Joint seal

Abstract

An elongated joint seal for sealing a gap between two surfaces comprising a trunk and at least two resilient members extending one to each side of the trunk. The fingers in use contacting the surfaces of the gap, the trunk being substantially rigid to enable insertion of the seal into the gap.

1 . An elongated joint seal for sealing a gap between two surfaces, comprising a trunk and at least two resilient members extending one to each side of the trunk, the fingers in use contacting the surfaces of the gap, the trunk being substantially rigid to enable insertion of the seal into the gap. 
   
   
       2 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 1  wherein the trunk is defined by a seal body at least partly encapsulating a substantially rigid spine, the resilient members being formed with the seal body. 
   
   
       3 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 2  wherein the seal body is an extruded strip of resilient material that is longitudinally folded upon itself with the spine located within the fold. 
   
   
       4 . The sealing joint claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the resilient members are resilient fingers of which there are one to five fingers to each side of the trunk. 
   
   
       5 . A joint seal for sealing a gap between two surfaces, comprising:
 an elongated strip of resilient material having sealing members extending laterally to one side of the strip; and   a substantially rigid spine for driving the elongated strip into a gap whereby the spine folds the strip along the width of the strip into the gap to form a substantially rigid trunk encapsulating the rigid spine whereby at least one sealing member locates on opposite sides of the trunk so as to contact the surfaces of the gap.   
   
   
       6 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the strip contains an indented nose for receiving a leading end of the spine. 
   
   
       7 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the strip is made of an extruded elastomeric material, and the spine is extruded or formed from a sheet in plastics, metal or a composite. 
   
   
       8 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the spine has angled barbs for anchoring the spine within folded walls of the strip, 
   
   
       9 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the spine has a trailing end that is “Y” or “T” shaped. 
   
   
       10 . The sealing joint claimed in  claim 5  wherein the joint includes an intumesent material. 
   
   
       11 . The sealing joint claimed in  claim 5  wherein the strip and the spine are co-extruded or cross head extruded as a single elongated component. 
   
   
       12 . A method of sealing a joint gap between two surfaces comprising:
 aligning along the gap an elongated sealing strip of resilient material having sealing members extending to one side of the strip;   driving the strip into the gap by forcing a substantially rigid spine along a longitudinal line of the strip such that the strip folds as it is driven into the gap and the members contact the surfaces on either side of the gap.   
   
   
       13 . The method claimed in  claim 12 , including pre-folding the sealing strip along the longitudinal line to encapsulate the rigid spine and then driving the sealing strip and spine into the gap such that the sealing members contact the surfaces on either side of the gap. 
   
   
       14 . The method claimed in  claim 12 , including driving the spine along a centre line of the strip to longitudinally fold the strip in half into the gap. 
   
   
       15 . The method claimed in  claim 12 , including driving the strip into the gap by hammering a head of the spine onto the strip. 
   
   
       16 . The method claimed in  claim 12 , including applying an adhesive or a lubricant along the side of the strip having the sealing members. 
   
   
       17 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the strip is made of an extruded elastomeric material, and the spine is extruded or formed from a sheet in plastics, metal or a composite. 
   
   
       18 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the spine has angled barbs for anchoring the spine within folded walls of the strip. 
   
   
       19 . The joint seal claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the spine has a trailing end that is “Y” or “T” shaped. 
   
   
       20 . The sealing joint claimed in  claim 1  wherein the joint includes an intumesent material.