Patent Application
20230364837
The present invention relates to a method and a mold assembly for forming a mat and, more particularly, to a method and a mold assembly providing better assembling stability to prevent the fixer from shifting.
A conventional mat is made of soft plastic material to provide comfort stepping. A rigid fixer is disposed on the mat and includes a coupling hole for reliably coupling with a rigid hook on a vehicle carpet.
When a user steps on the mat 1′ and touches the fixer 2′ or pulls the mat 1′, the upper and lower coupling blocks 21′ and 22′ are apt to disengage from each other. The resistance to pulling force is insufficient, and the assembling stability is not good. Furthermore, during manufacture, the upper and lower coupling blocks 21′ and 22′ and the mat 1′ are formed separately and then assembled, which is inconvenient to assemble and which causes an increase in the manufacturing costs.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a method and a mold assembly for forming a mat to provide better assembling stability and to prevent shifting of a fixer during formation of the mat.
A method for forming a mat according to the present invention comprises the following steps:
In an example, the annular wall includes a coupling hole at an inner side thereof. The coupling hole is elongated. The mold assembly includes a protrusion. The protrusion is elongated and extends through the coupling hole of the fixer to fix an angular position of the fixer.
In an example, the mold assembly includes:
In an example, the first male mold includes at least one first receiving groove. The at least one second male mold is securely disposed in the at least one first receiving groove. The first female mold includes at least one second receiving groove. The at least one second female mold is securely disposed in the at least one second receiving groove.
In an example, the fixer includes a coupling wall extending radially outward from the annular wall. The coupling wall includes at least one positioning hole. The at least one second female mold includes at least one positioning rod extending through the at least one positioning hole.
In an example, the at least one second female mold includes an end having a groove slightly larger than one of the two ends of the annular wall of the central portion of the fixer. The protrusion is disposed in the groove.
In an example, the at least one second female mold includes at least one slot. The at least one positioning rod extends through the at least one slot. An end of the positioning rod protrudes beyond the at least one second female mold.
In an example, the fixer is located between the at least one second male mold and the at least one second female mold when the at least one second male mold and the at least one second female mold are in a closed state. The at least one second male mold and the at least one second female mold have a space therebetween for receiving the coupling wall and the soft plastic material. The space is around the central portion of the fixer.
In an example, the at least one second male mold includes an end having an annular groove fittingly receiving one of the two ends of the annular wall of the central portion of the fixer. The coupling wall of the fixer includes at least one engaging hole through which the soft plastic material extends.
When carrying out formation of the mat according to the present invention, the fixer is placed on the at least one second female mold, and the coupling hole is coupled with the elongated protrusion of the at least one second female mold to fix an angular position of the coupling hole. Furthermore, the insertion end of the at least one positioning rod extends through the respective positioning hole for positioning purposes. The protrusion in the central portion and the at least one positioning rod in the peripheral portion provide a double positioning effect, providing better positioning stability. Then, the first male mold and the first female mold are closed. The annular groove of the at least one second male mold fittingly receives one of the two ends of the annular wall of the central portion of the fixer for positioning purposes. Then, the soft plastic material for forming the mat is filled into the space. The soft plastic material envelopes the coupling wall of the fixer and extends through the engaging hole, providing improved assembling stability. During the filling procedure, the central portion and the peripheral portion of the fixer are secured by the coupling hole and the protrusion and by the at least one positioning rod and the respective positioning hole, respectively, assuring the fixer from shifting, thereby improving the formation stability.
The present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of this invention described in connection with the drawings.
With reference to
The first male mold 2 includes a first mold cavity 21 configured to receive the soft plastic material for forming the mat. The first mold cavity 21 includes at least one first receiving groove 22 in a position corresponding to the at least one fixer 1. Since a current vehicle generally includes two hooks (not shown), and the first mold cavity 21 includes two first receiving grooves 22. The drawings illustrate one first receiving groove 22. Furthermore, the first receiving groove 22 includes assembling holes 23 and a first wall protrusion 24.
The first female mold 3 is configured to couple with the first male mold 2. The first female mold 3 includes a second mold cavity 31 configured to receive the soft plastic material for forming the mat. The second mold cavity 31 includes at least one second receiving groove 32 in a position corresponding to the at least one fixer 1. Since a current vehicle body generally includes two hooks (not shown), the second mold cavity 31 may include two second receiving grooves 32. The drawings illustrate one second receiving groove 32. Furthermore, the second receiving groove 32 includes an assembling hole 33 and a second wall protrusion 34.
The at least one second male mold 4 is securely disposed in the at least one first receiving groove 22 and includes a first wall recess 41 in a position corresponding to the first wall protrusion 24. The at least one second male mold 4 further includes assembling holes 42. The at least one second male mold 4 is placed into the at least one first receiving groove 22, and fasteners 43 extend through the assembling holes 42 and 23 of the at least one second male mold 4 and the at least one first receiving groove 22 for fixing purposes. Furthermore, the first wall recess 41 fittingly abuts the first wall protrusion 24 to reliably avoid the at least one second male mold 4 from rotating in the at least one first receiving groove 22. Furthermore, the at least one second male mold 4 includes an end having an annular groove 44 fittingly receiving one of the two ends of the annular wall 12 of the central portion 11 of the at least one fixer 1. In a case that the first male mold 2 has two first receiving grooves 22, two second male molds 4 are provided. In another embodiment, the at least one second male mold 4 can be integrally formed with the first male mold 2.
The at least one second female mold 5 is securely disposed in the at least one second receiving groove 32 and includes a second wall recess 51 corresponding to the second wall protrusion 34. The at least one second female mold 5 is placed into the at least one second receiving groove 32, and a fastener 53 extends through the assembling holes 52 and 33 of the at least one second female mold 5 and the at least one second receiving groove 32 for fixing purposes. Furthermore, the second wall recess 51 fittingly abuts the second wall protrusion 34 to reliably avoid the at least one second female mold 5 from rotating in the at least one second receiving groove 32.
The at least one second female mold 5 includes an end having a groove 54 slightly larger than one of the two ends of the annular wall 12 of the central portion 11 of the at least one fixer 1. A central portion of the groove 54 has a protrusion 55 that may be elongated. The protrusion 55 can extend through the elongated coupling hole 13 of the at least one fixer 1. The at least one second female mold 5 includes at least one slot 56 on a location corresponding to a respective positioning hole 15 of the at least one fixer 1. At least one positioning rod 57 extends through the at least one slot 56 and the respective positioning hole 15. An end of the at least one positioning rod 57 protrudes beyond the at least one second female mold 5. The at least one positioning rod 57 includes a conic insertion end 571 having decreasing diameters towards the respective positioning hole 15. This embodiment includes a slot 56 and a positioning rod 57. In other embodiments, two to four slots 56 and a corresponding number of positioning rods 57 can be provided on locations corresponding to the respective positioning holes 15 to improve the positioning stability (not shown). In this embodiment, the positioning rod 57 and the at least one second female mold 5 can be separate from each other and can be assembled to permit easy replacement when the insertion end 571 of the positioning rod 57 is worn out. In a case that the first female mold 3 has two second receiving grooves 32, two second female molds 5 are provided. In another embodiment, the at least one second female mold 5 and the first female mold 3 may be integrally formed.
When carrying out formation of the mat according to the present invention, the first male mold 2 and the first female mold 3 are opened. As shown in
After the at least one fixer 1 is disposed in the at least one second female mold 5, the first male mold 2 and the first female mold 3 are closed, as shown in
Since the longitudinal direction of the coupling hole 13 of the at least one fixer 1 of the final product produced according to the present invention can be securely positioned relative to the left/right direction of a vehicle body, the mat will not shift in the front/rear direction and/or the left/right direction after the coupling hole 13 engages with an elongated hook of the vehicle body, providing improved safety. Furthermore, the mat can be adjusted in the left/right direction due to provision of the elongated coupling hole 13, providing improved installation convenience. Furthermore, the at least one fixer 1 is difficult to disengage from the soft plastic material 7 of the mat after formation, improving the resistance to pulling. This avoids disengagement of the upper and lower coupling blocks of the conventional fixer due to stepping, providing better assembling stability and reliability.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention can improve the assembling reliability of the fixer 1 disposed on the mat and can avoid shifting of the fixer 1 during formation, providing improved use safety and reliability. In a case that the positioning rod 57 is not used, the protrusion 55 and the coupling hole 13 can provide sufficient positioning stability.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications and variations are still possible without departing from the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is limited by the accompanying claims.
