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US 2006/0134381 A1Published application
Cover skin with high and low gloss
AssigneeVisteon Global Technologies, Inc.
InventorsFrederick Homburg, Aaron Wisniewski, Robert Reighard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vacuum formed trim component cover skin having first and second portions respectively defining first and second surface finish glosses, wherein the first gloss is a higher gloss than the second gloss by a differential of greater than four.
Claims23
A trim component cover skin comprising:
- a unitary skin molding having a vacuum formed primary surface and a secondary surface, said secondary surface being generally opposite of said vacuum formed primary surface, said vacuum formed primary surface having vacuum formed first and second portions, said vacuum formed first portion including a first surface finish defining a first gloss and said vacuum formed second portion including a second surface finish defining a second gloss, wherein said first gloss is higher than said second gloss.
A method of making a trim component cover skin comprising:
- heating a flexible film sheet to a predetermined temperature;
- locating the heated film over a mold having a patterned surface, the patterned surface of the mold including a first portion having a generally smooth surface finish and a second portion having a generally rough surface finish to impart a first surface finish on parts of the flexible film corresponding to said first portion and imparting a second surface finish on parts of the flexible film corresponding to said second portion;
- forcing the flexible film into contact with the mold and the patterned surface, said forcing step including applying a vacuum through the mold;
- holding the vacuum thereby forming a vacuum molded film imparted with the first and second surface finishes;
- releasing the vacuum and releasing the molded film from the mold;
- cooling and curing the molded film so as to form a first gloss on the parts of the molded film corresponding to the first surface finish and a second gloss on the parts of the molded film corresponding to the second surface finish, wherein the first gloss is greater than the second gloss.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.