US2654909A - Carpet anchoring strip - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 13, 1953 J. M. PATERSON ET AL CARPET ANCHORING STRIP Filed Sept. 6, 1950 FIG. 2.

. INVENTORS. GEORGE M. PATERSON: JOHN M. PATERSON ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 13, 1953 CARPET AN CHORIN G STRIP John M. Paterson, Glendale, and George M. Paterson, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application September 6, 1950, Serial N 0. 183,448

7 Claims. 1

A more detailed object of our present invention 1 is to provide a carpet anchoring strip having a metal base portion and improved means for elevating the base above the floor so as to compensate for the relatively greater thickness of the padding underlying the carpet, as compared with the thin, sheet metal base of the strip, and thereby disposing the upper surface of the strip substantially flush with the upper surface of the padding to provide a substantially flat support for the carpet throughout the entire area thereof.

A further object in this connection is to provide a carpet-anchoring strip of the general character described in which the base-elevating element is characterized by a degree of yieldability to insure, against the transmission of vibration for any material distance therethrough, and thereby being made capable of overcoming one of the principal disadvantages of more common carpet strips, as will be explained in greater detail below.

A still further object is to provide a carpet strip, the base portion of which is of sheet metal, and which is provided with means for adapting the strip for installation in curved lines, as around the base of a circular column, without, however, detracting to any material extent, from the inherent rigidity and strength of the strip as installed in straight lines, as along the base of a straight wall.

Yet another object of our present invention is to provide a novel and especially efiicient design for the carpet-engaging prongs or teeth of a carpet-anchoring strip of the general character indicated.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred forms of our invention which are illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the showing made by the said drawings and description, as we may adopt variations of the preferred forms within the scope of our invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a length of metal base carpet anchoring strip incorporating the principles of the present invention. A portion of the figure is broken away to reduce its length.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section taken through the carpet anchoring strip of Figure 1, but drawn to an enlarged scale and showing the manner of installation of the strip as well as the manner of attachment of the carpet thereto.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the strip of Figure 1, but drawn approximately to the scale of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view drawn to still more highly enlarged scale, with the plane of section indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2, to show with a greater degree of clarity the precise arrangement of the carpet-anchoring prongs.

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through a modified form of carpet anchoring strip incorporating the principles of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing still another modified form.

In accordance with the present invention, our improved carpet anchoring strip, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, comprises a base portion I I of sheet metal preferably of the order of 1 1;" thick and of suitable Width to accommodate the various features characterizing the strip to be described in detail hereinbelow. The base H is provided With a plurality of upstanding rigid carpet anchoring teeth or prongs l2 conveniently formed by severing each of them throughout the length of both their front and back edges [3 and M respectively from the bottom of the base I l and then striking each prong i2 from the plane of the base I l by bending it upwardly about a line or axis 16 at the base of the prong. The die, or dies, as the case might be, by means of which this described severing and striking is performed, are so designed that the plane of each prong extends obliquely to the front and back longitudinal edges l! and I8 respectively of the base ll. More exactly, the extent of obliquity issuch that a line H! (see Fig. 4) drawn from the front corner 2| in the base of each prong l2 to the diagonally opposite corner 22 would be substantially perpendicular to the front and back edges I1 and 58 respectively of the base II. The importance of this detail of construction arises from the fact that pressure exerted by a carpet against each prong I2 is substantially transverse with respect to the base I l, consequently substantially parallel to or coincident with the imaginary line [9. It is desirable, of course, to have each prong present as great an extent of surface to the carpet resisting the force exerted by the carpet against the prong and yet to design the prongs only so large as is necessary to enable them to resist being broken off or bent by that force. If the prongs are made any larger than necessary for them; to bepossessed of the requisite strength, it will: befound that when the carpet is impaled thereon they have too great a tendency to sever the fibers of which the fabric of the carpet is composed rather than.- toimerely force them aside as the prong passes therebetween. The ideal arrangement:v for 2; prong of a given size as far as its capability si -"resistingforce exerted thereagainst by a carpet is, con.- cerned is with its side faces parallel to the direction of such force because of the greater.

modulus of a rectangular section, the longer sides of. which. are parallel; to aforce; tending; to bend or break the member. Onthe other, hand, themost. desirable. arrangementfor. a prong as far. as itsbeing able to: avoid tearing; the carpetis with the broadest faces of the prong normal to. the direction. of the forcewhich: the carpet. exerts against the. prong. These two. desirable characteristics of: a. prong are; the e. i ri cally opposedtoeach. other with the resultthat, when both. of these important, requirements of a prong are. taken. into. consideration, the most nearly ideal,arrangementionaprong is as-.here.-- inabove described, to wit, arranged obliquely with. a. diagonaltaken. through thev rectangular. base of. a. prong paralleLt-o or; coinciding withthe direction in which-.the carpet; exerts. force against, the prong. The combinedol? total. area. of the front edgel3 and a; sidefacaZB-of a.prong,.projected onto a plane parallel to theJQngitudinaI, edges I.1.and.l.8 of; thehase H; and',.hence,.nor.- maltothedirectionof theforce exertedby car:- pet. against the prong will,. when. the. prong. is. thus arranged, be at a maximum;.without,.how ever, decreasing. the: modulus. of; the section. of

the prong consideredwith respect to.-that..prongs..

ability to. withstand. being. bent: or. broken. by: a force exerted. by the carpet. against the". prong;

As a precaution against-accidental slippingzof. the carpet from. the prongs ihafter. once having. beenimpaled thereupon, weprefenthat the...forward edge. [3. of. eachprong incline .upWar-dsand; forwards slightly, as best: shown .in. Figure. 2,. so that the force exerted by. the. carpetagainst; the; prong will develop-.resilientlforce; urgingthe 118. 1:- pet. downwards .withrespecttozthey-prong; Morea over, at. its upper; end. where. the. front; and: back;

edges 13. and. ii. come. together: in-. a; relatively. sharp. point, each prong is; preferably; deflected; slightly to oneside, as. atZ]; andas: best. 1111,13? trated inFieure. 3.

Preferably. the; prongs: [2: are; of; such. length. that. whena carpet such; asthat; indicated; at: 31 in Figure 2 is engaged. thereupom each prong. IL extends. throughv and to only, a. slight; distance above the backing, 32, so, that. its upper; end; or; point 2? is sealedwithin and. protected by. the. upstanding pile 33.

Figure 2 illustrates theconventionahmanner. of mounting acarpet anchoringstripupon agfloor. 35 soas to serve as means forqanchoring an edge. 31 of a carpet.3| extendingalongthe,lowergedge, of a wall 38. However, in order to impart a;neat and finished appearance to the final installation, the preferred. manner of. locating theanchoringstrip is. with itsforward edge,39. spaced .slightly; 7

from the wall 38 so that the extreme edge 31 can be forced downwardly through the space thus provided and tucked under the base I I, as illustrated at M, so concealing the extreme edge and also serving to prevent raveling in the event that an unsalvaged edge of the carpet occurs at this particular location.

Means are provided for supporting the base portion M inv elevated position aboveathezfioor 35 far enough toaccommodate. the edge ii; under the base H, as illustrated in Figure 2. However, the precise height at which the base H is to be supported. is determined more particularly by the thickness of the padding 43 interposed between i the-.carpetB I and=the floor 35, the most desirable arrangement being, of course, to support the uppersurfaceof. the basal l substantially flush with the upper surface of the padding 43, as illustrated iii-Figure 2., In the modification presently being described the means for supporting the base H in this; relatively. elevated position comprises; a pluralitycf downwardly extending flanges or legsas which also may be severed along all but one.- edge; of. each legand struck from the plane? of the base portion H, but in theoppositedirection, as compared withthe prongs l-2.. Consequently,, an elongated aperture or slit H. is left-in; the base: portion H extending transversely, thereof; along side the upper end of each supporting flange orleg These slits M in; themselves servela useful function inasmuch asthewebs Miand. 49at; the. ends of each slit AT and at the: forward and: after edges respectively. of thebase portion 1 I are. relatively narrow. and hence; are readily easily; removable.- A workman can, with;an ordinary. pair'of tinsnips, severone. of 'the-webs-associated; with, each slit 4'! so that the:slits, ,in eiTect;.eX- tend all. the way. totheedge of. thebase, leaving; the. segments: 5i of the, base ll between. slits.=4:1.: interconnected only by. the webs'aiong oneedge thereof. When. so altered, the base H; can be flexed in its own plane with comparative. ease and thus made to. conform to.,.say,.the;base; of.:a circular column in such amanner that th-e.:carpet; anchoringstrip, insteadof extending in aastraight; line, followsia curvedline...conforming to. the:bas e. of the curved objectto; whichthe. carpetistobe;v fitted. The curve can ,of; course. by; made. either.- concave or convex asdeterminedbywhichpwebs; 48 ores. areremovedh However, the presence; of; the... transversely: 6X4- tending slits. in the base portion. H. does .notdnipair. the inherent rigidity. eithebasezpnrtion bea foreyseverance: or. reinoyalof any of;- the webs: Ail-.1 or 59 because. of;the;fact:that.suchta webjis proe videdat each endof each slit: 4-1: Both. ofthelongitudinal edges; of: the base; portion: i L: is left: continuous and unbroken because of thezpresencei of the webs; at:l'iothpends,of. each: slit: and;.. consequently, the carpetanchoringstrip;of:the:present: invention. is: possessed; of substantially: the. same; amount ofstrength and rigidity. aswwouldibethee case were the slits 42 omitted entirely.

At: suitable. intervals throughout. the length. of

' the carpet anchoringstrip, preferably: ineach alternatesegmentil, an opening-52 1s provides-l to accomodatera: nail: 5'3 or-othersuitable fasten ing; device for securing the :strip-tothe floor 3'6. Inasmuch 1 as: carp et: anchoring strips: of this na. ture; are: frequently. installed: upon a: concrete= floor, the. openings;52. preferably-arsedproper tinned. that conventional. concrete nails: having. relatively.- thick. shanks; can be accommodated. therein. However, the strip: is notglimited'touse; in connection with fasteners-.01 this-;-type-.inas.-

much as each nail hole 52 instead of being formed by severing material completely from the base portion H are made by simply cutting a longitudinal extending slit 54 and a relatively short transversely extending slit 56 at each end of the slit 54 and then by deflecting the edges of the slit 54 downwards between the two transverse slits 56, thus producing a relatively narrow, longitudinally extending opening 51 to the upper end of which a tapering entrance throat is defined by two opposed downwardly and inwardly sloping flanges 58 (see Figure 2). Before a fastener is driven through the opening 51, it preferably is relatively narrow so that when installation is being made upon a wooden floor nails of relatively thin shanks can be employed; and yet, when installation is being made upon a concrete floor, conventional concrete nails 53 can be employed, it being understood that as the shank 53 of such a nail is driven downwards between the flanges 58 they will be bent far enough apart by the nail itself to permit the shank of the nail to pass therebetween and on into the concrete floor 36. The relatively wide depression 59 thus formed in the upper face of the base portion l I serves to receive the head of the nail 53 so that the head is countersunk within the base portion I l to provide a substantially uninterruptedly smooth surface to support the carpet 3|.

The downwardly and inwardly sloping flanges 58 also offer convenience by serving to support the nail 53 substantially erect when only its point has been forced between the two flanges 58 as by means of a light tap with a carpet layers hammer. This permits the workman to let go of the nail after it has thus been initially positioned, and then to drive it home with heavier blows without danger of injury.

Preferably supplementary nail holes 6| are provided in the base portion ll through which relatively light nails may be driven either as an initial step in locating the carpet anchoring strip or as an additional means of adding a measure of security to the firmness with which the strip is fastened down.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate respectively, modifled forms of the carpet anchoring strip of the present invention in which the means for supporting the base portion ll above the floor 36' take the form of solid strips of material instead of the spacedapart legs struck from and extending downward from the base portion. One of the difficulties frequently encountered by workmen installing carpet anchoring strips of this general character, particularly when installation is being made upon concrete, is that when a nail is being driven home, the hammer blows set up vibrations in the strip which travel along the strip and have the tendency to loosen the nail previously driven in an adjacent nail hole. Consequently, one of the features of the present invention is to provide means for supporting the base II upon the floor 33' which means are of a materially cushioning or yieldable nature so that it will serve as means for dampening the vibrations which hammer blows otherwise would be apt to set up in the base portion H to the detriment of the security with which previously driven nails hold the strip to the floor. Figure 5, for example, illustrates the supporting means in the nature of a strip H of fibrous, paper board, such as that conventionally employed for wall board. Material of this nature is possessed of an ample degree of yieldability to accomplish the purposes hereinabove referred to and yet is sufficiently resilient to provide ample support for the base portion ll of the strip to hold it in the exact position desired so that the upper surface of the base portion ll remains substantially flush with the padding material 43. Other forms of paper products also have been found satisfactory for this purpose, such as strips of pressboard, chipboard, printers binder board and the like, although the wallboard H previously referred to has been found preferable because of its greater degree of yieldability. Owing to the fibrous, and hence relatively absorbent nature of these paper products, and particularly when installation is being made upon concrete floors 36 a supporting. strip ll of this nature should be protected from moisture that might otherwise be conveyed to it by the concrete, as by a layer of tarpaper 12 or similar impervious material. This strip 12 of impervious material may be disposed. only under the strip ll of cushioning material or, as illustrated in Figure 5, it may extend throughout the entire area of the floor being carpeted so that it also offers protection against dampness for the padding material 43. Figure 6 is similar in most respects to the showing of Figure 5, with the exception that the paddin and supporting material are employed as a strip 13 of plywood; and here again the impervious layer 12 such as tarpaper should be employed to protect the strip 73 alone or both the strip 13 and the padding material 43".

We claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor in position to underlie a piece of carpet adjacent and substantially parallel to an edge thereof, and a plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal edges of said strip whereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a direction transverse to said strip.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor in position to underlie apiece of carpet adjacent and substantially parallel to an edge thereof, and a plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong, each of said prongs being disposed with its base in a position of obliquity with respect to the longitudinal edges of said strip whereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a direction transverse to said strip.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor in position to underlie a piece of carpet adjacent and substantially parallel to an edge thereof, and a plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal edges of said strip whereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to. oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a direction transverse to said strip, the upper end of each of said prongs being pointed and deflected laterally to present an obstruction resisting displacement of carpet from said prong.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip comprising a plurality of segments separated from each other by transversely extending slits and webs integral with said segments and closing both ends of all of said slits, each of said webs being removable to permit collapsing the proximal end of the associated slit to impart curvature to said strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor in position to underlie a piece of carpet adjacent and substantially parallel to an edge thereof, and a plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal edges of said strip whereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a direction transverse to said strip, the upper end of each of said prongs being pointed and deflected laterally to present an obstruction resisting displacement of carpet from said prong.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor in position to underlie a piece of carpet adjacent and substantially parallel to an edge thereof, means for supporting said strip in position elevated above said floor with its upper surface substantially flush with under-carpet padding, and a plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal edges of said strip whereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a direction transverse to said strip.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor in position to underlie apiece of carpet adjacent andsubstantially parallel to an edge thereof, means for supporting said strip in position elevated above said floor with its upper surface substantially flush with under-carpet padding, said supporting means being spaced inwardly from the edge of said strip proximal to said edge of said carpet whereby said edge of said carpet can be turned back under said edge of said strip, and a. plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal edges of said strip whereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a directiontransverse to said strip.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a carpetholding device comprising a sheet metal strip, means for fastening said strip to a floor inposition to underlie a piece of carpet adjacent and substantially parallel to an edge thereof, a strip of cushioning material substantially more yielding than said sheet metal strip underlying said sheet metal strip and supporting it in elevated position above said floor, and a plurality of prongs upstanding from said strip, each of said prongs being severed from said strip along all edges of said prong except its base and being bent upwardly from the plane of said strip about an axis in the base of said prong extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal edges of said stripwhereby each of said prongs presents both a side face and an edge to carpet to oppose tension in said carpet exerted in a direction transverse to said strip.

JOHN M. PATERSON. GEORGE M. PATERSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 541,703 VanDervoort June 25, 1895 569,525 Sullivan Oct. 13, 1896 665,855 Warner Jan. 8, 1901 831,179 McDonagh Sept. 18, 1906 1,128,061 Schroeter Feb. 9, 1915 1,847,373 Awbrey Mar. 1, 1932 2,211,574 McNicholas Aug. 13, 1940 2,514,335 Qwens July 4, 1950 2,554,674 Karas May 29, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 110,463 Australia May 9, 1940

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