WO2004096401A2

WO2004096401A2 - Cutting a laminated product to lengh anf removing selvage from a residual laminate

Info

Publication number: WO2004096401A2
Application number: PCT/US2004/012342
Authority: WO
Inventors: Terry C. Potter; Jeffrey C. Potter; Brian H. Bay
Original assignee: Techworks, Inc.
Priority date: 2003-04-25
Filing date: 2004-04-23
Publication date: 2004-11-11
Also published as: WO2004096401A3

Abstract

A method of manufacturing an assembly (10) that includes forming a component (11) having a first surface (18), bonding to the first surface a carrier strip (20) having a second surface (22) coated with adhesive, bonding a protective liner (26) to the second surface, cutting through the component and the carrier strip, forming a relatively short tab (38) of the component and carrier strip secured by the protective layer, and removing the tab from the protective layer allowing a portion of the protective layer to extend beyond the end of the remaining assembly. An apparatus including a work surface, a blade (3), and a pawl (40) pivotably supported about an axis (42) and displace toward the work surface.

Description

TITLE

CUTTING A LAMINATED PRODUCT TO LENGTH AND REMOVING

SELVAGE FROM A RESIDUAL LAMINATE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims , the benefit of U.S. Provisional ,Patent Application Serial No. 60/465,814, filed April 25, 2003, which is incorporated herein by referencel

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to cutting bonded lamina of an assembly to length. More particularly, the invention pertains to such cutting that produces an unbounded length of a laminate to facilitate peeling the entire length from the cut assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Elastomeric seal products are often formed from a rubber material having double-sided foam strip with pressure sensitive adhesive material disposed on each side thereof. One side of ■ the foam strip having the adhesive material disposed thereon is typically applied in a continuous manner to the seal product. A thin protective liner then covers the other adhesive surface of the foam strip. The protective liner protects the adhesive surface during transit and storage of the seal product . A typical use for the seal products is in the automotive industry where the _.seal product surrounds a vehicle door, for example.

Prior to installation, the seal product is typically cut to a desired length. The protective liner is removed immediately prior to the installation of the seal product to ensure a secure adherence of the seal to a surface. In practice, it is often difficult to remove the -protective liner due to the adhesive material and since the liner and foam strip are both cut to the desired length. This requires additional effort and time to remove the protective liner and apply the sealing product, which results in undesirable installation process delay. Attempts have been made to design various implements to assist and facilitate in the removal of the protective liner. However, removal of the protective liner has posed a long-standing problem.

It would be desirable to have an apparatus that facilitates cutting a laminated product to a desired length, separating one laminate from the others, and discarding the separated laminate when the seal is being installed. The protective laminate guards an adhesive layer from contamination during shipping and handling prior to installing the seal. Process time and effort required to separate the discarded protective laminate would be minimized, and quality of the adhesive layer would be ensured. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprehends a method and apparatus for cutting a multiple laminate assembly to a desired length. The laminate is separated, removed, and discarded readily using the apparatus and method of this invention.

A method for producing an assembly of lamina to a desired length according to this invention includes forming a first laminate, bonding to the first laminate a second laminate having opposite surfaces coated with adhesive, and using the adhesive to bond a third laminate to the second laminate, such that the first, second and third laminates are arranged mutually parallel in a stack of overlapping, axially extending lamina. Then the first and second laminates are cut at a relatively short distance from an axial end so they form a relatively short tab of the first and second laminates, the tab being secured to the assembly by the third laminate. Finally, the tab is removed from the third laminate to provide an unbonded length of the third^' laminate extending from the assembly.

An apparatus for producing an assembly to a desired length according to the invention includes a work surface supporting the assembly along at least a portion of its length. A short axial tab of the assembly extends unsupported from the work surface. A blade cuts though a component and <a carrier strip at an axial end of the tab, such that the tab remains connected to the assembly by a protective liner. A pawl, pivotably supported about an axis and- displaceable toward the work surface, strikes the work surface eccentric from the pivot axis. A projection on the pawl engages and, removes the tab from the protective liner as the pawl pivots.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a product to which this invention may be applied; Fig. 2 is cross section taken at plane 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view partially in cross section taken at a plane through the seal assembly and apparatus for cutting and separating components of the seal assembly;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing a pawl engaging a tab partially severed from the seal assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Figs. 2 and 3 showing a step of removing a severed tab of the seal from a protective strip . DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The following detailed description and appended drawings describe and illustrate various exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description and drawings serve to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner.

Referring first to Figs . 1 and 2 , there is shown a seal assembly 10, such as door seal of the type used in motor vehicles. The seal assembly 10 is preferably formed of rubber, elastomer or another elastically resilient material, preferably a material which can be extruded through a forming die to produce a long, continuous strand. The seal strand is first cut to a length that is slightly longer than its final length. A second cutting operation, described with reference to Figs. 3-4, produces a final, precise length of the seal as required to seal an opening against the passage of air and liquid. The seal assembly includes a free length of a protective liner that is used to peel and remove the liner from a surface of the seal assembly, to which it is bonded by adhesive.

The rubber seal 10 may have a variety of cross sectional shapes, contours and profiles, some of which are referred to as dual cavity profiles because the material may be divided into two distinct parts.

An example of a typical seal 10 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. That seal 10 includes a pliable, deformable upper membrane 11 having an outer surface 12, which arches over an enclosed hallow space 14 and extends along the axial length of the seal assembly. Another membrane 16, attached to the ends of the upper membrane 11, closes the space 14, and provides a substantially planar lower surface 18. Upon installation around the perimeter of an aperture, the upper surface 12 is compressed due to contact with a closing door, hood, or truck lid. Membrane is displaced into the space 14 due to this contact to provide a resilient, fluid-tight seal, which returns to the condition shown in Fig. 1 when the door is opened and load is released from the seal.

An adhesive carrier strip 20, whose opposite lateral surfaces 22, 24, are coated preferably with contact adhesive or another adhesive, is secured by the adhesive to surface 18 of the seal 10. The carrier strip 20 can be formed from any conventional strip material, such as urethane foam or a similar expandable foam. The second surface 24 of the adhesive backed carrier strip 20 is secured by the adhesive to a protective liner 26, which extends across the width and along the length of the carrier strip 20 to protect the adhesive surface against contamination until the seal assembly 10 is applied to a surface at the perimeter of an opening.

The first surface 18, the carrier strip 16, and the protective layer 26 are arranged mutually parallel forming a stack of overlapping, axially extending, substantially planar lamina. When a portion of the length of the laminates is unsupported, the entire thickness of first surface 18 and carrier strip 16 can be severed or cut readily by a single pass of a cutting blade without cutting the protective layer 26 or disrupting the adhesive bond between the protective layer 26 and the carrier strip 20.

Preferably the seal is provided in a relatively long, continuous strand, which may be rolled in a spool to facilitate its transport, handling, and storage preparatory to installation. Before installation, each seal is cut from the strand to a precise length required to enclose the perimeter of the opening to be sealed. Referring now to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, there is shown apparatus for cutting and separating the several layers of the seal assembly 10 using a de-tabbing unit in combination with an extrusion cutter machine 32. The protective liner 26 is removed from the seal assembly 10 where the seal is to be applied by a. sealing element to the vehicle opening.

At a work station located ahead of the work station where the seal is cut to a final length, a long strand of the seal assembly 10, which includes the extruded seal, double adhesive sided carrier strip 20 and protective liner 26, is precut to a length that includes the final length of the assembly and the length of a tab 38 that is removed in a later cutting operation.

At a work station where the seal is cut to its final precise length, the precut length of each seal 10 extends past a knife blade 30, which is supported for displacement on an extrusion cutter machine 32. The seal extends past the blade 30 by about 0.25 to 0.375 inches, the length of the tab 38 that will be removed as described. Tab 38 extends over a tab-receiving chamber 34 having an opening through a hole in a work surface or anvil 36. The machine 32 then clamps the seal 10 in place on the work surface 36, after which the blade 30 cuts completely through the seal 10 and the. adhesive carrier strip 20, but not through the protective liner

26. This leaves a tab 38 that includes a portion of the seal 10, adhesive carrier strip 20, and protective liner 26, the length of the tab being about 0.25 to 0.375 inches long and extending past the blade and over the chamber 14.

A pawl 40 is pivotably supported at a pinned connection 42 on an arm 44 of the cutter machine 32. After the cutter blade 30 has completed its cut, the pawl 40 and arm 44 are lowered, the pawl strikes the work surface 36 at 46, thereby causing the pawl to pivot or rotate counterclockwise about the axis of the pin connection 42.

The pawl is formed with projections 48, 50 directed outward away from the pivot connection 42, which supports the pawl 40 on arm 44. As the pawl pivots, the projections 48, 50 on the pawl 40 engages the tab 38, causing the tab to rotate away from the blade 30 as the pawl pivots due to its contact with the work surface 36. As the pawl pivots further about the pinned connection or pivot axis 42, projection 48 removes the seal portion 52 and adhesive carrier strip portion 54 of tab 38 by peeling them from the protective liner portion 56, without stretching or tearing the protective liner 26. The second projection 50 guides the tab away from the protective liner 26 and toward the chamber 34 as the pawl continues to pivot. The seal portion 52 and carrier strip portion 54 of tab 38, with the lower adhesive surface of carrier strip exposed, fall into the receiving chamber 14.

The arm is then retracted to the position of Fig. 3, allowing the pawl 40 to pivot about its pivot support 42 as the pawl moves away from contact with the work surface 36. By locating the center of mass of the pawl 40 sufficiently distant from the pivot connection 42, the pawl is biased by gravity to pivot and return to the position of Fig 3 as the pawl is raised from contact with the work surface 36. In addition to the effect of gravity, pivoting displacement of the pawl 40 from the position of Fig. 5 to the position of Fig. 3 can be assisted by the force of a torsion spring 60 applied to the pawl .

The blade 30 is then raised, and a new precut assembly 10 is moved into position on the work surface 36. The blade is lowered again, cutting through the assembly and leaving a tab 38 suspended from its protective liner 26.

The extrusion cutter machine 32 will have produced a seal assembly of precise length having a protective liner tab portion 56 extending past one axial end of the seal. The_, liner tab 56 and the entire length of the protective liner 26 can be easily removed by manually grasping the liner tab 56 and peeling the protective 5. liner 26 from the carrier strip 20 along the entire axial length of the seal assembly. This peeling of the protective liner 26 preferably occurs immediately before the seal assembly 10 is ready to be installed around the perimeter that surrounds the opening to be sealed. 0 The blade 30 may be turned at an acute angle with respect to the axial length of the seal, such that the cut made by blade 30 is not perpendicular to the length of the seal, but instead is on a bias with respect to the longitudinal axis of the seal . 5 In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced 0 otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is :

1. A method of manufacturing an assembly of components, comprising the steps of: forming a- component that includes a first surface; bonding to the first surface a second surface of a carrier strip having second and third opposite surfaces coated with adhesive; bonding a protective liner to the third surface; cutting through the component and the carrier strip at a predetermined distance from an end thereof, thereby forming a relatively short tab of the component and carrier strip that is secured by the protective layer; and removing the cut tab from the protective liner allowing a portion of the protective liner to extend beyond the end of the remaining assembly.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: removing the protective liner from the remaining assembly.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming a component that includes a first surface, further comprises: extruding a long continuous strand of a component in a predetermined shape formed of rubber or elastomic material .

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming a component that includes a first surface, further comprises: forming a long continuous strand of a component in a predetermined shape; and cutting the component strand, carrier strip, and protective layer to a length that is substantially equal to the sum of a final length of the component and a length of the tab.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the carrier strip is coated with contact adhesive on opposite surfaces, and the step of bonding the carrier strip to the first surface further comprises: using the contact adhesive on the second surface to bond the contact strip to the first surface.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first surface, the carrier strip, and the protective layer are arranged mutually parallel in a stack of overlapping, axially extending, substantially planar lamina.

7. A method for producing an assembly of lamina to a desired length, comprising the steps of: forming a first laminate; bonding to the first laminate a second laminate having opposite surfaces coated with adhesive; using the adhesive to bond a third laminate to the second laminate, such that the first, second and third laminates are arranged mutually parallel in a stack of overlapping, axially extending lamina; cutting through the first and second laminates at a relatively short distance from an end thereof; forming a relatively short tab of the first and second laminates, the tab being secured to the assembly by the third laminate; and removing the tab from the third laminate to provide an unbonded length of the third laminate extending from the assembly.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: removing the third laminate from the assembly.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of forming a first laminate, further comprises: extruding a first laminate in a long continuous strand having a predetermined cross sectional shape.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of forming a first laminate, further comprises: forming a first laminate in a long continuous strand having a predetermined cross sectional shape; and cutting the first laminate strand, second laminate, and third laminate to a length that is substantially equal to the sum of a final length of the assembly and a length of the tab.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the second laminate is coated with contact adhesive on opposite surfaces, and the step of bonding the second laminate to the first laminate further comprises: using the contact adhesive to bond the first and second laminate mutually.

12. An apparatus for manufacturing an assembly having an axial length and including a component having a first surface, a carrier strip bonded to the first surface and having a second surface coated with adhesive, and a protective liner bonded to the second surface, comprising: a work surface supporting the assembly along at least a portion of its length, a short axial tab of the assembly extending unsupported from the work surface; a blade for cutting though the component and the carrier strip at an axial end of the tab, such that the tab remains connected to the assembly by the protective liner; a pawl, pivotably supported about an axis and displaceable toward the work surface, including a contact surface where the pawl strikes the work surface eccentric from the pivot axis causing the pawl to pivot, and a first projection for engaging the tab and removing the tab from the protective liner as the pawl pivots.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the pawl further comprises: a second projection for engaging the tab and guiding the tab from the protective liner as the pawl pivots .

14. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: a displaceable arm supporting the pawl for movement toward and away from the work surface, and supporting the pawl for pivoting displacement as the pawl moves relative to the work surface.

15. The apparatus of 12, further comprising: a spring for urging the pawl to pivot relative to the work surface as the pawl is displaced away from the work surface.

16. The apparatus of 12 , wherein the work surface has an opening located below the location of the tab,, and further comprising: a chamber located below the opening for receiving the tab following removal of the tab from the protective liner.