Injection Molded Carpet Mat with Vacuum Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle floor mats face issues with carpet detachment from the backing material, limited flexibility, high production costs, and adhesive degradation over time, due to the use of injection molding techniques that require complex molds and additional hand-operated grommets.
Innovation Solution
An injection molded carpet mat with a flexible base integrally formed around a carpet sheet, using vertically oriented molds with vacuum retention to prevent plastic migration and ensure flush surfaces, reducing mold cycle time and production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional injection molding with complex molds and slide systems is used to produce carrier material with undercut, then cutting tolerances can be absorbed and reinforced border is available, but device complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex slide systems and undercut structures from the mold design. Instead, it uses a simple vertical mold that injects plastic around the carpet edges without requiring horizontal sliding mechanisms or undercut cavities, thereby absorbing cutting tolerances through a different geometric approach.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than creating an undercut carrier material and then gluing carpet to it, the patent inverts the approach by injecting plastic around vertically positioned carpet edges, allowing the carpet to be retained in place during injection without requiring complex mold movements or preliminary carrier material formation.
2Strength
If conventional injection molding with slide systems is used to produce carrier material, then reinforced border is available for carpet edge, but carpet flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies reinforcement locally only where needed - forming vertical ribs or barriers around the carpet perimeter during injection - while leaving the rest of the carrier material thin and flexible. This provides edge reinforcement without compromising the overall flexibility of the carpet mat.
3Reliability
If chemical adhesives or heat are used to fasten decorative material to carrier material, then carpet can be secured, but production cost increases and adhesive power decreases over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for separate adhesive application steps by having the injection molding process itself create the retention mechanism. The molten plastic forms integral ribs and barriers that mechanically retain the carpet, making the carpet fastening self-contained within the molding process without requiring additional adhesives or post-processing steps.
4Productivity
If molten plastic is injected into mold recess without vacuum retention, then injection molding can proceed, but plastic migrates into carpeting and degrades carpet quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies vacuum to the mold cavity before and during the injection process to hold the carpet flat and in position. This preliminary action prevents plastic migration into the carpet nap, ensuring clean carpet surfaces and precise dimensional control before the actual injection occurs.
5Productivity
If vertically oriented molds are used for injection molding, then mold cycle time is reduced and mass production is facilitated, but carpet retention during injection becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses vacuum (pneumatic principle) applied to the vertically oriented mold cavity to hold the carpet in place during injection. The vacuum pressure counteracts the force of the injected plastic, maintaining carpet stability throughout the molding process despite the vertical orientation that enables faster cycle times.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a durable, flexible, and cost-effective vehicle floor mat with improved retention of the carpet, reduced mold cycle time, and enhanced production efficiency by preventing plastic migration into the carpet and maintaining adhesive integrity over time.
Implementation Method 1
one half of the mold is subject to vacuum. The vacuum is maintained until the injection of the plastic and its eventual cooling and solidifying
Implementation Method 2
A peripheral rib in the mold holds the carpet under pressure and also acts as a guard to prevent the migration of plastic into the carpeting
Implementation Method 3
a flowable supply of plastic is injected into the mold recess... allowing the plastic to at least partially solidify
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a carpet mat by injection molding, includes providing an injection mold including a cavity and a complementary core, each defining a portion of a mold recess for accommodating the finished carpet mat, providing the cavity with a surface having at least one vacuum opening bordered by a peripheral retaining barrier, applying vacuum to the core, inserting a sheet of carpet into the recess of the cavity and against the surface so that the carpet is in contact with the cavity, so that the carpet is held in the recess by the vacuum. Next, the cavity and core are closed together, thus sealing the recess, and a flowable supply of plastic is injected into the recess. Finally, the mold is opened after a specified period, allowing the plastic to at least partially solidify.