Method of manufacturing a foil tape and foil tape

Abstract

The invention relates to a foil tape (10) for sealing joints between structural elements (30, 31) which are joined to one another, for example in house-building between masonry and a door or window jamb, wherein the foil tape (10) has a functional membrane (1), a textile (4) joined, preferably all-over, to the functional membrane (1) on a top side or an underside, and at least in certain areas an adhesive layer (2) applied in certain areas to that side of the membrane (1) which is averted from the textile (4), wherein the foil tape (10) is folded to produce a folded body (20), so that sections of the textile (4) lie on top of one another at least in certain areas, the sections of the textile (4) lying on top of one another being welded to one another partially and in particular in a punctiform pattern by supplying energy to the folded body (20).

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a foil tape for sealing joints between two structural elements, for example in house-building between masonry and a door or window jamb, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a tape-like membrane or cutting the membrane to size; b) providing a tape-like textile or cutting the textile to size; c) joining the textile to a top side or underside of the membrane; d) applying an adhesive layer to at least certain areas of that side of the membrane which is averted from the textile; e) folding the foil tape along a longitudinal axis to form a folded body, so that the adhesive layer forms in certain areas an outside of the folded body on a top side and/or an underside of the folded body and sections of the textile lie on top of one another in the interior of the folded body at least in certain areas; f) joining the sections of the textile lying on top of one another in certain areas, so that the sections of the textile lying on top of one another are joined partially and in particular in a punctiform pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sections of the textile lying on top of one another are joined by supplying energy to certain areas of the folded body, so that the sections of the textile lying on top of one another are welded partially and in a punctiform pattern.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the folded body is guided through a roller gap formed between two rollers rotating parallel to each other for energy supply, wherein the first roller has a plurality of nubs integrated into the roller surface or projecting from the roller surface, each of which forms a punctiform excitation body to introduce punctiform energy for welding into the foil tape.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the excitation bodies are ultrasonic transmitters, so that the sections of the textile lying on top of one another are welded to one another in a punctiform pattern.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the excitation bodies are punctiform electrodes connected to a source for an electric welding signal, which can be a DC, an AC and in particular a high-frequency signal, and the other roller is designed to be electrically conductive, thus forming a counter-electrode.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the punctiform welding is performed by ultrasonic welding or high-frequency welding.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, to produce the welding spots joining the two textile layers, a voltage applied to the electrode and/or a rotary speed of at least one of the two rollers can be changed.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the foil tape or the folded body is wound up to form a roll which is easily stored and transported after welding.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer is covered with a cover foil at least in certain areas to prevent a drying-out or contamination of the adhesive layer in storage and/or an unwanted adhesion of the foil tape or the folded body to an object and/or to facilitate the unrolling of the foil tape from the reel.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein a non-woven fabric is used as a textile.

11. A foil tape for sealing joints between two structural elements, for example in house-building, between masonry and a door or window jamb, the foil tale comprising: a) a functional membrane with a top side and an underside b) a textile joined, preferably all-over, to the functional membrane on the top side or the underside, c) at least in certain areas an adhesive layer applied in certain areas to that side of the membrane which is averted from the textile, wherein the foil tape is folded to produce a folded body, so that sections of the textile lie on top of one another at least in certain areas, the sections of the textile lying on top of one another being welded to one another partially and in a punctiform pattern.

12. The foil tape according to claim 11, wherein the welding method for welding the textile is ultrasonic welding or high-frequency welding.

13. The foil tape according to claim 11, wherein the partial adhesive layer is not formed in the area of a fold, so that no adhesive is applied to longitudinal sides of the folded body.

14. The foil tape according to claim 11, wherein the membrane is formed from polyurethane (PUR), polyamide (PA), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) or PVC.

15. The foil tape according to claim 11, wherein the textile is a needle felt, a water structure fabric, a spunbond non-woven fabric or a closed non-woven fabric of polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene or polyamide.

16. The foil tape according to claim 11, wherein the adhesive layer is covered by a cover foil at least in a section forming an underside of the folded body.

17. The foil tape according to claim 11, wherein the foil tape is produced using a method comprising the steps of: a) providing the membrane or cutting the membrane to size; b) providing the textile or cutting the textile to size; c) joining the textile to the top side or the underside of the membrane; d) applying the adhesive layer to the at least certain areas of the side of the membrane which is averted from the textile; e) folding the foil tape along a longitudinal axis to form a folded body, so that the adhesive layer forms in certain areas an outside of the folded body on the top side and/or the underside of the folded body and sections of the textile lie on top of one another in the interior of the folded body at least in certain areas; f) joining the sections of the textile lying on top of one another in certain areas, so that the sections of the textile lying on top of one another are joined partially and in a punctiform pattern.

Description

[0067] The figures show in detail:

[0068] FIG. 1A an exemplary embodiment of a foil tape before folding and welding.

[0069] FIG. 1B an exemplary embodiment of a foil tape before folding and welding.

[0070] FIG. 2 a foil tape as a folded body with weld, section.

[0071] FIG. 3 a folded body from above, with adjacent folding sketch.

[0072] FIG. 4 joint sealing with a foil tape in a first and a second building phase.

[0073] FIG. 5 a diagrammatic representation of a welding device for producing the welds of the folded body.

[0074] FIG. 6A a detailed view of a roller for welding.

[0075] FIG. 6B a detailed view of a roller for welding.

[0076] FIG. 6C a detailed view of a roller for welding.

[0077] FIG. 1A shows the basic structure of a foil tape 10 after the joining of several tape layers and before the subsequent folding and welding. A sectional view transverse to the longitudinal axis of the foil tape 10 is also presented.

[0078] The foil tape 10 comprises a membrane or functional membrane 1, a self-adhesive layer 2 protected against contamination and damage by a removable cover foil 3 and a textile 4 joined by means of an adhesive 5, preferably non-releasably, to the membrane 1 on that side of the membrane 1 which is averted from the self-adhesive layer 2.

[0079] In the present embodiment the textile is preferably a non-woven fabric. The textile 4 can be a needle felt, a water structure fabric, a spunbond non-woven fabric or a closed non-woven fabric, preferably of polyethylene, polyester, polypropylene or polyamide.

[0080] The tape width B of the prototype produced by the applicant is 75 mm, 80 mm or 250 mm. These prototypes thus form three embodiments having the same structure, but different widths B. The foil tape can also have a different width, however, as required for sealing a gap between two structural elements. It is therefore expedient to provide a width of at least 50 mm, in particular at least 75 mm.

[0081] As will be described in greater detail below, at least one longitudinal side of the tape 10 is folded. This results in a base section 6 and a folded section 12, the base section being wider than the folded section. The width of the folded section can differ, being for example 12 mm in the embodiment with the tape width B of 75 mm, 12 mm or 20 mm in the embodiment with the tape width B of 80 mm and 12 mm or 20 mm in the embodiment with the tape width B of 250 mm. It has been shown that the width of the folded section is preferably at least 10 mm to obtain a sufficiently strong adhesion to a second building part to be sealed.

[0082] The foil tape 10 shown in FIG. 1Bb has the structure shown in FIG. 1A, with the difference that the foil tape is prepared for folding. The cover foil 3 is divided into two sections 3a, 3b, which can be removed individually from the adhesive layer 2. In the illustrated embodiment the cover foil 3 is perforated to produce the two sections 3a, 3b, with a perforation line 7 facilitating the removal of the sections 3a, 3b of the cover foil 3 in certain areas.

[0083] The adhesive layer 2 is formed in two separate adhesive areas 2a, 2b, which are spaced from each other to form an adhesive-free area 8. The division of the adhesive layer 2 into the two adhesive areas 2a, 2b facilitates a folding of the foil tape 10 to produce a folded body 20 (see FIG. 2). In the folding process the cover foil 3 is torn into two sections along the perforation line 7, so that the sections 3a, 3b form separate sections.

[0084] The adhesive layer 2 and/or the cover foil 3 can also be applied after folding.

[0085] It is particularly advantageous if no cover foil is applied to the adhesive area 2a, because when the foil tape 10 is then wound onto a reel, the area 2a of the adhesive layer 2 contacts and adheres to the section 3b of the cover foil 3 of the adjacent wrap of the foil tape 10.

[0086] The foil tape 10 is preferably folded in a region where no adhesive layer 2 is joined to the membrane 1, which has the advantage that there is no adhesive layer 2 at the side of the folded foil tape 10.

[0087] The folded foil tape (FIG. 2) has a fold 9 of a folded body 20 formed from a foil tape 10. In the region of the fold 9, an outer surface 20c of the folded body 20 is free of adhesive.

[0088] The foil tape 10 has the adhesive layer 2 on only one side of the membrane 1. The foil tape 10 is folded in such a way that the adhesive layer 2 and the cover foil 3 respectively lie outside at the folded body 20 on a top side 20a and an underside 20b and the textile 4 forms a double layer in the interior of the folded body 20.

[0089] By supplying energy, the sections of the textile 4 which lie on top of one another are at least partially melted and joined to one another in welding spots 11 after cooling, which will be explained in greater detail below. The joint in the welding spots 11 is strong enough to prevent an unwanted unfolding of the folded body 20. The joint of the textile 4 in the welding spots 11 can easily be undone manually or with a tool, however.

[0090] FIG. 3 is a top view of two folded bodies 20 which can be produced by folding the foil tape 10 of FIG. 1A or 1B. The folded bodies 20 differ in the width B10 of the folded section 12. In the upper view B10 is 12 mm, for example, and in the lower view B10 is 20 mm. In principle B10 can be any size to be determined by the expert. The base sections 6 of the two folded bodies in FIG. 3 have the same width B20.

[0091] The base sections 6 of the folded bodies 20 have an outer free edge 20c identical to the outer edge 10c of the foil tape 10 and form an outer edge 20d with the fold 9. The folded section 10 has a free edge coinciding with the outer edge 10d of the foil tape 10.

[0092] FIG. 4 shows the installation situation of the foil tape 10 between a first structural body 30, e.g. an opening in the outer wall of a building, and a second structural body 31, e.g. a window or doorjamb, in a first building phase (upper sketch) and a second building phase (lower sketch).

[0093] In the first building phase the foil tape 10 serves as outer seal of the joint formed between the first structural body 30 and the second structural body 31, so that the interior of the building or house can dry out. During and after the second building phase (lower sketch), the same foil tape 10 provides an inner seal of the joint between the first structural body 30 and the second structural body 31. In the second building phase a composite heat insulation system 33 with its own seal 34 can be joined to the first structural body 30 and the second structural body 31, for example, and the first structural element 30 can receive a plaster layer 32.

[0094] In the installation process the foil tape 10 can be placed with its fold 9 flush with an edge 35 of the structural body 31 and joined to the first and second structural bodies 30, 31. The folded section 12 of the foil tape 10 is then detached from the base section 6 and laid around the edge 35 and joined to a further side of the second structural body 31. This makes the installation of the foil tape 10 very simple, and the installation is easy even with a Z-arrangement of the self-adhesive foil tape 10 as shown in a top view.

[0095] In the above embodiment the foil tape has only one folded section 12. Within the scope of the invention the foil tape can also be designed with two folded sections 12 on the two longitudinal sides.

[0096] FIG. 5 shows a sketch of an example of a welding device 100, with which the textile 4 of the folded adhesive foil 10 can be welded as described above. The welding device 100 comprises a first wheel or a first roller 40 and a second wheel or a second roller 50.

[0097] The first roller 40 can have a circular circumference and is preferably made completely of metal, e.g. steel, titanium or aluminum. The first roller 40 comprises a drive shaft 41 non-rotatably joined to the first roller 40. In the illustrated embodiment the first roller 40 is driven by an electric motor 43. The surface 42 of the first roller 40 is connected to an energy source 45, e.g. an ultrasonic generator applying ultrasound to the first roller or an AC generator capable of applying an electric voltage to the surface 42. If the energy source 45 is an ultrasonic generator, the first roller 40 is preferably designed as a sonotrode, made to perform resonant vibrations by the introduction of the ultrasonic waves.

[0098] The surface 42 of the first roller 40 can be substantially smooth or have, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, radially projecting nubs distributed along the outer circumference of the first roller 40. Such nubs are particularly advantageous when using ultrasound. When using electromagnetic waves, electrodes are provided at the locations of the nubs; these can be flush with the surface of the roller 40 or project from the surface like the nubs. The electrodes are electrically insulated against the remaining outer surface of the rollers.

[0099] The second roller 50 has a circular circumference and can be made of or comprise steel or another metal like the first roller. The second roller 50 comprises a drive shaft 51 non-rotatably joined to the second roller 50. In the illustrated embodiment the second roller 50 is driven by a second electric motor 53. The surface 52 of the second roller 50 has a plurality of nubs 54 projecting outwards in the radial direction from the surface 52 of the second roller 50.

[0100] The first roller 40 and the second roller 50 are arranged adjacent to each other, their axes of rotation R40 and R50 being parallel to each other. The first roller 40 and the second roller 50 together form a roller gap 60. The roller gap 60 is located directly above a locating surface 61 for the folded foil tape 10, which means that either the first roller 40 or the second roller 50 is placed largely or substantially below the locating surface 61.

[0101] The welding spots 11 in the folded foil tape 10 or folded body 20 are formed where the folded body 20 running through the roller gap 60 is pushed downwards towards the second roller 50 on its top side 20a by the first roller 40 or a nub 44 of the first roller and at the same time upwards against the first roller 40 on the underside 20b by a nub 54 of the second roller 50.

[0102] In the preferred ultrasonic welding process, the second roller 50 can here form the anvil 50 and the first roller 40 can form the sonotrode 40 made to vibrate in the ultrasonic range. The friction generated by the sonotrode 40 at least starts to melt the textile 4 in the region of the top sides averted from the membrane 1, so that the facing sides of the textiles 4 lying adjacent to one another adhere to one another. In this the number and arrangement of the nubs 54 on the second roller 50 or the anvil 50 determines the arrangement and number of the welding spots 11 in the folded body 20 if the first roller 40 has a smooth surface.

[0103] If the first roller 40 has nubs 44 and the second roller 50 has nubs 54, and an outer diameter of the two rollers 40, 50 as measured at the radially outer ends of the nubs 44, 54 is identical, the number and arrangement of the nubs 44 on the first roller can correspond to the number and arrangement of the nubs 54 on the second roller 50. In order to facilitate a regular secure production of welding spots 11 in the folded body 20, the two rollers 40, 50 have to be synchronized. In the illustrated embodiment the synchronization is performed by the electric motors 43 and 53.

[0104] With regard to the welding device 100 of FIG. 5, the fact applies that only an example has been described here and the expert knows numerous alternatives having a similar effect. With regard to the welding device 100, the invention is not restricted to the illustrated and described welding device 100.

[0105] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C offer a detailed representation of the second roller 50—the anvil wheel—in four views. The first view, shown in FIG. 6A, is a lateral top view of the second roller 50. The anvil wheel comprises a central opening 55, which can be connected to the drive shaft 51 driven by the motor 54. In the radial direction the central opening 55 is adjoined by an annular roller base body 56. The roller base body 56 supports the roller head 57 with the radially outward-projecting nubs 54 or embossing nubs.

[0106] FIG. 6B shows a central cross-section B-B through the anvil wheel or second roller 50 of FIG. 6A in a plane spanned by the axis of rotation R50 of the anvil wheel. It shows the axis of rotation R50, the opening 55 for the accommodation of a shaft (not shown) which can drive the anvil wheel, the roller base body 56 and the roller head 57. The illustrated anvil wheel is formed in one piece, i.e. cast, sintered or machined from a solid material. The material of the second roller 50 is a metal such as steel.

[0107] FIG. 6C is a side view of the second roller 50. As can be seen, the ends of the nubs 54 averted from the roller head 57, where the second roller 50 has a maximum diameter, as can be seen in FIG. 6A in the section B-B, are quadrangular with edges 54a extending obliquely outwards all round. This means that the surface 54b, which presses in a punctiform manner against the folded body 20 in the welding process and interacts with the sonotrode 40, is formed in such a way that force can be transmitted optimally.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0108] 1 Membrane, functional membrane [0109] 2 Adhesive layer [0110] 2a Adhesive area [0111] 2b Adhesive area [0112] 2c Adhesive area [0113] 3 Cover foil [0114] 3a Cover foil area [0115] 3b Cover foil area [0116] 3c Cover foil area [0117] 4 Textile [0118] 5 Adhesive [0119] 6 Base section [0120] 7 Perforation line [0121] 8 Adhesive-free area [0122] 9 Fold [0123] 10 Foil tape [0124] 10a Top side [0125] 10b Underside [0126] 10c Outer edge [0127] 10d Outer edge [0128] 11 Welding spot [0129] 12 Folded section [0130] 20 Folded body [0131] 20a Top side [0132] 20b Underside [0133] 20c Fold [0134] 20d Outer end [0135] 40 Roller [0136] 41 Drive shaft [0137] 42 Surface [0138] 43 Motor [0139] 44 Nub [0140] 45 Energy source [0141] 50 Roller