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US 6,464,920 B1Granted
Injection moulding process and apparatus for making articles from two components
AssigneeSmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare GmbH
InventorHans Krämer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for making a molded article of two components e.g., plastic material and elastomer, in which internal cores are used to form a hollow toothbrush body, and elastomer is injected to form surface features. The toothbrush body can be made bulky in shape but light by virtue of being hollow.
Claims6
A process for making a molded toothbrush body comprising a grip handle and a head all arranged along a longitudinal toothbrush axis, with a body cavity within the grip handle, which comprises the steps of:
- in a first mold cavity, having a first internal core within the cavity and distanced from the inner wall surface of the cavity, and having one or more internal members which extends between the inner wall and the core, forming the toothbrush body by injection molding of a plastics material having an internal body cavity within the grip handle corresponding substantially to the shape of the first core and having apertures passing through the body from the body cavity to the outer surface of the body corresponding substantially to the shape and position of the one or more internal member;
- separating the formed body from the first mold cavity and removing the first core from the body cavity;
- enclosing the formed body in a second mold cavity having an inner wall surface, and inserting a second internal core into the body cavity, between the second core and the inner surface of the body cavity there being at least one channel in communication with the apertures when the second core is in place in the body cavity;
- injecting a fluid moldable, settable material into the channels such that the material flows along the channels and into the apertures and then sets;
- separating the so-formed toothbrush body from the second mold cavity and the second core from the body cavity.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.