Abstract:
A cover sheet anchor including a strip of material that is detachably secured to a cover sheet. At least one anchoring layer with a sticky backing is attached to the strip of material, whereby the cover sheet is temporarily anchored to a floor by the anchoring layer.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    There is described a cover sheet anchor that is used to anchor a cover sheet which is used to prevent dust or paint splatter from contaminating walls and floors. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Painters use a cover sheet to prevent paint splatters on wall and floor areas. Unfortunately, movement of people, supplies or equipment across the cover sheet, frequently results in the cover sheet being shifted out of position, thereby leaving portions of the floor exposed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    There is provided a cover sheet anchor including a strip of material that is detachably secured to a cover sheet. At least one anchoring layer with a sticky backing is attached to the strip of material, whereby the cover sheet is temporarily anchored to a floor by the anchoring layer. 
         [0004]    As will hereinafter be further described, the cover sheet anchor described uses a sticky backing that uses an adhesive developed by 3M Corporation that will not harm the floor or leave an adhesive residue. The sticky backing works in a manner that is analogous to Post It Notes (trademark), except that the adhesive is more powerful. Through experimentation, it has been determined that this type of cover sheet anchor is effective on a wide variety of types of flooring including wood floors, tile, linoleum, and carpet. 
         [0005]    Through use over time, the sticky backing will inevitably become contaminated or ineffective. Even more beneficial results may, therefore, be obtained when there are several anchoring layers. When the sticky backing of one anchoring layer becomes contaminated or ineffective, it is removed to expose another of the several anchoring layers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a cover sheet anchor constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a bottom plan view of the cover sheet anchor illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the cover sheet anchor illustrated in  FIG. 1  in use anchoring a cover sheet to a floor. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    A cover sheet anchor generally identified by reference numeral  10 , will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1 through 3 . 
       Structure and Relationship of Parts: 
       [0011]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , cover sheet anchor  10  has a first edge  12 , a second edge  14 , a front side  16 , and a back side  18 . Cover sheet anchor  10  is comprised of strip of material  20 . A tape fastener  22  is attached to strip of material  20  along first edge  12  on front side  16 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , tape fastener  22  mates with mating tape fastener  24  carried by cover sheet  26  for detachably securing strip of material  20  along first edge  28  of cover sheet  26 . 
         [0012]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , attached on the back side  18  of strip of material  20  of cover sheet anchor  10  are several anchoring layers  30 . Anchoring layers  30  consist of a sticky backing  32  along first edge  12  and, preferably include a non-sticking extension  36  which extends past second edge  14 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , anchoring layers  30  are used to temporarily anchor cover sheet  26  to floor  34  by means of sticky backing  32 . Referring to 
         [0013]      FIG. 2 , when the sticky backing  32  of the exposed one  30 A of the anchoring layers  30  becomes contaminated or ineffective, it is removed. When the exposed anchoring layer  30 A is removed it exposes another  30 B of the several anchoring layers  30 . As previously indicated, it is preferred that each of the several anchoring layers  30  have a non-sticking extension  36  that extends past second edge  14  of cover sheet anchor  10 . It is, preferably in the form of a polymer plastic cover strip which runs along the length of the strip of material  20 . Non-sticking extension  36  provides a means to grasp each anchoring layer  30  for removal It also serves to shield the sticky backing  32  from contaminants. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that non-sticking extension  36  is desirable but not essential. 
       Operation: 
       [0014]    The use and operation of the cover sheet anchor  10  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1 through 3 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the tape fastener  22  on cover sheet anchor  10  mates with the mating tape fastener  24  to secure the first edge  12  of the cover sheet anchor  10  along the first edge  28  of the cover sheet  26 . The mated cover sheet anchor  10  and cover sheet  26  are then positioned on the floor  34 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , cover sheet anchor  10  is then attached to the floor  34  by the sticky backing  32 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the non-sticking extension  36  faces in the opposite direction from the cover sheet  26 . Non-sticking extension  36  extends past second edge of material  20  and first edge  28  of the cover sheet  26  to shield sticky backing  32  from contaminants. Sticky backing  32  is not seen in this view but can be viewed in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
         [0015]    Upon completion of the use of the cover sheet  26 , the mated cover sheet anchor  10  and cover sheet  26  are removed from the floor  34  by disengaging the sticky backing  32  of the anchoring layers  30  from the floor  34 . It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the cover sheet anchor is not limited to use on floors, but may be used to cover other surfaces, such as walls. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , upon the sticky backing  32  becoming contaminated or ineffective, anchoring layer  30 A can be peeled off the back side  18  of the cover sheet anchor  10  and be disposed of Anchoring layer  30 B can then be used to temporarily anchor the cover sheet anchor  10  to the floor  34 . 
       Example 
       [0017]    There will now be described an example of a cover sheet anchor which has been made commercially in accordance with the above teachings, including dimensions, the number of layers and the particular adhesive used: 
         [0018]    The cover sheet anchor which has been made commercially in accordance with the above teachings is 76.2 mm by 1117.6 mm and consists of ten anchoring layers with polyethylene tape sold by 3M as 3M 4179C being the source for the sticky backing. Until needed, a throwaway cover covers the exposed layer of the polyethylene tape to prevent contamination or unwanted sticking during transit. Material  20  is a foam pad layer which serves as backing for the tape fasteners and polyethylene tape. 
         [0019]    In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements. 
         [0020]    The following claims are to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can be obviously substituted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope of the claims. The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and should not be taken as limiting the invention. It is to be understood that, within the scope of the following claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated and described.