US3514914A - Carpet cap strip - Google Patents

Description

June 2, 1970 E. F. BERGQUIST CARPET CAP STRIP Original Filed Nov. 7. 1966 ITIllV Ilm United States Patent O 3,514,914 CARPET CAP STRIP Erwin F. Bergquist, 22242 Del Valle, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91364 Continuation of application Ser. No. 592,422, Nov. 7, 1966. This application Aug. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 755,514 Int. Cl. E04c 2/ 08; E04f 19/ 02 U.S. Cl. 52-273 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Carpet coping and protective bumper strip for use about the upturned edge of carpeting and formed of resilient material securable to the wall by adhesive material without need for tools or fasteners. The coping strip is of inverted I-shape in cross section and includes inwardly projecting dirt-excluding ribs along the interior of its trough-shaped portion and a resilient feathered rib along its upper wall-engaging edge readily conformable to irregularities and imperfections in the wall surface.

This is a continuation of application .592,422, filed Nov. 7, 1966, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to cap strips and more particularly to a unitary one-piece extruded strip of plasticV material adapted to be adhesively bonded to a wall or a baseboard closely spaced above a iioor being carpeted and having a downturned resilient cap adapted to embrace and conceal the upturned edge of carpeting to hold the same firmly in place and to exclude dirt and foreign matter.

New floor coverings include various departures in carpet construction and makes feasible new modes of laying and securing carpeting in place. Certain of the new carpets include as an integral part resilient backing admirably suited to be secured to the floor by adhesive bonding agents. Installation of such carpeting can be facilitated and new and improved results achieved by extending a narrow strip of the carpeting upwardly along the side wall or the baseboard, if one is present. However, this practice leaves the upper selvage edge of the carpet exposed and free to collect dirt and foreign matter. This is highly undesirable for obvious reasons.

Accordingly, it is the purpose of this invention to provide an improved unitary cap or coping strip of resilient non-metallic material capable of being quickly and inexpensively secured to the side wall by bonding agents and featuring a downturned trough-shaped upper edge specially constructed of resilient material and designed to interlock with the nap to hold the carpeting concealed and gripped in its installed position and cooperating therewith to exclude dirt and foreign matter. The new cap strip, being resilient, is capable of expansion and contraction if necessary to accommodate carpeting of differing thickness and to grip the same firmly as well as to withstand iiexure and abuse throughout the life of the carpeting. Among the features of the construction are ribs extending inwardly from the trough portion so arranged as to penetrate deeply into the carpet pile and to interlock therewith. Additionally, another thin and resilient rib having a sharp edge extends along the upper rear edge of the cap strip and resiliently engages the wall surface to provide a fluid and dirt tight seal therewith even though the surface is rough or uneven.

The cap strip is characterized by its strength, durability, inexpensive character and low installation cost. As respects the latter feature, it is equally suited for installation against wood, plaster, and other types of walls and requires no tools for its installation.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the strip before mounting against a wall; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on enlarged scale through the invention cap strip and typical carpeting after installation.

Referring initially more particularly to FIG. l, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention cap strip designated generally 10. This strip is formed in endless lengths if desired and preferably by extruding uncured thermoplastic material through a die having the configuration of the cap strip. Thereafter, the extruded stripping is cured in known manner. Strip 10 may be appropriately described as generally inverted J-shaped in cross-section and includes a straight stem or mounting web portion 11. Integral with the upper edge of this stem is an inverted trough-shaped portion 12 having at least one inturned rib 13 along its lower edge and preferably a second rib 14. These ribs have sharp edges and may be of V-shape in cross-section with the apex extending along the free edge of each to facilitate penetration of the ribs into the carpet nap. A third rib- 15 projects in the opposite direction from the .trough-shaped portion along the upper rear edge of the strip and has a sharp free edge positioned to engage and form a snug seal with the surface of a wall against which the strip is installed.

Cap strip 10 is formed from any suitable plastic material such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride or the like, and is compounded to exhibit a Shore hardness selected to render the same semi-rigid, yet flexible enough to facilitate installation of the carpet edge beneath the cap portion of the strip. It should not be so hard as to crack or splinter when deformed by an impact blow, or the like, yet capable of being expanded sufiiciently to permit installation of the carpet edge and then to contract back toward its original manufactured configuration as to force the ribs to penetrate into the nap.

Installation of cap strip 10 is accomplished quickly and inexpensively. The strip is sufficiently soft and flexible as to be shipped either in straight bundles or coiled. In either case, lengths of the strip are cut to size and the rear side of the stem portion 11 is coated with adhesive or mastic 18 following which the coated strip is pressed against the wall or baseboard with the flexible sealing lip 15 lying along a straight guide line previously applied to the wall. Any excess bonding material escaping beyond the sealing lip is wiped away and the bonding agent is allowed to take a rm set. Thereafter, carpeting 20 is applied to the floor. Customarily this is after a layer 21 of bonding agent has been applied to the floor and along the side wall and the inwardly facing surface of the cap strip. Usually carpeting 20 includes a relatively thick resilient pad 22 firmly anchored to bac-king material 23 supporting deep nap or pile material 24. After the carpeting has been spread over the coated iioor and pressed in place, the excess material is folded upwardly against the wall and trimmed to a height just sufiicient for its edge to fit snugly within the trough 12 of the cap strip. The trimming operation having been completed by any suitable means the upper edge of the trimmed carpet is pressed upwardly into trough 12. If desired, a suitable tool may be inserted for the purpose of deecting the resilient lip of the cup-shaped portion outwardly to admit the upper edge of the carpet. Thereafter, the natural resiliency of the cap strip material is effective to cause the ribs 13 and 14 to penetrate deeply into the nap and form a snug tand close fitting dirt-excluding seal therewith.

While the particular carpet cap strip herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination at the juncture of a floor and a room side wall, a carpet coping and protective bumper strip embracing and concealing the upturned edge of carpeting along the side wall of the room and providing a snug-fitting self-conforming dirt-excluding coping between the carpet edge and the room side wall, said protective bumper and coping strip comprising a continuous holeless extruded strip of resilient synthetic thermoplastic material of inverted J-shape in cross-section sufliciently flexible for shipment in coiled condition, said strip being thin-walled and of substantially the same thickness in all parts thereof and including a downwardly extending wide stem portion formed along its wall-facing side with an elongated wide shallow recess suciently deep to receive and retain a layer of adhesive securing said coping strip to the room wall without need for the use of fasteners and tools with at least the uppermost edge of said coping strip in sealing contact with the wall surface along a wall strip spaced above and parallel to the oor, and said coping strip having the downwardly and inwardly curved trough-shaped portion thereof shaped, sized and embracing the upturned edge of a carpet snugly and resiliently and cooperating with the embraced upper edge of the carpet to provide a resilient substantially dent-proof protective bumper strip along the wall, 'the interior of said trough-shaped portion including a plurality of continuous low-height flexible resilient ribs projecting inwardly and extending lengthwise of said coping strip, and at least one of said ribs being located at the lip edge of said trough-shaped portion penetrating into the carpet nap gripping the carpet and excluding entry of foreign material beneath the lip of the cap strip.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 characterized in that the wall-facing side of said stem portion is provided lengthwise of its upper edge with an upwardly-inclined low-height resilient rib having a self-conforming feather edge compressed against the room side wall or the like surface as said coping strip is pressed against and bonded to the wall and conforming itself to surface imperfectionsvand to changes in wall contour thereby providing a uidand dirt-tight seal therewith.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 characterized in that one of said continuous low-height ribs is integral with and comprises the inturned lip edge of the troughshaped portion of said J-shaped cap strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,041,899 5/1936 Brand 52-273 HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner I. L. RIDGILL, IR., Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 52-287, 716

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