Patent Application
20200048957
The present disclosure relates to weather strips configured to form a seal to limit infiltration of air and water between a hinged entryway door and the door's frame.
Builders and homeowners often use weather strips on exterior door assemblies to limit infiltration of air and water. As shown in
Builders and homeowners continue to seek out weather strips that form a good seal, are durable, aesthetically acceptable, and can be relatively easily replaced when worn.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a weather strip includes a carrier portion and a sealing portion. The carrier portion is formed from a first material that has a first resilience. The carrier is configured to mount to a surface of a frame member of an entryway. The sealing portion is integrally formed with the carrier portion and is formed from a second material. The second material has a second resilience that is greater than the first resilience. The carrier portion and the sealing portion have a constant profile along a length of the weather strip. The carrier portion and the sealing portion may be co-extruded with one another.
In embodiments, the carrier portion may be configured to receive a fastener therethrough to secure the carrier portion to the frame member. The carrier portion may comprise a cover that is configured to conceal a head of a fastener used to secure the carrier portion to a surface of a frame member. The carrier portion may include a mounting wall with the cover being releaseably attached to the mounting wall. The cover may be releaseably attached via a snap fit or a friction fit.
In some embodiments, the carrier portion includes a mounting wall with the cover integrally formed with the mounting wall. The cover may be hinged with the mounting wall by a living hinge.
In certain embodiments, the carrier portion includes a support wall that extends in a direction perpendicular to the mounting wall. The sealing portion may extend from the support wall.
In particular embodiments, the first material is polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride and the second material is ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) or a thermoplastic.
In embodiments, the carrier portion is configured to deflect when contacted by a door to form a seal with a surface of the door. The sealing portion may include an attachment leg and a flexible leg. The attachment leg may be joined to the carrier portion and the flexible leg may extend from the attachment leg. The flexible leg may be configured to deform relative to the attachment leg when contacted by a door.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, an entry way includes a frame member having an outer surface and a first weather strip. The first weather strip may be any weather strip detailed herein including a carrier portion that is configured to mount to the outer surface of the frame member.
In embodiments, the frame member includes an inner surface that is parallel to and offset from the outer surface. The frame member may include a stop portion defined between the inner and outer surfaces. The frame member may include a kerf slot defined in the stop portion adjacent the inner surface. The entryway may include a second weather strip that is mounted within the kef slot of the frame member. The second weather strip may be offset from the first weather strip.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a weather strip includes a rigid carrier portion and a flexible sealing portion. The rigid carrier portion is configured to mount to a surface of a frame member of an entryway. The flexible sealing portion is integrally formed with the carrier portion. The sealing portion extends from the carrier portion and is configured to contact and form a seal with a surface of a door.
In embodiments, the carrier portion and the sealing portion have constant profile along a length of the weather strip.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing a weather strip includes extruding a first material through a first die to form a carrier portion and extruding a second material different from the first material through a second die to form a sealing portion. The carrier portion and the sealing portion integrally joined to one another as the first and second materials are extruded. The carrier portion is configured to mount to a surface of a frame member of an entryway. The second material having a resiliency greater than the first material.
Further, to the extent consistent, any of the embodiments or aspects described herein may be used in conjunction with any or all of the other embodiments or aspects described herein.
Various aspects of the present disclosure are described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, wherein:
Example embodiments of this disclosure are described below and illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. The embodiments described provide examples and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Other embodiments, and modifications and improvements of the described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art and all such other embodiments, modifications and improvements are within the scope of the present disclosure. Features from one embodiment or aspect may be combined with features from any other embodiment or aspect in any appropriate combination. For example, any individual or collective features of method aspects or embodiments may be applied to apparatus, product, or component aspects or embodiments and vice versa. Also, while reference may be made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationships or the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all of these may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptable variations that may occur, such as those due to manufacturing or engineering tolerances or the like.
The door jamb 24 of the illustrated embodiment has a known profile for an in-swing entryway. The door jamb 24 includes an exterior end 32 typically facing an exterior of a building and an interior end 34 typically facing an interior of the building. A sealing face 36 of the door jamb 24 may include an inner surface 38 and an outer surface 40. Each of the inner surface 38 and outer surface 40 may be substantially planar. The inner surface 38 and the outer surface 40 may be substantially parallel to one another. The inner surface 38 may be offset from the outer surface 40. The outer surface 40 may be formed on a raised stop portion 42. The raised stop portion 42 may be configured for limiting motion of the door 30. The raised stop portion 42 may include the outer surface 40 and an abutment surface 44. A kerf slot 14 can be formed at the base of the raised stop portion 42 and formed into the abutment surface 44. The inner surface 38 may be configured to face an edge of the door 30 when the door is closed. The door jamb 24 should be understood to be substantially consistent in profile along its length. The material forming the door jamb 24 may vary along the length thereof. The door jamb 24 is not limited to the illustrated embodiment. Other door jamb configurations known in the art may also be applicable. For example, the raised stop portion 42 may be omitted, and the sealing face 36 of the door jamb 24 may be substantially planar.
Turning now to the weather strip 20, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the weather strip is understood to potentially extend substantially the entire height of the doorjamb 24. The cross section of the weather strip 20 may be substantially constant along the length thereof. As used herein, “substantially constant” means configured to have a constant cross section in an initial state. The initial state is when the door is open. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the significant length of the weather strip, the resiliency of the sealing portion of the weather strip, and material fatigue in general, will result in some acceptable degree of profile variation within the meaning of “substantially constant.”
The weather strip 20 includes a carrier portion 50 formed from a first, relatively rigid, material. Examples of the rigid material include polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride. The carrier portion 50 is configured for being mounted to a surface, such as the outer surface 40 of the frame member 16. Alternatively, the carrier portion 50 could be mounted to the inner surface 38. The carrier portion 50 may include a mounting wall 52 configured to abut door jamb 24. Apertures (not shown) may extend through the mounting wall 52 for accepting fasteners 54, such as screws. The carrier portion 50 may include a cover 56. In the embodiment of
The carrier portion 50 may also include a support wall 60. The support wall 60 may be perpendicular to the mounting wall 52. The support wall 60 is configured to join with a sealing portion 62 of the weather strip 20.
The sealing portion 62 of the weather strip 20 is formed from a second, relatively flexible and resilient material compared to the rigid material of the carrier portion 50. Examples of the second material include ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) or thermoplastic elastomer. At least a portion of the sealing portion 62 is configured to deflect when acted upon by the door 30 to form a seal with a surface of the door. The sealing portion 62 may include an attachment leg 64 joining the support wall 60 of the carrier portion 50. The sealing portion 62 may also include a flexible leg 66. The flexible leg 66 may flex, bend, hinge, compress, or otherwise deform relative to the attachment leg 64 when acted upon by the door 30 to form a seal therewith. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that each of figures accompanying the present disclosure illustrate an initial position of the sealing portion 62 prior to being compressed and/deflected by the door 30 to form a seal.
The weather strip 20 is formed as one integral body with a substantially constant profile using a process of co-extrusion of the first material, that forms the carrier portion 50, substantially simultaneously with the second material, that forms the sealing portion 62. The weather strip 20 is not limited to co-extrusion of two materials but may include co-extrusion of more than two materials. For example, the sealing portion 62 may itself be formed of a foam-like core material and a durable skin material that substantially surrounds the core. In another example, the carrier portion 50 may include additional materials, for creating additional components, such as sealing fins that may help retain or seal the carrier portion 50 with the frame member 16. The co-extrusion process is believed to improve the assembly and/or installation time of the weather strip 20 compared to prior art weatherseals that have two-piece constructions. For example, the carrier portion 50 may be formed by being extruded through a first die (not shown) and the sealing portion 62 may be formed by being extruded through a second die (not shown). The first and second dies may be adjacent one another and may be open to one another such that the carrier portion 50 and the sealing portion 62 are integrally joined to one another while being extruded through the first and second dies respectively.
The weather strips 20, 120 shown in
While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the drawings, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Any combination of the above embodiments is also envisioned and is within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope of the claims appended hereto.
This application claims the benefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/715,469, filed Aug. 7, 2018, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62715469 | Aug 2018 | US |
