Patent ID: 7108823

Claim:
A process of molding a container closure in stages, the process comprising depositing a gob of thermoplastics material into a mold cavity located between spaced-apart upper and lower mold portions, moving at least a first-stage mold plate and a separate second-stage mold plate in sequence relative to the lower mold portion to compress the gob during two sequential stages of a molding process, the first-stage mold plate being moved relative to the lower mold portion to apply a low-pressure force to the gob during a first stage of the molding process, the second-stage mold plate being moved relative to the lower mold portion to apply a substantially similar low-pressure force to the gob during a subsequent second stage of the molding process, and moving the first- and second-stage mold plates in unison relative to the lower mold portion to apply a high-pressure force greater than the low-pressure force to the gob during a later stage of the molding process to form a monolithic container closure in the mold cavity between the upper and lower mold portions.