Patent Publication Number: US-2005118395-A1

Title: Joint-cover rubber strip for preparing and painting two adjacent surfaces separated by a hollow joint

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application is a §371 NATIONAL PHASE Application of PCT/SE02/00022, filed on Jan. 18, 2002, which in turn claims priority from Spanish Patent Application Serial Number U200100135 filed on Jan. 19, 2001, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is directed toward the industry dedicated to the manufacture of accessories, devices, and elements for the protection of surfaces such as joints, tapes, bands, and the like during painting and other finishing processes.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Within the industry dedicated to the painting or repair of surfaces, such as the painting or the repair treatment of the surfaces of the bodywork of automobile vehicles, pieces of border tape (e.g., masking tape or the like) are often used, bending the edges so as not to expose the paint to the creation of borders and to make it possible to prepare and paint the parts to the very edge of the surfaces that are to be painted. Such tapes, however, are difficult to apply and must be disposed of after each use.  
      As a substitution of the above-mentioned border tape, other strips provided with magnetic material on their opposite faces may be used, with greater or lesser success, as well as cardboard, paper, and the like.  
       FIG. 4C  illustrates a scheme with the prior art form and the edge of the adjacent surface in such case without a defined protected area in the vertex  24  between adjacent edges  21  and  22 .  
      Obviously, the quality of these Prior Art devices is not optimum and consequently, the time used in placing them is substantial, which implies an increase in general operation costs or in the dedication of many hours to the preparation of the areas to be repaired, apart from the cost of the materials themselves.  
      Thus, it remains a requirement in the art to provide an apparatus which adequately and hermetically seals the gap that exists between the two surfaces, being capable of adapting to the different thicknesses and hermetically sealing the gaps to prevent the entrance of particles or paint to the interior by having an element capable of exercising the relevant pressure on the walls of the joint, but not overlapping the surface that is to be treated. It also remains a requirement in the art to provide an apparatus which may be cleaned after use, to restore it to such conditions that permit its reuse.  
      However, prior to the development of the present invention, applicant had no knowledge of the existence of an invention that includes the ideal features mentioned above.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The joint-cover rubber strip for preparing and painting two adjacent surfaces separated by a hollow joint proposed by the invention is, in itself, an obvious novelty that allows the performance of the surface preparation and painting of two adjoining surfaces, without any possibility of any external material passing to the interior of the joint that is being protected (i.e., overspray or the like).  
      More specifically, joint-cover rubber strip to preparing and painting two adjacent surfaces separated by a hollow joint object of this invention is based on a single-piece body manufactured of elastomeric material; its perimeter includes a number of features, allowing the adaptation of one side or of its opposite side to joints of different thicknesses, having practically in its central area two angular projections that generate two diagonally rectangular faces, thanks to which the surface preparation of the surface to be treated can be performed to the very edge that is being protected.  
      The joint-cover rubber strip is introduced in the existing joints between two adjacent surfaces and prevents the areas to be treated both vertically and horizontally and, consequently, prevents the access of any material to the interior of the joints. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      As a complement to the description being presented and for a better understanding of the specifications of the invention, one page of drawings is attached to this descriptive memory, where the following elements are displayed with an informative but not a limiting intention.  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, concerning a joint-cover rubber strip for preparing and painting two adjacent surfaces separated by a hollow joint.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates as an example, the side of an automobile vehicle on which the preferred embodiment of the present invention displayed in  FIG. 1  has been installed, protecting the existing joints between the doors of a vehicle.  
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view along line A-B as illustrated in  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4A  illustrates a scheme with a simple form of the joint-cover with less angular faces disposed in the hollow joint having the external side below and the inner one above and one of the edges to be painted forming an angle with the joint-cover.  
       FIG. 4B  illustrates a scheme with a simple form of the joint cover of  FIG. 3 , with the joint-cover with less angular faces having the external and inner side as in  FIG. 4A , but with a pair of side protrusions disposed in the hollow joint to displace the protected surface in the vertex.  
       FIG. 4C  illustrates a scheme with the prior art form and the edge of the adjacent surface in such case without a defined protected area in the vertex.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      In view of the Figures, it can be seen how the joint-cover rubber strip  1  for preparing and painting of two adjacent surfaces  21  and  22  separated by a hollow joint, is made up from a single-piece body  2  which presents on a top surface, a configuration of three faces or facets,  3 ,  4 , and  5 . Faces or facets  3  and  5  are situated diagonally and face or facet  4  horizontally, presenting after faces and facets  3  and  5 , two vertical and parallel areas  6  and  7 .  
      From the inferior edges of parallel edges  6  and  7 , two prolongations extend  8  and  9 , presenting inclined or diagonal faces  10  and  11  at the top and  12  and  13  at the bottom, consequently allowing access to the edge formed by faces  7  and  11  or by the existing edges between faces  6  and  10 .  
      At the bottom, although of a lesser width, body  2  represents a configuration similar to the one described above, having an horizontal face  18  parallel to face  4 , and two diagonal side faces  16  and  17  situated in a similar way as faces  3  and  5  that protrude from the central area or facet  4 .  
      There are also vertical facets or faces  14  and  15  which are similar to faces or facets  6  and  7  although as they are configured in a thicker area they present a larger separation to the one that exists between faces  6  and  7 , in order to fit into joints with a greater or lesser width.  
      Continuing with  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that on a vehicle  20  with doors  21  and  22  separated from each other by joints, joint-cover rubber strips  1  that hermetically seal the joint have been installed, permitting access of the painting or preparation of the surface through sloped portions  30  and  31 , stemming from the existence of faces  10  and  11 . The body of the joint-cover rubber strip has been introduced inside the joints occupying faces  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7 .  
      It is not considered necessary to extend this description as to any one of ordinary skill in the art may understand the invention field and the advantages resulting from it.  
      Materials, form, size and elements disposal will be subject to variation, provided that they do not involve an alteration of the essentiality of the invention.  
       FIG. 4A  illustrates a scheme with a simple form of the apparatus of  FIG. 3 , with the joint-cover with less angular faces disposed in the hollow joint having the external side below and the inner one above and one of the edges  21  and  22  to be painted forming an angle with the joint-cover  23 .  FIG. 4B  illustrates a scheme with a simple form of the apparatus  1  of  FIG. 3 , with the joint-cover with less angular faces having the external and inner side as in  FIG. 4A , but with a pair of side protrusions disposed in the hollow joint to displace the protected surface in the vertex.  
      While the preferred embodiment and various alternative embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein, it may be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.