GB2269129A

GB2269129A - Hand tool for inserting a strip between a gasket and a frame

Info

Publication number: GB2269129A
Application number: GB9216158A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Bastow
Original assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: 3M Co
Priority date: 1992-07-30
Filing date: 1992-07-30
Publication date: 1994-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 2012-07-30
Also published as: GB9216158D0; GB2269129B

Abstract

There is provided a hand tool of the kind for insertion between a flexible gasket 8 and the frame 4 of a vehicle to separate gasket 8 from frame 460 that a flexible deformable strip material 12 may be fed through the tool and inserted between the vehicle and gasket 8. The tool has a handle (20) and an operative end portion (22) comprising: a plough portion 24 for lifting gasket 8 from frame 4, the plough portion (24) tapering from its rear (28) to front (26) and having, towards its rear (28), a hole (30) therethrough for insertion of material 12 and a guide portion (32) positioned to abut the edge of the gasket to control the position of portion (24), in which guide portion (32) additionally comprises a recess (34) to accommodate the edge of gasket 8 at corners or curves. The handle (20) may have a gauge (40) for checking the position of material 12 beneath the edge of gasket 8. The hole 30 has an elongate cross-section of a height that is less than that of material 12. <IMAGE>

Description

HAND TOOL This invention relates to a hand tool for insertion between a flexible gasket and a frame to separate the gasket from the frame so that a flexible deformable strip material may be fed through the tool and inserted between the gasket and the frame.

In car repair operations it is necessary, after the repair has taken place, for the car to be repainted by spraying. In order to get a good finished appearance, it is essential that spraying is limited only to those parts which have to be repainted and that the spray does not go onto other parts. This is particularly important around window areas of vehicles where the bodywork is resprayed but any paint which strays onto the window gaskets gives a very untidy appearance and detracts from the overall finished look of the vehicle. In order to overcome this problem masking tape is generally used over the gasket and this is applied so that it abuts at the junction between the gasket and the frame of the vehicle.

Spraying then takes place and any excess spray will end up on the masking material. As the masking material which is usually in the form of a tape, is removed the gasket material below it is revealed without any spray paint particles on it.

The use of a masking tape has a disadvantage that there is a build up of paint at the junction of the masking tape with the vehicle frame and when the tape is removed there is a slight stepped surface at this point.

This can only be obliterated by careful hand finishing and sanding. It will be appreciated that such an operation is a time consuming one and hence adds to the expense of the repair process.

In an alternative method a flexible strip material, which is in the form of a foam cord or plastics tube of a diameter and wall thickness dependent on the nature of the gasket to be dealt with, is able to hold the free edge of the gasket a sufficient distance from the frame of the vehicle so that masking can readily be applied to the gasket to protect it during spraying without the masking coming into contact with the vehicle frame itself. This arrangement allows spraying to take place effectively under the gasket and up to and onto the flexible strip material. As the strip material is removed after the spraying operation and discarded there is no problem of unsightly paint spots being left.Any ridge of paint which builds up between the strip material and the vehicle frame is underneath the gasket and is hidden from view when the strip material is removed and the gasket reverts to its original sealing position.

This system is therefore very successful in providing a cheap and effective method of protecting gaskets from being covered in paint during a respraying operation of a vehicle.

Examples of suitable hand tools for insertion of the flexible strip material are disclosed in Swedish Patent No. 440982, Gebrauchsmuster No. 8623273 and European Patent Application No. 424114.

The present invention provides improved hand tools for insertion of the flexible material.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a hand tool of the kind for insertion between a flexible gasket and the frame of a vehicle to separate the gasket from the frame so that a flexible deformable strip material may be fed through the tool and inserted between the vehicle and gasket, in which the tool includes an operative end comprising: a plough portion for lifting the gasket from the frame, the plough portion tapering from its rear to front and having, towards its rear, a hole therethrough for insertion of said deformable strip material and a guide portion positioned to abut the edge of the gasket to control the position of the plough portion, in which the guide portion additionally comprises a recess to accommodate the edge of the gasket at corners or curves.

The hand tool of the invention provides a simple and effective means of inserting a flexible strip material between a flexible gasket and frame of a vehicle and allows the operator to negotiate corners, bends, curves etc. whilst inserting the strip material in its desired position. One of the problems associated with known hand tools of this type is that there is a tendency for the strip material either to be inserted too far under the gasket which allows the edge of the gasket to drop towards the frame, or the strip material is not inserted far enough under the gasket thereby covering a portion of the frame which is intended to be painted.

The operative end of the hand tool of the invention comprises a plough portion for lifting the gasket from the frame. The leading edge of the plough portion is tapered in the vertical plane to facilitate insertion between the frame and the gasket and the plough portion gradually thickens to its rear to a thickness which is greater than the thickness of the strip material to be inserted. Towards the rear of the plough portion there is an aperture through which the deformable strip material is inserted. The sides of the plough portion may be substantially parallel or, preferably, the plough is wider at its leading edge for ease of insertion under the gasket, i.e., the plough portion is tapered in the horizontal plane towards the rear.The aperture may be of any suitable cross-section, including circular, triangular, hexagonal etc., but preferably has an elongate cross-section, such as, oval, elliptical, pearshaped etc., to facilitate ready passage of the strip material therethrough.

In order to ensure the correct positioning of the strip material, a guide portion is positioned above and to one side of the plough portion such that the raised edge of the gasket abuts the guide portion thereby ensuring the plough is inserted a predetermined distance under the gasket. The guide portion may conveniently be in the form of a 'U'-shaped groove opening towards the edge of the gasket. The guide portion includes a recess which is able to accommodate the edge of the gasket at corners or curves. In absence of the recess, the guide portion would comprise a continuous straight surface abutting the gasket and at corners or sharp curves, only a single point contact with the guide surface would be made thereby allowing the tool to be inadvertently twisted by the operator altering the position in which the strip material is inserted.The presence of the recess always ensures there are at least two points of contact between the guide portion and edge of the gasket at corners ensuring the strip material is inserted to the desired position beneath the gasket. The recess is preferably off-set towards the aperture, rather than being centrally located on the guide surface.

The hand tool additionally comprises a handle having a longitudinal axis which is generally off-set with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plough. The handle may have any desired orientation, e.g., it projects upwardly such that the operator's hand is above or in front of the leading edge of the plough, or rearwardly such that the operator's hand is above or behind the rear of the plough.

There are occasions when it may be necessary for the operator to check and reposition strip material in the correct position under the gasket if for some reason the strip material has not been positioned correctly the first time.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a hand tool having an operative end for insertion of a flexible deformable strip material between a frame and a flexible gasket in which the tool additionally comprises, separate from the operative end, a gauge comprising a probe surface for contacting the strip material and a guide surface for contacting the edge of the gasket.

The gauge may conveniently be positioned on the end of the handle remote from the operative end. The distance between the two surfaces being the optimum distance under the gasket to which the strip material should be positioned. Thus, after the strip material has been inserted through the tool, the operator may simply run the gauge around the gasket which will reposition any strip material which has not been inserted to the required distance under the gasket. The gauge may also facilitate position of masking tape which may be tucked under the gasket if desired.

The flexible deformable strip material may be any material which is capable of being inserted under the gasket and has sufficient resilience to maintain the edge of the gasket in a raised position to facilitate painting. The strip is generally made of plastics material having a circular cross-section to facilitate passage through the tool although other cross-sections are possible e.g. hexagonal, triangular, oval etc.

Commercially available strip materials include solid plastics extrusions of circular cross-section and plastics tube. Different diameter strip material, normally in the range 2 to 10mm, is available to select a suitable material depending on the nature of the gasket.

It is current practice to provide a range of tools depending on the thickness of the flexible strip material.

It has been found that foam cord may conveniently be used as a flexible strip material with hand tools of the invention. In particular, it has been found that by providing the operative portion of the hand tool with an appropriately shaped aperture it is readily possible to apply foam cords of different diameters using the same tool.

The rear end of the plough portion must have a sufficient thickness that it lifts the edge of the gasket above the strip material which is being inserted. One of the reasons it has been necessary to use different tools with different diameter strip material is that in order to insert a strip material of 8mm diameter it is necessary for the plough portion to elevate the gasket by at least this amount and if one uses the same tool to insert a strip of 4mm under a smaller gasket the tool will still attempt to lift the gasket by at least 8mm and this may not be possible to achieve. If the tool is provided with an elongate aperture it is possible to minimise the lift necessary to allow insertion of the strip material by deforming, compressing or squashing the strip material as it passes through the tool.Thus, an aperture 4mm high and say 10mm wide will accommodate a strip material of 4mm diameter without deformation and strip materials of larger diameter by squashing or deforming the strip. The aperture is preferably of sufficient cross-sectional area to readily accommodate the largest strip to be used in its deformed state in order to minimise friction between the surface defining the aperture and the strip material to facilitate passage of the strip material through the tool. It has been found that foam cord of larger diameter than the aperture height may be readily inserted under the edge of a gasket. After insertion the resilient nature of the foam returns the cord towards its original circular crosssection lifting the edge of the gasket to the desired level.

Therefore according to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a flexible deformable strip material, preferably foam cord and a hand tool for insertion of the strip material between a frame and a gasket in which the hand tool comprises an operative end having a hole therethrough for insertion of the strip material in which the hole has an elongate cross-section the height of which is less than that of the strip material.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 represents a cross-section through a bonded windscreen and frame of a vehicle illustrating the position of the flexible strip material and masking tape for a respraying operation, Figure 2 represents a side view of a hand tool in accordance with the invention, Figure 3 represents a cross-section along the line 'A-A' in Figure 2, Figure 4 represents an end view of the operative end of the hand tool shown in Figure 2, Figures 5 to 7 represent hand tools in accordance with the invention having handles of different orientation, Figure 8 represents a side view of the operative end of a further hand tool in accordance with the invention, and Figure 9 represents a similar view to Figure 3 of a further hand tool in accordance with the invention.

Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a bonded windscreen for a motor vehicle comprising wind screen (2), frame (4), the windscreen being sealed to the frame by an adhesive sealer (6). The edge of the windscreen is held within a rubber gasket (8) having an edge (10) which would normally contact the frame (4).

When it is necessary to respray a portion of the frame (4) adjacent the windscreen the edge (10) of the rubber gasket is lifted and a flexible strip material (12) is inserted to maintain the edge (10) in its raised position thereby allowing access for painting the portion of the frame (4) beneath the edge (10) of the rubber gasket (8). The gasket is protected during the painting operation by application of masking tape (14). The edge (16) of the masking tape may optionally be tucked under the lifted edge (10) of the rubber gasket as shown in Figure 1.

Figures 2 to 4 illustrate one embodiment of a hand tool in accordance with the invention. The hand tool comprises a handle (20) having an operative end (22).

The operative end comprises a plough portion (24) which tapers towards its leading end (26) to facilitate lifting of the edge of the gasket. The rear (28) of the plough portion has an aperture (30) extending therethrough, through which the flexible strip material (not shown) passes.

A guide portion (32) is positioned above and slightly off-set from the plough portion and comprises a 'U'-shaped groove. In use, the edge of the gasket contacts the guide portion (32) in order to ensure the plough portion remains the correct distance under the gasket to deliver the strip material to the correct position. The guide portion (32) comprises a recess (34) which can accommodate the edge (10) of the gasket (8) (Figure 3) at corners or bends thereby facilitating the accurate positioning of strip material in these regions.

Thus, the hand tool is adapted for use to insert a length of flexible strip material (12) between a frame or body (4) of a vehicle and a cantilevered portion (9) of a flexible elongate gasket (8), which cantilevered portion (9) projects along one side of the gasket (8), the gasket (8) extending along the body (4) with portions of the gasket (8) being generally straight and portions of the gasket (8) being arcuate so that the cantilevered portion (9) of the flexible gasket (8) has a continuous distal edge (10) with both linear and convex arcuate edge portions along its length. The plough portion (24) of the hand tool is adapted to be positioned and moved between the body (4) and cantilevered portion (9) of the flexible gasket (8).The plough portion (24) has opposite front and rear ends (26 and 28), top and bottom surfaces (25 and 27) diverging from its front end (26) towards its rear end (28) with the bottom surface (27) being adapted to be positioned against and moved along the body (4) of the automobile and the top surface (25) being adapted to be positioned against and moved along the inner side of the cantilevered portion (9) of the flexible gasket (8) so that movement of the plough portion (24) between the body (4) and the cantilevered portion (9) of the gasket (8) with its front end (26) leading will progressively lift the cantilevered portion (9) of the flexible gasket (8) away from the body (4).

The top and bottom surfaces (25 and 27) have adjacent distal inner edges (29) extending from the front end (26) to the rear end (28) of the plough portion (24), and the top surface (25) has an outer edge (31) opposite its inner edge (29) which extends from the front end (26) to the rear end (28) of the plough portion (24). The plough portion (24) also has surfaces defining the aperture or passageway (30) that extends through the rear end (28) of the plough portion (24) from an outer surface (33) of the plough portion (24) that is opposite its inner edges (29). The passageway (30) has a cross-sectional area adapted to afford movement of the plough portion (24) over the strip (12) being placed between the cantilevered portion (9) of the gasket (8) and the body (4) while the surfaces defining the passageway (30) guide the strip (12) transversely to a predetermined position therebetween.The plough portion (24) has spaced linear guide surface portions (35) aligned in a plane, which linear guide surface portions (35) are positioned along the outer edge (31) of the top surface (25) and adjacent the opposite ends (26 and 28) of the plough portion (24).

The linear guide surface portions (35) project generally normal to the top surface (25) of the plough portion and are adapted to be moved along the linear portions of the distal edge (10) of the cantilevered portion (9) the flexible gasket (8) to guide the plough portion (24) between the gasket (8) and the body (4) at a predetermined relationship to the distal edge (10) of the gasket (8).The plough portion (24) also has surfaces (37) between the linear guide surface portions (35) defining the recess (34) from the plane of the linear guide surface portions (35) that are adapted to receive (as is shown in Figure 3) convex arcuate portions of the distal edge (10) and to guide the plough portion (24) between the cantilevered portion (9) of the gasket (8) and the body (4) at a predetermined relationship to the distal edge (10) of the gasket (8) during movement of the plough portion (24) around such arcuate portions.

The handle (20) may additionally comprise a gauge (40) having a probe surface (42) and a guide surface (44). The guide surface (44) and probe surface (42) are separated by a distance 'a' which corresponds to the optimum insertion distance under the edge of the gasket for the strip material. In use, the probe surface (42) is tucked under the edge of the gasket until the guide surface (44) abuts the edge of the gasket. The gauge is simply run round the edge of the gasket and the probe surface (42) will push any strip material which has not been sufficiently inserted into its correct position.

The gauge may also facilitate positioning of the edge of the masking tape (16) (Figure 1) which may be tucked under the edge of the gasket.

The handle (20) may be in a number of positions relative to the operative end. Figure 2 shows the handle (20) having a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plough (24), the handle being positioned above and slightly forwardly of the plough such that the operator's hand will be positioned above and in front of the leading edge (26) of the plough.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 8, the operative end is identical to the hand tool shown in Figures 2 to 4, but the handle (20) extends in different orientations.

Figure 8 illustrates the operative end of a further hand tool in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment the hole (30) has an elongate crosssection, i.e. oval, having a height "h2'. The plough portion (24) will lift the gasket a sufficient amount to insert strip material having a thickness "h". In the case of strip material of a circular cross-section, strips having a diameter up to "h" may be inserted without deformation. However, the elongate hole (30) allows larger diameter strips, i.e., diameters greater than "hun, to be inserted since they will be squashed to an oval form as they pass through the hole, the displaced material being accommodated in the elongate cross-section of the hole.

Figure 9 is a similar view to Figure 3 showing the operative end of a hand tool in accordance with the invention. The tool is different from that illustrated in Figure 3 in that the leading edge (26) of the plough portion (24) is wider than the remainder of the plough portion which tapers towards the rear.

In order to facilitate use of the hand tools of the invention, working surfaces may be coated with or made from low friction materials. For example, the plough surfaces and/or surfaces defining the hole may comprise a low friction material such as polytetrafluoroethylene or other non-stick material.

The tools may be fabricated from any material having sufficient strength and rigidity. Plastics materials, e.g., epoxy resins, ABS etc., are preferred for reasons of economy and ease of construction by conventional moulding techniques.

Claims

1. A hand tool of the kind for insertion between a flexible gasket and the frame of a vehicle to separate the gasket from the frame so that a flexible deformable strip material may be fed through the tool and inserted between the vehicle and gasket, in which the tool includes an operative end comprising: a plough portion for lifting the gasket from the frame, the plough portion tapering from its rear to front and having, towards its rear, a hole therethrough for insertion of said deformable strip material and a guide portion positioned to abut the edge of the gasket to control the position of the plough portion, in which the guide portion additionally comprises a recess to accommodate the edge of the gasket at corners or curves.

2. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 1 in which the guide portion is in the form of a substantially 'U'shaped groove positioned above the plough portion and having a longitudinal axis which is displaced relative to the longitudinal axis of the plough portion.

3. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the recess is positioned off-set from the centre of the guide portion towards the hole.

4. A hand tool as claimed in any preceding Claim in which the handle additionally comprises at its end remote from the operative end, a gauge for checking the position of the strip material beneath the edge of the gasket.

5. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 4 in which the gauge comprises a probe surface for contacting the strip material and a guide surface for abutment of the edge of the flexible gasket, the guide surface and probe surface being separated by a distance corresponding to the correct distance under the edge of the gasket for positioning of the flexible strip material.

6. A hand tool as claimed in any preceding Claim in which the handle has a longitudinal axis displaced relative to that of the plough.

7. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 6 in which the handle extends upwardly and forwardly such that the operator's hand is positioned above or in front of the leading edge of the plough.

8. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 6 in which the hand extends rearwardly such that the operator's hand is positioned above or to the rear of the rear end of the plough.

9. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figures 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A hand tool having an operative end for insertion of a flexible, deformable strip material between a flexible gasket and the frame of a vehicle in which the tool additionally comprises, separate from the operative end, a gauge comprising a probe surface for contacting the strip material and a guide surface for contacting the edge of the gasket.

11. A hand tool as claimed in Claim 10 in which the gauge comprises a probe surface for contacting the strip material and a guide surface for abutment of the edge of the flexible gasket, the guide surface and probe surface being separated by a distance corresponding to the correct distance under the edge of the gasket for positioning of the flexible strip material.

12. A flexible deformable strip material and a hand tool for insertion of the strip material between a frame and a gasket in which the hand tool comprises an operative end having a hole therethrough for insertion of the strip material in which the hole has an elongate cross-section the height of which is less than that of the strip material.

13. The combination as claimed in Claim 12 in which the strip material is in the form of a foam cord.

14. The combination as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13 in which the hole is elliptical or oval.

15. The combination as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to 14 in which the hand tool is in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 11.

16. A method of inserting a flexible deformable strip material between a flexible gasket and frame which comprises applying said flexible deformable strip material with a hand tool as defined in any preceding Claim.

17. The combination of a hand tool as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11 and a length of flexible deformable strip material dimensioned to allow passage through the hole of the hand tool.

18. A hand tool adapted for use to insert an elongate flexible strip material between a body of a vehicle and a cantilevered portion of a flexible elongate gasket, which cantilevered portion projects along one side of the gasket, the gasket extending along the body with portions of the gasket being generally straight and portions of the gasket being arcuate so that the cantilevered portion of the flexible gasket has a continuous distal edge with both linear and convex arcuate edge portions along its length, said tool comprising: a handle portion adapted for manual manipulation, and a plough portion adapted to be positioned and moved between the body and cantilevered portion of the flexible gasket adjacent one end of said handle portion, said plough portion:: having opposite front and rear ends, having top and bottom surfaces diverging from said front end towards said rear end with said bottom surface being adapted to be positioned against and moved along the body of the automobile and said top surface being adapted to be positioned against and moved along the cantilevered portion of the flexible gasket so that movement of the plough portion between the body and the cantilevered portion of the gasket with said front end leading will progressively lift the cantilevered portion of the flexible gasket away from the body, said top and bottom surfaces having adjacent distal inner edges extending from said front to said rear ends, and said top surface having an outer edge opposite the inner edge of said top surface and extending from said front end to said rear end, having an outer surface opposite said inner edges, having surfaces defining a passageway extending from said outer surface through the rear end of the plough portion, said passageway having a cross-sectional area adapted to afford movement of the plough portion over the elongate strip being placed between the cantilevered portion of the gasket and the body while the surfaces defining the passageway guide the deformable strip transversely to a predetermined position therebetween, having spaced linear guide surface portions aligned in a plane, said guide surface portions being positioned along the outer edge of said top surface and adjacent the opposite ends of the plough portion, said linear guide surface portions projecting generally normal to said top surface and being adapted to be moved along the linear portions of the distal edge of the cantilevered portion the flexible gasket to guide the plough portion between the gasket and the body at a predetermined relationship to the distal edge of the gasket, and having surfaces between said linear guide surface portions defining a recess from the plane of said linea-r guide surfaces adapted to receive convex arcuate portions of the distal edge and to guide the plough portion between the cantilevered portion of the gasket and the body at a predetermined relationship to the distal edge of the gasket during movement of the plough portion around such arcuate portions.