate an antenna device using laser-direct-structuring (LDS). In other words, the housing member 1 is a laser direct molding (LDS) housing. The plastic body 10 and the metal sheet 11 molded by the embedded molding method are included, and an activation region (ie, the antenna pattern 101) is formed on the plastic body 10 by laser, and the metal material is further formed by an electroless plating method. An antenna is formed on the active region to form a metal layer 12; further, while electroless plating is applied, a positive voltage is applied to the metal sheet 11 by the external power source 30 to prevent the metal deposited by the electroless plating from covering the metal sheet 11. surface. The antenna device of the second embodiment of the present invention is formed by molding the antenna pattern 101 on the plastic body 10 by two-shot molding (two-shot molding), which includes the following steps:

Step 1 Similarly, a metal sheet 11 may be embedded in a plastic body 10 by insert molding, and the metal sheet 11 is partially exposed to the plastic body 10 to form a casing member 1 (please cooperate with the figure) 1)), which differs from the first embodiment in that the plastic material formed by this step is a non-conductor plastic material, and does not need to contain a metal composition, in other words, a common industrial plastic material. Can be applied to this step.

In addition, as with the first embodiment, the housing member 1 can be a back cover of a mobile communication device, such as a mobile phone back cover or the like.

Next, in the second step, an antenna pattern 101 for depositing metal is formed on the plastic body 10 (please be shown in FIG. 1A). Specifically, this step is to form a conductive plastic material on the plastic body 10 by a two-shot molding method to form an antenna pattern 101 for depositing metal; in other words, this step is to conduct electricity by using two-color injection molding. A plastic material is formed on a predetermined area of the surface of the plastic body 10 to form an antenna pattern 101, so that the conductive metal material of the next step is directly attached to the antenna pattern 101 on the plastic body 10 to form an antenna capable of receiving signals.

Further, as in the first embodiment, the antenna pattern 101 is not in contact with the metal piece 11 to prevent the subsequent step of applying a positive voltage from affecting the reaction of the electroless plating metal on the antenna pattern 101.

Next, referring to FIG. 1B and FIG. 4, the third step is to place the case member 1 into an electroless plating solution 40 having metal ions (such as copper ions or nickel ions) to reduce and deposit the metal ions. The antenna pattern 101 is formed to form an antenna of the metal layer 12; at the same time, a power source 30 is provided, and the anode of the power source is connected to the metal piece 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10, and the negative electrode of the power source 30 The electrode 301 is placed in the electroless plating solution 40 to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece 11, thereby preventing the metal layer 12 reduced by the metal ions from being deposited on the surface of the metal piece 11. Therefore, by the conductive plastic material used in the second step, the metal ions in the electroless plating solution 40 can be directly deposited on the antenna pattern 101 of the plastic body 10 to form an antenna of the metal layer 12 that can receive the signal. Furthermore, in the electroless plating process, the power source 30 is used to provide a positive voltage to the metal sheet 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10, so that the metal sheet 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10 is produced. The reverse reaction of the electroplating causes the electroless plating to deposit on the metal layer 12 partially exposed on the surface of the metal piece 11 of the plastic body 10, and is again reduced to an ionic state, so that the metal piece partially exposed to the plastic body 10 can be maintained. 11 The metal layer 12 formed by electroless plating is not deposited on the surface.

Accordingly, a second embodiment of the present invention is to fabricate an antenna device using a two-shot molding technique. In other words, the housing member 1 includes a plastic body 10 molded by a buried molding method. Forming another conductive plastic material on the plastic body 10 by two-color injection molding to form an antenna pattern 101; and depositing a metal material on the active region by an electroless plating method to form an antenna having a metal layer 12; Further, at the same time as the electroless plating, a positive voltage is applied to the metal piece 11 by the external power source 30 to prevent the metal deposited by the electroless plating from covering the surface of the metal piece 11.

In summary, the present invention provides an antenna device according to the manufacturing method of the first and second embodiments, which comprises a plastic body 10, a metal sheet 11 and a metal layer 12, and the metal sheet 11 is embedded in the plastic. The body 10 is formed to form a housing member 1 , and the metal sheet 11 is partially exposed to the plastic body 10 , and the plastic body 10 has an antenna pattern 101 thereon. The metal layer 12 is deposited on the antenna pattern 101 by electroless plating. Forming an antenna; wherein when the metal layer 12 is deposited by electroless plating, the metal piece 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10 is connected to the positive electrode of a power source 30 to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece 11 to avoid the metal layer. 12 is deposited on the surface of the metal sheet 11.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a perspective view of the metal sheet 11 embedded in the plastic body 10 to form a housing member 1. In one embodiment, the housing member 1 can be a back cover of a mobile communication device, such as a mobile phone back cover, and the plastic body 10 includes an inner surface 102 and an outer surface 103 opposite the inner surface 102. The metal sheet 11 is partially exposed at the same time to the inner surface 102 and the outer surface 103 of the back cover of the mobile communication device. However, in a variant embodiment, the metal sheet 11 may be only partially exposed to the inner surface 102 of the back cover of the mobile communication device, or only partially exposed to the outer surface 103 of the back cover of the mobile communication device.

Please refer to FIG. 1A, which shows the plastic body 10 having an antenna pattern for depositing metal.

101. Specifically, the antenna pattern 101 is continuously extended from the outer surface 103 of the plastic body 10 to the inner surface 102 of the plastic body 10, and the antenna pattern 101 can utilize the laser direct forming technique (laser-direct-) described above. The laser modification step of stmcturing, LDS) or the two-shot molding technique is not described here; further, the antenna pattern 101 is not in contact with the metal piece 11. Referring to FIG. 1B, the metal layer 12 is formed on the antenna pattern 101 to form an antenna for receiving/transmitting signals. The structure of the metal layer 12 corresponds to the antenna pattern 101 and also extends continuously from the outer surface 103 of the plastic body 10 to the inner surface 102 of the plastic body 10; it is noted that due to the electroless plating deposition of the metal layer 12 The metal piece 11 partially exposed to the plastic body 10 is connected to the positive electrode of a power source 30 to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece 11 , so that the metal piece 11 barely exposed on the plastic body 10 has no metal layer. The deposition of 12.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the antenna device of the embodiment and the circuit board 20 and the conductive element 21; and FIG. 3 shows the antenna device and the circuit board 20 and the conductive element 21 group. A combination view, wherein the plastic body 10 of the antenna device includes an inner surface 102 and an outer surface 103 opposite the inner surface 102, and the metal layer 12 extends continuously from the outer surface 103 of the plastic body 10 to the plastic body 10. The inner surface 102, the two ends of the conductive element 21 are electrically connected to the metal layer 12 on the inner surface 102 of the plastic body 10 and the line 201 on the circuit board 20, respectively. Thus, the wireless signal received by the metal layer 12 can be transferred to the line 201 on the circuit board 20 by the conductive element 21, and vice versa, to achieve signal reception/transmission.

On the other hand, the metal sheet 11 is tightly fitted to the plastic body 10 to enhance the structural strength of the housing member 1 (ie, the back cover of the mobile communication device), or to increase the decorative function, or to enhance the electromagnetic shielding effect. The function and the manufacturing method proposed by the present invention can effectively prevent the electroless plating metal from being deposited on the metal sheet 11 to solve the problem caused by the conventional process of depositing the electroless metal on the metal sheet 11.

In summary, the present invention has the following advantages:

1. The positive electrode of the external power source is connected to the metal piece embedded in the plastic body to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece, so that the problem of depositing the metal material on the metal piece during the electroless plating of the metal layer can be avoided. Therefore, in the case of applying electroless plating, the present invention can still embed and expose the metal piece to the plastic body, so that it can maintain the function of decorative function or button action.

2. In addition, the present invention can prevent the metal material from being deposited on the metal sheet during the electroless plating of the metal layer, to solve the short circuit problem caused by the stripped deposited metal layer mentioned in the prior art, and to make the plastic body and the metal The housing member composed of the sheets has a good structural strength.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and all equivalents of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Rights request

1. An antenna device comprising:

a plastic body having an antenna pattern thereon;

a metal sheet embedded in the plastic body to form a housing member, and the metal sheet is partially exposed to the plastic body;

a metal layer deposited on the antenna pattern by electroless plating to form an antenna;

Wherein, in the electroless plating deposition of the metal layer, the metal piece partially exposed to the plastic body is connected to the positive electrode of a power source to apply a positive voltage to the metal piece, thereby preventing the metal layer from being deposited on the surface of the metal piece. .

2. The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the housing member is a cover of a mobile communication device

3. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the metal piece portion is exposed to an inner surface of the back cover of the mobile communication device.

4. The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the metal piece portion is exposed to an outer surface of the back cover of the mobile communication device.

The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the metal piece is partially exposed at the same time to the inner surface and the outer surface of the back cover of the mobile communication device.

The antenna device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the metal piece is not in contact with the antenna pattern.

7. A method of fabricating an antenna device, comprising the steps of:

Step 1: embedding a metal piece in a plastic body by embedding molding, and exposing the metal piece to the plastic body to form a casing piece;

Step 2: forming an antenna pattern for depositing metal on the plastic body; and step 3: placing the housing member in an electroless plating solution with metal ions to reduce and deposit metal ions on the antenna pattern Forming a metal layer antenna; at the same time, providing a power source, connecting the anode of the power source to the metal piece partially exposed to the plastic body, and connecting the negative electrode of the power source to the electrode located in the electroless plating solution, The metal layer is loaded with a positive voltage to prevent the metal layer reduced by the metal ions from depositing on the surface of the metal sheet.

8. The method of fabricating an antenna device according to claim 7, wherein in the first step, the metal piece is stainless steel or a corrosion-resistant metal.

9. The method of fabricating an antenna device according to claim 8, wherein in the second step, the antenna pattern for depositing the metal is directly molded by the laser onto the plastic body. ·

10. The method of fabricating an antenna device according to claim 8, wherein in the second step, the metal pattern for depositing the metal is molded on the plastic body by two-color injection molding.

The method of fabricating an antenna device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein in the third step, the metal ion in the electroless plating solution is copper ion, and the metal layer is a copper layer.

The method of fabricating an antenna device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein in the third step, the metal ion in the electroless plating solution is nickel ion, and the metal layer is a nickel layer.