WO2005061204A1 - Cover for portable electronic device and method for making the same - Google Patents

Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
  • H04M1/0202—Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets
  • H04M1/0279—Improving the user comfort or ergonomics
  • H04M1/0283—Improving the user comfort or ergonomics for providing a decorative aspect, e.g. customization of casings, exchangeable faceplate
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C45/00—Injection moulding, i.e. forcing the required volume of moulding material through a nozzle into a closed mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C45/16—Making multilayered or multicoloured articles
  • B29C45/1671—Making multilayered or multicoloured articles with an insert
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K9/00—Screening of apparatus or components against electric or magnetic fields
  • H05K9/0007—Casings
  • H05K9/0045—Casings being rigid plastic containers having a coating of shielding material
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
  • H05K9/00—Screening of apparatus or components against electric or magnetic fields
  • H05K9/0067—Devices for protecting against damage from electrostatic discharge
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C45/00—Injection moulding, i.e. forcing the required volume of moulding material through a nozzle into a closed mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C45/16—Making multilayered or multicoloured articles
  • B29C45/1676—Making multilayered or multicoloured articles using a soft material and a rigid material, e.g. making articles with a sealing part
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29K—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR MOULDS, REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS
  • B29K2995/00—Properties of moulding materials, reinforcements, fillers, preformed parts or moulds
  • B29K2995/0003—Properties of moulding materials, reinforcements, fillers, preformed parts or moulds having particular electrical or magnetic properties, e.g. piezoelectric
  • B29K2995/0011—Electromagnetic wave shielding material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
  • B29L2031/00—Other particular articles
  • B29L2031/34—Electrical apparatus, e.g. sparking plugs or parts thereof
  • B29L2031/3431—Telephones, Earphones

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cover for a portable electronic device, comprising a body part made of a transparent plastics material, a part of the body part being designed to form a display window for a display element of the portable electronic device, a decorating film arranged to form a multilayer structure together with the body part, the decorating film comprising visible symbols or characters. Further, the present invention relates to a cover for a portable electronic device, comprising a body part made of a plastics material, a decorating film arranged to form a multilayer structure together with the body part. Further, the invention relates to a method for making a cover for a portable electronic device.
• the portable electronic devices mentioned in this application are typically for instance mobile phones or mobile stations, communicators, palm tops or other portable communicating devices, or portable electronic games, combinations of the above or other corresponding devices.
• covers are made of plastics materials and conventionally, they consist of various parts attached to each other.
• a top cover having a transparent display window is constructed of at least two separate parts: a coloured, non-transparent body component and a transparent display window.
• EP patent application 0 932 288 discloses a cellular phone top cover and a method of producing the same.
• the cellular phone top cover includes a transparent body component and a non-transparent foil-decorating film laminated on the transparent body component.
• the non-transparent foil- decorating film defines a display window of the cellular phone display.
• a foil-decorating film is brought into intimate contact with an interior surface cavity recess of a mould capable of moulding a transparent resin into a cellular phone top cover.
• the film is fed from a roll into the mould, i.e. an IMF (In Mould Foiling) foil is used here.
• IMF In Mould Foiling
• the cover for a portable electronic device of the invention is characterized in that the decorating film is an IML (In Mould Labelling) film, and that the cover further comprises key parts made of a resilient material and attached to the body part.
• the decorating film is an IML film, and that an ESD/EMI shielding element (17) is arranged in the IML film (3).
• the method of the invention is characterized by arranging in a mould an IML film comprising visible symbols or characters and an area framing key parts, closing the mould, injecting a plastics material into a first mould cavity formed by the mould and the IML film, the plastics material bonding to the IML film and forming a transparent body part comprising the part designed to be a display window for a display element of the portable electronic device as well as key through-holes for the key parts, providing the mould with a second mould cavity, injecting a second plastics material into the second mould cavity to fill the key through-holes, opening the mould, and removing the cover from the mould.
• An advantage of the invention is that the number of separate manufacturing steps are reduced.
• Another advantage is that the amount of post-processing work is substantially reduced as compared with the solution disclosed e.g. in EP 0 932 288. Consequently, the method of the invention is fast and inexpensive, so the costs of a product are low. Still another advantage is that the cover can easily be made dust and watertight. Still another advantage is that an ESD/EMI (electrostatic discharge/electromagnetic interference) shield can be arranged in the IML film. Consequently, a cover with ESD/EMI shielding properties can be made easily and inexpensively. Yet another advantage is that the IML film includes film material for one cover only and therefore enables individual handling and production of the covers. Therefore it becomes possible to economically produce extremely short and customized production lots with the different colour and decoration alternatives.
• ESD/EMI electrostatic discharge/electromagnetic interference
• Figure 1a is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the cover of the invention as a cutaway diagram
• Figure 1 b is a schematic representation of the cover of Figure 1 as seen from the top
• Figures 2a to 2e are schematic representations of an embodiment of the method of the invention as a cutaway diagram
• Figures 3a to 3c are schematic representations of part of embodiments of the cover of the invention as a cutaway diagram.
• FIG 1a is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the cover of the invention as a cutaway diagram
• Figure 1 b is a schematic representation of the cover of Figure 1 as seen from the top.
• a cover 1 is a front cover of a mobile phone, comprising e.g. a display window and keys to enable the mobile phone to be used.
• the cover 1 has a multilayer structure, comprising a body part 2 and a decorating film, which is an IML film 3, adhered onto the surface of the body part to constitute an outer layer.
• the body part 2 is made of a transparent, preferably thermoplastic plastics material known per se. The body part 2 protects the keypad and electronics of the device - including the display element of the device.
• the body part 2 can be used as a holder or mounting for electronic or other components, such as microphone, loudspeaker, buzzer, vibramotor or the like. For that reason the body part 2 can comprise mounting or fixing means, such as fixing means of the loudspeaker 16 which is shown in Figure 1a.
• the components can be arranged detachable or undetachable in the body part 2.
• the IML film 3, at least on its surface arranged against the body part 2, is made of a material having a suitable affinity with the production material of the body part 2; in other words, of a material which, in an injection moulding process, sticks firmly to the production material of the body part 2.
• the IML film 3 preferably comprises information 7, such as the identifier of the manufacturer, the name of the device, information associated with the use of the device, etc. Furthermore, the IML film 3 comprises an area framing the keys, and further, preferably decorating elements 8 to make the appearance of the mobile phone more attractive. Such a decorating element 8 may comprise e.g. colours and/or patterns imitating a natural material or the like.
• the IML film 3 may be substantially completely non-transparent, but it may also include parts with different transmission of light.
• the IML film 3 can also comprise an ESD/EMI shielding element.
• the ESD/EMI shielding element 17 can be a metallic layer arranged in the IML film 3.
• the IML film 3 or a layer thereof can be made of electrically conductive plastic or electrically conductive plastic composite, e.g. material comprising a matrix part made of one or more polymer(s) or copolymer(s) and an electrically conductive filler material part.
• the ESD/EMI shielding element 17 can establish the uppermost layer of the IML film 3, as shown in Figure 3a. Number of the other layers 18 of the IML film may vary.
• the ESD/EMI shielding element 17 can be arranged between two layers 18a, 18b of the IML film 3.
• the ESD/EMI shielding element can also establish the lower surface of the IML film 3, as shown in Figure 3c.
• the ESD/EMI shielding element can be extended to cover the IML film 3 wholly.
• the IML film 3 can also be made totally of ESD/EMI shielding material without any further material layers.
• the ESD/EMI shielding element can also be a part of decoration of the cover.
• the cover 1 comprising an IML film 3 comprising an ESD/EMI shielding element 17 can be realized without key parts 5 attached to the body part 2.
• the IML film 3 comprising an ESD/EMI can also be arranged to so- called B-cover of the portable electronic device.
• the B-cover is a cover that comprises no display window 4 at all.
• the body part of the cover can be made of non-transparent plastic material.
• the ESD/EMI shielding can be arranged in the body part 2. It is to be noted in this connection that ESD/EMI shielding shall be grounded to the printed circuit board of the phone. The grounding can be carried out, for example, by conductive contact means which stick out from the ESD/EMI shielding element 17 and which is connected to the ground of the printed circuit board.
• the IML film 3 comprises a through-hole framed by a display window frame 6. Consequently, information displayed by the display element is shown through the transparent body part 2.
• the frame 6 is preferably substantially impermeable to visible light, in which case it distinctly separates the display window 4 from the rest of the parts of the cover 1.
• the body part 2 and the IML film 3 comprise through-holes 9a and 9b, through of which voice of the loudspeaker proceeds out of the mobile phone and, respectively, voices outside of the mobile phone proceeds to the microphone. It should be noted that the loudspeaker and microphone are not shown in the Figures.
• the cover 1 further comprises keys formed from key parts 5 preferably made of a suitable elastic thermoplastic elastomer. It is to be noted here that key parts 5 can also be made of other resilient or non-resilient material(s) suitable for the keyboard solution of the electronic device.
• the keys constitute the keypad of the mobile phone to enable information to be entered into the mobile phone and the functions of the mobile phone to be controlled.
• a key may also be an on/off switch or the like.
• the production material of a key part 5 is undetachably bonded to key through-holes provided in the body part 2 while manufacturing the cover 1.
• the production material of the key part 5 can be detachably bonded to key through-holes while manufacturing the cover 1.
• the nature of the bond is determined by the chemical or physical affinity between materials of the body part 2 and key part 5.
• the joint between the key part 5 and the cover 1 is preferably dust and watertight.
• Figures 2a to 2e are schematic presentations of an embodiment of the method of the invention as a cutaway diagram.
• the method is used for manufacturing a cover comprising a body part, an IML film, a display window and keys.
• the method is multi- shot injection moulding.
• an IML film 3 is arranged into an injection moulding mould comprising a first half of mould 10 and a second half of mould 11.
• the IML film 3 is moulded e.g. by compression or drawing or the like and, further, typically by substantially cutting into the three-dimensional shape it will have in the final product.
• the IML film 3 comprises the information, patterns, perforations, etc. necessary in the cover being manufactured.
• the IML film 3 may be transferred to the mould manually, but preferably the transfer - shown by arrow A - is carried out by an automated robot or a manipulator.
• the mould When the IML film 3 is in its place in the mould, the mould is closed. A first mould cavity 14 is then provided in the space defined by the first and the second half of moulds 10, 11 and the IML film 3.
• the mould comprises a feed system 13 via which the melted plastics material forming the body part 2 is injected into the first mould cavity 14; this injection step is described by arrow B in Figure 2b.
• the melted plastics material takes the form of the first mould cavity 14 and as the material cools down, the body part 2 is thus provided, bonded to the IML film 3.
• the mould After the material of the body part 2 has cooled down sufficiently, the mould is opened. The body part 2 and the IML film 3 remain in the first half of mould.
• the second half of mould 11 is replaced by a third half of mould 12 whose shape differs from that of the second half of mould 11.
• the mould formed by the first and the third half of moulds 10, 12 is closed, whereby a second mould cavity 15 is provided in the mould.
• the second mould cavity 15 consists of the space defined by the first half of mould 10, the IML film 3, the body part 2 and the third half of mould 12.
• a melted thermoplastic elastomer is injected into the second mould cavity 15 to fill the mould cavity and to form the key parts 5 while cooling down.
• thermoplastic elastomer As the thermoplastic elastomer cools down, it sticks at least to the body part 2 and preferably to the
• the cover 1 manufactured utilizing one and the same process comprises a display window and a keypad.
• the cover 1 comprises fastening means to enable the cover to be fastened to the mobile phone.
• the cover 1 is substantially ready for the final assembly of the device or e.g. to be packed in a package in which it is to be sold.
• An advantage of the method is that it enables higher injection pressures and injection rates to be used than those used in the method disclosed in EP patent application 0 932 288.
• the method of the invention can be implemented e.g. by a multi- shot moulding machine comprising an index plate. This includes two or possibly even more stations, each of which comprises an independently operating injection unit of its own. A rotating mounting plate turns the first half of mould 10 from one station to another.
• the method of the invention can also be implemented e.g. by using a mould having a movable core. In such a case, after injection moulding the body part 2, the core is transferred to another position, after which the material forming the key parts is injected.
• Multi-shot injection moulding machines and moving cores are prior art devices per se, so they will not be discussed in closer detail herein. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways.
• the IML film 3 may cover the display window of the display element, provided that the film at this particular point is transparent enough. Furthermore, the IML film 3 may form the key surface of the keys, i.e. the surface a user of the portable electronic device touches while using a key. In such a case, the task of the resilient key part 5 arranged in a key through-hole is to support the key surface and to ensure that the key surface is restored to its original position after a push of the key.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Telephone Set Structure (AREA)

Abstract

Description

Claims

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=29763581

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (9)

Citations (7)

• 2003
  • 2003-12-22 FI FI20031892A patent/FI20031892A0/en not_active Application Discontinuation
• 2004
  • 2004-12-21 WO PCT/FI2004/000786 patent/WO2005061204A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (7)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events