Patent ID: 9463593
Filing Date: 2016-10-11
CPC Classification: A46B,A46D,B29B,B29C,B29L

Claim Text:
1. A method for injection blow molding a toothbrush using thermoplastic material, comprising: a) providing an injection mold having a cavity, wherein the cavity includes a head portion, neck portion, and handle portion; b) injecting thermoplastic material into the injection mold cavity, in the order of the head portion, to the neck portion, to the handle portion, to form a toothbrush preform having an inner cavity and an outer surface, wherein the outer surface defines a cross-sectional dimension of the toothbrush preform; c) providing a blow mold having a longitudinal axis and a cavity, the cavity having a surface that defines a cross-sectional dimension having an area; wherein the cavity has at least one of a maximum cross-sectional dimension and the maximum cross-sectional dimension bordered by two smaller cross-sectional dimensions along the longitudinal axis of the blow mold or a minimum cross sectional dimension bordered by two greater cross-sectional dimensions along the longitudinal axis of the blow mold; d) positioning the toothbrush preform into the blow mold cavity; e) deforming the toothbrush preform using a fluid to produce a toothbrush having a contoured enlarged inner cavity as compared to the toothbrush preform inner cavity prior to the deforming step; wherein the head of the toothbrush is molded during the injection molding step and is connected intrinsically to the handle which is also molded during the injection molding step, and wherein at least one of the toothbrush head or toothbrush handle is not deformed during the deforming step.