Claims
- 1. A predecorated wall comprising a plurality of substantially flat faced predecorated wallboards having edge portions forming a joint therebetween and an elongate paper batten adhesively disposed over at least some of said joints, said paper batten having a width of about one and a half inches and being a single flat strip of impregnated, stiffened paper having a substantially uniform thickness throughout of about 0.015 inch, said paper batten having a printed design on a substantially flat front face thereof and pressure sensitive adhesive on the substantially flat back face thereof adhering said batten to said wallboard, said printed design on said paper batten being aesthetically compatible with the decoration on said predecorated wallboard and said batten flat front face being held in fixed parallel relation to the substantially flat surfaces of said wallboards.
- 2. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 1 wherein said wall is a vertical wall.
- 3. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 2 wherein said wall further comprises a similar paper batten adhesively affixed along the top edge of said wall.
- 4. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 1 wherein said wall is a substantially horizontal ceiling, with wallboards affixed to joists.
- 5. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 1 wherein said wallboards are affixed to framing members by fasteners and said fasteners are concealed by said paper batten.
- 6. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 5 wherein said fasteners are staples with one leg of each said staple extending through one wallboard and the other leg through the adjacent wallboard.
- 7. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 1 wherein said impregnated stiffened paper has been treated with a drying oil.
- 8. A predecorated wall as defined in claim 1 wherein the paper battens are made of paper which has been slit into narrow widths from wider webs of predecorated wallboard paper.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division of copending application, Ser. No. 407138, filed Aug. 11, 1982 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,870 issued 4/15/86.
This invention relates to novel predecorated paper battens and walls or ceilings having such battens covering the joints between wallboards.
The mobile home industry uses large numbers of battens to cover joints between wall and ceiling panels. These battens are typically wood shapes that have been decorated by painting, printing, or laminating, and are normally applied with nails or staples.
Paper tape, supplied in roll form, about two inches wide, and referred to as joint tape, is commonly applied, with an aqueous joint cement under the tape and also over the tape, to completely conceal the joints of gypsum board in drywall construction. One of the earliest disclosures of this concealing of joints with joint tape to provide a monolithic surface with no irregularities is U.S. Pat. No. 1,357,350.
The present invention is directed to the use of a pressure-sensitive adhesively applied predecorated paper batten, having a pattern printed on the front surface which blends with a pattern on the wallboard, and having a front surface which is substantially flat and spaced outward from the plane of the wallboard front face. These paper battens are substantially lower in cost than wood battens, and substantially thinner. With a pressure-sensitive adhesive on the back, protected before use with release paper, the need of mechanical fasteners is avoided. The very low profile of a paper batten, compared with the thicker prior wood battens, acts together with the printed design which matches the wallboard design, to produce a relatively unnoticeable and thus aesthetically pleasing batten strip. The paper battens can be supplied in very long lengths, such as in rolls, whereby very little waste results when used in many varying length strips.
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel, low cost, easily applied predecorated batten strip.
It is a further object to provide an improved method of treating joints between predecorated wallboard.
It is a further object to provide a batten having greatly improved characteristics compared to anything previously available at a comparable price.
It is a still further object to provide an improved decorated wall.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 830602 |
Mar 1960 |
GBX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
407138 |
Aug 1982 |
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Patent Grant
4656805
