US2677145A

US2677145A - Carpet securing device

Info

Publication number: US2677145A
Application number: US100250A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jesse C Adams
Original assignee: ROBERTS Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: ROBERTS Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1949-06-20
Filing date: 1949-06-20
Publication date: 1954-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 1971-05-04

Description

May 4, 1954 J. C. ADAMS 2,677,145

CARPET SECURING DEVICE Filed June 20, 1949 'lll /N VENTO/a.

Jesse C. ADAMS BY HIS ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 4, 1954 CARPET sEoURlNG DEVICE Jesse C. Adams, Inglewood, Calif., assignor to Roberts Manufacturing Co., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application June 20, 1949, Serial No. 100,250

8 Claims. l

This invention relates to the art of laying carpets and more particularly to an improved means for securing a carpet in stretched condition on a floor or other supporting surface.

Carpets laid over suitable resilient padding to cover the floors in ofice buildings, hotels, homes, etc., are commonly tacked down along their margins, Such means for securing a carpet is not wholly desirable because the procedure in volved is relatively slow, because depressions in the carpet caused by the tacks form dirt traps adjacent the wall of a, room and, nally, because subsequent removal of the carpet requires excessive labor and invariably results in damage to the carpet. To avoid the laborious procedure of tacking the carpet to a floor and to provide a more even margin portion, free from depressions or bulges, various devices have been proposed for securing the edge portions of a carpet to the floor adjacent the walls of a room, without the use of tacks or similar fastening means. One such carpet securing device which has been highly successful and is now widely used is that disclosed in Patent No. 2,238,946, for Carpet Fastener, issued to Roy M. Roberts on April 22, 1941, this patent being owned by the assignee of the present application. The carpet fastening device, referred to immediately above, consists merely of a strip of wood adapted to be nailed to a floor adjacent a baseboard of a wall of the room and provided with inclined pointed pins upon which the edge portion of a carpet stretched across the room is adapted to be impaled to retain the carpet in stretched condition against the floor, the edge of the underlying resilient cushion abutting the inner edge of the strip.

When utilizing this and other prior art carpet fastening devices, it is customary to stretch the carpet to a point wherein its edge is disposed in close proximity to the baseboard of the room and, subsequent to attaching the carpet to the device, to apply a baseshoe or moulding strip to the baseboard to cover the marginal portion of the carpet to conceal the rough edge thereof.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide means, preferably incorporated in a carpet securing strip, for concealing the edge portion of a carpet stretched across the floor of a room and for retaining the edge portion firmly against the floor. This object is best attained by providing a carpet fastening strip in which is embodied a normally horizontally extending flange over which the marginal portion of a carpet is folded with its extremity underlying the flange. A further object is to provide such a flange which is readily bendable so that after the marginal portion of the carpet is folded therearound, the flange can be bent downwardly to retain the edge in folded condition. By this means, the edge portion of the carpet is, in effect, folded back upon itself with the rough edge concealed by an overlying portion of the carpet and positively retained in such folded condition by the flange which is also concealed by the upper overlying portion of the carpet.` Moreover, since the rough edge of the carpet is hidden from view, the necessity for providing moulding strips or other covering means for the purpose of concealing the edges of the carpet is avoided and the procedure of laying the carpet is greatly expedited.

While many types of carpet fastening devices have been employed for securing the edges of a carpet adjacent the baseboards or walls of a room little, if any, attention has been given to the problem of securing edges of carpets across doorways and other room openings, or fastening the edges to the floor adjacent the borders of fireplace hearths and other locations. As a result, it has heretofore been the common practice to cut the carpet to cause its edge to t across the doorway or around the hearth and to subsequently tack the cut edge to the floor and, unless the cut edge is provided With a suitable binding material, the exposed edges are unsightly and are subject to fraying. The present carpet securing strip has particular utility in fastening the edges of a carpet in such open areas, the device permitting an edge portion of thecarpet to be folded back upon itself to conceal' the rough edge and effectively retaining the edge firmly against the floor to prevent accidental displacement thereof.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification and from the drawing, which is intended for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing the present device applied to use in fastening an edge portion of a carpet to a floor; and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the device, illustrating the manner in which the marginal portion of the carpet is stretched thereover prior to bending the flange to conceal and anchor the rough edge of the carpet to the floor.

The present improved carpet securing device 5 is illustrated in Fig. 1 as applied to use in fastening the edge portions 6 of a carpet 'l to a floor 8 to border a hearth, not shown. This is to be regarded merely as a typical example of one use of the instant device, however, since the device can be employed in other locations within a room as, for example, adjacent a baseboard or across a doorway.

The present device includes a sheet metal strip I@ which has a horizontal base portion II, a vertical portion I2 projecting upwardly from a longitudinal edge of the base portion, and a substantially horizontal flange I3 projectinglaterally from the upper edge of the vertical portion.

The device also preferably includes a wooden strip I5 of a width substantially equal to the width of the base portion I I and of a height substantially equal to that of the vertical portion I2, the strip I5 thus being adapted'to vbe placed Aon the base portion II with its upper surface substantially flush with the upper end rof the vvertical portion I2 as shown in the drawing. The wooden strip I5 is provided with a plurality of upwardly projecting, inclined pins I6 having pointed ends.

The carpet fastening device is appliedv to usein securing the edge portion 6 ofthe carpet 1 against the floor S by first securing the metal strip I to the floor with the free edge of the flange I3 disposed above the line -to which the edge of the carpet is to extend. The wooden anchoring strip I is next placed upon the base portion I I of the metal strip I0, after which nails I are driven through the strip `I5 and the base portion II into the wooden oor 8 as shown in the drawing, and with the anchoring pins I6 inclined toward the flange I3. The carpet fastening device 5 is then ready for use and the carpet, which has already been laid or is next applied to the floor, is secured to the floor inthe manner to be next explained.

To apply the carpet 'I to the floor 8, a resilient cushion or pad 20 is first laid upon the floor and cut to a size enabling it to t between the carpet securing strip devices applied to the floor adjacent the baseboard of the room, the edges of the pad abutting the inner edges of the devices as shown in the drawing. The carpet l is next laid upon the cushion 2U and its vedge portions anchored to the 4floor by the devices 5. Assuming that the edge of the carpet 'I opposite to that indicated at t is already secured to a fastening device 5 at the other side of the room, the marginal portion 6 is lfirst drawn taut across the strip I5 by means of a suitable stretching device (not shown) and impaledon the projecting pins I6 which then serve to effectively maintain the carpet in its stretched condition.

The free edge portionv E ofthe carpet I is 'next folded over and back under the horizontal flange I3, after which the flange is bent downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. 1. The extreme edge 2I of the carpet l, which may be rough and unbound, is thus disposed beneath the flange I3 and, since the latter is concealed by the upper portion of the carpet, a smooth, unbroken border "is provided and the carpet appears to merge with the floor or the hearth, as the case may be. In this way an especially pleasing appearance is effected and, since the use of tacks is avoided, no depressions are produced and, moreover, the carpet can be readily removed'from the floor by merely prying the flange I3 upwardly by means of a suitable tool to free the extreme end portion of the carpet, and

thereafter unhooking the carpet from the anchor# ing pins. v

The same procedure as that outlined Vabove is carried out when an yedge of a carpet i's to 'be anchored adjacent the baseboard or lower wall portion of'a room, theedge portion of the-carpet 4 being folded over at the wall. By this means, a smooth joint is made with the wall of the room without the use of tacks and the appearance of the carpet is not marred by depressions in which dirt might collect.

It has been explained that the carpet fastening device 5 is secured to the floor 8 by the nails Il. When Ythe carpet I is to be laid upon a concrete or other non-wooden floor, the device 5 may be cemented or otherwise bonded thereto.

While the improved carpet securing device has been herein shown and described as embodied in.

a preferred form of construction, by way of example, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that other modifications might be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Consequently, I do not wish to be limited in this respect but desire to be afforded the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carpet fastening device, comprising: a sheet metal strip having a horizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet is to be applied, an upwardly extending portion' and a substantially horizontal, readily bendable flange projecting laterally from said upwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portion of a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, said flange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal and retain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; a carpet retaining strip mounted on said horizontal portion and having retaining means engageable with said carpet for retaining the same in stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening said strips against said surface.

y -2. A carpet fastening device, comprising: a sheet metal strip having a horizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet is to be applied, and upwardly extending portion and a substantially horizontal, readily bendable flange projecting laterally from said upwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portion of a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, said flange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal and retain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; a non-metallic carpet retaining strip secured to said horizontal portion and having retaining means engageable with said carpet for retaining the same in stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening said strips against said surface.

3. A carpet fastening device, comprising: 'a sheet lmetal strip having a horizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet is to be applied, an upwardly extending portion and a substantially horizontal, readily bendable ange projecting laterally from said upwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portion of a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, said flange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal and retain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; a non-metallic carpet retaining'strip secured to said horizontal portion and having pointed pins engagea'ble with said carpet for retaining the same in stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening said strips against said surface.

4. A carpet fastening device, comprising: 'a sheet metal strip having a horizontal portion adapted to rest upon a surface to which a carpet is to be applied, an upwardly extending portion and a substantially horizontal, readily bendable flange projecting laterally from said upwardly extending portion and across and under which the edge portion of a carpet stretched across said strip is adapted to be folded, said flange being bendable downwardly toward said surface to conceal and retain said edge portion in folded condition against said surface; a wooden carpet retaining strip mounted on said horizontal portion and having pointed pins engageable with said carpet for retaining the same in stretched condition; and fastening means for fastening said strips against said surface.

5. A carpet fastening device adapted to secure a carpet edge to a supporting surface, including: a strip adapted to be secured to the supporting surface and across which the carpet is adapted to be stretched; and fastening means on said strip, said fastening means comprising a flange extending vertically from said strip adjacent an outer edge thereof and a readily bendable securing strip formed integrally with said flange, said securing strip having a Width greater than the height of said flange, said carpet being adapted to be stretched across and reversibly folded under said securing strip when said securing strip is directed angularly downward and outward to compress said carpet against said supporting surface.

6. A carpet fastening device adapted to secure an edge of a carpet of predetermined thickness to a supporting surface, including: a strip having a horizontal portion adapted to be secured to the supporting surface and across which the carpet is adapted to be stretched, said strip including a vertically extending portion and a bendable flange formed integrally with said rvertically extending portion, said flange having an edge across and under which the edge portion of the carpet is adapted to be reversibly folded, said flange being Idirected toward said surface, the width of said flange together with the thickness of said carpet exceeding the height of the vertically extending portion of said strip, whereby said flange is angularly disposed relative to said vertically extending portion when said carpet is reversibly folded across and under said ange to secure the same to said supporting surface.

7. A device for fastening a carpet to a supporting surface. said device being adapted to assume a rst position in which an edge of the carpet is not secured to the supporting surface and a second position in which the said carpet edge is firmly secured to said supporting surface, including: a strip adapted to be secured to the supporting surface in direct contact therewith, said strip extending in a direction generally parallel with the edge of the carpet and having an` outer edge underlying the carpet, said strip having a portion formed integrally therewith extending vertically from said outer edge thereof; and a flange formed integrally with the vertically extending portion of the strip, said flange extending generally horizontally beneath the carpet when the device is in said first position and extending angularly downward to compress the carpet between the flange and the supporting surface when the device is in said second position, said flange being bendable relative to said vertically extending portion of said strip to secure or release said carpet edge.

8. A concealed carpet-anchoring device comprising a one piece element of deformable material, said element having an elongated base portion adapted to be secured to a floor, an intermediate portion extending upwardly from one end of said base portion at approximately right angles thereto, and an elongated clamping portion extending forwardly from the top of said intermediate portion in a direction opposite to that of said base portion but being substantially parallel therewith, forwardly extending carpet engaging projections Iconnected to said base portion, said clamping portion being deformable downwardly after the carpet is engaged by said projections and the marginal edge of the carpet is folded over the free end of said clamping portion and tucked thereunder.

References Cited in the ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 182,354 Campbell Sept. 19, 1876 1,770,215 McIntyre July 8, 1930 2,051,191 Watson Aug. 18, 1936 2,238,946 Roberts Apr. 22, 1941 2,258,314 Bonnell Oct. 7. 1941 2,260,908 Johnson Oct. 28, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 110,463 Great Britain Apr. 26. 1940