Patent Publication Number: US-2011048755-A1

Title: Housing for electronic device and method for making the same

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to housings for electronic devices, especially to a housing soft to the touch, and a method for making the housing. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Housings for electronic devices made of metal may have good strength but are hard to the touch and are decorated by environmentally unfriendly means such as electroplating and/or painting. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the housing for electronic device and method for making the housing can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present housing and the method for making the same. 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric, exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the present housing. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic integral view of the housing shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic cross-section view of the housing shown in  FIG. 2  taken along line III-III. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3  show an exemplary housing  10  for an electronic device such as a mobile phone. The housing  10  includes a substrate  11 , and a soft layer  12  bonded to the substrate  11  by an adhesive layer  13 . 
     The substrate  11  can be made of metal, such as stainless steel, magnesium alloy, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy etc. The substrate  11  has a bonding surface  112 , a peripheral edge  114 , and a ridge  116  protruding from the peripheral edge  114  and surrounding the bonding surface  112 . The bonding surface  112  may be roughened (e.g., by etching or grinding) facilitating a good bonding of the soft layer  12  to the substrate  11 . The ridge  116  has an end surface  1162  (best shown in  FIG. 3 ) extends from the peripheral edge  114 . The length of the ridge  116  from peripheral edged  114  to the end surface  1162  is about equal to the combined thickness of the soft layer  12  and the adhesive layer  13 . 
     The soft layer  12  is comprised of a material that is soft to the touch. Exemplary material suitable for the soft layer  12  can be leather or fabric such as cloth. The soft layer  12  has an outer surface  122 , an inner surface  124 , and an edge  126 . The inner surface  124  of the soft layer  12  acts as a bonding surface. The inner surface  124  may be roughened, and form, for example, a plurality of tiny pores or projections. For some soft materials, the pores and projections of the inner surface  124  may be a natural property of the material. For other soft materials, the pores and projections may be formed by, for example, weaving or sandblasting the inner surface  124 . 
     The adhesive layer  13  is comprised of an adhesive, such as polyurethane, alkyd resin, polyvinyl alcohol, or polyacrylate type adhesive. In this embodiment, the polyurethane adhesive is used. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the adhesive layer  13  is located between the bonding surface  112  of the substrate  11  and the inner surface  124  of the soft layer  12 , thereby bonding the soft layer  12  to the substrate  11 . The ridge  116  blocks the edge  126  of the soft layer  12 , thereby protecting the soft layer  12  from peeling off. The ridge  116  has its end surface  1162  coplanar with the outer surface  122  of the soft layer  12 . 
     An exemplary method for making the housing  10  may include the following steps. 
     The substrate  11  is manufactured. The substrate  11  includes the bonding surface  112  and the ridge  116 . During this step, a preformed substrate is formed without the ridge  116  by stamping. Then, the ridge  116  is formed by, for example forging. 
     The bonding surface  112  of the substrate  11  is roughened by chemical process or mechanical process. The chemical process can be a process of etching using chemicals. The mechanical process may be one of grinding using sandpaper, electrospark roughening, threading, and knurling. In this embodiment, the bonding surface  112  is chemically etched. For example, when the substrate  11  is made of stainless steel, the substrate  11  can be roughened in a hydrochloric acid solution containing trivalent iron. 
     The adhesive layer  13  is formed on the bonding surface  112  by, e.g., spot gluing. 
     A soft layer  12  is provided. The soft layer  12  has the outer surface  122 , the inner surface  124  and the edge  126 . The inner surface  124  is rough or coarse by inclusion of tiny pores or projections. 
     The soft layer  12  is placed on the bonding surface  112  having the adhesive layer  13  formed thereon. The edge  126  of the soft layer  12  resists the ridge  116 , resulting the edge  126  blocked by the ridge  116 . 
     Once the adhesive layer  13  is solidified, suitable pressure can be applied on the soft layer  12  to strengthen the bonding of the substrate  11  and the soft layer  12 . 
     It should be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth 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 detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.