The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 19, 2000
Filed:
Nov. 26, 1997
Grant A Gerig, Holland, MI (US);
Steven C Dubay, Rockford, MI (US);
David E Nestell, Spring Lake, MI (US);
Donnelly Corporation, Holland, MI (US);
Abstract
A mold assembly and method for holding a panel or sheet of material such as glass while molding a member around an attachment member and a gasket around a peripheral portion of the panel from a thermoplastic or other moldable material such as PVC. The assembly and method provides a movable, secondary pressure pad which reduces the percentage of broken panels of material. The mold assembly includes a first mold section and a second mold section, which define a mold cavity therebetween. The first mold section includes a first sheet holding surface adjacent the mold cavity, and the second mold section includes a movable, primary pressure pad having a second sheet holding surface adjacent the mold cavity. The primary pressure pad is urged toward the sheet by resilient members to hold the sheet between the first and second holding surfaces in a manner so that the peripheral portion of the sheet extends into the cavity for molding a gasket thereon. The secondary pressure pad is supported by one of the second mold section and the movable, primary pressure pad and includes an attachment member holder, preferably a recess, which holds and positions the attachment member remote from the peripheral portion of the sheet during molding. The secondary pressure pad includes a second mold cavity which extends around the attachment so that the moldable material injected into the mold apparatus will form a molded member around the attachment member to thereby adhere the attachment member to the sheet.