Technical Field of the Invention
[0001] Present invention relates to a sealing profile for waterproof sealing of a gap between
a wall surface and a sanitary ware surface, comprising a first strip and a second
strip, which are foldable in relation to each other along a longitudinal folding line.
Background Art
[0002] This type of sealing profiles are used as waterproof barrier between two surfaces,
especially between a sanitary item, such as a bath, a basin, or a work surface, and
a wall, for preventing seepage of water between the two surfaces. The problem with
providing waterproof seals in bathrooms and kitchens have through the years resulted
in a wide variety of sealing profile designs.
[0003] US 2003/017548 refers to a sealing member with a trapezoidal form and further shows a L-shaped strip
with a sort of film hinge as prior art.
[0004] In
DE 10 2004 003823 is shown a sealing member essentially in the form of a right-angled triangle.
[0005] In
GB 2 136 288 is described a sealing member for sealing a gap between a bath or basin and an adjacent
wall. This sealing member has, as seen in cross-section, a first limb to be attached
to the wall and a second limb extending from the first limb. The first and the second
limbs are substantially rigid and provided at their free ends with lips made of a
softer material. Due to the rigid limbs the sealing member is only suitable for attachment
to surfaces forming an angle of approx. 90° in relation to each other.
[0006] The problem with these sealing members is that they are unflexible and hard to attach
to non-right-angled corners. As the corners to be sealed in bathrooms often differ
from a right angle the known sealing strips do no always fulfil their purpose. But
on the other hand is the more flexible the L-shaped strip mentioned above more prone
to crack as its thin hinge acts as a stress concentration point. Consequently a strip
of this kind has a shorter useful life.
[0007] Hence there is a need of a waterproof, flexible and resistant sealing profile, which
can be attached to surfaces, arranged in a wide variety of angles in relation to each
other and which has a long useful life. The profile should also be easy to manufacture
and to install, especially for a DIY person.
Summary of the Invention
[0008] The object of the invention is to meet this need. This is accomplished with a sealing
profile, comprising a first strip and a second strip which are foldable in relation
to each other along a longitudinal folding line, which profile is
characterized in that the folding line is provided in a bending zone, which is made of a softer material
than the material of the first and the second strip, which softer material has a shore
A hardness value of 70 or lower, and in that the folding line has a thickness of at
least 50 % of the thickness of the strips. The softer material of the bending zone
should further preferably have a shore A hardness value of at least 20 less than the
shore A hardness value of the material of the strips. This combination of features
provides for a flexible and durable sealing profile.
[0009] The bending zone, as seen in cross-section, is formed like a knee, with a knee cap
on a first profile surface, intended to face the wall surface and the sanitary ware
surface, and a bend of a knee on a second profile surface, opposite the first profile
surface, wherein the first profile surface, including the knee cap suitably is provided
with an adhesive, covered with a release paper. In this way, the first profile surface
will along the whole kneecap surface be provided with an adhesive, thus able to adhere
to even an innermost part of an inner corner at the wall and gap to be sealed.
[0010] Preferably, each strip along its free long side has a sealing lip, which is made
of a softer material than the material of the first and the second strip, which softer
material has a shore A hardness value of 70 or lower and of at least 20 less than
the shore A hardness value of the strips. The lips are not provided with an adhesive
but are, due to the soft material, sealing by their own resilience against the wall
surface and the sanitary ware surface.
[0011] For a cost-effective manufacturing the sealing profile is suitably integrally formed
by co-extruding the strips, the bending zone and the lips as a flat blank.
[0012] The kneecap and the free end of the lips on the first and second strip, are, as seen
in cross-section of the flat blank, preferably protruding in the same direction and
essentially in the same degree in relation to the first profile surface. As these
protruding parts are pressed against the wall surface with the same force they will
be subject to a recovery force in the same degree.
[0013] The bend of the knee and the first profile surface are lying in the same plane, as
seen in cross section of the flat blank. This design creates a bending indication
at a connection between the bending zone and each strip. When the profile is attached
to a wall surface and a sanitary ware surface, this indication will make the bending
zone, due to the shape memory of the material, press the strips against said surfaces,
further contributing to the adhesion between the profile and the surfaces.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0014] In the following, a preferred embodiment of sealing profile according to the invention
is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig 1 is a cross section of a sealing profile according the invention as a flat blank
provided with an adhesive with a release paper,
Fig 2 shows the sealing profile in fig 1 folded,
Fig 3 shows the sealing profile in fig 1 attached to a wall and a bathtub.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention
[0015] The sealing profile 1 in fig 1-3 is a profile for waterproof sealing of a gap between
a wall and a sanitary ware, which in the shown example is a bathtub, but which might
also be a washbasin, sink or work surface. The profile 1 comprises a first strip 2
and a second strip 2 which are foldable in relation to each other along a longitudinal
folding line. The thickness at the folding line, along the theoretical folding line
F shown in fig 3, is at least 50 % of the thickness of the strips. It is possible
to use the sealing profile 1 for a gap, which is approximately as wide as half the
width of a strip.
[0016] The folding line is provided in a bending zone 3. The bending zone 3, as seen in
cross-section, is formed like a knee, with a knee cap 3a on a first profile surface
1 a, intended to face the wall surface and the bath tub surface, and a bend 3b of
a knee on a second profile surface 1 b, opposite the first profile surface 1a.
[0017] Each strip has along its free long side a sealing lip 4.
[0018] An adhesive 5, covered with a release paper 8, is provided on the first profile surface
1 a, including the kneecap 3a but not on the lips 4 and part of the strips adjacent
the lips.
[0019] The sealing profile is made of environment-friendly halogen free polymer material.
[0020] The bending zone 3 and sealing lips 4 are made of a softer material than the material
of the first and the second strip, but the lips and the bending zone need not be of
the same material. The material of the strips has a shore A hardness of at least 90.
The softer materials have a shore A hardness value of 70 or lower, i.e. at least 20
less than the shore A hardness value of the material of the strips, which makes the
bending zone 3 flexible such that the strips are foldable in an angle of 70-180° in
relation to each other, and hence the profile is able to seal a gap between surfaces
which are arranged in an angle of 70-180° in relation to each other. The softer material
is preferably an EPDM terpolymer.
[0021] The sealing profile 1 is integrally formed by co-extruding the strips, the accurate
bending zone 3 and the lips 4 as a flat blank. The blank is then provided with the
adhesive 5, covered with the release paper 8 and cut to lengths suitable for transport
and storing.
[0022] The sealing profile 1 can also be manufactured by triextrusion if the lips and the
bending zone are made of different materials.
[0023] Before application of the profile a corner to be sealed is carefully cleaned. The
profile is folded, which will stretch the first profile surface 1 a in the bending
zone 3, distributing the adhesive over the zone. The release paper 8 is removed from
the profile, and the profile is pressed into to the corner.
[0024] When attached to a surface the material of the bending zone 3 will be subjected to
a constant stress due to the stretching. This stress might lead to cracking. As the
folding line has a thickness of at least 50 % of the thickness of the strips it will
be less prone to stress cracking than prior art seals. Still, due to the softer material
of the bending zone 3 the strips are easy to fold and arrange in different angles
in relation to each other.
[0025] Further the bending zone 3 will try to retake its original form as extruded due to
its shape memory, i.e. its inherent recovery force. As extruded the bend 3b of the
knee and the first profile surface 1 a are lying in the same plane, creating a bending
indication 3d at a connection between the bending zone 3 and each strip 2. When the
profile is attached to the wall surface 6 and the bathtub surface 7, this indication
that will make the bending zone 3, due to its shape memory, press the strips against
said surfaces, further contributing to the attachment between the profile and the
surfaces. Even the part of profile covering the gap, hence not attached to any surface,
will in this way be pressed towards the bathtub.
[0026] The kneecap 3a and the free end of the lips 4 on the first and second strip, as seen
in cross-section of the flat blank in Fig 3, are protruding in the same direction
and essentially in the same degree in relation to the first profile surface 1 a. When
the profile 1 is attached to a surface the lips 4 are deformed and by their own resilience
pressed against the surface, sealing between of the profile itself and the surface.
[0027] The softer material of the lips in combination with the elastic properties of the
strips themselves make it possible to attach the profile securely to non planar wall
surfaces, such as tiles with splices and glasfiber fabric.
[0028] As all the surfaces to seal in a bathroom do not have a 90 ° relationship the sealing
profile according the invention makes it possible to use the same profile for different
gaps to be sealed in a bathroom giving a more aesthetic impression. The first and
the second strip can have different lengths, depending on the gap to be sealed, which
further increases its flexibility.
[0029] According the invention the material properties, such as creep, flexibility and recovery,
are optimised for providing a sealing profile with improved sealing and adhering properties
and durability.
1. Sealing profile for waterproof sealing of a gap between a wall surface and a sanitary
ware surface,
comprising a first strip (2) and a second strip (2) which are foldable in relation
to each other along a longitudinal folding line,
characterized in that the folding line is provided in a bending zone (3), which is made of a softer material
than the material of the first and the second strip, which softer material has a shore
A hardness value of 70 or lower, and
in that the folding line has a thickness of at least 50 % of the thickness of the strips.
2. Sealing profile according to claim 1, in which the softer material of the bending
zone (3) has a shore A hardness value of at least 20 less than the shore A hardness
value of the material of the strips.
3. Sealing profile according to claim 1 or 2, in which the bending zone (3), as seen
in cross-section, is formed like a knee, with a knee cap (3a) on a first profile surface
(1 a), intended to face the wall surface and the sanitary ware surface, and a bend
(3b) of a knee on a second profile surface (1 b), opposite the first profile surface,
wherein the first profile surface (1 a), including the knee cap (3a) is provided with
an adhesive (5), covered with a release paper (8).
4. Sealing profile according to any of claim 1-3, wherein each strip (2) along its free
long side has a sealing lip (4), made of a softer material than the material of the
first and the second strip, which softer material has a shore A hardness value of
70 or lower.
5. Sealing profile according to claim 6, in which the softer material of each sealing
lip (4) has a shore A hardness value of at least 20 less than the shore A hardness
value of the strips (2).
6. Sealing profile according to any of claim 1-5, which is integrally formed by co-extruding
the strips (2) and the bending zone (3) as a flat blank.
7. Sealing profile according to claim 4, which is integrally formed by co-extruding the
strips (2), the bending zone (3) and the lips (4) as a flat blank.
8. Sealing profile according to claim 3 and 7, in which the knee cap (3a) and the free
end (4a) of the lip (4) on the first and second strip, as seen in cross-section of
the flat blank, are protruding in the same direction and essentially in the same degree
in relation to the first profile surface (1 a).
9. Sealing profile according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the bend (3b) of the knee and the
first profile surface (1 a) are lying in the same plane, as seen in cross section
of the flat blank.