Process for forming plastic, apparatuses for forming plastic, and articles made therefrom
First Claim
1. A process for forming a plastic composite into a predetermined shape from a plastic particulate material and an expandable plastic filler material, each plastic material having a respective melting point, said process comprising the steps of:
- providing open face complementary open molds made of a material selected from the group consisting of alloys, metals, ceramics, cermets, plastics, and combinations thereof, said open molds being formed into a predetermined shape with at least an open face portion on each of said complementary molds to impart a desired shape;
heating at least the face portions of the complementary open molds to an elevated temperature of from about 100°
C. to about 865°
C. which is above the melting points of the respective plastic particulate material and the plastic filler material;
contacting the open face portion of the complementary open molds with the plastic particulate material resulting in two melted plastic skins on the surfaces of the open molds, said contacting occurring while the plastic particulate is at least at room temperature for a dwell time period of from about 1 second to about 30 minutes, said dwell time period being pre-selected to melt the plastic particulate into a molded skin of a plastic article having a skin of a desired thickness of from about 0.001 cm to about 3.0 cm prior to ceasing contact with the plastic particulate, and removing the excess plastic particulate to leave a molded skin of the desired thickness in the open mold;
contacting the plastic skin on the face portion of at least one of the open face complementary open molds with the expandable plastic filler material;
bringing together the complementary face portions of the heated open molds to adhere the two skins of plastic articles to each other such that an article is formed having a molded surface on both sides.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Process and apparatus for forming plastics by heating an open mold and contacting the open mold with plastic particulate material to form a melted skin on the mold, and resulting articles made therefrom. Single skin molded articles may be multi-layered with or without paint on the surface. Multiple skin molded articles may be made by complementary male and female molds, brought together after the skins are made on the individual male and female molds, and may include sandwiched layers of plastic filler or expandable foam filled centers, with or without various inserts or reinforcements. Multi-layer composite articles are made with inserts and/or reinforcements that may be embedded in and surrounded by expandable foam plastic, if used as a middle layer. Resulting articles include a pick-up truck bed box, an industrial tabletop, a series of modular housing panels, an airplane cockpit door, and material handling pallets, among others.
125 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A process for forming a plastic composite into a predetermined shape from a plastic particulate material and an expandable plastic filler material, each plastic material having a respective melting point, said process comprising the steps of:
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providing open face complementary open molds made of a material selected from the group consisting of alloys, metals, ceramics, cermets, plastics, and combinations thereof, said open molds being formed into a predetermined shape with at least an open face portion on each of said complementary molds to impart a desired shape; heating at least the face portions of the complementary open molds to an elevated temperature of from about 100°
C. to about 865°
C. which is above the melting points of the respective plastic particulate material and the plastic filler material;contacting the open face portion of the complementary open molds with the plastic particulate material resulting in two melted plastic skins on the surfaces of the open molds, said contacting occurring while the plastic particulate is at least at room temperature for a dwell time period of from about 1 second to about 30 minutes, said dwell time period being pre-selected to melt the plastic particulate into a molded skin of a plastic article having a skin of a desired thickness of from about 0.001 cm to about 3.0 cm prior to ceasing contact with the plastic particulate, and removing the excess plastic particulate to leave a molded skin of the desired thickness in the open mold; contacting the plastic skin on the face portion of at least one of the open face complementary open molds with the expandable plastic filler material; bringing together the complementary face portions of the heated open molds to adhere the two skins of plastic articles to each other such that an article is formed having a molded surface on both sides. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A process for forming a plastic composite into a predetermined shape from a plastic particulate material and an expandable plastic filler material, each plastic material having a respective melting point, said process comprising:
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providing open face complementary open molds made of a material selected from the group consisting of alloys, metals, ceramics, cermets, plastics, and combinations thereof, said molds being formed into a predetermined shape with at least an open face portion on each of said open complementary molds to impart the desired shape; heating at least the open face portions of the complementary open molds to an elevated temperature of from about 130°
C. to about 865°
C. which is above the melting points of the respective plastic particulate material and the plastic filler material;contacting the face portions of the complementary open molds to the plastic particulate material resulting in two melted plastic skin layers on the open face surfaces of the open molds, said contacting occurring while the plastic particulate is at least at room temperature for a dwell time period of from about 1 second to about 30 minutes, said dwell time period being pre-selected to melt the plastic particulate into a layer of a desired thickness prior to ceasing contact with the plastic particulate, and removing the excess plastic particulate to leave a molded skin of the desired thickness in the open mold; contacting the skin layer on the face portion of at least one of the open face complementary open molds with the expandable plastic filler material; holding together while spacing apart the two complementary open molds from one another at a predetermined distance such that the expandable plastic filler material may be sandwiched between the molds to form a double skinned composite with a plastic filler material in the middle of the two skins, with an overall predetermined thickness of the composite; and cooling at least one of the complementary molds to loosen and remove the article. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 12)
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11. A process for forming a plastic composite into a predetermined shape from a plastic particulate material and an expandable plastic filler material, each having a respective melting point, said process comprising:
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providing open face complementary open molds made of a material selected from the group consisting of alloys, metals, ceramics, cermets, plastics, and combinations thereof, said molds being formed into a predetermined shape with at least an open face portion on each of said complementary open molds to impart a desired shape; providing a means for heating the open face complementary open molds to an elevated temperature of from about 100°
C. to about 865°
C. which is above the melting points of the respective plastic particulate material and the expandable plastic filler material, such that contacting the complementary molds to the plastic particulate material will result in a melted plastic layer on the surface contacted;heating said complementary open molds by said heating means at least on their open face portions to a temperature above the melting point of the plastic particulate, and then contacting the face portion of the two molds with the plastic particulate while the plastic particulate is at least at room temperature for a dwell time period preselected to melt the plastic particulate into a skin layer of a desired thickness on the face portion, prior to ceasing contact with the plastic particulate; and holding the two open face complementary open molds apart from one another at a predetermined distance and placing expandable plastic filler material between the two heated complementary molds such that the expandable plastic filler material is sandwiched and expanded between the molds to a thickness determined by the distance the molds are spaced apart.
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Specification