METHOD OF MAKING PATTERNED ARTICLE

A method of making a patterned article includes: forming a shielding layer on a substrate; patterning the shielding layer and the substrate to form a cavity that extends through the shielding layer into the substrate so as to form a recess in the substrate, the recess being defined by a recess-defining surface of the substrate; forming a color layer on the recess-defining surface of the substrate so that the color layer is defined with an indentation; and removing the shielding layer after forming the color layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201510104923.6, filed on Mar. 11, 2015, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a patterned article and a method for making the same, more particularly to a patterned article including a color layer with an indentation and a method of making the same.

BACKGROUND

Chinese patent Application Publication No. 101992585A discloses a method of printing a decorative pattern on a surface of an article. The method includes: coating a protecting layer on a surface of an article; coating a masking layer on the protecting layer; patterning the masking layer, the protecting layer and the article to form a cavity that extends through the masking layer and the protecting layer into the article, so as to form a recess in the protecting layer and the article using laser engraving techniques; filling an ink in the cavity until the recess is completely filled; and removing the masking layer.

In the conventional method, the ink is completely filled in the recess, the article made thereby fails to provide a stereoscopic visual appearance and a three-dimensional tactile sensation.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a method of making a patterned article that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

According to the disclosure, the method includes: forming a shielding layer on a substrate; patterning the shielding layer and the substrate to form at least one cavity that extends through the shielding layer into the substrate so as to form a recess in the substrate, the recess being defined by a recess-defining surface of the substrate; forming a color layer on the recess-defining surface of the substrate such that the color layer is defined with an indentation corresponding in position to the recess; and removing the shielding layer after forming the color layer.

Another object of the disclosure is to provide a patterned article.

According to the disclosure, the patterned article includes a substrate and a color layer.

The substrate is formed with a recess that is defined by a recess-defining surface.

The color layer is formed on the recess-defining surface and is defined with an indentation corresponding in position to the recess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring toFIG. 1, an embodiment of a method of making a patterned article according to the disclosure includes steps S1to S5.

Referring toFIG. 3, instep S2, a shielding layer3is formed on the substrate1. In this embodiment, the shielding layer3is formed by providing a coating solution on the substrate1, followed by drying the coating solution. The coating solution may be provided by spray coating or printing techniques. The printing techniques may include, but is not limited to, a screen printing process, an ink-jet printing process, or a pad printing process. In this embodiment, the shielding layer3has a thickness from a top surface13of the substrate1ranging from 0.005 mm to 0.01 mm. Furthermore, the shielding layer3is removably formed on the substrate1.

Referring toFIG. 4, in step S3, the shielding layer3and the substrate1are patterned to form at least one cavity11that extends through the shielding layer3into the substrate1so as to form a recess111in the substrate1. The recess111is defined by a recess-defining surface12of the substrate1. In certain embodiments, the shielding layer3and the substrate1maybe patterned to form a plurality of spaced apart cavities11, and the cavities11cooperatively form a pattern on the substrate1, such as a pattern of Mickey Mouse. In this embodiment, step S3is performed using laser techniques in which a portion of the shielding layer3and a portion of the substrate1are heated and ablated by laser energy. The recess-defining surface12thus has structural characteristics indicative of the recess-defining surface12being formed by the laser techniques. In certain embodiments, step S3may be performed using photolithography techniques. However, the laser techniques may be preferred due to its simplicity. In this embodiment, the recess-defining surface12of the substrate1includes a bottom face122and a surrounding face121that extends upwardly and outwardly from the bottom face122. In this embodiment, the surrounding face121and the bottom face122cooperatively define an angle θ ranging between 100° and 145°.

Referring toFIGS. 5 and 6, in step S4, a color layer2is formed on the recess-defining surface12of the substrate1, so that the color layer2is defined with an indentation21corresponding in position to the recess111. In other words, the recess111is not completely filled with the color layer2. In certain embodiments, the color layer2may be made of a painting material (e.g. ink) that has high viscosity and that can be quickly solidified. In certain embodiment, the color layer2is made of an ink. By virtue of selected material used for forming the color layer2and control of the angle θ within 100° and 145°, the thickness and the coating area of the color layer2can be easily controlled, and the color layer2would not be accumulated on the bottom face122to prevent the recess111from being completely filled. In this embodiment, a ratio of the thickness (T1) of the color layer2on the surrounding face121to a thickness (T2) of the color layer2on the bottom face122is 3:5. In certain embodiments, the recess111has a maximum width (W) not smaller than 0.3 mm. The recess111further has a depth (D) measured from the top surface13of the substrate1. A ratio of the depth (D) to the maximum width (W) is less than1so as to easily control the thickness of the color layer2in the recess111.

In step S5, the shielding layer3along with the color layer2on the shielding layer3is removed after step S5so as to form the patterned article including the substrate1and the color layer2(seeFIG. 6).

The substrate1is formed with the recess111defined by the recess-defining surface12that includes the bottom face122and the surrounding face121.

The color layer2is formed on the recess-defining surface12and is defined with an indentation21that corresponds in position to the recess111.

To sum up, the color layer2is formed on the recess-defining surface12and is defined with the indentation21, so that the recess111is not completely filled with the color layer2. The patterned article thus has a three-dimensional tactile pattern and a stereoscopic visual appearance.