Expanded metal strip for reinforcing a resilient product
US5302466A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 11, 1993 |
| Grant date | Apr 12, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 11, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T428/12389
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A continuous strip of sheet metal is progressively sheared with longitudinally spaced and laterally extending slits to form opposing U-shaped tabs having corresponding edge portions and successively connected by corresponding center portions of the strip. In one embodiment, the sheared strip is fed between first and second overlapping sets of power driven pinch rollers which progressively grip the edge and center portions, respectively, and the second set of pinch wheels is longitudinally offset and driven at a higher peripheral speed to produce precisely uniform expansion of the strip by deforming the U-shaped tabs into V-shaped tabs. A hot melt adhesively impregnated flexible filament is progressively attached to the expanded center portions of the strip while the strip is heated to form a continuous center connection. In another embodiment, the strip of opposing U-shaped tabs is expanded into opposing V-shaped tabs by coining or thinning a connecting center portion of the strip. The expanded strip is progressively formed into a channel which is fed into an extrusion head for reinforcing a rubber-like weatherstrip.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.