Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Tops – Cover
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-12
2003-07-08
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Tops
Cover
C296S095100, C150S166000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06588827
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to protective cover for motor vehicles, machines or the like, especially for the preventive protection of both the surface against abrasive or chemical emissions, e.g., dust, rust film, bird droppings, moisture caused by condensation and waterlogging as well as against mechanical damage, e.g., damage caused by scratching and grinding and damage resulting therefrom during parking, storage and transportation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Besides the protection against mechanical damage by means of protective strips, e.g., those made of Styropor, a protective measure that provides for the application of a wax layer to the surface of the object against damage to the surface during transport and longer parking times of motor vehicles, machines and other objects to be protected has become known. This protective measure has the drawback that after delivery, the objects to be protected must be dewaxed. This is usually carried out by means of chemical auxiliary agents, as a result of which waste water polluted with chemicals is generated, which must be disposed of as special waste.
Another protective measure provides for the application of adhesive films by means of a doctor blade. This protective measure is time-consuming because no air bubbles must be formed between the paint and the film during the application, because they may later become permanently visible on the paint. In addition, films thus applied are allowed to remain on the object being protected over a limited period of time only. Another drawback of this measure is that only relatively flat surface areas can be protected with these films due to their limited degree of stretching.
Protective covers from plastics or plastic-coated textile tarpaulins have also been known, in which motor vehicles, machines or other objects to be protected can be wrapped, the tarpaulin cover being fastened by the additional application of adhesive strips or clamped with strings or cords. These tarpaulins are characterized in that a speed-dependent vacuum is generated during the transportation due to the oncoming air flow, and the cover material located over the outer skin of the object being protected in drawn on by this vacuum. This in turn leads to ballooning or to fluttering of the cover material and consequently to mechanical stress especially on the surface of the object being protected and to damage to this surface.
A three-layer plastic film has also been known from a prospectus of the firm of Transhield Europe AS, 0151 Oslo, in which a protective cover previously sewn to the fitting shape is shrunk onto the outer skin of a vehicle. In areas of the vehicles that must be accessible, the shrunk film is either cut up and the cut edges are fixed with adhesive tape, or a zipper is incorporated. Based on the shrinkage properties of the material, the three-layer plastic film cannot be welded but only sewn, which in turn leads to problems in terms of sealing in the sewn areas. The three-layer plastic film is characterized by an outer ethylenic copolymeric vinyl acetate film, a middle copolymeric thermoplastic, and an inner, polyester-knit material, which possesses, among other things, waterproof and water-absorbent properties. The three-layer plastic film lying snugly, e.g., on the outer skin of a vehicle thus forms a nearly impermeable barrier layer between the surface of the vehicle and the environment. Even though the waterproofness of the material prevents moisture from penetrating from the outside to the surface of the vehicle, it provokes the formation of condensate between the surface of the vehicle and the plastic film under the action of heat, e.g., due to sunshine. In addition, the absorbing action of the inner polyester-knit material is limited. For example, even though water penetrating into the area under the protective cover from the environment through the seams or moisture formed by condensation is absorbed, it is again released after a certain degree of saturation is reached. This circumstance is especially problematic during longer-term transportation and storage because the saturated polyester-knit material will again release the moisture absorbed between the surface of the packaged product and the protective cover, as a result of which waterlogging is generated with the disadvantageous effects on the paint surface or seals. Water and the protective covers may freeze on at below-zero temperatures and mildew may grow between the surface of the vehicle and the protective cover in regions with a hot and humid climate. Finally, the shrinking on of the three-layer plastic film is labor-intensive and is bound to a given site.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,958 discloses an automobile transport protective cover, which comprises a plurality of parts that are detachably anchored to parts of the vehicle by elastic rubber bands independently from one another, wherein doors and windshields and windows are not covered. In another variant, the protective cover is made in one piece, which has trimmed areas, which are bonded at their edges to the surface of the vehicle, at the windshield and rear window, at the side windows as well as at the headlights and tail lights; in addition, a trimmed area is provided at the driver's side door, which area can be opened and again closed with hook and loop fastener as needed. Various materials are provided for the protective cover, and these materials are impermeable to water vapor and repel moisture, on the one hand, and they repel heat in a second preferred variant.
Parts of the vehicle remain unprotected in all embodiments of this protective cover, and they are exposed to harmful environmental effects as well as to mechanical damage. Furthermore, the protective cover comprising a plurality of parts permits the relative wind to penetrate into the parts of the cover and it causes the material to inflate and to strike the surface of the vehicle during transport, which in turn leads to damage to the surface. The cover material lacks sufficient transparency to light and has only certain properties, which do not occur combined in any variant of materials, as a result of which there is condensation between the vehicle and the protective cover and consequently a risk for corrosion or a risk for the cover to freeze on the surface of the vehicle. The material is permeable to dust, as a result of which very fine dust particles can penetrate under the parts of the cover and cause mechanical damage on the paint. Finally, the exposed windshield and rear window are exposed unhindered to chemical air pollutants.
Furthermore, DE 199 04 140 A1 discloses a flexible packaging following the shape of the body for a motor vehicle, which is made as a protective cover adapted to the shape of the motor vehicle to be packaged and made of an elastic web material, which extends over the entire vehicle up to the lower edge and can be clamped on the body by means of tensioning bands acting at its edges. The protective cover is adapted to the shape and size of the body of the motor vehicle to be wrapped by permanently fitting together, especially sewing together certain shaped parts of a stretchable web material, which has trimmed areas in the area of the windshield and windows, air inlet openings and wheel housings. The trimmed areas at the windows either remain free, the edges are fastened to the motor vehicle with adhesive tapes, or the trimmed areas can be replaced with transparent material, which is bonded at its edges to the cover. The elastic web material is a single-layer material or it comprises, in a second variant, at least two individual layers permanently connected to one another, wherein the layer facing the surface of the vehicle consists of a tricot-like carrier material of high elasticity, and the layer directed toward the environment consists of a laminated plastic film, whose inherent rigidity is lower than that of the carrier material. Due to the laminated plastic film, this material is not permeable to air from the inside, as a result of which condensate can be formed und
Coletta Lori L
Gordon Stephen T.
Heinrich Heiland GmbH
McGlew & Tuttle P.C.
LandOfFree
Protective cover for motor vehicles does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Protective cover for motor vehicles, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Protective cover for motor vehicles will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3018497