US3213583A - Lock seam sheet metal panel - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 26, 1965 J. wlusKl 3,213,583

' LOCK SEAM SHEET METAL PANEL Filed April 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 fl l -/4 14 FIG. l

FIG. 2

. 20 26 ag 2 R \L /\\'I\/\L Z 28% 30 f L FIG. 3

INVENTOR JACK WINSKI ATTORNEYS Oct. 26, 1965 J.w1NsK. v 3,213,583

LOCK SEAM SHEET METAL PANEL Filed April 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 32 26 A J 21-20W 22 1%] 28 5O l2 L FIG. 7

FlG.5 FIG. 4

FIG. 6.

' 1 i i 2 SQ 2 INVENTOR. F|G 8 JACK wmsm ATTORNEYS United States Patent F 3,213,583 LOEK SEAM SHEET METAL PANEL Jack Winslri, 2nd and Dyson fits, Michigan City, Ind. Filed Apr. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 190,451 3 Claims. (Cl. 52395) The present invention relates to sheet metal panels formed from a number of individual sheets or sections joined together in a weather tight joint and more particularly to a joint construction for use in joining the individual sheets or sections to form the panel.

Roofing panels, particularly those extensively used in the construction of mobile homes, trailers and the like are usually constructed of a series of sheets or sections joined side by side using a lock seam joint and suitable weather calking stripping. This type of fabricated roofing panels permits the use of standard sheet materials of economical, easily handled widths. Previously, however, the joints between the sections or sheets laid side by side either have been difficult to make on fast assembly line operations or have been unreliable and easily damaged when the fabricated panels are formed to the contour of the roof structure. Further, the operation or method of assembling the sections and forming the joints has been difficult to perform or required expensive and complicated machinery which is unavailable or impractical for small operations. It is therefore one of the principal objects of the invention to provide a joint construction which can be easily formed using standard equipment and which is durable and capable of withstanding wide temperature variations and adverse weather conditions without damage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fabricated sheet metal panel construction which can be made in any length and in a variety of widths over a wide range, and which can be produced in easily handled sections or rolls and the various sections or rolled material joined together and assembled on the construction location.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a joint structure for prefabricated roofing panels, the parts of which can be formed and prepared for assembly and thereafter stored and shipped and used in constructing the joint whenever and wherever the panel is to be completed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a watertight joint between two strips of sheet metal or the like, which securely locks the two sheets together and seals the sheets in a fluid-tight relationship which will withstand rough handling of the fabricated sheet and deformation normally performed in using the panel in the final structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an economical, attractive and virtually indestructible joint for joining two sections of sheet metal on a common plane, which does not interfere with forming and adapting the panel thus formed to the final shape or contour of the building, vehicle or similar structure.

Another object is to provide a method of forming the aforementioned joint.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a panel formed by the present joint structure from a plurality of strips or sections of standard sheet metal;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of one of the joints and two adjoining sections of sheet metal as shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of the joint used in forming the panel, shown in FIGURES 1 and 2;

3,213,5b3 Patented Get. 2%, 1965 FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of the joint shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a member, referred to here in as a slip cap, used in forming the present joint of the sheet metal panel;

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the slip cap, as shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view through the joint before it has been completed by the method involved in forming the present sheet, the slip cap being shown in its undeformed condition ready to lock the two sections of sheet metal in place; and

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic representation of the manner in which the present panel is formed by a series of joints, the joints being partially completed for a substantial section of the panel, and then the panel completed in one additional forming operation.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, and to FIG- URE 1 in particular,numeral 10 indicates a large section of a panel fabricated using the present joint construction, the sheet metal sections thereof being indicated bynumerals 12 and the joints connecting the sections along each side thereof being indicated bynumeral 14. The sheet metal sections consist of standard sheet metal preferably of twenty-eight or thirty inch widths of twelve to twenty gauge material, the width and gauge being varied from one panel to another, depending upon the intended use to which the panel will be put. The sheet metal is normally of the standard galvanized material delivered in relatively large rolls from which sections of the desired length to produce the required width of the panel are severed.

Thepresent joint 14 employed in securingsections 12 together in the manner shown in FIGURES l and 2 consists offlanges 20 and 22 turned in a substantially U-shaped form to overlap the adjacent side of therespective section 12. The free edges offlanges 20 and 22 are preferably spaced from the body portion of the panel 12 a substantial distance in order to permit easy assembly of the joint. The edges of thepanel sections 12 are placed side by side, preferably substantially together, and aslip cap 24, having a back 26 and two inwardly extendingflanges 28 and 30, is slipped longitudinally alongflanges 2t and 22 withflanges 28 and 30' being positioned between the flanges on the panel section and the main body portion of the panel section.

Asealing strip 32 is placed on the internal side of back 26 and, while the slip cap is in the shape shown in FIGURE 7, the sealing trip does not interfere with the slipping of the cap longitudinally along flanges 2i} and 22. After the slip cap has been assembled in the manner shown in FIGURE 7, the joint is rolled or otherwise pressed to deform the flanges, i.e. bending the two flanges together and against the respective portions of the panel sections and slip cap, resulting in the structure shown in FIGURE 3, with the flanges interlocking one another and the slip cap securely holding the two panels together. When the joint has been deformed in the manner shown in FIGURE 3, the two panel sections are rigidly held together and prevented from slipping or otherwise moving, either longitudinally or transversely in the joint, relative to one another.

During the deforming operation illustrated by FIG- URES 3 and 7, thesealing strip 32 is deformed, extruding outwardly through thesmall space 34 between the two adjoining panel sections and also laterally on the inner surface of back 26 ofcap 24, thus forming a firm and effective seal between the two panel sections and theflanges 20 and 22, and the internal surface of back 26. While the mechanical joint will in many instances be adequate to prevent leakage and will rigidly retain the two sections together under all normal conditions, the sealing strip forms a permanent water and weather-tight joint, which, because of the only slight exposure to the atmosphere, is securely protected for the life of the roofing panel.

In producing large panels, the panel sections are first formed to produce flanges and 22 and then laid side by side. While the sections are in this position, the slip caps are slid over the two flanges withflanges 28 and 30 of the slip cap being interlocked withflanges 20 and 22, thus retaining the panels together. After a series of these have been assembled in this manner, the panel thus partially formed is pressed or rolled to form the joints or the joints are rolled individually to convert them from the partially formed joint shown in FIGURE 7 to the completed joint illustrated in FIGURE 3.

In forming the slip caps, the flanges are turned inwardly and the bead of sealer is applied simultaneously, the sealer consisting of a rubber-like material having a suitable solvent which evaporates readily after a strip or head of sealing material has been applied to the center of the internal side of back 26. The slip cap, after it is formed in this manner, is set aside to permit the sealing head to cure, this usually requiring several days. In forming the joints with the slip cap locking and sealing the panel sections together, a solvent is applied to the joint to render the sealing bead temporarily plastic and tacky during the time the joint is being pressed from the condition shown in FIGURE 7 to the final joint shown in FIG- URE 3. This permits the sealing bead to flow into the crevices and spaces between the two sheets and the flanges and back 26 ofcap 24 and to form an effective seal between the parts of the roofing joint.

After the sheets have been assembled in the manner shown in FIGURE 8 and the slip caps placed in position over the flanges using a suitable machine depending upon the capacity or output, a mechanical drive carries the sheet subassemblies to a position on the conveyor where steel rollers are positioned. A solvent is then automatically injected onto felt rollers, which in turn apply the solvent to each seam or joint assembly, the solvent being squeezed into the seam and activating the partially cured bead sealer, causing it to flow in all directions, effecting a good, flexible and stable seal relative to all exposed surfaces. The assembled sheets then pass to another station wherein rollers are used to flatten the flanges of the panel sections and slip cap, thus producing a secure joint. Evaporation of the solvent results in a permanent, fluid-tight seal between the parts of the joints. While a machine for forming the present joint and producing panels with the sections thereof connected by the joints has been briefly described and referred to herein, various other types of mechanisms may be used in producing the joints and panels.

Only one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein; however, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A lock seam sheet metal panel, comprising two sections of sheet metal in side-by-side position, each section having a flange on the adjacent edges extending away from the respective edge and overlapping the body of the sheet, a slip cap having a back and flanges along each edge extending inwardly over the back, and a continuous head of rubber-like material bonded to the internal surface of said back at the center thereof along substantially the entire length thereof in fluid tight relation and secured to the adjacent flanges of said sheet sections, the flanges of said cap embracing the flanges on the sheet sections and extending substantially parallel with the 'body of the sheet sections.

2. A joint for joining two sections of sheet metal to form a panel, comprising a flange on the adjacent edges of said sheet metal sections, a slip cap having a back and flanges along each edge extending inwardly over the back, and a continuous bead of rubber-like material bonded to the internal surface of said back in fluid tight relation and secured to the adjacent flanges along substantially the entire length thereof of said sheet sections.

3. A structural element for joining two sections of sheet metal, comprising a slip cap having a back and a flange along each edge extending inwardly over the back, and a continuous head of partially cured rubber-like material bonded to the internal surface of said back at the center thereof along substantially the entire length thereof in fluid tight relation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 161,420 3/75 Losie 52395 537,569 4/95 Flatau 52-467 1,125,570 1/15 Lewis 29526 1,723,307 8/29 Sipe 52-395 2,627,949 2/53 Willson 5286 2,632,942 3/53 Berg et al. 29-526 2,916,054 12/59 Callan 18936 X 3,118,252 1/64 Weed et al. 52-420 FOREIGN PATENTS 802,651 9/36 France.

' 992,163 10/51 France.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, RICHARD W. COOKE, JR.,

Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A LOCK SEAM SHEET METAL PANEL, COMPRISING TWO SECTIONS OF SHEET METAL IN SIDE-BY-SIDE POSITION, EACH SECITON HAVING A FLANGE ON THE ADJACENT EDGES EXTENDING AWAY FROM THE RESPECTIVE EDGE AND OVERLAPPING THE BODY OF THE SHEET, A SLIP CAP HAVING A BACK AND FLANGES ALONG EACH EDGE ESTENDING INWARDLY OVER THE BACK, AND A CONTINUOUS BEAD OF RUBBER-LIKE MATERIAL BONDED TO THE INTERNAL SUFACE OF SAID BACK AT THE CENTER THEREOF ALONG SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH THEREOF IN FLUID TIGHT RELATION AND SECURED TO THE ADJACENT FLANGES OF SAID SHEET SECTIONS, THE FLANGES OF SAID CAP EMBRACING THE FLANGES ON THE SHEET SECTIONS AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE BODY OF THE SHEET SECTIONS.

Images