Dichroic glass for cosmetic appeal in an electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9678258-B2
Application number	US-97196310-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 17, 2010
Priority date	Dec 17, 2009
Publication date	Jun 13, 2017
Grant date	Jun 13, 2017

Abstract

A dichroic coating can be applied to a glass window of an electronic device to enhance the cosmetic and aesthetic appeal of the device. Different processes can be applied to the glass window in combination with a dichroic coating. For example, a layer of ink can be applied to the glass window in addition to one or more layers of dichroic material. The material layers can cover any suitable portion of the glass. For example, the material layers can include holes or openings. As another example, the material layers can be constructed from several distinct shapes placed on the glass. In some cases, software applications can be used to define a desired color profile for a coating, and to retrieve a suitable combination of dichroic and other layers to provide the desired color profile.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for providing a cosmetic dichroic finish on a glass component, comprising:
providing a glass component for use in an electronic device;
depositing at least one discontinuous dichroic layer on a first surface of the glass component;
applying an opaque ink layer to a second surface of the glass component; and
applying at least one ink layer or mask layer to a periphery of the glass component to at least substantially block light at the periphery of the glass component, wherein the at least one ink layer or mask layer is only applied to the periphery of the glass component and not applied to a center region of the glass component.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one dichroic layer comprises a plurality of openings.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of dichroic layer comprises a plurality of shapes.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of shapes comprise at least one of:
lines;
square shapes;
rectangular shapes;
polygonal shapes;
circular shapes;
elliptical shapes; and
arbitrary shapes.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one dichroic layers covers a range of 50% to 75% of the glass component.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying further comprises:
applying the opaque ink layer at least in part over the deposited at least one dichroic layer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying further comprises:
applying the opaque ink layer at least in part over the at least one dichroic layer; and
depositing additional dichroic layers at least in part over the opaque ink layer.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein depositing further comprises:
depositing at least one additional dichroic layer at least in part over the applied opaque ink layer.

9. A method for creating a glass element having a cosmetic dichroic treatment, comprising:
providing a glass element having a center region and a peripheral region;
defining a desired color profile for light reflected by a dichroic stack, the light originating from a specific orientation relative to the dichroic stack;
identifying a distribution of thin layers of different materials to apply to a surface of the glass element to form a dichroic stack,
wherein light reflected by the dichroic stack corresponds to the desired color profile;
depositing the identified distribution of thin layers on the surface of the glass element in the center region, wherein each of the identified thin layers comprises a plurality of holes that differ from the plurality of holes in the other identified thin layers; and
applying at least one ink layer or mask layer to a peripheral region of the glass element to at least substantially block light at the peripheral region of the glass element, wherein the at least one ink layer or mask layer is only applied to the peripheral region of the glass element.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
applying a dark opaque ink mask to the surface of the glass element, wherein the ink mask absorbs light transmitted by the dichroic stack.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein:
the dark opaque ink mask is positioned between the surface of the glass element and the dichroic stack.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
defining a desired color profile for light transmitted by a dichroic stack;
identifying a distribution of thin layers of different materials to form a dichroic stack; and
identifying a material to use for a light opaque ink mask, wherein light transmitted by the dichroic stack and absorbed by light opaque ink mask corresponds to the desired color profile for transmitted light, and light reflected by the dichroic stack corresponds to the desired color profile for reflected light.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
defining a plurality of color profiles for light reflected by a dichroic stack, each of the plurality of color profiles associated with one of a plurality of orientations from which the light originates relative to the dichroic stack; and
identifying a distribution of thin layers of different materials to apply to a surface of the glass element to form a dichroic stack,
wherein light originating from each of the plurality of specific orientations is reflected by the dichroic stack in a manner corresponding to the color profile associated with the specific orientation.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein:
applying a mask on a portion of the surface of the glass element;
depositing the distribution of thin layers over the applied mask; and
removing the applied mask to create the plurality of holes.

15. A method for providing a cosmetic dichroic finish on a glass component, comprising:
applying at least one discontinuous dichroic layer on a first surface of the glass component; and
applying an opaque ink layer deposited only at a periphery region of a second surface of the glass component to at least substantially block light only at the periphery region of the glass component, wherein the second surface is opposite and planer to the first surface.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one discontinuous dichroic layer comprises a plurality of dichroic layers.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the number of dichroic layers is in the range of 10 to 70 layers.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one discontinuous dichroic layer comprises at least one of metals, metal oxides and silica.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the applying at least one dichroic layer comprises applying the dichroic layer at least in part over the opaque ink layer.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
applying the at least one discontinuous dichroic layer to cover a range of 50% to 75% of the first surface; and
applying the at least one ink layer to cover a range of 50% to 75% of the second surface.

Assignees

• Hankey Evans
• Moller Ron
• Akana Jody
• Pilliod Mike
• Holmberg Michael
• Russell-Clarke Peter
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Hankey Evans
• Moller Ron
• Akana Jody
• Pilliod Mike
• Holmberg Michael
• Russell-Clarke Peter

Classifications

• Y10T428/24926

  including ceramic, glass, porcelain or quartz layer · CPC title

• G02B5/26 Primary

  Reflecting filters (G02B5/28 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y10T428/24868

  Translucent outer layer · CPC title

• H04M1/0283

  for providing a decorative aspect, e.g. customization of casings, exchangeable faceplate · CPC title

• G02B5/286

  having four or fewer layers, e.g. for achieving a colour effect · CPC title