Patent Publication Number: US-2011074639-A1

Title: Device housing

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to device housings, especially to a device housing having a three-dimensional antenna formed thereon. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Antennas are critical for wireless communication of electronic devices (such as mobile phones, computers, PDAs, and so on). The antenna may be a thin metal piece mounted to a support member, and attached to a device&#39;s housing. To save space, weight, and money, the antenna may be directly attached to the housing without the support member. However, the antenna, especially the antenna in three-dimensional form mounted without a support member is prone to damage during manufacturing. To solve this problem, a printable antenna is used by printing a conductive ink coating on the housing. However, the conductive ink can be difficult to print on the housing especially when trying to form a three-dimensional antenna, which may be preferred in some applications than two-dimensional antenna. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Many aspects of the device housing can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the device housing. Moreover, in the drawings like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of a device housing. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the device housing shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  show a device housing  10  including a main body  11  and a three-dimensional antenna  13  formed on the main body  11 . 
     The main body  11  may be molded of a moldable plastic. The moldable plastic may be one or more materials selected from a group consisting of polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The main body  11  may define an antenna region  111  on the exterior surface. The antenna region  111  has substantially the same shape as the three-dimensional antenna  13 . 
     The three-dimensional antenna  13  may be a conductive ink coating deposited by pad printing using a pad printing machine. The three-dimensional antenna  13  may have a thickness of about 8-10 μm, and has a resistivity of no more than about 0.005Ω/μm 2 . 
     The pad printing machine may include a plurality of silicone pads and a printing plate. The printing plate defines an etched area corresponding to the three-dimensional antenna  13 . The etched area is filled with conductive ink. During printing, the silicone pads of the pad printing machine are pressed down onto the printing plate to transfer the conductive ink from the etched area onto the silicone pads. The silicone pads are pressed down onto the antenna region  111  of the main body  11  forming the three-dimensional antenna  13 . After printing, the main body  11  is heated in an oven to solidify the three-dimensional antenna  13 . 
     The conductive ink for the three-dimensional antenna  13  contains a conductive component, such as silver powder, copper powder, or a mixture of the silver powder and copper powder. The conductive ink may further contain hardening agents and additives. The additives may contain pigment and surface adjusting agents. 
     The exemplary pad printed three-dimensional antenna  13  can be easily produced in large numbers compared to the metal three-dimensional antennas. Furthermore, the exemplary three-dimensional antenna  13  can be designed in many suitable shapes according to frequencies to be used. 
     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.