Apparatus and method for reinforcing a vinyl beam

Abstract

An apparatus and method are disclosed for reinforcing a vinyl beam. The apparatus includes an elongated sleeve with walls and an insert that may be slid into the sleeve to support the walls of the sleeve. The insert may be made from multicolored thermoplastic material and may be concealed within the sleeve. Contact points extending from an exterior surface of the insert may facilitate positioning the insert in the sleeve and may support the walls of the sleeve. A method is also presented for reinforcing a vinyl beam. The method comprises forming an insert from the material of a cleansing die batch. Furthermore, the method may include forming an insert from reprocessed rejected manufactured polymer stock.

1 . An apparatus for reinforcing a vinyl beam, the apparatus comprising: 
 an elongated sleeve having walls and an opening configured to receive an insert; and    the insert formed of substantially the same material as the sleeve and configured to be slideably inserted into the sleeve to support the walls of the sleeve, the insert being concealable within the sleeve.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the insert further comprises a plurality of contact points extending from an exterior surface of the insert and configured to support the walls of the sleeve.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of contact points has a contact surface area less than half of the internal surface area of the sleeve.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of contact points has a contact surface area less than a quarter of the internal surface area of the sleeve.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the contact points together with the insert have a cross-sectional diameter greater than an interior cross-sectional diameter of the sleeve.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the exterior surface of the insert comprises a textured surface.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve is formed of a unicolored thermoplastic material.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the insert is formed of a multicolored thermoplastic material.  
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the multicolored thermoplastic material is recycled from waste vinyl material.  
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the insert is configured to engage a beam member.  
     
     
         11 . A method for reinforcing a vinyl beam, the method comprising: 
 forming an elongated sleeve from a first die batch having a uniform first color, the elongated sleeve having walls and an opening configured to receive an insert;    initiating a cleansing die batch having a second color; and    forming an insert from material of the cleansing die batch passing through thermoplastic component manufacturing equipment, the insert configured to be slideably inserted into the sleeve to support the walls of the sleeve, the insert being concealable within the sleeve.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising inserting the insert into the elongated sleeve.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming a plurality of contact points extending from an exterior surface of the insert and configured to support the walls of the sleeve.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the method comprises forming a plurality of contact points having a contact surface area less than half of the internal surface area of the sleeve.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the method comprises forming a plurality of contact points having a contact surface area less than a quarter of the internal surface area of the sleeve.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming the sleeve by blow molding.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming the insert by extrusion.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming a textured surface on the exterior surface of the insert.  
     
     
         19 . A method for reinforcing a vinyl beam, the method comprising: 
 reprocessing rejected manufactured polymer stock into a multicolored die batch; and    forming an insert from the multicolored die batch, the insert configured to be slideably inserted into an elongated sleeve to support the walls of the sleeve, the insert being concealable within the elongated sleeve, the elongated sleeve having walls and an opening configured to receive the insert.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising forming a plurality of contact points extending from an exterior surface of the insert and configured to support the wails of the sleeve.