Patent Application
20160145878
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to floor coverings and, in particular, to transitions between tile and carpet, and more particularly, transitions between vinyl tile and carpet tile when they are installed on a floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Transitions are known for providing a smooth transition between the interface of different types of floor covering, such as between adjacent pieces of carpeting, carpeting and tile, tile and carpet tile, and the like. Floor transitions, or transitions, are used for many reasons. For one, they provide an aesthetic appearance since they many times provide a smooth border between two types of floor coverings. Another reason is for safety since, if the two floor coverings have different heights, it is possible that a person crossing the border between the two types of floor coverings may trip if these coverings are at different heights. Additionally, if they are in places where wheeled carts travel, such as in hospitals where gurneys, bedside carts, medical carts, food service carts, instruments carts and the like are used, a smooth overlay between different heights of adjacent floor coverings avoid uncomfortable jostling and sometimes dangerous movement. Furthermore, providing a transition will lessen the discernment of changes in a floor surface by persons walking from one floor covering to another since they are less likely to feel the difference between rigid and carpeted floors.
There are many types of transitions within the art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,258,314 provides an edge molding for securing the edge of carpets, linoleum or other floor or wall coverings to the surface to be ornamented or protected. This of molding is large, readily noticeable and somewhat difficult to install. A rather complex device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,820,980, which provides a combined binding and anchoring portion for protecting the marginal edge of floor coverings, such as carpet and the normal floor, and requires the use of fasteners to secure the device to the floor. Another carpet holder strip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,378, which can be used in pairs or individually between separate items of carpeting, but is also very noticeable and requires that the carpeting be of equal heights. A carpet-hard floor joint cover is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,980,943, which includes an elongated joint strip which can be bent in order to provide a transition between two types of floor covering, but it is very noticeable and also rather complex. A transition strip for providing a transition between the margin of a rigid flooring and the margin of adjacent carpeting is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,176 but is noticeable and includes structure for receiving cementitious material for holding tiles thereto. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,726 a resilient, semi-rigid molding strip is provided for installation along the edge of a linoleum floor surface and carpeting, but it provides a flat, readily noticeable upper surface between the two types of flooring.
Turning next to U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,192, molding strips are provided for covering an interface between tile and the floor upon which the tile is mounted. This molding has a number of components and is very noticeable when in use. There is a variable height, interlocking molding strip disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,784,238 which includes an elongate cap portion having opposing laterally-extending flange portions and an elongate, relatively thick depending wall portion that extends downwardly and has extending from it a series of horizontal rib portions which are engaged in a U-shaped channel portion when in use. This is a relatively large unit having two separate elements and is very noticeable when in use. Another noticeable unit is a transition strip which extends from a support which is disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 2005/0189723 which has a generally planar support surface which is fairly long and extends along a floor base, a vertical wall extending from an end of the floor base across which is a cap which includes a cantilevered construction and extends slightly downwardly towards the top of a carpet, and an opposing cap portion extending from the other side of the vertical wall for covering a flooring section. The entire cap is fully in view when installed.
There are various transitions for use between tile floors and carpeting, including those for use between hard tiles and carpet tiles. In some situations, an upstanding wall is provided from which extends in one direction a tail or base portion, the bottom of which is flat, for resting on the floor, and the tail having an upper section which is an inclined surface starting somewhat higher from the base of the wall and extending downwardly to the free end of the tail for extending between floor levels of different heights. A cap is provided having an overhang which extends outwardly from the wall for providing an overhang for the side of the wall without the tail and a lack of an overhang on the side of the wall with the tail. In the latter know transition, the overhang rests on top of the carpeting so that the top of the entire cap is visible when this known transition is in use. Furthermore, the tail normally extends under the carpet.
An object of the present invention is to provide a transition between a hard flooring surface and a carpet floor covering.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a transition between a tile floor covering and a carpet floor covering.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a transition between a vinyl tile and a carpet tile.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a transition between a tile and a carpet tile which is less noticeable than prior transitions between tiles and carpets, including carpet tiles.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an effective and efficient transition between vinyl tiles and carpets, including carpet tiles, which is relatively easy to manufacture, aesthetic and effective in use and simple to install and use.
A transition 1 for a vinyl tile and carpet tile is shown in each of
A base portion or tail 17 extends from the lower part of vertical post 3 from tile-facing side 9. Tail 17 has a flat bottom 19 which extends from the flat bottom of vertical post or wall 3. Tail 17 is inclined downwardly from an upper portion 21 which has a raised intersection 23 with tile-facing side 9 of vertical wall 3. Tail 17 has a free end 25 and top 21 of tail 17 extends from tile-facing side 9 to free end 25. Tail 17 serves as both a base support for a vinyl tile resting thereon as well as being a leveler for provide a narrow incline from a vinyl tile to the raised surface of a carpet tile. The transition is a leveler which eases traversing the surface of the tile and the surface of the carpet tile and would prevent jolts and possible stubbing of a foot which might otherwise occur in traversing the tile-to-carpet interface. This is a reason that tail 17 is rather long in length as discussed further below.
An example of use of transition 1 is shown in
The construction and functioning of transition 1 is reversed from similar prior art transitions. Under the prior art, tile T would abut carpet tile-facing side 11 of vertical wall 3 and carpet tile C would ride on tail 17 and extend beneath lip 15. This prior arrangement would leave cap 13 fully noticeable, since it would not be covered at all by fibers F. Furthermore, since tile 7 rests on tail 17, transition 1 need not be noticeable when in use.
The dimensions of transition 1 can vary according to the tiles and carpet tile (or carpet) with which transition 1 is used. For example, with reference to
In operation, transition 1 would be attached to a subfloor by means of an appropriate adhesive applied to the bottom of tail 17 and the bottom of post 3. Transition 1 would ordinarily be made in 12 foot lengths. Tile T and carpet tile C would be laid in the conventional manner. The difference in the dimensions shown above relate to the different heights of commercial carpet tile depending on pile height and carpet tile pattern. Transition 1 is preferably made from flexible polyvinylchloride (PVC).
Commercial transition for vinyl tile and carpet tile have been successfully introduced into the market. The following are the product specifications for two of the foregoing products:
In order to properly install the foregoing Product No. 1 and Product No. 2, the following steps should be taken for installing the inventive transition between a carpet tile and a luxury vinyl tile (LVT):
The commercial transitions according to the present invention have been constructed to render them particularly attractive. It has been found that the surface of cap 13, which is the only visible portion of the transition once it has been installed between vinyl tiles and carpet tiles, is by co-extruding a top coat with a metallic pigment. The top coat is preferably 0.010 inches thick. The metallic pigment is particularly pleasing to view as installed, and provides an attractive metallic stripe on the floor to which the inventive transition has been installed. There are different types of metallic pigments which can be used for this purpose. With particular reference to Products No. 1 and Product No. 2, particular care should be taken to obtain the best results. All subfloors should be clean, smooth, dry and flat. The surface of the subfloors should be free of all dust, loose particles, solvents, paint, grease, oil, wax, alkali, sealing-curing compounds, old adhesives, and any other foreign material which could affect installation of the inventive transitions described above. If the subfloors are made from concrete, the concrete should be constructed as recommended by the American Concrete Institute's ACI 302.2 “Guide for Concrete Slabs that Receive Moisture-Sensitive Flooring Materials,” prepared according to ASTM FF 710 “Standard Practice for Preparing Concrete Floors to Receive Resilient Flooring.” Wood subfloors should have a minimum of 18 inches of cross-ventilated space between the bottom of the joist and ground. Terrazzo and ceramic floor surfaces should be thoroughly sanded to remove all glaze and waxes, and loose tiles should be replaced and grout line be cleaned. It has been found that steel floor surfaces should be mechanically abraded to assist with the adhesive bond.
Although transition 1 has been developed for use with vinyl tile (or more specifically, luxury vinyl tile), it could be used with any kind of hard tile. Likewise, although the transition was also prepared for commercial use for carpet tile, it could be used with any other type of carpet as well.
Transitions according to the present invention are preferably made using extrusion techniques of the type used for similar transitions and can be made without special molding techniques. The transitions according to the present invention can be installed by persons with ordinary skill in the art of installing transitions, and the invention in its preferred form is attractive, efficient, effective and economical to manufacture and use.
The invention has been described above with particular emphasis on the preferred embodiment, but variations and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/083,764 filed Nov. 24, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62083764 | Nov 2014 | US |
