TVERBERG, Toril (Sofienberggata 61 C, Oslo, N-0563, NO)
BORGENHOV, Aleksander (Hellinga 2D, Oslo, N-1151, NO)
TVERBERG, Toril (Sofienberggata 61 C, Oslo, N-0563, NO)
| P a t e n t c l a i m s 1. A handle for a cleaning device, characterised in that it comprises: - a first handle part of a first plastic material, the first handle part on at least an outer surface comprising a decoration film joined to the first plastic material by moulding the first plastic material onto the decoration film, and comprising a join edge between the decoration film and the first plastic material; and a second handle part moulded to the first handle part, the second handle part at least partly covering the join edge between the decoration film and the first plastic material. 2. A handle according to claim 1, characterised in that the handle further comprises a separately made third handle part of a third plastic material joined to the first handle part during the moulding of the second handle part. 3. A handle according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the handle further comprises a fourth handle part of a fourth plastic material joined to the second and/or third handle part during moulding of the fourth handle part. 4. A handle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the surface of the first handle part bearing the decoration film has a three-dimensional decoration. 5. A handle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the decoration film constitutes a convexly curved part of the handle surface. 6. A handle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that a portion of the first handle part bearing the decoration film is raised above the surface of the second handle part. 7. A handle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the handle is a handle for an oral hygiene device, preferably a toothbrush. s 8. A method for manufacturing a decorated handle for a cleaning device, characterised in that it comprises: placing a decoration film along at least a part of a wall in a first mould; moulding in the first mould a first moulding of a first plastic material, so as too obtain a decorated first handle part; placing the first handle part in a second mould; and moulding a second handle part of a second plastic material to the first handle part, the second plastic material at least partly covering a join edge between the decorations film and the first plastic material. 9. A method according to claim 8, characterised in that it further comprises separately moulding a third handle part of a third plastic material; ando - moulding the first and the third handle part together with the second plastic material. 10. A method according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that it further comprises moulding5 a fourth plastic material to the second and/or third handle part. 11. A method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterised in that the wall of the first mould along which the decoration film is placed comprises a three-dimensional0 structure so that the first handle part bearing the decoration film is given a three- dimensional decoration. 12. A method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterised in that the wall of the first5 mould along which the decoration film is placed has a concave curvature. 13. A method according to any one of claims 8-12, characterised in that the first, the second and optionally the third and the fourth plastic material are identical. |
The present invention relates to a handle for a cleaning device such as a dusting brush, a washing-up brush or an oral hygiene device, e.g., a toothbrush, a tongue scraper or a dental floss holder. The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing the same. In particular, the invention relates to a handle with an embedded decoration
For health reasons it is desirable to design cleaning devices, toothbrushes and other oral hygiene devices to have an attractive appearance so that the user is given positive associations. It is also expedient that the individual user should recognise his or her own oral hygiene device, so that any bacteria or virus are not transmitted from one user to another. This can be achieved by providing oral hygiene devices of different appearance, but with the same or similar technical qualities. Furthermore, it is desirable from a manufacturing technical point of view to be able to obtain such cleaning devices with a different appearance using the same production equipment, as this reduces the extra costs involved in manufacturing devices of different appearance.
The object of the present invention is to provide a decorated handle and a method for manufacturing a decorated handle that makes it possible to obtain a decorated handle where the decoration can be changed without this affecting the production tool or manufacturing process. Furthermore, it is an object to obtain, at the same time, a handle with a design that contributes to a good and comfortable grip.
Another object of the invention is to provide a handle with a decoration where the visible transition between the decoration and the plastic material that constitutes the handle is well-defined and of limited sensitivity to production-related variations.
The present invention provides a handle for a cleaning device characterised in that it comprises: - a first handle part of a first plastic material, the first handle part on at least an outer surface comprising a decoration film joined to the first plastic material by moulding the first plastic material on the decoration film, and comprising a join edge between the decoration film and the first plastic material; and a second handle part moulded to the first handle part, the second handle part at least partly covering the join edge between the decoration film and the first plastic material. In one aspect, of the invention, the handle may further comprise a separately made third handle part of a third plastic material joined to the first handle part during the moulding of the second handle part.
5 In a second aspect, the handle according to the invention further comprises a fourth handle part of a fourth plastic material joined to the second and/or third handle part during the moulding of the fourth handle part.
In one embodiment, the surface of the first handle part bearing the decoration film has a I 0 three-dimensional decoration. Furthermore, the decoration film may constitute a convexly curved part of the handle surface.
The portion of the first handle part bearing the decoration film can in one embodiment be raised above the surface of the second handle part.
15
The handle may be a handle for an oral hygiene device, preferably a toothbrush.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing a decorated handle for a cleaning device, characterised in that it comprises: o - placing a decoration film along at least a part of a wall in a first mould; moulding in the first mould a first moulding of a first plastic material, so as to obtain a decorated first handle part; placing the first handle part in a second mould; and moulding a second handle part of a second plastic material to the first handle 5 part, the second plastic material at least partly covering a join edge between the decoration film and the first plastic material.
The method according to the invention may further comprise: separately moulding a third handle part of a third plastic material; and 30 - moulding the first and the third handle part together with the second plastic material.
In one aspect of the invention, the method may further comprise moulding a fourth plastic material to the second and/or third handle part.
35
In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the wall of the first mould along which the decoration film is placed comprises a three-dimensional decoration structure such that the first handle part bearing the decoration film is given a three- dimensional decoration. Furthermore, the wall of the first mould along which the decoration film is placed may have a concave curvature.
In another aspect, the first, the second and optionally the third and fourth plastic material are identical.
In one aspect, the invention provides a decorated handle where the decoration is provided on a convexly curved surface by means of a film that is placed along a concave wall in the mould before moulding takes place. The method referred to here for decorating the first handle part is known by as in-mould labelling. A known problem with the use of the in-mould labelling technique occurs along the outer boundary between the decoration film and the mould, that is to say along the outer edge of the decoration film. Here, the quality of the decoration will often be adversely affected by the moulding process. Another known limitation of this method is that the decoration film has limited flexibility and it is therefore difficult to obtain good results when it is desirable to decorate surfaces having a large degree of curvature. The present invention solves these problems by moulding the decoration film onto a first handle part which optionally may be single or double curved, and which optionally comprises a three-dimensional structure or pattern, and then, by means of a later second moulding, forming a common surface with the first handle part, the common surface having a substantially higher degree of convexity, and where the second moulding at least partly covers the interface between the decoration film and the first moulding. There can thus be obtained an elongate handle with a round, oval or rounded rectangular cross-section which comprises a decoration on a part of the surface.
The term handle as used herein refers to a device intended to be gripped and held to which there may be attached a cleaning device in the form of a broom, a brush, a toothbrush head, a tongue scraper, a dental floss holder or similar devices for cleaning the teeth, gums or tongue and other types of bristled goods such a paint brushes and other types of brushes.
The term "join edge" is used here as a designation for the boundary between two joined materials.
The plastic materials which are referred to here are not especially limited but may be any plastic material suitable for the manufacture of a handle. If the handle is for oral use, the plastic must be suitable therefor. The first, second and third plastic material may be identical or different. The plastic materials may optionally be transparent, but the second plastic material is preferably opaque (non- transparent) so that the join edge between the decoration film and the first plastic material is not visible.
The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached figures, wherein
Figure Ia shows a decoration film and a first mould; Figure Ib shows a decoration film placed in the mould;
Figure Ic shows a decorated first handle part in a mould;
Figure Id shows a decorated first handle part;
Figure 2a is a front view of an embodiment of a handle;
Figure 2b is a side view of an embodiment of a handle; Figure 2c is a cross-sectional view of a handle along the line B-B;
Figure 2d is a cross-sectional view of a handle along the line A-A;
Figure 3a is a side view of another embodiment of a handle;
Figure 3b is a cross-sectional view of a handle;
Figure 3c is a cross-sectional view of a handle; Figure 4a shows a third embodiment of a handle according to the invention;
Figure 4b is a cross-sectional view of the handle in Figure 4a along the line C-C;
Figure 4c illustrates an alternative cross-section of the handle;
Figure 5a is a front view of another embodiment of a handle according to the invention;
Figure 5b is a side view of a cross-section of another embodiment of a handle according to the invention;
Figure 5c shows a cross-section of the handle according to Fig. 5a along the line D-D;
Figure 5d is a rear view of another embodiment of a handle according to the invention; and
Figure 5e shows a cross-section of the handle according to Fig. 5 a along the line E-E.
Figures Ia to Id illustrate the manufacture of a first handle part. Figures Ia and Ib show one cross-section of a decoration film and a mould. The decoration film 2 is placed in the mould 3 and adapted to the shape thereof. The mould may be configured so as to give the film a rounded shape, which may be single or double curved. The figures show a mould with a curve in one direction; however, it is possible to place a decoration film in a mould that is curved in several directions, and it is possible to place the decoration film so that, in addition to the bottom face, it covers parts of the side walls of the mould. The decoration film is initially a substantially flat film. The bottom face of the mould may be configured with a 3D structure in the form of recessed or elevated portions, which may form a pattern, a logo or the like. When the decoration film during the moulding process is pressed against the bottom face, it will take the 5 shape of the structure, and the film surface is thus given a three-dimensional decoration. In the figure, the film 2, for illustrative purposes, is shown with a substantial cross- sectional area and thickness, but normally the film will only constitute a small part of the thickness of the first handle part. Figure Ic shows the mould including a first handle part consisting of a first plastic material 4 moulded firmly to the decoration film 2. TheC surface of the illustrated first handle part bearing the decoration film is configured with a convex curvature. Figure Id shows the cross-section of a first handle part after it has been removed from the mould.
The decoration film that is used is not especially limited and may comprise one or mores layers, which may comprise a print that gives the film colour and/or a pattern.
Furthermore, the layers may be coloured and/or transparent and consist of plastic film, metal foil or the like.
According to the invention, a second plastic material is then moulded firmly to the firsto handle part so that the film 2 forms a part of the handle surface and the second plastic material covers the join edge between the film and the first plastic material. In one aspect of the invention, the method for manufacturing a handle may further comprise a trimming of the first handle part before the second plastic material is moulded firmly to the first handle part. 5
Figure 2a to Figure 2d show a view of an embodiment of a handle according to the invention. Figure 2a is a top view of the handle where the film 102 is visible, and the second plastic material 106 is moulded around the first handle part. The cleaning device may be connected to the handle at any point. The shape and size of the handle0 and the first handle part can be chosen freely and adapted to the intended use. Figure 2b shows the same handle seen from the side, whilst Figures 2c and 2d show the cross- section of the handle taken along line B-B and A-A, respectively. In this embodiment, the first plastic material 104 that is not covered by the decoration film 102 is completely surrounded by the second plastic material 106 so that it is not visible unless the film or5 the second plastic material is at least partly transparent. The second plastic material 106 covers the join edge between the first plastic material and the decoration film. Furthermore, the second material in this embodiment also covers a small area of the edge along the periphery of the film. Li this embodiment, the area 102 on the handle bearing the visible part of the decoration film is embossed in that it is raised above the basic plane of the handle formed by the second plastic material. The surface of the film 102 has applied thereto a three-dimensional pattern (not shown).
Figures 3a to 3c show another embodiment of a handle according to the invention which, seen from above, has the same appearance as Figure 2a. The second material 206 corresponds to 106 in Figure 2a. Figure 3a is a side view of the handle comprising the decoration film 102, the second plastic material 206 is moulded firmly thereto and an additional plastic material 208. This embodiment can either be manufactured in that the second plastic material is moulded together with a separately made first handle part and the additional plastic material 208 is a fourth plastic material that is subsequently moulded on in another mould. Alternatively, the handle can be manufactured in that the first handle part is made separately and a separate third handle part is moulded of the third plastic material which corresponds to the additional plastic material 208. The first and the third handle part are placed in a mould and are moulded together by introducing the second plastic material into the mould.
Figures 3b and 3c show the cross-section of the handle along line B-B and A-A, respectively. Regardless of the manufacturing method, the interface between the second 206 and the additional 208 plastic material may comprise indentations, ridges or studs which may both enhance bonding between the different handle parts and adapt the moulding process as regards time, the flowability of the plastic, pressure conditions, setting time etc. In the method where the fourth plastic material is moulded on after the second handle part made of the second plastic material has been moulded to the first handle part, the second handle part in one embodiment is configured with openings in the interface with the first handle part so that the fourth plastic material comes into direct contact with the first plastic material.
Figure 4a shows an embodiment of the invention comprising a first handle part consisting of a decoration film 302 and a first plastic material 304, a second plastic material 306 and a third plastic material 308. One end 10 of the handle is illustrated with a wavy edge to illustrate that this end may have any configuration without it affecting the basic idea of the present invention. The cleaning device will be connected to the handle at the end 10. Figure 4a shows a embodiment of the present invention where a first and a third 308 handle part have been joined to each other via a second plastic material 306 which has been moulded around a portion of the first handle part. As can be seen from the figure, the transition between the decoration film 302 and the first plastic material 304 is no longer visible, whilst most of the convexly curved surface of the first handle part is visible. Thus, the second plastic material covers the join between the film and the first plastic material. Figure 4b shows a cross-section of the handle according to Figure 3a along the line C-C. Here, for illustrative purposes, the decoration film 302 is provided with a substantial thickness. From the cross-section it can clearly be seen how the second moulding covers the join between the first plastic material 304 and the decoration film 302. The decoration film has been given a limited convex curvature transverse to the longitudinal axis of the handle compared with the curvature of the surface of the whole handle, that is to say, the surface of the second plastic material 306 and the film 302. The handle has thus been given a convex surface transverse to the longitudinal axis of the handle which will give the user a comfortable grip, at the same time as the handle has been decorated by in-mould labelling and whilst the transition between the decoration film and the first plastic material has been covered so that this transition is no longer visible.
Fig. 4c illustrates an alternative cross-section of a handle according to Figure 4a. In Figure 4b the second plastic material 306, during moulding, flows between the first and the third handle part, whilst in Figure 4c the first handle part is placed in direct contact with the third handle part. In different embodiments of the invention there may be contact between the first plastic material 304 and the third plastic material 308 in certain regions, whilst the two materials are separated by the second plastic material 306 in other regions.
Figure 5a shows another embodiment of a handle according to the present invention. Here, the handle 9 is integrated with a head part 11 which can be equipped with cleaning means such as bristles, not shown. In Fig. 5a the handle is seen from in front, and from this angle the decoration film 402 and the second plastic material 406 surrounding it can be seen. Figure 5b shows the same embodiment as Figure 5 a, but seen from the side. Here, in addition to the decoration 402 and the second plastic material 406, the additional plastic material 408 can also be seen. Fig. 5c shows a cross-section through the same embodiment along the line D-D. The first plastic material 404 is hidden behind the film 402. From the figure it can be seen that the third handle part of the additional plastic material 408 is configured with an opening 7. In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the second plastic material 406 is passed during moulding of the second plastic material into the opening 7 so as to fill it with the second plastic material 406. hi an alternative method, the second plastic material 406 is moulded to the first handle part and then the fourth plastic material, as the additional plastic material 408, is moulded around a stud formed by the moulding of the second plastic material. Figure 5d is a rear view of the embodiment. The opening 7 improves the integrity between the different parts and can at the same time be a decoration element if the second and the additional plastic material are of a different colour. Figure 5e shows a cross-section of the embodiment along the line E-E in Figure 5a and illustrates a possible configuration of the opening 7 in the third handle part.
The present invention has been illustrated with reference to the attached figures. The scope of the invention, however, is not limited by these figures.
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