Oven cured structural foam with designed-in sag positioning
AssigneeHenkel Corporation
InventorsJoseph S Wycech, George F. Didlake
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laminate for reinforcing a structural member having a plurality of side walls comprises a carrier having at least one inclined support surface. Each support surface has an outer edge disposed toward a respective side wall. A layer of extruded uncured structural foam is on each support surface and terminates inwardly of the outer edge. The foam expands when cured and tumbles down the inclined support surface of the carrier to become bonded to the side wall as well as the carrier. By being spaced from the outer edge of the support surface, the tendency for the foam to wipe against the side wall is minimized as is the tendency for a worker to touch the foam when the worker places the carrier into the structural member.
Claims23
A laminate for reinforcing a structural member having a plurality of spaced side walls comprising a carrier, said carrier having at least one support surface, said support surface having an outer edge for being generally disposed at a respective one of the side walls of the structural member, a layer of uncured structural foam on said support surface, said layer of said foam terminating inwardly of said outer edge of said support surface, said foam being made of a polymer material which is expandable when being cured for expanding to said outer edge and thereby bonding to the side wall of the structural member, and portions of said carrier being free of said foam and accessible to function as a handle whereby a worker may place said carrier between the spaced side walls of the structural member and minimize the touching of said foam by the worker.
A method of reinforcing a structural member having a plurality of spaced side walls comprising the steps of providing a carrier having a support surface with an outer edge, mounting a block of uncured structural foam on the support surface with the foam terminating inwardly of the outer edge, the carrier comprising a drop in insert, placing the drop in insert into the structural member with the outer edge of the support surface generally located at one of the side walls of the structural member to thereby minimize any tendency of the foam to wipe against the side wall when the insert is placed into the structural member, a worker placing the insert into the structural member by holding a portion of the carrier which is free of the foam to minimize any tendency for direct touching of the foam, and curing the foam to expand the foam into an intimate bond with the side wall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.