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:
Dec. 25, 2012
Filed:
Apr. 18, 2011
Richard F. Seman, Sr., Middlefield, OH (US);
Earl Christian, Jr., Warren, OH (US);
Richard F. Seman, Sr., Middlefield, OH (US);
Earl Christian, Jr., Warren, OH (US);
Mercury Plastics, Inc., Middlefield, OH (US);
Masco Corporation, Taylor, MI (US);
Abstract
A process is described which uses overmolding to create an all plastic waterway within a faucet leading up to an inlet port for a spout. The waterway connector has at least two arms and a central connector and wherein the process includes the steps of: at least partially inserting one end of a tube into a first split mold; inserting at least two pins at least partially into the mold, a first pin inserted into the at least one end of the tube and a second pin inserted essentially normal to the direction of insertion of the first pin; injection overmolding a first geometry onto the one end of said tube and forming a profile for fluid transfer with the second pin and associated mold surfaces, the profile having a terminal lip; at least partially inserting two of the profiles with terminal lips into a second split mold, each of the profiles being a mirror image of the other, onto a core having a mating profile for each lip, the mating profile on said core comprising opposing grooves; and injection overmolding a second geometry about the lips to form a leak-proof upwardly extending connector. The process optionally contains the step of crosslinking the waterway connector.