Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
5~883
Pile weatherstripping is widely applied around doors
and windows, and large quantities of pile weatherstripping are
made in continuous lengths for such purposes. The standard
form for such weatherstripping is a flat base with a woven
pile material extending from one side of the base, and the
weatherstripping is fitted into a T-shaped slot around a door
or window.
The invention involves recognition of a way that
simple and economical pile weatherstripping can be made without
requiring any weaving in a process that also allows many
weatherstrips to be made at the same time. The invention aims
at economic, efficient, and high-speed production of pile
weatherstrips of good quality. The invention is thus directed
to a way of making a non-woven pile weatherstrip as well as
to machinery therefor. The configuration of the resulting
weatherstrip is claimed in Canadian application Serial No.
242,052 filed December 18, 1975 of which the present application
is a division.
More specifically the invention consists of a pile ;
weatherstripping~making method comprising:-
(a) forming a plurality of continuous lengths of a
resin anchorage base each having a cross-sectional shape for
providing an interference fit in a retainer slot;
(b) advancing said bases in parallel relation; -~
(c) wrapping a filament yarn continuously around said -
bases as they advance to enclose said bases within loops of
said yarn;
(d) securing said yarn to the outside of said wrapped ;
bases along opposite sides of each of said bases;
(e) slitting said yarn to separate said plurality of
said wrapped bases and to provide each of said bases with a
pair of insulating pile rows extending generally tangentially
outward in the same general direction from each of said
opposite sides of said bases, and
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(f) using said bases to anchor said weatherstrip in
said retainer slot and press said pile rows against opposite
sides of said retainer slot so said pair of pile rows extends
outward from said retainer slot.
- The invention also consists of pile weatherstripping
making machinery comprising:
(a) means for forming a plurality of continuous
lengths of a resin anchorage base shaped for an interference
fit in a retainer slot;
(b) means for advancing said bases in parallel
relation;
(c) means for wrapping a filament yarn continuously
around said bases as they advance;
(d) means for securing said yarn to said bases along
opposite sides of each of said bases; and
(e) means for slitting said yarn to form a plurality
of said bases each having an insulating pile row extending in
the same general direction outward from each of said opposite
sides of said base to extend outward from said retainer slot
when said base is fitted in said retainer slot.
The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention. ;
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a preferred form of
weatherstripping;
Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a fragment of
the weatherstripping of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another form of
weatherstripping fitted into a retainer slot;
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of one preferred form of
equipment for manufacturing the weatherstripping;
Figs. 5-8 are cross-sectional views of successive steps
in the operation of the equipment of Fig. 4;
Fig. 9 is a partially schematic end-elevational view
of a wrapping machine for the equipment of Fig. 4;
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Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a
heat sealing process in the equipment of Fig. 4;
Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view of another way of
arranging bases for manufacture of the weatherstripping; and
Fig. 12 is an end elevational view of the weather-
stripping resulting from the arrange-ment of Fig. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF T~IE EMBODIMENTS
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The weatherstripping 10 of Figs. l and 2 is formed
with a continuous length of a resin anchorage base 11 that
is generally cylindrical as illustrated. A preferably integral,
sheet resin fin 12 extends outward from one side of base 11
along the length of base 11, and pile filaments 13 are arranged
on each side of sheet 12 and are secured to opposite sides 14
of base 11. Filaments 13 extend along the length of base 11
and are preferably formed of resin monofilaments or multifilaments
that can be readily bonded or secured to base 11. Filaments 13
then form a pair of pile rows for a pile weatherseal with fin 12
forming an air and moisture barrier between rows of filaments 1~3.
Resin base 11 can be either solid or foamed resin, and
Fig. 3 shows a weatherseal 15 having a base 11 of foamed resin ;~
and otherwise being similar to weatherseal 10. Weatherseal 15 ` -
has any desired cross-sectional shape for providing an inter~
ference fit in a retainer slot 16 shown for example as generally
cylindrical in shape to receive body 11. The opening at the~
edges 17 of slot 16 is narrower than the diameter of base 11 ;
to hold base 11 securely in slot 16 and to pinch filaments 13
inward for a well-supported, upstanding pile weatherseal. Slot
16 can be formed in many ways and in many shapes to retain the
inventive weatherseal around doors or windows, and base 11 can
also have other cross-sectional shapes to be received in corres-
pondingly shaped slots.
Considering Figs. 5-8 along with Fig. 4 shows a
preferred way for making the inventive weatherseal. First,
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cylindrical rods 11 are formed with interconnecting sheet resin
fins 12 in a pattern such as shown in Fig. 5. Any number of
rods 11 can be used, and although rods 11 are preferably
parallel, they can be formed in arrangements other than a
generally flat row. Rods 11 can also be square, rectangular,
elliptical, triangular, or have any other desired shape, and
rods 11 and sheet connectors 12 are preferably formed as
a single extrusion of a suitable resin material with rods 11
being either solid or foamed.
A continuous length of a base material formed of
rods 11 and sheet material 12 is wound in a supply coil 18 from
which it is advanced through the equipment of Fig. 4. Also,
instead of a supply rod material in coil 18, rod material can be
fed directly from an extruder forming the rod material. A
wrapping machine 20 wraps a monofilament or multifilament yarn
13 or any desired type of yarn or numbers of yarns continuously
round and round the base material as it advances to coil yarn
13 in a close and uniform helix along the entire length of the
base material. The result of this is schematically shown in
Fig. 6. Then the wrapped base material advances to a heat
sealing device 21 that fuses yarn 13 to the opposite sides of
each of the bases 11 by applying heat at the tangential junction
regions between rods 11 and yarn 13. The result of this is
schematically shown in Fig. 7.
The resulting composite is then slit at appropriate
points by a slitter 22 to produce four continuous lengths of
weatherstripping 10 as shown in Fig. 8. Slitter 22 cuts through
yarn 13 and sheet resin 12 at appropriate points to produce the
desired results, and this depends upon how the original base
material is designed. There are many ways that rods 11 can be
arranged relative to sheet material 12 to be wrapped with one
or more yarns 13 and slit to produce weatherstripping having
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the general configuration of weatherstripping 10.
Fig. 9 schematically shows a preferred way of making
wrapping machine 20 with a cylinder 23 rotating around the
path of travel of rods 11 and carrying a plurality of rotated
coils 24 of one or more yarns 13 for wrapping round and round
rods 11 as they advance through cylinder 23. The speed of
advance of rods 11 is timed with the rotation of cylinder 23
and the uncoiling of coils 24 so that yarn loops 13 are laid
side by side continuously for the length of rods 11 to provide
continuous rows of filaments 13 when the final product is slit.
Fig. 10 schematically shows a preferred way of heat ;
sealing yarn 13 to rods 11 by heating element 21 applying heat ;
at the tangential junction regions between rods 11 and yarn 13.
Solvent, adhesive, or other bonds can also be formed between
yarn 13 and rods 11. Heating elements 21 can be heated rollers
or wheels, heated belts, or heated skid plates that move against
yarn 13 and rods 11 at the appropriate points.
Fig. 11 illustrates that rods 11 can have shapes
other than cylindrical, and also that rods 11 need not be joined
together by sheet material 12. Separate rods 11 can be guided
by suitable guide means through a wrapping machine to form an
ultimate weatherseal 25 as shown in Fig. 12, which has pile
filaments 13 secured to opposite sides of square bases 11
without any sheet fin 12 between rows of pile filaments 13.
A fairly large number of rods 11 can be wrapped with
yarn and formed into weatherstripping in a single operation so -
that production capacity for the inventive weatherstripping
with equipment comparable to prior art equipment is
substantially higher. Also, rods 11 can be wrapped with yarn,
the yarn secured to the rods, and the weatherstripping split
apart at much faster rates than prior art woven pile weather-
stripping could be made. So the invention has many advantages
in speed and efficiency over prior art weatherstripping manu-
facture, and the resulting weatherstrip is also convenient and
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easy to install by virtue of its base 11 providing a good
interference fit with a complementary slot.
Persons wishing to practice the invention should
remember that other embodiments and variations can be adapted
to particular circumstances. Even though one point of view
is necessarily chosen in describing and defining the invention,
this should not inhibit broader or related embodiments going
beyond the semantic orientation of this application but falling
within the spirit of the invention. For example, those skilled
in the art will understand the many materials, configurations,
and manufacturing techniques that can be used in making the
inventive weatherstripping.
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