Marking of an anodized layer of an aluminum object
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
InventorKeng Kit Yeo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A marking (3 to 5) is provided in a surface (8) of an element (1) which comprises a substrate (6) of aluminum or an alloy thereof and an anodized outer layer (7) in that a region (10) of the surface (8) is irradiated with a laser beam such that at least one visual property of the surface (8) in said region (10) is changed and a visual marking (3 to 5) is obtained which is observable to the human eye. The laser beam penetrates the anodized outer layer (7) at least to a major degree and induces the change in the at least one visual property substantially locally only in a zone (9) where the anodized outer layer (7) adjoins the substrate (6).
Claims9
A method of providing a marking in a surface of an element which comprises a substrate of aluminum or an alloy thereof and having an anodized outer layer, which method comprises:
- irradiating a region of said surface with a laser beam such that said laser beam penetrates said anodized outer layer at least to a major degree and induces a change in at least one visual property of said surface substantially exclusively locally in a zone in which said anodized outer layer adjoins said substrate in said region, whereby a visual marking observable to the human eye is obtained and zones of the anodized layer situated farther outward remain substantially unchanged, while the visual marking provided remains visible through the substantially unchanged anodized layer.
A method of providing a marking in a surface of an element which comprises a substrate of aluminum or an alloy thereof and having an anodized outer layer, which method comprises:
- irradiating a region of said surface with a laser beam such that said laser beam penetrates said anodized outer layer at least to a major degree and induces a change in at least one visual property of said surface substantially exclusively locally in a zone in which said anodized outer layer adjoins said substrate in said region, whereby a visual marking observable to the human eye is obtained and zones of the anodized layer situated farther outward remain substantially unchanged, while the visual marking provided remains visible through the substantially unchanged anodized layer, wherein said laser beam has a wavelength in a range from 700 to 1400 nm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.