Abstract:
Housing of electronic device includes a metal base and a ceramic pattern portion formed in the exterior surface of the base; The pattern portion is formed by etching of base and enamel of the etched area of the base. The disclosure also described a method to make the housing.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is related to co-pending U.S. Patent Application (Attorney Docket No. US36895) entitled “HOUSING OF ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME”. Such application has the same assignee as the present application. The above-identified application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The present disclosure relates to housings of electronic devices and a method for making the same. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Patterns on housings of electronic devices may be formed by printing or painting. However, these patterns cannot strongly bond to the surface of the housing, and can easily be worn or scraped off. 
         [0006]    Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    Many aspects of the present housing of electronic device and method for making the same can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a front isometric view of a housing of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a sectional schematic view of the housing shown in  FIG. 1  along a line II-II. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a sectional schematic view of a metal base be etched. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a sectional schematic view of the metal base be enameled. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show an exemplary embodiment of a housing  100  of an electronic device such as a mobile phone. The housing  100  includes a metal base  11  and a pattern portion  12  embedded in the exterior surface of the base  11 . The base  11  can be stainless steel with a thickness of 0.5 mm (millimeter) or more, and is about 0.5 mm thick in this exemplary embodiment. The pattern portion  12  is comprised of ceramics and has a depth in a range from 0.16 mm to about 0.18 mm, and is about 0.17 mm deep in this exemplary embodiment. 
         [0013]    A method to fabricate the housing  10  includes following steps, 
         [0014]    Step 1, referring to  FIG. 3 , is to etch grooves  112  in the exterior surface of the metal base  11 . The metal base  11  is provided and can be stainless steel with a thickness of 0.5 mm. Then, the base  11  is etched to define grooves  112  corresponding to the shape of the pattern portion  12 . The grooves  112  have a uniform depth of 0.16 mm-0.18 mm. 
         [0015]    Step 2, referring to  FIG. 3 , is to abrade the bottom of the grooves  112 . Before abrading the bottom of the grooves  112 , the base  11  is cleaned to remove any contaminants such as grease from the surface of the base  11 . A conventional cleaning solution such as oxalic acid, or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) may be used to clean the surface of the base  11 . Then, the bottoms of the grooves  112  are abraded by, for example, sand-blasting. During abrading, the adjacent areas of the grooves  112  are shielded and are not abraded. The blasting material used may be comprised of emery, chromium iron alloy, copper ore, quartz sand, or ceramic base sand. 
         [0016]    Step 3 is to enamel the grooves  112 . The enamel may be applied in two steps, glazing then baking. During glazing, the enamel glaze may comprise inorganic silicate and is electrically conductive. The glaze is evenly arranged on the bottom of the grooves  112 , and then the base  11  is placed in an electrical field, causing the base  11  and the glaze to be oppositely charged and thereby form a bond. The thickness of the glaze can be adjusted by adjusting the intensity of the electrical field. During baking, the base  11  is placed into an oven and heated, and the glaze is melted evenly, and firmly combined in the grooves  112 . When the glaze melts, it may overflow from the grooves  112  and form a protrusion layer  13  (shown in  FIG. 4 ). Then, the oven is allowed to cool and then the base  11  is taken out from the oven. 
         [0017]    Step 4 is to grind and remove the protrusion layer  13  cleanly exposing the pattern portion  12 . A typical grinding wheel mechanism can be used to grind the protrusion layer  13 . The grinding process includes a preliminary grinding and a detailed grinding. The preliminary grinding is to remove the protrusion layer  13  and expose the pattern portion  12 . After the preliminary grinding, detailed grinding is done to ensure the surface of the pattern portion is on the same plane as the surrounding surfaces, and to smooth over any rough tracks left by the preliminary grinding. 
         [0018]    Step 5 is to polish the area of the pattern portion  12 . During polishing, a polishing material and a polishing solution are used, the polishing material can be a cerium oxide, and the polishing solution mainly be comprised of silicon dioxide and H 2 O, with the silicon dioxide having a weight percentage 25% and the H 2 O having a weight percentage 75%. 
         [0019]    Step 6 can be implemented by sand blasting to roughen areas near the pattern portion  12 , to contrast with the pattern portion  12  so that it stands out more for aesthetic reasons if needed. Thus, the housing  10  is fabricated. 
         [0020]    It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of assemblies and functions of various embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.