111111
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`1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
`US 20060110537Al
`
`(19) United States
`c12) Patent Application Publication
`Huang et al.
`
`(10) Pub. No.: US 2006/0110537 A1
`May 25, 2006
`(43) Pub. Date:
`
`(54) ANTI-FINGERPRINT COATING
`CONSTRUCTION
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Chuan-De Huang, Tu-Cheng (TW);
`Wei-Hsiang Weng, Tu-Cheng (TW);
`Wen-Jeng Hwang, Tu-Cheng (TW)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`MORRIS MANNING & MARTIN LLP
`1600 ATLANTA FINANCIAL CENTER
`3343 PEACHTREE ROAD, NE
`ATLANTA, GA 30326-1044 (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: HON HAl Precision Industry CO.,
`LTD., Tu-Chengn City (TW)
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`111285,696
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Nov. 21, 2005
`
`(30)
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`Nov. 23, 2004
`
`(CN) .............................. 200410052444.6
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`BOSD 3100
`(2006.01)
`(52) U.S. Cl. .............................................................. 427/299
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`An anti-fingerprint coating construction (23) for application
`to a surface of a substrate (21) includes a layer formed of a
`material selected from the group consisting of a hydrophobic
`nano-composite material, an oleophobic nano-composite
`material, and a super-amphiphobic nano-composite mate(cid:173)
`rial. When the anti-fingerprint coating construction is
`employed on a metal surface or a nonmetal surface, sweat
`or/and grease on fingers of a user is not liable to be adhered
`to the surface. Therefore a fingerprint of the user is pre(cid:173)
`vented from being imprinted on the surface, and the surface
`can remain clean and aesthetically pleasing. Because the
`anti-fingerprint coating construction is easy to clean, the
`anti-fingerprint coating construction has good anti-corrosion
`and antibacterial properties. The anti-fingerprint coating
`construction contains no chromium, and therefore does not
`need to be processed by an acid or alkali solution. This
`makes the anti-fingerprint coating construction environmen(cid:173)
`tally friendly.
`
`1 of 4
`
`FITBIT EXHIBIT 1007
`
`

`
`Patent Application Publication May 25, 2006
`
`US 2006/0110537 Al
`
`\~-----------------~~ ~
`
`FIG. 1
`
`33
`32
`31 .
`
`FIG. 2
`
`11
`
`FIG. 3
`<PRIOR ART)
`
`2 of 4
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`

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`US 2006/0110537 AI
`
`May 25,2006
`
`1
`
`ANTI-FINGERPRINT COATING CONSTRUCTION
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0001] The present invention relates to an anti-fingerprint
`coating construction for use in applications such as an
`enclosure of an electronic apparatus.
`
`[0002] With the rapid development of electronics technol(cid:173)
`ogy, various electronic apparatuses such as personal com(cid:173)
`puters (PCs), mobile phones, personal digital assistants
`(PDAs ), digital cameras, and notebooks have now become
`commonplace. In addition to enjoying the functions and
`features of an electronic apparatus, consumers also expect
`the electronic apparatus to have an aesthetically attractive
`appearance. The enclosure of the electronic apparatus pref(cid:173)
`erably has anti-corrosion, anti-dust, and anti-fingerprint
`characteristics.
`
`[0003] Referring to FIG. 3, an anti-fingerprint coating
`construction for stainless steel is reported in an article by
`Akira Matsuda, entitled "Chromate Electrogalvanized Steel
`Sheet 'RIVER ZINC F' with Anti-fingerprint Property and
`High Corrosion Resistance" (Kawasaki Steel Technical
`Report No. 12, July 1985). The anti-fingerprint coating
`construction includes a zinc layer 12 electrogalvanized on a
`surface of a stainless steel substrate 11, a chromate layer 13,
`and a resin layer 14. The chromate layer 13 and the resin
`layer 14 are formed on the zinc layer 12 in sequence. A
`thickness h1 of the zinc layer 12 is about 3 f.tm. A thickness
`h2 of the chromate layer 13 is in the range from about 0.01
`f.tm to 0.1 f.tm. A thickness h3 of the resin layer 14 is in the
`range from about 0.3 f.tm to 1.0 flill· Thus, high anti(cid:173)
`corrosion and anti-fingerprint characteristics for the stainless
`steel substrate 11 are obtained.
`
`[0004] However, the chromate material can cause envi(cid:173)
`ronmental pollution. In order to avoid environmental pollu(cid:173)
`tion, a variety of substitutes for the chromate material have
`been developed. For example, phosphate is utilized to sub(cid:173)
`stitute for the chromate. However, a metal surface treated
`with the phosphate material is liable to crack. The anti(cid:173)
`corrosion properties of the surface may diminish after a long
`period of usage.
`
`[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,908, issued on May 18, 2004,
`discloses a metal surface treating composition. The compo(cid:173)
`sition includes a specific type of dissolved and/or dispersed
`organic resin, a dissolved vanadium compound, and a dis(cid:173)
`solved metal compound that contains at least one of the
`metals Zr, Ti, Mo, W, Mn, and Ce. The composition can
`provide metal surfaces with superior anti-corrosion, alkali
`resistance, and anti-fingerprint properties. The composition
`contains no chromium, therefore environmental pollution
`problems are avoided. However, the organic resin is highly
`specific and therefore difficult to produce. In addition, the
`composition is only used for application to a metal surface.
`Nowadays, many or most electronic apparatus enclosures
`are made of nonmetal material.
`
`[0006] What is needed, therefore, is an anti-fingerprint
`coating construction which is environmental friendly and
`suitable for application to both a metal surface and a
`nonmetal surface of an electronic device.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`[0007] An anti-fingerprint coating construction for appli(cid:173)
`cation to a surface of a substrate is provided. A preferred
`embodiment of the anti-fingerprint coating construction
`includes a layer formed of a material selected from the group
`
`cons1stmg of a hydrophobic nano-composite material, an
`oleophobic nano-composite material, and a super-am(cid:173)
`phiphobic nano-composite material.
`
`[0008] Compared with conventional anti-fingerprint coat(cid:173)
`ing constructions, the anti-fingerprint coating constructions
`of the preferred embodiments have the following advan(cid:173)
`tages. Firstly, when the anti-fingerprint coating construction
`is employed on a metal surface or a nonmetal surface, sweat
`or/and grease on fingers of a user is not liable to be adhered
`to the surface. Therefore a fingerprint of the user is pre(cid:173)
`vented from being imprinted on the surface, and the surface
`can remain clean and aesthetically pleasing. Secondly,
`because the anti-fingerprint coating construction is easy to
`clean, the anti-fingerprint coating construction has good
`anti-corrosion and antibacterial properties. Thirdly, the anti(cid:173)
`fingerprint coating construction contains no chromium, and
`therefore does not need to be processed by an acid or alkali
`solution. This makes the anti-fingerprint coating construc(cid:173)
`tion environmentally friendly.
`
`[0009] Other advantages and novel features will become
`more apparent from the following detailed description of
`preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the
`accompanying drawings, in which:
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic, side view of an anti(cid:173)
`fingerprint coating construction for application to a non(cid:173)
`metal substrate in accordance with a first preferred embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the present invention;
`
`[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic, side view of an anti(cid:173)
`fingerprint coating construction for application to a stainless
`steel substrate in accordance with a second preferred
`embodiment of the present invention; and
`
`[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic, side view of a conventional
`anti-fingerprint coating construction for application to a
`stainless steel substrate.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`[0013] Reference will now be made to the drawings to
`describe preferred embodiments of the present invention in
`detail.
`
`[0014] Referring to FIG. 1, an anti-fingerprint coating
`construction 23 for a nonmetal substrate 21 in accordance
`with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is
`shown. The anti-fingerprint coating construction 23 includes
`a layer formed of a material selected from the group con(cid:173)
`sisting of a hydrophobic nano-composite material, an ole(cid:173)
`ophobic nano-composite material, and a super-amphiphobic
`nano-composite material. A thickness of the anti-fingerprint
`coating construction 23 is less than 1 flill, and is preferably
`in the range from about 0.1 flill to 0.5 f.tm. A nonmetal
`substrate 21 can be made of a material selected from the
`group consisting of a plastic material, glass, a ceramic
`material, and a polymer. The nonmetal substrate 21 may be
`part of an enclosure or an outer housing of, for example, a
`mobile phone, a PC, a digital camera, a PDA, etc.
`
`[0015] The hydrophobic nano-composite material can be
`selected from the group consisting of a polymer nano-fiber,
`an organic silicon based nano-material, and a super-hydro(cid:173)
`phobic material. The polymer nano-fiber can be selected
`from the group consisting of a polyacrylonitrile, a polyole(cid:173)
`fin, a polyester, a polyamide, and polyvinyl alcohol. The
`
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`US 2006/0110537 AI
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`May 25,2006
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`2
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`organic silicon based nano-material can be selected from the
`group consisting of a fluorosilane, a thionic silane, and
`silicone. The super-hydrophobic material advantageously
`includes fluorine-free super-hydrophobic nano-fibers. The
`layer of super-amphiphobic nano-composite material is
`formed of a layer of nano-composite material that has a
`super-hydrophobicity and super-oleophobicity. The ole(cid:173)
`ophobic nano-composite material can be formed of nano(cid:173)
`calcium carbonate. The layer of super-amphiphobic nano(cid:173)
`composite material may include a super-amphiphobic
`carbon nanotube array.
`[0016] The polymer nano-fiber and the organic silicon
`based nano-material function same as conventional hydro(cid:173)
`phobic materials. As known in the art, the magnitude of the
`adhesive force acting between water and a material depends
`on the surface energy of such material. However, the surface
`energy of a hydrophobic material is relatively low. Thus, in
`the case of the hydrophobic material, only a tiny adhesive
`force is generated between the water and the hydrophobic
`material. The polymer nano-fiber and the organic silicon
`based nano-material advantageously have excellent hydro(cid:173)
`phobic properties. In addition, due to the contact angle
`between the hydrophobic material and the water being
`inversely proportional to the adhesive force, the contact
`angle between the hydrophobic material and the water is
`therefore relatively large. The surface energy of the super(cid:173)
`hydrophobic material is lower than that of the polymer
`nano-fiber and the organic silicon based nano-material,
`therefore the hydrophobic characteristic of the super-hydro(cid:173)
`phobic material is much better than that of the polymer
`nano-fiber and the organic silicon based nano-material. In
`particular, the contact angle between the super-hydrophobic
`material and the water is advantageously larger than 150
`degrees.
`[0017] The super-amphiphobic nano-composite material
`has a concave surface that can adsorb and stabilize an
`ambient gas therearound, thereby forming a kind of mem(cid:173)
`brane layer of gas. Because of the gas membrane, water and
`oil cannot contact the surface of the super-amphiphobic
`nano-composite material.
`[0018] Referring to FIG. 2, an anti-fingerprint coating
`construction 33 for a stainless steel substrate 31 in accor(cid:173)
`dance with a second preferred embodiment of the present
`invention is shown. A zinc layer 32 is firstly electrogalva(cid:173)
`nized on a surface of the stainless steel substrate 31, for
`protecting the stainless steel substrate 31 from being rusted
`and thereby prolonging its service lifetime. The anti-finger(cid:173)
`print coating construction 33 of the second embodiment has
`a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment
`detailed above.
`[0019] Compared with conventional anti-fingerprint coat(cid:173)
`ing constructions, the anti-fingerprint coating constructions
`of the preferred embodiments have the following advan(cid:173)
`tages. Firstly, when the anti-fingerprint coating construction
`is employed on a metal surface or a nonmetal surface, sweat
`or/and grease on fingers of a user is not liable to be adhered
`to the surface. Therefore a fingerprint of the user is pre(cid:173)
`vented from being imprinted on the surface, and the surface
`can remain clean and aesthetically pleasing. Secondly,
`because the anti-fingerprint coating construction is easy to
`clean, the anti-fingerprint coating construction has good
`anti-corrosion and antibacterial properties. Thirdly, the anti(cid:173)
`fingerprint coating construction contains no chromium, and
`therefore does not need to be processed by an acid or alkali
`solution. This makes the anti-fingerprint coating construc(cid:173)
`tion environmentally friendly.
`
`[0020]
`It is to be understood that the above-described
`embodiments are intended to illustrate rather than limit the
`invention. Variations may be made to the embodiments
`without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.
`The above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate
`the scope of the invention and not restrict the scope of the
`invention.
`
`What is claimed is:
`1. An anti-fingerprint coating construction for application
`to a surface of a substrate, the anti-fingerprint coating
`construction comprising a layer formed of a material
`selected from the group consisting of a hydrophobic nano(cid:173)
`composite material, an oleophobic nano-composite material,
`and a super-amphiphobic nano-composite material.
`2. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 1, wherein the hydrophobic nano-composite material
`is selected from the group consisting of polymer nano-fibers,
`an organic silicon based nano-material, and a super-hydro(cid:173)
`phobic material.
`3. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 2, wherein the polymer nano-fiber is comprised of a
`material selected from the group consisting of a polyacry(cid:173)
`lonitrile, a polyolefin, a polyester, a polyamide, and poly(cid:173)
`vinyl alcohol.
`4. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 2, wherein the organic silicon based nano-material is
`comprised of a material selected from the group consisting
`of a fluorosilane, a thionic silane, and silicone.
`5. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 2, wherein the super-hydrophobic material comprises
`fluorine-free super-hydrophobic nano-fibers.
`6. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 1, wherein the oleophobic nano-composite material
`comprises nano-calcium carbonate.
`7. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 1, wherein the layer of super-amphiphobic nano(cid:173)
`composite material comprises a super-amphiphobic carbon
`nanotube array.
`8. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 1, wherein a thickness of the anti-fingerprint coating
`construction is less than 1 f.tm.
`9. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 8, wherein the thickness of the anti-fingerprint coating
`construction is in the range from 0.1 f.tm to 0.5 flill·
`10. The anti-fingerprint coating construction as claimed in
`claim 1, wherein the substrate is a metal substrate or a
`nonmetal substrate.
`11. A method for forming an anti-fingerprint coating onto
`a surface of a substrate, comprising the steps of:
`
`selecting coating material applicable to a surface of a
`substrate from a group consisting of a hydrophobic
`nano-composite material, an oleophobic nano-compos(cid:173)
`ite material, and a super-amphiphobic nano-composite
`material;
`
`treating said surface of said substrate to be ready for said
`selected coating material; and
`
`applying said selected coating material onto said surface
`of said substrate so as to form an anti-fingerprint
`coating thereon.
`
`* * * * *
`
`4 of 4