Sealing strips

• US 6,442,902 B1
• Filed: 12/30/1999
• Issued: 09/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Laird Holdings Ltd. (Laird Limited)
• Original Assignee: GenCorp Property, Inc. (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Van Den Oord, Henricus
• Primary Examiner(s): REDMAN, JERRY E
• Application Number:
  US09/445,746
• Time in Patent Office: 978 Days
• Field of Search: 494/981, 494/751, 494/901, 494/791
• US Class Current: 49/498.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/17 provided with a low-friction material on the surface
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/18 provided with reinforcements or inserts
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/248 having two or more tubular cavities, e.g. formed by partition walls
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 10/84 arranged on the vehicle body

Abstract

A sealing strip (6), such as for a vehicle door frame, comprises a gripping part (10) of channel-shape and a tubular sealing part (8). The sealing part (8) is made of material (16, 16A) at least part (16A) of which is verty soft to improve the sealing properties of the strip and to reduce weight. The hollow interior of the sealing part (8) is divided by an interior wall (28). In order to resist partial collapse or wrinkling of the sealing part (8) when the strip (6) is bent to follow a curve in the door frame, the interior wall (28) incorporates reinforcement (30) which may be metal wire or sheet. This is longitudinally compressible but stiff in the perpendicular direction.

Claims

1. A sealing strip, comprising

a longitudinally extending sealing part defining a longitudinal hollow interior which becomes partially compressed in use to carry out a sealing function,

the hollow interior having an interior wall extending along and across it, the interior wall incorporating reinforcing material which is compressible in a direction longitudinally of the strip but is stiff in the perpendicular lying in the plane of the wall and which resists partial collapse of the hollow interior when bending of the sealing strip in a longitudinal direction of the hollow interior occurs.

2. A strip according to claim 1, in which the interior wall lies in a plane which is inclined to the plane in which the bent longitudinal axis lies.

3. A strip according to claim 1, in which the reinforcing material is a metal sheet.

4. A strip according to claim 1, in which the sealing part is made of at least two different flexible materials.

5. A strip according to claim 4, in which the two materials respectively define parallel longitudinally extending hollow chambers arranged side-by-side with the two materials in contact so that the hollow chambers together define the hollow interior and the contacting materials define the interior wall.

6. A strip according to claim 5, including a third material forming a thin outer layer over the first two materials.

7. A strip according to claim 4, comprising

a longitudinally extending mounting part, the sealing part being carried by the mounting part for mounting the sealing part along the surround of an opening to be sealed,

the mounting part being formed of material which is integral with one of the said two materials.

8. A strip according to claim 1, comprising

a longitudinally extending mounting part,

the sealing part being carried by the mounting part for mounting the sealing part along the surround of an opening to be sealed.

9. A strip according to claim 8, in which the mounting part is channel-shaped.