Patent ID: 11945408
Assignee: LACKS ENTERPRISES, INC.
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 17:
18. A method of forming a roof rail for a vehicle including:
injection molding an elongated main body portion extending between a pair of closed ends, and a pair of connecting portions each at one of the ends of the main body portion and configured to connect the roof rail to the vehicle, wherein the main body portion and the connecting portions are formed as a single unitary one piece component with an upper surface, an opposing bottom surface in spaced relationship with the upper surface and two opposing side surfaces each extending away from the upper surface to a bottom edge at the bottom surface, wherein the upper surface is substantially continuous and wherein the side surfaces are each substantially continuous between the upper surface and the bottom edge of the side surface, and wherein the main body portion and the connecting portions are comprised of a thermoplastic region comprised entirely of a single plateable thermoplastic material with no glass filler, and wherein the single plateable thermoplastic material solidly fills an entire distance between the upper and bottom surfaces along substantially an entire length of the main body portion and the connecting portions such that the main body portion and connecting portions do not define a hollow; and
electroplating a metal plating layer onto substantially an entirety of the thermoplastic region including along the main body and connecting portions to provide an appearance of a metal roof rail.