Shell preparation method, shell and electronic device

Abstract

The present application provides a method for preparing a shell, a shell and an electronic device. The method for preparing the shell comprises: taking a substrate, the substrate comprising a main body and a thinning portion connected to the main body, the thinning portion being provided with a groove, the opening of the groove being provided on the surface of the thinning portion along the thickness direction; bending the main body to prepare the shell. The method for preparing the shell provided by the present application has a simple preparation process, reduces the weight of the shell while ensuring the product strength of the shell, and is conducive to the thinness of the assembled electronic device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electronic equipment, and in particular to a method for preparing a shell, a shell and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Being thin and light is an important competitive advantage of every electronic device. The weight of electronic devices with traditional solutions has reached a bottleneck, affecting the "light" experience. Currently, the overall thickness of the shell of electronic devices is usually thinned to achieve the effect of reducing the weight of the shell, but the method of thinning the overall thickness of the shell will greatly sacrifice the product strength of the shell. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a method for preparing a shell, a shell and an electronic device. The method for preparing the shell has a simple preparation process, and while ensuring the product strength of the shell, the weight of the shell is reduced, which is conducive to the thinness of the assembled electronic device.

[0004] The present application provides a method for preparing a shell, and the method for preparing the shell includes:

[0005] A substrate is provided, which includes a main body and a thinning part connected to the main body, wherein the thinning part is provided with a groove, and the opening of the groove is provided on the surface of the thinning part along the thickness direction; the main body is bent relative to the thinning part to obtain a shell.

[0006] The method for preparing the shell provided in the embodiment of the present application provides a groove in the thinning portion to achieve a material reduction design at the groove of the thinning portion, thereby achieving thinning of the shell in a local area, reducing the weight of the shell while ensuring the product strength of the shell, thereby facilitating the thinning of the assembled electronic device. In addition, in the method for preparing the shell, a substrate with a groove is first formed, and then the main body of the substrate is bent. Since the bending of the main body is performed after the step of forming the groove, when the substrate with the groove is formed, the substrate has not yet been bent, and a protective film can be used as an auxiliary, and it is not necessary to use an organic resin, which is conducive to simplifying the preparation process and reducing production costs.

[0007] In a possible embodiment, there are multiple grooves, the multiple grooves are arranged at intervals from each other, the multiple grooves include a first groove, the thinning portion includes multiple groups of cofferdam areas, each group of cofferdam areas includes multiple sub-cofferdam areas arranged at intervals from each other, and the multiple sub-cofferdam areas in the multiple groups of cofferdam areas are arranged at intervals along different directions; wherein, the multiple sub-cofferdam areas of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas enclose the opening of the first groove, and the multiple sub-cofferdam areas of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas are all protruding relative to the groove bottom wall of the first groove, and each sub-cofferdam area includes at least a first section and a second section, the second section is connected to the first section, and the angle between the second section and the first section is α, 0°<α<180°. By setting the angle between the second section and the first section in each sub-cofferdam area to 0°<α<180°, each sub-cofferdam area is presented as a non-straight line, so that the sub-cofferdam area can play a role in balancing the structural stress caused by the sudden change of the straight line boundary structure, on the one hand, the problem that the thinning portion is easy to be broken is solved, and on the other hand, it is ensured that when the main body is bent to form a curved portion, no stress marks will appear on the appearance surface of the thinning portion, thereby ensuring the appearance effect of the prepared shell.

[0008] In a possible embodiment, the multiple grooves also include a second groove, which is spaced apart from the first groove, and the thinning portion also includes an edge portion, which is arranged around the circumference of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas and encloses the multiple groups of cofferdam areas to form an opening of the second groove, and the edge portion and the multiple groups of cofferdam areas both protrude relative to the bottom wall of the second groove; wherein the edge portion has an inner contour line, the inner contour line faces the multiple groups of cofferdam areas and is connected to the multiple groups of cofferdam areas, the inner contour line includes at least a first contour segment and a second contour segment, the second contour segment is connected to the first contour segment, and the angle between the second contour segment and the first contour segment is β, 0°<β<180°, which can effectively improve the stress mutation of compressive stress and tensile stress in the thinning portion when the boundary thickness of the edge portion suddenly changes relative to the bottom wall of the second groove, thereby preventing stress marks on the appearance surface of the edge portion at the inner contour line, and ensuring the appearance effect of the prepared shell.

[0009] In a possible embodiment, the edge portion also has an edge line, which is arranged opposite to the inner contour line and connected between the thinning portion and the main body. The minimum distance between the inner contour line and the edge line is D, and D is ≥ 0.3 mm to ensure that the edge portion in the thinning portion has sufficient width. When the main body is bent relative to the edge portion of the thinning portion, the thinning portion is not easily broken, thereby ensuring the effect of preparing the shell.

[0010] In a possible implementation manner, the width of the sub-dam area is W, where W is ≥ 0.9 mm.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner, the depth of the groove is h, the thickness of the thinned portion is H, and 1 / 3≤h / H≤1 / 2.

[0012] In a possible embodiment, there are multiple grooves, and the outline of the openings of at least some of the grooves is a polygon, the polygon includes a first vertex, a second vertex and a third vertex, the second vertex is adjacent to the first vertex and the third vertex, and the perpendicular distance from the second vertex to the line connecting the first vertex and the third vertex is d, 1.5mm≤d≤2.5mm, while ensuring the weight reduction effect of the shell, it also ensures the appearance effect of the prepared shell.

[0013] In a possible implementation, there are a plurality of grooves, and the outline of the openings of at least some of the grooves is a polygon, and the side length of the polygon is L, where L≤5 mm.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the method for preparing the shell further includes the step of preparing a substrate:

[0015] Prepare a film-coated substrate, the film-coated substrate includes a substrate body and a protective film, wherein the substrate body includes a body portion and a to-be-treated portion connected to the body portion, the to-be-treated portion includes a to-be-treated area, the protective film is provided with a hollow portion, the hollow portion penetrates the protective film along a thickness direction of the protective film, the protective film covers the surface of the to-be-treated portion, and the to-be-treated area of ​​the to-be-treated portion is exposed relative to the hollow portion;

[0016] An etchant is disposed on the surface of the film-coated substrate, the etchant covers the surface of the protective film away from the substrate body and covers the area to be processed, wherein the substrate body is processed by the etchant to form a substrate, the part to be processed is processed by the etchant to form a thinned part, and the area to be processed is processed by the etchant to form a groove;

[0017] Remove the protective film.

[0018] Compared with the method of etching organic resin by laser engraving technology, the embodiment of the present application uses a protective film with a hollow portion to cover the substrate body. The coating method is simple, and the protective film can be removed by directly tearing it off. This avoids the problem of using additional solvents to dissolve the organic resin when using organic resin, simplifies the preparation process, and reduces production costs.

[0019] In a possible implementation, in the step of preparing the substrate: in the film-coated substrate, the protective film also covers the surface of the main body, and the etching agent is provided by immersing the film-coated substrate in the etching agent.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the substrate body is a plate-shaped structure.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the main body is bent using a stamping process.

[0022] The embodiment of the present application also provides a shell, which is manufactured according to the above-mentioned shell manufacturing method.

[0023] An embodiment of the present application also provides a shell, including a bent portion and a thinning portion, the bent portion is connected to the thinning portion and bent relative to the thinning portion, the thinning portion is provided with a groove, and the opening of the groove is provided on the surface of the thinning portion along the thickness direction.

[0024] In one possible embodiment, there are multiple grooves, the multiple grooves are spaced apart from each other, the multiple grooves include a first groove, the thinning portion includes multiple groups of cofferdam areas, each group of cofferdam areas includes multiple sub-cofferdam areas spaced apart from each other, and the multiple sub-cofferdam areas in the multiple groups of cofferdam areas are spaced apart along different directions; wherein the multiple sub-cofferdam areas of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas enclose the opening of the first groove, and the multiple sub-cofferdam areas of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas all protrude relative to the bottom wall of the first groove, each sub-cofferdam area includes at least a first section and a second section, the second section is connected to the first section, and the angle between the second section and the first section is α, 0°<α<180°.

[0025] In a possible embodiment, the multiple grooves also include a second groove, which is spaced apart from the first groove, and the thinning portion also includes an edge portion, which is arranged around the circumference of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas and is enclosed with the multiple groups of cofferdam areas to form an opening of the second groove, and the edge portion and the multiple groups of cofferdam areas both protrude relative to the bottom wall of the second groove; wherein the edge portion has an inner contour line, the inner contour line faces the multiple groups of cofferdam areas and is connected to the multiple groups of cofferdam areas, the inner contour line includes at least a first contour segment and a second contour segment, the second contour segment is connected to the first contour segment, and the angle between the second contour segment and the first contour segment is β, 0°<β<180°.

[0026] An embodiment of the present application also provides an electronic device, including a functional device and a housing, wherein the functional device is installed in the housing, and the housing is the housing as described above.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the housing is a rear housing or a middle frame of an electronic device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the assembly structure of a rear housing and a mounting member in the electronic device shown;

[0031] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the assembly structure shown in another perspective;

[0032] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the rear shell in the assembly structure shown;

[0033] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of part A in the rear shell shown;

[0034] Figure 6 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a partial cross-sectional structure of the rear housing at position BB is shown;

[0035] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a preparation process for preparing a back shell;

[0036] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the preparation process of the shell provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a housing formed by a stamping process;

[0038] Fig.10 For Figure 8 The preparation process shown Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the force acting on the thinned portion of the structure shown;

[0039] Fig.11 For Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the force on the thinned portion in which part of the sub-dam area is a straight line during the preparation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0041] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0042] The electronic device 1 may be a tablet, a folding screen, a notebook or the like. In the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device 1 is described by taking a notebook as an example. The electronic device 1 includes a housing 100, a display screen 300 and a functional device ( Figure 1 The display screen 300 and the functional components are installed in the housing 100.

[0043] Specifically, the housing 100 includes a front housing 110, a bearing housing 130 and a rear housing 150. The bearing housing 130 is rotatably connected to the front housing 110 to realize the opening and closing of the housing 100. The rear housing 150 is installed on the side of the bearing housing 130 away from the front housing 110. It can be understood that in this embodiment, the front housing 110 is the A housing of the notebook, the bearing housing 130 is the C housing of the notebook, and the rear housing 150 is the D housing of the notebook. Exemplarily, the material of the rear housing 150 is metal, and the metal includes materials such as magnesium alloy, aluminum alloy, and stainless steel.

[0044] The display screen 300 is mounted on the front shell 110 to realize that the display screen 300 is mounted on the housing 100. Functional components are mounted on the inner side of the bearing shell 130. Exemplarily, the functional components may include a mainboard, a heat dissipation system and a central processing unit (CPU), a keyboard, a battery and other components of the electronic device 1. Exemplarily, the heat dissipation system includes a fan.

[0045] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 , Figure 2 for Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the rear housing 150 and the mounting member 170 in the electronic device 1 is shown. Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of the assembly structure shown in another perspective.

[0046] The electronic device 1 also includes a mounting member 170, which is mounted on the rear shell 150 and is located on the inner side of the load-bearing shell 130. Specifically, the mounting member 170 includes a bracket 171, a support pad 173 and a foot pad 175. The bracket 171 is mounted on the side of the rear shell 150 facing the load-bearing shell 130. Exemplarily, the material of the bracket 171 is plastic, and can be fixedly connected to the rear shell 150 by dispensing glue. Among them, the bracket 171 is fixedly connected to the load-bearing shell 130 to achieve a fixed connection between the rear shell 150 and the load-bearing shell 130. In this embodiment, the heat dissipation system is fixedly connected to the bracket 171, so that when the heat dissipation system vibrates, the bracket 171 plays a role in pressing the heat dissipation system to prevent the heat dissipation system from vibrating violently. The mainboard is fixedly connected to the bracket 171, and the bracket 171 plays a role in preventing the mainboard from moving.

[0047] The support pad 173 is installed on the side of the rear shell 150 facing the load-bearing shell 130, and is spaced apart from the bracket 171. In this embodiment, the battery is installed on the side of the support pad 173 away from the rear shell 150, so that the support pad 173 is installed between the rear shell 150 and the battery to avoid rigid contact between the battery and the rear shell 150, thereby playing a role in buffering and protecting the battery. Exemplarily, the material of the support pad 173 is foam. The foot pad 175 is installed on the side of the rear shell 150 away from the load-bearing shell 130, and is used to support the entire electronic device 1 to be placed horizontally.

[0048] See also Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 , Figure 4 for Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure of the rear housing 150 in the assembly structure shown, Figure 5 for Figure 4 The partially enlarged view of the A portion of the rear housing 150 is shown. Figure 6 for Figure 4 The partial cross-sectional structure diagram of the rear housing 150 at position BB is shown.

[0049] For the convenience of description, we define Figure 4 The length direction of the rear shell 150 is the X-axis direction, the width direction is the Y-axis direction, and the thickness direction is the Z-axis direction. The X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction are perpendicular to each other. The rear shell 150 includes a thinning portion 30 and a bending portion 50 connected to the thinning portion 30. In this embodiment, the bending portion 50 is arranged around the circumference of the thinning portion 30. Among them, the support pad 173 is installed on the thinning portion 30 to realize the installation of the support pad 173 on the rear shell 150, avoiding the battery from having a rigid contact with the thinning portion 30.

[0050] Specifically, the thinning portion 30 is provided with a groove 31, and the opening of the groove 31 is provided on the surface of the thinning portion 30 along the thickness direction. In the present embodiment, the thinning portion 30 includes a first surface 301 and a second surface 303 arranged along the thickness direction, and the opening of the groove 31 is provided on the first surface 301, and is recessed from the first surface 301 to the second surface 303. There are multiple grooves 31, and the multiple grooves 31 are arranged at intervals from each other. In the present embodiment, the depth of the groove 31 is h, and the thickness of the thinning portion is H, 1 / 3≤h / H≤1 / 2. Exemplarily, the thickness H of the thinning portion 30 is 0.6mm, and the depth h of the groove 31 is 0.2~0.25mm.

[0051] In this embodiment, the outline of the opening of at least part of the groove 31 is a polygon. The polygonal outline of the opening of the groove 31 includes a first vertex A, a second vertex B and a third vertex C, and the second vertex B is adjacent to both the first vertex A and the third vertex C. The vertical distance from the second vertex B to the line connecting the first vertex A and the third vertex C is d. For example, 1.5 mm ≤ d ≤ 2.5 mm. For example, Figure 5 As shown, the openings of the plurality of grooves 31 have a rhombus-shaped outline. In this embodiment, the side length of the polygonal outline of the opening of the groove 31 is L, and L≤5 mm.

[0052] In this embodiment, the plurality of grooves 31 include a plurality of first grooves 311 and a plurality of second grooves 312 . The plurality of second grooves 312 are arranged around the circumference of the first grooves 311 , the first grooves 311 are away from the curved portion 50 , and the second grooves 312 are toward the curved portion 50 .

[0053] The thinning portion 30 includes a dam portion 33, an edge portion 34, and a plurality of recessed portions 35 (see Figure 6 ). A plurality of recessed portions 35 are arranged at intervals from each other. It can be understood that each recessed portion 35 is equivalent to the bottom wall of a groove 31. The cofferdam portion 33 and the edge portion 34 are arranged around the circumference of each recessed portion 35, and both protrude relative to each recessed portion 35, and enclose each recessed portion 35 to form a groove 31.

[0054] The cofferdam portion 33 and the plurality of recessed portions 35 enclose a plurality of first grooves 311, and the cofferdam portion 33 encloses the opening of the first groove 311, that is, the cofferdam portion 33 is arranged around the opening of the first groove 311. The cofferdam portion 33 protrudes relative to the groove bottom wall of each first groove 311. The cofferdam portion 33, the edge portion 34 and the plurality of recessed portions 35 enclose a plurality of second grooves 312. The cofferdam portion 33 and the edge portion 34 enclose the opening of the second groove 312, that is, the cofferdam portion 33 and the edge portion 34 are arranged around the opening of the second groove 312. The cofferdam portion 33 and the edge portion 34 protrude relative to the groove bottom wall of each second groove 312.

[0055] Specifically, the cofferdam portion 33 includes multiple groups of cofferdam areas 331. Each group of cofferdam areas 331 includes multiple sub-cofferdam areas 333 spaced apart from each other. The multiple sub-cofferdam areas 333 of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas 331 are spaced apart in different directions. The multiple sub-cofferdam areas 333 of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas 331 enclose the openings of multiple first grooves 311, and each sub-cofferdam area 333 protrudes relative to the bottom wall of each first groove 311. In this embodiment, in each group of cofferdam areas 331, the width of the sub-cofferdam area 333 is W, and W≥0.9 mm.

[0056] For example, Figure 5 As shown, the cofferdam portion 33 includes two groups of cofferdam areas 331, namely a first group of cofferdam areas 331a and a second group of cofferdam areas 331b. The first group of cofferdam areas 331a includes a plurality of first sub-cofferdam areas 333a, each of which extends along the X-axis direction, and the plurality of first sub-cofferdam areas 333a are arranged at intervals from each other along the Y-axis direction. The second group of cofferdam areas 331b includes a plurality of second sub-cofferdam areas 333b, each of which extends along the Y-axis direction, and the plurality of second sub-cofferdam areas 333b are arranged at intervals from each other along the X-axis direction, and the second direction is different from the first direction. The plurality of first sub-cofferdam areas 333a in the first group of cofferdam areas 331a and the plurality of second sub-cofferdam areas 333b in the second group of cofferdam areas 331b are enclosed to form the openings of the plurality of first grooves 311. In this embodiment, the opening of each first groove 311 is a quadrilateral.

[0057] Each sub-dam area 333 includes at least a first section 335 and a second section 337. It is understandable that the width of the first section 335 and the width of the second section 337 may be equal or unequal, and the present application does not limit this. The second section 337 is connected to the first section 335, and the angle between the second section 337 and the first section 35 is α, 0°<α<180°, so that each sub-dam area 333 appears as a non-straight line. Among them, the first section 335 is arranged around the opening of at least one first groove 311, and the second section 337 is arranged around the opening of at least one first groove 311. For example, as Figure 5 As shown, each first sub-cofferdam area 333a in the first group of cofferdam areas 331a includes at least a first section 335a and a second section 337a. The second section 337a in the first sub-cofferdam area 333a is connected to the first section 335a, and the angle between the second section 337a and the first section 335a is α1, 0°<α1<180°. Each second sub-cofferdam area 333b in the second group of cofferdam areas 331b includes at least a first section 335b and a second section 337b. The second section 337b in the second sub-cofferdam area 333b is connected to the first section 335b, and the angle between the second section 337b and the first section 335b is α2, 0°<α2<180°. In this embodiment, the first section 335a and the second section 337a in the first sub-dam area 333 are both arranged around the opening of a first groove 311, and the first section 335b and the second section 337b in the second sub-dam area 333b are both arranged around the opening of a first groove 311.

[0058] The edge portion 34 is disposed around the circumference of the plurality of cofferdam regions 331 and is enclosed with the plurality of cofferdam regions 331 to form an opening of the second groove 312. Figure 5As shown, the edge portion 34 and the multiple first sub-dam areas 333a in the first group of dam areas 331a and the multiple second sub-dam areas 333b in the second group of dam areas 331b are combined to form multiple openings of the second grooves 312. In this embodiment, the openings of the second grooves 312 are quadrilateral.

[0059] In this embodiment, the edge portion 34 has an inner contour line 103 and an edge line 105, and the inner contour line 103 is arranged opposite to the edge line 105. Among them, the inner contour line 103 faces the cofferdam portion 33 and is connected to the cofferdam portion 33. The edge line 105 is away from the cofferdam portion 33 and is spaced apart from the inner contour line 103. In the embodiment of the present application, the inner contour line 103 of the edge portion 34 includes at least a first contour segment 107 and a second contour segment 109, the second contour segment 109 is connected to the first contour segment 107, and the angle between the second contour segment 109 and the first contour segment 107 is β, 0°<β<180°, so that the inner contour line 103 appears as a non-straight line. Among them, the minimum distance between the inner contour line 103 of the edge portion 34 and the edge line 105 is D. Exemplarily, D≥0.3mm.

[0060] Combined with reference Figure 4 and Figure 6 , the bent portion 50 is connected to the edge line 105 of the edge portion 34 to achieve the connection between the bent portion 50 and the thinning portion 30. It can be understood that the edge line 105 is the boundary between the thinning portion 30 and the bent portion 50. Specifically, the bent portion 50 is bent relative to the thinning portion 30. It can be understood that "the bent portion 50 is bent relative to the thinning portion 30" means that the angle between the plane where the bent portion 50 is located and the plane where the thinning portion 30 is located is α, 0°<α<180°. Exemplarily, the bent portion 50 can be formed by bending using a stamping process. In this embodiment, the bent portion 50 is bent relative to the thinning portion 30 along the second surface 303 toward the first surface 301.

[0061] In the rear shell 150 provided in the embodiment of the present application, a groove 31 is provided in the thinning portion 30 to realize a material reduction design of the thinning portion 30 at the groove 31, thereby realizing thinning of the rear shell 150 in a local area, and reducing the weight of the rear shell 150 while ensuring the product strength of the rear shell 150, thereby facilitating the thinning of the electronic device 1. In the prior art, the overall thickness of the rear shell 150 is usually thinned to achieve the effect of reducing the weight of the rear shell 150, but thinning the overall thickness of the rear shell 150 will greatly sacrifice the product strength of the rear shell 150. The rear shell 150 provided in the embodiment of the present application can reduce the weight of the rear shell 150 while ensuring the strength of the rear shell 150, and has a better application prospect.

[0062] See also Figure 7 , Figure 71 is a schematic diagram of a process for preparing the rear cover 150. The process for preparing the rear cover 150 includes:

[0063] P1. Take the substrate body 511. In step P1, the substrate body 511 is usually a plate-shaped structure.

[0064] P2. Bend the substrate body 511 by stamping process. In step P2, the substrate body 511 is bent to form the bent portion 50 of the rear housing 150 .

[0065] P3. An organic resin 600 is plated on the surface of the bent substrate body 511 .

[0066] P4. The organic resin 600 is etched using a laser engraving process to expose a portion of the surface of the substrate body 511.

[0067] P5. Etch the exposed surface of the substrate body 511 with an etchant to form a groove 31. In step P5, the portion of the substrate 500 where the groove 31 is formed forms the thinned portion 30 of the rear housing 150.

[0068] P6. Use a solvent to dissolve and remove the remaining organic resin to prepare the rear cover 150.

[0069] When the rear housing 150 is manufactured by the above manufacturing process, during the process of etching the surface of the substrate body 511 to prepare the groove 31, the portion of the substrate body 511 that does not need to be etched needs to be protected. The applicant has found that the above manufacturing process first bends the substrate body 511, and the surface of the bent substrate body 511 has a curved surface area. The protective film (see Figure 8 When the protective film 513 in the back cover is attached to the bent substrate body 511, the protective film will fold when it is wrapped from the flat surface to the curved arc surface area, so that the protective film will be wrinkled at the position of the curved arc surface area, so that the protective film cannot tightly wrap the bent substrate body 511, and the etchant will penetrate into the protective film to etch the part of the substrate body 511 that does not need to be etched, so that it cannot be obtained. Therefore, when the back cover 150 is prepared by the above-mentioned preparation process, it is necessary to use organic resin plating to protect the part of the substrate body 511 that does not need to be etched, which not only increases the production cost, but also needs to use special solvents to dissolve the organic resin later. The steps are cumbersome, and the removal solvent used further increases the production cost. In addition, after the organic resin is plated on the surface of the substrate body 511, it is necessary to use a laser engraving process to etch the organic resin to expose the surface of the substrate 500. The laser engraving process is complicated and increases the production cost.

[0070] In view of the above problems, the present application also provides a method for preparing a housing, and the following description is made by taking the housing as the above-mentioned rear housing 150 as an example. It is understandable that the housing may also be a housing with a thinning portion 30 and a bending portion 50, such as a middle frame of an electronic device, and the present application does not limit this. Figure 8 , Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the preparation process of the shell provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0071] The method for preparing the shell provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0072] S1. Provide a substrate 500, the substrate 500 includes a main body 10 and a thinning portion 30 connected to the main body 10, the thinning portion 30 is provided with a groove 31, and the opening of the groove 31 is provided on the surface of the thinning portion 30 along the thickness direction.

[0073] S2. Bend the main body 10 relative to the thinning portion 30. In the embodiment of the present application, the main body 10 is bent along the second surface 303 of the thinning portion 30 toward the first surface 301, and the main body 10 is bent to form a curved portion 50. It can be understood that the position where the curved portion 50 is bent relative to the thinning portion 30 is the edge line 105 of the thinning portion 30.

[0074] Compared with the method of first bending the substrate 500 and then preparing the groove 31, the method for preparing the shell provided in the embodiment of the present application first forms the substrate 500 with the groove 31, and then bends the main body 10 of the substrate 500. Since the bending of the main body 10 is after the step of forming the groove 31, when the substrate 500 with the groove 31 is formed, the substrate 500 has not yet been bent, and a protective film can be used as an auxiliary, and it is not necessary to use an organic resin, which is conducive to simplifying the preparation process and reducing production costs. It is understandable that the shell prepared by the above preparation method can also be subjected to subsequent treatments, such as grinding, polishing, etc.

[0075] Wherein, step S1 includes the steps of preparing the substrate 500:

[0076] S11, prepare a film-coated substrate 510, the film-coated substrate 510 includes a substrate body 511 and a protective film 513. Among them, the substrate body 511 includes a main body 10 and a portion to be treated 20 connected to the main body 10, and the portion to be treated 20 includes a region to be treated 21. The protective film 513 is provided with a hollow portion 40, and the hollow portion 40 penetrates the protective film 513 along the thickness direction of the protective film 513. In the film-coated substrate 510, the protective film 513 covers the surface of the portion to be treated 20 in the substrate body 511, and the region to be treated 21 of the portion to be treated 20 is exposed relative to the hollow portion 40 of the protective film 513. In this embodiment, the substrate body 511 is a plate-like structure, which is convenient for laminating the protective film 513 on the surface of the substrate body 511. Exemplarily, the hollow portion 40 can be provided in the protective film 513 by cutting. In this embodiment, the protective film 513 covers the surface of the substrate body 511 along the thickness direction. The size of the substrate body 511 is usually provided with a margin. After the side of the substrate body 511 is etched in the subsequent step S12, it can be processed by cutting, grinding, etc.

[0077] S12, an etchant is provided on the surface of the coated substrate 510, the etchant covers the surface of the protective film 513 away from the substrate body 511, and covers the area to be processed 21, wherein the substrate body 511 is treated with the etchant to form the substrate 500, the portion to be processed 20 of the substrate body 511 is treated with the etchant to form the thinning portion 30, and the area to be processed 21 of the thinning portion 30 is treated with the etchant to form the groove 31. In this embodiment, the etchant can chemically react with the material of the substrate body 511 to etch the substrate body 511, and the etchant does not react with the material of the protective film 513, so that the portion of the substrate body 511 covered by the protective film 513 does not react. Exemplarily, when the material of the substrate body 511 is an aluminum alloy, the material of the protective film 513 can be a PET (Polyethylene Glycol Terephthalate) film or a PE (Polyethylene) film, and the etchant can be an alkaline solution, and the main component of the alkaline solution includes NaOH or NaHCO3. In this embodiment, the method of setting the etchant in step S12 can be: immersing the coated substrate 510 in the etchant, and the protective film 513 also covers the surface of the main body 10 in the substrate body 511 to protect the main body 10 from being etched by the etchant.

[0078] S13, removing the protective film 513.

[0079] Compared with the method of etching organic resin by laser engraving technology, the embodiment of the present application uses a protective film 513 with a hollow portion 40 to cover the substrate body 511. The covering method is simple, and the protective film 513 can be removed by directly tearing off the protective film 513. This avoids the problem of using additional solvents to dissolve the organic resin when using the organic resin, simplifies the preparation process, and reduces production costs.

[0080] In which, step S2 can be implemented by a stamping process to bend the main body 10. Fig. 9 , Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of a housing formed by a stamping process. Step S2: Place the substrate 500 in a mold 700, which includes an upper mold 710 and a lower mold 730. The upper mold 710 and the lower mold 730 squeeze the substrate 500 and apply compressive stress along the F1 and F2 directions and tensile stress along the F direction to the substrate 500 to form the housing. The main body 10 is bent under the pressure of the F force direction to form the curved portion 50.

[0081] Combined with reference Fig.10 and Fig.11 , Fig.10 For Figure 8 The preparation process shown Figure 5 The force diagram of the thinning portion 30 of the structure shown in FIG. Fig.11 For Figure 8 The schematic diagram of the force on the thinning portion 30 in which the sub-dam area 333 is a straight line during the preparation process is shown. Fig.10 As shown, in the process of bending the main body 10 to form the curved portion 50, the tensile stress in the F direction is transmitted to the central area of ​​the thinning portion 30, and the force transmitted by the tensile stress on the cofferdam portion 33 along the thinning portion 30 is not equal to the force transmitted along the hollow area of ​​the groove 31. In the thinning portion 30 of this embodiment, each sub-cofferdam area 333 of each group of cofferdam areas 331 of the cofferdam portion 33 includes at least a first section 335 and a second section 337, and the angle α between the second section 337 and the first section 335 satisfies: 0°<α<180°, so that each sub-cofferdam area 333 is non-straight, so that when the tensile stress in the F direction is transmitted along the thinning portion 30, it will pass through the sub-cofferdam area 333 of the cofferdam portion 33 and the hollow area of ​​the groove 31 (such as Fig.10 The tensile stress in the F direction is transmitted to the thinning portion 30 to generate the same force and strain, thereby avoiding the appearance strain mark of the thinning portion 30, and balancing the structural stress caused by the sudden change of the straight boundary structure.

[0082] like Fig.11As shown, in other embodiments, during the process of bending the main body 10 to form the curved portion 50, since part of the sub-dam area 333 of the thinning portion 30 is a straight line, the tensile stress in the F direction is transmitted on the sub-dam area 333 along the straight line without passing through the hollow area of ​​the groove 31, so that the force FX1 of the tensile stress in the F direction transmitted on the sub-dam area 333 along the straight line is not equal to the force FX2 transmitted along other hollow areas passing through the groove 31, thereby causing the corresponding deformation amounts to be different, so that the area where FX1 passes and the area where FX2 passes have different length changes, which is manifested as uneven stress marks on the surface of the thinning portion 30 along the thickness direction.

[0083] Therefore, the applicant has found through research that when the substrate 500 with the thinning portion 30 is first formed and then the main body 10 of the substrate 500 is bent, in the process of bending the main body 10 of the substrate 500 to form the curved portion 50, the thinning portion 30 has uneven thickness due to the groove 31 provided in the thinning portion 30, and the thinning portion 30 has the risk of being broken. In the embodiment of the present application, the angle between the second section 337 and the first section 335 in each sub-cofferdam area 333 in each group of cofferdam areas 331 in the cofferdam portion 33 of the thinning portion 30 is set to 0°<α<180°, so that each sub-cofferdam area 333 is non-straight, so that the sub-cofferdam area 333 can play a role in balancing the structural stress caused by the sudden change of the straight line boundary structure, which solves the problem that the thinning portion 30 is easy to be broken on the one hand, and ensures that when the main body 10 is bent to form the curved portion 50, no stress marks will appear on the appearance surface of the thinning portion 30, thereby ensuring the appearance effect of the prepared shell.

[0084] In addition, by setting the angle β between the second contour segment 109 and the first contour segment 107 in the inner contour line 103 of the edge portion 34 toward the cofferdam portion 33 to satisfy: 0°<β<180°, it is possible to effectively improve the stress mutation of the compressive stress and the tensile stress of the thinning portion 30 when the boundary thickness of the edge portion 34 suddenly changes relative to the bottom wall of the second groove 312, thereby preventing stress marks on the appearance surface of the edge portion 34 at the inner contour line 103, thereby ensuring the appearance effect of the prepared shell.

[0085] In addition, when the contour of the opening of the groove 31 is a polygon, by controlling the range of the vertical distance d from the second vertex B to the line connecting the first vertex A and the third vertex C in the polygon, the smaller the d value, the easier it is for the sub-cofferdam area 333 of the cofferdam portion 33 surrounding the opening of the groove 31 to approach a straight line, and the smaller the effect of improving stress marks. The larger the d value, the longer the side length of the contour line of the opening of the groove 31, and the larger the hollow area of ​​the groove 31. On the one hand, the larger the hollow span of the hollow groove 31, the more likely it is to cause strain marks on the shell, which is not conducive to improving the appearance of the shell. On the other hand, the length of the sub-cofferdam area 333 of the cofferdam portion 33 surrounding the opening of the groove 31 is not conducive to reducing the weight of the thinning portion 30. The embodiment of the present application sets the range of d to 1.5mm to 2.5mm, which ensures the weight reduction effect of the shell while also ensuring the appearance effect of the prepared shell.

[0086] In addition, by setting the range of the minimum distance D between the inner contour line 103 of the edge portion 34 and the edge line 105 to ensure that the edge portion 34 in the thinning portion 30 has sufficient width, when the main body 10 is bent relative to the edge portion 34 of the thinning portion 30, the thinning portion 30 is not easily broken, thereby ensuring the effect of preparing the shell.

[0087] In addition, by setting the range of the width W of the sub-dam area 333, when the outline of the opening of the groove 31 is a polygon, the range of the side length L of the polygon or the range of the depth h of the groove 31, it is ensured that when the main body 10 is bent by stamping or the like, after the substrate 500 is subjected to compressive stress and tensile stress, there will be no marks on the appearance surface of the prepared shell, which can improve the appearance of the shell.

[0088] What is disclosed above is only a preferred embodiment of the present application, and it certainly cannot be used to limit the scope of rights of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand that all or part of the processes of implementing the above embodiments and equivalent changes made according to the claims of the present application are still within the scope covered by the present application.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a shell, characterized in that: The method for preparing the shell comprises: A substrate is provided, the substrate comprising a main body and a thinning portion connected to the main body, the thinning portion being provided with a groove, the opening of the groove being provided on the surface of the thinning portion along the thickness direction, the groove being provided in plurality, the plurality of grooves being arranged at intervals from each other, the plurality of grooves comprising a first groove, the thinning portion comprising a plurality of groups of cofferdam regions, each group of the cofferdam regions comprising a plurality of sub-cofferdam regions arranged at intervals from each other, the plurality of sub-cofferdam regions in the plurality of groups of cofferdam regions being arranged at intervals along different directions, wherein the plurality of sub-cofferdam regions in the plurality of groups of cofferdam regions enclose the opening of the first groove, and the plurality of sub-cofferdam regions in the plurality of groups of cofferdam regions all protrude relative to the groove bottom wall of the first groove, each of the sub-cofferdam regions comprising at least a first section and a second section, the second section being connected to the first section, and the angle between the second section and the first section being α, 0°<α<180°; The main body is bent relative to the thinned portion to obtain the shell.

2. The method for preparing a shell according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of grooves further include a second groove, the second groove is spaced apart from the first groove, the thinning portion further includes an edge portion, the edge portion is arranged around the circumference of the plurality of groups of cofferdam regions, and is enclosed with the plurality of groups of cofferdam regions to form an opening of the second groove, and the edge portion and the plurality of groups of cofferdam regions both protrude relative to the groove bottom wall of the second groove; Wherein, the edge portion has an inner contour line, the inner contour line faces the multiple groups of cofferdam areas and is connected to the multiple groups of cofferdam areas, the inner contour line includes at least a first contour segment and a second contour segment, the second contour segment is connected to the first contour segment, and the angle between the second contour segment and the first contour segment is β, 0°<β<180°.

3. The method for preparing a shell according to claim 2, characterized in that: The edge portion further has an edge line, which is disposed opposite to the inner contour line and connected between the thinning portion and the main body portion. The minimum distance between the inner contour line and the edge line is D, and D≥0.3 mm.

4. The method for preparing a shell according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The width of the sub-cofferdam area is W, where W≥0.9 mm.

5. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The depth of the groove is h, the thickness of the thinned portion is H, and 1 / 3≤h / H≤1 / 2.

6. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are multiple grooves, and the outline of the openings of at least some of the grooves is a polygon, which includes a first vertex, a second vertex and a third vertex. The second vertex is adjacent to the first vertex and the third vertex, and the perpendicular distance from the second vertex to the line connecting the first vertex and the third vertex is d, 1.5mm≤d≤2.5mm.

7. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are a plurality of grooves, and the outline of the openings of at least some of the grooves is a polygon, and the side length of the polygon is L, where L≤5mm.

8. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method for preparing the shell further comprises the step of preparing the substrate: Prepare a film-coated substrate, the film-coated substrate comprising a substrate body and a protective film, wherein the substrate body comprises the body portion and a to-be-treated portion connected to the body portion, the to-be-treated portion comprises a to-be-treated area, the protective film is provided with a hollow portion, the hollow portion penetrates the protective film along a thickness direction of the protective film, the protective film covers the surface of the to-be-treated portion, and the to-be-treated area of ​​the to-be-treated portion is exposed relative to the hollow portion; An etchant is disposed on the surface of the film-coated substrate, the etchant covers the surface of the protective film away from the substrate body and covers the area to be processed, wherein the substrate body is processed by the etchant to form the substrate, the part to be processed is processed by the etchant to form the thinned part, and the area to be processed is processed by the etchant to form the groove; The protective film is removed.

9. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the step of preparing the substrate: in the film-coated substrate, the protective film also covers the surface of the main body, and the etching agent is provided by immersing the film-coated substrate in the etching agent.

10. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 8, characterized in that: The substrate body is a plate-like structure.

11. The method for preparing a housing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body is bent by a stamping process.

12. A housing, characterized in that: The shell is prepared according to the method for preparing the shell according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A housing, characterized in that: The invention comprises a bent portion and a thinned portion, wherein the bent portion is connected to the thinned portion and bent relative to the thinned portion, the bent portion is arranged around the circumference of the thinned portion, the thinned portion is provided with a groove, and the opening of the groove is arranged on the surface of the thinned portion along the thickness direction, wherein the bent portion is formed after the groove is formed on the thinned portion; There are a plurality of grooves, the plurality of grooves are arranged at intervals from each other, the plurality of grooves include a first groove, the thinning portion includes a plurality of groups of cofferdam areas, each group of the cofferdam areas includes a plurality of sub-cofferdam areas arranged at intervals from each other, and the plurality of sub-cofferdam areas in the plurality of groups of the cofferdam areas are arranged at intervals along different directions; Among them, the multiple sub-cofferdam areas of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas enclose the opening of the first groove, and the multiple sub-cofferdam areas of the multiple groups of cofferdam areas all protrude relative to the bottom wall of the first groove, each of the sub-cofferdam areas includes at least a first section and a second section, the second section is connected to the first section, and the angle between the second section and the first section is α, 0°<α<180°.

14. An electronic device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a functional device and a housing as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 13, wherein the functional device is mounted on the housing.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, characterized in that: The housing is a rear shell or a middle frame of the electronic device.

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