Elastomeric framing member for screen deck panel

Claim 1

A molded elastomeric framing member which is adapted to receive a side edge portion of a flat deck metal screen panel which has a generally horizontal top surface formed of a plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending profiled wires welded to a plurality of transversely extending, generally vertically oriented support bars, said framing member comprising an elongated, elastomeric, channel-like molded member having a top wall, a bottom wall and a connecting outer rear wall, said member having a generally rectangular cross-section, parallel, continuous top and bottom surfaces, and a generally planar and continuous outer side surface on said rear wall, the inner side surface of said member being slotted to form an elongated, continuous horizontal slot parallel to the top surface and a plurality of vertical slots which are widely spaced relative to their width, and which extend downwardly from said continuous slot and are in intersecting relation thereto, said vertical slots having their lower ends spaced from the bottom surface of said framing member by the thickness of said bottom wall, said elongated, continuous slot having its top defined by said top wall and being sized so that it is adapted to receive a plurality of the profiled wires at the side edge of a flat deck screen panel, said vertical slots being sized so that they are adapted to receive portions of one end of all of the vertical support bars on a side edge of a flat deck screen panel, each of said plurality of vertical slots being defined on its sides by a pair of vertical wall portions extending from and integral with the bottom wall of the framing member, the outer rear wall of the framing member, and the wall portion of the framing member which defines the bottom of the continuous horizontal slot, said vertical slots being spaced sufficiently far apart that open recesses formed in said inner side surface in the space between the adjacent vertical wall portions of adjacent vertical slots have a horizontal width substantially greater than the width of the vertical wall portions, the top and bottom surfaces of said framing member being adapted to be engaged by clamping and support portions of a vibrating screen apparatus so as to prevent metal-to-metal contact between said screen apparatus and said screen panel.