GB2334439A

GB2334439A - Carpet fixing strip

Info

Publication number: GB2334439A
Application number: GB9803785A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hiroshi Nakahara
Original assignee: YKK Europe Ltd
Current assignee: YKK Europe Ltd
Priority date: 1998-02-23
Filing date: 1998-02-23
Publication date: 1999-08-25
Also published as: EP0937431B1; DE69906847D1; DE69906847T2; EP0937431A1; GB9803785D0

Abstract

A carpet fixing strip for fixing a carpet to a floor by surface fasteners, the strip comprising upper (23) and lower (25) members. The upper member (23) has carpet fixing means (37) for fixing a carpet to the upper member (23) and the lower member (25) is fixable to a floor. The upper (23) and lower (25) members being engagable with one another by surface fastener means. The surface fastener means comprising a first surface fastener (29) part located on the lower surface (22) of the upper member (23) and a complementary second surface fastener part (33) located on the upper surface (31) of the lower member (25) for engaging with the first surface fastener part of the upper member (23).

Description

CARPET FIXING STRIP The present invention relates to a carpet fixing strip for fixing a carpet to a floor.

Fitted carpets are popular in many houses and offices as they provide a safe floor covering which is not prone to slipping. Typically, the carpet is fixed to the floor or the edges of the room or corridor by a carpet fixing strip or grip 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 rnay 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. Re-fixing the strip is especially undesirable when the strip is nailed to the floor. This is because there is a chance that the nails might contact underfloor wiring.

Also, if the carpet is somehow removed from the strip, the strip can be 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 all of the above problerns. The present invention provides a carpet fixing strip for fixing a carpet to a floor by surface fasteners, the strip comprising upper and lower members, the upper member having carpet fixing means for fixing a carpet to the upper member, the lower member being fixable to a floor, the upper and lower members being engagable with one another by surface fastener means, the surface fastener means comprising a first surface fastener part located on the lower surface of the upper member and a complementary second surface fastener part located on the upper surface of the lower member for engaging with the first surface fastener part of the upper member.

Preferably, the first and second surface fastener parts are provided by hook and loop type fastener parts. These parts form a hook and loop fastener which is releaseably engagable. Therefore, the upper member can be removed and replaced many times without degrading the fastener parts. The use of hook and loop fasteners 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 second surface fastener part is provided by a hook type fastener. Preferably, the hook type fastener part is integral with the upper member.

It is preferable if the upper member is made of plastics. The integral upper member and hook type fastener can be formed by injection molding.

More preferably, both the hook type fastener part and the carpet fixing means are integral with the upper member. Again, this can be achieved by injection molding.

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 anchoring it onto the pins.

When the upper member has a hook type fastener part, it is preferable if the hooks are oriented such that the crook portion faces away from the edge of the carpet. A hook and loop fastening is particularly strong in shear and moulded type hooks can provide a very strong connection.

Therefore, it is preferable 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 the opposite elongate edge of the upper member.

The lower member may be nailed to the floor. However, it is more preferable, if the carpet fixing strip further comprises floor fixing means for fixing the lower member to the floor. Preferably, this is provided by an adhesive strip. However, the lower member can simply be glued to the floor. 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 and vice versa.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure I 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 grip rod is shown in Figure 1. A carpet 1 is laid on top of a floor 3 next to a wall 5. The carpet 1 is fixed in place by a fixing strip 7.

Carpet fixing strip 7 has a flat, elongate wooden fixing rod 9 which is fixed to floor 5 by nails 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 it is pulled onto pins 13 to anchor the carpet.

A perspective view of the carpet fixing strip of Figure 1 is shown in Figure 2.

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. 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 of plastics material. On the lower surface 27 of the upper member 23 are located a plurality of hooks 29. Hooks 29 are integral with the upper member 23. On the upper surface 31 of the lower member 25 are located a plurality of loops 33. The hooks 29 and loops 33 form a surface fastener of the hook and loop type. The hooks 29 are releaseably engagable with the loops 33 such that members 23, 25 can be releaseably 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.

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 fixed to a single elongate upper member 23 as shown in Figure 5.

The lower member 25 is fixed to the floor 5 with adhesive layer 35 (Figure 4). This adhesive layer 35 may be a touch-sensitive adhesive layer which is 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 is elongate with first 41 and second 43 elongate edges. The upper member 23 has a plurality of pins 37 located on its upper surface which are integral with the upper member 23. The pins 37 project out of the upper surface of upper member 23 and points in the direction of the first elongate edge 41 which is placed closest to wall 5 when the carpet 1 is fitted (Figure 3).

The orientation of hooks 29 is chosen to prevent the carpet from moving under tension as well. The hooks 29 are oriented so that their open side 28 faces towards second elongate edge 43. The open side 28 of hooks 29 being defined as the side of the hooks 29 with the free end. Thus, as the carpet 1 tries to shrink back to its original size, the hooks 29 and loops are in shear. 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 by adhesive layer 35. The upper member 23 is then fixed to the floor 3 by pushing the upper 23 member 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 and pulled onto the pins 37 of the upper member 23.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A carpet fixing strip for fixing a carpet to a floor, the strip comprising upper and lower members, the upper member having carpet fixing means for fixing a carpet to the upper member, the lower member being fixable to a floor, the upper and lower members being engagable with one another by surface fastener means, the surface fastener means comprising a first surface fastener part located on the lower surface of the upper member and a complementary second surface fastener part located on the upper surface of the lower member for engaging with the first surface fastener part of the upper member.
2. A carpet fixing strip according to claim 1, wherein the first and second surface fastener parts are hook and loop type fastener parts.
3. A carpet fixing strip according to claim 2, wherein the first surface fastener part is a hook type fastener part.
4. A carpet fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the hook type fastener part comprises a plurality of moulded hooks.
5. A carpet fixing strip according to either of claims 3 or 4, wherein the upper member is an elongate member with first and second elongate edges at respective first and second sides of the upper member and the carpet fixing means comprises a plurality of sharp projections which project out of the upper surface of the upper member and point in the direction of the first side of the upper member, and wherein the hooks of the hook type fastener are oriented such that the hooks generally face in the direction of the second side of the upper member.
6. A carpet fixing strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the upper member is plastics.
7. A carpet fixing strip according to claim 6, wherein the upper member and the first fastener part are integral with one another.
8. A carpet fixing strip according to claim 6, wherein the upper member, the first fastener part and the carpet fixing means are integral with one another.
9. A carpet fixing strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the lower member further comprises floor fixing means for fixing said lower member to a floor.
10. A carpet fixing strip according to claim 9, wherein the floor fixing means is an adhesive strip provided on a lower surface of the lower member.
11. A carpet fixing strip according to any preceding claim, wherein the upper and lower members are elongate members.
12. A carpet fixing strip wherein an upper member according to any of claims 1 to 8 can engage a plurality of spaced part lower members according to any of claims 1 or 9 to 11.
13. A carpet fixing strip as substantially herein before described with reference to either of Figures 3 and 4.