Mold for creating negative draft surfaces in molded items and method of molding
OwnerRaymond Dossinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A one-piece mold can be used to form molded items that incorporate features or encroachments with negative draft angles, and such molded items can be removed from the mold in a single piece by lifting, tilting, or pulling, or a combination thereof, without breaking the mold or the item to be molded. The mold and method of molding are suited to a bathtub or shower unit. The mold and method of molding permit the removal of molded items with negative draft angles by coordinating the angle of the sump front wall and sump back wall with the angles of other encroachments in the molded item within specified ranges that permit one-piece removal of the item to be molded from the mold.
Claims8
A one-piece mold for a bathtub comprising a base, a rear wall, and at least one side wall, said mold forming a bathtub comprising a sump, walls extending beyond said sump and one or more additional encroachments, wherein said sump comprises a sump front wall and a sump back wall in which said mold forms said sump front wall to reflect a negative draft angle of approximately 10 degrees and forms said sump back wall to reflect a negative draft angle of a magnitude not greater than magnitude of the draft angle of said sump front wall, said additional encroachments comprise at least one of one or more shelves and one or more seats, and at least one of said additional encroachments reflects a draft angle that is negative with respect to a direction of pull parallel to the plane defined by said rear wall, such that said bathtub can be removed from said mold through one or more of
- (a) pulling;
- (b) tilting;
- or
- (c) lifting
- without breaking said mold or said bathtub formed by said mold.
A one-piece mold for a shower comprising a base, a rear wall, and at least one side wall, said mold forming a shower comprising a sump, walls extending beyond said sump, and one or more additional encroachments, wherein said sump comprises a sump from wall and a sump back wall in which said mold forms said sump front wall to reflect a negative draft angle of approximately 30 degrees and forms said sump back wall to reflect a negative draft angle of a magnitude not greater than magnitude of the draft angle of said sump front wall, said additional encroachments comprise at least one of one or more shelves and one or more seats, and at least one of said additional encroachments reflects a draft angle that is negative with respect to a direction of pull parallel to the plane defined by said rear wall, such that said shower can be removed from said mold through one or more of
- (a) pulling;
- (b) tilting;
- or
- (c) lifting
- without breaking said mold or said shower formed by said mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.