EP0937431A1

EP0937431A1 - Carpet fixing strip

Info

Publication number: EP0937431A1
Application number: EP99301276A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hiroshi Nakahara
Original assignee: YKK Europe Ltd
Current assignee: YKK Europe Ltd
Priority date: 1998-02-23
Filing date: 1999-02-23
Publication date: 1999-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-23
Also published as: EP0937431B1; DE69906847D1; DE69906847T2; GB2334439A; GB9803785D0

Abstract

A carpet fixing strip is in two parts 23, 25. The upper part 23 has pins 36 on one surface for gripping a carpet, and hooks 29 of a hook and loop fastener on its underside. A complementary loop part 25 of the fastener is secured to a floor, for example with adhesive 35. The upper part 23 is then releasably mounted on the floor 3, allowing it to be readily removed without damage if the carpet 3 is removed.

Description

The present invention relates to a carpet fixing strip for fixing a carpet to a floor.
Fitted carpets are popular in many homes and offices as they provide a safe floor covering which is not prone to slipping. It is known from EP-A-321 978 to hold a carpet in position by providing a loop pile backing layer on the carpet, and a hook fastener part is then fixed to the floor. The carpet is simply pressed down onto the hook fastener part to secure the hooks and loops together. Similar arrangements are described in US-A-5 382 462, W098/03104 and W094/00043. These arrangements require special treatment of the carpet. More typically, the carpet is fixed to the floor or the edges of the room or corridor by a carpet fixing strip or gripper rod. Most commonly, the strip is a flat rod of wood or metal which is nailed or glued to the floor. Pins project from the upper surface of the rod at an angle and the carpet is fixed on the pins.
This conventional type of strip has its problems. For example, when a fitted carpet is removed from the pins, the carpet fixing strip may also be pulled out of the floor at the same time, damaging the strip. This means that the strip will either need to be re-fixed or replaced which is not desirable.
Also, when the carpet is removed from the strip, the strip is left attached to the floor with pins sticking out which are dangerous, and the strip may be damaged if it is removed.
The present invention addresses the above problems. A first aspect of the present invention provides a carpet fixing strip comprising upper and lower members, the upper member having means for fixing a carpet to the upper member, and the lower member being fixable to a floor, wherein the upper and lower members are engagable with one another by a surface fastener.
Typically the upper member has a plurality of projecting pins or spikes which engage the carpet.
Preferably the surface fastener is releasably engageable to allow the upper member to be removed from the floor so that there are no projecting pins or spikes if the carpet is temporarily removed.
Preferably, the surface fastener is a hook and loop type fastener. The use of a surface fastener also provides another advantage, in that if either one of the members needs to be replaced for some reason, a complementary fastener part can be easily obtained as an exact match is not required.
It is more preferable if the surface fastener part on the upper member is provided by a hook type fastener. Preferably the upper member is made of plastics and preferably, the hook type fastener part is integral with the upper member. The integral upper member and hook type fastener can be formed by injection molding.
Preferably, the carpet fixing means is (also) integral with the upper member. Again, this can be achieved by injection molding of plastics material.
As mentioned, typically the carpet fixing means are a plurality of sharp projections e.g. pins which project out of the upper surface of the member. Usually, the fixing strip is located close to an edge of the carpet and the projections point towards the edge of the carpet. The carpet is fitted to the strip by stretching it and pressing it onto the pins to anchor the carpet. The carpet will try to shrink back. When a hook and loop type fastener is used it is preferable if the hooks are oriented such that the crook portion faces away from the edge of the carpet, if on the upper member, or towards the edge of the carpet if on the lower member. A hook and loop fastening is particularly strong in shear and moulded type hooks can provide a very strong connection.
Thus, it is particularly preferred if the plurality of sharp projections which project out of the upper surface of the upper member point towards a first elongate edge of the upper member, the hooks of the hook type fastener are oriented such that hooks generally face towards the opposite elongate edge of the upper member.
The lower member may be nailed or pinned to the floor. However, the lower member can simply be glued to the floor. It is preferable if the carpet fixing strip comprises a strip of contact adhesive type material on the lower member. Thus, no nails need to be used and there is no danger of damaging under floor wiring.
Also, a single elongate upper member may engage a plurality of spaced apart lower members of shorter length, or vice versa.
The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a carpet with a carpet fixing strip according to the prior art;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a carpet fixing strip shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a carpet fixed by a carpet fixing strip according to the present invention;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the carpet fixing strip of Figure 3; and
Figure 5 is a carpet fixing strip in accordance with the present invention with a single upper member and a plurality of lower members.
A conventional carpet fixing strip or gripper rod is shown in Figure 1. A carpet 1 is laid on top of a floor 3 with the carpet edge adjacent a wall 5. The carpet 1 is held in place by a fixing strip 7. Carpet fixing strip 7 has a flat, elongate wooden rod 9 which is fixed to floor 5 by nails or pins 11. The fixing strip 7 also has a plurality of pins 13 which project out of the upper surface 15 of the rod 9. The pins 13 point towards the wall 5. The carpet 1 is fixed over the pins 13. As the carpet 1 is laid, it is stretched and pressed onto pins 13 to anchor the carpet. A perspective view of the carpet fixing strip of Figure 1 is shown in Figure 2. This construction is well known in the art.
A carpet fixing strip forming an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 3 & 4. In Figure 3, the carpet 1 is laid on the floor 3 against wall 5. The carpet is fixed in position by carpet fixing strip 21 which forms an embodiment of this invention. A perspective view of carpet fixing strip 21 is shown in Figure 4.
The carpet fixing strip has an elongate upper member or grip member 23 and a lower or fixing member 25. The upper member 23 is integrally moulded of plastics material. On the lower surface 27 of the upper member 23 are a plurality of hooks 29 which form the hook part of a hook and loop type surface fastener. On the upper surface 31 of the lower member 25 are a plurality of loops 33. The hooks 29 are releasably engagable with the loops 33 such that members 23, 25 can be releasably engaged with each other. The plurality of hooks 29 and the plurality of loops 33 are engaged by pushing the upper member 23 and the lower member 25 together. The upper member 23 can be peeled away from the lower member 25 but will be strongly held by the lower member if a shearing force is applied in the direction of the arrows S.
The lower member 25 is provided with a touch sensitive adhesive layer 35 (Figure 4). The layer 35 is applied to the lower member 31 during manufacture and covered by a strip of backing paper. To fix the lower member 25 to the floor 3, the strip of backing paper is removed and the lower member 25 is pressed onto the floor 3.
The upper member 23 has a plurality of pins 37 integrally formed on its upper surface. The pins 37 project away from the upper surface of upper member 23 and in the direction of a first elongate edge 41 which, in use, is placed closest to wall 5 when the carpet 1 is fitted (Figure 3).
The hooks 29 are oriented to best prevent the upper member 23 moving relative to the lower member 31 under the tension of the carpet. The hooks 29 are oriented so that their crooks or open side 28 faces towards a second elongate edge 43 opposite the edge 41. Thus, as the carpet 1 tends to relax back to its original size after being stretched, the hooks 29 and loops are in shear as denoted by the arrows S. Some hooks may be arranged to face in other directions to secure the upper member against more general movement.
Returning to Figure 3, the carpet fixing strip is shown with the upper member 23 engaged with the lower member 25. The carpet is fixed as follows. The lower member 25 is fixed to the floor 3 at a small distance from the wall 5 by adhesive layer 35. The upper member 23 is then fixed to the floor 3 by pushing the upper member 23 down onto the lower member 25. This causes the hooks 29 of the upper member 23 to engage with the loops 33 of the lower member. The carpet 1, is then stretched in the usual manner and pressed onto the pins 37 of the upper member 23.
When it is desired to remove the carpet for any reason it can be lifted away from the floor. The upper member 23 may peel away from the lower member 25 with the carpet or, be peeled away afterwards so that no exposed pins 37 are left on the floor.
The lower member 25 may be formed of relative rigid material or it may be flexible depending on the degree of strength required and the desired manner of forming the loops 33. A composite structure may be used as is well known in the art.
In Figure 4, a single elongate upper member 23 and a single elongate lower member 25 are shown. However, the lower member 25 can be a plurality of discrete, short lengths 26 which can be used to fix a single elongate upper member 23 to a floor 3, as illustrated in Figure 5.

Claims

A carpet fixing strip for fixing a carpet to a floor, the strip (21) comprising

an upper member (23) having means (37) for fixing a carpet (1) to the upper member (23), and the lower member (25) being fixable to a floor (3), wherein complementary surface fastener parts (29, 33) are provided on the upper and lower members for engaging the upper and lower members.
A carpet fixing strip according to claim 1, wherein the surface fastener is a hook and loop type.
A carpet fixing strip according to claim 2, wherein hooks (29) are provided on the upper member (23).
A carpet fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the hooks (29) are integrally moulded with the upper member (23).
A carpet fixing strip according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the carpet fixing means comprises a plurality of sharp projections (37) which project away from an upper surface of the upper member (23) towards a first edge (41) of the upper member (23), and wherein the hooks (29) are oriented such that the hooks generally face in the direction of an opposite edge (43) of the upper member (23).
A carpet fixing strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the upper member (23) is of plastics material.
A carpet fixing strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the lower member (25) further comprises an adhesive strip (35) for fixing the lower member to a floor (3).
A method of laying a carpet, the method comprising attaching a first part (25) of a surface fastener to a floor (3) on which the carpet (1) is to be laid, providing a strip (23) having on one major surface means (37) for gripping a carpet and on the opposite major surface a second, complementary surface fastener part (29), pressing the second surface fastener part (29) of the strip onto the first surface fastener parts (25) to attach the carpet fixing strip (23) to the floor (3), and engaging the underside of the carpet (1) on the carpet gripping means (37).