Abstract:
An electronic device housing includes a bottom layer, a adhesion layer and a protection layer. The adhesion layer is located on the bottom layer. The protection layer is located on the adhesion layer. The electronic device housing has excellent appearance and high durability. The present disclosure also provides a method of manufacturing the electronic device housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a housing, and particularly, to an electronic device housing and a method of forming the housing. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Conventional housings for consumer electronic devices, such as mobile phones or tablet computers, are usually plastic and made by injection molding. To achieve their designed appearance, the injected housings are usually painted with a spray process. The paint is sprayed from a nozzle of a spray gun and is carried by high-speed air provided from the spray gun onto the housings. Since both the paint and air are sprayed with a high-pressure, the nozzle must be far enough away from the injected housings, or else the high-speed air undesirably blows the paint just coated on the housings away. Thus, a nozzle that is spraying too close can lead to uneven coatings on the housing. However, since a certain distance is kept to lower the spray speed onto the housings, about 70% to 90% of the paint does not reach the housings and is thus wasted. Thus, the conventional painting process is not environmentally friendly. 
         [0005]    On the other hand, although plastic housings are easily formed, the visual texture and the touch of plastic housings seems cheap to users, and do not appear as high-class products. In order to improve the texture of the product housings, some housings are made of metal. The metal housings may be polished to provide a brighter and smoother surface. Although the metal texture is popular with users, the surface easily gets scratched due to poor hardness of the metal. The longer the electronics are used, the more the metal housings get scratched, and this leads to an unattractive appearance. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an electronic device housing and a method of forming the housing which can overcome the described limitations. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the 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 views. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a schematic, partial view of an electronic device housing according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the electronic device housing of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a cross section view of the electronic device housing of  FIG. 1 , taken along a cross line III-III. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method of forming the electronic device housing of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a partial, cross section view of an electronic device housing according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a schematic, partial view of an electronic device housing according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    Embodiments of the disclosure are now described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0015]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the electronic device housing  10  of the present disclosure includes a bottom layer  20 , an adhesion layer  30  and a protection layer  40 . The adhesion layer  30  is located between the bottom layer  20  and the protection layer  40 . In this embodiment, the electronic device housing  10  is a back cover of a mobile phone. 
         [0016]    As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the bottom layer  20  is located below. The bottom layer  20  covers and protects electronic components of an electronic device, such as circuits and a battery of a mobile phone (not shown), so the electronic components are no longer exposed. In this embodiment, the bottom layer  20  is made from metal, such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy. The bottom layer  20  may be pretreated by one or more surface treatments, such as a polishing process, an etching process or an electroplating process. 
         [0017]    The bottom layer  20  defines a through hole  21  corresponding to a camera module (not shown). The camera module may be located in the through hole  21 , or behind the through hole  21 . 
         [0018]    The adhesion layer  30  covers the outer surface of the bottom layer  20 , which is the surface users can see, opposite to the electronic components of the electronic device. The adhesion layer  30  is an UV curable adhesive, and is transparent after being cured. In the descriptions, the outer surface or outer side is the portion facing out, and is the upper direction in  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 3 . 
         [0019]    The protection layer  40  is located on the adhesion layer  30 , opposite to the bottom layer  20 . Accordingly, the adhesion layer  30  is sandwiched between the protection layer  40  and the bottom layer  20 . The adhesion layer  30  is cured by ultraviolet (UV) rays to tightly combine the bottom layer  20  and the protection layer  40 . 
         [0020]    In this embodiment, the protection layer  40  is transparent glass defining a through hole  41  corresponding to the camera module (not shown). The camera module may be located in the through hole  41 , or behind the through hole  41 . 
         [0021]    The bottom layer  20  is protected by the protection layer  40 , and therefore cannot be scratched or defaced. Accordingly, the visible surface of the bottom layer  20  can be kept bright and smooth, and the electronic device housing  10  has metallic luster on the bottom layer  20 . 
         [0022]    The glass protection layer  40  is harder than the bottom layer  20 , so it is harder to scratch the electronic device housing  10 , and the appearance of the electronic device housing  10  can be kept new and glossy. 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , a method of forming an electronic device housing includes steps of providing a bottom layer  20  in step S 1 . Providing an adhesion layer  30  located on the bottom layer  20  in step S 2 ; providing a protection layer  40  located on the adhesion layer  30  in step S 3  so that the adhesion layer  30  is located between the bottom layer  20  and the protection layer  40 . In addition, in step S 4 , cures the adhesion layer  30  with UV rays, which penetrates the protection layer  40  and reaches the adhesion layer  30 . The adhesion layer  30  tightly combines the bottom layer  20  and the protection layer  40  to form the electronic device housing  10 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 5  illustrates a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, but has a different shape. The outline of the bottom layer  20 ′ is not a flat plate, and the outer surface of the bottom layer  20 ′ is a non-plane surface, such as a curved surface. The inner surfaces of the adhesion layer  30 ′ and the protection layer  40 ′ match the curved surface of the bottom layer  20 ′. The inner surface of the adhesion layer  30 ′ is the surface contacting the bottom layer  20 ′, and the inner surface of the protection layer  40 ′ is the surface contacting the adhesion layer  30 ′. Accordingly, the electronic device housing  10 ′ can have a curved outer surface, a streamline outer surface, or any designed shape in the present disclosure. 
         [0025]      FIG. 6  illustrates a third embodiment of the present disclosure. The third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, but with a different nameplate  41 ″. The electronic device housing  10 ″ of the third embodiment further includes a nameplate  41 ″ inserted into the protection layer  40 ″. The nameplate  41 ″ may bear a name, a trademark, a brand, or any design. 
         [0026]    It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.