U.S. patent application number 11/704209 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-06 for covering module and anchor sheet.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tac-Fast Georgia L.L.C.. Invention is credited to Joseph Rocco Pacione.
Application Number | 20070204556 11/704209 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34279870 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070204556 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pacione; Joseph Rocco |
September 6, 2007 |
Covering module and anchor sheet
Abstract
This application discloses a relatively thin flexible anchor
sheet for installation under carpets or other decorative coverings
and a covering module composed of a pre-attached decorative
covering and anchor sheet which can be assembled by overlapping
hook and loop attachment to an additional covering module to create
a complete floor covering of carpet tile, stone or other material
and without attachment to a floor.
Inventors: |
Pacione; Joseph Rocco;
(Newmarket, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCCARTHY TETRAULT LLP
BOX 48, SUITE 4700,
66WELLINGTON STREET WEST
TORONTO
ON
M5K 1E6
CA
|
Assignee: |
Tac-Fast Georgia L.L.C.
Atlanta
GA
|
Family ID: |
34279870 |
Appl. No.: |
11/704209 |
Filed: |
February 9, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10875305 |
Jun 25, 2004 |
7185465 |
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11704209 |
Feb 9, 2007 |
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09703901 |
Nov 2, 2000 |
6797353 |
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10875305 |
Jun 25, 2004 |
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08850726 |
May 2, 1997 |
6306477 |
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09703901 |
Nov 2, 2000 |
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08684004 |
Jul 19, 1996 |
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08850726 |
May 2, 1997 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/745.21 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 27/0293 20130101;
A47G 27/0437 20130101; E04F 15/02138 20130101; E04F 13/0882
20130101; A47G 27/0468 20130101; B44C 1/28 20130101; A47G 27/0475
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/745.21 |
International
Class: |
E04B 5/00 20060101
E04B005/00 |
Claims
1. A method of installing a floor covering, the method comprising
the steps of: (a) laying a plurality of anchor sheets side by side
on a floor, each anchor sheet being substantially covered with
hooks of a hook and loop attachment system; (b) installing a first
decorative covering onto the anchor sheets of step (a), each
covering having an underside substantially covered in loops of the
attachment system; (c) installing a second said decorative covering
with an edge abutted against the first piece; (d) repeating any of
steps (a), (b) and (c) as necessary to create a continuous floor
covering, in which at least some of the decorative coverings
overlap joins between two adjacent anchor sheets.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of attaching
at least one of the anchor sheets to the floor
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of attaching
at least a pair of the anchor sheets to each other.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of attaching at least a
pair of the anchor sheets to each other includes installing a
bridging piece which covers a join between abutting anchor
sheets.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the anchor sheets are
rectangular.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the attaching at least a pair of
the anchor sheets to each other includes attaching neighbouring
anchor sheets to each other at the corners thereof.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the decorative covering is a
flexible covering.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the flexible decorative covering
is a carpet piece.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein each anchor sheet comprises
plastic.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said plastic is selected from
the group consisting of polycarbonate, polyester, polyethylene, and
polypropylene.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein a said carpet piece is narrower
than a said anchor sheet to which it is installed
12. The method of claim 8, wherein a said carpet piece is of wider
width than a said anchor sheet to which it is installed.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) is repeated to combine
different colors or different patterns of the same type of
decorative covering.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the decorative covering is
carpet.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (a) and (b) are repeated
as necessary to create an area rug.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein each anchor sheet has a non-slip
surface on an underside thereof.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein said decorative covering is a
carpet piece, and further comprising the step of installing a
plurality of pieces onto a single anchor sheet.
18. The method of claim 8, wherein a said carpet piece is formed by
die cutting of a larger carpet piece.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the anchor sheets has a
cushion on an underside thereof.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein each anchor sheet is at least
10/1000 inches thick.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/875,305 filed Jun. 25, 2004, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/703,901 filed
Nov. 2, 2000 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,797,353 on Sep. 28,
2004, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/850,726 filed May 2, 1997 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,477
on Oct. 23, 2001, and which is itself a continuation-in-part of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/684,004 filed Jul. 19, 1996,
now abandoned. The specifications of all of the foregoing
applications and patents are herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention concerns a relatively thin flexible anchor
sheet for use under carpets or other decorative coverings. In
practice, when installed, the anchor sheet acts to tie the
decorative covering together as a functional unit and to add mass
and stability to such unit, particularly a unit having a flexible
decorative covering such as a carpet. An anchor sheet may be
substantially covered over one side with hooks for anchoring a
decorative covering to it by engagement of complementary loops on
the lower side of the covering. The anchor sheet itself may be
attached to the underlying substrate, such as a floor or wall, or
it may be loose laid on a floor where the sheet and covering
together have sufficient mass or are so placed as to prevent
movement. It is possible to supply the anchor sheet as a small or
large module with pre-attached decorative covering as will be
explained later.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is common to attach a decorative flexible covering, such
as carpets, to rigid substrates such as floors, made of wood or
concrete. It is often desirable, or even required, to fasten carpet
to the flooring which it covers and a variety of attachment methods
have been developed over the years.
[0004] Carpet can be glued directly to the flooring. This is often
the approach taken in an institutional setting in which the
underlying flooring is concrete and liquid glue is applied across
the entire concrete area to be covered. This approach has the
advantage that, so long as the adhesive bond provided between the
carpet and flooring remains intact, the carpet cannot buckle. Of
course, adjustment or replacement of such carpet can be difficult
in the sense that previously applied glue might be required to be
stripped from the flooring and new glue applied. In addition, such
glues often contain volatile organic components that are banned in
some places or are required to be ventilated, in other places.
[0005] Another approach taken to installing wall-to-wall carpet
involves the use of "tackless strips", which are wooden strips
having angled tacks driven upwardly therethrough. The strips are
secured around the perimeter of the area to be covered, often by
nailing them into wooden flooring, and the carpet is stretched over
the tacks. This approach has the advantage that the carpet can be
restretched to remove a buckle that develops, and the carpet and
underpad, not being permanently adhered to the flooring can be
removed without being destroyed. However, stretching is a labour
intensive art which makes installing wall-to-wall carpet by this
method relatively expensive. This approach also avoids the use of
volatile organics, but some difficulties can arise in installing
tackless strips to concrete.
[0006] More recent approaches involving the use of Velcro-type
fasteners have been described in the patent literature: Germany
7,029,524 (Aug. 8, 1970, Velcro France); U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,019
(Apr. 6, 1971, Girard); UK 1,546,901 (May 31, 1979, Allied Chemical
Corporation); U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,658 (Apr. 18, 1989, Pacione);
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,692 (Mar. 9, 1993, Pacione); U.S. Pat. No.
5,382,462 (Jan. 17, 1995, Pacione); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,755
(Jan. 2, 1996, Pacione). The specifications of all these patent
documents are incorporated herein by reference.
[0007] U.S. '658 from the same inventor describes a wall-to-wall
installation in which hooked strips are secured by pressure
sensitive adhesive around a room perimeter and at the carpet seams.
A carpet having loops across its backside is cut to fit the room
and the loops engage the hooked tape. U.S. '692 describes a method
for seaming a carpet such as the one described in U.S. '658. Both
of these patent specifications also disclose advantages obtained
through the use of a cover for the hooked tape, a primary advantage
being that such a cover prevents premature engagement of the hooks
and loops to permit proper placement and adjustment of the carpet
without the need for disengaging prematurely engaged hooks and
loops during installation. This prior approach provides the
advantages of installing strips at the perimeter and seams of a
carpeted area, particularly that the carpeting can be lifted
without being destroyed and the avoidance of the use of compounds
containing volatile adhesives.
[0008] The "holy grail" of carpet and other decorative covering,
would be a system which when laid had such mass and stability as to
require little or no attachment to the underlying substrate and
which can be installed over existing substrates without the
necessity of the removal of existing covering. However for
transportation in trucks and to physically fit into a site, such as
a room, such a system has to either provide for sufficient
flexibility so that it can be rolled or, if rigid, a way of
assembling modules so as to form a contiguous mass in situ with
sufficient mass and stability to remain in place with minimal
detachable attachment or perhaps no attachment, particularly when
dealing with different existing floors or flooring surfaces to be
covered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] As previously mentioned, there are advantages to allow the
carpet or other decorative covering to be attached to an underlying
undersurface at only a few discrete attachment points or even in
some cases not attached at all so as to be easily removable.
Attachment to the underlying substrate at discrete attachment
points provides for minimal damage to the underlying substrate,
ease of removal from the substrate and ease of installation.
However, a product, method and system is needed to convert these
individual attachment points to structurally integrated attachment
across the entire undersurface of a carpet or other decorative
covering to enable overlaying carpet or other decorative covering
to be engineered to maintain atmospheric stability, flatness and
horizontal plane stability when stressed with forces produced by
human traffic, rolling vehicles, moving furniture or moisture or
temperature changes.
[0010] In addition, the system provides that the pieces of carpet
or other decorative covering can be integrated together by use of
the underlying detachable anchor sheet. Then individual modules can
be made consisting of a decorative covering and an anchor sheet
attached together in advance of installation at a remote site. Such
modules can be easily removed and re-attached as required for
repair or replacement or for design reasons. In addition such
individual modules can be locked together by overlapping the anchor
sheet or decorative covering of adjacent modules so as to give the
complete structure sufficient mass and stability to minimize or
remove the need for attachment to the substrate.
[0011] The present invention in one aspect features an anchor
sheet, preferably of plastic, for detachable attachment of a
decorative covering such as carpet, ceramic, tile, hardwood, marble
or a wall covering to an underlying rigid supporting substrate,
such as the surface of flooring or a wall.
[0012] By providing an anchor sheet preferably in the form of a
relatively thin flexible sheet, integrity can be given to covering
materials, such as flexible carpets which can be pre-assembled or
assembled on site onto the surface of the sheet by the use of a
complementary hook on the upper surface of the flexible sheet
matching a complementary loop on the undersurface of the carpet or
carpet pieces. The sheet can then be installed onto an underlying
substrate such as concrete or wood at only a discrete number of
points. The anchor sheet enables the installation of decorative
covering even onto stone or tile, without significant destruction
of the stone or tile floor. It also enables decorative patterns to
be pre-assembled at a factory or other location or to be assembled
on site by cutting and fitting different colours or pieces of
decorative covering together on the anchor sheet to form decorative
patterns. Such a system is suitable for either area rugs or
wall-to-wall covering and in certain types of wall-to-wall and area
rugs, or even tile, it may not be necessary to attach the anchor
sheet to the underlying substrate at all. If the carpet is cut to
fit the walls or boundaries of a room the anchor sheet may give
sufficient integrity to the carpet to allow it to simply sit in the
location under constraint of the perimeter walls or other
boundaries or if enough furniture, for example, was placed on top.
It should be emphasized that the anchor sheet, however, is not
structural support in the conventional sense as disclosed for
example, in the anchor board of Pacione U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,443
since it does not support the floor or wall on which it is placed.
It is a vehicle for stabilizing the carpet or other decorative
covering which is overlaid and for tying individual pieces of
carpet or decorative covering together with each other but not
necessarily to the floor. Normally in fact the anchor sheet
maintains a certain level of flexibility to enable the anchor sheet
to "ride" over imperfections in the floor.
[0013] Normally the anchor sheet is relatively thin in relation to
the overlying decorative covering, but in some cases, for instance,
where there is a thin layer of marble veneer, then the anchor sheet
could be thicker and more rigid than the overlying material and
could be made of materials other than plastic such as metal
(aluminum or steel) or wood.
[0014] Thus, the invention consists of, in one aspect, a detachable
anchor sheet for detachable attachment of a decorative covering,
such as a carpet, to a rigid supporting substrate, such as a floor,
in which the decorative covering has a finished upper surface and
an opposite surface substantially covered in loops. The anchor
sheet can comprise a relatively thin flexible sheet, preferably of
plastic such as a polycarbonate, polyester, polyethylene, or
polypropylene, substantially covered with hooks on its upper
surface facing the loop surface of the decorative covering and
placed intermediate between the decorative covering and the
supporting substrate. This flexible anchor sheet or sheets can be,
but normally is not, exactly the same size as the combined pieces
of overlying sheet goods. Normally overlapping areas of anchor
sheet or decorative covering are used to enable tying of the anchor
sheets used in a location together. The anchor sheet may be larger
than the area under the sheet goods or it can be smaller in cases
where it is desired to trim the overlaying carpet to a wall or
other boundary. The anchor sheet and decorative covering must in
combination have sufficient rigidity to support the decorative
covering from shear horizontal force applied to the sheet goods on
the floor or other substrate when the combination is laid onto the
rigid supporting substrate. In some cases, the anchor sheet will be
attached to the substrate at a limited number of discrete points or
in some cases along with the covering it may have sufficient
rigidity and mass to free float within the boundaries of a room or
even on its own.
[0015] Thus, in another aspect of this invention it is possible to
install decorative flexible anchor sheets to abut each other and to
use either the hook covering of the anchor sheet or the overlying
decorative covering such as a carpet to tie the abutting anchor
sheets together with the use of complementary hook and loop
technology. In almost all cases the overlying covering will overlap
the joins of the anchor sheets and the anchor sheets will overlap
the joins of the covering to tie the anchor sheets and covering
together.
[0016] It is preferable, but not required in all cases, for the
decorative covering to be detachable from the anchor sheet. In the
case of smaller modules the decorative covering would normally be
pre-installed, and possibly even permanently installed, on the
non-decorative anchor sheet leaving an area of anchor sheet or
decorative covering exposed for detachable attachment by
overlapping with adjoining modules. It is required that this
overlapping area provide for detachable attachment and also for a
means to prevent attachment during installation to enable the
modules to be adjusted for correct alignment during installation.
The means for detachable attachment is preferably a hook and loop
attachment system, but it could also be an adhesive which provided
for multiple opening and closing while maintaining tackiness. In
the case where hook and loop is used to join the modules, the
covering could be a hand smooth plastic which does not bind to the
hook and loop, or one could use a textile or paper hook covering
not unlike the hook covering in original patent Pacione '658. For
parquet, tile, hardwood, ceramics or other rigid decorative
covering, a flexible tape covering could be used in the overlapping
area, which is provided with a pull string which can be pulled from
under the pre-assembled covering. This whole process could be
duplicated using entirely adhesive or part adhesive and part hook
and loop.
[0017] Thus, the individual modules of anchor sheet and the
individual modules of covering are tied together in a supporting
mass which can "free float" on the floor or be connected at only
very few discrete points.
[0018] In another aspect the invention consists of an anchor sheet
or sheets and pieces of covering in an overlapping staggered
relationship to form a contiguous floor covering having sufficient
rigidity, atmospheric stability, horizontal plane stability (shear
force stability) and flexibility so that in general use such floor
covering may not require attachment to the underlying floor.
Attachment may be required for a small area rug over a slick marble
floor or at a ramp or stairs or where the end use involves heavy
traffic.
[0019] In another aspect of this invention, decorative modules
comprising an anchor sheet and decorative covering can be
pre-assembled offsite by detachably attaching some of the hooks on
the upper surface of the anchor sheet to some of the loops on the
underside of the decorative covering so that the decorative
covering on the anchor sheet overlaps the anchor sheet by a
predetermined amount. These preassembled decorative modules can
then be shipped to the site and individually placed on the
underlying substrate in an abutting fashion to permit interlocking
between the loops on the underside of the decorative covering of
one unit and the hooks on the upper surface of the anchor sheet of
an adjacent decorative module. Each decorative module added to the
growing modular surface covering can be guided into its proper
position by placing thin, rigid pieces of plastic over the exposed
hooks of the anchor sheet of an established decorative module.
After properly aligning the decorative module to be added to the
established module, the thin, rigid plastic pieces are slid out and
away from the two modules, parallel to the horizontal plane,
thereby allowing the abutting module to become engaged through a
hook and loop system. The thin, rigid pieces of plastic can also be
used to detach individual modules of the modular surface covering.
The thin, rigid plastic is inserted between the mechanically bonded
portions of the hook and loop fastener of abutting modules,
parallel to the horizontal plane, thereby breaking the mechanical
bond and maintaining the hooks and loops out of contact with one
another to enable the units to be dislodged and removed from the
modular surface covering.
[0020] In another aspect, the invention consists of a covering
module for transportation to a surface to be covered and for
attachment to additional modules to form a finished decorative
surface comprising at least one decorative covering having an upper
decorative surface and an opposite lower surface, a non-decorative
anchor sheet having an upper surface, the decorative covering
attached across a substantial portion of its lower surface to the
non-decorative anchor sheet and the anchor sheet dimensioned so
that, after attachment of the decorative covering to the anchor
sheet, there is provided an overlap area of upper surface of anchor
sheet exposed along at least one edge of the module which overlap
area is provided with means for detachable attachment of such
module to an adjoining module by attachment to an overlapping area
of the lower surface of a decorative covering attached to an
adjoining module.
[0021] Covering modules of an unlimited variety of shapes and sizes
can be constructed and decorative patterns may be assembled on site
by combining different colours or patterns of the same type of
decorative covering, such as alternating between units of red and
blue carpet or by combining different types of decorative covering
such as carpet and hardwood in a hotel, restaurant or ballroom
setting or carpet, hardwood, ceramic or stone in a home setting. In
general use, such contiguous covering could have sufficient
rigidity and mass so as not to require attachment to the underlying
surface. In some cases, attachment of the anchor sheet at discrete
points may be required as for example, when the surface to be
covered is a wall.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] Embodiments of the invention will now be described,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0023] FIG. 1 shows anchor sheets of a first embodiment of the
system of the invention laid side by side on a floor with a
temporary hook covering bridging the abutting joins to tie the
sheets together.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows a section of anchor sheet laid onto a floor
with the sheet covered with separate detachable hook cover pieces
A-A at a boundary.
[0025] FIG. 3 shows a section along the lines 3-3 in FIG. 1 with a
connecting hook cover piece.
[0026] FIG. 4 shows carpeting laid onto the anchor sheeting of FIG.
1.
[0027] FIG. 5 shows a section along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.
[0028] FIG. 6 shows pre-assembled carpeting and anchor sheet
together being laid in abutting overlapping relationship onto a
floor.
[0029] FIG. 7 shows a section along the lines 7-7 in FIG. 6.
[0030] FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment with a separate
carpet piece bridging abutting anchor sheets.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a section along the lines 9-9 of FIG. 8.
[0032] FIG. 10 shows another arrangement of anchor sheet and carpet
with a decorative pattern.
[0033] FIG. 11 shows an area rug installed on an anchor sheet
having a lip.
[0034] FIG. 12 is a section along the lines 11-11 of FIG. 12.
[0035] FIG. 13 is yet another embodiment of anchor sheet and
overlying decorative covering pieces which has not been created
from modular units.
[0036] FIG. 13a is yet another embodiment of anchor sheet and
overlying decorative covering pieces pre-assembled as individual
modular units and laid in an abutting and overlapping fashion.
[0037] FIG. 14 shows an anchor sheet having an upper surface
substantially covered with hooks and an optional cushion on the
underside of the anchor sheet.
[0038] FIG. 15 shows a decorative covering module having a
decorative finished upper surface and an underside substantially
covered with loops.
[0039] FIG. 16 shows one covering module of a modular surface
covering having a decorative covering detachably precision attached
in an overlapping manner to an anchor sheet by means of hook and
loop technology.
[0040] FIG. 17 shows a section along lines 17-17 of FIG. 16.
[0041] FIG. 18 shows two pre-assembled covering modules being laid
in an abutting overlapping relationship onto an underlying
substrate.
[0042] FIG. 18a shows three pre-assembled covering modules laid in
an abutting overlapping relationship on an underlying substrate and
a fourth covering module being installed.
[0043] FIG. 19 shows a portion of a finished modular surface
covering.
[0044] FIG. 20 shows a section of two covering modules attached
together.
[0045] FIG. 21 shows another arrangement of the modular surface
covering composed of covering modules of a rectangular size and
shape.
[0046] FIG. 22 shows another arrangement of the modular surface
covering representing a decorative pattern with artificial grout
separating carpet tiles.
[0047] FIG. 23 shows a decorative pattern separator for use in the
arrangement of FIG. 22.
[0048] FIG. 24 shows one way in which the covering modules
assembled as shown in FIG. 22 may be delivered on site.
[0049] FIG. 25 shows another arrangement of covering modules as an
alternative to the arrangement shown in FIG. 22.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0050] Turning to the drawings, a first embodiment anchor sheet 1
is illustrated in FIG. 1 having abutting anchor sheets 3 and 5.
Each anchor sheet is covered with plastic or filament hooks 7 which
can be better seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 similar to hooks currently used
on conventional hook and loop fastening systems. Covering pieces 9,
preferably of cloth, cover the hooks 7. The covering could also be
a film. The covering can be better seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. In order
to keep the hooks 7 clean and to prevent premature attachment of a
to-be-installed overlying covering, this form of anchor sheet is
completely covered with a covering. Preferably there is a separate
covering strip 11 of a width A, as shown in FIG. 2, which
establishes a pre-cut slit 12 in the covering of a width A along
the border of each anchor sheet. While the anchor sheet can be
provided in rolls as described later, in the embodiment of FIG. 1
it is simply a sheet, for instance, a rectangle of four feet by
eight feet. It can be laid on the floor, in the case of a
wall-to-wall installation, in continuous abutting relationship to
other anchor sheets to cover the entire surface of the floor or
other rigid substrate. As it is covered with coverings 9 and strips
11, it is possible to lay and install carpet on it without
premature attachment of the hooks 7 and complementary loops. The
carpet constructed, for instance, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
4,822,658 (Pacione) can be installed onto this anchor sheet.
[0051] However when working on the anchor sheet with carpet, it may
be preferable if the anchor sheets are at least anchored to each
other and possibly pre-attached at discrete locations to the floor.
Anchor sheets can be attached to each other by the removal of
precut hook covering strips 11 on either piece of abutting anchor
sheets for instance 1 and 3 and replacement of such hook covering
with a bridging piece of hook covering for instance 13 which covers
the join between abutting anchor sheets and attaches them to each
other. Strip 13 can cover the join between a number of anchor
sheets. For instance in FIG. 1, it is also covering the abutting
join between anchor sheet 8 and 10 as well.
[0052] Anchor sheets can also be attached to the floor at discrete
locations such as at point 14. The anchor sheet can be glued down,
attached by hook tape affixed to the floor and attachable to
complementary loops on the back of the anchor sheet, or attached by
double-sided adhesive tape, but in most cases the simplest form of
attachment of the anchor sheet to the rigid substrate, particularly
if the substrate is, for example, a wooden floor, is to attach the
anchor sheet at discrete points by the use of nails or tacks. Such
discrete points are shown at 14 in FIG. 1 and in this case it is
advisable to have perforations, slits or holes in hook cover sheet
9 so as to enable the anchor sheets such as 1, 3, 5 etc. to be
nailed to the floor through the hook cover sheets 9 without the
head of such nail or tack attaching the hook cover sheet 9
permanently to the anchor sheet 1, 3, 5 etc. so that such sheet can
be removed after the overlying carpet has been cut and fit in place
for attachment of the overlying carpet to the anchor sheet. In
addition, depending on the thickness or brittleness of the anchor
sheets, it may be advisable to have pre-drilled holes in the anchor
sheets.
[0053] Depending upon the form of attachment, if any, of the anchor
sheet to the floor, it may not be necessary to attach the anchor
sheets to each other by the use of bridging hook cover 13 during
installation of the carpet.
[0054] It may also be possible, depending upon where the underlying
carpet joins occur, to leave bridging tape 13 attached to the
anchor sheets since there will be normally sufficient attachment of
the carpet to the anchor sheet in a large area underneath hook
cover 9. It is not necessary to attach the anchor sheets to the
underlying floor substrate in every situation. The overlying carpet
(not shown in FIG. 1, 2 or 3) will provide additional mass and
rigidity to the anchor sheets which will be firmly attached to each
other by such overlying carpet. In this case, depending upon the
mass of the carpet and the rigidity of the anchor sheets, the
combination may be firmly enough attached in place by the
surrounding boundaries of the walls or other perimeter of the room
or area in which the anchor sheet and carpet have been
installed.
[0055] In some cases, given a large enough carpet area, and
depending upon the underlying floor structure, it may not be
necessary even to attach area rugs to the underlying floor since
they may have sufficient mass to remain in place without
substantial movement on their own. It will also depend, for
instance, in the case of both area rugs and wall to wall carpet on
whether or not furniture or other heavy objects are installed on
the combination carpet and anchor sheet.
[0056] In some cases, the abutting anchor sheets as shown in FIG.
1, will be installed under carpets of a wider width than the anchor
sheet so that the carpet 15 overlaps the anchor sheet as shown in
FIG. 4. Loops 17 on the back of the carpet are engageable with
hooks 7 when the cover 9 has been removed. For installation, carpet
15 is rolled out onto the anchor sheets which are entirely covered
by a hook covering 9. The carpet can now be cut and fit and
adjusted in place and abutted against another carpet roll before
any attachment to the underlying anchor sheet 1 is made. In FIG. 5
is shown a cross-section of the anchor sheet and carpet prior to
removal of the hook covering 9 or 13. Thus carpet 15 overlaps join
17 between abutting anchor sheets 1 and 3. Anchor sheets 1 and 3
are possibly attached to the floors as previously described and
they are also attached to each other by hook covering 13 bridging
join 17. Once covering 9 is removed, at least part of anchor sheet
1 and at least part of anchor sheet 3, are now both attached to
carpet 15 so that carpet 15 now also bridges the join 17 between
anchor sheets 1 and 3 and ties such anchor sheets together. It is
possible, and even in some situations preferable, to also remove
bridging hook cover 13. However, it is not always necessary to do
this. Once at least hook covering 9 is removed, the carpet and
anchor sheet whether or not attached to the underlying substrate
form a contiguous rigid floor covering of relatively great
strength, mass and rigidity which does not buckle under ordinary
use even if there has been no attachment directly to the floor.
[0057] The anchor sheet itself is preferably made of thin
polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester of
preferably from 10/1000 to 20/1000 inches thick. The thickness may
vary depending upon the covering material and the stability
requirements for the carpet. It is also possible for the anchor
sheet to be made of thin sheet metal, carbon fibres or some form of
polymer. The anchor sheet can include a foam layer which provides
resiliency. Hooks can be attached to the sheet by any conventional
means but extrusion or co-extrusion are the preferred methods.
[0058] Thus the anchor sheets and carpet together are, in many
situations, thin enough and flexible enough to be rolled as a
single unit. This enables the carpet, in some embodiments, to be
pre-installed onto the anchor sheet in which case it can be more
easily installed as shown in FIG. 6.
[0059] In this case, carpet 19 installed on anchor sheet 21 (as
seen in FIG. 7) is rolled onto the floor and cut to fit adjoining
walls 23 and 24.
[0060] Carpet piece 19 and anchor sheet 21 is delivered to the site
in the same form as carpet piece 29 and anchor 31 but in the case
of the part which abuts wall 23, the extra carpet may be trimmed
off or left as it is not a necessity that the anchor sheet abut the
wall.
[0061] It has come pre-installed (as can better be seen in FIG. 7)
onto anchor sheet 21 which is, in this case, bigger than carpet
piece 19 so as to leave exposed an area of hooks 25 covered with a
hook covering 27. Most carpet rolled in this way will be installed
on an anchor sheet at a factory with an overlap a shown for carpet
piece 29 so that the carpet overlaps on one side of the anchor
sheet 31 and on another side the anchor sheet 31 itself extends
beyond carpet piece 29. Carpet and, anchor sheet combination 29 and
31 are then unrolled to abut carpet piece 19 and can be cut and fit
in place after which hook covering 27 can be removed by pulling the
hook covering up thereby rolling back carpet piece 29 or in some
cases by pulling the covering 27 up and through join 33. Carpet
piece 29 is now firmly attached to both anchor sheet 21 and 31 and,
as it bridges the join 35 between the two of them attaches the two
anchor sheets together. It is now possible to repeat this process
by laying an additional similar carpet roll over hook covering 37
and remove such hook covering to attach the next adjoining carpet
piece to anchor sheet 31 and to repeat this process again and again
until the room is covered in carpet and anchor sheet in a
continuing piece.
[0062] If it is necessary to attach the anchor sheets to the floor,
it can be done in the area exposed where the anchor sheet hooks and
hook covering are not covered by the pre-installed carpet roll such
as at 39 or 41. In this case the hook covering 27 or 37 can have
perforations, slits or holes so that a nail or tack attached
through the hook covering will not attach the hook covering to the
underlying anchor sheet so that it can be removed as previously
described. Attachment of the anchor sheet to the floor at for
instance strips 39 and 41 should be sufficient attachment in many,
if not most, instances, especially when combined with the fact that
the decorative carpet covering also ties the anchor sheets together
as a single unit.
[0063] There is an advantage in some situations to install the
carpet over an anchor sheet in a factory. The factory can cut and
fit a number of different carpet pieces onto the anchor sheet, both
for decorative purposes and for transportation of the carpet pieces
together as one piece. Thus as shown in FIG. 6 it is possible to
have an insert, for instance 43, repeated with a decoration or
pattern at intervals on the carpet roll and with smaller
geometrical inserts 45. Typically these inserts would be of a
different colour or different design or pattern to create a
pleasing carpet pattern.
[0064] FIG. 8 shows an additional form of carpet installation. In
this case the carpet and anchor sheet will be delivered from the
factory attached but the carpet, for instance 47, is narrower than
the anchor sheet 48 to leave an exposed area of anchor sheet hook
49 and hook covering 50 of approximately width C as shown in FIG. 9
on both longitudinal edges. In this case, the carpet is unrolled
and, if desired, attached to the underlying floor. Another similar
anchor sheet 51, having installed thereon carpet 52 is unrolled and
abutted to anchor sheet 48 (seen in FIG. 9). Anchor sheet 53 is
also unrolled and abutted to anchor sheet 51. Anchor sheets can be
attached to the floor by, for instance, nailing through strip areas
55, 57, 59 and 61 since at this stage of the installation, those
areas do not contain a carpet covering. Bridging carpet strip 63
can be fit to the area not covered by carpet 55 and 57 (the area
labelled D in FIG. 9). After fitting, underlying hook coverings 50
and 54 can be removed so that carpet piece 63 can be installed on
the anchor sheet to bridge and firmly attach anchor sheet 48 to
anchor sheet 51. A similar process can then be followed for anchor
sheet 53.
[0065] Normally this form of installation would be used where it is
desired to have carpet strip 63 of a different colour or pattern
than carpet pieces 47 and 52 so as to provide a decorative border
around individual carpet areas 47 and 52 51. In this case, it is
likely that the pattern or border will also be contained along
edges 65 and this can be easily accommodated by installing carpet
piece 47 of a size smaller than the anchor sheet 48 to create strip
65 of any desired thickness. This form of installation may also
allow for room variations since the carpet trim at the border is
installed and trimmed last.
[0066] Again it is possible for anchor sheets 48 and 51 to be
attached to the floor either by tacking or nailing or also by a
complementary hook and loop attachment system, or (although it is
usually not preferable) by gluing or pressure sensitive
double-sided tape.
[0067] In FIG. 10 is shown another form of pattern 67 containing a
central medallion 69 and corner pieces 71 installed on an anchor
sheet 73. In this case the anchor sheets and carpet pieces simply
abut and are attached to the floor by small pieces of hook tape 75
which will normally have hook covering (not shown), hooks on an
upper surface and a pressure sensitive adhesive 77 on a lower
surface for attachment to the floor. The pressure sensitive
adhesive will normally have a peelable dry strippable covering.
[0068] In this case the carpet 67 and anchor sheet 73 can be
attached by individual pieces 75 at the corners which can overlap
with the adjoining carpet pieces. Strips could also be used along
joins between for instance carpet pieces 67 and 79, but if a number
of pieces is to be used, normally an overlapping modular system
such as shown in FIG. 19 would be used, since this assists in
holding seams in place and assists with gauge differential problems
that might exist between different carpets which could cause seam
abuse. If a modular system is used attachment points to the
underlying floor may not be required.
[0069] This same pattern could be used as described later, without
attachment to the floor by overlapping piece 79 for instance onto
adjoining anchor board 73. In this case, of course, piece 67 must
be made shorter.
[0070] One advantage of the anchor sheet system is that carpet
inserts 69 and 71 can be removed, replaced, or exchanged if
different colours or patterns are desired and similarly as shown in
FIG. 6 inserts 43 and pieces 45 can also be removed and changed.
Any pattern can be inserted, and if standard sizes are used, the
patterns can be interchangeable so as to convert the carpet piece
from for instance a boy's pattern to a girl's pattern or from a
living room pattern to a bedroom or bathroom pattern.
[0071] Another prime advantage is that the anchor sheet need only
be attached at a discrete corner area such as with pad 75 shown in
FIG. 10 but, nevertheless, carpet pieces 67, 69, 71 and 72, for
instance, are all attached across their entire undersurface on the
anchor sheet 73 so that a pattern can be inserted or replaced at
any point.
[0072] As shown in FIG. 12, an area rug can also be created in
which carpet piece 81 is installed over anchor sheet 83 as best
seen in FIG. 12. Anchor sheet 83 has upturned or curled lip 85
which covers the exposed edges 87 of the carpet.
[0073] An anchor sheet for such area carpet can be attached by
nails or by hook and loop technology (if the underside of the
anchor sheet is covered in loops and is then installed with
corresponding hooked tape). In most cases it would be sufficient to
simply attach the anchor sheet at discrete points to the underlying
floor by a small piece of loop tape attached by pressure sensitive
adhesive to the underside of the anchor sheet 83 matched to a
corresponding small piece of hook tape attached by pressure
sensitive adhesive to the floor. In some cases the area carpet may
have sufficient mass and stability not to have to be attached to
the underlying floor at all. The need for attachment is reduced if,
for instance, anchor sheet 83 has a non-slip surface on its
underside. With the anchor sheet disclosed it is possible to attach
area rugs to granite, marble or stone, floors to which it has been
difficult to apply area rugs in the past. In addition, carpet 81
can, like carpets 67 and 19, have inserted patterns and those
patterns can be quite elaborate allowing, for the first time, a
relatively cheap patterned rug which can mimic even, for instance,
oriental carpets, in which a large number of carpet pieces are
installed over a unitary anchor sheet 83. It is even possible to
create a crazy quilt or a do-it-yourself carpet using carpet pieces
installed over a pre-formed anchor sheet 83.
[0074] As shown in FIG. 13, anchor sheets 89 can be made in smaller
modules. Decorative covering such as carpet pieces 91, can be, for
instance, carpet tiles, and if they are laid in overlapping
relationship as shown in FIG. 13, a contiguous mass can be formed
by anchor sheets 89 and carpet pieces 91, which would be sufficient
to provide for stable installation without attachment to a floor.
This would particularly be the case if piece 91 is not carpet but
parquet or another rigid decorative covering. If however it is
desired to attach the anchor sheets 89 to the floor, that can be
easily done by tacking or nailing, or using conventional hook and
loop technology. In this case again it would be preferable to have
slits, perforations or holes 93 in the tape covering 95 (if tape
covering is used) so that the anchor sheet can be attached to the
floor before removal of any hook covering, but without the
attachment of the hook covering to the floor.
[0075] In FIG. 13a is shown a similar arrangement to FIG. 13, but
in which the pattern is built in a modular way so that, for
instance, units of a covering 91 and an anchor sheet 89 can be
created before assembling the entire surface covering. A form of
such units, which we call covering modules, is described below.
[0076] As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, in an additional form of
installation, covering modules comprising an anchor sheet 96 having
an upper surface covered substantially with hooks 97, with an
optional cushion on its lower surface 98 and a decorative covering
99 for placement over the anchor sheet having a decorative finished
upper surface 100 and a lower surface substantially covered with
loops 101 are detachably preattached offsite in an overlapping
manner along surface AA as shown in FIG. 17 such that an area of
hooks are left exposed BB while some of the loops on the underside
of the decorative covering are also left exposed CC. Covering
pieces (not shown), preferably of cloth can cover the hooks 97, but
are not necessary where temporary coverings 106 as seen in FIGS. 18
and 18a are used. It might be advisable to use covering pieces to
prevent dirt from covering the hooked surface before assembly.
[0077] These pre-assembled covering modules are then shipped to the
site and as shown in FIGS. 18 and 18a, placed on the underlying
substrate individually, in an abutting fashion, in order to engage
the exposed loops 101 on the underside of the decorative covering
of one covering module and the exposed hooks 97 on the upper
surface of the anchor sheet of an adjacent covering module. As
shown in FIG. 18, each covering module 105 added to the growing
modular surface covering is guided into its proper position by
laying thin, rigid pieces of plastic 106, over the exposed hooks of
the anchor sheet of the established covering module 107. The rigid
pieces of plastic permit placement and adjustment of the unit
without premature engagement of hooks and loops during
installation. After properly aligning the loops on the underside of
the decorative covering of one covering module with the hooks on
the upper surface of the anchor sheet of the abutting covering
module, the thin, rigid pieces of plastic are slid out parallel to
the horizontal plane and away from the two units thereby enabling
the abutting units to become engaged through hook and loop
technology. Any hook covering pieces (not shown) of the recently
added covering module are then removed in preparation for the
addition of a subsequent covering module. This step by step process
of attaching covering units to adjacent covering units mechanically
bonded through hook and loop technology is repeated to create a
contiguous surface covering as shown in FIG. 19. FIG. 20 shows a
section of two covering modules attached together.
[0078] A disadvantage of using covering modules is the difficulty
of aligning them over a great distance. The anchor sheet should
preferably be precisely located in relation to the neighbouring
anchor sheet and the decorative covering should preferably be
precisely located in relation to the decorative covering of a
neighbouring covering module. If the length AA, BB or CC (as shown
in FIG. 17) is off by even a small amount, this amount multiplied
over many modules will result in a misalignment of the surface
covering. Thus unless the anchor sheet and the decorative covering
are precisely aligned on the covering module, it will not be
possible in practice to easily install an overlapping system, such
as disclosed here. In practice, it is necessary to have these
modules preattached in a precise relationship as shown in FIG. 17,
preferably by preassembly at a factory using a machine for accurate
alignment. It is also possible but slow to use a pattern or form at
the point of installation for maintaining a constant alignment of
the decorative covering with the anchor sheet.
[0079] One advantage of this form of installation is that an
unlimited variety of patterns can be created. Decorative coverings
or the entire covering module can be removed, replaced or exchanged
if different colour or pattern combinations are desired. Any
pattern can be inserted and if standard sizes are used, patterns
can be interchangeable. For example, units of different coloured
carpet can be installed to create a unique carpet design or a
combination of different types of covering modules, such as carpet
and hardwood or ceramic and marble can be combined and subsequently
replaced or exchanged to form yet other unique arrangements.
[0080] To facilitate this process, the thin, rigid pieces of
plastic discussed above can also be used to detach individual units
of the modular surface covering. The thin, rigid pieces of plastic
are inserted between the mechanically bonded portions of the hook
and loop fastener of abutting units, parallel to the horizontal
plane, thereby breaking the mechanical bond and maintaining the
hooks and loops out of contact with one another to enable the units
to be dislodged and removed from the modular surface covering.
[0081] Another advantage is that in most cases, the mass of the
decorative covering and the rigidity of the anchor sheet when
attached together will enable the modular surface covering
resulting from the hook and loop attachment of abutting covering
modules, to abutting anchor sheets to be held firmly in place
without the need for attachment to the underlying substrate.
However, if it is necessary to attach selected covering modules to
the substrate, as for example, with a wall covering, that can be
done by tacking, nailing, gluing or by use of hook and loop
technology. The exposed portion of the anchor sheet of a covering
module yet to be bonded through hook and loop technology to a
subsequently added abutting module can be used for tacking to the
underlying substrate. Such exposed portion is then covered by a
decorative covering of an abutting covering module. Such discrete
tacking points could be as shown at 108 in FIGS. 16, 18, 19 and 21.
Attachment of the anchor to the substrate at points 108 or even
fewer points should be sufficient attachment in many, if not most,
instances. Depending on the thickness or brittleness of the anchor
sheets, it may be advisable to have predrilled holes in the anchor
sheets. In this case again it would be preferable to have slits,
perforations or holes (not shown) in the tape covering (not shown)
so that the anchor sheet can be attached to the floor before
removal of any hook covering, but without the attachment of the
hook covering to the floor.
[0082] Shown in FIGS. 22, 23, and 24 is an additional carpet or
ceramic tile pattern using covering modules 110 such as shown in
FIG. 24. Such covering modules consist of an anchor sheet 112 and a
tile or decorative covering 114 which can be of ceramic or carpet
or any other suitable material. Normally the tile or decorative
covering 114 and anchor sheet 112 are pre-attached at a factory in
a precisely pre-determined relationship as shown. If the tile or
decorative covering contains loops across its undersurface and the
anchor sheet hooks across its top surface, then detachment and
reattachment are possible if required on site. A permanent adhesive
can be used for a permanent bond between tile 114 and anchor sheet
112 or a temporary adhesive having the properties of hook and loop
(i.e. can be attached and reattached and good horizontal strength)
can be used.
[0083] Assuming hook and loop is used, then the anchor sheet 112
will be covered in hooks similar to hooks 97 in FIGS. 14 and 18
and, the underside of the tile will be covered in loops similar to
loops 101 in FIGS. 15 and 17. Tile or decorative covering such as
116 in FIG. 22 overlaps and binds to anchor sheets 112, 118, 120
and 122 and helps to tie those anchor sheets together. If the tile
is carpet tile, then tiles such as 114, 116 and others including
centre tile 124 can be formed by dye cutting of a larger carpet
piece. In this case "grout" shaped spacing pieces 126 as shown in
FIG. 23 are formed. If other carpets of contrasting colours are
also cut, these pieces can be used with other similarly shaped
patterns cut from such carpets. This piece 126, if it came from the
carpet used to make tile 114 or 124 would go off for use in another
pattern and a new piece (not shown) of the same shape as piece 126
would be included (from a dye cutting of a carpet of a contrasting
colour).
[0084] By using such decorative pattern separators, such as 126,
the places where similar colours meet can be minimized. By
providing a contrasting colour for piece 126, the eye is drawn to
the pattern rather than any imperfections where straight lines of
similar but not identical dye lots meet. Thus in the pattern of
FIG. 22 or 25, similar colours meet only at, for instance, 125 in
FIG. 23 or 119 in FIG. 25. It is possible to provide a third or
even more colours to eliminate places where the same colours meet,
which could provide difficulty for subsequent matching. Shown in
FIG. 25 is another arrangement in which, for instance, tile 128 is
placed on anchor sheet 134. The pattern is similar but the tile or
decorative covering is in a different orientation to anchor sheet
134. In this case tile 128 for instance overlaps anchor sheet 130
and 134, but anchor sheet 134 and 136 are attached by medallion 132
and also by an insert or "grout" 126 as shown in FIG. 23, which has
not yet been installed in the arrangement of FIG. 25.
[0085] In the case where tiles such as 114 or 128 are ceramic
tiles, it is possible to size them in relation to the anchor sheet
so that the space between, for instance, tiles 114, 116 and
medallion 124 is less than shown in FIG. 22, and then a resilient
grout, such as rubber caulking, could be friction fit into the
space between the tiles to simulate real grout or the rubber
caulking could be provided as an elastic band of a size to fit
around tile 114 or medallion 124. Such elastic band could even be
preinstalled onto the tile before the covering modules such as 110
are assembled. Additionally even real grout could be used directly
into the space between the tiles.
[0086] The anchor sheet of this invention in its various
embodiments allows for increased versatility in the installation of
decorative coverings or carpets that have been created with loops
such as the hook and loop system disclosed in Pacione U.S. Pat. No.
4,822,658. Using the covering modules, in which the decorative
covering and anchor sheet are pre-attached, it is possible to
reduce the attachment area to an exposed overlapping area and to
use an adhesive which can be pulled apart and re-attached or hook
and loop in such exposed area. With the anchor sheet, carpets and
other decorative covering can be installed easily on almost any
surface without destroying the surface and they can be, in many
instances, pre-assembled at a factory and the carpets or other
decorative covering only need to be attached to the underlying
surface, if at all, at a few discrete places. This removes the
necessity of having to remove underlying substrate such as carpet
or hardwood and having to strip adhesives such as glue from the
surface. Large quantities of decorative covering such as carpet no
longer have to be disposed of as they are simply covered by a new
decorative covering. Further, with this invention, it is now
possible to maintain a valuable flooring, such as marble, intact
for later use, but to temporarily cover such flooring with carpet
or tile.
[0087] While certain embodiments of the invention have been
disclosed, it is intended to cover all variations and combinations
of the invention as claimed in the attached claims.
* * * * *