U.S. patent application number 12/720789 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-24 for method for inlaying gold ornament and housing made by the method.
This patent application is currently assigned to SHENZHEN FUTAIHONG PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to WEN-TE LAI, GANG-QIANG LIU, YOU-LI LIU, HSIANG-JUNG SU, LIANG XIONG.
Application Number | 20110041553 12/720789 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43604200 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110041553 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
XIONG; LIANG ; et
al. |
February 24, 2011 |
METHOD FOR INLAYING GOLD ORNAMENT AND HOUSING MADE BY THE
METHOD
Abstract
A method for inlaying a gold ornament is disclosed. A substrate
is provided which has an outer surface. A groove is defined in the
substrate through the outer surface. A gold ornament is
manufactured. The gold ornament has substantially the same shape as
the groove. The gold ornament is placed in the groove wherein is
positioned with metallic solder. Then the substrate is heated,
whereby the melting and subsequent cooling of the solder bonds the
gold ornament to the substrate. A housing for electronic device
inlaid with a gold ornament made by the present method is also
provided.
Inventors: |
XIONG; LIANG; (Shenzhen
City, CN) ; LIU; YOU-LI; (Shenzhen City, CN) ;
SU; HSIANG-JUNG; (Shindian, TW) ; LAI; WEN-TE;
(Shindian, TW) ; LIU; GANG-QIANG; (Shenzhen City,
CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Altis Law Group, Inc.;ATTN: Steven Reiss
288 SOUTH MAYO AVENUE
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91789
US
|
Assignee: |
SHENZHEN FUTAIHONG PRECISION
INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
ShenZhen City
CN
FIH (HONG KONG) LIMITED
Kowloon
HK
|
Family ID: |
43604200 |
Appl. No.: |
12/720789 |
Filed: |
March 10, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
63/1.12 ;
29/896.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B44C 1/26 20130101; B23K
1/0008 20130101; Y10T 29/49588 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
63/1.12 ;
29/896.4 |
International
Class: |
A44C 27/00 20060101
A44C027/00; A44C 15/00 20060101 A44C015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 18, 2009 |
CN |
200910305717.6 |
Claims
1. A method for inlaying a gold ornament, comprising: providing a
substrate, the substrate having an outer surface; defining a groove
in the substrate through the outer surface; manufacturing a gold
ornament having substantially the same shape as the groove; placing
metallic solder in the groove; placing the gold ornament in the
groove with the metallic solder; and heating the substrate, whereby
the melting and subsequent cooling of the solder bonds the gold
ornament to the substrate.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gold ornament is
formed by numerical control of slow speed wire-cutting.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metallic solder is
tin paste or metallic powder.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is
metal.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the groove is formed
by a computer numerical controlled milling machine.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gold ornament is
coplanar with the outer surface when placed in the groove.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gold ornament
protrudes from the outer surface when placed in the groove.
8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the method further
comprises treating the gold ornament to be coplanar with the outer
surface after the heating step.
9. A housing for electronic device, comprising: a substrate, the
substrate defining a groove; a gold ornament, the gold ornament
being accommodated in the groove; and a metallic solder positioned
in the groove, the metallic solder bonding the gold ornament and
the substrate.
10. The housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein the metallic solder
is tin paste or metallic powder.
11. The housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein the metallic solder
is formed on the bottom wall of the groove.
12. The housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein the substrate is
metal.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to a method for
inlaying a gold ornament into a metal substrate and a housing for
electronic devices with the gold ornament.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Housings for electronic devices, such as mobile phones,
inlaid with gold ornaments may be popular. Fusion welding is a
typical method for inlaying gold ornaments in metal housings.
Specifically, a gold welding rod is melted and filled into a groove
to form an ornament. However, it is difficult to accurately control
the quantity of gold melted into the grooves resulting in too
little or too much gold being used which may degrade the appearance
of the housing.
[0005] Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Many aspects of the method for inlaying gold ornament and
housing made by the method 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 method and the
housing made by the same.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section view of an exemplary
embodiment of the present housing without any ornament inlaid.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-section view of the housing
shown in FIG. 1 inlaid with a gold ornament.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary housing 10 made according to an
exemplary method for inlaying a gold ornament into a metal
substrate. The method includes at least the following steps:
providing a substrate, the substrate having an outer surface;
defining a groove in the substrate through the outer surface;
manufacturing a gold ornament by numerical control of slow speed
wire-cutting according to the shape of the groove; placing the gold
ornament in the groove in which is positioned metallic solder; and
heating the substrate, the metallic solder melting and bonding the
gold ornament to the substrate. Each step is described in more
detail below.
[0010] A substrate 12, such as a preformed housing for a mobile
phone, is provided. The substrate 12 may be made of metal material,
e.g., stainless steel, copper, magnesium alloy, aluminum alloy, or
titanium alloy. The substrate 12 has an outer surface 120.
[0011] Referring to FIG. 1, a groove 121 is defined into the
substrate 12 through the outer surface 120. The groove 121 may be
formed using a computer numerical controlled (CNC) milling machine
to ensure high precision. The groove 121 has a shape desired for
the shape of a gold ornament, e.g., line shape, arc shape, or wave
shape.
[0012] A gold ornament 16 is manufactured by using a numerical
controlled (NC) slow speed wire-cutting machine according to the
shape of the groove 121. The gold ornament 16 can have a dimension
tolerance of about .+-.0.02 mm or less.
[0013] Metallic solder 14 is positioned in the groove 121, such as
on the bottom wall 123 of the groove 121. The metallic solder 14
can be tin paste or metallic powder.
[0014] The gold ornament 16 is placed in the groove 121. The gold
ornament 16 may be coplanar with or protrude from the outer surface
120.
[0015] The substrate 12 combined with the gold ornament 16 is
heated. The metallic solder 14 is melted and then when it cools,
bonds the gold ornament 16 and the substrate 12. The heating step
may be carried out in a furnace.
[0016] It should be understood that, when the gold ornament 16
provided protrudes from the outer surface 120, the protruding
portion of the gold ornament 16 may be treated after the heating to
be coplanar with the outer surface 120.
[0017] The housing 10 for electronic device made by the method as
described above includes a substrate 12, and a gold ornament 16
inlaid in the substrate 12. The substrate 12 may be made of a metal
material selected from a group consisting of stainless steel,
copper, magnesium alloy, aluminum alloy, and titanium alloy. The
substrate 12 has an outer surface 120 and defines a groove 121
through the outer surface 120. The gold ornament 16 is accommodated
in the groove 121. Metallic solder 14 is positioned in the groove
121 (such as the bottom wall 123) and bonds the gold ornament 16 to
the substrate 12. The metallic solder 14 may be tin paste or
metallic powder.
[0018] In the present embodiment, the groove 121 and the gold
ornament 16 are formed using numerical controlling machines,
therefore, the gold ornament 16 engages precisely in the groove 121
with a nice appearance on the whole. Additionally, the gold
ornament 16 is fixed to the substrate 12 by a soldering process to
ensure a secure bonding between the gold ornament 16 and the
substrate 12.
[0019] 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.
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