EXHIBIT A

USDC IN/ND case 3:13-cv-00819-RLM-MGG document 32-1 filed 10/13/14 page 1 of 6
(12) United States Patent 

US006966590B1 

(10) Patent N0.: US 6,966,590 B1 

Ksiezopolki et al. (45) Date of Patent: Nov. 22, 2005 

(54) TWO-PART SEAL FOR A SLIDE-OUT ROOM 5,785,373 A * 7/1998 Futrell et a1. .......... .. 296/2601 

5,788,306 A 8/1998 DiBiagio et al. 

(76) Inventors: Edwin E. Ksiezopolki, 16067 5,791,715 A 8/1998 Nebel 

Covington Pkwy" Granger’ IN (Us) 67007714912 2 * 12/1999 gellvaldj Jr‘ e1t al' 296/171 _ , , e man et a . .......... .. 

46530’ N°r.ma“ L‘ Newhouse’ H’ 6,048,016 A 4/2000 Futrell et al. 

16067 Covmgton PkWy., Granger, IN 6 094 870 A 80000 St , , my 

(US) 46530 6,108,983 A * 8/2000 Dewald etal. .............. .. 52/67 

* _ _ _ _ _ 6,152,516 A 11/2000 Williams 

( ) Notice: Sub]ect to any disclaimer, the term of this 6,224,126 B1 5/2001 Martin et a1_ 

patent is extended or adjusted under 35 6,401,398 B1 6/2002 panayides et a1_ 

U.S.C. 154(b) by 2 days. 6,428,073 B1 8/2002 Blodgett, Jr. 

6,527,324 B2 3/2003 McManus et al. 

(21) Appl. N0.: 10/712,937 6,572,170 132* 6/2003 McManus et a1. ..... .. 296/2613 

6,619,726 B2* 9/2003 Jones ....................... .. 296/163 

(22) Filed; Nov_ 13, 2003 2002/0078634 A1 6/2002 McManus et al. 2002/0089213 A1 * 7/2002 Gehman et al. .......... .. 296/171 

Related US. Application Data 

(60) Provisional application No. 60/469,773, ?led on May 

12,2003. 

(51) Int. Cl? ............................ .. B60P 3/34;E06B 7/16 

(52) US. Cl. ............................. .. 296/26.01;296/26.12; 

296/165; 52/67; 49/4751; 49/4821; 49/4931; 

49/495.1; 49/498.1 

(58) Field of Search ........................ .. 296/26.01, 26.08, 

296/2609, 26.12, 26.13, 165, 171, 175, 93, 

296/1469, 154; 52/67; 277/648; 49/4751, 

49/4821, 493.1, 495.1, 498.1 

(56) References Cited 

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 

3,719,386 A 3/1973 Puckett et 81. 

4,361,348 A 11/1982 Rapp et 81. 

4,448,430 A * 5/1984 Bright ...................... .. 277/642 

4,549,761 A * 10/1985 Lee et a1. 296/206 

4,955,661 A * 9/1990 Mattice . . . . . . . . . . .. 296/171 

5,237,782 A * 8/1993 Cooper ........................ .. 52/67 

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 

WO PCT WO 99/33683 7/1999 

WO PCT WO 02/30705 4/2002 

* cited by examiner 

Primary Examiner—Dennis H. Pedder 

Assistant Examiner—Greg Blankenship 

(57) ABSTRACT 

A resilient seal is mountable around the edge of an opening 

in a sideWall of a mobile living quarters through Which a 

slide-out room travels. The seal includes tWo parts that slide 

together—a mounting portion and a-bulb seal portion—With 

the bulb seal portion being compressed When the slide-out 

room is closed. A Wiper seal portion extending from the 

mounting portion is for contacting the adjacent Wall of the 

slide-out room. 

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. 

USDC IN/ND case 3:13-cv-00819-RLM-MGG document 32-1 filed 10/13/14 page 2 of 6
U.S. Patent Nov. 22,2005 Sheet 1 0f 2 US 6,966,590 B1 

USDC IN/ND case 3:13-cv-00819-RLM-MGG document 32-1 filed 10/13/14 page 3 of 6
U.S. Patent Nov. 22,2005 Sheet 2 0f 2 US 6,966,590 B1 

3 48 

32 KR 26 Q 

52 21%; \Q‘ 0 1:‘ ~ 5 lg: 24 27 28 

I4 [8 

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US 6,966,590 B1 

1 

TWO-PART SEAL FOR A SLIDE-OUT ROOM 

This Application claims the bene?t of provisional US. 

Patent Application No. 60/469,773, ?led 12 May 2003. 

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 

The invention disclosed herein relates to a seal, and more 

particularly, a seal usable With a slide-out room in mobile 

living quarters. 

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 

Resilient seals are often placed along the abutting edges 

of parts, and one such application is found in the ?eld of 

mobile living quarters having slide-out rooms. A seal is 

commonly placed along the interface betWeen the slide-out 

room and the opening in the sideWall of the mobile living 

quarters to prevent Water, debris, and excessive air drafts 

from entering the interior of the mobile living quarters from 

the outside. This seal often includes tWo sub-parts, a bulb 

seal and a Wiper seal, each extending along a side of the 

opening. The bulb seal is usually placed on either the 

exterior edge of the sideWall or the interior edge of a ?ange 

portion of the slide-out room Wall to form a resilient seal 

betWeen the sideWall and the ?ange portion of the slide-out 

room When the room is closed. A separate Wiper seal is 

usually placed along the edge of the sideWall and ?exibly 

protrudes against the adjacent sideWall of the slide-out room 

so as to be in constant contact With the sideWall at all 

positions of the room betWeen its open and closed positions. 

A typical example of such an arrangement can be seen in 

US. Patent Application Publication No. US. 2002/0078634 

A1, published Jun. 27, 2002. Aproblem With this type of seal 

arrangement is that the bulb seal and Wiper seal must be 

mounted separately. 

Another knoWn seal arrangement used for the slide-out 

room includes a pair of bulb seals on opposite sides of a 

mounting portion, and a Wiper seal protruding from an 

adjacent side of the mounting portion betWeen the bulb 

seals, as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 6,048,016. The mounting 

portion is mounted to the edge of the sideWall of the mobile 

living quarters betWeen the tWo opposite sides With a clip 

such that the Wiper seal maintains ?exible contact With the 

sideWall of the slide-out room. The tWo bulb portions 

contact one of tWo ?ange portions at either end of the 

slide-out room at both its open and closed positions to create 

a seal. This arrangement, hoWever, may not be suitable for 

easy adaptation to be installed on different slide-out room 

con?gurations due to its unitary construction. Another prob 

lem is that, after long usage, the seal may disengage from the 

clip and fall off. If the seal falls off the clip, it can be dif?cult 

to access the clip for reinstalling the seal Without taking the 

slide out room completely out of the Wall. 

Therefore, it Would be desirable to have a multi-piece 

room seal that can be easily adapted for installation on 

different room con?gurations. It Would also be desirable for 

the seal to be easily assembled on the exterior of the sideWall 

during installation to provide a single seal portion providing 

both a Wiper seal for Wiping against the sideWall of the 

slide-out room and a bulb seal for contacting the ?ange 

around the outside edge of the slide-out room When it is 

closed. 

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 

The invention disclosed herein includes a resilient seal for 

use With a slide-out room in a mobile living quarters. The 

seal includes a mounting portion for mounting to a ?rst Wall. 

A bulb seal portion is snap-?table to the mounting portion. 

The bulb seal portion extends from the mounting portion for 

contact With a second Wall When the second Wall is adjacent 

the ?rst Wall. A Wiper seal portion for continuous resilient 

contact With a third Wall spaced from the ?rst Wall may be 

carried by the mounting portion. 

One object of the invention is to provide a seal including 

a bulb seal portion and a Wiper seal portion that may be 

easily adapted for installation on different slide-out room 

con?gurations. Another object of the invention is to provide a seal that can be easily assembled and installed around a 

slide-out room in a mobile living quarters to form a single 

seal apparatus betWeen the slide-out room and the Wall of the 

mobile living quarters. 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 

These and other aspects of the invention Will be apparent 

from the folloWing description, With reference to the accom 

panying draWings, in Which: 

FIG. 1 shoWs a mobile living quarters With a slide-out 

room in an extended position surrounded by the seal of this 

invention; 

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary detail perspective vieW of the 

room and seal of FIG. 1; 

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional vieW as seen along 

line 3—3 in FIG. 2; and, 

FIG. 4 is a detailed cross section of the resilient seal parts 

separated from each other. 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 

Referring noW to the draWings, a mobile living quarters 

10, such as a recreational vehicle, is shoWn having a 

slide-out room 12. Mobile living quarters 10 includes a 

sideWall 14 having an opening 16 through Which slide-out room 12 shifts. Slide-out room 12 is of Well knoWn form 

including an interior space generally de?ned by four side 

Walls 18 and an end Wall 20. Slide-out room 12 ?ts through 

opening 16 and extends perpendicular to sideWall 14 such 

that its end Wall 20 is adjacent the sideWall of the mobile 

living quarters When the slide-out room is retracted and 

spaced from the sideWall When the slide-out room is 

extended. A?ange 22 extends outWardly from the peripheral 

edge of end Wall 20 of the slide-out room to overlap With 

sideWall 14 of the mobile living quarters When slide-out room 12 is retracted. 

A resilient seal 24 is located along the periphery of 

opening 16 to prevent dirt, Water, and other materials from 

passing from the exterior of the mobile living quarters 10 to 

its interior. Seal 24 may be made of any suf?ciently resilient 

material such as thermoplastic elastomer. Seal 24 includes a 

generally ?at mounting portion, or clip portion 26 With a lip 

27 ?tted about the edge of sideWall 14 and a Wiper seal 

portion 28 protruding transversely from the mounting por 

tion toWard sideWall 18 of the slide-out room. Wiper seal 

portion 28 is a ?exible, generally planar section With its 

distal end opposite mounting portion 26 in resilient contact 

With sideWall 18 such that the Wiper seal is ?exed against the 

sideWall to maintain an effective seal With the sideWall at all 

times during extension or retraction of the slide-out room. 

Seal 24 further includes a bulb seal portion 30 having a bulb 

part 33 and a clip part 35 Which is slidably connected or 

snap-?tted to mounting portion 26. 

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US 6,966,590 B1 

3 

Mounting portion 26 includes oppositely extending, rail 

like tabs 36, 38 Which form a tongue 44 separated from the 

body of the mounting portion by a groove 46. Clip part 35 

of bulb seal portion 30 includes tabs 32, 34 Which form a 

groove 42 de?ned in part by opposing ?anges 40. When 

mounting portion 26 and clip part 35 are connected together, 

tongues 44 ?ts into grooves 42. Tabs 32, 34, 36, 38 all extend 

lengthWise along seal 24 such that, once ?tted together, bulb 

seal portion 30 may be slid along the length of mounting 

portion 26, and are ?exible enough to alloW them to snap 

past each other for assembly. Alternatively, clip part 35 of 

bulb seal portion 30 may be slid into mounting portion 26 

from an end of the seal 24. Preferably, seal 24 is constructed 

such that mounting portion 26 is more rigid than Wiper 

portion 28, and such that Web 31 and tabs 32, 34 are more 

rigid than bulb part 33. 

To install seal 24 onto the mobile living quarters about 

opening 16, pressure tape 52 having adhesive on both sides 

is applied to the exterior side of sideWall 14 along the edge 

of the opening Where mounting portion 26 is to be attached. 

Mounting portion 26 is then located along the exterior edge 

of opening 16 in the sideWall 14 of the mobile living quarters 

by abutting lip 27 against the edge of the opening With tabs 

36, 38 extending outWardly from the exterior side of side 

Wall 14 and Wiper seal portion 28 extending toWard sideWall 

18 of the slide-out room. Next, pressure is applied to 

mounting portion 26 to press the mounting portion against 

pressure tape 52 to adhere the mounting portion to the 

sideWall. Fasteners 50 are then inserted through mounting 

portion 26 into sideWall 14 to ?rmly secure the mounting 

portion to the sideWall. Fasteners 50 are preferably screWs 

driven through mounting portion 26 in the space betWeen 

tabs 36, 38 so as to be hidden behind bulb seal portion 30 

When in its mounted position. Next, clip part 35 of bulb seal 

portion 30 is mounted to mounting portion 26 by either snap 

?tting grooves 42 about tongues 44 or sliding the bulb seal 

portion at its groove about the tongue of the mounting 

portion from one end of the mounting portion. Bulb seal 

portion 30 is then adjusted in location along mounting 

portion 26 by sliding the bulb seal portion along the mated 

tongue 44 and groove 42 connection to its desired ?nal 

location relative mounting portion 26. Bulb seal portion 30 

may be secured in its ?nal position along mounting portion 

26 by placing a fastener 48, preferably a screW, at an angle 

through only the internal Web 31 of the bulb seal portion and 

the mounting portion near the end of the seal section. 

Fastener 48 preferably does not penetrate the bulb part 33 of 

bulb seal 30 in order to maintain a better seal With room 

?ange 22. Bulb seal portion 30 may be subsequently 

replaced by removing fasteners 48 and installing a neW 

section of bulb seal portion Without having to replace the 

Wiper portion. 

Seal 24 may be easily adapted to ?t to different slide-out 

room con?gurations by cutting any necessary length. A 

variety of different corner con?gurations in the opening 16 

may be easily adapted to by cutting the bulb seal portion 30 

to a different length than the mounting portion 26, and the 

Wiper seal portion 28 may be cut to a third length if 

necessary. A variety of different gaps betWeen the mobile 

living quarter’s sideWall 14 and the slide-out room sideWalls 

18 may be easily adapted to by adjusting the lateral position 

of the mounting portion 26 relative the sideWall 14 or 

trimming back the Wiper seal portion 28. By mounting the 

mounting portion 26 and the bulb seal portion 30 to the 

exterior side of sideWall 14, subsequent repair and replace 

ment of Worn seal parts may be easily performed Without 

having to remove the slide out room 12 from the opening 16 

in Wall 14. 

The detailed description related herein is only meant to 

exemplify the preferred embodiment of the invention to 

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enable those skilled in the art to make and use it. The subject 

invention is not to be limited to the details given above for 

the preferred embodiment, but may be modi?ed Within the 

scope of the impending claims. 

We claim: 

1. A resilient seal used in combination With a mobile 

living quarters having a slide-out room de?ning an interior 

space, said mobile living quarters comprising a ?rst sideWall 

having an exterior side, said ?rst sideWall de?ning an 

opening through Which said slide-out room is shifted 

betWeen open and closed positions relative the ?rst sideWall, 

said slide-out room including a second sideWall spaced from 

said ?rst sideWall and an end Wall de?ning said interior 

space, said end Wall including a peripheral ?ange overlap 

ping said ?rst sideWall When said slide-out room is in its said 

closed position, said seal comprising a mounting portion 

attached to said ?rst sideWall along said opening and a 

separate bulb portion, said bulb portion slidably connected 

to said mounting portion for compessible contact With said 

?ange of said exterior Wall When said slide-out room is in its 

said closed position. 

2. The seal and mobile living quarters of claim 1 including 

a tongue connector carried by one of said mounting portion 

and said bulb portion and a groove connector carried by the 

other of said mounting portion and said bulb portion for 

releasably facilitating the connection of said bulb portion to 

said mounting portion. 

3. The seal and mobile living quarters of claim 1 Wherein 

said seal includes a Wiper portion extending from said 

mounting portion toWard said second sideWall, said Wiper 

portion maintaining resilient contact With said second side 

Wall as said slide-out room shifts betWeen said open and 

closed positions. 

4. The seal and mobile living quarters of claim 3, and a 

fastener through said mounting portion for attaching said 

mounting portion to said ?rst sideWall, an adhesive betWeen 

said mounting portion and said ?rst sideWall, said fastener 

covered by said bulb portion. 

5. The seal and mobile living quarters of claim 4, and said 

mounting portion attached to said exterior side of said ?rst 

sideWall. 

6. Amethod of attaching a seal to a mobile living quarters 

having a slide-out room, said mobile living quarters includ 

ing a ?rst sideWall de?ning an opening through Which said 

slide-out room shifted betWeen open and closed positions 

relative the ?rst sideWall, said slide-out room de?ned by a 

second sideWall and an end Wall, said end Wall including a 

peripheral ?ange overlapping said ?rst sideWall When said 

slide-out room is in its said closed position, said seal 

including an elongated mounting portion and an elongated 

bulb seal portion, said method comprising the steps: 

a) af?xing said mounting portion to said ?rst Wall adjacent 

said opening using both adhesive and mechanical fas 

teners; 

b) attaching said bulb seal portion so as to locate the bulb 

portion in compressed engagement With and betWeen 

said ?rst sideWall and said ?ange When said slide-out 

room is in its said closed position; 

c) sliding said bulb seal along said attached mounting to 

a selected position; and, 

d) maintaining said selected position of said bulb seal 

portion to said mounting portion by fastening the bulb 

seal portion to the mounting portion. 

* * * * * 

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