ES2569191T3 - Protection element that allows the storage, handling and transport of a glazed element for a motor vehicle such as a windshield, a rear window - Google Patents

Abstract

Protective element (1, 1 ') that is presented in the form of a profile that has an internal face shaped to be applied on at least two contiguous faces of elements that must be spaced apart from each other and protect against shocks during storage , handling and transport, said profile being made of a shock absorbing synthetic material, characterized in that said profile is formed to present at its outer face at least one protuberance (5) arranged in projection of said external face intended for At the same time, it constitutes a tie-rod that allows the adjacent glazed elements to be spaced apart and a complementary damping block that allows them to be protected against shocks during storage, handling and transport.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Protection element that allows storage, handling and transport of a glazed element for a vehicle such as a windshield, a rear window

The present invention concerns a protection element that allows the storage, handling and transport of glazed element for a vehicle such as a windshield, a rear window.

Windshields and rear windows of automobile vehicles are fragile elements that need precautions in the course of transport from the place of production to the place of assembly in the vehicles, be it in the factory or as spare parts, whose different shapes and curvatures in in particular they need adapted protection elements.

Different types of protection elements and commonly used containers are known.

Thus, cardboard "boxes" of generally parallelepipedic form are proposed in the interior of which the glazed element is placed and which also comprise polystyrene and / or cardboard blocks. Such packages are however bulky from the point of view of storage.

It has also been proposed in document FR 2 760 729, a cardboard package consisting of a blank piece of cardboard or honeycomb plastic material provided with folding lines that allow the blank to be folded around a glazed element for packaging. The entire surface of the glazed element is thus protected and the volume is reduced with respect to a box. However, there is always a risk of crashes between glazed elements during storage and / or transport, particularly in the event of a crash, to the extent that no means of shock absorption is provided.

Another type of protection element is constituted by a profile of a synthetic foam, with a U-shaped cross section and inserted over the contour of the glazed element and then held in position on said element with the help of a shrinkable plastic film. To facilitate transport, cardboard pieces are generally placed, for example in the corners, which allow a "box" to materialize in order to ensure better protection during transport and facilitate storage. This type of profile is especially described in EP 0 621 207. However, it can also be considered that in certain windshields of a very pronounced curvature this type of protection is not sufficient.

Also known from DE 9114168 is a U-shaped protection element whose outer face is provided with an interlocking rib intended to be locked in a complementary groove of an adjacent protection element, thus the wings of the U being joined together against one other.

Thus, numerous glazed elements arrive broken, especially in the corners, at the assembly site or have scratches or impacts at the surface level, which are caused during placement or during storage. On the other hand, the coefficient of expansion between bare piece and packaged piece is important.

Thus, the present invention aims to propose a protective element of the synthetic foam profile type that has for example a U-shaped cross-section but which has improved damping qualities while being of a simple and economical manufacture.

Thus, the invention concerns a protection element that is presented in the form of a profile that has an internal face shaped to be applied on at least two contiguous faces of elements that must be spaced apart from each other and protect against shocks during their storage, handling and transport, said profile being realized in a synthetic material that absorbs the shocks, characterized in that said profile is shaped to present at its outer face at least one protuberance arranged in projection of said external face.

Advantageously, the aforementioned protuberance is made by forming a single piece with said profile and therefore of the same shock-absorbing synthetic synthetic material as that, which gives said protection element supplementary damping qualities and also serves as a wedge between said protection element and other surfaces such as a wall, a floor or other adjacent element.

Thus, this protuberance allows maintaining a separation between two elements such as adjacent glazed elements or between a glazed element provided with this device and the surface against which it rests. This protuberance or excretion on the outer face of the profile therefore forms a buffer block that allows the various shocks that occur during transport to be absorbed, as well as the piece of coffee flat or vertically.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the protection element is presented in the form of a main profile that has a U-shaped cross section, with at least one of the arms of the U on its outer face at least a protrusion in the projection of the external face of said arm.

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According to one embodiment, this protuberance can be arranged throughout the entire length of the profile continuously.

Preferably, this protuberance is then presented in the form of a wall of dimensions equivalent to those of the arm of the U and extending parallel to it and to which it is connected by a thinned part. This protuberance thus presents with the aforementioned arm of the U, a cross section of profile called secondary, substantially X-shaped, or H-shaped.

This X-shape of the secondary profile gives the protection element thus performed a net improvement in the damping conferred during flat or vertical lateral coffees.

According to a variant embodiment, this protuberance may be disposed over the entire length of the profile discontinuously. In this way, the outer face of the protection element can thus comprise at least one protrusion such as excretion or protuberance, and preferably, a plurality of projections arranged in projection along said profile.

According to another variant embodiment, the protection element is presented in the form of a main profile that has a U-shaped cross section, each arm of the U on its outer face having at least one protrusion on the projection of the outer face of said arm.

Advantageously, an elastic shock absorbing material such as a polyethylene foam having improved flexibility and damping is used as well as a large shape memory capacity after deformation.

In addition, with a protection element of this type, polystyrene chocks that could require a windshield cleaning phase linked to the deposit of polystyrene balls in the glazing by electrostatic effect are suppressed.

On the other hand, the protection element according to the invention is adaptable to glazed elements of various shape and curvature.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 represents a side perspective view of a protection element according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 represents a cross-sectional view of the profile of Figure 1;

Figure 3 represents a side perspective view of a variant of a protection element according to

figure 1; Y

Figures 4a and 4b respectively represent a front and side perspective view of an element.

glazed packaging with the help of protection elements according to the invention.

As can be seen in Figure 1, the protection element 1 is a profile made of elastic material such as a polyethylene foam.

This element 1 has a main profile that has a substantially U-shaped cross section corresponding to the surrounded part A and a secondary profile that has an X-shaped or H-shaped cross section corresponding to the surrounded part B in the figure 2.

The main profile A of a U-shaped cross section has two arms 2 and a base 3 whose inner face 2 is shaped to be applied to at least two adjacent faces of elements to be protected such as glazed elements such as a windshield or a window rear

Thus, the internal face of the U forms a housing 4 in which the edge of a glazed element is introduced, the main profile of the protection element 1 according to the invention is thus applied on the two opposite faces of said glazed element and its common edge.

As can be seen in figure 2, the separation between the arms 2 of the U is of dimensions smaller than the thickness of a glazed element and that the dimensions of the bottom 4a of this receiving housing 4 such that the introduction of the element Glazing is done by forcing the separation of the arms 2 from the U, which allows the protection element 1 to be introduced and maintained on the edge of the glazed element in the manner of an elastic clamp.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bottom 4a of the housing 4 is covered with a layer of material 6 that has a resistance to perforation, shear, abrasion and tear greater than that of the material that it constitutes the protection element 1 that is presented in the form of a foam.

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One of the arms 2 of the U is provided on an external face of at least one protrusion 5 arranged on the projection of said face and intended to constitute at the same time a shoulder that allows the adjacent glazed elements to be spaced apart from one another. of complementary cushioning that allows them to be protected against shocks during storage, handling and transport.

Preferably, this protuberance is realized forming a single piece with the main profile A during the manufacture of said protection element 1.

This protuberance 5 is constituted by an excrescence 5a of shape and dimensions substantially similar to those of arm 2 and extending parallel to said arm 2, this part 5a being connected to arm 2 by a thinned part 5b.

As can be seen in the figure, the protuberance 5 presents with the arm 2 from which it protrudes, a cross section substantially in the form of X or also of H.

An X-shaped cross section of this type ensures a progressive deformation damping function.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the protection element 1 'is similar to the protection element 1 but also comprises cutouts 7 arranged along an axis and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis x of the profile constituting the protection element 1', these being arranged cuts 7 obliquely so that they form a V. Such cuts 7 in V especially allow the said protection element 1 'to be placed along a curved periphery of a glazed element as can be seen in Figure 4a.

Thus, the protection element 1 is manually arranged along the lower straight periphery of a glazed element such as a windshield, the same being maintained by a manipulator arm with suction cups.

The protection element 1 'is then deposited along the upper curved part of the windshield. The side edges of the windshield may be provided with a simple protection element 8 constituted by a U-profile. They may also be provided with a protection element 1 according to the invention.

The assembly is then directed to a position of placement under a film before passing to the oven for retraction of the film after evacuation.

The invention makes it possible to avoid resorting to cardboard while improving the damping qualities in the case of flat or vertical coffees.

Claims (10)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 1. Protection element (1, 1 ') that is presented in the form of a profile that has an internal face shaped to be applied on at least two contiguous faces of elements that must be spaced apart from each other and protect against shocks during its storage, handling and transport, said profile being realized in a shock absorbing synthetic material, characterized in that said profile is shaped to present at least one protuberance (5) arranged on the projection of said external face on its outer face intended to constitute at the same time a brace that allows to keep spaced apart from each other adjacent glazed elements and a complementary damping block that allows to protect them against shocks during storage, handling and transport. 2. Protection element according to claim 1, characterized in that said protuberance (5) is enhanced by forming a single piece with said profile, in the same shock-absorbing elastic synthetic material such as a polyethylene foam. 3. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the protection element (1, 1') is in the form of a main profile (A) having a section U-shaped cross section, at least one of the arms (2) of the U on its outer face having at least one protuberance (5) protruding from the outer face of said arm (2). 4. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to claim 3, characterized in that the internal face of the U forms a housing (4) into which the edge of an element to be protected such as a glazed element, being the separation of the two arms (2) of the U of dimensions smaller than the thickness of a glazed element and that of the bottom (4a) of this receiving housing (4) such that the introduction of the element to be protected is made by forcing the separation of the arms (2) from the U, which allows the protection element (1, 1 ') to be introduced and maintained on the edge of the element to be protected in the manner of a elastic clamp 5. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the protuberance (5) is arranged along the entire length of the profile (1, 1') continuously. 6. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to claim 5, characterized in that said protuberance (5) is in the form of a wall (5a) of dimensions equivalent to those of the arm (2) of the U , and extending parallel to it and to which it is connected by a thinned part (5b), said protuberance (5) thus has with the said arm (2) of the U, a cross section of secondary profile (B) substantially in the form of X. 7. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the protuberance (5) is arranged along the entire length of the profile (1, 1') discontinuously. 8. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to claim 7, characterized in that at least one outer face of the protection element (1) comprises a plurality of projections arranged in projection along said profile. 9. Protection element (1, 1 ') according to claim 3, characterized in that the protection element is in the form of a main profile having a U-shaped cross section, each arm (2) presenting the U in its outer face at least one protrusion in projection of the outer face of said arm (2). 10. Protection element (1 ') according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the protection element (1') comprises cutouts (7) arranged along an axis and perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis x of the profile which it constitutes the protection element (1 '), these cuts (7) being arranged obliquely so that they form a V.