US2941234A - Carpet securing strips - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 1960 M. R. MILLER CARPET SECURING STRIPS Filed March 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Mf/PLE 71. M/LZH? June 21, 1960 M. R. MILLER CARPET SECURING STRIPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1958 AVE INVENTOR. Nffilf 7P. M/ALf/P United States Patent CARPET SECURING STRIPS Merle R. Miller, Harrington, El.

(5314 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, Ill.)

Filed Mar. 24, 1958, Ser. No. 723,512

4 Claims. (Cl. 1616) The present invention relates to carpet securing strips, and is particularly concerned with carpetsecuring strips of the type adapted to be secured to the floor adjacent the Walls of the room for the purpose of engaging and securing the carpet, which extends over the strip to the wall at the baseboard or the quarter-round in case the quarter round is not removed and replaced over the carpet.

The present carpet securing strip is of the type often called tackless, for the reason that it is not necessary to drive tacks through the carpet from the top to secure the carpet, since prongs, which may be in the nature of tacks, have their sharp ends extending upwardly from the strip, engaging the fabric of the carpet without projecting through the pile; and the prment strips are preferably of the pre-nailed type, in which the strips are already provided with the nails extending through the strip at regularly spaced points and used for securing the strip to the floor.

When the floor is concrete, holes are preferably drilled and filled with wooden dowels in position to receive the ends of the nails; and when the floor is of wood, the nails are driven directly into the wood.

One of the. disadvantages of the tackless carpet strips of the prior art now on the market lies in the fact that carpetsare of different thickness, and those who install the strips are not always informed of thethickness of thecarpet; and the strips of the prior art do not permit ofJ-adjustment after installation of the stripping, for different thicknesses of carpet.

Also, the carpets secured according to the prior art are not always sufiiciently secured; and Whenever furniture located away from the wall is moved toward the wall, it tends to drag the carpet with it toward the wall, sometimes unhooking the carpet which has been installed according to the prior art. A

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved carpet securing strip of the class described which permits the adjustment of the strip on the floor .by sliding relative to the nails with which it is secured. Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved tackless carpet securing strip of the prenailed type which carries the nails that are to secure it to the floor, the nails being so located on the strip that the strip may be driven closer to the wall to clamp the' downwardly, turned edge against the baseboard or quartier-round or other part of the wall, no matter how thick the carpet is and so that the carpet may be tightened at any time and fastened more securely than in the devices of the prior art.

7 Another object of the invention is the provision of a plurality of practical forms of pre-nailed carpet securingstrip, all of which are slidably adjusted on the nails after they are driven into the floor, and all of which are adapted to hold the carpet in the position in which it is finally secured by driving the improved securing strip toward the wall to clamp the extreme end of the carpet ice against the wall and secure the carpet more tightly on the prongs of the strip.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved pre-nailed tackless carpet strips which are simple in construction, which include a minimum number of parts, which may be manufactured economically, and which provide for better securement of the carpet against the wall, baseboard, or quarter-round than in the devices of the prior art.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved pre-nailed, tackless carpet strip which is equally adaptable for use on wooden floors and concrete floors, and'which may also be used for securing carpet which is installed on stairs or in halls, either in the form of a runner or from wall to wall, and which holds the carpet more securely and gives a more snug appearance.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the two sheets of drawings accompanying this specification: a

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a wallto-wallcarpet installation, utilizing my improved carpet securing strips;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the floor, wall, and carpet assembly, embodying my invention, with the carpet in the position which it assumes when the tightening is completed;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with the strip and carpet secured on the strip, but before the final tightening and securing of the carpet;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View in perspective of one end of a carpet securing strip of the type shown in Figs. 2 and 3; a

Fig. 5 is a view' similar to Fig. 4 of a modificationp Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view with the heads of the nails omitted, taken on the plane which is coincident withthe top 'of the strip in Figs. 4 or 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on theplane of the line 7-7 of Fig. 5, looking in the di rection of the arrows;

Fig. "8 is a fragmentary sectional top plan view of a modified form of pre-nailed strip taken on a plane coincident with the top of the strip, looking downward, and omitting the heads of the nails;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view of another modi fication, in which a metal insert is corrugated to provide a plurality. of nail gripping portions.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of the line 1010 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 11 is a view in perspective the pre-nailed strip of Fig. 8.

Referring to Figs. 1-4, Fig. 1 shows a corner of a room with the two'walls 20, 21 provided with baseboards 212, 23 and quarter- round 24, 25. The carpet stripping may be of any desired length, but is usually supplied in four footlengths and may be cutoff when required to fit inside the walls ,of the'room.

Under ideal conditions the carpet is installed before the quarter-round is applied or the carpet maybe installed after removing the quarter-round so that in such cases the quarter-round may be applied to the baseboard after the carpet has been provided in such size that it extends. up against the baseboard; and the strips are located under ideal conditions close to the baseboard so that the qnarter-round is located above the strips and prongs. g

In many cases, the quarter-round is not removed-be cause it would be broken and split and'would have tojbe wholly replaced;- and in many casesthe carpet is installed of the nail retainer of against the side of the quarter-round, as shown in Fig. 2, in which case the quarter-round is of no assistance in holding the carpet on the prongs; and the curvature of the quarter-round makes it more difiicultto securethe carpet tightly against it. i

Thepresentsecuring strips are adapted to belusedboth when the quarter-round isjnot removedand when the quarter-round is removed; and the present strips are very advantageous under the most adverse .copditions when the quarter-round is not removedand replaced above the carpet. I

The carpet securing strips are indicated at. 2 6 and 27 in Fig. l nailed on the floor 28, which supports a floor pad 29, extending up to the carpet securing strips; and the entirety is covered 'by the carpet 30.

While the present securing strips are preferably made of plywood, they may also be made of strips ofplastic of suitable thickness, width, and length. 7

Figs. 2-4 and 6 illustrate .one preferred form of my carpet securing strip, which is shown in perspective in Fig. 4 and indicated by 11111116131311. All the carpet securing strips described herein are preferably made of thin plywood, which may have three layers or plies, the upper layer 32 and the bottom layer 33 having the grain extending lengthwise, while the middle layer 34 extends crosswise of the length; and these layers are secured together under pressure and heat by waterproof glue or resin to form what is known as the outdoor type of plywood because it does not disintegrate by. moisture. This is import-ant because water may find its way through the carpet into the plywood, disintegrating it if it were not of the outdoor type. j

The carpet securing strips may be of auydesired width, such as, for example, one inch, and of any desired thickness, such as, for example, one-fourth of an inch, the thickness bearing a relation to the usual thickness of a pad 29 the edge 34 of which is brought up against the rear straight edge 35 of the carpet securing strip, in which this edge is formed at right angles to thetop and bottom, the top being indicated at 36 and thebottom at 37. j

The walledge 38 of the carpet securing strip flis'preferably beveled upwardly, presenting a sharp upper, edge 39, which is adapted to clamp or pinch the carpet against a quarter-round, even though the quarter-round curves toward the carpet securing strip below the edge. 39.

' The carpet securing strip" 31 preferably has a multiplicity of diagonally extendingprongs 40located at regularly spaced points and arranged in two rows or series so that the prongs 41 in the outer row are staggered with respect to the prongs 40. V

' The prongs extend upward and'are arranged to slant toward the edge 39, that is, toward the wall so that the fabric 42 of the carpet 43, hearing a pile '44, mayjhave tits fabric portion impaled on the prongs 40,41; and the pull on the carpet, which is exerted by'the carpet itself after tightening, tends to pull thecarpet more tightly on. the prongs. 7

These prongs may be in the. nature of tacks of suflicient length and driven diagonally into the bottom of the carpet securing strip 31 so that their heads 44 are embedded in the bottom of the strip, forming a diagonal recess, leaving nothing to project from the bottom of the. strip in so far as the heads of the tacks 40, 41 are concerned; V

All of the different forms of'strips described herein preferably include the structure which has been described sofar; r p

The strip 31 is preferably of the pre-nailed' type. The present carpet securing strips are preferably ofthe prenailed type; that is, they are sold with their nails secured in the strip; butthey may also be sold with the nails detached. 7 i

Each length of strip is provided with a plurality of narrow saw slots 45, 46 located at regularly spaced points position relative tojthe nails.

and sufficiently narrow relative to the shanks of the nails 47 so that a nail may be driven into each slot 45, 46; and the nails will make a slight depression in the walls 48, 49 of each slot 45 sufiicient to hold the nail 47 at the point Where it is driven by friction.

The length of the tacks or prongs 40 is preferably such that the prongs project through the fabric 42 of the carpet 43; but they are located well below the top of the pile 44.

The length of the nails 47 is preferably such that the nails may extend through the strips 31 and into the floor 28 sufliciently to provide a firm anchorage for the strips 31.

The heads of the nails are indicated at 50; and they are adapted to bear on the top 36 of the strips and may, if necessary, be embedded slightly in the strip 31, if that is necessary to hold the strips 31 in adjusted position.

The friction between the bottom. of the head andthe top of the strip 31 and between the shank 47. ofthenail and the walls of the slot 45 is sufiicientto hold the strip in any adjusted position. The nails 47 areinitially located'at that end of each slot 45 which is closest to the beveled edge 38, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, or when the strip is nailed to the floor, the nail is also located'at the left end of the strip in Fig. 4 so' that'the strip 31 may be .spaced from the quarter-round 24 and the carpet may be installed and cut and turned down-about the sharp edge 39, providing a carpet portion-51which extends down between the quarter-round 24 and the beveled edge 38 to be clamped thereby.

After the carpet has been secured, strips located as shown in Fig. 3, and tightened for a reasonable'amount, the carpet may be further tightened by using a carpet tightener or other tool by driving against the edge '35 of the strip and forcing it toward the wall, the strip slid ing on the nails 47 from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig- 2.

With such a structure the carpet may be fastened more securely, even against quarter-round; and the strips may be located without the wood stripper knowing the" exact thickness of the carpet because the present strips may be adjusted after the carpet is hooked on the prongs and driven tightly against the wall. M r r 7 v Referring toFigs. 5 and 10, these'are views'ofj a modification of the carpet strip of Fig; 4, which aresimilar in every respect except that each of the securing-nails 47 is provided with a washer 53 located onthenail between the head 50- and the carpet securing' 'strip As available securing nails may'ihave' relatively small heads, the washers 53 give an increased bearing 'surfac'e on the top of the wooden'strip and provide increasedresistance in the way of friction for'holding the carpet tight after the strip has been adjusted .to' the position of Fig. 2.

All of the other parts of the strip of Fig. 5 maybe the sarne'as previously described.

Referring to Fig. 8, this. is a view similar 'to Fig; 6 of a modification in which theslots in the-wooden strip 31 have been enlarged,'but havebeen provided with metal retaining members 54 for holding the ,nails in adjusted position in the strip; and for'holdingthe strip inadju'sted The metal securing member 54 isshovvnin perspective inFig. 11; and it may comprise a sheetjsteeliorjjspring bronze member which is of a sizeto fit in' thejen larged slot 55, where it is'held by the laterallyprojecting sharp prongs 56 and 57 driven into the wood; fromthe top. These prongs are pointed and tapered on their lower edge, where they are also sharpened; and they are punched out of the metal which forms the member 54 L 7 This strip is formed with a cylindricalportion 585at one end and a cylindrical portion 59 at the other end,

these being of a size to nail 47 or 47a.

receive and the shank ofv a Between the nail recesses 57;. 58: the: body 'ofithe member 54 curves inward at 60 on one side and curves inward at 61 on the other side, but it is open at 62. The thickness and resiliency of the metal strip is such that when the strip is secured by nails, the strip may be caused to slide on a nail in the position 47a (Fig. 8) until the strip is in the position of Fig. 2 and the nail is in the position indicated at 47 in Fig. 8.

The restriction at 60, 61 tends to hold the nail in its initial position at 47a and to resist movement of the strip from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 2; but the member 54 aids in holding the strip after adjustment in the position of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 9, this is a view similar to Fig. 8 of another modification in which an enlarged slot 63 is provided with a sheet metal member 64, which may comprise a pair of similar members, each of which is provided with a prong 65 and a body having a plurality of corrugations 66, forming a plurality of places for holding the nail.

For example, there are four partially cylindrical recesses within which the shank 4-7 of a nail may be held. This permits the adjustment of the carpet securing strip to three additional positions by moving it from its first position, which would be equivalent to Fig. 3.

The metal members'54 and 64 are made of light resilient metal and are preferably shorter than the thickness of the plywood strip; and the recess therein, which holds the nail, has a frictional grip on the shank of the nail so that the strip may be a pre-nailed strip.

The strips may also be used to secure runners or wallto-wall carpet upon stairs. In securing the carpet on stairs, a short piece of the securing strip should be used at each of the lateral edges of the runner or solid carpet on the tread; and a similar short strip may be used on each riser.

The main securement of the carpet on the stair is by using a securing strip with downwardly directed prongs on the riser at the bottom, close to the corner formed by riser and tread, and another on the tread with prongs close to and directed toward the riser in the same corner. Thus the carpet will be drawn tightly into the corners of the stairway at the back of each tread and the bottom of each riser.

It will thus be observed that I have invented a plurality of different forms of carpet securing strips, all of which can be caused to engage the carpet more tightly, after the carpet is secured on the prongs, and all of which permit the clamping of the edge of the carpet tightly against the wall or quarter-round.

With the present securing strips the stripper need not know the exact thickness of the carpet; and the carpet is not likely to be pulled ed the prongs by the moving of furniture toward the wall.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A pre-nailed carpet securing strip, comprising a narrow plywood strip of thickness substantially equivalent to the thickness of a carpet pad to be used with the strip, said strip having a multiplicity of diagonally extending upwardly projecting prongs turned toward the edge of the strip, which is to be adjacent a wall and adapted to be embedded in the fabric base of a carpet to secure the carpet without projecting above the carpet, and a plurality of headed nails extending through said securing strip and frictionally held thereby, with their heads located uppermost on the same side as said prongs, for engaging the top of the securing strip, said securing strip having a transversely elongated parallel sided slot about each nail shank, said strip being backwardly and downwardly beveled at the edge toward which the prongs POlllL'iO provide a clamping edge for pinching a downwardly turned portion of the carpet to be clamped between the wall and the strip, the said parallel sided slots comprising saw cuts narrower than the diameter of the nail shanks for clamping the nail shanks in a strip preliminary to its use.

2. A pre-nailed carpet securing strip, comprising a narrow plywood strip of thickness substantially equivalent to the thickness of a carpet pad to be used with the strip, said strip having a multiplicity of diagonally extending upwardly projecting prongs turned toward the edge of the strip, which is to be adjacent a wall and adapted to be embedded in the fabric base of a carpet to secure the carpet without projecting above the carpet, and a plurality of headed nails extending through said securing strip and frictionally held thereby, with their heads located uppermost on the same side as said prongs, for engaging the top of the securing strip, said securing strip having a transversely elongated parallel sided slot about each nail shank, said strip being backwardly and downwardly beveled at the edge toward which the prongs point, to

provide a clamping edge for pinching a downwardly turned portion of the carpet to be clamped between the wall and the strip, the said nails having their shanks located in that end of the slot which is adjacent the clamping edge of the clamping strip so that the carpet may be secured on the prongs and thereafter tightened by driving the strip toward the wall.

3. A pro-nailed carpet securing strip comprising a narrow plywood strip of substantially the same thickness as the carpet pad to be used with it, said strip having a multiplicity of upwardly extending diagonal prongs projecting from its upper surface and sloping toward an upwardly beveled clamping edge which is to be located toward a wall, said prongs comprising tacks driven diagonally upward through the strip from the bottom and projecting upwardly from the top of the strip sufiiciently to engage and hold the fabric of an overlying carpet without projecting from the carpet, said strip having a plurality of transversely narrow parallel walled through slots for slidably supporting the strip on securing nails which are frictionally secured in said slots in position to be driven into the floor, the said through slots being saw cuts narrower than the diameter of the nail shank for gripping the nail shank in rounded portions of the slot formed by the driving of the nails.

4. A pre-nailed carpet securing strip according to claim 3, in which the securing nails are initially mounted in the slots at that end of the slot which is toward the beveled edge of the strip, thereby providing a maximum adjustment of the strips on the nails.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 745,220 Miller Nov. 24, 1903 2,631,327 Roberts Mar. 17, 1953 2,677,145 Adams May 4, 1954 2,821,714 Kent ct a1 Feb. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 770,279 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1957

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