TECHNICAL FIELD

An aspect of the present invention generally relates to a mold-tool assembly having: (i) a gate-orifice region configured for placement relative to a mold-core assembly, and (ii) an energy source configured to emit energy from the mold-core assembly to the gate-orifice region.

BACKGROUND

The first man-made plastic was invented in Britain in 1 851 by Alexander PARKES. He publicly demonstrated it at the 1862 International Exhibition in London, calling the material Parkesine. Derived from cellulose, Parkesine could be heated, molded, and retain its shape when cooled. It was, however, expensive to produce, prone to cracking, and highly flammable. In 1 868, American inventor John Wesley HYATT developed a plastic material he named Celluloid, improving on PARKES' invention so that it could be processed into finished form. HYATT patented the first injection molding machine in 1872. It worked like a large hypodermic needle, using a plunger to inject plastic through a heated cylinder into a mold. The industry expanded rapidly in the 1940s because World War II created a huge demand for inexpensive, mass-produced products. In 1 946, American inventor James Watson HENDRY built the first screw injection machine. This machine also allowed material to be mixed before injection, so that colored or recycled plastic could be added to virgin material and mixed thoroughly before being injected. In the 1970s, HENDRY went on to develop the first gas-assisted injection molding process.

Injection molding machines consist of a material hopper, an injection ram or screw-type plunger, and a heating unit. They are also known as presses, they hold the molds in which the components are shaped. Presses are rated by tonnage, which expresses the amount of clamping force that the machine can exert. This force keeps the mold closed during the injection process. Tonnage can vary from less than five tons to 6000 tons, with the higher figures used in comparatively few manufacturing operations. The total clamp force needed is determined by the projected area of the part being molded. This projected area is multiplied by a clamp force of from two to eight tons for each square inch of the projected areas. As a rule of thumb, four or five tons per square inch can be used for most products. If the plastic material is very stiff, it will require more injection pressure to fill the mold, thus more clamp tonnage to hold the mold closed. The required force can also be determined by the material used and the size of the part, larger parts require higher clamping force. With Injection Molding, granular plastic is fed by gravity from a hopper into a heated barrel. As the granules are slowly moved forward by a screw-type plunger, the plastic is forced into a heated chamber, where it is melted. As the plunger advances, the melted plastic is forced through a nozzle that rests against the mold, allowing it to enter the mold cavity through a gate and runner system. The mold remains cold so the plastic solidifies almost as soon as the mold is filled. A mold assembly or die are terms used to describe the tooling used to produce plastic parts in molding. The mold assembly is used in mass production where thousands of parts are produced. Molds are typically constructed from hardened steel, etc. Hot-runner systems are used in molding systems, along with mold assemblies, for the manufacture of plastic articles. Usually, hot-runners systems and mold assemblies are treated as tools that may be sold and supplied separately from molding systems.

United States Patent Number 5324345 (Inventor: RUTJES; filed: 12/08/1992) discloses a method and a device for molding products made of glass or synthetic resin, whereby a parison of material is heated by microwave heating up to a predetermined temperature and is then molded into the desired product shape by molds. The parison of material is brought into a mold arranged in an oven, is heated up in the oven to a predetermined temperature at which at least a portion of the parison has a desired viscosity, and is then molded into a desired product shape by means of one further mould, wherein the parison of material is heated up to the desired temperature by means of dielectric heating.

United States Patent Number 5762972 (Inventor: BYON; filed: 22 March 1 996) discloses an apparatus that performs induction heating or dielectric heating of a mold for an injection molding system up to a desired temperature within a short time by using high frequencies or microwaves. The electric current of high frequency generated from a high frequency generator flows through a coil embedded in the mold to induction-heat the mold by an induction phenomenon with the mold, and microwaves from a microwave generator heats the dielectric material within the mold, thereby preventing cooling of the mold when a resin fluid is injected into a cavity. United States Patent Number 67171 18 (Inventor: PILAVDZIC; filed: 21 December 2002) discloses an apparatus for heating a flowable material includes a core having a passageway formed therein for the communication of the flowable material, and an electric element coiled in multiple turns against the core in a helical pattern. The electric element, in use, heats the core both resistively and inductively. The electric element has no auxiliary cooling capacity. The electric element may be installed against the outside of the core, with an optional ferromagnetic yoke installed over it, or it may be installed against the inside of the core, embedded in a wear-resistant liner. The yoke and liner may be metallic material deposited such as by hot-spray technology and finished smooth.

Patent Cooperation Treaty Patent Number WO/2003/001 850 (Inventor: PILAVDZIC; filed: 1 9 April 2002) discloses a method and apparatus for temperature control of an article that utilizes both the resistive heat and inductive heat generation from a heater coil.

Patent Cooperation Treaty Patent Number WO/2007/073290 (Inventor: JADERBERG; filed: 20 December 2006) discloses an injection-molding device, having at least a first and a second mold part, defining a mold cavity, wherein at least one of the mold parts includes cooling ducts, for cooling the mold part in the vicinity of a mold cavity surface, and heating-means for heating the mold part in the vicinity of the mold cavity surface during a part of a process cycle, characterized in that the injection-molding device is arranged to feed coolant through the cooling ducts at a variable flow rate, and in that the flow rate is reduced during, a part of the process cycle when the heating means is used.

United States Patent Publication Number 20090014439 (Inventor: Kim; filed: 2 MARCH 2007) discloses a non-contact high-frequency induction heating apparatus for plastic mold and injection nozzle thereof. Only a partial area of a cavity and a runner area of an injection nozzle are rapidly heated by means of a non-contact high-frequency induction heating manner during the injection of a melting resin of high temperature, so that it can minimize a temperature variation between the cavity and runner and the melting resin of high temperature in order to smoothly supply the melting resin to the cavity and injection nozzle, whereby preventing various outward inferiorities of the molding product and improving the efficiency of the melting resin injection apparatus. The non-contact high- frequency induction heating apparatus for injection nozzle of a plastic mold includes an injection nozzle for injecting a melting resin from a melting resin injection apparatus into the plastic mold; a high-frequency induction coil wound along a periphery of the injection nozzle; and a high-frequency power supply portion for supplying a high-frequency power to the high-frequency induction coil so as to rapidly heat a runner of the injection nozzle by means of an oscillating magnetic field of the high-frequency induction coil. SUMMARY

The inventors have researched a problem associated with known molding systems that inadvertently manufacture bad-quality molded articles or parts. After much study, the inventors believe they have arrived at an understanding of the problem and its solution, which are stated below, and the inventors believe this understanding is not known to the public.

Thermal (hot tip) gating requires that plastic in the gate orifice region change temperature rapidly from being molten during the mold cavity filling and packing process to rapidly cooling immediately thereafter. The gate area of the plastic part is the last area to cool, due to it's being the closest in proximity to heat input from the nozzle housing and also because shear heating during mold cavity filling causes the greatest thermal increase in the gate orifice area of the cavity or cavity (gate) insert. As a result, a significant portion of the cycle time is expended waiting for the gate area of the plastic part to solidify sufficiently to allow de-molding to take place. If one tries to de-mold pre-maturely, the part will exhibit gate vestige defects such as stringing, gate blush, sticking and excess shrinkage, to name a few. To improve and reduce cycle time, while still maintaining superior molded part quality a solution is required to move heat in or out of the gate orifice area with great speed, exceeding what's commercially possible in the field today. The greatest challenge is finding a solution that can work effectively but more importantly can be fitted into a very confined space, proximal to the gate orifice. Historically, methods employed to aid in the rapid heating/cooling of the gate orifice have been confined to using means incorporated into the cavity side of the mold. Methods have included complex gate area cooling channels, evaporative cooling, the use of high conductivity gate area materials, independent nozzle tip/torpedo heaters and the like. The speed of adding or removing heat using prior art methods have reached a point of diminishing returns and verge on being economically not viable, while still leaving room for mold cycle time improvement. FIGS. 1A, 1 B 1 C depict a schematic representation of a mold-tool assembly (1 ) that operates under a thermal-gating process. FIG. 1 A depicts, at least in part, a gate-orifice region (2) of a mold-tool assembly (1 ) used in a molding system (not depicted but known, such as an injection-molding system). The gate-orifice region (2) includes (but is not limited to): (i) a nozzle tip (18) of a nozzle assembly (20), (ii) a gate-forming body (9), which may also be called a gate insert, that defines a gate orifice (3), and (iii) a mold-core assembly (4). A molded part (12) is to be formed in the mold cavity (16). A resin blockage (8) is releasably held in the gate orifice (3). The resin blockage (8) may also be referred to as a frozen plug or a frozen slug. A molten resin (10) is located or positioned immediately adjacent to the nozzle tip (18). A below melting-temperature resin (14) (which is molten resin that is not completely solidified but not at its ideal melting temperature either) and the resin (14) is located adjacent to the gate-forming body (9), and is also located or positioned adjacent to the molten resin (10). The thermal gating process includes freezing static solidified plastic in the gate orifice (3) so as to form the so called resin blockage (8) during a hold-cycle operation of the molding system.

FIG. 1 B depicts the molded part (12) removed from the mold cavity (16) once the molded part (12) has been cooled off sufficiently enough. The resin blockage (8) includes (but is not limited to): (i) a plug structure (plug body) that is releasably received in the gate orifice (3), and (ii) a sealing-diaphragm structure that extends outwardly from the plug structure. The sealing-diaphragm structure includes a web of solidified resin that is attached to a surface of the gate-forming body (9) that faces the nozzle tip (18). It will be appreciated that the solidified molded part (12) will break away from the resin blockage (8) when the mold assembly is opened and the molded part (12) becomes ejected from the mold cavity (16).

FIG 1 C depicts the resin blockage (8) blown out of the gate orifice (3) at start of an injection operation of the molding system, in response to the resin blockage (8) receiving an injection pressure (5). The problem that is experienced, from time to time, is that the resin blockage (8), inadvertently fails to blow out of the gate orifice (3) and into the mold cavity of the mold assembly, and this unwanted condition leads to reduced quality of the molded part (12) amongst other undesirable issues. This is especially true for the case where the mold-tool assembly (1 ) includes a large number of gate orifices, each gate orifice is connected to a dedicated mold cavity. The inventors believe that the resin blockage (8) is so firmly frozen to the gate orifice (3) that the injection pressure (5) may not be enough, under some conditions, to dislodge the resin blockage (8) form the gate orifice (3).

The inventors believe that the solution to the above noted problem is the following: according to one aspect (as depicted in FIG. 2A), there is provided a mold-tool assembly (100), comprising: (i) a gate-orifice region (102) configured for placement relative to a mold-core assembly (104), and (ii) an energy source (106) configured to emit energy (107) from the mold-core assembly (104) to the gate-orifice region (102). Other aspects and features of the non-limiting embodiments will now become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description of the non-limiting embodiments with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The non-limiting embodiments will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of the non-limiting embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGS. 2A and 2B depict schematic representations of a mold-tool assembly (100); and

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D depict additional schematic representations of the mold-tool assembly (100) of FIG. 1 . The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated by phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details not necessary for an understanding of the embodiments (and/or details that render other details difficult to perceive) may have been omitted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENT(S)

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict the schematic representations of the mold-tool assembly (100). It will be appreciated that the mold-tool assembly (100) may include components that are known to persons skilled in the art, and these known components will not be described here; these known components are described, at least in part, in the following reference books (for example): (i) "Injection Molding Handbook' authored by OSSWALD/TURNG/G RAMAN N (ISBN: 3-446-21669-2), (ii) "Injection Molding Handbook' authored by ROSATO AND ROSATO (ISBN: 0-412-99381 -3), (iii) "Injection Molding Systems" 3 ^rd Edition authored by JOHANNABER (ISBN 3-446-17733-7) and/or (iv) "Runner and Gating Design Handbook' authored by BEAUMONT (ISBN 1 -446-22672-9).

FIGS. 2A and 2B also depict the following components: a nozzle assembly (120), a molten resin (10) held in the nozzle assembly (120). A nozzle tip (118) is connected to the nozzle assembly (120). A gate-forming body (109) is positioned near the nozzle tip (118). The gate-forming body (109) is sometimes called a gate insert. The gate-forming body (109) defines a gate orifice (103) that is positioned proximate to the nozzle tip (118). A resin blockage (108) is releasable received in the gate orifice (103). The resin blockage (108) may include (but is not limited to): (i) a plug structure (plug body) that is releasably received in the gate orifice (103), and (ii) a sealing-diaphragm structure that extends outwardly from the plug structure. The sealing-diaphragm structure includes a web of solidified resin that is attached to a surface of the gate-forming body (109) that faces the nozzle tip (118).

A mold assembly (112) includes (but is not limited to): (i) a mold-cavity assembly (114) that is positioned adjacent to the gate-forming body (109), and (ii) a mold-core assembly (104) that is received, at least in part, in the mold-cavity assembly (114). The mold-tool assembly (100) may be supplied with an injection molding system (not depicted). The resin blockage (108) includes (but is not limited to): (i) a main body of the resin blockage (108) that resides, at least in part, in the gate orifice (103), and (ii) a sealing diaphragm having a web of solidified resin that is attached to a surface of the gate-forming body (109) that faces the nozzle tip (118).

The mold-tool assembly (100) includes (but is not limited to): (i) a gate-orifice region (102) configured for placement relative to a mold-core assembly (104), and (ii) an energy source (106) configured to emit energy (107) from the mold-core assembly (104) to the gate- orifice region (102). The gate-orifice region (102) is configured to accommodate releasable formation of a resin blockage (108) relative to the gate-orifice region (102). The energy source (106) is further configured to provide the energy (107) to the gate-orifice region (102), such that the resin blockage (108) located in the gate-orifice region (102) becomes softened but not softened enough to permit inadvertent dislodgment of the resin blockage (108) from the gate-orifice region (102) prior to an application of injection pressure (105) to the resin blockage (108). The injection pressure (105) is depicted in FIG. 2B. Responsive to the gate-orifice region (102) receiving the energy (107) from the energy source (106) via the mold-core assembly (104), the resin blockage (108) located in the gate-orifice region (102) becomes softened and relatively less securely received in the gate-orifice region (102), so that in response to application of the injection pressure (105), via the molten resin (10) located in the nozzle assembly (120), to the resin blockage (108), the resin blockage (108) becomes dislodged from and moves away from the gate-orifice region (102). It will be appreciated that the energy (107) is used to lessen the effects of the sealing diaphragm holding onto the resin blockage (108) when it is desired to apply the injection pressure (105).

The gate-orifice region (102) includes (but is not limited to) any one of: (i) the gate-forming body (109) defining the gate orifice (103), (ii) the resin blockage (108) that is releasably held in the gate orifice (103), and (iii) the nozzle tip (118), or any combination of the three. The gate-forming body (109) includes (but is not limited to) a gate material (such as a metal alloy for example) that forms a gate orifice (103) of the gate-orifice region (102) that surrounds the resin blockage (108) located in the gate-orifice region (102). It will be appreciated that that the gate-orifice region (102) does not have to made of the metal alloy or material, and that the gate-orifice region (102) may be made of a ceramic material, of the gate-orifice region (102) may have a coating, etc. The gate-orifice region (102) leads to a mold cavity (116) formed by a mold assembly (112) having the mold-core assembly (104) and a mold-cavity assembly (114) both configured to define the mold cavity (116) once mated together. The mold cavity (116) may be used to form articles, such as plastic-bottle performs, etc. The gate-orifice region (102) is configured to fluidly communication with the mold-cavity assembly (114).

A technical effect of the above arrangements is that the energy (107), which is provided from energy source (106) to the gate-orifice region (102) via the mold-core assembly (104), may be placed most closely (such as a few millimeters) as possible to the gate orifice (103) so as to maintain the strength and integrity of the gate-forming body (109). It will be appreciated that the complexity and size of the energy source (106) may be minimized for ease of integration and cost advantage, etc. The energy source (106), in use, is configured to raise a temperature of the gate-orifice region (102)-that is, raise the temperature of the gate orifice (103), and/or a nozzle tip (118) of the nozzle assembly (120), and/or the resin blockage (108) located in the gate-orifice region (102). The energy source (106) is used to, ideally, quickly raise the temperature of the gate orifice (103) and/or the nozzle tip (118) and/or the gate-forming body (109) prior to activation of the injection pressure (105).

As depicted in FIG. 2B, the energy source (106) is further configured to turn off the energy (107) - that is, to stop the flow of the energy (107) - to the gate-orifice region (102), and the resin blockage (108) located in the gate-orifice region (102) is softened enough to permit intended dislodgment of the resin blockage (108) from the gate-orifice region (102) after the resin blockage (108) receives the application of injection pressure (105).

Once powered, the energy (107) emanating from the energy source (106) quickly provides energy (107) to the low mass land of the gate-forming body (109) and/or the low mass point of the nozzle tip (118), so as to soften the resin blockage (108) that is formed during a previous cooling and mold-open operation. These arrangements lead to an initial plug blow may become more synchronous (that is relative to other resin blockages that are waiting to be blown), and provide an added benefit of more even filling balance between multiple mold cavities, etc. During filling of the mold cavities, the power to the energy source (106) may be shut off and shear heating may then provide enough of the energy (107) to maintain an easy flow of resin through the gate orifice (103). It will be appreciated that the energy source (106) may be shut off as it may be advantageous to maintain heat input during injection for some molding materials. Once the flow stops, aggressive cooling in the gate orifice (103) will become the dominant factor of heat transfer in the gate orifice (103). As a result, the gate orifice (103) will cool quickly and form the solidified plug to provide early ejection with good gate vestige quality. The energy (107) may be formed or created within the mold, or may be formed or created external to the mold system and conveyed to the appropriate locations within the mold via antenna, waveguide, fiber optic cable, or other similar conduit. In addition, each mold cavity of the mold assembly (112) may have its own source of energy, or a single energy source (not depicted) may be used by all mold cavities, either simultaneously or sequentially (i.e., multiplexed).

In association with known mold assemblies, providing such aggressive cooling in the past resulted in the need to run nozzle housings and tips at excessive temperatures to prevent the plug from becoming too large and blocking the gate orifice (103) too securely for subsequent injections, and this former arrangement causes unwanted overheating of the resin in the nozzle, additional time to cool the resin after injection into the mold cavity (116) and reliance on the relatively slow conduction of heat through the use of inherent material properties available in the material of the nozzle tip (118) construction and a distant heater supplying the heat input. Also, previous known mold assemblies caused inconsistencies of the plug size and resin viscosity in the gate area were caused when comparing one nozzle assembly to another, leading to inconsistent plug blow and negatively impact the aforementioned synchronization of balanced filling. Another disadvantage of the known mold assemblies is that when adding more nozzle heat to overcome cooling at the orifice, the cooling means (proximal to the nozzle contact point) in the gate orifice (103) is somewhat defeated while cooling potential is additionally consumed by drawing heat from the nozzle contact point, instead of the gate orifice (103).

In sharp contrast to the existing state of the art, the nozzle tip (118) may remain at a reduced temperature, as well as the nozzle body of the nozzle assembly (120). The heat- removal potential (via cooling) employed in the gate orifice (103) may be improved as a result and may be increased without need to increase nozzle temperature any further. The energy source (106) that is mounted in the mold-core assembly (104) opposite the gate orifice (103) and the nozzle tip (118) may excite the relatively low mass sharp edges of the gate orifice (103) and sharp tip to quickly induce a high, local and temporary temperature increase. This high increase in energy may transfer quickly to the plastic residing in the relatively thin blockage or plug, located in the gate orifice (103), which is enough to soften the resin blockage (1 08) sufficiently to permit a lower injection pressure to be used, and/or an improved synchronous plug blow to permit a more even filling of the mold cavity (116) with the melted resin. Because the energy source (106) may only be on for a brief moment to heat the edges of the gate orifice (103) and/or the tip point (and/or the resin), the relatively slow conductivity of the inherent material properties may prevent the bulk of the gate orifice (103) and tip mass to increase in temperature to an appreciable or undesirable level. By placing the energy source (106) in the mold-core assembly (104) directly opposite the gate orifice (103), the energy source (106) may be placed most closely to the gate orifice (103) and without disrupting the strength and integrity of the inherently weak gate area. The size of the energy source (106) may also be minimized for ease of integration and cost advantage. The following options are identified as to the placement or location of the energy source (106). According to an option, the energy source (106) is connected with the mold-core assembly (104), and the energy source (106) is located proximate to a gate-orifice region (102). According to another placement option, the energy source (106) is disconnected from the mold-core assembly (104). According to another placement option, the energy source (106) does not have to be in a mold-core assembly (104), and the energy (107) is emitted from the mold-core assembly (104) to the gate-orifice region (102), and the energy source (106) may be external to the mold-core assembly (104) and a mold assembly (112), and through wires or fiber optic cables, etc, the energy (107) from the energy source (106) may be emitted from the mold-core assembly (104) of a mold assembly (122) toward the gate-orifice region (102). It should be noted that the energy source (106) may be used to heat the resin blockage (108), the gate material directly surrounding the resin blockage (108), and/or the nozzle tip (118), or any combination of the three, etc.

It will be appreciated that the energy source (106) provides the energy (107) to a selected component of the gate-orifice region (102). The resin blockage (108), which is located in the gate-orifice region (102), may be heated directly and/or indirectly by the energy source

(106) . The energy source (106) may provide the energy (107) to a metal or body that forms or is part of a gate-orifice region (102), and in turn the energy (107) moves (or migrates) from the metal or body of the gate-orifice region (102) toward the resin blockage (108).

The energy source (106) transmits the energy (107) that is, ultimately, converted to thermal energy in the area of interest-that is, the gate-orifice region (102). The transmission of the energy (107) includes (by way of example, but is not limited to): photon absorption, molecular friction, dielectric heating, etc, as described in more detail below. By converting the energy to heat only in the potential areas of interest in the gate- orifice region (102), excess heat generation and the associated heat removal may be (advantageously) avoided or reduced.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D depict the additional schematic representations of the mold-tool assembly (100) of FIG. 1. Several options have been identified for the form of the energy

(107) . The energy (107) that is emitted form the energy source (106) may include (for example but not limited to) thermal energy. It will be appreciated that FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D depict a first option for providing a mechanism for supplying the energy (107). Other options are identified below. The first option is having the energy source (106) include (but is not limited to) an induction-heater assembly (124). The induction-heater assembly (124) includes (but is not limited to): an induction-coil assembly (130) that is: (i) mounted to the mold-core assembly (104), (ii) positioned proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and (iii) facing the gate-orifice region (102). The induction-heater assembly (124) may further include a power-supply assembly (132) configured to power the induction-coil assembly (130). The induction-coil assembly (130) emits, in use, an oscillating electro-magnetic field to the gate-orifice region (102). The gate-orifice region (102) becomes heated, at least in part, responsive to receiving the oscillating electro-magnetic field from the induction-coil assembly (130). The first option represents an example of how the gate-orifice region (102) is heated directly by the energy source (106).

FIG. 3A depicts the case where the energy source (106) is not yet actuated. The resin blockage (108) is held in the gate orifice (103), and the mold cavity (116) is empty.

FIG. 3B depicts the case where the energy source (106) is activated to provide the energy (107) to the resin blockage (108), so as to soften the resin blockage (108).

FIG. 3C depicts the case where the injection pressure (105) is applied to the resin in the nozzle, and the resin blockage (108) be ejected from the gate orifice (103) into the mold cavity (116).

FIG. 3D depicts the case where the resin fills the mold cavity (116). The energy source (106) includes, by way of example but not limited to: an induction coil (as stated above), a laser, an infrared light source, radio frequency waves, microwaves, and/or any combination thereof, etc. The energy source (106) is energized or powered briefly, moments before the injection pressure (105) is applied to the resin located in the nozzle assembly (120). The injection pressure (105) is used for filling the mold cavity (116) with the molten resin (10).

A second option for providing a mechanism for supplying the energy (107) is having the energy source (106) include (but is not limited to) a laser assembly. The laser assembly includes (but is not limited to): a laser-emitter assembly that is: (i) mounted to the mold- core assembly (104), (ii) positioned proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and (iii) facing the gate-orifice region (102). The laser assembly may further include a laser-source assembly coupled to the laser-emitter assembly. The laser-source assembly is configured to emit, in use, a laser light to the gate-orifice region (102) via the laser-emitter assembly, the gate-orifice region (102) becoming heated, at least in part, responsive to receiving the laser light from the laser-emitter assembly. The laser assembly may be connected to the laser-emitter assembly via a laser-carrying fiber. The laser-source assembly, which is an example of the energy source (106), is located outside of the mold-tool assembly (100), and the energy (107) is transferred to the gate-orifice region (102) via an energy-carrying conduit (such as a fiber optic cable, etc) to the emitter of the laser-source assembly. The laser-source assembly is not literally located proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and this is a matter of practical convenience. The second option provides an example of how the gate-orifice region (102) is heated indirectly by the energy source (106).

A third option for providing a mechanism for supplying the energy (107) is having the energy source (106) include (but is not limited to) an infrared assembly. The infrared assembly includes (but is not limited to): an infrared-emitter assembly that is: (i) mounted to the mold-core assembly (104), (ii) positioned proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and (iii) facing the gate-orifice region (102). The infrared assembly may further include an infrared light-source assembly coupled to the infrared-emitter assembly. The infrared light- source assembly is configured to emit, in use, an infrared light to the gate-orifice region (102) via the infrared-emitter assembly, the gate-orifice region (102) becoming heated, at least in part, responsive to receiving the infrared light from the infrared-emitter assembly. The third option provides an example of how the gate-orifice region (102) is heated directly by the energy source (106).

A fourth option for providing a mechanism for supplying the energy (107) is having the energy source (106) include (but is not limited to) a radio-wave assembly. The radio-wave assembly includes (but is not limited to): a radio-wave emitter assembly that is: (i) mounted to the mold-core assembly (104), (ii) positioned proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and (iii) facing the gate-orifice region (102). The radio-wave assembly may further include a radio-wave source assembly coupled to the radio-wave emitter assembly. The radio-wave source assembly is configured to emit, in use, radio-frequency waves to the gate-orifice region (102) via the radio-wave emitter assembly, the gate-orifice region (102) becoming heated responsive to receiving the radio-frequency waves from the radio- wave emitter assembly. The fourth option provides an example of how the gate-orifice region (102) is heated indirectly by the energy source (106).

A fifth option for providing a mechanism for supplying the energy (107) is having the energy source (106) include (but is not limited to) a microwave assembly. The microwave assembly includes (but is not limited to): a microwave-emitter assembly that is: (i) mounted to the mold-core assembly (104), (ii) positioned proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and (iii) facing the gate-orifice region (102). The microwave assembly may further include a microwave-source assembly coupled to the microwave-emitter assembly, The microwave-source assembly is configured to emit, in use, microwaves to the gate- orifice region (102) via the microwave-emitter assembly, the gate-orifice region (102) becoming heated responsive to receiving the microwaves from the microwave-emitter assembly. The fifth option provides an example of how the gate-orifice region (102) is heated directly by the energy source (106).

A sixth option for providing a mechanism for supplying the energy (107) is having the energy source (106) include (but is not limited to) a pressure-wave assembly. The pressure-wave assembly includes a pressure-wave emitter assembly that is: (i) mounted to the mold-core assembly (104), (ii) positioned proximate to the gate-orifice region (102), and (iii) facing the gate-orifice region (102). The pressure-wave assembly further includes a pressure-wave source assembly that is connected to the pressure-wave emitter assembly. The pressure-wave source assembly is configured to emit, in use, pressure waves to the gate-orifice region (102) via the pressure-wave emitter assembly, the gate- orifice region (102) becoming heated responsive to receiving the pressure waves from the pressure-wave emitter assembly. An example of a pressure wave is ultrasound. The sixth option provides an example of how the gate-orifice region (102) is heated directly by the energy source (106).

It is understood that the scope of the present invention is limited to the scope provided by the independent claims, and it is also understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited to: (i) the dependent claims, (ii) the detailed description of the non-limiting embodiments, (iii) the summary, (iv) the abstract, and/or (v) description provided outside of this document (that is, outside of the instant application as filed, as prosecuted, and/or as granted). It is understood, for the purposes of this document, the phrase "includes (but is not limited to)" is equivalent to the word "comprising". The word "comprising" is a transitional phrase or word that links the preamble of a patent claim to the specific elements set forth in the claim which define what the invention itself actually is. The transitional phrase acts as a limitation on the claim, indicating whether a similar device, method, or composition infringes the patent if the accused device (etc) contains more or fewer elements than the claim in the patent. The word "comprising" is to be treated as an open transition, which is the broadest form of transition, as it does not limit the preamble to whatever elements are identified in the claim. It is noted that the foregoing has outlined the non-limiting embodiments. Thus, although the description is made for particular non- limiting embodiments, the scope of the present invention is suitable and applicable to other arrangements and applications. Modifications to the non-limiting embodiments can be effected without departing from the scope of the independent claims. It is understood that the non-limiting embodiments are merely illustrative.