Coinjection molding of decorative preforms and containers produced from such preforms

A process for coinjection molding a multi-colored decorative article comprising the steps of:

• a) metering an initial quantity of a molten first-colored portion of a material;
• b) supplying the initial molten first-colored portion through a supply gate in an injection mold cavity and into the cavity;
• c) metering a quantity of molten second-colored portion of the material;
• d) supplying the molten second-colored portion through the supply gate and into the cavity, contiguously with the initial first-colored portion;
• e) controlling the locations of the first and second-colored portions of the material in the cavity, such that the initial first-colored portion of the material is supplied to at least a desired first portion of the cavity and the second-colored portion of the material is supplied to at least a desired second portion of the cavity, by providing the first and second-colored portions of the material with desired melt viscosities, and controlling the melt temperatures and rates of supply of the first and second-colored portions of the material.

A multi-colored article produced by a process comprising the steps of:

• a) metering an initial quantity of a molten first-colored material;
• b) supplying the initial molten first-colored material through a supply path to an injection mold cavity having a core therein defining the preform between an inner surface of the cavity and an outer surface of the core;
• c) metering a quantity of molten second-colored material;
• d) supplying the molten second-colored material through the supply path to the cavity, contiguously with the initial first-colored material;
• e) controlling the location of the first and second-colored materials in the preform, such that the initial first-colored material is supplied to a desired first portion of the cavity only and the second-colored material is supplied to a desired second portion of the cavity only, by providing the first and second-colored materials with desired melt viscosities, and controlling the melt temperatures and rates of supply of the first and second-colored materials.

A decorative container, blow molded from a multi-colored preform produced by a process comprising the steps of:

• a) metering an initial quantity of a molten first-colored material;
• b) supplying the initial molten first-colored material through a supply path to an injection mold cavity having a core therein defining the preform between an inner surface of the cavity and an outer surface of the core;
• c) metering a quantity of molten second-colored material;
• d) supplying the molten second-colored material through the supply path to the cavity, contiguously with the initial first-colored material;
• e) controlling the location of the first and second-colored materials in the preform, such that the initial first-colored material is supplied to a desired first portion of the cavity only and the second-colored material is supplied to a desired second portion of the cavity only, by providing the first and second-colored materials with desired melt viscosities, and controlling the melt temperatures and rates of supply of the first and second-colored materials.