Abstract:
Side seal member for a loading dock seal are disclosed. An example dock seal includes a backer to couple the dock seal to a wall and a resiliently compressible member supported by the backer. A pliable cover encases the compressible member. The pliable cover has a first end overlapping a second end to define a separable joint that is to be disposed between the backer and the wall when the dock seal is coupled to the wall.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This patent arises as a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/128,443, filed May 28, 2008, entitled “Side Seal Members for a Dock Seal,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The subject disclosure generally pertains to loading dock seals and, more specifically, to side seal members for a dock seal. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    When an exterior doorway of a building is used as a loading dock for vehicles, such as trucks and tractor/trailers, the perimeter of the doorway often includes a dock seal. Dock seals close off air gaps that would otherwise exist between the exterior face of the building and the back end of the trailer. Sealing the air gaps allows cargo from the rear of the trailer to be loaded or unloaded while dockworkers and the cargo are protected from the weather and other elements. 
         [0004]    To seal the rear vertical edges of the vehicle, dock seals typically include two side seals running vertically along the lateral edges of the doorway. A top seal, header, or curtain extending horizontally across the doorway&#39;s upper edge is often used for sealing the vehicle&#39;s upper rear edge. 
         [0005]    Although the actual construction of dock seals may vary, typically, side seals comprise a resiliently compressible foam core supported by a rigid backer, such as a wood plank. The foam core and backer are normally encased within a protective cover made of fabric or some other pliable material. Sealing is provided by backing the trailer up against the seal so that the seal compressively conforms to the rear shape of the trailer. The foam core provides the necessary compliance and resilience to repeatedly conform to the shape of various trailers; the outer cover protects the foam core from dirt, water and wear; and the backer provides solid structure for mounting the seal to the wall and for supporting the foam core so that the foam core does not twist and roll within the cover. 
         [0006]    Although the compressible foam core usually seals quite well against the rear edges of the vehicle, the relatively rigid backer might not always seal so tightly against a wall having an irregular surface, such as a brick surface. Thus, air gaps might exist between the wall and the backside of the side seal. Such gaps might be sealed using caulk; however, a substantial amount of caulk might be needed for large gaps. An excessive amount of caulk can create a messy appearance, and the caulk can crack or tear when the side seal deflects under compressive pressure from a vehicle. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an example dock seal that is about to be engaged by a vehicle. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the example dock seal of  FIG. 1  having a vehicle engaged with the example dock seal of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 4  but showing the side seal prior to it being mounted to a wall. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 3  but showing another example dock seal described herein. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 4  but showing the example side seal of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIGS. 3 and 5  but showing yet another example side seal described herein. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIGS. 4 and 6  but showing the side seal of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 7  but showing yet another example side seal described herein. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIGS. 3 ,  5 ,  7  and  9  but showing yet another example side seal described herein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a vehicle  10 , such as a trailer of a truck, backing into a loading dock  12  that includes a dock seal  14 , and  FIG. 2  shows vehicle  10  parked at its loading/unloading position and engaged with the dock seal  14 . Loading dock  12  is basically a doorway  16  or an opening in a wall  18  of a building for loading and unloading of the vehicle&#39;s cargo through a rear access opening of the vehicle. 
         [0018]    To provide a barrier to weather as vehicle  10  is being serviced at the doorway, dock seal  14  is mounted to wall  18  around doorway  16 . Dock seal  14  helps seal the gaps between wall  18  and the rear edges of vehicle  10 . Dock seal  14  includes two resiliently compressible side seals  20  for sealing against the vehicle&#39;s lateral rear edges and an upper seal  22  or curtain for sealing along the vehicle&#39;s upper rear edge. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the basic construction of side seals  20  can comprise a resiliently compressible member  24  supported by a relatively rigid backer  26  such as, for example a wood plank or a piece of formed sheet metal. Compressible member  24  can be made of foam or a mechanically resilient structure. Compressible member  24  and backer  26  are preferably encased within a protective cover  28  made of fabric or some other pliable material. Sealing against weather is accomplished by vehicle  10  backing up against seal  20  so that seal  20  compressively conforms to the shape of the vehicle&#39;s rear edges. In some examples, member  20  comprises resiliently compressible foam that provides the necessary compliance and resilience to repeatedly conform to the shape of various vehicles (e.g., vehicle  10 ). Outer cover  28  protects compressible member  24  from dirt, water, and other elements. A front sheet  30  of cover  28  helps protect compressible member  24  from wear. Backer  26  provides solid structure for mounting seal  20  to wall  18  and for supporting compressible member  24 . 
         [0020]    To ensure that side seal  20  is in intimate sealing contact with a possibly irregular surface of wall  18 , side seal  20  includes one or more flexible protruding lips  32  at an interface  34  between a side sheet  36  and a back sheet  38  of cover  28 . Lip  32  can be produced or formed by sewing side sheet  36  to back sheet  38  along interface  34 , thus creating a thread seam  40  ( FIG. 1 ). Other methods of joining sheets  36  and  38  include, but are not limited to, thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesive bonding, etc. Upon mounting side seal  20  to wall  18 , lips  32  compliantly deflect to conform to various irregularities in the surface of wall  18 , thereby eliminating or at least reducing gaps (e.g., air gaps) that might otherwise exist between wall  18  and the backside of side seal  20 . 
         [0021]    After side seal  20  is mounted to wall  18 , any remaining gaps, if any, might be sealed by applying a layer of caulk between lip  32  and wall  18 . In this manner, much of the caulk can be hidden underneath lip  32 . 
         [0022]    To further seal gaps between side seal  20  and wall  18 , back sheet  38  can be comprised of two distinct pieces  38   a  and  38   b  that are separably attached to each other via a touch-and-hold fastener  42  (e.g., a fabric hook-and-loop fastener such as VELCRO™). Overlapping pieces  38   a  and  38   b  and fastener  42  provide a bulging section that can compressively seal against wall  18  when side seal  20  is mounted to the wall. In some cases, touch-and-hold fastener  42  is omitted, and the bulging section for sealing is provided simply by two or more layers of material overlapping each other. A series of mounting brackets  44  can be used for fastening backer  26  to wall  18 . 
         [0023]      FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate another example side seal  20 ′ described herein. Although in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , side sheet  36  and back sheet  38  are distinct, independent pieces joined by a sewn seam  40 , side seal  20 ′ of  FIGS. 5 and 6  includes a back sheet  46  that is an integral extension of a side sheet  48 . For side seal  20 ′, a flexible protruding lip  50 , similar to lip  32 , can be produced by folding and sewing a cover  52 , as shown. The folding can create a gentle or tight crease  54  at a distal end of lip  50 , and a thread seam  40 ′ at a vertical corner  56  of cover  52  produces or forms lip  50 . Touch-and-hold fastener  42  can be used for separably joining two ends  46   a  and  46   b  of back sheet  46 . 
         [0024]      FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrate yet another example side seal  20 ″ described herein. As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a cover  58  includes one lip  60  that is produced in a manner similar to lips  50  of  FIGS. 5 and 6 . In this case, however, lip  60  is positioned so as to be compressed between wall  18  and backer  26  upon mounting side seal  20 ″ wall  18 . Touch-and-hold fastener  42  provides additional sealing. 
         [0025]    Although lip  60  of  FIG. 7  is shown as a hollow loop of material on the exterior surface of side seal  20 ″, the loop created by lip  60  could be filled with a compressible foam core, and/or lip  60  could be situated between backer  26  and the exterior surface of cover  58 .  FIG. 9 , for example, shows a loop-shaped lip  60 ′ filled with a compressible foam core  62 , whereby core  62  urges lip  60 ′ to conform to an irregular surface of wall  18 . For perhaps a neater appearance or ease of manufacturing, lip  60 ′ of  FIG. 9  is between backer  26  and the exterior surface of the side seal  20 ″. 
         [0026]    In yet another example, shown in  FIG. 10 , sealing between a side seal and wall  18  is achieved by installing a compressible foam insert  64  between backer  26  and a cover similar to cover  58 . In this case, the bulge created by insert  64  being underneath the cover is referred to as a “lip” that can help seal gaps between a backer and a wall to which the backer is mounted. The bulge and resulting lip created by insert  64  can be narrow, as shown, or extend the full width of backer  26 . 
         [0027]    At least some of the aforementioned examples include one or more features and/or benefits including, but not limited to, the following: 
         [0028]    In some examples, a pliable cover for a side seal of a loading dock includes a flexible protruding lip that helps seal a gap between the side seal and a wall to which the side seal is mounted. 
         [0029]    In some examples, the protruding lip is sufficiently flexible and pliable to conform to an irregular surface of a wall. 
         [0030]    In some examples, the protruding lip serves as a narrow cover under which caulk can be applied, thus much of the caulk is hidden between the lip and the wall. 
         [0031]    In some examples, the protruding lip is positioned completely behind the side seal to make it easier to additionally caulk the side seal to the wall if necessary. 
         [0032]    In some examples, the protruding lip is made from a combination of a back sheet and a side sheet. 
         [0033]    In some examples, an interface between the side sheet and the back sheet is at a vertical corner of the side seal. 
         [0034]    In some examples, an interface between the side sheet and the back sheet is located behind the side seal, i.e., between the back sheet and the wall. 
         [0035]    In some examples, a side seal includes a touch-and-hold fastener and/or overlapping layers of material that are held in compression to seal a gap between a wall and the backside of the side seal. 
         [0036]    In some examples, the back sheet of a side seal is comprised of two distinct pieces. 
         [0037]    In some examples, the side sheet and the back sheet are two distinct pieces. 
         [0038]    In some examples, the side sheet and the back sheet are an integral extension of each other. 
         [0039]    Although certain example methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.