US3207274A

US3207274A - Coverings for shells and the like

Info

Publication number: US3207274A
Application number: US237224A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter P Baermann
Original assignee: Hawley Products Co
Current assignee: Hawley Products Co
Priority date: 1962-11-13
Filing date: 1962-11-13
Publication date: 1965-09-21
Anticipated expiration: 1982-09-21

Description

United States Patent O 3207,274 COVERINGS FOR SHELLS AND THE LIKE Walter P. Baermann, Waynesville, N.C., assignor to Hawley Products Company, St. Charles, 111., a corporatin of Delaware Filed Nov. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 237,224 4 Claims. (Cl. 190-53) This nvention relates to the covering of hollow shells and the like with a flexible sheetng and, more particularly, pertains to improvements in the covering of hollow shells having rounded corners.

Hollow shell-s :are used as component parts of artcles of luggage, phonograph cases, courier cases, portable typewriter cases, etc. These shells are usually covered with a sheet of flexible materi-ai, such as leather, imitation leather, thermoplastic sheeting, weven Fiberglas, cloth or the like to improve the appearance of 'the item. One of the problerns enoountered in coverng a shell with a single sheet of flexble sheeting is that the sheeting must have sufli-cient stretch so that it can 'be stretched at the corners of the shell without tearing. The majority of coverng materials, however, do not have the requisite amount of stretch to permit their use in coverings of the aforesaid cha-racter.

This nvention pertains to coverings wheren the cover sheeting may be out at the portion of the covering across the corners of the shells to which the coverin-g is a-pplied. An area of sheeting is cut Out at each corner so that the sheeting will not fold or overlap at the corner when it is adhered to the shell. The side edges of the out out portion are abutted -or are approximately abutted when the sheeting is applied to the shell. A strip of thermoplastic resin or polymer i then heat-sealed on the covered corner of the shell to hide the cut and also to provide a wear-resistant member.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the nvention to provide improvements in covering structures and members having rounded corners. Another object of the invention is to provide improvements in the sheet coverings of hollow shells having rounded corners. Still another object of the nvention is to provide wear-reinforcecrnents for outer corners of hollow shells. A still further object is to provide wear-renforcements heat-sealed to the outer corners of sheetcovered hollow shells.

The foregoing and numerous ether important objects, advantages, and inherent functions of the nvention will become apparent as the same is more fully understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred ernhodment of the nvention.

In the drawin-gs:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet-covered hollow shell nsed in the manufacture of articles of lug-gage, por-table cases and the like;

FIG. 2 is a perspective fragmentary view of a corner of the shell of FIG. 1 prior to the application of a thermoplastic, wear-reinforced strip thereon;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, fragmentary view of said corner with a wear-reinforcement strip applie-d thereon;

FIG. 4 is a section in fragment taken on section 4--4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a wearaeinforcement strip.

Referring to the dr-awings, there is shown in the illustrated embodiment a hollow shell 1 comprising a side wall 2 and

end wall pars

3, 3 and 4, 4. These walls form a hollow shell adapted to he used as a part of an article of lu-ggage, a portable oase, and the like. Two such shells can be hinged together in opposing relationship to form an article of luggage or other hollow con tainer 01- case.

The hollow shells 1 may he made of any material of suitable rigidity for the use desired. They may be made, for exam-ple, from met-al, molded fiber, molded Fiberglas, molded wood chips, or the like wherein the fibers or chips are honded =together by a thermoplastic or thermosetting resin. They also may be made from molded thermoplastic or thermosetting resins.

The corners formed at the junctures of the end walls 3, 4 are, for purp-oses of the nvention, preferably rounded corners 5 having dome corners 6. The side wall 2 and the

end walls

3,3 and 4, 4 may be joined hy rounded corners "7.

The hollow shell 1 is covered hy a flexible sheeting 8 adhered t-ghtly to the walls 2, 3, 4. The corners of the diexible sheeting -8 are cut, prior to its being appled and adhered on the shell 1, to remove a section of the sheeting at each corner so that the cut edges 9 are in ahutment or at least approximate abutment when the flexble sheeting is applie-d to and adhered on the shell. The depth to which the flexible sheeting is cut prefera'bly is suflicient so that the cut extends slightly inw-ardly of the dome section 6 of the shell, as can be seen in FIG. 2.

The "butted joint or the space between the cut edges 9 is covered -by a reinforcement strip 10 which is a thermoplastic =resn or polymer which is heat-sealahle with or adhesively secured to the covering sheet 8. The strip 10 is adhesively secured to or heat-sealed on each corner of the covered shell. The strip- 10 are of a length and wi-dth suflicient to cover any spacing between the edges 9 of the covering and preferably have dimensions large enough so that the strips 10 act as wear-reinforcernent strips which protect the corners o the covered shell against tearing or gouging. If desired, the strips 10 may have tapered ends 11 or emhossed designs, e.g. the transverse corrugations 12. The latter may be embossed into the thermoplastic strips by a heated shoe when the strips are heat-sealed on the corners of the covered shell.

The cover sheeting -8 may be a thermoplastc sheeting, such as vinyl sheeting, cloth with a thermoplastic resin or polymer coating on one side thereof and the like. The thermoplastic resin 01' polymer strips 10 may 'be pressed against the corners 5, 6 with a transverse and longitudinal curvature corresponding -to the ourvature of the corners 5, 6 and heat-sealed to -the thermoplastic resin o-r polymer of the cover sheeting 8. Dielectric heatsealing may "be employed for this purpose. The strips 10 may also be sealed on the corners with pressuresensitive adhesive or with quick-drying, wet adhesive. Similarly, the cover sheeting 8 may be secured in oert-ain instance by heat-seaiing to the outer side of the shell 1 or it may be secured thereon by the use of adhesive.

'Ihe method of applying the cover sheeting comprises laying the rectangular piece of flexible, cover sheeting 8 on the outer sides of the shell 1 and houding the cover sheeting to the enter sides of wall-s 2, 3, 4. The corners of the sheeting preferably are trimmed or cut prior to houding the cover sheeting on the shell along converging lines to provide a configuration =giving the substanti-ally abutted ed-

ges

9, 9. The strips 10 are honded by adhesive or heat-sealing to the onter surface of sheeting 8 over the cut or trimmed

edges

9, 9 at each corner to provide finished corners reinforced -against wear. The nvention is especially useful where the sheeting 8 is composed of polyvinyl chloride and the strips or corner pieces 10 are also composed of =polyvinyl chloride.

It is thought that the nvention and its numerous attendant advantages will be fully understood from the foregoing desoription, and it is obvious that numer-ous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit 01 scope of the nvention, or saorificing any of its attendant adventgaes, the forms herein di-sclosed heng prefer-red embodrnents for the purpose of illustratin-g the invention.

I claim;

1. A molded structure fior use as a hollow shell of an article of luggage and the like comprising a hard, untary molding of fibrous material defining a substantially rectangular dome wall and four end walls extending ahout the periphery of said dorne wall at substantially right angles thereto and joined with the respective edges of said dome wall by rounded corners, the respective, conti-guous ende 01: said end Walls heng joine-d by additional rounded corners, said walls and corners thereby defining a generally rectilinear, hard, hollow, unitary shell with the walls thereof joined 'by rounded corners as a unitarily molded body, a rectangular piece of flexible cover sheeting of poor stretch qua lity with a thermo -palstic resin outer side secured to' and covering the outer side of said walls of said shell, said cover .sheeting lying smoothly against said walls and said firstrnentioned rounded corners, said rectangular piece of cover sheeting havng a segment cut 'out of each of the four eor ners thereof, the edges of said cut segments heing substantially a-butted at said additional corners, and a flexible, wear-reinforcement strip of thermoplastic resin extending along each of said additional rounded corners over said substantally abutted edges, said strips being bonded to said cover sheeting at said additional corners by a heat seal of said thermoplastic resn strips to said thermoplastc resin outer side of said oovering.

2. A molded shell structure with cover sheeting there over oomprsing a molded hollow shell with a molded rectangular side wall having along each of the four edges thereof an end wall, each end wall heng substantially normal to said side wall, an elongated rounded corner extending longtudinally along each of said four edges an-d joinng a respective one of said edges and its respective end wall, addition-al rounded corners at the four corner of said side wall joinng the contguous ends of the respectve end walls said additio n al rounded corners extending at right angles to said first-mentioned rounded corner-s and intersecting respective pairs of said firstmentioned rounded corners at the four corner of said side wall, the respective junctures of said elongated rounded corners and said ad-ditonal corners being dorne corners, said side wall, said four end walls, said elongated, round corners, said additional roun-ded corners and said dome corners being integrally-formed as a mold ing of fibrous material, a flexible cover sheet adhered over the and ly=ing smoo=thly aganst outer sides of said side wall, said end walls and said ro-unded corners, said cover sheet having cut out segments at the four corners thereof, the respective cut edges of said cut out segments beng substantially abutted and ex-tending side-by-side along a respective one of said four additional rounded corners and also across a respective one of said dome corners, said cover sheet having a thermoplasti-c polymer outer surface, and a wear-reinforcement strip of a thermoplastc polymer lying over each pair of the respective, substantally abutted ed-ges and being b0nded to said thermoplast-c polyrner outer surface a-djacent said abutting edges.

3. A shell structure as clarned in claim 2 wheren said flexible cover sheet is a thermoplastic polymer sheet having poor, inherent stretch quality.

4. A shell structure as claimed in claim 3 wherein said wear-neinforcement strips are honded by heat sealing to said outer surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,116,571 5/38 G-urwick 93-35 2,33 8,035 12/43 Gerold 2219-25 2,444722 7/48 Bogoslowsky 2295.5 2,808,192 10/57 Raisin 22931 2,994,466 8/61 Thompson 22930 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

EARLE DRUMMOND, GEORGE 0. RALSTON,

E Jtamners.

Claims

1. A MOLDED STRUCTURE FOR USE AS A HOLLOW SHELL OF AN ARTICLE OF LUGGAGE AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A HARD, UNITARY MOLDING OF FIBROUS MATERIAL DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR DOME WALL AND FOUR END WALLS EXTENDING ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID DOME WALL AT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES THERETO AND JOINED WITH THE RESPECTIVE EDES OF SAID DOME WALL BY ROUNDED CORNERS, THE RESPECTIVE, CONTIGUOUS ENDS OF SAID END WALLS BEING JOINED BY ADDITIONAL ROUNDED CORNERS, SAID WALLS AND CORNERS THEREBY DEFINING A GENERALLY RECTILINEAR, HARD, HOLLOW, UNITARY SHELL WITH THE WALLS THEREOF JOINED BY ROUNDED CORNERS AS A UNITARILY MOLDED BODY, A RECTANGULAR PIECE OF FLEXIBLE COVER SHEETING OF POOR STRETCH QUALITY WITH A THERMOPLASTIC RESIN OUTER SIDE SECURED TO AND COVERING THE OUTER SIDE OF SAID WALLS OF SAID SHELL, SAID COVER SHEETING LYING SMOOTHLY AGAINST SAID WALLS AND SAID FIRST-MENTIONED ROUNDED CORNERS, SAID RECTANGULAR PIECE OF COVER SHEETING HAVING A SEGMENT CUT OUT OF EACH OF THE FOUR CORNERS THEREOF, THE EDGES OF SAID CUT SEGMENTS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY ABUTTED AT SAID ADDITIONAL CORNERS, AND A FLEXIBLE, WEAR-REINFORCEMENT STRIP OF THERMOPLASTIC RESIN EXTENDING ALONG EACH OF SAID ADDITIONAL ROUNDED CORNERS OVER SAID SUBSTANTIALLY ABUTTED EDGES, SAID STRIPS BEING BONDED TO SAID COVER SHEETING AT SAID ADDITIONAL CORNERS BY A HEAT SEAL OF SAID THERMOPLASTIC RESIN STRIPS TO SAID THERMOPLASTIC RESIN OUTER SIDE OF SAID COVERING.