GB2257905A - Protective cover - Google Patents

Abstract

A cover device 10 for protecting a corner of a board 20 from damage comprises parts 7, 3 and 3', capable of being bent and brought together about a corner of the board, with means for securing the said pans 7, 3 and 3' in their corner-protective relation to resist withdrawal of the device 10 from the board 20. Suitable means comprise recesses 12, 12' on first part 7, for engagement with corresponding studs 9, 9' on parts 3, 3. respectively, when the parts are folded. The board 20 has apertures 16, 16' to accommodate the said studs. <IMAGE>

Description

PROTECTIVE COVER The present invention relates to a protective cover or shield for a corner of an article, typically a flat or planar rigid material/article such as a sheet or board or slab. The invention finds particular, although not exclusive, use in relation to furniture and playthings, particularly blackboards and notice boards, for use by children and susceptible to damage, especially at their corners or edges.

Playthings, such as blackboards and the like, have sharply angled edges or corners, and are susceptible to damage at these corners particularly when made of fragile materials such as coated chipboard or hardboard. When such articles are used by children, there is also the hazard that the sharp corners can cause accidental injury.

These disadvantages may currently be overcome by use of plastic cover slides, having a smoothly curving or bevelled outer surface and having a hollowed cavity corresponding to the shape of the corner of the article to be covered and which may slide over the edge or corner to protect it. This serves both to reduce likelihood of damage to the article, such as splintering or chipping and likelihood of personal injury from children falling against a sharp corner. However, such cover slides can be unsatisfactory since they may be readily displaceable from the article in question.

The present invention seeks to alleviate one or more of the aforementioned drawbacks.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a protective cover device for a corner of an article, typically a board, comprising parts capable of being brought together about said corner in corner protective relation and means for securing the parts in that corner protective relation thereby to resist withdrawal of the device from the board.

According to another aspect there is also provided a board for or having such a corner protection device.

In a convenient arrangement, at least one said part is connected to another said part for relative folding to achieve said corner protective relation, typically with said parts overlying an extent of opposite faces of the board.

Particularly in the case where the device is moulded from plastics, preferably polypropylene, the connection may comprise an integral flexible web linking the parts.

Typically, the corner protective relation comprises the provision of a chamber or cavity for the board by bringing together the parts such as by folding. Thus in one embodiment of the invention there is provided a corner protective device for a board, said device having a first part and at least one second part, typically attached thereto, said parts capable of being brought together to face one another thereby to define a chamber for the board between them and means for securing the parts in said facing relation such means preferably being of the first and second parts and intruding into, suitably protruding through the board.

Preferably this cavity or chamber is of a depth matching the thickness of the board and has a boundary matching or parallel to each board edge adjacent said corner. Such a suitable chamber may be provided by indenting a first one of the parts to a depth matching the thickness of the board, so that the parts provide chamber walls, the chamber typically having two diverging straight corners, each parallel with one of said board edges.

Preferably two second parts are attached to, or integral with, said first part for relative folding to define the chamber between said first and second parts. Suitably the first part is arranged to provide a chamber wall to overlie a first face of the board and the second parts are hinged to the first part and perhaps biassed towards a position for overlying an opposite face of the board, or optionally provided with other means for adhering or securing them in a position overlying said opposite face.

In a particularly preferred arrangement at least some of the parts have formations co-operating for their securing in corner protective relation such that the parts may be secured to each other and/or the board. The formations may comprise protrusions, such as ribs or plugs and at least one receiver such as a channel or hollow plug for these protrusions. The co-operating formations may interengage by means of interference fitting or snap fitting or the like.

Similarly, the board may be provided with co-operating formations, perhaps recesses, preferably apertures, for accommodating formations on the device and/or for allowing interengagement of co-operating formations on the parts of the device, through the board.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a corner protective device for an apertured board, said device having a first part and at least one second part typically attached thereto, said first and second parts being displaceable in use to face one another thereby to define a chamber for the board between them, said parts having co-operating formations for mutual interengagement through said chamber and said board.

An embodiment of the invention will now be more fully described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1A is a plan view illustrating a corner protective device for mounting on an apertured board illustrated in Fig.

1B, and Fig. 2 illustrates a protected board.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1A shows a plan view of unfolded protective cover device 10 for a corner of a board 20, which device 10 has a substantially semicircular outline.

The cover device 10 is moulded from polypropylene and has a substantially quadrant or segment shaped first part 7. This first part 7 has been indented to provide a base 23 having two substantially straight diverging edged 2, 2' and a curved edge 2". A lip 8 extends upwardly from base 23 at straight edges 2 and 2', the lip 8 also having diverging walls, 18, 18' which will match the straight edges 28 and 28' adjacent the corner tip 1 of the board 20 to be received and protected by the device 10.

The outer edges of the first part 7 are curved or bevelled such that the device 10 has a smooth outer surface, i.e. the reverse surface of the part 7 to that shown in Fig.

1A. (Smooth edges 33 and 33' are illustrated in Fig. 2.) The first part 7 also has symmetrically spaced upstanding surface receiving formations shown in the form of hollow annular projections such as spigots or lugs 12 and 12' also projecting upwardly from the base 23.

Second parts 3 and 3', each being of substantially semiquadrant or semi-segment shape, relative to said first part 7, and having smoothly curving or bevelled edges 35 and 35' respectively are hinged to the first part 7 at lip 8 by flexible webs 21 and 21' respectively. Thus, the second parts 3 and 3' may be folded over to face the first part 7, thereby to define a chamber for the board 20 between said first and second parts. The boundary of the chamber at edges 18, 18' matches the edges 28, 28' of the board 20.

The second parts 3, 3' also have surface formations, shown here in the form of spigots or plugs 9 and 9' respectively, suitably spaced at a distance from the appropriate web 21, 21' such that, in use, by folding the second parts 3, 3' over to face the first part 7, the plugs 9, 9' may fit or nest closely inside the appropriate hollow lug 12, 12' preferably by interference or snap-fitting or the like. Clearly the form or number of formations on each part 3, 3' and 7 may be varied as appropriate.

The board 20, such as a drawing board or similar plaything (or perhaps an edge of an item of furniture such as a table) is provided with pre-drilled apertures 16, 16'of a diameter accepting the outer diameter of the hollow lugs 12, 12' respectively in appropriate positions with respect to the corner tip 1 so that, in use, the projections 12 and 12'fit closely therein.

In use, the hollow lugs 12 and 12' are inserted into the apertures 16 and 16' respectively, the base 23 of the first part 7 thereby obscuring an extent of a first face of the board. The second parts 3, 3' are then folded about flexible webs 21, 21' respectively and closed over the second, opposite face of the board, the plugs 9, 9' engaging in the appropriate hollow lugs 12 and 12'.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, in this embodiment the corner 1 of the board 20 is substantially covered by the closed protective cover device 10. This type of cover device 10 which is of generally semicircular outline when unfolded, and having symmetrically spaced formations is particularly preferred since the cover device 10 is, in effect reversible i.e. it will fit onto both a front face and a rear face of a board having appropriately symmetrically spaced apertures.

An example alternative device comprises substantially matching first and second parts which could also provide a reversible cover device.

It will be appreciated that a protective cover need not enclose or obscure the extreme top or tip of the corner of the board (although it is preferable that it does), since sufficient protection may be obtainable by enclosing a region of the board neighbouring the tip. Similarly, a protective cover need not obscure or overlie such a substantial part of the respective faces of a board in the corner region such as is illustrated in this embodiment.

Also, whilst the illustrated cover has surface formations on both the first and the second parts, an alternative is to have projections on one of the parts for fitting or nesting, preferably tightly, in apertures of the board, or otherwise impinging into the board and the other part being secured in a position abutting the board on the opposite face to the first part, since this may suffice to resist withdrawal of the device from the board.

An alternative, if the parts are not to protrude through or intrude into the board is to have the parts releasably biassed towards a closed position in which they may simply grip the board.

Also, of course, whilst the illustrated embodiment shows protection of a board having a substantially right-angled corner tip, clearly appropriate indenting of the first part, for example, may be used to accommodate boards having acute or obtuse angled corner tips.

Claims (19)

1. A protective cover device for a corner of a board, the device comprising parts capable of being brought together about said corner in corner protective relation and means for securing the parts in that corner protective relation thereby to resist withdrawal of the device from the board.

2. A device according to Claim 1 comprising a first part and at least one second part, said first and second parts being capable of being brought together to face one another thereby to define a chamber for the board between them.

3. A device according to Claim 2 comprising a first part arranged to provide a chamber wall for overlying a first face of the board and at least one second part to provide a chamber wall for overlying an opposite face of the board.

4. A device according to any preceding claim comprising a first part having at least one second part connected thereto for relative folding to achieve said corner protective relation.

5. A device according to Claim 4 wherein a connection between said first and second parts includes an integral flexible web.

6. A device according to any preceding claim comprising a first part and two matching second parts.

7. A device according to any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein said chamber is of a depth matching the thickness of the board.

8. A device according to any one of claims 2 to 7 wherein said chamber has a boundary matching or parallel to each board edge adjacent said corner.

9. A device according to any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein at least one of said parts is indented to provide one or more walls for said chamber.

10. A device according to Claim 9 wherein said indenting is of a depth matching the thickness of the board.

11. A device according to any preceding claim wherein at least some of said parts have formations capable of cooperating for securing said parts in corner protective relation.

12. A device according to any preceding claim wherein at least some of said parts have formations capable of cooperating with formations on the board for securing said parts in corner protective relation.

13. A device according to Claim 11 or 12 wherein formations on said parts comprise at least one protrusion and at least one receiver for that protrusion.

14. A device according to any one of claims 11 to 13 comprising a first part and two second parts, each of said second parts having formations and said first part having formations for co-operating with formations on both said second parts.

15. A device according to any one of claims 11 to 14 wherein the board is provided with apertures for allowing co-operation of formations on said device through the board.

16. A device according to any preceding claim, moulded from a plastics material.

17. A device according to Claim 16 moulded from polypropylene.

18. A device substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

19. A board provided with a protective cover device as claimed in any preceding claim at one or more of its corners.