TWI421005B - Housing of electronic device and method for making the housing - Google Patents

Description

Electronic device housing and manufacturing method thereof

The invention relates to an electronic device housing and a manufacturing method thereof, in particular to an electronic device housing having a three-dimensional antenna and a manufacturing method thereof.

Antennas are important components in electronic devices (such as mobile phones, computers, PDAs, etc.). The setting and quality of the antenna directly determine the pros and cons of the communication performance of the electronic device.

Among the conventional methods for fabricating antennas for electronic devices, laser direct structuring (LDS) technology is emerging. LDS technology refers to the use of laser to form an antenna or conductive pattern on the surface of a substrate. It generally comprises three steps: plastic molding, that is, using a laser-activated modified plastic as a raw material to make a plastic part; laser activation, that is, using a focused laser The projection of the beam onto the plastic part requires the fabrication of an antenna or a conductive pattern to cause a physical chemical reaction of the plastic material to precipitate a metal crystal nucleus on the surface of the plastic part; metallization, even if a portion of the laser is projected to deposit a conductive metal layer.

Compared with flexible circuit board antennas and metal plate antennas, LDS antennas can be made into any shape that they actually need, with full three-dimensional functions; and because of laser forming, changing antennas or circuit patterns can be achieved without changing the mold, technical efficiency Extremely high and short product production cycle.

However, the preparation of the LDS antenna requires the use of a relatively expensive modified plastic, resulting in a high cost of the product, which hinders its promotion and use.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide an electronic device housing having a three-dimensional antenna that can realize any three-dimensional structure required thereof and that is inexpensive to manufacture.

In addition, it is also necessary to provide a method of fabricating the above-described electronic device housing.

An electronic device housing includes a body and a three-dimensional antenna formed on the body, the body comprising a primary molded body and a secondary molded body combined with the primary molded body, the primary molded body is made of a material In the plastic, the material of the overmolded body comprises a laser activatable material, and the three-dimensional antenna is a plating layer formed by laser activation of a preselected surface of the secondary molded body.

A manufacturing method of an electronic device housing, comprising the steps of: providing a molding die having a primary molding cavity and a secondary molding cavity communicating with the primary molding cavity; Forming a plastic in the molded cavity to form a primary molded body of the electronic device casing; and molding the plastic containing the laser activator into the secondary molded cavity to form a secondary molded body of the electronic device casing, the secondary molded body being combined On the primary molded body; laser activation of the preselected surface of the secondary molded body; metallization of the preselected surface of the activated secondary molded body to form a three-dimensional antenna.

Compared with the prior art, the manufacturing method of the electronic device casing of the present invention is divided into two injection molding shells, and the primary molding body can use ordinary plastic materials, so that the laser activating material of the secondary molding body can be greatly reduced. The amount used, thereby reducing the cost of the product.

10‧‧‧Electronic device housing

11‧‧‧Ontology

13‧‧‧3D antenna

111‧‧‧One molded body

113‧‧‧Secondary molded body

1 is a schematic overall view of a housing of an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic device housing of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an electronic device housing 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a body 11 and a three-dimensional antenna 13 formed on the body 11 .

Referring to FIG. 2, the body 11 includes a primary molded body 111 and a secondary molded body 113 combined with the primary molded body 111.

The primary molded body 111 is formed by injection molding. The plastic of the injection molded primary molded body 111 may be selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polymethyl methacrylate. Any of (PMMA). The primary molded body 111 can be directly formed into the shape of the electronic device casing 10 and occupy about two-thirds to four-fifths of the thickness of the electronic device casing 10; it can also be formed into the electronic device. A portion of the housing 10.

The overmolded body 113 is formed by injection molding. The material of the injection molded secondary molded body 113 may be a mixture of a thermoplastic plastic, an organic filler, and a laser activator. The thermoplastic plastic may be polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyimine (PI). The organic filler may be a citric acid and/or a citric acid derivative. The laser activator can be a non-conductive spinel-based high-order oxide, such as copper-containing Spinel and so on. In the mixture of the injection molded secondary molded body 113, wherein the percentage of the thermoplastic plastic may be between 65-75%, and the percentage of the organic filler may be between 22-28%, based on the non-conductive The percentage of high order oxides of spinel can range from 3 to 7%. The non-conductive spinel-based high-order oxide may be activated by laser irradiation to precipitate a metal crystal nucleus covering the surface of the over-molded body 113.

The three-dimensional antenna 13 is a plating layer formed on a preselected surface of the overmolded body 113. The plating layer includes an electroplated copper layer, an electroplated nickel layer, and an electroplated gold layer sequentially formed on the preselected surface. The electroplated copper layer mainly functions as an antenna; the electroplated nickel layer is an intermediate transition layer, which can enhance the bonding force between the electroplated gold layer and the electroplated copper layer; the electroplated gold layer has strong anti-oxidation ability, which can prevent The three-dimensional antenna 13 is oxidized, and the electroplating gold layer has a strong electrical conductivity, which can ensure the stability of the electrical connection between the three-dimensional antenna 13 and the control system of the electronic device. The three-dimensional antenna 13 may be subjected to laser activation on a preselected region of the surface of the secondary molded body 113 to cause a non-conductive, spinel-based high-order oxide metal crystal nucleus of the preselected region to be deposited on the surface, and then The preselected area is made by electroplating.

A method of fabricating the electronic device housing 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of providing a forming mold. The molding die has a primary molding cavity and a secondary molding cavity in communication with the primary molding cavity.

The primary molded body 111 of the electronic device housing 10 is formed by injection molding the plastic into the primary molding cavity. The plastic of the injection molded primary molded body 111 may be selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), polyamine (PA), polycarbonate (PC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). And any of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

The plastic containing the laser activator is injection molded into the overmolded cavity to form a secondary molded body 113 of the electronic device housing, and the secondary molded body 113 is bonded to the primary molded body 111. The laser activatable material can be a non-conductive spinel-based high order oxide such as a copper-containing spinel. The plastic may be polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyimine (PI). The plastic forming the overmolded body 113 by injection molding may further contain a citric acid and/or a citric acid derivative.

Preselecting an arbitrary three-dimensional shape region on the surface of the overmolded body 113, and irradiating the preselected region with laser light to cause the non-conductive spinel-based high-order oxide metal ions of the region to be deposited on the surface. Activation becomes a conductor.

The activated preselected region of the overmolded body 113 is metallized to obtain a three-dimensional antenna 13. The metallization process can be electroplating. Since the region in which the secondary molded body 113 is not activated by the laser is a non-conducting body, the three-dimensional antenna 13 can be produced by plating a metal layer on only the activated preselected region at the time of electroplating. When plating, a copper layer may be first plated, then a nickel layer is plated, and finally a gold layer is plated.

The manufacturing method of the electronic device casing 10 according to the present invention is suitable for use in the production of a product housing such as a wireless communication product or a notebook computer.

The manufacturing method of the electronic device casing of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is divided into two injection molding shells, and the primary molding body can use ordinary plastic materials, so that the amount of the laser activating material of the secondary molding body can be reduced, thereby Greatly reduce the cost of the product. At the same time, the manufacturing method of the electronic device casing of the present invention can obtain a three-dimensional antenna with an arbitrary shape and performance requirement by any arrangement of the laser irradiation path, and the technical efficiency is extremely high. The product production cycle is short.

10‧‧‧Electronic device housing

11‧‧‧Ontology

13‧‧‧3D antenna

Claims (12)

An electronic device housing comprising a body and a three-dimensional antenna formed on the body, wherein the body comprises a primary molded body and a secondary molded body matched with the primary molded body, the secondary molded body covering The primary molded body is made of plastic on the surface of the primary molded body, and the material of the secondary molded body includes a laser activator, and the three-dimensional antenna is a plating layer, which is a preselection of the secondary molded body. The surface is laser-activated and electroplated. The electronic device casing according to claim 1, wherein the primary molded body is formed by injection molding, and the plastic of the injection molded primary molded body is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyamide, polycarbonate, Any of polyethylene terephthalate and polymethyl methacrylate. The electronic device casing according to claim 1, wherein the secondary molded body is formed by injection molding, and the material of the injection molded secondary molded body is thermoplastic plastic, organic filler and laser activator. mixture. The electronic device housing according to claim 3, wherein the thermoplastic plastic is polybutylene terephthalate or polyimine. The electronic device housing of claim 3, wherein the organic filler is a citric acid and/or a citric acid derivative. The electronic device housing of claim 3, wherein the laser activator is a non-conductive spinel-based high-order oxide. The electronic device housing of claim 6, wherein the non-conductive spinel-based high-order oxide is a copper-containing spinel. The electronic device casing according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional antenna comprises an electroplated copper layer, an electroplated nickel layer and an electroplated gold layer which are sequentially formed on the preselected surface of the secondary molded body. A manufacturing method of an electronic device housing, comprising the steps of: providing a molding die having a primary molding cavity and a secondary molding cavity communicating with the primary molding cavity; Injection molding the plastic in the molding cavity to form a primary molded body of the electronic device housing; and molding the plastic containing the laser activator into the secondary molding cavity to form a second matching body of the electronic device housing matching the primary molding body a molded body covering the surface of the primary molded body; laser activating a preselected surface of the secondary molded body; and metallizing the preselected surface of the activated secondary molded body to form a three-dimensional antenna. The method of fabricating an electronic device housing according to claim 9, wherein the laser activator is a non-conductive spinel-based high-order oxide. The method of fabricating an electronic device housing according to claim 10, wherein the laser activation is to irradiate a preselected surface of the secondary molded body with laser light to make the secondary molded body non-conductive. A metal crystal nucleus based on a spinel-based high-order oxide is deposited on the preselected surface to make the preselected surface a conductor. The method of fabricating an electronic device housing according to claim 11, wherein the metallizing method is to electroplate a preselected surface of the activated secondary molded body.