Powder die-casting manufacturing process for earphone frame

Abstract

The present invention relates to a manufacturing process for an earphone support. According to the manufacturing process for an earphone support, an earphone support can be manufactured by using different materials due their characteristics, so that the obtained earphone support has higher hardness and does not cause an allergic reaction to the skin of a wearer; and the earphone support has a more refined appearance or involves a lower cost price to meet the requirements of different wearers.

Description

Powder die casting manufacturing process of earphone frame TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of earphone manufacturing, in particular to a powder die casting manufacturing process of earphone frame. BACKGROUND

[0002] An earphone is a pair of transducer units that accept electrical signals from a media player or receiver and convert them into audible sound waves using a speaker close to the ear. With the improvement of people's living standards, earphone products are becoming more and more popular. In order to meet people's increasingly high auditory experience of acoustic products, product updates are also becoming faster and faster. Wearers can put on earphones and use electronic products carried on their bodies to play music and enjoy personal music space. Currently, earphones have become an indispensable part of consumer electronics products, especially today when music players and mobile devices are becoming more and more popular. People have different needs for the external features of earphones such as shape, material, and fixing method, as well as the sound quality of earphones.

[0003] Currently, the common types of earphones on the market include earbud earphones, head-mounted earphones, and hanging earphones, etc. Each type of earphone has different drawbacks. For example, they can cause discomfort after being worn for a long time and cause some damage to hearing. In addition, they need to be cleaned regularly, otherwise bacteria can breed and cause ear diseases in wearers, they can easily fall off during vigorous exercise, causing damage or loss of the earphones, poor stability, and poor sound quality, etc.

[0004] Most of the existing earphone housings are made of plastic injection molding, and some use metal or wooden housings. The existing manufacturing process has some drawbacks. For example, the material selection of earphone housings is relatively single, usually using plastic injection molding to make earphone frames, which have low hardness, and it is difficult to design patterns and decorations on the surface of the earphone, so the surface process is rough and the degree of personalization is low, which cannot meet the needs of people. In addition, the demand for labor is high during manufacturing, which increases the cost of earphone production and manufacturing. Finally, in severe cases, some materials may cause allergic reactions in the wearer's ear skin, endangering the wearer's health.

[0005] SUMMARY

[0006] An advantage of the present application is that it provides a powder die casting manufacturing process of earphone frame, which can utilize the characteristics of different materials and adopt different materials for powder die casting manufacturing of earphone frames to meet the needs of different wearers.

[0007] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which can prepare an earphone frame with complex shape and precise size, and can be designed according to the needs of the wearer.

[0008] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which uses powder materials of different materials, has low material waste rate and low energy consumption.

[0009] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which can manufacture an earphone frame using different materials, so that the hardness of the manufactured earphone frame is higher and does not cause allergic reactions to the wearer's skin.

[0010] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which can manufacture an earphone frame using different materials, so that the outer surface of the manufactured earphone frame is more delicate.

[0011] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which can manufacture an earphone frame using different materials, so that the cost of the manufactured earphone frame is lower.

[0012] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which can manufacture an earphone frame using different materials, so that the cost of the manufactured earphone frame is lower.

[0013] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which has high production efficiency and is suitable for mass production of earphone frames, and has low labor cost to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0014] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which has high production efficiency and is suitable for mass production of earphone frames, and has low labor cost to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0015] Another advantage of the present application is to provide a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame, which has high production efficiency and is suitable for mass production of earphone frames, and has low labor cost to reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present application, there is further provided a powder injection molding process for manufacturing an earpiece frame, the powder injection molding process for manufacturing an earpiece frame comprising the steps of:

[0017] powder injection molding a metal earpiece frame and sintering the shaped earpiece frame, wherein the earpiece frame comprises two holders and a connecting portion extending between the two holders.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present application, wherein the metal is selected from any one of copper, titanium alloy, stainless steel, gold, silver, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and zinc alloy.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present application, wherein prior to powder injection molding a metal earpiece frame and sintering the shaped earpiece frame, there is further included selecting a metal material for manufacturing the earpiece frame and preparing a powder proportion.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present application, wherein prior to powder injection molding a metal earpiece frame and sintering the shaped earpiece frame, there is further included manufacturing a mold, wherein the mold has two holder cavities and a connecting portion cavity.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the present application, wherein after powder injection molding a metal earpiece frame and sintering the shaped earpiece frame, there is further included processing a surface of the earpiece frame.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the present application, wherein powder injection molding a metal earpiece frame comprises placing the powder and an adhesive in a mold, injection molding the powder and the adhesive to shape the earpiece frame, and separating the adhesive from the earpiece frame.

[0023] Further objects and advantages of the present application can be more readily understood from the following description with reference to the drawings wherein: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Fig. 1 is a flow chart of a powder injection molding process for manufacturing an earpiece frame according to a first preferred embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an earpiece frame according to the powder injection molding process for manufacturing an earpiece frame according to the first preferred embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following description is provided so as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the application. The preferred embodiments described herein are only examples of the application and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. The following description defines the application in terms of preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, all of which serve the purpose of describing the application without limiting its scope.

[0027] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that in the disclosure of the present application, the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, therefore the above terms cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0028] It can be understood that the term "one" should be understood as "at least one" or "one or more", that is, in one embodiment, the number of one element can be one, and in another embodiment, the number of the element can be multiple, and the term "one" cannot be understood as a limitation on the number.

[0029] Embodiment one:

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a powder die casting manufacturing process of an earphone frame according to a preferred embodiment of the present application is shown. The powder die casting manufacturing process of the earphone frame can take advantage of the properties of different materials to use different materials for powder die casting manufacturing of the earphone frame 1, resulting in a higher hardness of the manufactured earphone frame 1, no allergic reaction to the wearer's skin, a more delicate appearance or a lower cost price to meet the needs of different wearers.

[0031] Powder die casting is an advanced process technology and a green manufacturing technology. It combines powder metallurgy process with die casting technology to produce various complex-shaped, precise-sized metal parts, alloy parts, ceramic parts and other high-precision components, widely used in aviation, aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical, new energy and other fields. In this embodiment, the powder die casting process is used to manufacture the earphone frame 1, which can produce irregular-shaped, various-styled and high-precision earphone frames 1 to meet the needs of wearers.

[0032] In the embodiment, the powder injection molding manufacturing process of the earphone frame is preferably used in manufacturing the earphone frame 1, and materials such as copper, titanium alloy, stainless steel and the like are preferably used, and in other embodiments, gold, silver, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, zinc alloy and the like can also be selected, and this is not limited by the application. The earphone frame 1 made of copper material is convenient to set decorations or textures on the surface thereof, and the personalization degree of the earphone frame 1 is increased; the earphone frame 1 made of titanium alloy has high hardness, light weight and no allergic reaction to human skin, and is beneficial to manufacturing high-end earphones; the earphone frame 1 made of stainless steel has low price and is beneficial to mass production.

[0033] Specifically, the earphone frame 1 includes two fixing parts 10 and a connecting part 20, and the two fixing parts 10 are respectively arranged at the two ends of the connecting part 20. The earphone frame 1 is used for assembling an earphone 2. That is, one of the fixing parts 10 is arranged at the front end of the connecting part 20 to mount a sound generating unit such as a loudspeaker, which converts electrical signals into sound signals and then transmits sound to the wearer's ear. The other fixing part 10 is arranged at the rear end of the connecting part 20 to mount a control unit and a power supply unit, etc. The power supply unit is used to provide the required power for the earphone 2, and the sound generating unit is electrically connected to the control unit, so that the control unit can transmit audio signals to the sound generating unit.

[0034] When the earphone 2 is worn on the ear, the fixing part 10 at the front end is placed in the position corresponding to the concha cavity of the ear, and the fixing part 10 at the rear end is placed on the rear side of the ear and abuts against the back side of the auricle. That is, the connecting part 20 spans the user's helix, and the two fixing parts 10 are distributed on the front and rear sides of the user's ear. The earphone frame 1 is designed according to the human ear structure, and the ergonomic design makes the earphone 2 formed by combination better fixed on the wearer's ear, avoiding disengagement and being easily lost.

[0035] The earphone 2 further includes a decoration unit 30 arranged on the surface of the earphone frame 1. Preferably, the decoration unit 30 can be arranged as etched textures, or can be implemented as an inlaid decoration such as a diamond, and this is not limited by the application. The decoration unit 30 can be designed according to the needs of the wearer to increase the aesthetic and personalization degree of the earphone 2.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the powder injection molding manufacturing process of the earphone frame according to the first preferred embodiment of the application. The powder injection molding manufacturing process of the earphone frame includes the following steps:

[0037] selecting a metal material required for manufacturing the earphone frame 1 and preparing a powder ratio;

[0038] manufacturing a mold, wherein the mold has a fixed part mold cavity and a connecting part mold cavity;

[0039] powder die-casting the earphone frame of the metal material and sintering the formed earphone frame, wherein the earphone frame comprises two fixed parts and a connecting part extending between the two fixed parts; and

[0040] processing the surface of the earphone frame.

[0041] Specifically, in the step of selecting a metal material required for manufacturing the earphone frame 1 and preparing a powder ratio, the manufacturing material of the earphone frame 1 can be selected according to the needs of the wearer, for example, copper, titanium alloy, stainless steel, gold, silver, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, zinc alloy, etc. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the manufacturing material of the earphone frame 1 is not limited by the present application.

[0042] In the present embodiment, the powder die-casting manufacturing process of the earphone frame is mainly applied to the materials selected as copper, titanium alloy and stainless steel. When the material is selected as copper, it is suitable for the earphone 2 that needs a relatively fine surface design, for example, embedding a plurality of diamonds on the surface of the earphone frame 1, or carving different shapes of textures on the surface of copper, so as to increase the external beauty of the earphone 2 and provide a decorative effect. Compared with the existing plastic shell earphone, the diamond embedding and texture carving process makes the earphone 2 have a unique appearance effect, which can meet the consumer demand of beauty lovers. When the material is selected as titanium alloy, it is suitable for the earphone 2 with high price and high-end grade. According to the characteristics of the titanium alloy material, the earphone frame 1 manufactured therefrom has high hardness, light weight and no allergic reaction to human skin. When the material is selected as stainless steel, it is suitable for the earphone 2 with low price. The stainless steel material is cheap and conducive to mass production. Therefore, the powder die-casting manufacturing process of the earphone frame can be manufactured according to the characteristics of different materials and the needs of customers.

[0043] The powder die-casting process is to form a green body under high pressure by using high-speed moving powder, and then sinter or heat treat it. The preparation of powder is very important, and the quality of powder directly affects the quality of the part. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare powder with good quality, uniform size and high purity to improve the quality of the earphone frame 1.

[0044] In the embodiment, the earphone frame 1 is provided with the connecting portion 20 and two fixing portions 10 which are integrally connected to two ends of the connecting portion 20. Based on this, the structure of the mold needs to be matched with the structure and size of the earphone frame 1, so that the earphone frame 1 which meets the requirements of structure, material and size can be powder die cast in the process of die casting the earphone frame 1. Specifically, a mold is manufactured in the step, wherein the mold has two fixing portion cavities for forming the fixing portions 10 and a connecting portion cavity for forming the connecting portion 20.

[0045] In the step of powder die casting the earphone frame of metal material and sintering the formed earphone frame, the earphone frame includes two fixing portions and a connecting portion extending between the two fixing portions, and specifically includes placing the powder and an adhesive in the mold; die casting the powder and the adhesive to form the earphone frame and separating the adhesive from the earphone frame.

[0046] In the manufacturing process of the present application, the earphone frame 1 is formed by selecting powders of different materials and combining with an adhesive through a powder die casting process when being formed. When sintering the earphone frame 1, the earphone frame 1 will shrink, and different materials have different shrinkage ratios when sintering, wherein the shrinkage ratios of copper, titanium alloy and stainless steel are all 1.165. Based on this, the earphone frame 1 needs to be prepared with corresponding powder ratio according to the structure and size of the earphone frame 1 before manufacturing.

[0047] The adhesive functions to bond powder particles, so that the mixture has rheological and lubricating properties when heated in the mold, that is, a carrier for driving the powder to flow. After the earphone frame 1 is formed by powder die casting, the adhesive needs to be separated from the earphone frame 1. Therefore, the adhesive needs to have the following characteristics: the adhesive needs to be used in small amount, and a small amount of adhesive can make the mixture have good rheological properties; it does not react, and does not have any chemical reaction with the powder in the process of removing the adhesive; it is easy to remove, and does not leave carbon in the earphone frame 1.

[0048] Powder die casting refers to the process of pressing powder in a mold. In order to obtain high-quality earphone frames 1, the pressing force and temperature need to be controlled during the die casting process. Too high temperature will affect the forming quality of the earphone frame 1, and too low pressing force will cause the earphone frame 1 to have inaccurate shape and low density. In other words, according to the shape and purpose of the product, appropriate powder die casting process is selected, including pressing pressure, temperature, speed and other parameters.

[0049] The sintering process is to put the die-cast formed earphone frame 1 into a sintering furnace to sinter, so as to improve the density and mechanical properties of the earphone frame 1. In other words, the sintering process is a process of solid-state bonding of the die-cast formed earphone frame 1 under high temperature and pressure, while avoiding internal stress and cracks in the sintering process, which affects the precision of the earphone frame. In the sintering process, the heating speed, holding time and heating temperature all have an effect on the quality of the earphone frame 1. The heating speed, holding time and heating temperature of the earphone frame 1 should be controlled to avoid shape distortion, oxidation loss and other conditions.

[0050] After the powder die-cast metal material earphone frame is sintered, the surface of the earphone frame is processed. The surface of the earphone frame 1 is processed to remove impurities on the surface of the earphone frame 1, improve the quality of the surface of the earphone frame 1, protect the surface of the earphone frame 1 from corrosion, and thus improve the service life of the earphone frame 1. In addition, the decorative unit 30 is arranged on the surface of the earphone frame 1 to increase the aesthetic and personalized degree of the earphone frame 1.

[0051] The step of processing the surface of the earphone frame 1 is implemented as finishing and polishing the surface of the earphone frame 1 or arranging a decorative unit on the surface of the earphone frame 1. Specifically, finishing and polishing are to remove impurities and improve the quality of the surface of the earphone frame 1, and painting is to protect the surface of the earphone frame 1 from corrosion, and thus improve the service life of the earphone frame 1. Preferably, the decorative unit 30 can be arranged as etched texture, or can be implemented as an inlaid jewelry such as diamond.

[0052] It is worth mentioning that in the embodiment, the decorative unit 30 adopts diamond inlaying and pattern engraving process to make the earphone frame 1 have a unique appearance effect. An instrument can be used to etch on the surface of the earphone frame 1, for example, a hammer is used to knock the design, etc. The decorative unit 30 can also be directly arranged in the mold, that is, after the powder die-cast forming of the earphone frame 1 is completed, the surface of the earphone frame 1 is already arranged with the decorative unit 30. In other words, the mold is arranged with the structure of the decorative unit 30 required by the user. For this, those skilled in the art should understand that the forming method of the decorative unit 30 is not limited by the present application.

[0053] In summary, the powder die-casting manufacturing process of the earphone frame can utilize the characteristics of different materials, such as copper, titanium alloy, stainless steel, etc., to manufacture the earphone frame 1 with different materials, so that the hardness of the manufactured earphone frame 1 is higher, and no allergic reaction is caused to the skin of the wearer; the outer appearance is more delicate or the cost is lower, to meet the needs of different wearers.

[0054] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments of the application shown in the description and drawings are only exemplary and do not limit the application. The purpose of the application has been fully and effectively achieved. The function and structural principle of the application have been shown and described in the embodiments, and the embodiments of the application can be any modification or modification without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. A powder injection molding manufacturing process for an earpiece frame, characterized by, comprising the steps of: powder compression molding a metal material earphone frame and sintering the shaped earphone frame, wherein the earphone frame comprises two holders and a connecting portion extending between the two holders.

2. Powder die casting manufacturing process of earphone frames according to claim 1, wherein, the metal material is selected from any one of copper, titanium alloy, stainless steel, gold, silver, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and zinc alloy.

3. The powder injection molding manufacturing process of earphone frames according to claim 1, wherein, prior to powder compression molding a metal material earphone frame and sintering the shaped earphone frame, further comprising: selecting a metal material required for manufacturing the earphone frame and preparing a powder proportion.

4. Powder injection molding manufacturing process of an earpiece frame according to claim 3, wherein, prior to powder compression molding a metal material earphone frame and sintering the shaped earphone frame, further comprising: manufacturing a mold, wherein the mold has two holder cavities and a connecting portion cavity.

5. Powder injection molding manufacturing process of an earpiece frame according to claim 4, wherein, after powder compression molding a metal material earphone frame and sintering the shaped earphone frame, further comprising: processing a surface of the earphone frame.

6. The powder compression molding manufacturing process of an earphone frame of claim 1, wherein powder compression molding a metal material earphone frame comprises: placing the powder and an adhesive in a mold; compression molding the powder and the adhesive to shape the earphone frame; and removing the adhesive from the earphone frame. ​

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