EP0176274A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Three-dimensional multi-color plastic parts and method of making same
Assignee: Ex-Cell-O Corp
•
Filing: 1985-09-05
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2005-09-05
Abstract
Abstract Three-dimensional multi-colored plastic parts and a method for manufacturing such parts for automobile interior trim door panels, consoles and instrument panels and the like includes dry cast thermoplastic powder sized in the range of 60-400 microns and with two or more colors of particles mixed for distribution onto a heated mold section with the mixed powder particles being heated to randomly flow at particle margins to form two or more shade tones in a resultant three-dimensional multi-colored textured part of fuzed material.
Inventors
- 👤 John Co. Gembinski
- 👤 Robert A. Grimmer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 12:16
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29C; B29C41/00; B29C41/02; B29C41/22; B44; B44C; B44C3/00; B44C3/04; B44C3/046; B60; B60R; B60R13/00; B60R13/02; B60R13/0237; B60R13/0243; B60R13/0256
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
92 words
In a process for molding a unique three-dimensional multi-colored plastic part, the steps comprising, mixing two or more colors of pigmented powder particles of thermoplastic material, each having a diameter in the range of 60 to 400 microns; and the particles having varying degrees of light transmission to produce a three-dimensional surface effect; casting such mixture from a distribution means, onto a pre-heated mold surface to build up stacked layers of multi-colored particles; and heat flowing the cast colored particles to form color blended fused fringe zones between each of the particles.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
92 words
In a process for molding a unique three-dimensional multi-colored plastic part, the steps comprising, mixing two or more colors of pigmented powder particles of thermoplastic material, each having a diameter in the range of 60 to 400 microns; and the particles having varying degrees of light transmission to produce a three-dimensional surface effect; casting such mixture from a distribution means, onto a pre-heated mold surface to build up stacked layers of multi-colored particles; and heat flowing the cast colored particles to form color blended fused fringe zones between each of the particles.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
In the process of claim 1, varying the appearance and shape of the cast particles by controlling process parameters including mold temperature at casting at fusion and at mold cooling in the range of 100°F to 500°F
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
In the process of claim 1, blending particles of two or more pre-blended colors of a thermoplastic powder material which, when heat flowed, fuses into a layer of stacked particles having a selective translucency producing a three-dimensional multi-colored fabric effect in the finished product.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
48 words
In the process of claim 1, pre-selecting a powder mixture of two or more color pigmented particles of thermoplastic resin with varying degrees of translucency including the following color ratio: spherical diameter no greater than the width of grooves forming the fabric texture in the mold casting surfaces.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
In the process of claim 1, pre-forming mold grooves in the form of a textile, casting powder particles on the mold casting surface with such textured grooves thereby enhancing the three-dimensional effect to simulate a three-dimensional texture appearance.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
88 words
A one-piece integrally cast plastic member comprising a plurality of fused plastic powder particles defining a part thickness; each of said pre-fused plastic powder particles having a diameter in the range of 60 to 400 microns and a heat flowed color blended fringe zone formed between each of such particles; said particles having a translucence to create a fused plastic layer with selective distribution of colored particles in different ones of the particle layers to produce a three-dimensional textile effect on the visibly exposed surface of the part.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
88 words
A one-piece integrally cast plastic member comprising a plurality of fused plastic powder particles defining a part thickness; each of said pre-fused plastic powder particles having a diameter in the range of 60 to 400 microns and a heat flowed color blended fringe zone formed between each of such particles; said particles having a translucence to create a fused plastic layer with selective distribution of colored particles in different ones of the particle layers to produce a three-dimensional textile effect on the visibly exposed surface of the part.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.