The present invention relates to an overmould which is intended to be fixed to an object cast in a foam in a mould, this overmould comprising a base having a central section, from a first side of which hooks project which form the male part of a self-gripping member, and two sections forming selvages on each side of the central section, as well as magnetic means which can cooperate with a magnet arranged at the bottom of a cavity delimited by one or more walls at the bottom of the mould. The magnet attracts the overmould which is preliminarily placed on the upper edges of the walls of the cavity with the hooks inside the cavity and presses its selvages against the upper edges of the walls in order to thus ensure sealtightness of the cavity, in which the hooks are arranged, in such a manner that foam can be transferred into the mould without it infiltrating into the cavity and contaminating the hooks by coming into contact with them and causing them to lose their gripping character in relation to loops of a self-gripping closure. Once the foam has hardened it forms a moulded object to which the overmould is fixed, the overmould having hooks which have not taken in the foam owing to the protection provided by the cavity and these hooks then being able to cooperate with loops in order, for example, to fix a fabric to the object moulded in foam, for example a motor car seat cushion.
Overmoulds of this type are already known from the prior art. These overmoulds of the prior art have the drawback in particular that their sealtightness in relation to the foam which is poured into the mould is not good at the interface between the selvages and the upper edges of the walls delimiting the hook protection cavity. It is necessary to use magnets with strong magnetization which are costly. Besides, if the selvages are placed on the cavities of the moulds in such a way that they project beyond the walls in order to be suspended beyond the walls in the mould itself which will serve to form the final moulded object with a view to good anchoring of the overmould in the moulded object, in particular by at least two contact sides, the foam which has been poured then tends to exert—when taking as a whole—an upward force on its suspended sections of the selvages which tends to slightly dislodge the overmould from the upper edges of the walls and to further reduce the sealtightness at the interface between these selvages and the upper edge of the vertical walls.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the overmoulds of the prior art by proposing an overmould which, when placed by at least a section of its selvages on the upper edge of the walls delimiting a cavity for protecting the hooks from the pouring of foam, exhibits better sealtightness in relation to the infiltration of foam at the interface between the selvages and the upper edges, and this being with an equal magnetization force, or a sealtightness equivalent to those of the prior art with less magnetization. Besides, it is also possible according to the invention to obtain a moulded object to which the overmould is properly fixed, particularly through contact with at least a section of its two upper and lower sides, without having to provide greater magnetization of the magnet.
When the overmould is placed on the upper edges of the delimitation walls of a cavity for protecting the hooks at the bottom of the mould intended for forming the moulded object to which the overmould is intended to be fixed, decompression chambers are formed, with the ribs, delimited by the selvages, the ribs and the upper edges of the delimitation walls of the cavity. These decompression chambers allow the sealtightness of the interface between the selvages and upper edges to be increased, this being achieved with the same magnetization. In fact, on the one hand, by a point effect, the magnetization force—instead of being distributed over the surface—is now distributed by points or lines (along the tops of the ribs), these points or lines thus having greater application force than pressure over the surface with the same magnetization. On the other hand when the foam is poured there are low pressure air pockets in the decompression chambers. When one of the ribs loses contact under the effect of the pressure of the foam and this penetrates into a first of these chambers, the outermost chamber in relation to the hooks, a sort of decompression or expansion of the foam is produced, thus congealing, tending to stop the progression towards the following chamber.
According to a preferred embodiment the ribs have a pointed form in cross-section, particularly in the shape of a triangle.
According to a preferred embodiment the ribs have a height (perpendicularly to the base) which is lower than that of the hooks, and in particular lower by a factor of at least two, more preferably at least five.
According to an embodiment of the invention the base is substantially planar.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the region of the hooks has a width (in the direction from the end of one selvage to the end of the other selvage) of less than 10 mm, preferably between 3 and 10 mm.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention the ribs have a hook-like form, having a pointed section which is inclined in relation to the body of the rib, the inclined point preferably being oriented in the direction away from the region of the hooks.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention the hooks are realized in the form of longitudinal rows, the number of rows preferably being less than or equal to three, with hooks in the shape of fir trees and the rows being substantially parallel to the ribs.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the base consists of polyamide (nylon), particularly of type 6 to 12, preferably 12, or polyamide 6-6 (nylon 6-6).
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the selvages have a width less than 15 mm, particularly between 5 and 12 mm.
The present invention also relates to an assembly comprising a mould, from the bottom of which one or more walls project, preferably being substantially vertical, delimiting inside a cavity closed on all sides with the exception of the top which is open, the opening of the cavity being delimited by the upper edges of the walls, and on the other hand an overmould according to the invention, of which the selvages rest at least in part on the upper edges of the walls by means of the ribs.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the selvages project laterally beyond the walls of the outer side of the cavity.
According to the invention it is now possible to bring about contact between the overmould and the foam of the moulded object through at least a section of its upper and lower sides without having to provide greater magnetization in order to work against the lifting of the overmould through the effect of the action of the foam cast in the bottom which rises as it becomes paste-like.
Finally, the present invention also relates to a moulded object in a foam to which an overmould according to the invention is fixed.
The drawings show an embodiment of the invention purely by way of example.
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As a base material, besides polyamide 6, 11 or 12 or polyamide 6-6, one can also use polyethylene, polypropylene or any other thermoplastic or thermo-25 setting substance, in particular polyester.
The foam poured is a material which is compatible with that of the overmould, that is to say it fixes to it well when it solidifies in contact with the overmould. In particular a polyether or polyurethane foam can be chosen. Other materials are of course also possible.
The ribs are separated from each other by a planar section of the selvage, this planar section extending from one rib to the following rib by a distance which can be between 0.3 mm and 2 mm.
The ribs 40, 41, 42 extend in a substantially continuous way over essentially the whole length (measurement in the perpendicular direction in the plan of
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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05 05372 | May 2005 | FR | national |
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4842916 | Ogawa et al. | Jun 1989 | A |
5061540 | Cripps et al. | Oct 1991 | A |
6720059 | Fujisawa et al. | Apr 2004 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060269635 A1 | Nov 2006 | US |