Seal assembly for a loading dock shelter

The dock seal as in claim5 wherein the seal member is stiffer at the first end and more flexible at the sealing end.

A loading dock shelter for use with a truck parked adjacent a dock opening wherein the truck has a cargo bay, interior and exterior walls and a rear lateral peripheral end, the dock shelter comprising:

• at least one seal assembly flexibly attached to the dock shelter for movement between a disengaged position wherein the seal assembly projects into the path of the incoming truck and a sealing position wherein the seal assembly engages the surface of the rear lateral peripheral end of the truck for forming a substantially air-tight seal,
• and wherein the seal assembly comprises a relatively stiff panel member and a relatively flexible seal member, the seal member being adapted for resilient, flexible movement between a hook-shaped cross section for hookedly engaging the rear lateral end of the incoming truck in the disengaged position and a substantially straight cross section so as to flexibly conform to the surfaces of the rear lateral end of the truck and to sealably engage the said truck surface to form a substantially air-tight seal, the cross sectional thickness of the seal member being substantially unchanged after engagement with the truck.

A dock seal attached to a loading dock shelter for sealing between a dock opening and a truck having a rear lateral peripheral end, and for sealing a gap between a wall of the truck and an open truck door disposed generally adjacent the wall of the truck, the seal comprising

• a relatively stiff panel member and a relatively flexible seal member, wherein
• the resilient panel member is flexible between a disengaged position in which the panel member extends generally into the path of the incoming truck and a sealing position in which the panel member bends toward the dock opening upon engagement against the truck, and
• the resilient seal member having a first end attached to the second end of the panel member and a flexible sealing second end disposed in the path of the incoming truck so as to sealably engage the interior wall of the incoming truck and to conform to the contours of the truck surface and sealably engage the interior wall of the truck for forming a substantially air-tight seal, the cross sectional thickness of the seal member being substantially unchanged after engagement of the truck.