Appeal No. 1998-3278 Page 2
Application No. 08/647,881
BACKGROUND
Appellant’s invention relates to a molding process for the face-side coating of motor vehicle
trim parts. Claim 1 is illustrative:
1. A molding process for face-side coating of an interior trim part of motor vehicles,
comprising the steps of:
(a) arranging an uncoated interior trim part in a defined position with respect to a mold
tool;
(b) supplying a volume of an initially liquid crosslinkable composition constituting one of a
resin (3) and a lacquer to a portion of the mold tool having a polished surface configured to permit the
composition to sequentially come into contact with the interior trim part;
(c) operating the mold tool to wet a face-side surface of the interior trim part now located
within the mold tool with a predetermined thickness of the liquid composition;
(d) closing the mold tool and heating the liquid composition so that the composition is
applied to the face-side surface in the closed mold tool with the predetermined thickness in a single
operation; and
(e) subjecting the liquid composition to an elevated uniform pressure during curing of the
composition in which the composition undergoes a reduction in volume such that formation of visible
bubbles in the liquid composition is prevented by dissolving air within the initially liquid composition
during curing of the composition in the mold tool.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the Examiner in rejecting the appealed
claims are:
Haines, Jr. 3,247,550 Apr. 26, 1966
Howell et al. (Howell) 5,256,235 Oct. 26, 1993
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