Patent Publication Number: US-2017349000-A1

Title: Decorative item, decorative item unit and method of manufacturing decorative item

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a decorative item, a decorative item unit and a method of manufacturing a decorative item. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     For example, for forming various different patterns on surfaces of items that are mass produced by dies or the like, it is necessary to manufacture a plurality of dies in accordance with the number of patterns. Thus, there is a problem that manufacturing cost is increased. 
     Thus, a method of forming items having various patterns by in-mold shaping is disclosed in which a film with a pattern is placed in a die (see Patent Document 1, for example). According to such a method, it is possible to mass produce items having various patterns by a single die facility. 
     PATENT DOCUMENT 
     
         
         [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-187938 
       
    
     However, according to the above method of Patent Document 1, a step of forming a film with a pattern, a step of placing the film with the pattern in a die, a step of removing the film with the pattern from the item after in-mold shaping and the like are necessary. Thus, there is a risk that manufacturing steps are complicated and manufacturing cost cannot be reduced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the embodiment, there is provided a decorative item including a base body; a decorative portion formed by roughing a surface of the base body; and a coating layer that covers the surface of the base body including the decorative portion. 
     According to the embodiment, a decorative item is provided on a surface of which a pattern is formed by a simple method. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an example of a decorative item of an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along an A-A line of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an example of a keyboard of the embodiment; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing the decorative item of the embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention will be described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments. The invention will be described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments. It is to be noted that, in the explanation of the drawings, the same components are given the same reference numerals, and explanations are not repeated. 
     (Decorative Item) 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an example of a decorative item  100  of an embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along an A-A line of  FIG. 1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the decorative item  100  includes a base body  10 , a decorative portion  20  formed at a surface of the base body  10  and a coating layer  30  (not illustrated in  FIG. 1 ) that covers the surface of the base body  10  including the decorative portion  20 . 
     The base body  10  is a resin item having a rectangular plate shape, and is formed using a die or the like, for example. In this embodiment, the surface of the base body  10  is a smooth surface without a recess and a projection. The surface of the base body  10  may be a polished surface, for example. 
     The base body  10  is not limited to resin, and may be formed using a material such as a metal, for example. Further, the shape of the base body  10  is not limited to the illustrated example, and the base body  10  may have a selectable shape such as a rectangular box shape, a cylindrical shape or a spherical shape, for example. 
     The decorative portion  20  is a portion obtained by roughing the surface of the base body  10  by laser processing. For example, by irradiating YAG laser, CO 2  laser or the like on the surface of the base body  10 , the surface of the base body  10  is roughed to form the decorative portion  20 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the decorative portion  20  includes fine recesses and projections at the surface. The surface roughness (arithmetic mean roughness Ra) of the decorative portion  20  is formed to be greater than the surface roughness of the smooth surface of the base body  10  at which the decorative portion  20  is not formed. Although the decorative portion  20  has a frame shape that rims the surface of the base body  10  according to the embodiment, the decorative portion  20  may have a different shape such as shaping a character, a graphic or a pattern, for example. 
     Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the decorative portion  20  is formed to be risen from the surface of the base body  10 . As such, by forming the decorative portion  20  to be risen from the surface of the base body  10 , visibility of the character, the graphic, the pattern or the like formed by the decorative portion  20  is improved. However, the decorative portion  20  may be formed into a groove concaved from the surface of the base body  10  by grinding the base body  10  by laser processing. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a coating material is coated on the surface of the base body  10  including the decorative portion  20  to form the coating layer  30 . By coating the surface of the base body  10 , the smooth surface of the base body  10  other than the decorative portion  20  becomes a glossy coated surface, and the roughed decorative portion  20  becomes a frosting coated surface. As such, by varying the roughness of the smooth surface of the base body  10  and the roughness of the decorative portion  20 , a difference is generated in reflection of light between the parts and the decorative portion  20  can be easily recognized. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the coating layer  30  is formed by coating a coating material so as to cover the surface of the base body  10  including the decorative portion  20 . It is preferable that the coating layer  30  is formed such that a difference in glossiness between the surface of the base body  10  and the decorative portion  20  is easily generated and the visibility of the decorative portion  20  is improved. The coating layer  30  may be formed by, for example, a coating material having a glossy color such as silver, but may be formed by a coating material of different colors. 
     The coating layer  30  is formed by, for example, using an acrylic resin-based coating material or an urethane resin-based coating material, but a coating material of different materials may be used. Further, the coating layer  30  may be formed by, for example, laminating a colored film or the like on the surface of the base body  10 . 
     If the coating layer  30  is too thick, the recesses and projections at the surface of the decorative portion  20  are filled to be smooth, and the difference in roughness between the surface of the base body  10  is decreased to lower visibility of the decorative portion. Thus, it is preferable that the coating layer  30  is formed as thin as possible. 
     As described above, a character, a graphic or the like is formed on the surface of the decorative item  100  by, for example, providing the decorative portion  20  of a selectable shape such as a character, a graphic or the like on the surface of the base body  10  that is mass produced using a single die by laser processing, for example. Thus, it is unnecessary to manufacture a plurality of dies or the like in accordance with the patterns, and it is possible to form the decorative items  100  having various patterns by a simple method with low cost. 
     (Decorative Item Unit) 
       FIG. 3  is a view illustrating an example of a keyboard  200 , as a decorative item unit including a plurality of the decorative items. 
     The keyboard  200  is an example of a decorative item unit, and includes a plurality of key-tops  110  on which different patterns are formed, respectively. The key-tops  110  are an example of the decorative items, and the decorative portions  21  of different patterns are formed at the surfaces of the base bodies  11  made of resin, respectively. A character, a graphic or the like that is not illustrated in  FIG. 3  may be formed on the key-top  110  as the decorative portion  21 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , by placing the key-tops  110  each having the decorative portion  21  of a predetermined shape at predetermined positions, respectively, a pattern  210  is formed in the keyboard  200  by a combination of the plurality of the decorative portions  21 . 
     For an example illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the pattern  210  in which circle patterns are aligned in a lateral direction is formed. Alternatively, a pattern of a selectable shape may be formed by placing the key-tops  110  having the decorative portions  21  of shapes different from those of  FIG. 3 . 
     Although the keyboard  200  including the plurality of key-tops  110 , as the decorative items, is exemplified as the decorative item unit in which a pattern is formed by a combination of the decorative portions of the plurality of decorative items, the decorative item unit is not limited so. 
     For such a decorative item unit, for example, a calculator, a mobile phone, an operation panel or the like including a plurality of buttons or the like as the decorative items may be used. By forming decorative portions of predetermined shapes to a plurality of buttons or the like as the decorative items, and placing the buttons at predetermined positions, respectively, to form a pattern by a combination of the decorative portions, it is possible to increase design of a product as the decorative item unit. 
     (Method of Manufacturing Decorative Item) 
       FIG. 4  is a view illustrating an example of a flowchart of a method of manufacturing the decorative item  100  of the embodiment. 
     According to the method of manufacturing the decorative item  100  of the embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , first, in step S 101 , the base body  10  is shaped. When the base body  10  is resin, the base body  10  is shaped using a die or the like, for example. Alternatively, when the base body  10  is a metal or the like, the base body  10  is shaped by cutting or the like, for example. A surface treatment such as polishing may be performed on the base body  10  after the base body  10  is shaped, for example. 
     Next, in step S 102 , the decorative portion  20  is formed on the surface of the base body  10  by laser processing. Subsequently, in step S 103 , the coating layer  30  is formed by coating the surface of the base body  10  including the decorative portion  20 . 
     According to the above described method of manufacturing the decorative item  100 , for example, by forming the decorative portions  20  of different shapes on the surfaces of the base bodies  10  that are mass produced using a single die, it is possible to easily manufacture the decorative items  100  having various patterns with low cost. 
     As described above, according to the embodiment, as the decorative portion of a selectable shape can be formed by laser processing, it is possible to manufacture decorative items having various patterns by a simple method with low cost. Further, for the decorative item unit in which a plurality of the decorative items having the decorative portions of different shapes are placed at predetermined positions, respectively, it is possible to form various patterns by combinations of the plurality of decorative portions and design is improved. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the decorative item, the decorative item unit and the method of manufacturing the decorative item has been specifically illustrated and described, it is to be understood that minor modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. 
     The present application is based on and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Priority Application No.  2014 - 254990  filed on December  17 ,  2014 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     NUMERALS 
     
         
           10 ,  11  base body 
           20 ,  21  decorative portion 
           30  coating layer 
           100  decorative item 
           110  key-top (decorative item) 
           200  keyboard (decorative item unit) 
           210  pattern