Patent ID: 8313683

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a plastic laminated article having a raised portion on a surface of the plastic laminated article, the method comprising: arranging and securing a sheet of a thermoplastic synthetic resin between a die surface of a female mold, which has a concave portion accommodating an obverse side profile of the raised portion, and a die surface of a male mold, which has a convex portion accommodating a reverse side profile of the raised portion; heating the sheet by blowing a heated fluid onto the sheet through at least one nozzle located at at least one of the female and male molds; relatively moving the female mold and the male mold in a closing direction of the female and male molds and, without closing the female mold against the male mold, pressing the convex portion of the male mold against the sheet to create an area of contact between the convex portion of the male mold and the sheet, drawing the sheet with the convex portion of the male mold so that part of the sheet extends along the die surface of the female mold, and, simultaneously, controlling the blowing of the heated fluid onto the sheet by commencing closing of the female mold and the male mold after starting the blowing of the heated fluid onto the sheet to provide a thermal gradient between the convex portion of the male mold and the sheet so that the sheet has a lower temperature and a higher tensile strength in the area of contact than in an area surrounding the area of contact; closing the female mold against the male mold, while blowing the heated fluid onto the sheet, to define a cavity for vacuum forming between the die surface of the female mold and the die surface of the male mold, and vacuum forming the sheet, which extends in the cavity for vacuum forming, against the die surface of the female mold, thereby attaching the sheet to the die surface of the female mold and defining a cavity for injection molding between the sheet and the die surface of the male mold; and injecting a molten resin into the cavity for injection molding and forming a backing material layer of the resin laminated on the sheet.