Nozzle for heating and passing a fluid into a mold

Abstract

A nozzle has a runner for passing fluid through the nozzle. The fluid is heated as it passes through the runner. The temperature of the fluid may be regulated. The fluid flows from the runner into a well formed in a nozzle well insert which is disposed on the nozzle. A gate is disposed in the nozzle well insert in communication with the well. A tip having a raised portion and a reduced portion, each extending in a helical pattern, is disposed in the runner with the raised portion abutting the surface of the runner. The outlet end of the tip is disposed relative to the well in the nozzle well insert so that the fluid in the reduced portion of the tip flows in a swirling motion through the well to wipe the surface of the well and remove the fluid previously in the well. The surfaces of the raised and reduced portions of the tip may be coated with a material to prevent such surfaces from becoming deformed by the fluid flowing through the tip and the gate into the mold. In this way, a fluid of one color (e.g. blue) can be quickly replaced in the well with a fluid of a second color (e.g. red) to produce satisfactory articles purely of the second color (e.g. red). This results from the wiping action in the well by the fluid flowing in the helical path through the tip and the well.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.