U.S. patent application number 14/144394 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-24 for plastic article.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to CHUN-YUAN CHANG, CHUNG-CHI TSENG.
Application Number | 20140113113 14/144394 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42826427 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140113113 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHANG; CHUN-YUAN ; et
al. |
April 24, 2014 |
PLASTIC ARTICLE
Abstract
A plastic articles is provided. The plastic article includes a
base formed by injecting molted resin into a cavity of a female
mold, and a film attached to the base. The base includes a first
edge, the film comprises a second edge level to the first edge of
the base.
Inventors: |
CHANG; CHUN-YUAN; (New
Taipei, TW) ; TSENG; CHUNG-CHI; (New Taipei,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD. |
New Taipei |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO.,
LTD.
New Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
42826427 |
Appl. No.: |
14/144394 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12732141 |
Mar 25, 2010 |
8668860 |
|
|
14144394 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
428/192 ;
428/201; 428/203; 428/337; 428/412; 428/414; 428/475.2; 428/476.3;
428/476.9; 428/480; 428/483; 428/517; 428/518; 428/520;
428/523 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 428/3175 20150401;
Y10T 428/31928 20150401; B29C 45/56 20130101; Y10T 428/3192
20150401; Y10T 428/31797 20150401; Y10T 428/266 20150115; Y10T
428/31507 20150401; B29C 2045/14893 20130101; Y10T 428/31938
20150401; Y10T 428/31515 20150401; Y10T 428/31917 20150401; Y10T
428/31786 20150401; B29C 45/14024 20130101; Y10T 428/24777
20150115; Y10T 428/31757 20150401; Y10T 428/24851 20150115; Y10T
428/31736 20150401; Y10T 428/24868 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/192 ;
428/412; 428/480; 428/523; 428/475.2; 428/483; 428/520; 428/518;
428/517; 428/476.9; 428/476.3; 428/414; 428/201; 428/203;
428/337 |
International
Class: |
B29C 45/14 20060101
B29C045/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 2, 2009 |
CN |
2009103013125 |
Claims
1. A plastic article, comprising: a base formed by injecting molted
resin into a cavity of a female mold; and a film attached to the
base; wherein the base comprises a first edge, the film comprises a
second edge level to the first edge of the base.
2. The plastic article of claim 1, wherein the film comprises a
base layer and an attaching layer.
3. The plastic article of claim 2, wherein the film further
comprises a pattern layer having patterns and/or characters printed
on the base layer and sandwiched between the base layer and the
attaching layer.
4. The plastic article of claim 3, wherein the base layer is either
transparent or translucent to reveal the pattern and/or characters
of the pattern layer.
5. The plastic article of claim 3, wherein the pattern layer
comprises a plurality of ink layers provided via screen printing, a
thickness of each ink layer ranges from about 0.005 millimeters to
about 0.02 millimeters.
6. The plastic article of claim 2, wherein the base layer functions
as a scratch/abrasion-resistant for the pattern layer, a thickness
of the base layer ranges from about 0.01 millimeters to about 0.125
millimeters.
7. The plastic article of claim 1, wherein the film comprises a
base layer and an attaching layer, the base layer is either
transparent or translucent for highlighting a natural color of the
outer surface.
8. The plastic article of claim 1, wherein the film comprises a
base layer, an attaching layer, a first pattern layer having
patterns and/or characters thereon and sandwiched between the base
layer and the attaching layer, and a second pattern layer directly
attached to the base layer opposite to the pattern layer.
9. The plastic article of claim 1, wherein the base comprises a top
portion and a flange extending from edges of the top portion, the
film fully covers the top portion and the flange.
10. The plastic article of claim 1, wherein the base comprises a
top portion and a flange extending from edges of the top portion,
the film fully covers the top portion.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent
application, entitled "PLASTIC ARTICLE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING
THE SAME", with application Ser. No. 12/732,141, filed on Mar. 25,
2010, which claims foreign priority based on Chinese Patent
application No. 200910301312.5, filed in China on Apr. 2, 2009. The
contents of the above-referenced applications are hereby
incorporated by reference.
[0002] Relevant subject matter is disclosed in a co-pending U.S.
patent application (application Ser. No. 12/732,145) filed on the
same date and entitled "PLASTIC ARTICLE", which is assigned to the
same assignee with this patent application.
1. TECHNICAL FIELD
[0003] The disclosure relates to a plastic article, and an
in-mold-decoration (IMD) method for manufacturing the plastic
article.
2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0004] A common method for IMD includes the following steps:
cutting an attached film according to a surface of the plastic
article from a film roll, putting the attached film into a cavity
of a mold, injecting, molding then opening the mold to retrieve the
plastic article complete with the film attached thereto. However,
the attached film shrinks very easily, while in the injection
process, and thus, will not completely cover the surface of the
plastic article.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an injection mold used
in an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a plastic
article.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a variational injection
mold used in the method of manufacturing the plastic article.
[0007] FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 1, but showing the injection mold
closed to a first position.
[0008] FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3, but showing the injection mold
closed to a second position.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a first exemplary embodiment of a
method for manufacturing the plastic article.
[0010] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a second exemplary embodiment of
the method for manufacturing the plastic article.
[0011] FIG. 7A is a schematic view of a plastic article
manufactured by the method.
[0012] FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the plastic article of
FIG. 7A, taken along the line of 7B-7B.
[0013] FIG. 8A is a schematic view of another plastic article
manufactured by the method.
[0014] FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the plastic article of
FIG. 8A, taken along the line of 8B-8B.
[0015] FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view of the plastic article of
FIG. 7B, taken along the line of 9-9, and showing a structure of an
attached film.
[0016] FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the plastic article of
FIG. 7B, taken along the line of 9-9, and showing an altered
structure of the attached film.
[0017] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another structure of
the attached film.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of an injection mold for
in-mold-decoration includes a transport 15, a female mold 25, and a
male mold 30.
[0019] The transport 15 includes two transporting rollers 152 and
two guiding rollers 154 positioned at opposite ends of the mold
respectively, for transporting a film 100 into the female and male
molds 25 and 30.
[0020] The female mold 25 defines a cavity 22 in a first side 27. A
plurality of air venting holes 23 define in the female mold 25 and
connect to the cavity 22. Each air venting hole connects to a
vacuum pump (not shown) for adsorbing the film 100 that disposes
into the female and male molds 25 and 30 into the cavity 22.
[0021] The male mold 30 includes a second side 31 facing the first
side 27 of the female mold 25, the second side 31 forms a
protrusion 32 protruding towards the female mold 25 and mating with
the cavity 22 of the female mold 25. An injection port 34 is
defined in a center of the protrusion 32, for injecting molten
resin into the cavity 22. A slot 24 defines in the second side 31
of the male mold 30 around the protrusion 32. A cutting portion 26
forms on a wall bounding the slot 24 between the protrusion 32 and
the slot 24. Referring to FIG. 2, the female mold 25 defines a slot
24a around the cavity 22. A cutting portion 26a is formed on a wall
bounding the slot 24a and the cavity 22.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 3-5, a first exemplary embodiment of a
method using the above-mentioned injection mold to manufacture a
plastic article, includes the following steps:
[0023] Step S102, the uninterrupted film 100 with patterns and
characters printed thereon, is provided, and rolled around the
transporting roller 152 of the transport 15.
[0024] Step S104, the uninterrupted film 100 is transported between
the female and male molds 25 and 30 by the transport 15, a
predetermined area of the film 100 attaches to an inner surface of
the cavity 22 of the female mold 25. In one embodiment, the
predetermined area of the film 100 attaches to the inner surface of
the cavity 22 by vacuumizing the cavity 22 through the plurality of
venting holes 23 of the female mold 25.
[0025] Step S106, the male and female molds 30 and 25 close to a
first position, with the parting surface of the male mold 30, the
second side 31, not contacting the parting surface of the female
mold 25, the first side 27.
[0026] Step S108, molten resin is injected into the cavity 22
through the injection port 34 of the male mold 30 to form a base of
the plastic article. At first about 90%-99.5% of the molten resin
is injected into the cavity 22. In this process, the predetermined
area of the film 100 attaches to the base of the plastic
article.
[0027] Step S110, the male and female molds 30 and 25 further close
to a second position, at this time, the remnant of molted resin is
injected into the cavity 22. The parting surface of the male mold
30 presses the parting surface of the female mold 25, thus the
cutting portion 26 of the male mold 30 cuts the predetermined size
of the film 100 attached to the base of the plastic article.
[0028] Step S112, injection stops.
[0029] Step S114, the plastic article cools.
[0030] Step S116, the female and male molds 25 and 30 open to
retrieve the plastic article whose surface is covered by the film
100. At this time, the transport 15 transports the film 100 to
prepare a next molding cycle.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 6, a second embodiment of a method for
manufacturing a plastic article includes the following steps.
[0032] Step S202, an uninterrupted film 100 with patterns and
characters printed thereon, is provided, and rolled around the
transporting roller 152 of the transport 15.
[0033] Step S204, the uninterrupted film 100 is transported between
the female and male molds 25 and 30 by the transport 15, a
predetermined area of the film 100 is attached to an inner surface
of the cavity 22 of the female mold 25, as shown in FIG. 3. In one
embodiment, the predetermined area of the film 100 attaches to the
inner surface of the cavity 22 by vacuumizing the cavity 22 through
the plurality of venting holes 23 of the female mold 25.
[0034] Step S206, the male and female molds 30 and 25 are
closed.
[0035] Step S208, molten resin is injected into the cavity 22 from
the injection port 34 of the male mold 30 to form a base of the
plastic article, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0036] Step S210, the predetermined area of the film 100 attached
to the base of the plastic article from the film 100 is cut from
the uninterrupted film 100 after about 90%-99.5% of the molten
resin is injected into the cavity 22.
[0037] Step S212, injection stops.
[0038] Step S214, the plastic article cools.
[0039] Step S216, the female and male molds 25 and 30 open to
retrieve the plastic article whose surface is covered by the
predetermined area of the film 100 from the mold. At the same time,
the transport 15 transports the film 100 to prepare for the next
molding cycle.
[0040] Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, a plastic article 10
manufactured by the above-mentioned methods includes a base 200 and
an attached film 400 cut from the film 100. The base 200 includes a
top portion 201 and a flange 202 extending from edges of the top
portion 201. The attached film 400 attaches to the top portion 201
of the base 200 opposite to the flange 202 and fully covers the top
portion 201.
[0041] Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, another plastic article 20
manufactured by the above-mentioned methods includes a base 300 and
an attached film 500. The base 300 includes a top portion 301 and a
flange 302 extending from edges of the top portion 301. The
attached film 500 attaches to the top portion 301 of the base 300
opposite to the flange 302 and fully covers the top portion 301 and
the flange 302.
[0042] In this embodiment, the base 300 includes a first edge 303.
The attached film 500 includes a second edge 501 level to the first
edge 303 of the base 300.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 9A, the film 100 includes a base layer
102, a pattern layer 104 having different patterns and characters
and printed on the base layer 102 by printing ink, and an attaching
layer 106. The pattern layer 104 is sandwiched between the base
layer 102 and the attaching layer 106.
[0044] The base layer 102 functions as a scratch/abrasion-resistant
for the pattern layer 104. The base layer 102 generally consists of
at least one polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, acrylic,
oriented polypropylene, or polyvinyl chloride, for example. The
thickness of the base layer 102 can range from about 0.01
millimeters to about 0.125 millimeters.
[0045] The pattern layer 104 is arranged on the inner surface of
the base layer 102. Referring to FIG. 9B, the pattern layer 104
includes a plurality of ink layers provided via screen printing,
such as ink layers 1041, 1042, and 1043. The thickness of each ink
layer can range from about 0.005 millimeters to about 0.02
millimeters. A metal decorative layer can be provided as the
pattern layer 104. The metal decorative layer plating may be
aluminum, chromium, copper, nickel, indium, or tin, alone or
combined, on the base layer 102 via either a vacuum evaporation or
electroplating method.
[0046] The attaching layer 106 is for attaching the film 100 to the
outer surface 32 of the plastic article 30. The attaching layer 106
may be made from a plurality of resin materials consisting of
acrylic, nitrification fiber, polyamine formate, chlorination
rubber, vinyl chloride-co-vinyl-acetic ester copolymer, polyamide,
polyester, epoxy, polycarbonate, olefin, and
acrylonitrile-butylene-styrene monomer resin, for example. The
attaching layer 106 is generally provided via concave, screen, and
offset printing, or spraying, dip-coating method, or a coating in
reverse order method, for example.
[0047] The base layer 102 may be either transparent or translucent
to reveal the patterns and/or colors of the pattern layer 104.
[0048] In an altered embodiment, the film 100 includes a base layer
102 and an attaching layer 106 directly attached to the base layer
102, but does not include a pattern layer 104, for highlighting the
natural color of the resin of the plastic article 30 through the
transparent or translucent base layer 102. It is noteworthy that in
other embodiments, the base layer 102 may be made of a colored
material, for adding color to the plastic article.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 10, in another alternative embodiment of
this disclosure, the plastic article 10 may include an attached
film 120 attached to the base 200 of the plastic article 10. The
attached film 120 includes a base layer 122, a first pattern layer
124, a second pattern layer 128, and an attaching layer 126. The
second pattern layer 128 directly attaches to the base layer 122
opposite to the first pattern layer 124.
[0050] It is believed that the present embodiments and their
advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and
it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto
without departing from the spirit and scope of the description or
sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples
hereinbefore described merely being exemplary embodiments.
* * * * *