Flexible sealing member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional sealing systems for shower trays and baths face issues such as incomplete corner sealing due to rounded tray corners, confusion over installation responsibility, and incompatibility of butyl adhesive with elastomeric materials, leading to potential leaks and installation complexities.
Innovation Solution
A flexible sealing strip with a laminated film and plasma/corona etched surface, allowing tenacious engagement with silicone-based sealant adhesives, which can be applied post-tray installation, ensuring complete corner sealing and simplifying the installation process by separating the roles of plumbers and tilers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a rounded shower tray corner is located into a 90 degree wall corner junction, then the up-stand strip cannot extend into the wall corner, but pinching or pleating the adhesive to elongate the up-stand creates a triangular void and incomplete sealing
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forcing the rigid 90-degree up-stand strip into the rounded corner (traditional approach), the invention inverts the approach by allowing the strip to maintain its straight form while the adhesive compensates for the corner geometry. The adhesive is applied in excess at corners to bridge the gap between the straight strip and the rounded tray corner, eliminating voids without requiring the strip to deform or extend into the corner.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and properties of the adhesive material at corners by allowing it to remain uncured and pliable longer, enabling it to flow and fill the triangular void space created by the corner geometry. This parameter change in adhesive viscosity and curing timing allows complete corner sealing without compromising the straight alignment of the up-stand strip.
2Ease of operation
If butyl adhesive and elastomeric materials are used in traditional sealing systems, then installation is simplified, but they react aggressively with sealant causing compatibility issues
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the problematic butyl adhesive and elastomeric materials from the sealing system, replacing them with a silicone-based adhesive that is compatible with sealants. This extraction eliminates the harmful chemical reactions between adhesive and sealant while maintaining the necessary bonding and sealing functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite adhesive system comprising silicone-based adhesive in combination with a fleece layer and waterproof membrane. This composite material provides both the bonding capability needed for installation and the compatibility required to work with sealants, replacing the incompatible butyl adhesive-elastomer combination.
3Reliability
If up-stand strips are installed before the shower tray or bath is fitted, then the sealing is established early, but it creates confusion over installation responsibility between plumber and tiler
Solution Approach 1:
The invention maintains the benefit of preliminary sealing establishment by allowing the up-stand strip to be installed before the shower tray, but refines the process by using a silicone-based adhesive that remains uncured and adjustable. This allows the plumber to install the strip and the tiler to complete the sealing process, with the uncured adhesive serving as a communication interface between the two trades, eliminating responsibility confusion.
4Strength
If a roughened membrane fleece texture is used for mechanical adhesion to tile adhesive, then tile bonding is improved, but it is not ideally suited to sealant and causes build-up material that deflects adjacent tiles
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different surface qualities to different regions of the up-stand strip. The fleece layer provides roughened texture for mechanical adhesion to tile adhesive where needed, while the silicone-based adhesive areas provide smooth surfaces suitable for sealant application. This local differentiation of surface properties allows both tile bonding and sealant compatibility without material build-up or tile deflection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a watertight seal, eliminates corner voids, and clarifies installation responsibilities, ensuring a durable and effective waterproof joint without the drawbacks of traditional up-stand strips.
Implementation Method 1
the strip is a flexible polymeric material such as polyethylene or polypropylene in type and which strip outer face has a strip outer face upper region and a strip outer face lower region and which strip inner face has a strip inner face upper region and a strip inner face lower region
Implementation Method 2
the provision of laminated film coated onto part or whole strip surface
Implementation Method 3
the provision of laminated film coated onto part or whole strip surface
Implementation Method 4
the strip is a flexible polymeric material such as polyethylene or polypropylene in type
Data Source
AI summary
A sealing system (10) comprises of a flexible strip (11) having an upper boundary (12) and a lower boundary (13) an inner face (14) and an outer face (15). The inner face (14) has an upper region (16) and a lower region (17). The outer face (15) has an upper region (18) and a lower region (19). The strip inner face (14) and outer face (15) is coated with a film that allows tenacious adhesion between the strip (11) and an adhesive material.