US3254361A

US3254361A - Carpet-edge binding means

Info

Publication number: US3254361A
Application number: US411510A
Authority: US
Inventors: Brunn John; Eugene J Craven; Muir Denis
Original assignee: William L Bonnell Co Inc
Current assignee: William L Bonnell Co Inc
Priority date: 1964-11-16
Filing date: 1964-11-16
Publication date: 1966-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 1983-06-07

Description

June 7, 1966 J, BRUNN E 3,254,361

CARPET-EDGE BINDING MEANS Filed NOV. 16, 1964 22 GP 6 g 142 20.2 Q0 0P INVENTORS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,254,361 CARPET-EDGE BINDING MEANS John llrunn and Eugene J. Craven, Newnan, Ga., and Denis Muir, San Francisco, Calif., assignors to The William L. Bonnell Company, Inc., Newnan, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Nov. '16, 1964, Ser. No. 411,510 7 Claims. (Cl. 16-16) This invention relates to improvements in carpetedge binding means, and more particularly to improved metal strip-type carpet-edge binding means for protecting the raw or cut edges of carpeting along exposed length portions thereof which are subject to wear and/or along seams between adjacent pieces of laid carpeting.

While metal strip-type carpet edge binding means for protecting the exposed edges of wall-to-wall carpeting extending across door openings, entrance-ways, etc., and to a lesser extent for providing a metal-protected seam between the adjacent edges of two pieces of carpeting are well known, such more or less consistently incorporate an overhanging clamping flange integral with the base piece or strip thereof usually provided with struck-out carpet-edge impaling prongs or carrying a so-called tack strip provided with pins acting similarly as the impaling prongs, which must be hammered down from its normally raised position with respect to the base strip to a lowered position in which it binds the carpet edge and secures it to said base strip.

Since such carpet-edge binding means are conventionally applied to exposed edges of the carpeting, as distinguished from the edges of the carpeting which extend along the corners between floor and room walls, it has become standard practice to provide at least the upper external surface of the aforesaid clamping flange with ornamentation of a type applied either' by chemical treatment of the entire strip, i.e. base piece and clamping flange or mechanically as by hammering or rippling the upper surface of said flange by mechanical means. In either case, ornamentation of the binder strip is rendered difficult by virtue of its overall configuration, and furthermore, the requirement for ornamentation imposes on the distributor or carpet installer the need to stock a large inventory of the differently surfaced binding strips, thus to be able to supply a binding strip having the surface ornamentation desired for 'or considered to be best suited to a particular carpet installation.

Another disadvantage of the metal strip-type of carpetedge binding means as heretofore commonly used is that the hammering down of the clamping flange thereof to its final position must be done expertly, since otherwise irregularity of the upper surface of the flange may result and the hammering-down operation may also mar the ornamental finish applied to its external surface as aforesaid.

Stated broadly, a major object of the present invention is the provision of metal strip-typecarpet edge binding means which overcomes in large measure the abovenoted objections to the conventional metal strip-type carpet edge binding means employing the so-called hammeror tap-down integral clamping flange.

More particularly, the invention contemplates and aims to provide a simple, dependable and thoroughly practical metal strip-type carpet edge binding means which substitutes for the hammeror tap-down clamping flange a snap-on cap strip capable of being assembled to the base piece or strip thereof by being very simply snapped in place thereon and of being equally readily disassembled therefrom, for example when the carpet requires restretching and/or is taken up for cleaning or for replacement without complete removal of the entire strip, as is necessary with the prior hammeror tap-down types of metallic carpet edge binder strips.

3,254,361 Patented June 7, 1966 Another important object of the invention is the provision of metal strip-type carpet edge binding means employing a snap-on cap strip in place of the conventiona integral clamping flange which must be hammered dowr to assume its clamping position as aforesaid, which is o: advantage to the distributor and/or carpet installer ii that the latter is required to stock but one standard bZlSt strip shape having an inexpensive mill finish for all tilt kinds and finishes of separate cap strips which he migh be called upon to supply, with assurance that any de sired one of said separate cap strips may be assembled t( a standard base piece by being simply snapped there onto by the installer during the carpeting installation.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision o a metal strip-type of carpet edge binding means character ized by a snap-on cap strip serving to clamp the raw 0 cut edge of the carpet against a base piece or strip characterized in that the assembly of cap strip to has strip may be achieved both in a simple operation and i1 manner as to insure uniformity of positioning of th assembled cap strip throughout its full length, and with out danger of its ornamental finsh [being marred or other wise impaired.

The above and other objects and features of advantag of an improved metal strip-type carpet edge bindin means according to the present invention will appea from the following more detailed description thereot wherein reference is had to the accompanying illustrativ drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a section taken through a single-edge met: strip-type carpet edge binding means of the inventiot which further shows the clamping action exercised by th snap-on cap strip on the raw or cut edge of a piece c carpeting to which it is applied;

FIG. 2 is a similar section but showing the snap-o cap strip feature of the invention applied to a double edge carpet binder, such 'as is used in providing a prc tected seam between the adjacent edges of two pieces c carpeting; and

FIG. 3 is a broken-away exploded view in perspectiv of the double-edge carpet binder illustrated in FIG. 1

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first to FIG. which illustrates a metal strip-type single-edge carpet edg binder according to the invention, such comprises thre parts, each capable of separate fabrication and of help separately stocked and/or inventoried, namely, a long tudinal metal base piece or strip 10, a longitudinal woode tack strip 20, and a longitudinal cap strip 30. M01 particularly, the base strip 10 which has substantial widt is provided along but at a predetermined spaced distant from one (its relatively outer) edge with an integr: upright rib 12 of substantial height and which in tran verse section is preferably shaped as a double-lobed -headed fastener stud, whose two fastener heads dispose one above the other are designated 14a, 14b; with a long tudinal small-height abutment or locating rib 16 projec ing from its upper face and being spaced a predetermine short distance from said first-named rib 12 towards ti other (realtively inner) edge of said base strip; and fu ther with a thin-walled portion 18 disposed inwardly said locating rib which facilitates the base strip beir nailed to the flooring or other foundation on which ti carpet whose edge is to be bound is to be placed, 1 by nails 40. For a purpose to be later explained, tl spacing of the stud-forming rib 12 from the outer (righ side, FIG. 1) edge of the base strip 10 is substantial equal to the spacing of the short-height locating rib 1 from said rib 12. Thus, said outer edge is also capab of functioning as a locating edge, to the same degree 1 said rib 16.

The tack strip 20 is of conventional construction, beir made of a longitudinal strip of wood carrying a plurali of steel carpet-edge impaling pins or tacks 22 which are inclined from the vertical. Preferably, the tack strip 20 is located by abutting the side edge thereof towards which the impaling pins incline against the small-height rib 16, and it is then secured to the base strip and flooring by the same nails 40 which secured the base strip to said flooring.

The cap strip 30 which is shown to have arcuate shape in transverse section is provided on its under side with a longitudinally extending, downwardly opening socket defined by substantially parallel, springy spaced walls 32a, 32b which depend from the under surface of said arcuate strip and terminate in inturned edges 34a, 34b. As seen in FIG. 1, the spaced walls defining the socket proper are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the

fastener heads

14a, 14b of the upright stud or rib 12, whereas their inturned lower edges are spaced apart a distance less than said head width, thus in effect defining a restricted mouth opening to the socket interior. Of course, the vertical dimension (depth) of the longitudinal socket will by design be greater than the headed portion of said rib 12, so that the latter is readily accommodated within the depth dimension of the socket. Thus, the cap strip 30 may readily be secured to the stud-like rib 12 by pressing said cap strip down over the rib, during the course of which the spaced side walls 32a, 32b of the cap-strip socket spread apart sufiiciently to permit entry of one or both of the stud-like heads 14a, .14b of the rib 12 into the socket, whereupon the lower intumed edges of said walls close against the under c'urved surfaces of the fastener head or heads, thus to firmly secure the cap strip to the base strip 10.

It will also be observed that the total width of the cap strip 30 is such that, when finally assembled to the base strip 10, its relatively inner edge a extends towards and is spaced but a small distance from the upper corner of the wood tack strip located by the base strip rib 16, and that its relatively outer edge b will engage against the corresponding outer edge of said base strip. This latter engagement is made possible by forming said capstrip with an outer-edge depending skirt portion dimensioned to extend to the flooring just outwardly of said base-strip outer edge.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, such views together show the carrying forward of the underlying principle of the single-edge type of carpet-edge binding means just described to a double-edge binder, that is, one serving to bind the adjacent edges of two separate pieces of carpeting in manner as to provide in effect a metal strip-type seam connecting said edges. Such a double-edge binder preferably employs a base strip which is identical in all respects to the base strip 10 employed in the single-edge binder shown in FIG. 1 and hence said base strip shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is identified by the same reference numerals as previously employed. Although employing two tack strips rather than one, as in FIG. 1, the tack strip of the FIGS. 2 and 3 form are also identical to that designated 20 in FIG. 1, but with one being turned about with realtion to the other. Said two tack strips are designated 20r and 201, thus to indicate rightand left-hand strip disposition. At this point, however, it is to be observed that whereas the lefthand tack strip 201 rests on the left-side edge-portion of the base strip 10, and is located by the small-height rib 16 of the base strip, the righthand tack strip 20r rests directly on the flooring, and it is located by its being brought into abutting engagement with the right-side edge of said base strip, and finally is nailed directly to said flooring by nails 40a corresponding to but additional to said nails 40 which secure the left-side tack strip 201. By the aforesaid arrangement, the rightand left-hand tack strips 20r and 201 assume substantially identical positions to the sides of the central vertical plane of the upright stud-forming rib 12 of the base strip 10.

However, the cap-strip designated 60 of the FIGS. 2

and 3 form of double-edge binder differs from the capstrip 30 in that it is curved uniformly and symmetrically to the sides of its longitudinal center line, whereby its side edges 0 and d terminate in the same horizontal plane which is raised from that of the base strip proper and are furthermore spaced slightly laterally from the upper corners of the side edges of the tack strips 20r and 20! towards which said edges extend. Otherwise, the cap strip is structurally similar to the cap strip 30, particularly as respects being provided on its under side with a longitudinal socket defined by parallel vertical walls 62a, 62b for the reception of the fastener-head portion of the base-strip rib 12.

While it is believed that the manner of installation and operation of both of the illustrated forms of metal strip-type carpet edge binding means as described and illustrated will be understood by those skilled in the art,, it is explained that placement and assembly of the FIG. 1 form of binding means involves simply laying the base strip 10 with tack strip 20 superimposed thereon along the length of the edge of the carpeting CF to be secured, then nailing both the base and tack strips to the flooring, then securing the carpet edge to the impaling pins 22 carried by the tack strip with the requisite degree of carpet stretching or tautening as results in the carpet edge extending downwardly over the upper corner of the side of the tack strip which is disposed towards the rib 1 2, and finally pressing t'he'ca'p-strip 30 down onto said rib, as results through the conjoint action of socket and fastener-stud formation of the upper end of said rib, not

only in the cap strip being firmly held to said base strip: but also in the relatively inner edge a of the cap stripf exercising a degree of clamping action on the down-; turned edge of the carpet which extends into the space masking of the base strip by both the secured carpet edge and the cap strip is complete.

To place and assemble the double-edge carpet; edge binder according to the FIGS. 2 and 3 form, the base strip 10 and leftand right-hand tack strips 201 and 20r are placed at the location or line of the intended seam and thereupon secured to the flooring in the manner shown by the nails 40, 40a driven through said tack strips. Then the adjacent edges of the two pieces of the carpeting CF to be seamed are impaled on the pins 22 of the tack strips as shown, that is, with the terminal edge portions of the carpeting extending downwardly over the upper corners of the tack strips nearest the stud-forming rib 12. In a final operation, the cap strip 60 is forcibly pressed down onto said rib 12, which operation not only secures the cap-strip to the rib but also exercises a degree of clamping action on the portions of the carpet edges which overhang said inner-side upper corners of the tack strips. As with the FIG. 1 form, final securement of the cap-strip 60 completely masks the secured adjacent edges of the carpeting and the base strip, since only the upper surface of the cap strip is exposed.

Although not previously mentioned, it will be understood that the carpeting whose edges are to be bound or seamed is usually provided with a backing or padding designated P in FIGS. 1 and 3, which is to be cut by the installer so that its edge will closely abut the substantially common inner edges of the tack and base strips of the FIG. 1 form and both corresponding edges and also the relatively outer edge of the right-hand tack strip 20r of an effective means of protectively binding the raw or cut portions of laid carpeting to which it is assembled makes possible, for the first time, the realization of a standard base strip and indeed a standard tack strip suitable to both single-edge and double-edge binders, and further suit-able to snap-on cap strips of ditferent materials, shapes and finishes. As previously explained, this is of advantage in enabling a distributor or installer to stock such standard base and tack strips in quantity and separately to inventory only as many cap strips of the finish and type, i.e. singleor double-edge type, which he considers best suited to his particular trade, and which of course may range from a small line of finishes to an extensive line thereof. 7

Another important and highly practical feature of the snap-on cap-strip type of carpet-edge binding means of the present invention is that it permits simple disassembly of the cap-strip from the base strip when, for example, it is desired to restretch the carpet whose edge it serves to protect, or to take up the carpet for cleaning or replacement, without any requirement of completely removing the entirebinder strip, as is necessary with the metallic carpet-edge binding strip employing the hammer-down gripping flange. The ability to disassemble the cap strip from the base strip as aforesaid is also advantageous when it is desired to interchange a cap strip of one finish for a cap strip of another finish, without complete replacement of the binding means as a whole. The aforesaid cap-strip disassembly feature'is of course made possible by the inherent resiliency of the spaced socket side-walls 32a, 32b which enables them to spread as the cap strip is being disassembled, just as they spread when said cap strip is being assembled to the base strip.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the acompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim: 1

1. A metal strip-type carpet edge binding means comprising, in combination: a longitudinal base strip adapted to be nailed to flooring, carpet-edge impaling means superposed on and secured to the base strip along one longitudinal edge thereof, said impaling means comprising a longitudinal wood strip carrying carpet impaling pins, means on said base strip for locating said wood strip and thereby its relatively inner longitudinal edge in a fixed lateral position on said base strip, -a longitudinal cap strip overlying the base strip laterally of said wood strip, complemental stud and socket means for effecting snap-on securement of the cap strip to the base strip along a line which is spaced substantially equally from said wood strip locating means and the edge of the base strip opposite that along which said wood strip extends, said cap strip havingwidth such that its longitudinal side edge which is disposed adjacent the wood strip and said inner longitudinal edge of said strip coact with one another in providing means for clamping an edge portion of a piece of carpet which is extended over and beyond said wood strip and thence beneath the cap strip.

2. A metal strip-type edge binding means according to claim 1, and further including a second carpet-edge impaling means secured directly to the flooring in abutting relation to said opposite edge of the base strip whereby said opposite edge serves as a locating means therefor, said second impaling means comprising a longitudinal wood strip carrying carpet impaling pins and the relatively inner edge of the wood strip of said second impaling means and the edge of the cap strip disposed adjacent same also coacting with one another in providing means for clamping an edge portion of a second piece of carpet which is extended over and beyond said wood strip of the second impaling means and thence beneath said cap strip.

3. A metal strip-type carpet edge binding means comprising, in combination: a longitudinal base strip adapted to be nailed to flooring, a longitudinal cap-strip therefor, cooperative means on said base and cap-strips for effecting snap-on securement of the cap-strip to the base strip including an upright rib integral with the base strip and whose upper end portion is shaped in transverse section as a fastener stud and longitudinally extending socket means depending integrally from the under side of said cap-strip and adapted to receive and detachably secure to said rib responsive to said cap-strip being pressed downwardly'thereon, said rib being spaced a predetermined distance inwardly from one side edge of the base strip, a longitudinal, short-height integral locating rib extending from the upper face of the base strip and being spaced inwardly from said cap securing rib by approximately the same amount that said cap-securing rib is spaced from said one side edge of the base strip, and carpet-edge impaling means comprising a longitudinal wood strip carrying carpet-edge impaling pins superposed on and secured to the opposite side edge portion of said base strip and being located in fixed lateral position thereon by said integral locating rib, the secured edge of the carpet adapted to extend over the relatively inner-edge upper corner of said wood strip and thence downwardly toward said cap-securing rib, the relatively inneredge of the cap strip extending over and exercising a degree of clamping action on said downwardly extending edge of the carpet, the relatively outer edge of said cap strip having an arcuate skirt portion of length as to extend outwardly over said one edge of the base strip to said flooring.

4. A metal strip-type carpet edge binding means comprising, in combination: a longitudinal base strip adapted to be nailed to flooring, a longitudinal cap strip therefor, cooperative means on said base and cap strips for effecting snap-on securement of the cap strip to the base strip including an upright rib integral with the base strip and whose upper end portion is shaped in transverse section as a fastener stud and longitudinally extending socket means depending integrally from the under side of said cap strip and adapted to receive and detachably secure to said rib responsive to said cap strip being pressed downwardly thereon, said rib being spaced a predetermined distance inwardly from one side edge of the base strip, a longitudinal, short-height integral locating rib extending from the upper face of the base strip and being spaced inwardly from said cap securing rib by approximately the same amount that said cap-securing rib is spaced from said one side edge of the base strip, and carpet-edge impaling means comprising a pair of longitudinal wood strips carrying carpet edge impaling pins for securing the adjacent edges of two pieces of carpeting, one strip being superposed on and secured to the opposite side edge portion of the base strip and being located in fixed lateral position thereon-by said integral locating rib, the other wood strip being disposed on and secured directly to said flooring and in abutting relation to said one edge of the base piece serving as a locating means therefor, the adjacent edges of the two pieces of carpet extending over the relativelyinner-edge upper corners of the respective wooden strips and downwardly towards the cap-securing rib, said cap strip having curvature and width such that their opposite side edges exercise a degree of clamping action on said downwardly extending edges of said pieces of carpet.

5. A metal strip-type carpet edge binding means accordingto claim 3, wherein said one edge of said cap strip clamps the edge of the carpeting against said upper corner of the wood strip.

6. A metal strip-type carpet edge binding means according to claim 4, wherein the side edges of said cap strip clamp the adjacent edges of the carpeting against the relatively upper corners of the wood strip over which said carpeting edges extend.

7. In a metal strip-type carpet edge binding means, a base strip adapted to be nailed to flooring and to which at least one edge of a piece of carpeting is to be secured and being adapted to mount carpet edge covering means, said base strip comprising an elongated strip member having appreciable width, an elongated integral upright rib on said strip having substantial height and whose upper end portion is shaped in transverse section as a fastener stud, said rib being spaced a predetermined distance from one side edge of said strip member, an elongate short-height integral rib extending upwardly from said base strip and being spaced inwardly from said first-named rib by approximately the same amount that said latter rib is spaced from said one side edge of the strip member, whereby said short-height rib and said one side edge of the strip member are adapted to serve as longitudinal spacing edges which are spaced equal dis tances to the sides of said first-named rib.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,487,571 11/1949 Maxwell 167 2,942,289 6/1960 Linsky 16-5 FOREIGN PATENTS 623,055 5/1949 Great Britain.

JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

ALBERT H. KAMPE, D. L. BURGESS,

Assistant Examiners

Claims

1. A METAL STRIP-TYPE CARPET EDGE BINDING MEANS CONPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A LONGITUDINAL BASE STRIP ADAPTED TO BE NAILED TO FLOORING, CARPET-EDGE IMPARTING MEANS SUPERPPOSED ON AND SECURED TO THE BASE ALONG ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE THEREOF, IMPALING MEANS COMPRISING A LONGITUDINAL WOOD STRIP CARRYING CARPET IMPALING PINS, MEANS ON SAID BASE STRIP FOR LOCATING SAID WOOD STRIP AND THEREBY ITS RELATIVELY INNER LONGITUDINAL EDGE IN A FIXED LATERAL POSITION ON SAID BASE STRIP, A LONGITUDINAL CAP STRIP OVERLYING THE BASE STRIP LATERALLY OF SAID WOOD STRIP, COMPLEMENTAL STUD AND SOCKET MEANS FOR EFFECTING SNAP-ON SECUREMENT OF THE CAP STRIP TO THE BASE STRIP ALONG A LINE WHICH IS SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY EQUALLY FROM SAID WOOD STRIP LOCATING MEANS AND THE EDGE OF THE BASE STRIP OPPOSITE THAT ALONG WHICH SAID WOOD STRIP EXTENDS, SAID CAP STRIP HAVING WIDTH SUCH THAT ITS LONGITUDINAL SIDE EDGE WHICH IS DISPOSED ADJACENT THE WOOD STRIP AND SAID INNER LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF SAID STRIP COACT WITH ONE ANOTHER IN PROVIDING MEANS FOR CLAMPING AN EDGE PORTION OF A PIECE OF CARPET WHICH IS EXTENDED OVER AND BEYOND SAID WOOD STRIP AND THENCE BENEATH THE CAP STRIP.