Flexible sealing system

Claim 1

IN A STRCTURE OF THE KIND DESCRIBED, TWO MUTUALLY SPACED SECTIONS SEALED WITHOUT SURFACE GROOVING OF THE SECTIONS AGAINST THE SEEPAGE OF LIQUID THEREBETWEEN BY MEANS OF A FLAT STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL THAT EXTENDS LENGTHWISE OF THE SPACE BETWEEN THE TWO SECTIONS PARALLEL TO BUT OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE SURFACES OF THE SECTIONS; FLAT EDGE PADS OF SOFT, YIELDABLE MATERIAL THAT OCCUPY ONLY A MINOR PART OF THE SPACE BETWEEN THE STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL AND THE MUTUALLY SPACED SECTIONS, SAID EDGE PADS FORMING A SEEPAGE CHAMBER BEHIND THE STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL BY SERVING AS SPACERS THAT KEEP THE STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE SURFACES OF THE SECTIONS; AND CONTINUOUS HOLD-DOWN MEANS AT THE EDGES OF THE STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL FOR KEEPING IT FLAT AND HOLDING IT IN PLACE, SAID HOLD-DOWN MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING RODS OF A METAL SUSCEPTIBLE OF BEING BENT WITHOUT UNDUE DIFFICULTY TO CONFORM TO A CURVIFORM SURFACE, A SERIES OF TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING RODS AFFIXED TO SAID LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING RODS, AND A SERIES OF ANCHORING MEANS IMPLANTED IN THE MUTUALLY SPACED SECTIONS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL FOR RETAINING SAID LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING RODS IN FIXED RELATION TO SAID STRIP OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL.