Vacuum mold for plastics

Abstract

A vacuum forming mold for plastic sheet truck bed liners is shown which is adjustable for use in forming liners for a variety of sizes and makes of pick-up trucks. The mold is box shaped with a hollow wall construction for drawing a vacuum uniformly around the inner wall thereof. The interior wall of the mold has a width equal to the standard width of a pick-up truck bed of U.S. manufacture or alternatively to the standard width of the truck bed of a foreign-made, imported truck. The length of the mold is at least as long as the longest truck bed length of a U.S. made or a foreign-made truck, respectively. Removable mold parts of predetermined size, corresponding to the size and shape of the truck bed wheel wells are provided for attachment to the walls of the mold at a point corresponding to the location of the wheel wells in a particular make of truck. Removable parts are provided for attachment to the forward end and bottom walls, respectively, corresponding to the configuration required or desired for the bottom and forward walls of the bed liner. Removable parts are provided for the rear wall and the top portion thereof defining the configuration required or desired for the cover or liner for the truck tailgate. A plurality of small holes extend through the inner wall of the mold from the space between the walls of the mold, positioned around each mold part and uniformly spaced on the bottom wall of the mold so that application of vacuum will draw a heated sheet of plastic into the mold and into intimate contact with the feature defining portions thereof.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.