MXPA97010205A - Right hermetic tape to seal a ribete rebor - Google Patents

Abstract

A sealed tape (5) for a rim flanged between two panels (e.g., the inner and outer panels (1, 3) of a vehicle door) comprises an inner portion (9) of an adhesive material, the sealing material with an outer part (10) of a non-adhesive material, which provides the tape with a rounded outer surface, in the form of a retainer. To seal the edged flange, the tape (5) is pressed in place along the edge so that the inner surface (7) of the tape adheres to the panels and the rounded outer surface (10) extends from a panel to the other and cover the adhesive material

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sealing tape suitable for use in sealing a joint between two surfaces that are adjacent to each other in generally parallel planes, for example surfaces (such as panels) that are in contact with one another. or superimposed one on the other. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to an airtight tape suitable for being used to seal a beaded rim, such as may be found in the bodywork of a vehicle. The invention also relates to a method for sealing a joint between two adjacent surfaces. A rim flanged between two panels is formed by folding an extended edge portion of a panel back over a portion of the edge of the other panel. The edged flanges can be found in various places in vehicle bodies where two panels are joined, for example in the doors, luggage doors and hoods. A vehicle door, for example, may be formed of an inner panel and an outer panel joined along its outer edges by means of a rim flange which is formed by folding the extended edge portion of the outer panel back over the portion of edge of the inner panel to form an overlapping joint, and bending inward the edges together. Consequently, a REF: 26306 seal between the edge of the outer panel and the adjacent surface of the inner panel, to keep moisture out of the space between the panels and prevent corrosion. If the door of a vehicle is damaged, it can sometimes be repaired by replacing only the outer panel, but if that is done, it is clearly desirable (from the point of view of the owner of the vehicle) that the repaired door be so similar. to the original as possible not only in quality but also in appearance. In practice, one of the most difficult parts of repair work is sealing the flange effectively edged from. Such a way that it closely resembles the seal on the original door, which would generally have been formed by an automated process. Currently, one of the best ways to repair a vehicle to seal the edged rim is to use a liquid sealant which is extruded (eg, from a bag or a cartridge using an extrusion gun) onto the edged rim. The repairman is required to be right-handed, when using the sealant, to produce a seal that is regular and resembles the original. In addition, the liquid sealant requires a long drying / curing time before it can be handled, which not only delays the completion of repair work but also leaves the seal open to damage during the drying / curing period.

A further problem, when applying liquid sealant to a cartridge using an air driven applicator, is that the finished seal may contain air bubbles. Various forms of weather resistant tapes and various forms of flange guards for use in vehicle doors are known, some. of which are intended to be associated with the edged rim. As an example, US-A-4 575 147 discloses an elastic molding which is secured to the elastic ridge on the upper edge of a vehicle door to protect the rim and also to intercept the water flowing down from the vehicle canopy . The elastic molding does not seal the rim. * As another example, US-A-4 888 919 discloses a sealing member. which is located adjacent to the rim flanged on the door of a vehicle so that it will be attached to the vehicle door when the door is closed. In that case, the sealing member requires a vertical flange to be provided on the edge portion bent rearwardly of the "outer door" panel Also known are preformed sealing tapes for use in other places, for example US-A-4 629 648 and US-A-4 654 250 describe both impenetrable tapes for use as a sealant between a bath and an adjacent wall, the tape comprises a body, having a waterproofing cross-section, which is made of a rubber-based adhesive material with a protective tape of a non-adhesive polymeric film material on one side. The present invention relates to the problem of allowing a junction between adjacent, generally parallel, surfaces (especially a rim edged between two panels) to be comparatively sealed quickly and easily, and in a predictable and reproducible manner, thereby allowing in particular that the cost of repairs to the vehicle is reduced. The present invention provides a sealing tape for sealing a joint between two generally parallel adjacent surfaces, the sealing tape has an internal surface to secure the tape over the joint, and a rounded outer surface, which retains its shape, the tape profile is such that, when the tape is secured in its position on the joint, the outer surface of the tape extends from one of the surfaces adjacent to the other. "Retaining its shape" means that the outer surface substantially maintains its rounded shape when subjected to manual pressure, or rapidly returns substantially to its rounded shape when manual pressure is released. In the particular case in which the sealing tape is used to seal one side of a joint superimposed between the edge portions of two panels, the profile of the tape is such that, when the tape is secured in its position on the joint, the outer surface of the tape extends between the exposed surfaces of the panels. More specifically, the present invention provides a sealing tape for sealing a joint between two adjacent, generally parallel, surfaces, the tape having an inner portion comprising a sealing material for securing over the joint, and a rounded outer surface comprising a non-adhesive material which extends from one side of the inner surface of the tape to the other. The present invention also provides a method for sealing a joint between two adjacent, "generally parallel," surfaces, the method comprising securing a preformed sealing tape along the joint by means of an adhesive / sealing material, the preformed tape having a surface The outer surface of the tape extends from one of the adjacent surfaces to the other and covers the adhesive / sealing material. In a particular case of an overlapped connection between the two panel edge portions, the tape is secured along the joint, so that the outer surface of the tape extends between the exposed surfaces of the panels and covers the adhesive material. to seal.

A joint between two adjacent, generally parallel, surfaces according to the invention includes a seal, which comprises a preformed tape secured over the joint by means of an adhesive / sealing material, wherein the outer surface of the tape is rounded , and extends over one of the adjacent surfaces to the other, covering the adhesive / sealing material. In the particular case of an overlapped connection between the edge portions of two panels, the tape is secured along the joint and the outer surface of the tape extends between the exposed surfaces of the panels, covering the adhesive material. to seal. By way of example only, the embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic cross-section of the rim flanged at the edge of a vehicle door; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a preformed sealing tape for the edged rim shown in Figure 1; Figures 3 to 9 show alternative cross sections, not all at the same scale, for the sealing tape shown in Figure 2 / and Figures 10a, 10b and 10c illustrate the method of applying the sealing tape around the binding.

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a rim flange which, for the purposes of the present description, is assumed to be at the edge of a vehicle door. The present invention is, however, applicable to any edged flange (whether located on the bodywork of a vehicle or elsewhere) and, in reality, to any joint between two adjacent, generally parallel, surfaces. The edged flange shown in Figure 1 joins the inner panel 1 and the outer panel 2 of a vehicle door and is formed by folding the extended edge portion 3 ^ of the outer panel 2 rearwardly over the edge portion of the inner panel 1 and folding the edges in together. A seal (not shown) is then formed on the inner side of the door, in region 4 between the edge of the outer panel 2 and the adjacent surface of the inner panel 1, to prevent the entry of moisture into the space between them. panels If the outer panel 2 is a replacement panel (ie, because the vehicle door is being repaired), it is necessary for the repairman to replace the seal in region 4 as well. Figure 2 is a general view of a preformed sealing tape 5 for use in the region 4 of the edged flange shown in Figure 1. In the cross section, the tape 5 has a curved outer surface 6 and a flat inner surface 7, although various other cross-sectional shapes are possible as will be described below. The belt 5 is provided on a release liner 8 (which comes into contact with the flat surface 7) and can be supplied in individual lengths, or it can be supplied in a continuous length, for example, of a roll. The manner in which the tape 5 is used is illustrated in Figures 10a, 10b and 10c and will be described later. The tape 5 (with the release liner 8 omitted) is shown in greater detail in Figure 3, with a slightly different cross section. It can be seen that, in this case, the outer surface 6 of the tape is not completely curved but has a flattened central section 6a, although this is not essential. The tape comprises an adhesive sealing material 9 (eg, butyl rubber), which provides a flat inner surface 7 which will adhere to the door panels 1, 2, and a comparatively thin outer layer 10 of a material non-adhesive, harder (eg polyurethane) that provides the outer surface 6. The layer 10 extends the entire length of the outer surface 6 of the belt 5, ie from the junction with the flat surface 7 on one side of the belt. the junction up to the junction with the flat surface of the other side, and in some cases may extend even beyond the flat surface 7 so that it projects slightly on both sides of the belt. The belt 5 has a width of approximately 10 mm and a maximum height of approximately 2 mm; the width of the flattened section 6a of the outer surface is about 4 mm, and the layer 10 has a thickness in the range of about 0.1 to 1.0 mm. The tape can be formed by co-extruding the sealing material 9 and the outer layer 10 on the release liner 8 (Figure 2), with the extrudate being forcedly cooled or allowing it to cool naturally. To use the tape 5, it simply detaches from the release liner 8, placed in the region 4 of the edged ridge along the edge 3 of the outer panel 2 as illustrated in Figure 10a and then pressed into place as indicated in Figure 10b so that the material 9 seals against both internal and external panels 1, 2 while the outer layer 10 extends from the surface of the internal panel 1 of the door to the »outer surface of the panel 2, as shown in Figure 10c, and covers the sealing material. The outer layer 10 on the tape, is comparatively hard, does not deform when the tape is pressed into place but retains its uniform appearance along the entire length of the edged flange. The seal 5 is then immediately ready for the next stage of the repair process (for example, paint application). Alternative shapes for the cross section of the belt 5 are shown in Figures 4 to 9, with the release liner 8 being omitted from Figures 4 to 7 and 9, but included in Figure 8. In each case, the dimensions of the tape are similar to those given above for the tape shown in Figure 3. The corresponding parts of the tapes have the same reference numbers. The shape shown in Figure 4 is generally similar to that shown in Figure 3, but the flattened center section 6a of the outer layer 10 is extended, for example to a. width of approximately 6 mm. The cross section shown in Figure 5 is similar to that shown in Figure 2 except that the inner surface 7 is concave instead of flat, while the cross section shown in Figure 6 is similar to that shown in Figure 4, except that the inner surface 7 is stepped to engage the profile of the edged flange. Figure 7 shows the cross section of a belt that is similar to that shown in Figure 2 but in which the outer layer 10 extends towards the sealing material 9 in the central region of the belt to form an edge 11. As shown in Figure 7, the edge 11 does not extend to the inner surface 7 of the tape (typically, the height of the edge is approximately 1.5 mm) and thus prevent the tape from being pressed into place over the rim edged. However, the edge does not give a tougher feel to the tape and reduces the risk that the sealing material 9 extends beyond the edges of the outer layer 10 when the tape is pressed into place. In the tape shown in Figure 8, the outer layer 10 takes the form of an outer tape of polyurethane or a similar, comparatively hard, non-adhesive material, having a curved outer surface 14, and a concave inner surface 15, the latter containing the sealing material 9 which is covered by the release liner 8. As shown in Figure 8, the outer tape 10 extends beyond, and thus completely covers, the sealing material 9. Although the sealing tape shown in Figure 8 it could be formed by coextrusion of the outer layer 10 and the sealing material 9 could also be assembled by applying the sealing material 9 in a separate operation to a preformed outer tape 10, using for example, an extrusion device. The assembly operation could be carried out by the manufacturer or by the end user. Figure 9 shows a hermetic tape which is generally similar to the cross section to that shown in Figure 2, except that in this case it also extends beyond the sealing material 9. In the tape shown in Figure 9, however, the inner surface of the layer 10 is adhesive to ensure that the extended edges 10a of the layer 10 adhere to the surfaces to which they are applied. It should be appreciated that the outer layer 10 of any of the tapes shown in Figures 3 to 7 could have equally extended edges 10a. The preformed tapes 5 shown in Figures 4 to 9 are all applied to a rim flange in the same manner as the tape shown in Figure 2, ie: a release liner 8 is moved (not shown in Figures 4 to 7 and 9), the belt 5 is placed in the region 4 of the rim flange along the edge 3 of the external panel 2 of the vehicle door illustrated in Figure 10a and then presented in place as indicated in Figure 10b. When the tape is in position, the material 9 seals against both the inner and outer panels 1, 2 of the vehicle door and is covered by the outer layer 10 of the tape, which still has its original rounded shape (at least sequentially ) and extends from the inner panel 1 to the inner panel 2, as shown in Figure 10c. The seal can then be handled immediately. Preferably, when any of the tapes described above 5 are applied to the edged rim, the outer layer 10 of the tape 5 actually touches the surface of the inner panel 1 on one side and the surface of the outer panel 2 on the other side, of so that it extends continuously from one surface to the other. In practice, however, there may be a small space between one or both sides of the outer layer 10 and the. surface of the adjacent panel 1, 2, without detriment to the sealing function of the tape. Such a space can be covered by any coating, for example, paint, which is applied t subsequently on the tape. As an alternative, in the case of the hermetic tape shown in Figure 8, the sealing material 9 and * the outer tape 10 could be supplied, and applied from the edged flange, as separate components (the sealing material is supplied in the form of tape or strip on a release liner). The edged rim could then be sealed by applying the sealing material in the region 4 of the edged ridge along the edge 3 of the outer panel 2, removing the liner, and then applying the outer band 10 to the sealing material. The finished seal could be the same as that achieved using the preformed tape 5 shown in Figure 8. Although the sealing material 9 of the tape 5 is adhesive and normally does not require an adhesive to secure the panels 1, 2 it is possible to use an adhesive if you prefer. The adhesive could be coated on the internal surface 7 of the tape immediately after it is formed on the release liner 8 (Figure 2) or it could be coated on the region 4 of the edged rim before the tape is edged to the rim. Alternatively, the tape could be formed entirely from a non-deformable, non-adhesive material that necessarily requires an adhesive to be secured to the panels 1, 3. Any suitable adhesive (including, for example, a hot-melt adhesive) could be used, and in this case, the inner surface 7 of the tape is preferably stepped as shown in Figure 6 to engage the edged flange profile. As a further alternative, the tape could be formed completely from a thermoplastic material and could be secured to the flange by first applying heat to the inner surface of the tape, so that it melts and then pressing the molten surface against the flanged flange. >; When the tape 5 comprises an adhesive sealing material 9 with an external non-adhesive part 10 as shown in Figures 3 to 9, the alternative materials suitable for the butyl rubber mentioned above include polysulfide, polychloroprene, silicone and acrylic rubbers. As a further alternative, the adhesive sealing material could be one that does not remain adhesive but that cures, for example, in response to heat, radiation or applied moisture, after it has been pressed into place over the edged rim. Suitable thermosetting materials include blocked polyurethane, and blocked isocyanates and epoxides; suitable radiation curable materials include acrylates, hypoxide hybrids and acrylates; and suitable wet curable materials include the isocyanates and alkoxysilanes. Suitable alternative materials to the polyurethanes for the outer part 10 of the hermetic tape include polyolefins (eg, polyethylene and polypropylene) and polyvinyl resins. Generally, it is required that the rounded outer surface of the belt 5 substantially maintain its rounded shape when subjected to manual pressure (eg, when pressed in place on a joint) or that substantially returns to the rounded shape when Release manual pressure. When the belt 5 has an outer layer 10 extending beyond the sealing material 9 as shown in Figures 8 and 9, the extended edges of the outer layer can be slightly bent when the belt is pressed over a joint, although the Generally rounded shape of the outer layer should be maintained. It is desirable to be able to reposition the tape when it is applied, but it is also desirable that the adhesion of the tape to the panels 1, 2 be permanent once the tape is in place. It is also desirable that the final seal be able to withstand temperatures that are over at least the range of -30 ° C to + 90 ° C. The outer surface of the part 10 of the hermetic tape could be textured, if desired. Although the foregoing description specifically refers to a rim flanged on a vehicle door, the use of the aforementioned tight tapes is not restricted to that location or, in fact, to be used over edged rims. The airtight tapes could, if appropriate, be used for any similar sealing work anywhere, for example to a coated joint or any other joint between two panels or adjacent, generally parallel, surfaces. It should also be appreciated that the different forms described for the sealing tapes can be modified to suit the places in which they will be used. Each of the hermetic tapes 5 described above with reference to the drawings allows the rim flange to be sealed quickly and easily, and can be handled as soon as they have been applied. The sealing tapes of the type described can be applied satisfactorily, without distortions, even when the line of the rim flange is curved (for example, at the top of the vehicle door). The resulting seal is effective as it provides good resistance to corrosion, and is uniform in appearance. In addition, although the above description refers to the sealing tapes used in vehicle repair (in which case the shape of the sealing tape can be selected so that the finished seal closely resembles the original) they could also be used to seal edged flanges. of new vehicles. In the case of vehicle repair, the paint applied to the seal will generally be one that cures at a comparatively low baking temperature (typically a temperature of about 60 to 80 ° C) and the airtight tape used should be capable of resist at least such temperature. In the manufacture of a new vehicle, on the other hand, a paint with a higher baking temperature (typically a temperature of about 140 ° C) could be used and an airtight tape that resists these high temperatures could be required. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (9)

1. A hermetic tape comprising a joint between internal and external panels having edges and parallel surfaces; and a sealing tape comprising an elongated layer of non-adhesmaterial having opposite longitudinally extending edges, the layer of non-adhesmaterial forming a bridge through the edge of the outer panel with one of the edges of the elongated layer of the non-adhesmaterial. adhes which extends along the larger surface of the inner panel and the other edges of the elongated layer of non-adhesmaterial extending along the larger surface of the outer panel, the layer of non-adhesmaterial having a outer surface rounded, convex on the side of the layer of non-adhesmaterial opposite the edge of the outer panel and an opposite internal surface separated from the panels, and the sealing tape further comprises a sealing material adhered to the panels between the panels, and the inner surface of the layer of the non-adhesmaterial, the hermetic tape is characterized because the union is a rim flange that joins the internal and external panels no, the edged rim includes an edge portion of the outer panel that extends around the edge portion of the inner panel with the edge of the outer panel, extending along the larger surface of the inner panel and the larger surface of the outer panel it is generally parallel and separated from the larger surface of the inner panel by the edge.

2. The hermetic tape according to claim 1, further characterized in that. The sealing material can be cured and is a heat curable, moisture curable or radiation curable material.

3. The sealing tape according to claim 1, characterized in that in addition the edges of the layer of non-adhesmaterial extend beyond the sealing material of the hermetic tape.

4. The airtight tape according to claim 1, further characterized in that the rounded outer surface of the tape layer of non-adhesmaterial has a flattened central section.

5. The sealing tape according to claim 1, further characterized in that the layer of non-adhesmaterial comprises a concave inner surface.

6. The hermetic tape according to claim 1, characterized in that in addition the outer surface of the layer of non-adhesmaterial is extruded.

7. The hermetic tape according to claim 1, characterized in that in addition - the non-adhesmaterial is polyurethane.

8. The sealing tape according to claim 1, characterized in that in addition the sealing material is butyl rubber.

9. A method for sealing a rim flange joining internal and external panels, the rim flange includes an edge portion of the outer panel extending around the edge portion of the inner panel with an outer panel edge extending along a surface Greater than the inner panel and the outer panel have a larger surface generally parallel to and spaced from the larger surface of the inner panel, by the edge of the outer panel, the method is characterized by the steps of: providing a hermetic tape comprising an elongated layer of a non-adhesmaterial having longitudinally extending, opposite edges, the non-adhesmaterial layer has a convex rounded outer surface, and an opposing inner surface, and the sealing tape further comprises a sealing material along the surface internal layer of non-adhesmaterial; Place the adhestape along the edged flange with the layer of non-adhesmaterial that forms a bridge through the flange of the outer panel - with one edge of the elongated layer of the non-adhesmaterial extending along the larger surface of the inner panel, and the other of the edges of the elongated layer of non-adhesmaterial extending along the larger surface of the outer panel, and pressing the layer of non-adhesmaterial towards the edged rim so that the Hermetic material along the inner surface of the layer of non-adhesmaterial, adheres and seals between the panels, along the rim flange.