Patent Publication Number: US-2010112293-A1

Title: Device housing and method for manufacturing the same

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a device housing and a method for manufacturing the device housing. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Electronic devices such as mobile phones usually fabricate their housings with decorative sprayed paints. The painted exterior surface of the housing is then printed with patterns layers. However, the printed pattern layer may be boring and cannot present a graceful metallic appearance. Further, due to exposure to the outside, the pattern layers tend to be worn or eroded, which may degrade the aesthetic appearance of the housing. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       Many aspects of the new device housing and a method for manufacturing the device housing can be better understood with reference to the following drawing. The components in the drawing are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the new device housing and a method for manufacturing the device housing. 
       The FIGURE is a cross section of an exemplary device housing as disclosed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The FIGURE shows an exemplary device housing  100  including a base housing  10 , a bottom coating  11  directly formed on the base housing  10 , a vacuum evaporation coating  13  directly formed on the bottom coating  11 , an intermediate coating  15  directly formed on the vacuum evaporation coating  13 , a fill coating  17  directly formed on the intermediate coating  15 , and a top coating  19  exposed to the outside. The top coating  19  covers portions of the intermediate coating  15  and the fill coating  17 . 
     The base housing  10  can be a plastic housing molded of one or more plastics selected from a group consisting of polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Alternatively, the base housing  10  can be a metallic housing. The base housing  10  has a plurality of recessed textured portions  102 . The bottom of the textured portions  102  has a predetermined textured pattern formed by a process of molding or chemically etching. 
     The bottom coating  11  is an ultraviolet (UV) coating. The UV coating may contain a preformed polymer of acrylic polyurethane and a UV initiator. 
     The vacuum evaporation coating  13  is vacuum evaporated on the bottom coating  11  by using a target made of a metallic material selected from a group consisting of indium (In), tin (Sn), aluminum (Al), stainless steel, chromium (Cr), silicon (Si), and silicon dioxide (SiO2). The bottom coating  11  bonds well with the vacuum evaporation coating  13 , and further enhances the glossy appearance of the vacuum evaporation coating  13 . 
     The intermediate coating  15  allows at least some light transmittal therethrough and is made of a UV paint, a polyurethane paint or an unsaturated polyester paint. The intermediate coating  15  bonds well with the vacuum evaporation coating  13 . 
     The bottom coating  11 , the vacuum evaporation coating  13  and the intermediate coating  15  are stacked on the base housing  10 . Due to the textured portions  102 , the stacked base housing  10  have corresponding recessed sections  104 . The fill coating  17  allows at least some light transmittal therethrough and is made of ink or a colloidal solution. The fill coating  17  fills in the recessed sections  104  to make them coplanar with the intermediate coating  15 . The fill coating  17  can have a different color from the intermediate coating  15 , enabling the pattern on the bottom of the textured portions  102  to have more contrast with each other. 
     The top coating  19  is transparent and made of a UV paint, a polyurethane paint or an unsaturated polyester paint. The top coating  17  has a high rigidity to provide a good protection for the intermediate coating  15  and the fill coating  17  from, for example, wear and tear. 
     A method for manufacturing the device housing  100  as described may include the following steps. 
     The base housing  10  is provided with the plurality of textured portions  102  for example by molding. A predetermined pattern is molded or chemically etched on the bottom of the textured portions  102 . The bottom coating  11  is sprayed onto the exterior surface of the base housing  10 . 
     The vacuum evaporation coating  13  is vacuum evaporated onto the exterior surface of the bottom coating  11 . During this step, an opaque cover housing with hollowed portions covers the bottom coating  11  of the base housing  10 . The hollowed portions correspond to the vacuum evaporation coating  13  in shape and size. The cover housing and the base housing  10  are vacuum evaporated to form the vacuum evaporation coating  13  through the hollowed portions on the bottom coating  11 . After completing of the vacuum evaporation, the cover housing is removed. 
     The intermediate coating  15  is sprayed on the vacuum evaporation coating  13 . In this case, the preformed base housing  10  has the recessed sections  104  corresponding to the textured portions  102 . The fill coating  17  is filled into the recessed sections  104 . The middle coating  15  is sprayed on the vacuum evaporation coating  13 . The top coating  19  is sprayed on and covers the intermediate coating  15  and the fill coating  17 . 
     It is to be understood, however, that even through numerous characteristics and advantages of exemplary embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function 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 disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.