Patent Application
20190290075
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) of Canadian Patent Application No. 2,998,243, filed Mar. 16, 2018, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to mouldings used in a corner joint between two structures, for example between the rim of a bathtub or shower tray and the surrounding walls upstanding therefrom.
Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 8,997,414 and corresponding Canadian Patent No. 2,792,491 disclosed formation of a water tight seal in a corner joint between a bathtub rim or shower tray and the surrounding structural walls upstanding therefrom by installing an elongated corner moulding having a base stem with a cap at one end. An underside of the base stem is equipped with double-sided foam tape, and a bead of caulking is laid along an inner face of the cap behind an upper lip thereof that resides above the base stem. The distal end of the base stem furthest from the cap is inserted into a gap between the rim of the bathtub or shower tray and a lower edge of the finishing tiles on the tub/shower surround wall, bringing the caulked inner face of the cap into contact with the exposed outer surface of the wall tiles to create a water tight seal therewith, The moulding is pressed down against the rim of the tub or shower tray in order to adhere the underside of the base stem thereto via the double-sided tape.
An earlier corner moulding was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,681, where the moulding was instead fitted with double-sided tape on both the topside and underside of the base stem for sandwiched receipt of the base stem between a countertop and a backsplash during the installation of said backsplash. This earlier moulding design and installation technique was only useful during installation of a new backsplash and could not be applied to an existing backsplash on a retrofit basis.
Applicant's previously patented moulding on the other hand could be installed on a retrofit basis in wall tile applications, where properly installed tile would not reach fully down to the tub or shower tray, and instead would terminate a short distance above the rim of the tub or shower tray to leave a gap space therebeween. Prior to Applicant's previously patented invention, this gap was conventionally covered only by caulking to create a flexible, water-proof seal. A user, whether a trained installer or do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowner, could therefore typically perform a retrofit installation of Applicant's previously patented moulding quickly and easily by removing the old caulking to re-open the gap between the tile and the tub or shower tray, and thereby by enable insertion of the moulding's base stem.
However, in the event that the tile was installed improperly and rested directly atop the tub or shower tray, leaving no gap for insertion of the moulding's base stem, or in the event that a gap was present but not large enough to accommodate insertion of the base stem, installation of the moulding could not be performed, at least without having to trim the bottom edges of the installed tiles to create or enlarge the gap, adding complexity, mess and additional tool requirements to the job, to the point that it may become too involved for a DIY installer.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a solution enabling installation of the corner moulding regardless of the presence or absence of a sufficiently sized gap for the moulding's base stem. It would also be desirable to provide an alternative to the use of caulking during installation of Applicant's previously patented moulding for a cleaner, more convenient installation, particularly for DIY users.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a moulding for use at a corner joint between a first structure having an exposed surface lying in a first plane and a second structure having an outer surface lying in a second plane that intersects said first plane, said moulding comprising:
an elongated body having a longitudinal dimension for extending along the corner joint and a cross-sectional shape that is defined in planes perpendicular to said longitudinal dimension and that comprises a base stem for optional insertion into a gap between the first and second structures, if present, and a cap integrally attached to a proximal end of the base stem to lie outside said gap, if present, the cap defining an upper lip for contact against the outer surface of the second structure at a spaced distance from a topside of the base stem and an underside of the base stem being adherable to the exposed surface of the first structure; and a break line running longitudinally of the base stem to denote a boundary between a proximal portion of the base stem situated adjacent the cap, and a distal portion of the base stem that reaches further from the cap and is selectively detachable from the proximal area by cutting or snapping of the distal portion from the proximal portion along said break line.
Preferably, a reference plane lies perpendicularly to the base stem of the body and intersects an upper tip of the upper lip of the cap of the body, and a distance from the proximal end of the base stem to the break line is no greater than a distance from the proximal end of the base stem to the reference plane, whereby in the presence of said gap between the first and second structures the distal area of the base stem is insertable into said gap, and in the absence of said gap, the distal portion of the base stem is detachable from the proximal portion along the break line to reduce the base stem to a smaller size capable of fitting between the cap and the outer surface of the inner structure when the upper lip is placed thereagainst.
Preferably there is double-sided tape extending the longitudinal dimension of the body with an upper surface of the tape adhered to an underside of the base stem for adhesion of the underside of the base stem to the exposed surface of the first structure, and the double-sided tape may occupy both the proximal and distal portions of the base stem, in which case the break line may denote a cutting guide for trimming the double-sided tape down to the proximal portion of the base stem after detachment of the distal portion thereof.
In one embodiment, there is provided an additional length of double-sided tape extending the longitudinal dimension of the body and attached to an inner face of the upper lip below the upper tip thereof for adhesion of said upper lip of the cap to the outer surface of the second structure via said length of double-sided tape.
The break line may comprise a weakened break line of reduced thickness relative to a remainder of the base stem. The thickness of the weakened break line may be sufficiently reduced to enable snapped or torn removal of the distal portion of the base stem along the break line.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of installing moulding at a corner joint between a first structure having an exposed surface lying in a first plane and a second structure having an outer surface lying in a second plane that intersects said first plane, said method comprising:
obtaining a moulding comprising an elongated body having a longitudinal dimension for extending along the corner joint and a cross-sectional shape that is defined in planes perpendicular to said longitudinal dimension and that comprises a base stem for optional insertion into a gap between the first and second structures, if present, and a cap integrally attached to an end of the base stem to lie outside said gap, if present, the cap defining an upper lip for contact against the outer surface of the second structure at a spaced distance from a topside of the base stem and an underside of the base stem being adherable to the exposed surface of the first structure;
making an assessment of whether there is a sufficiently sized gap between the exposed surface of the first structure and the said outer surface of the second structure to accommodate insertion of the bas stem into said sufficiently sized gap; and
based on an outcome of said assessment, either:
Step (b) may comprise snapping the distal portion of the base stem from the proximal portion thereof.
Alternatively, step (b) may comprise tearing the distal portion of the base stem from the proximal portion thereof.
Alternatively, step (b) may comprise cutting the distal portion of the base stem from the proximal portion thereof.
The moulding may have pre-attached double-sided tape adhered to an underside of the base stem at both the proximal and distal portions thereof, in which case step (b) preferably comprises first detaching the distal portion of the base stem from the proximal portion thereof, and then trimming the double-sided tape down to the remaining proximal portion of the base stem by cutting the double-sided tape along the break line.
The method may comprise adhesively attaching the upper lip of the cap to the outer surface of the second structure using double-sided tape adhered to an inner face of the upper lip of the cap below an upper tip thereof.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a moulding for use at a corner joint between a first structure having an exposed surface lying in a first plane and a second structure having an outer surface lying in a second plane that intersects said first plane, said moulding comprising:
an elongated body having a longitudinal dimension for extending along the corner joint and a cross-sectional shape that is defined in planes perpendicular to said longitudinal dimension and that comprises a base stem and a cap integrally attached to an end of the base stem, the cap defining an upper lip for contact against the outer surface of the second structure at a spaced distance from a topside of the base stem and an underside of the base stem being adherable to the exposed surface of the first structure;
a first length of double-sided tape extending the longitudinal dimension of the body with an upper surface of the tape adhered to the underside of the base stem for adhesion of the underside of the base stem to the exposed surface of the first structure by said first length of double-sided tape; and
a second length of double-sided tape extending the longitudinal dimension of the body and adhesively attached to an inner face of the upper lip below an upper tip thereof for adhesion of said upper lip of the cap to the outer surface of the second structure by said second length of double-sided tape.
Preferably the double-sided tape is double-sided foam tape.
Preferably the double-sided tape is pressure sensitive.
Preferably the double-sided tape is acrylic foam tape.
In some embodiments, a topside of the base stem is free of any double-sided tape.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The cross-sectional shape of the moulding in planes normal to its longitudinal axis L features a rectangular base stem 12 having a topside 14, an opposing underside 16, and a free distal or inner end 18. Integrally attached to the opposing proximal or outer end of the rectangular base stem 12 is a cap 20 having a larger upper lip 22 that projects a notable distance upward from the topside of the base stem 12, and a smaller lower lip 24 that juts a shorter distance downward from the underside of the base stem 12. The proximal end of the base stem is denoted in the drawings by broken line E. The moulding of the illustrated embodiment features a unitary body that defines the rectangular base stem 12 and the cap 20 as seamlessly integral parts of a unitary whole. The illustrated embodiment of the moulding 10 features a uniform material composition throughout, but co-extruded embodiments employing material variations in different layers or portions are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention.
An inner face 26 of the upper lip 22 faces back over the base stem 12 and rises therefrom at a slightly acute angle A, for example approximately 87-degrees, with the flat topside of the base stem 12. An inner face 28 of the lower lip 24 initially forms a right angle with the flat underside of the base stem 12, then transitions into a flat underside 32 of the lower lip 24 through a curved corner. An outer face 30 of the cap 20 convexly joins a top end of the inner face 26 of the upper lip 22 to the underside 32 of the lower lip 24, giving the cap a fin-like shape that widens from a point-like upper tip 22a at the top of the upper lip 22 down to the wider lower lip 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner face of the upper lip is concave in curvature between the upper tip 22a and the base stem 12, and so its angle of incline grows less steep from initial angle A moving upward toward the tip 22a. The radius of curvature at the inner face 26 is less than the radius of curvature at the outer face 30, thus resulting in the downwardly widening shape of the upper lip in its thickness dimension measured between its inner and outer faces. In other embodiments, the upper lip may have a more uniform thickness where the curvature at the inner and outer faces are of matching profile. Other profiles of the other lip may alternatively be used, and the inner and outer faces need not necessarily have smoothly curved profiles like those of the present embodiment. For example, an alternate inner face profile is shown in the embodiment of
Double-sided foam tape 34 features adhesive at both its upper and lower surfaces 36, 38, and the upper surface 36 of the tape 34 is adhered to the underside 16 of the base stem 12 of the moulding 10 over the full length thereof. The width of the tape 34 spans an entirety, or at least a majority, of the base stem's width, which is measured from the free distal end thereof to where the lower lip 24 of the cap juts downwardly from the base stem 12 at the proximal end E thereof. The topside 14 of the base stem 12 is free of any such tape or other adhesive in the illustrated embodiment, though other embodiments may feature the tape or other adhesive, optionally of the same type, on the topside of the base stem. The adhesive lower surface 36 of the tape 34 is preferably initially concealed and protected by a suitable strip of covering material (not shown), which is subsequently removed before or during installation of the moulding.
Suitable tapes include commercially available tape products from the RP series of VHB tapes marketed by the 3M Company of St. Paul Minn., with one particular example being VHB™ RP45(F) tape. The selected tape is a double-sided, pressure sensitive, acrylic foam tape with a 0.045-inch thickness and a film-liner, although VHB tapes of other thicknesses and liner materials would likewise be suitable for use within the context of the present invention, as would tapes of comparable properties and performance, whether from 3M or other manufacturers. VHB tapes are marketed as being suitable for waterproofing applications, providing a permanent bond for sealing against water and other environmental elements, thus being particularly useful in the illustrated context of installing the moulding as part of a waterproof sealing solution between a bathtub or shower tray and upright walls surrounding same.
The base stem includes a weakened break line 40 that resides at an intermediate location between the proximal and distal ends of the base stem 12, and runs the full longitudinal dimension of the moulding 10 from one end thereof to the other. In the illustrated example, the break line 40 is defined by a V-shaped groove in the otherwise flat topside 14 of the base stem 23, thus providing a localized area of reduced stem thickness at a location situated part way between the proximal and distal ends of the base stem. Here, the thickness of the base stem measured from the underside 16 thereof to the lowermost point of the V-shaped groove is notably less than the uniform thickness measured elsewhere on the base stem between the underside of the base stem and the flat majority of the stem's topside on opposite sides of the break line 40. The part of the base stem located between the break line 40 and the cap 20 is referred to herein as the proximal portion 12a of the base stem, while the part of the base stem reaching to the distal end thereof on the opposing side of the break line is referred to herein as the distal portion 12b of the base stem 12.
The grooved break line 40 of the illustrated embodiment serves to provide both a visual guide along which the base stem can be optionally cut in the longitudinal direction to sever the distal portion of the base stem from the proximal portion thereof, and also a sufficiently weakened snap or tear line along which the distal portion 12b of the base stem can be snapped or torn off by applying sufficient leverage to the distal end of the base stem, whether manually or with the aid of pliers or other assistive tool. In other embodiments, the break line 40 may be a purely visual cutting guide lacking any recessed groove or indentation in the surface of the base stem, but the illustrated use of a recessed groove is preferable, as this provides both a tactile cutting path for knife or saw blade to follow in the case of cut detachment, and preferably a sufficiently reduced thickness or brittleness to enable snapped or torn detachment so that use of potentially hazardous cutting tools can be avoided.
In the illustrated embodiment, the double-sided tape 34 on the underside of the base stem is pre-attached to the moulding 10 prior to distribution to the installer, and so the break line 40 is placed at the uncovered topside of the base stem 12 so as to be readily visible to the installer. In other embodiments, the break line 40 may alternatively reside at an initially uncovered underside of the base stem, to which double-sided tape is subsequently adhered by the installer, after optionally detaching the distal portion 12b of the base stem 12 if required, as explained in more detail further below.
As shown in
In both of these illustrated contexts, the moulding 10 is used at a horizontal corner joint formed between the generally horizontal upper surface of a bathtub rim 100 extending around the perimeter of the tub interior at the top of the tub walls, and the generally vertical outer surface of a layer of wall tiles 102 installed on an upright wall 104 against which the tub has been installed. The rim of the tub thus designates a generally horizontal first structure with an exposed upper surface 100a jutting out from the wall structure in a first generally horizontal plane, while the wall structure denotes a generally vertical second structure on which the wall tiles 102 define an outer surface 102a residing in a generally vertical plane that intersects the generally horizontal plane of the tub's exposed rim surface 100a.
The context in
Installation of the moulding 10 in the first context is illustrated in
The base stem 12 of the moulding is inserted into the gap 106 until the upper tip 22a of the upper lip 22 is abutted against the outer surface 102a of the tile layer 102 of the wall. At this point, the moulding 10 is then pressed downward to force the adhesive at the bottom surface 38 of the foam tape 34 against the horizontal tub surface 100a. This insertion and downward pressing of the moulding is repeated along the length of the moulding, during which more of the double-sided tape's covering layer is peeled off at each insertion step if the tape was not fully uncovered beforehand.
As shown in the fully installed position in
Accordingly, although the point-like upper tip 22a at the top of the upper lip may be thin enough in some embodiments to have sufficient flexibility to conform completely against a recessed grout line, even if a complete water-tight seal of the upper lip of the moulding against the wall structure is not achieved at the grout lines, the caulking 41 sandwiched between the moulding cap 20 and the tiled finishing layer of the wall structure seals the wall and the moulding together over the full length thereof.
The foam tape adhesive provides a strong enough bond to the tub surface 100a to hold the moulding in contact against the tub and tile, while the caulking provides a flexible water tight seal between the moulding and the tile. This way, some relative movement between the tub and the wall, as may occur when the tub is subjected to the weight of occupants, is accommodated by the flexibility of the caulking without detriment to the water tightness of the seals.
Turning to
Turning to
Turning to
With the intact proximal portion 12a of the base stem 12 held in close but non-contacting elevation to the tub surface 100a, the reduced moulding is pushed toward the corner between the exposed upper tub surface 100a and the outer tile surface 102a, as shown by the solid head arrow in
So in the first context of
While the forgoing embodiment features pre-applied full-width tape 34 on the underside of the base stem, which requires trimming in the instance of a gapless installation context, another embodiment may alternatively employ to narrower strips of partial-width tape, one adhered solely to the underside of the base stem's distal portion, and another adhered solely to the underside of the base stem's proximal portion. In such instance, no trimming of the tape is required after cutting or snapping off the distal portion of the base stem. Alternatively, in a two-strip tape configuration, only the proximal strip of tape underlying the proximal portion of the base stem may be pre-attached to the moulding, and a separate distal strip of tape is attached to the underside of the distal portion of the base stem by the installer only if the moulding is being installed in a fully intact full-width state in a sufficiently gapped corner joint. However, applicant has found that a single length of wider tape is more cost efficient than two separate lengths of narrower tape, and so use of full-width tape that is trimmed by the installer for gapless installation contexts may be preferable from an economic point of view.
Alternatively, the upper lip of the second embodiment moulding 10′ may have a more curved or angled inner face like that of the first embodiment if the material composition or thin shape of the cap 20 provides the upper lip 22 with enough flexibility that its inner face 26 can be pushed generally flat against the outer surface 102a of the tiled finishing layer of the wall structure during installation to achieve a sufficient area of adhesive contact between the outer surface 102a of the tiled finishing layer and the double-sided tape 34′ on the upper lip 22 of the moulding.
It will also be appreciated that the described method of selecting between an intact full-width installation of the moulding or a cut or snapped reduced-width installation of the moulding based on a visual assessment of whether a sufficiently sized gap is available in the corner joint can be performed regardless of whether the base-stem includes a pre-defined break line 40 or not, as one could cut off a distal portion 12b of a base stem 12 even the base stem lacks visible cut-guiding break line visually marking where to make this cut. However, such an option would be less user friendly, as it would require the installer to make an unguided or self-measured cut to ensure that the base stem is trimmed by an appropriate amount so that it no longer protrudes past the reference plane occupied by the upper tip of the moulding's upper lip, and preferably terminates right at said reference plane. The ideal result of having the upper the broken end of the remaining proximal portion of the base stem residing in the same reference plane at this upper tip of the moulding is optimal to help square the moulding in a proper orientation in its installed position by abutting of both the upper lip and the broken end of the proximal base stem portion against the outer surface of the wall.
On the other hand, it will be appreciated that even if the base stem were trimmed slightly past the reference plane P to the proximal side thereof, this would not necessarily defeat proper placement of the moulding in a useful position placing the upper tip 22a of the cap's upper lip 22 against the outer surface 102a of the wall's finishing layer with the intact proximal part 34a of the base stem tape 32 adhered flush atop the tub surface 100a. Accordingly, while the preferred embodiment places the break line 40 at the reference plane P that intersects the upper tip 22a of the cap 20, other embodiments may have the break line 40 somewhat offset from the reference plane P to the proximal side thereof. So whether the break line 40 is centered on the reference plane P to create the break directly at the reference plane P, or is offset proximally of the reference plane to create the break on the proximal side of the reference plane, either way, the remaining proximal portion 12a of the base stem 12 after detachment of the broken-off distal portion 12b will not protrude beyond the reference plane P at which the outer surface 102a of the wall's finishing layer is intended to be received in the installed position of the moulding. Accordingly, the necessary positioning of the break-line relative to the reference plane P may be expressed as a requirement that the distance from the proximal end E of the base stem 12 to the break line 40 must not exceed the distance from the proximal end E of the base stem 12 to the reference plane P that perpendicularly intersects the base stem 12 and contains the upper tip 22a of the cap's upper lip 22.
While the forgoing embodiments are described in relation to a bathtub and tiled surround walls standing upright therefrom, the corner mouldings of the present invention may be used in any variety of gapped and gapless corner joints where a first structure (e.g. bathtub, shower tray) has a first exposed surface (e.g. generally horizontal upper surface of the rim of the bathtub or shower tray) residing in a first plane that intersects a second plane occupied by an outer surface (e.g. tile surface) of a second structure (e.g. generally vertical upright wall). The selective detachment of the break-off distal portion 12b of the base stem of the moulding is not only useful for tiled walls where the finishing layer has sufficient depth (i.e. as determined by the combined tile and mortar thickness) to accommodate insertion of the base stem if a sufficiently tall gap space is available, but is also useful for contexts where a relatively thin finishing layer (e.g. acrylic tub surround) doesn't provide sufficient depth to accommodate the full-width base stem, in which case the distal base stem portion is broken off by cutting or snapping to enable external flush mounting of the reduced moulding entirety outside the wall structure and its acrylic finishing layer in the same manner described above for a tiled wall structure.
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2998243 | Mar 2018 | CA | national |
