Patent ID: 8079180

Claim:
A reinforcing carrier for a strip made of flexible material and having a channel-shape, the carrier comprising: a base and first and second side walls with the base and the first and second sidewalls cooperating to define a length and define a generally U-shaped channel for embedding in the channel-shape of the flexible material; a plurality of through slits arranged in the carrier side by side and spaced apart from each other along the length of the carrier with each of said plurality of through slits having a constant width along its longitudinal dimension, wherein each of said plurality of through slits extends transversely to a longitudinal axis of the carrier, wherein said plurality of through slits comprises a plurality of relatively long slits and a plurality of relatively short slits, each relatively long slit being aligned with a respective one of the relatively short slits, all the relatively long slits being positioned only in the first side wall and the base of the carrier and extend to a centerline of the base of the carrier, and all the relatively short slits being positioned only in the second side wall of the carrier and not extending into the base of the carrier.