U.S. patent application number 10/906560 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-16 for applicator and method for in-mold coating.
This patent application is currently assigned to LEAR CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Donatti, Joseph T., Mellentine, Andrew P., Williams, Glenn D..
Application Number | 20050126478 10/906560 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28673758 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050126478 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Donatti, Joseph T. ; et
al. |
June 16, 2005 |
APPLICATOR AND METHOD FOR IN-MOLD COATING
Abstract
An in-mold applicator and method for spraying a coating on
difficult-to-reach surfaces of a mold is disclosed. The applicator
includes a spray head and a base portion at an oblique angle to
each other. The outer dimensions of the body portion and the spray
head are sufficiently small so that taken in combination with the
oblique angle, the applicator and method can enhance the spraying
of the coating to difficult-to-reach surfaces within the mold.
Inventors: |
Donatti, Joseph T.; (Howell,
MI) ; Mellentine, Andrew P.; (Owosso, MI) ;
Williams, Glenn D.; (Holly, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROOKS KUSHMAN P.C. / LEAR CORPORATION
1000 TOWN CENTER
TWENTY-SECOND FLOOR
SOUTHFIELD
MI
48075-1238
US
|
Assignee: |
LEAR CORPORATION
21557 Telegraph Road
Southfield
MI
|
Family ID: |
28673758 |
Appl. No.: |
10/906560 |
Filed: |
February 24, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10906560 |
Feb 24, 2005 |
|
|
|
10115360 |
Apr 3, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
118/317 ;
118/300 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C 37/0032 20130101;
B29K 2075/00 20130101; B29L 2031/3008 20130101; B05B 7/1272
20130101; B05B 7/0861 20130101; B29C 31/045 20130101; B05B 7/0815
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
118/317 ;
118/300 |
International
Class: |
B05C 005/00; B05B
007/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An in-mold applicator to spray a coating on a first
difficult-to-reach undercut surface of a mold, the in-mold
applicator comprising: a body portion and a spray head extending at
an oblique angle with respect to the body portion, the body portion
and spray head having outer dimensions that are sufficiently small
in combination with the oblique angle to enhance the spraying of
the coating to the first undercut surface; each of the spray head
and the body portion having a central passageway for delivering a
liquid medium and an outer passageway surrounding the central
passageway for delivering a gaseous medium; a liquid medium head
joining the central passageways in liquid medium flow relationship
proximate the oblique angle; and a closable and operable liquid
medium valve within the liquid medium head for selectively
controlling a sufficient flow of liquid medium through the liquid
medium head for atomization with the delivered gaseous medium.
2. The in-mold applicator of claim 1 wherein the liquid medium is a
mold release agent and the gaseous medium is air.
3. The in-mold applicator of claim 1 further comprising an adaptor
for operatively connecting the in-mold applicator to a robot used
to operate the applicator, the adaptor having three valves operable
to supply respectively the liquid and gaseous mediums necessary to
apply the coating on the first undercut surface, the three valves
including a first valve providing the gaseous medium to the outer
passageway of the body portion, a second valve providing the liquid
medium to the central passageway of the body portion, and a third
valve for actuating the liquid medium valve.
4. The in-mold applicator of claim 3 wherein the liquid medium
valve is a needle valve which controls the flow of liquid medium
through the liquid medium head and the central passageway at the
oblique angle.
5. The in-mold applicator of claim 1 further comprising an
additional spray head that is threadably connectable with the body
portion, wherein the spray head is threadably connected to the body
portion such that the spray head is exchangeable with the
additional spray head, the additional spray head being connectable
with the body portion to establish a different oblique angle with
the body portion.
6. The in-mold applicator of claim 1 further comprising an
additional spray head that is threadably connectable with the body
portion, wherein the spray head is threadably connected to the body
portion such that the spray head is exchangeable with the
additional spray head, and wherein the additional spray head is
configured to coat a second difficult-to-reach undercut surface
that is different from the first difficult-to-reach undercut
surface.
7. An in-mold applicator for spraying a coating on
difficult-to-reach surfaces of a mold, the in-mold applicator
comprising: a spray head and body portion at an oblique angle to
each other, the body portion and spray head having outer dimensions
that are sufficiently small in combination with the oblique angle
to enhance the spraying of the coating onto the difficult-to-reach
surfaces of the mold.
8. An in-mold applicator to spray a coating on a first
difficult-to-reach undercut surface of a mold which is not directly
visible from an external view of the mold, the applicator
comprising: a body section and a spray head, the spray head having
an angled body portion and a non-angled portion such that the spray
head defines a fixed oblique angle between the angled and
non-angled portions, the spray head having threads on the
non-angled portion for threadably securing to threads on the body
section, the body section and spray head having outer dimensions
sufficiently small in combination with the oblique angle to enhance
spraying of the coating onto the difficult-to-reach surfaces of the
mold, the body section and spray head each including a central
passageway for delivering a liquid medium and an outer passageway
surrounding the central passageway for delivering a gaseous medium,
the spray head further including a spray cap secured to an outlet
end of the spray head by a spray cap lock, the spray cap lock
having threads for securing to threads on the spray head, the spray
cap lock defining an outer boundary of the spray head.
9. The applicator of claim 8 wherein a fluid may be atomized by
providing the gaseous medium to the outer passageway and the liquid
medium to the central passageway of the body portion such that the
liquid medium collides with the gaseous medium inside the outer
boundary defined by the spray cap lock.
10. The applicator of claim 9 wherein the spray head may be
positioned to spray the atomized fluid within the mold in a head-on
position sufficient to squarely spray the atomized fluid onto the
mold and the first undercut surface.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/115,360, filed Apr. 3, 2002 and entitled "Applicator and
Method for In-Mold Coating."
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an improved nozzle for use
with in-mold coating processes.
[0004] 2. Background Art
[0005] In-mold coating processes are used in a number of
applications to spray, or otherwise apply, coatings onto the
working surfaces of molds used in molding operations. One common
application of in-mold coating can be found in the processes used
for manufacturing the soft interior paneling of automotive
vehicles, like the soft interior paneling of an instrument panel
dashboard 10, shown in cross-section in FIG. 1. Instrument panel 10
can be manufactured by a skin making process or a foam-in-the-mold
process that each include spraying a mold, like mold 12 shown in
FIG. 2, with a coating such as a one or two component waterborne
acrylic, or a one component or two component urethane, or other
material. The material hardens to form a relatively thin covering
14, generally 0.80 to 1.20 millimeters, which is used as a finished
coating for a final color and gloss for appearance and
UV-resistance to sunlight. In the case of skin making, skin 14 is
removed from mold 12 for application to foam material 16 at another
location. The foam-in-the-mold process is similar to the skin
making process, except foam material 16 is applied to the skin 14
by a foam injection device (not shown) while the skin is in mold
12, instead of at a different location like the skin making
process.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 1, the skin 14 includes a curvilinear or
arcuate rim portion 18 extending along the outer periphery of skin
14 for gripping foam material 16. To form curvilinear rim portion
18, or other edges and flats that bend away from the outer surface
of the skin and roll back over towards the center of the skin, an
undercut mold portion 20 is needed within mold 12, as shown in FIG.
2. The undercut mold portion 20 is a difficult-to-reach area for
applying the coating. In the past, a collinear applicator 22 has
been used to apply the coating to form skin 14. For example, the
collinear applicator 22 is mounted to a robot 24 and moved around
working surfaces 13 to spray coating onto mold 12. As shown in FIG.
3, mold opening 26 somewhat prevents direct viewing of undercut
portion 20 from outside of mold 12. Accordingly, those areas in
mold 12 which are not directly viewable from outside mold 12, like
undercut portion 20, are difficult for collinear applicator 22 to
squarely spray with the coating. Thus, such areas are considered
difficult-to-reach areas of mold 12.
[0007] As it is difficult for collinear applicator 22 to reach the
difficult-to-reach areas, additional measures are required to
manufacture skin 14 with collinear applicator 22. For example,
since collinear applicator 22 cannot squarely spray undercut
portion 20 (in order to squarely spray a surface, the surface must
be within a width of a fan spray pattern of the applicator), the
methods which use collinear applicator 22 must either coat the
uncoated areas in a secondary operation, which usually consists of
a human operator using a spray gun, or coat around the uncoated
areas with excessive amounts of coating material so that the
material can run down the sides of mold 12 to the
difficult-to-reach surfaces. It is expensive, however, to have
operators coat the uncoated portions in a secondary operation, and
it is similarly expensive to apply excess material to the mold.
Moreover, the excess coating can cause additional problems in
bi-color applications in which it is desirable to have one portion
of the skin coated with a first color and another portion of the
skin coated with a second different color, as the running of
coating material from one color into the other color can discolor
the appearance of the skin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved applicator and method for coating difficult-to-reach
in-mold portions of a mold cavity in one coating operation and
without requiring excessive amounts of coating.
[0009] In accordance with one aspect of this invention, an in-mold
applicator for spraying a coating on difficult-to-reach surfaces of
a mold is disclosed. The in-mold applicator includes a spray head
and body portion at an oblique angle to each other. The body
portion and spray head have outer dimensions that are sufficiently
small in combination with the oblique angle to enhance the spraying
of the coating onto the difficult-to-reach surfaces of the
mold.
[0010] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
an in-mold applicator is disclosed for spraying a coating on a
first difficult-to-reach undercut surfaces of a mold. The in-mold
applicator includes a body portion and a spray head extending at an
oblique angle with respect to the body portion. The body portion
and spray head have outer dimensions that are sufficiently small in
combination with the oblique angle to enhance the spraying of the
coating to the undercut surface. Furthermore, each of the spray
head and the body portion have a central passageway for delivering
a liquid medium and an outer passageway surrounding the central
passageway for delivering a gaseous medium. The applicator still
further includes a liquid medium head joining the central
passageways in liquid medium flow relationship proximate the
oblique angle. In addition, the applicator includes a closable and
operable liquid medium valve within the liquid medium head for
selectively controlling a sufficient flow of liquid medium through
the liquid medium head for atomization with the delivered gaseous
medium.
[0011] In accordance with still another aspect of the present
invention, a method is disclosed for spraying a coating on a mold
having a first difficult-to-reach undercut surface which is not
directly visible from an external view of the mold. The method
includes spraying a first atomized fluid onto the mold including
the undercut surfaces from an applicator having a body portion and
a spray head extending at an oblique angle with respect to the body
portion. The body portion and the spray head having a configuration
that is sufficiently small in combination with the oblique angle
such that the spray head is positional within the mold in a head-on
position sufficient to squarely spray the atomized fluid onto the
mold and the first undercut surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a instrument
panel dashboard covering;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art
mold and collinear applicator used for molding the instrument panel
shown in FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the mold shown in FIG. 2,
showing the portions of the mold that are directly viewable from
outside the mold;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the prior art mold of
FIG. 1 and an applicator, according to the invention, attached to a
robot adaptor;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the applicator and robot
adaptor in accordance with the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the applicator of FIG.
5, wherein the applicator includes a spray head and a body portion
at an oblique angle to each other, and the spray head includes a
spray cap;
[0018] FIG. 7 is an end view of the spray head shown without the
spray cap;
[0019] FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the
spray cap shown in FIG. 5;
[0020] FIG. 9 is an end view of the spray cap;
[0021] FIG. 10 illustrates a fan spray profile provided by the
spray cap; and
[0022] FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting an improved method for
spraying a coating on a mold according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] FIG. 4 shows an improved applicator device or applicator,
according to the invention, for applying a coating to mold 12. The
applicator of the invention is hereinafter referred to with
reference numeral 30, and can be used in any number of applications
in which it is desirable to spray a coating onto a mold. One area
of interest is in processes used to manufacture soft interior
components for automotive vehicles, like the skin making process
and foam-in-the-mold process used to manufacture instrument panel
10 shown in cross-section in FIG. 1. As described above, instrument
panel 10 can be manufactured by spraying mold 12 with a coating
such as polyurethane, polyvinylchloride, or other material to form
a relatively thin covering type skin 14 that forms a covering panel
for covering a soft foam material 16.
[0024] In either the skin making process or the foam-in-the-mold
process, the applicator 30 may deliver either waterborne or
solvent-borne, one component or two component, coatings for
providing "Class A" surface color matches. The coatings may be
delivered, for example, at 300 cubic centimeters per minute with a
variable fan width from 38 to 102 millimeters at a distance of 102
millimeters from the surface being coated. In addition, the
applicator 30 may be capable of delivering 50 cubic centimeters per
minute of mold release agents, either waterborne or solvent-borne,
with the same fan width viscosities of 22 to 30 seconds using a
number 3 Zahn cup.
[0025] In general, the molding processes broadly includes a first
step of spraying a mold release onto a mold, a second step of
applying a skin forming material to the mold, after the mold
release has had time to evaporated, or flash, its volatile
elements, and a third optional step of injecting a foam material
into the mold, after the skin forming material has had time to
evaporated, or flash. (Flash is a term of art which references the
time required for the volatile elements used to liquify the skin
forming material to evaporate, typically the volatile element is
water but it could also be any other soluble additive.) The novel
interaction of applicator 30 with these broad steps is described
below in greater detail.
[0026] Common in-mold applications require skin 14 to have a
curvilinear rim portion 18 extending along a portion of the outer
periphery of skin 14 for gripping foam material 16. To form
curvilinear rim portion 18, or other similar edges and flats which,
for example, bend away from an outer surface of the skin 14 and
extend inwardly, an undercut mold portion, like undercut portion 20
shown in FIG. 4, is needed within mold 12. While the undercut
portion 20 is shown as a curvilinear portion, the undercut portion
20 may be any difficult-to-reach portion of mold 12, like a
straight edge or aperture.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, mold opening 26 substantially prevents
direct viewing of undercut portion 20 from outside of mold 12.
Accordingly, those areas in mold 12 which are not directly viewable
from outside mold 12, like undercut portion 20, are difficult for
line of sight devices to reach. Accordingly, those areas within
mold 12 which are not directly viewable through mold opening 26 by
an external viewer are referred to as difficult-to-reach areas of
mold 12, like undercut portion 20.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 5, the invention is directed to an
improved apparatus and process for coating difficult-to-reach
surfaces of mold 12. As such, in the following detailed
description, it becomes apparent that the applicator 30 turns the
once difficult-to-reach surfaces into easy-to-reach surfaces.
Applicator 30 can reach undercut surface 20, because it is
relatively small and includes a spray head 32 and a body portion 34
that are at an oblique angle alpha to each other. While spray head
32 may have any suitable dimension or configuration, in one
embodiment the dimensions for the diameter of spray head 32 are in
the range of 0.500 inch to 1.500 inches. In the embodiment of FIG.
6, spray head 32 has a diameter of 0.500 inches. In addition, while
the length of spray head 32 may be any have any suitable dimension
or configuration, in one embodiment the dimensions for the length
of spray head 32 are in the range of 0.750 to 1.500 inches. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the dimension for the length of spray
head 32 is 1.000 inches. Furthermore, while body portion 34 may
have any suitable dimension or configuration, in one embodiment the
dimensions for the diameter of body portion 34 is in the range of
0.250 to 0.750 inches. In the embodiment of FIG. 6 the dimension of
the diameter of body portion 34 is 0.500 inches. In addition, while
the length of body portion 34 may have nay suitable dimension or
configuration, in one embodiment the dimensions for the length of
body portion 34 are in the range of 4 to 18.000 inches. In the
embodiment of FIG. 5, the dimension of the length of body portion
34 is 10.000 inches. The oblique angle alpha is greater than 0
degrees and less than 180 degrees. In one embodiment, the oblique
angle alpha is in the range of 120 to 150 degrees. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the angle alpha is approximately 135
degrees. Accordingly, the dimensioning of applicator 30 is
sufficiently small for coating difficult-to-reach undercut surfaces
20 within mold 12.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, applicator 30 can position itself within
mold 12 for applying a coating squarely to undercut portion 20.
With spray head 32 at an angle, spray head 32 can direct a spray
fan pattern 35 into difficult-to-reach undercut surfaces 20 of mold
12. In one embodiment, spray head 32 is positional to squarely
spray the coating onto mold 12 by having at least a portion of the
width of spray head fan pattern 35 in-line with undercut portion 20
to strike undercut portion 20 in a head-on manner.
[0030] Applicator 30 also includes an adaptor 36 to operatively
interconnect body portion 34 to a robot 38. While adaptor 36 may
have any suitable dimension or configuration, in one embodiment the
dimensions for the breadth squared adaptor 36 are in the range of
0.500 inch to 3.00 inches in width. In the embodiment of FIG. 5,
adaptor 36 has a breadth of 2 inches. In addition, the length of
adaptor 36 may be any have any suitable dimension or configuration,
but in one embodiment the dimensions for the length of adaptor 36
are in the range of 2.000 to 6.000 inches. In the embodiment shown
in FIG. 5, the dimension for the length of adaptor 36 is 4.000
inches. The robot 38 positions applicator 30 in and around mold 12
to apply the coating thereupon. Adaptor 36 can be configured to
work with any type of robot, including multi-axis robots, such as
6-axis and 7-axis robots that are commonly used for in-mold coating
applications. Furthermore, applicator 36 and includes three valves
39, 40, and 41, described below in greater detail.
[0031] The angled spray head 32 allows applicator 30 to coat
difficult-to-reach surfaces in molding applications without having
to apply excess coating material, and/or without requiring a
manual, secondary operation. Consequently, the applicator 30
minimizes the amount of coating material required. Furthermore, use
of the applicator 30 allows designers and manufacturers to produce
complex parts having numerous complex surfaces and features once
thought to be too expensive to manufacture because of all the
secondary operations required to coat corresponding undercut
surfaces, or other difficult-to-reach surfaces, of a mold.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 5, body portion 34 and adaptor 36 work in
combination with the spray head 32 to enhance the ability of
applicator 30 to perform unique movements. To begin with, spray
head 32, body portion 34, and adaptor 36 are threadably
interconnected. For example, there are situations in which the mold
12 can have first and second undercut surfaces, where the second
undercut surface is more difficult-to-reach for a first spray head
32 used to coat the first difficult-to-reach surface. Accordingly,
a second spray head 32, having either a different spray pattern or
a different oblique angle, can be threaded to the body portion 34,
either by hand or with machine movement, for coating the second
difficult-to-reach undercut portion. Consequently, time is saved
when swapping spray heads, and the ability to coat multiple
difficult-to-reach surfaces improves design flexibility. Likewise,
when multiple color coatings are desired, the body portion 34, and
thereby the spray head 32 attached thereto, can be threadably
removed from the adaptor 36 and exchanged for another body portion
34 so that the color from the first body portion does not infect
the second body portion. Again, these components may be removed and
exchanged manually or automatically. For example, a robotic system
including a shunt action robotic arm can be used to exchange
various components for others located nearby for coating one mold,
or a number of molds passing thereby.
[0033] The particular elements for achieving the foregoing results
will now be described in greater detail. Referring to FIG. 6, spray
head 32 and a segment of body portion 34 are shown with greater
detail. As shown, spray head 32 is secured to body portion 34 by
threadably interconnecting first spray head threads 42 with first
body threads 43.
[0034] Body portion 34 generally refers to a number of components,
including outer tube 44, inner tube 46, liquid medium needle valve
48, and liquid medium head or tip 50. The configuration shown is
one of the many arrangements which may be used in combination with
the teachings of this invention, and is not in any way intended to
limit the scope of this invention. As shown, outer tube 44
generally surrounds inner tube 46 and liquid medium tip 50. The
liquid medium tip 50 and inner tube 46 connect with each other to
surround liquid medium needle valve 48. This arrangement forms a
passageway between outer tube 44 and inner tube 46, referred to as
outer body passageway 47, and another passageway between inner tube
46 and liquid medium needle valve 48, referred to as central body
passageway 49.
[0035] Spray head 32 generally refers to a number of components,
including spray head angled body portion 54, spray cap 56, and
spray cap lock 57. As shown in FIG. 7, spray head angled body
portion 54 includes a center aperture 58, a number of outer
apertures 60, and a spray cap cavity 62. As shown in FIG. 8, the
apertures 58 and 60 define a central spray head passageway 64 and a
plurality of outer spray head passageways 66.
[0036] When spray head 32 is secured to body portion 34, central
body passageway 49 is joined with central spray head passageway 64,
and outer body passageway 47 is joined with the plurality of outer
spray head passageways 66. As described above, adaptor 36 includes
three valves 39, 40, and 41. The valves 39, 40 and 41 deliver fluid
from robot 38 to applicator 30. Referring to FIG. 5, one valve,
such as valve 39, delivers a gaseous medium to outer body
passageway 47, and thereby, to the plurality of outer spray head
passageways 66. A second valve, such as valve 40, delivers a liquid
medium to central body passageway 49, for delivery through liquid
medium tip 50 and into central spray head passageway 64. The liquid
flow through liquid medium tip 50 is regulated by a third valve,
such as valve 41, which delivers a gas from an outside source for
controlling an actuating device (not show, but located in adaptor
36) for causing reciprocating action of liquid medium needle valve
48. The needle valve 48 is closable to shut-off the flow of liquid
to spray head central passageway 64 and selectively operable to
control the flow of liquid to spray head central passageway 64.
Uniquely, both a liquid and gas are deliverable to spray head 32
for spraying a coating on mold 12 with only three valves, whereby
the necessity of using a fourth valve for controlling the spraying
of the atomized fluid is eliminated by controlling the spraying of
the atomized fluid by controlling only the liquid flow and
atomization gas flow.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 8, an enlarged view of spray cap 56 allows
for better description of the atomization process for spray head
32. Spray cap 56 inserts into spray cap cavity 62, and is secured
to spray head angled body portion 54 by spray cap lock 57, which is
threadably secured to an second spray head threaded portion 72.
Spray cap 56 includes two angled, or curved, apertures 74 and 75,
shown also in the end view of FIG. 9, for mixing the gaseous medium
from the plurality of outer spray head passageways 66 with the
liquid medium expelling through central cap aperture 76 from
central spray head passageway 64. The liquid and gas collide with
one another and atomize in cap opening 78 to form spray fan pattern
35. The pressures of each of the fluids and the angle of angled
apertures 74 and 75 in combination determine spray fan angle 0 and
spray fan profile 80. Profile 80 is shown in greater detail in FIG.
10. In one embodiment, spray fan angle .theta. is 45 degrees. In
another embodiment spray fan angle .theta. may be in the range of
30 to 60 degrees. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, spray fan angle
.theta. is 90 degrees. Spray fan profile 80 is ellipsoid, but it
may be circular or any other suitable configuration.
Advantageously, spray cap 56, like body portion 34 and spray head
32, can be removed and replaced into spray head angled body portion
54 by hand or machine operation.
[0038] FIG. 11 illustrates operation of an in-mold method for
spraying a coating on difficult-to-reach surfaces of mold 12 for
manufacturing a skin or a foam-in-the mold covering. At step 90,
applicator 30 is configured with an oblique angle interconnecting
spray head 32 and body portion 34. At step 92, applicator 30 is
positioned within mold 12, for either a skin molding or
foam-in-the-mold process at a location for the applicator 30 to
squarely spray a coating on difficult-to-reach surface 20. At step
94, a first coating, such as a mold release agent, is sprayed onto
mold 12, including the difficult-to-reach surface 20. At step 96,
the mold release agent supplied in step 94 is allowed to flash for
a predetermined period of time. At step 98, a second coating is
applied to the mold 12. The second coating may be any suitable
material, such as an acrylic or polyurethane. At step 100, the
material sprayed in step 98 is allowed to flash for a predetermined
period of time. Optionally, at step 102, a foam material is
injected into mold 12 by a foam injecting device (not shown).
Finally, at step 104 the skin or foam-in-the-mold covering is
removed from mold 12.
[0039] While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and
described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and
describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words
used in the specification are words of description rather than
limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *