Patent Application
20090051072
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a method of manufacturing safety cones from recycled materials and, in particular, to a manufacturing method of first making a safety cone mold and then coloring it.
2. Related Art
The safety cone used for guidance and indication on the street is shown in
However, the usual safety cone involves complicated and time-consuming processes. Color materials have to be prepared in advance. The material cost is expensive and it is impossible to achieve mass production. Moreover, the surface of the safety cone is likely to deteriorate with time. It thus cannot keep its original color.
An objective of the invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a method of manufacturing safety cones from recycle materials. Safety cone molds are mass produced from cheap recycled materials, followed by coating the desired color. This can effectively reduce the production cost.
Another objective of the invention is to apply a dye on the surface of the safety cone, so that the safety cone can keep its original color after long-time use.
By adding appropriate fluorescent or reflective powders into the dye, the safety cone coated with the color can reflect external light.
To achieve the above objectives, the invention includes the steps of: putting recycled materials into a molding machine that turns them into a safety cone mold; and coating a dye with plastic powders, solvent, and colors on the surface of the safety cone mold, thereby rendering a safety cone with colors.
The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the method of manufacturing a safety cone from recycle materials includes the following steps.
First, the recycle materials are disposed in a molding machine. The molding machine turns the recycled material into an integrally formed safety cone mold 1, whose structure is shown in
Afterwards, a dye 2 having plastic powders, solvent, and colors is coated on the surface of the safety cone mold 1, turning it into a colored safety cone as shown in
In particular, the plastic powders and the recycled materials for the safety cone mold can be the same material for a better combination. Besides, the dye can be added with reflective powders and/or fluorescent materials in advance. In that case, the safety cone surface can reflect external light even without a reflective sticker.
In summary, the invention uses cheap recycled materials to mass produce safety cone molds. These molds are then coated with the colors demanded by the customers. Therefore, the production cost can be largely reduced due to the possibility of mass production.
Moreover, the dye is coated on the surface of the safety cone. Therefore, the safety cone is less likely to deteriorate. The color can stay for a longer time.
Furthermore, by adding appropriate fluorescent materials or reflective powders into the dye, the safety cone can effectively reflect external light.
Of course, the invention has other embodiments that are different from the one disclosed herein by some minor changes obvious to any person working in the field. For example, in a second embodiment, used and dirty safety cones are recycled and collected as the recycled materials. Such recycled safety cones can be directly coated with the above-mentioned dye. In this case, all the advantages in the first embodiment can be achieved. Moreover, the current embodiment can avoid the injection molding process for the safety cone.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.
