Packaged Sensor Pad
First Claim
1. A product comprising:
- a foldover clamshell-type housing, the housing having opposing base and cover sections that are relatively movable between an open position and a closed position, with the closed position defining an enclosed volume of predetermined shape;
a sensor pad produced in situ, having been cured within and residing within the enclosed volume, the sensor pad being of relatively uniform thickness and having an outer perimeter shape defined by the predetermined shape of the housing; and
wherein the sensor pad is sufficiently pliable and the base section of the housing is sufficiently flexible, so as to enable the sensor pad to be readily removed from the base section in one unitary piece and placed in a desired location, wherein the removal and the placement require only minimal direct contact with the surfaces of the sensor pad.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A product [11] includes a foldable clamshell-type housing [10] folded to a closed position to contain a pre-formed sensor pad [17] that was formed in situ therein when the housing [10] was in an open position, prior to closing. The housing [10] has an enclosed volume [12] bounded by relatively thin and flexible walls [23, 34], and outwardly extending tabs [18] which facilitate opening. This structure enables the user to easily open the housing [10] to remove the sensor pad [17], a cured silicone composition, by pushing inward on an outer surface of the outer wall [34] of a base section [15] of the housing [10]. This product [11] reduces the amount of manipulation needed to place the sensor pad [17] in a desired position, for example, during installation of a rain sensor system for a vehicle windshield.
1 Citation
23 Claims
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1. A product comprising:
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a foldover clamshell-type housing, the housing having opposing base and cover sections that are relatively movable between an open position and a closed position, with the closed position defining an enclosed volume of predetermined shape; a sensor pad produced in situ, having been cured within and residing within the enclosed volume, the sensor pad being of relatively uniform thickness and having an outer perimeter shape defined by the predetermined shape of the housing; and wherein the sensor pad is sufficiently pliable and the base section of the housing is sufficiently flexible, so as to enable the sensor pad to be readily removed from the base section in one unitary piece and placed in a desired location, wherein the removal and the placement require only minimal direct contact with the surfaces of the sensor pad. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of creating a sensor pad, comprising:
casting a silicone gel into a base section of a housing, and allowing the cast silicone gel to cure to form a unitary pad that resides within the base section, wherein the unitary pad is thereafter readily removable from the housing as a single unitary piece. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A rain sensor pad made according to the following process:
casting a silicone gel into a base section of a housing, and allowing the cast silicone gel to cure to form a unitary pad that is thereafter removable from the housing as a single unitary piece. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method of mounting, at a desired location, a vehicle sensor pad for a sensor system of a vehicle, comprising:
removing a pre-formed vehicle sensor pad from a clamshell-type housing, the clam shell housing having opposing base and cover sections that are relatively movable between an open position and a closed position, with the closed position defining an enclosed volume of predetermined shape, the base section being sufficiently flexible, and the sensor pad being sufficiently pliable, such that during the removing the base section is able to be manipulated to push the sensor pad therefrom, toward the desired location, with minimum direct contact between the user and the outer surfaces of the sensor pad. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method of making a package for a sensor pad, comprising:
vacuum molding a clamshell-type housing out of a sheet of transparent polymeric material the housing having opposing base and cover sections with a connector extending therebetween, the sections being foldable along the connector from an open position to a closed position, and vice versa, the closed position defining an enclosed volume of predetermined shape. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A sensor pad comprising:
a unitary piece of homogenous, pliable, and flexible construction, of uniform thickness and having an outer perimeter of predetermined shape, the unitary piece comprising a cured silicone gel composition which has been formulated and/or modified so as to cure sufficiently for production purposes within a relatively short time window, and having a durometer of about 10 on a Shore A scale, so as to have sufficient structural integrity and pliability to remain as one unitary piece upon removal from a complementary shaped mold.
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20. A container for a sensor pad, comprising:
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a clamshell-type housing, the housing having opposing base and cover sections and a connector extending therebetween, the sections being relatively movable between an open position and a closed position, to thereby define an enclosed volume of predetermined shape; the base section further including an outwardly extending bottom flange which surrounds an outer wall that extends upwardly therefrom, an upper perimeter surface which extends generally radially inwardly from the outer wall, an inner wall which extends downwardly from the upper perimeter surface, and a bottom wall which spans the inner wall, wherein the predetermined shape is defined by the inner wall and the bottom wall and the plane of the bottom wall is raised with respect to the plane of the bottom flange; and the cover section being adapted to cover the predetermined shape and also to surround the outer wall when the sections are moved to the closed position. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. In combination, the invention comprising:
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a sensor pad having a predetermined shape; a foldover clamshell-type housing enclosing the pad within an enclosed volume thereof, the enclosed volume having a shape that is complementary to the particular shape of the sensor pad held therein; and the foldover clamshell-type housing having two opposing sections that are foldable between an open position and a closed position, the sensor pad having been formed in situ, from a silicone gel composition, within the foldover clamshell-type housing when the housing was in an open position, and thereafter having been enclosed within the enclosed volume when the housing was folded to the closed position, with the housing in the closed position serving as the package for the formed in situ sensor pad. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification