Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Including aperture
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-23
2001-07-10
Watkins, III, William P. (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Including aperture
C428S134000, C428S135000, C428S181000, C428S182000, C428S139000, C428S140000, C442S038000, C442S045000, C442S046000, C442S048000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06258439
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a covering material, which covering material can be plastically deformed by band and is extendable in at least one direction, having a substrate with openings and a coating on at least its top surface which covers the openings.
2. Background Information
Such covering material in the form of sheets, strips or widths is required as covering on the roof of a building, for example, to seal the gap between the surface of the roof covered with structured roofing tiles and a structure projecting out from the roof surface, such as a chimney, a window, a wall, or ventilating pipe, or also the gap between a ridge, an arris or hip, etc. In these cases, the gap between an essentially planar surface or straight edge and a three-dimensional structured surface must be covered so as to be water-tight, whereby the three-dimensional, structured surface is larger than its projection into the plane. The covering must therefore be extendable in at least that region abutting the three-dimensional, structured surface.
DE-A 36 42 063 discloses a covering material having a rib mesh embedded in polyisobutylene as a substrate. When this covering material is extended, the diamond meshes of the substrate deform, whereby the height and aperture of a mesh change in inverse proportion to one another while the lateral lengths remain the same. At the same time, the area of a mesh changes so that the embedding compound is severely deformed and, due to its elastic properties, exerts a restoring force on the rib mesh. This known covering material therefore exhibits undesirable creep, in particular following severe extension.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to create an economical covering material for covering the gap between a planar surface and a structured surface, in particular a highly structured roof surface, which material can be extended in at least one direction more than 30%, can be bent perpendicular to the direction of extension, and the entire surface of which covering material can be permanently and plastically deformed in three dimensions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve this object, the present invention teaches that the top coating is of a thin flat stock and that the coated substrate is, at least in the direction opposite the direction of extension, compressed, crepe-like, by at least 25% of its original length so that the surface of the covering material exhibits irregular little corrugations.
As a result of the compression opposite the direction of extension, the covering material can easily be extended in the direction of extension to its original length. The covering material is compressed, crepe-like, by at least that length by which it is to later be extended or extendable. The covering material is preferably compressed by approximately 30-50% of its original length, so that when extended to its original length, it is about 1.5 to 2 times its as-delivered length. The covering material can therefore easily be extended up to 100% of its length, i.e. by a significantly greater amount than can known covering materials. The covering material can be compressed both vertically and horizontally, so that it can be extended in any direction.
The covering material simultaneously permits ventilation if the flat stock is air permeable. A thin non-woven or knit which breathes, permits diffusion and is hydrophobic is particularly well suited to this purpose. The crêped flat stock can easily adapt to changes in the shape and area of the individual openings without tearing.
A liquid-repellant flat stock can prevent water from penetrating the covering. This can also be achieved by an appropriate impregnation, which can also include fungicidal and flame-retardant components.
The covering material can be particularly resistant to weathering and ultraviolet radiation if the flat stock of the top coating is made of a polyacrylonitrile non-woven material, fabric or substance.
The covering material is particularly strong if the underside of the substrate also has a coating of flat stock, i.e. the substrate is coated on both sides.
The flat stock of the bottom coating can be a polyester non-woven material.
The top coating and the bottom coating can be interconnected, e.g. melted or glued together, in the area of the openings or meshes of the substrate. The substrate is thus embedded between the two coatings without being glued directly to them, allowing the coatings to slide over the ribs of the substrate.
The substrate can be in the form of a grid and made of a ductile material. Grid-like in the context of the invention means a grid with straight or corrugated ribs or a knit.
In the case of a grid with straight ribs, these should run at an angle to the direction of extension. When the material is extended, the position of the ribs can therefore be changed by changing the angle, so that the geometry of the meshes is also changed. The width decreases with increasing length.
Stated another way, where the substrate has mesh formed of substantially straight ribs, the material forming the ribs can be disposed at an angle with respect to the dimension in which the material is extendable. The form of the grid of the substrate material can be in a diamond pattern, having a first axial length in the direction to be extended, and a second axial length substantially perpendicular to the direction of the first axial length. Upon extension of the material, the first axial length can be increased, and the second axial length can thus decrease.
Because the ribs are corrugated due to the crepe-like compression, extension in one direction without affecting the perpendicular direction is possible.
A rib mesh is a very economical substrate. The present invention preferably bas a mesh aperture of approximately 10×5 mm, a rib width of approximately 0.4 mm and a sheet thickness of approximately 0.3 mm.
Aluminum, preferably soft aluminum, is recommended as the corrosion-resistant material for the substrate. If an aluminum rib mesh is used, its ductile properties can be improved by means of soft-annealing.
The covering material can form a bard cover if a hardenable binder is used. This can be a hydraulically hardened binder or a polymerizable plastic.
The above discussed embodiments of the present invention will be described further hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying figures. When the word “invention” is used in this specification, the word “invention” includes “inventions”, that is, the plural of “invention”. By stating “invention”, the Applicant does not in any way admit that the present application does not include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention, and maintains that this application may include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention. The Applicant hereby asserts that the disclosure of this application may include more than one invention, and, in the event that there is more than one invention, that these inventions may be patentable and non-obvious one with respect to the other.
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Lafarge Braas GmbH
Nils H. Ljungman & Associates
Watkins III William P.
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