Patent Application
20170356201
The present device relates to an improvement to protective barriers that are commonly installed beneath ceilings and in place of walls in buildings that are under construction or being renovated to protect selected areas from dust and moisture created by or permitted to enter due to the work being performed.
Protective barriers, such as those described herein, are commonly used to prevent dust, debris and moisture from falling onto floors, people, merchandise and equipment located below ceilings or roofs being repaired or constructed. In this way, the protective barrier protects from added costs from damage or injury resulting from such falling material and encroaching moisture and can allow work to continue below the ceiling or roof under construction. Such barriers are commonly constructed from interconnected sections of polyethylene sheets or similar materials, which have proven to be durable, easy to work with, and relatively inexpensive.
However, a problem exists with this type or protective barrier, which can allow some dust to pass through the barrier. Specifically, a protective barrier can comprise sections of polyethylene sheets or similar materials connected by seams which are typically made by sewing two or more sections together with thread. The sewing of these seams results in thousands of holes created when a needle, used to sew the sections together, pierces the sections to allow the thread to pass through them to bind them together. These holes create passageways through which dust and other powdery substances can travel, thus circumventing the purpose of the protective barrier.
What is needed is a protective barrier comprising sections connected by seams sewn together in a way that prevents dust from being able to pass through the holes created by the sewing.
It is an aspect of the present inventive concept to provide a seam for connecting sections of material, which can be configured to prevent dust from being able to pass through the holes created by the sewing together of two or more sections of polyethylene sheets or similar materials.
The above aspects can be obtained by a protective barrier comprising a first section and a second section connected by an abutted seam where the first section and second section are abutted against each other and are connected by a thread, the seam also comprising a dustcover system comprising a first dustcover section connected to the first section and a second dustcover section connected to the second section, wherein the abutted seam is at least partially covered by a part of the first dustcover section and a part of the second dustcover section.
The above aspects can also be obtained by a protective barrier comprising a first section and a second section connected by an overlapping seam where the first section and second section overlap each other and are connected by a thread, the seam also comprising a dustcover system comprising a first dustcover section connected to the first section and a second dustcover section connected to the second section, wherein the overlapping seam is at least partially covered by a part of the first dustcover section and a part of the second dustcover section.
The above aspects can also be obtained by a method for constructing a protective barrier, the method comprising: providing parts of a protective barrier, comprising a first section and a second section, a dustcover system comprising a first dustcover section and a second dustcover section, adhesive, and a thread; abutting the first section against the second section and sewing the first section and second section together with the thread creating an abutted seam; connecting the first dustcover section to the first section with adhesive so that at least part of the first dustcover section covers the abutted seam; and connecting the second dustcover section to the second section with adhesive so that at least part of the second dustcover section covers the abutted seam.
These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
Further features and advantages of the present device, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present device, will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”, “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the present inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The present dustcover systems can be used to solve the problem created when two or more sections of polyethylene, or similar materials, are sewn together creating holes through each. Polymers, such as polyethylene, have many attractive features when used as protective barriers including the fact that they are impermeable to almost all types of liquids, powders and small debris including dust and water, and they are relatively inexpensive per square foot of coverage. However, a disadvantage of polymers, such as polyethylene, is that, unlike fabrics, holes created when a needle and thread are placed through them do not close or even get smaller over time. Rather, such holes stay the same size as when they were created or get larger and create passageways sufficiently large for dust and water to travel through thus reducing the effectiveness of the protective barrier. The present dustcover systems can prevent dust from passing through these holes by covering them with dustcover sections, which are attached near the seam and can interlock over the seam in some embodiments. These dustcover systems can completely cover the seams further inhibiting the flow of dust and water through the seam, according to some embodiments.
This dustcover system 310 can be comprised of a first dustcover section 311 and a section dustcover section 312. According to an embodiment, both the first dustcover section 311 and the second dustcover section 312 can be configured to fold over the seam 301, thus preventing dust (not pictured in
The thread 304, comprising a protective barrier 300, can be made from any standard material used to create thread, including nylon, cotton, silk, polypropylene, polyester and any number of other natural or synthetic materials, which are commonly used to manufacture thread. However, in an embodiment the thread 304 can be comprised of a water soluble material such as polyvinyl alcohol, which can disintegrate when contacted by water allowing the seam 301 to come apart. The benefits of protective barriers comprising such seems have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/964,968, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Similarly, in an alternative embodiment the thread 304 can be comprised of a heat sensitive material such as a copolyamide or polycaprolacone, which can disintegrate when subjected to temperatures between 140 degrees and 180 degrees Celsius allowing the seam 301 to come apart at those temperatures. The benefits of protective barriers comprising such seems have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/965,137, which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Similarly, the second dustcover section 312 can have an arc-shape with an opening to the left and a connection point to the first section 302 on the right. The connection point on the right can be created using a layer of adhesive 315 which connects the second dustcover section 312 to the second section 303 at a second determined point 321. As with the first determined point 320, the second determined point 321 can be far enough from the abutted seam 301 so as not to interfere with it, but close enough to allow the second dustcover section 312 to pass partially or fully over the abutted seam 301 and partially over the first dustcover section 311. As shown in
The thread 604, comprising a protective barrier 600, can be made from any standard material used to create thread, including nylon, cotton, silk, polypropylene, polyester and any number of other natural or synthetic materials, which are commonly used to manufacture thread. However, in an embodiment the thread 604 can be comprised of a water soluble material such as polyvinyl alcohol, which can disintegrate when contacted by water allowing the seam 601 to come apart. The benefits of protective barriers comprising such seems have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/964,968, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Similarly, in an alternative embodiment the thread 604 can be comprised of a heat sensitive material such as a copolyamide or polycaprolacone, which can disintegrate when subjected to temperatures between 140 degrees and 180 degrees Celsius allowing the seam 601 to come apart at those temperatures. The benefits of protective barriers comprising such seems have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/965,137, which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
As with the other embodiments described above, the thread 904, comprising a protective barrier 900, can be made from any standard material used to create thread, including nylon, cotton, silk, polypropylene, polyester and any number of other natural or synthetic materials, which are commonly used to manufacture thread. However, in an embodiment the thread 904 can be comprised of a water soluble material such as polyvinyl alcohol, which can disintegrate when contacted by water allowing the seam 901 to come apart. The benefits of protective barriers comprising such seems have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/964,968, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Similarly, in an alternative embodiment the thread 904 can be comprised of a heat sensitive material such as a copolyamide or polycaprolacone, which can disintegrate when subjected to temperatures between 140 degrees and 180 degrees Celsius allowing the seam 901 to come apart at those temperatures. The benefits of protective barriers comprising such seems have been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/965,137, which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of nonprovisional application Ser. No. 15/179,614 filed Jun. 10, 2016.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15179614 | Jun 2016 | US |
| Child | 15268243 | US |
