| 摘要 |
An integrally molded brush. A preferred embodiment of the integrally molded brush includes a) a generally planar hub having an outer periphery, where the hub has a thickness of at least 0.05 inches; and b) a plurality of bristles extending from the outer periphery of the hub, where each of the bristles includes a bristle tip opposite the hub, where the bristle tip has a thickness up to 0.03 inches, and where the molded brush comprises a thermoplastic polymeric material. The present invention also provides a method of molding an integrally molded brush. A preferred embodiment of the method includes the steps of: a) heating a thermoplastic polymer to allow the thermoplastic polymer to be injected into a mold; b) injecting the thermoplastic polymer into a mold, wherein the mold includes a hub section and a plurality of bristle sections in fluid communication with the hub section, where the bristle tip section has a thickness up to 0.03 inches; c) injecting the thermoplastic polymer into the hub section of the mold, while maintaining the thermoplastic polymer at a high enough temperature to prevent solidification of the thermoplastic polymer; d) injecting the thermoplastic polymer into the plurality of bristle sections of the mold so as to substantially fill the plurality of bristle sections with the thermoplastic polymer; e) sufficiently cooling the thermoplastic; and f) thereafter removing the integrally molded brush from the mold.
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