Patent Application
20220381044
The invention relates to a method for arranging a flash coving profile in the transition between a floor and a wall.
For different applications, it is common to apply a flexible flooring such as resilient flooring to a subfloor. Typically, it is not desirable to use the same flooring to cover the entire adjacent wall, but still it is beneficial to create a smooth transition between the subfloor and the wall which is less likely to collect dust. To this purpose, it is known to flash cove the flooring up to the wall.
Traditionally, when flash coving, an upside-down U-shaped cove cap is fixed to the wall (e.g. with adhesive tape or contact cement) and a flexible vinyl or metal fillet-shaped cove former strip is arranged between the cove cap and the subfloor at the junction of the floor and the wall, after which a resilient layer is formed towards to the cove former and fixed to the cove cap. The main flooring may be installed either before or after flash coving. Both procedures have the disadvantage of being complex, requiring specialized installation skills. Furthermore, the cove former strip or the flooring may be damaged by pressing the flooring to hard against the cove former strip in the corner.
In other solutions, the fillet-shaped cove former strip is adhered to the back of the flooring and by that integrated with the flooring or, as an alternative, formed by reinforcing the backing of the flooring, thereby decreasing the number of steps necessary for installation. However, in such cases, the fixed position of the pre-installed cove cap limits the flexibility in fitting the cove former strip and furthermore increases the risk of misalignment of the cove former strip between the pre-installed cove cap and the pre-installed main flooring.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,905 A discloses another method for installing a flash cove. In this method, the fillet-shaped cove former and the cove cap are integrated in a single unit, to which the flooring layer is applied afterwards. The production of this flash coving profile is relatively costly due to the complex shape of the profile.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,787,823, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in its entirety, discloses a method for producing a flash coving profile. The method comprises providing an elongate metal sheet with a first longitudinal edge and a second edge opposing, and preferably parallel to, the first edge. A flexible and preferably resilient flooring is adhered to a first face of the metal sheet, the flooring extending from the first edge to at least the second edge; then a cove is bent into the metal sheet with the flooring adhered to it along a bend line which is parallel to and spaced apart from the first edge and on the side to which the flooring is adhered. This method provide a flash coving profile that can be produced and applied efficiently.
It is an object of the invention to further improve and facilitate the application of flash coving profiles in the transition between a floor and a wall.
This object is achieved with a method for arranging a flash coving profile in the transition between a floor and a wall, comprising the steps of:
The provision of end elements on the first end and/or the second end of the flash coving profile gives a more aesthetic appearance of the floor covering. The end elements also provide for a more convenient, efficient and reliable mounting of the flash cover elements on the transition between wall and floor, i.e. on the floor line. The presence of end elements may also make it more difficult to pull the flash coving profile from its mounted position. This may for example be beneficial in locations where people may feel the need to pull the flash coving profile from its mounted position.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the outer surface of the transition part lies substantially flush with the flooring of the flash coving profile after mounting of the end element and the flash coving profile. By providing a flush transition between the transition part and the flooring of the flash coving profile an attractive appearance is obtained. Further, the penetration of tools between the end element and the flash coving profile to disengage the flash coving profile from its mounted position is made more difficult.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the steps of fixing the wall fixator part to the wall and fixing the transition part to the floor and/or the wall are carried out before adhering the first section of the flash coving profile to the wall and the second section of the flash coving profile to the floor. By mounting the end elements before the flash coving profiles, the screws with which the wall fixator part and/or transition part may be fixed to the wall and/or floor, can be covered by the flash coving profile. The end elements also help to place the flash coving profile more efficiently in the intended position.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the end element is a left end cap element, a right end cap element, an inner corner element or an outer corner element. Dependent on the location of the end element, the end element may have different functions, such as bridging an inner corner or an outer corner of a wall, or creating an end of the one or more flash coving profiles at either the left end or the right end thereof.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the wall fixator part is made of metal, such as aluminum or steel, and the transition part is made of a polymer material or a resin material, such as thermoplastic polymers and/or bio based fiber reinforced resins. The metal of the wall fixator part provides a good strength to hold the flash coving profile and the transition part. The polymer material or the resin material may be used to provide a suitable shape to the transition part, for example to create a smooth transition between the outer surface of the flash coving profile and the transition part. In other embodiments, the wall fixator part and/or the transition part may be made of other suitable materials such as metal, a polymer material or a resin material.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the wall fixator part comprises one or more fixation holes wherein fixing the wall fixator part to the wall comprises screwing or gluing using the one or more fixation holes.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, the transition part comprises one or more fixation holes, wherein fixing the transition part to the floor and/or the wall comprises screwing or gluing using the one or more fixation holes.
In an embodiment, the method comprises the step of covering the fixation holes of the wall fixator part by the flash coving profile, transition part and/or further flooring and the step of covering the fixation holes of the transition part by the flash coving profile and/or further flooring.
In an embodiment of the method of the invention, wherein the method comprises:
In an embodiment of the method for arranging a flash coving profile, the method further comprises the step of welding the flooring of the flash coving profile to the further flooring. The provision of a weld between the flooring of the flash coving profile and the further flooring creates a watertight and visually seamless connection between these parts. Suitable welding techniques that can be used for resilient flooring sheet may for example comprise fusing or melting a thermoformable rod in the seam between two sheets.
The invention further provides a combination of a flash coving profile and an end element,
the flash coving profile comprising:
In an embodiment, the combination comprises that, when the first side is placed against the first end or the second end of the metal sheet, the outer surface of the transition part lies substantially flush with the flooring of the flash coving profile.
In an embodiment of the combination, the wall fixator part is made of metal, such as aluminum or steel, and the transition part is made of a polymer material or a resin material, such as thermoplastic polymers and/or bio based fiber reinforced resins. The metal of the wall fixator part provides a good strength to hold the flash coving profile and the transition part. The polymer material or the resin material may be used to provide a suitable shape to the transition part, for example to create a smooth transition between the outer surface of the flash coving profile and the transition part. In other embodiments, the wall fixator part and/or the transition part may be made of other suitable materials such as metal, a polymer material or a resin material.
In an embodiment of the combination, wherein the wall fixator part comprises one or more fixation holes to fix the wall fixator part to a wall. Correspondingly, in an embodiment of the combination, wherein the transition part comprises one or more fixation holes to fix the transition part to a floor and/or a wall. The fixation holes are for example a number of openings to receive screw or similar fixation elements the fixation openings may also be used when fixation is carried out by gluing. The fixation holes may be arranged at locations that will be covered by the flash coving profile or flooring so that the fixation holes are no longer accessible after mounting of the flash coving profiles. The fixation holes may for example be arranged in plate elements that will be covered by the flash coving profiles. The fixation holes of the wall fixator parts may also at least partly be covered by the associated transition part.
In an embodiment of the combination, the transition part of the end element comprises a second side, the second side to be placed against the second end of a metal sheet of a second flash coving profile, wherein the holding space is arranged to hold the upper edge of the transition part, the first edge of the metal sheet of the first flash coving profile at its first end and the first edge of the metal sheet of the second flash coving profile at its second end. An end element may be arranged between two flash coving profiles, wherein the adjacent ends of the flash coving profiles are placed against the transition part of the end element, and wherein the upper edges of the respective ends are received in the holding space of the wall fixator part. Such two sided end element may for example be an inner corner element or an outer corner element.
In an embodiment of the combination, the combination comprises a second end element, the second end element comprising:
In the flash coving profile of the invention, the fillet-shaped cove former (made of a metal sheet) may be provided with a layer of flexible and preferably resilient flooring to a first face of the metal sheet after which this combination is bent into a cove before adhering the flash coving profile to the wall. This increases the ease of production of the flash coving profile, which is substantially L-shaped and has a first section or leg to be adhered to a wall and a second section or leg to be adhered to a subfloor. The cove is preferably bent into the metal sheet by roller forming.
The bend line may be on the side to which the flooring is adhered, which causes the first and second edge to lay closer to each other after bending when seen from the side of the profile to which the flooring is adhered.
The flooring will typically cover the entire first face, while the opposing second face of the metal sheet is free from covering or other material, allowing the metal sheet to be adhered directly to a subfloor and wall. The metal sheet is typically an aluminum sheet. Typically the length of the first edge ranges from 2.4 to 3.7 meters, while the width or distance between the first and second edge is typically approximately 200 millimeters. Typical examples of floorings are vinyl, linoleum, nylon 6,6 (preferably embodied as in the product Flotex, which is sold by the applicant) or rubber.
The flooring may extend beyond the second edge, preferably over a width of 50 to 150 mm perpendicular to the first edge. In this way, it is easier to connect the flooring adhered to the coving profile to a further (main) flooring which covers the floor and which is typically of the same material as the flooring adhered to the metal profile. In installation of the coving profile in the corner between a wall and a floor, the additional amount of flooring which protrudes from the second edge can be arranged to slope towards and abut against the main flooring, in order to accommodate for height differences between the flooring of the flash coving profile and the further flooring. This protruding part is preferably fixed in this position upon installation by merely creating a sloping layer of leveling adhesive, therefore eliminating the need for a leveler strip.
A protrusion with a width of less than 50 mm will be too short for most purposes to bridge height differences between the coving profile and the further flooring, whereas a protrusion of more than 150 mm will make the flash coving profile unnecessarily large for most purposes.
The method for producing a flash coving profile may comprise the step of arranging a self-adhesive strip on the second face of the metal sheet along the first edge. The arrangement of a self-adhesive strip, preferably provided with a removable protective foil in order to prevent preliminary adhesion, allows the flash coving profile produced to be fixed fast, without requiring screws or nails. Typically the flash coving profile produced is, when it is applied in the corner between a wall and a subfloor, in addition to the self-adhesive strip, adhered with a main adhesive layer which hardens out overtime. The main adhesive layer is typically applied to the wall and floor. During the period required for hardening of the main adhesive, the self-adhesive strip will avoid the flash coving profile from releasing.
The method to produce the flash floor covering may comprise the step of folding a zone of the elongate metal sheet adjacent to the first edge into a cove cap having a substantially U-shaped cross-section.
Although it is possible to provide a separate cove cap which is connected to the flash coving profile, it is preferred to fold a zone of the elongate metal sheet adjacent to the first edge into a cove cap, as this decreases the number of steps for obtaining a cove. In this embodiment, the metal sheet thus comprises a zone to be folded into the cove cap, which extends beyond the first edge. Folding can be carried out by roller folding or angle bending. Extrusion is however an alternative way of obtaining a cove cap which should also be considered part of the scope of the invention.
The method for producing a flash coving profile may further comprise that the zone is folded into a cove cap before adhering the flooring to the sheet. Folding the zone into a cove cap before adhesion of the flooring to the metal sheet avoids the unintentional creation of folds in the flooring near the cove cap which may occur while folding the zone into a cove cap, when the flooring would have been already adhered.
The method to produce the flash floor covering may comprise the steps of finishing the cove cap, comprising steps such as anodizing, lacquering or providing a cover layer. In order to match aesthetical demands, the cove cap may be finished. Typical ways of finishing are anodization, lacquering or covering the cove cap with a cover layer with a decorative print. All of these steps may be performed before arranging the flash coving in the corner between a floor and wall.
These and other aspects of the invention are further elucidated in the following drawings.
The invention relates to a method for forming a flash coving profile according to the invention is disclosed in
To provide a proper end at the left open end of the wall 101, a left end cap element 30 is provided at the first end 21 of the most left flash coving profile 20. At the second end 22 of this flash coving profile 20, an inner corner element 40 is provided that provides a transition to the first end 21 of a second flash coving profile 20. The second end 22 of this second flash coving profile 20 is placed against an outer corner element 50 to provide a transition for the outer corner of the wall 101 to the first end 21 of a third flash coving profile 20. The second end 22 of this third flash coving profile 20 is directly placed against the first end 21 of a fourth flash coving profile 20, while a connection element 60 is provided to hold the second end 22 of the third flash coving profile 20 and the first end 21 of the fourth flash coving profile 20. The second end of the fourth flash coving profile 20 is directly placed against a door frame 106. No end element is needed to create a neat transition to the door frame 106.
The different end elements will now be described in more detail.
The transition part 42 has an outer surface 46, an upper edge 45 a first side 47 and a second side 48. The first side 47 and the second side 48 each have a flat surface substantially perpendicular to the wall 101 on which the respective part of the transition part 42 is mounted. In
The resulting floor covering now has, also due to the end elements 30, 40, 50 and the connection element 60, a neat transition at the floor line between the (sub)floor 100 and the wall 101. At the same time pulling the floor covering off the floor has been made more difficult by the provision of the end elements.
