Abstract:
A corner guard made for installation in floor corners is disclosed. The corner guard may be made of flexible material and have three seating surfaces and a front face. Two of the seating surfaces are positioned adjacent to intersecting wall sections, and the third surface is positioned adjacent to the floor. The edge of the guard adjacent the floor will often be radiused to facilitate cleaning. Once installed the guard improves the overall cleanliness and appearance of a room by preventing dirt or debris from accumulating in difficult to clean corners.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/757,174 filed Jan. 6, 2006, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to corner guards for use at corners of hard floors. 
       BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
       [0003]    Hard floors are often swept, mopped and waxed to preserve a good-looking perception and a clean environment. Over time the process of sweeping and mopping floors traps debris in corners. The current processes for cleaning are labor intensive and inefficient. In most cases, corners are a neglected area of floor maintenance. 
         [0004]    Most rooms have some type of baseboard between the wall and floor. It would be difficult and cost prohibitive to remove the baseboard to install a corner piece to prevent dirt from accumulating in the corner. 
         [0005]    The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provides a corner guard made for installation in floor corners. The corner guard may be made of flexible material and have three seating surfaces and a front face. Two of the seating surfaces are positioned adjacent to intersecting wall sections, and the third surface is positioned adjacent to the floor. The edge of the guard adjacent the floor will often be radiused to facilitate cleaning. Once installed the guard improves the overall cleanliness and appearance of a room by preventing dirt or debris from accumulating in difficult to clean corners. 
         [0007]    An aspect of the present invention is to provide a corner guard system installed in a corner comprising a corner guard including a floor seating surface adjacent a floor, a first wall seating surface adjacent a first wall, and a second wall seating surface adjacent a second wall intersecting the first wall. 
         [0008]    An aspect of the present invention is to provide a corner guard for installation in a corner, the corner guard comprising a front face, a floor seating surface defining a floor edge between the front face and the floor seating surface structured and arranged for installation against a floor, a first wall seating surface defining a first wall edge between the front face and the first wall seating surface structured and arranged for installation against a wall, and a second wall seating surface defining a second wall edge between the front face and the second wall seating surface structured and arranged for installation against a wall. 
         [0009]    A further aspect of the present invention provides a method for installing a corner guard in a corner comprising the steps of providing a corner guard and conforming the corner guard to a corner comprising intersecting walls and a floor. 
         [0010]    These and other aspects will be more apparent from the following description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view a corner guard installed in floor corner according one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a centered cross section of the corner guard shown in  FIG. 1  showing an adhesive adhering the corner guard to the corner according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a corner guard showing a front face and a wall edge angle according one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of a corner guard showing seating surfaces, ridges and a center surface of a rear face of a corner guard according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a corner guard according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a center cross section of a pyramidal corner guard adhered to a corner by an adhesive according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is cross section of a corner guard made of shapeable which has deformed to conform to a corner using a forming tool according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a corner guard held into a corner by a die cut, one-sided tape according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a corner guard  1  is positioned in the corner of a room at a wall-to-wall intersection  21  where the walls  20  meet the floor  24 . Often the area where the wall  20  meets the floor  24  is covered with a baseboard  22 . Baseboards  22  are often made of wood, ceramic tile, linoleum and rubber baseboards. The corner guard  1  may seal to a baseboard  22  and floor  24  or may be sealed directly to the walls  20  and the floor  24 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  the corner guard is triangular in shape and has a front face  2 , which is the exterior of the guard when installed. The corner guard  1  also has wall edges  3   a  and  3   b  at the intersection of the front face  2  and each wall-seating surface  8  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). A third edge of the guard  5  is located at the intersection of the front face  2  and the floor seating surface  9  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a cross-section of the corner guard  1  along wall-to-wall intersection  21  is shown. In one embodiment the corner guard  1  is adhered to a baseboard  22  or wall  20  using an adhesive  12 . The corner guard  1  may be made of flexible material so that it will conform to the shape of an irregular corner. The adhesive  12  forms a seal between the baseboard  22  and corner guard  1  and also forms a seal between corner guard  1  and the floor  24 . In another embodiment the corner guard may be held to the wall and by mechanical fasteners such as screws. 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the front face  2  of corner guard  1  is shown. In this embodiment the front face  2  is a substantially flat surface outlined by wall edges  3   a  and  3   b  and floor edge  5 . Angle ε is also shown in  FIG. 3  between wall edges  3   a  and  3   b . The wall edge angle ε may be may be between about 20° and about 120°, depending on the particular angle of the intersecting walls at the corner in which the guard is installed. For example, for walls which intersect at an angle of 90°, a typical wall edge angle ε may be about 50° to about 70°, for example about 60°. For intersecting wall angles such as 60°, 135°, etc., the wall edge angle ε may be increased or decreased as desired. 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the rear face  4  of one embodiment of the corner guard is shown. In this embodiment the rear face  4  has two wall seating surfaces  8  referred to above when defining the wall edge  3   a  and  3   b  and floor seating surface  9  referred to above when defining the floor edge  5 . The intersection of each of the aforementioned seating surfaces creates ridges  10  which define the boundaries between each seating surface and also conforms to the corners formed between the baseboards  22  and the floor  24 . A wall-to-wall tip is located at the intersection of the wall seating surfaces  8  and the front face  2 . Two wall-to-wall tips  7  are formed at the intersections of the front face  2  with wall seating surface  8  and floor seating surface  9 . The corner guard  1  has a height shown as h in  FIG. 4 , h may be from 1 inch to 8 inches, for example 2 21/2 inches. The corner guard  1  also has a width shown as W in  FIG. 4 , W may be from 1 inch to 16 inches, for example 2½ inches. Angle α shown in  FIG. 4  corresponds to the angle between ridges at wall-to-wall tips  6  and either ridge at floor-to-wall tip  7 . Angle α may be between 100° and 170°, for example 120° and 140°, for example 120°. Angle β shown in  FIG. 4  is located between ridges corresponding to floor-to-wall tips  7 . Angle β may be between 20° and 160°, for example 90° and 130° for example 120°. A center surface  11  makes up the remaining portion of the rear face  4 . 
         [0023]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , it can be seen that the corner guard  1  has a depth shown as d. In this embodiment d may be between 1/16 inch and 5 inches, for example ¼ inch. Angle θ represents the angle between the ridge  10 , corresponding to wall to wall tip  6 , and the front face  2 . θ may be an angle from 5 to 45 degrees, for example 15 degrees. Angle λ is a represents the angle between the ridge  10 , corresponding to floor to wall tip  7 , and the front face  2 . λ may be an angle from 5 to 45 degrees, for example 20 degrees. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment the corner guard  1  is made from a flexible material, for example natural or synthetic rubber, urethane, sanoprene, fabric or cardboard. 
         [0025]    The corner guard  1  in the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 2  thru  4  is sealed with an adhesive between at least each of the seating surfaces  8 ,  9  and the baseboard  22 . The adhesive  12  may be for example an epoxy, a two-sided tape, caulk, silicone or one-sided tape on the front face. The adhesive functions to keep dirt and moisture from getting behind the corner guard  1 . In one embodiment, the corner guard  1  may be adhered to corner by using a friction fit between the wall and corner guard  1 . 
         [0026]    In another embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the corner guard  1  is a solid piece, pyramidal in shape that fills the entire void of corner  26 . Adhesive  12  is used to seal the corner guard. 
         [0027]    In yet another embodiment shown in  FIG. 7 , a formed corner guard  40  is made from a pliable self-hardening material, which is molded into corner  26  using a forming tool  41 . No additional adhesive is needed because the formed corner guard  40  bonds directly to the floor  24  and baseboard  22 . The forming tool  41  may be substantially flat to on a forming surface  42  to create a substantially flat formed front face  43  of the formed corner guard  40 . Alternatively, the forming tool  41  may have a convex forming surface  42  so that a concave formed front face  43  is shaped. Extra material may be wiped away with a damp cloth prior to removing the forming tool. 
         [0028]    In yet another embodiment shown in  FIG. 8 , a die cut triangular piece of tape  32  covers the front face  2  of the corner guard  1  and holds the corner guard  1  to the wall  20  and floor  24  at the wall edges  3   a  and  3   b  and the floor edge  5  of corner guard  1 . Tape  32  may also be may of a flexible material to more easily conform to the corner guard  1  and corner  26 . 
         [0029]    The corner guard and adhesives may be colored or textured to match the surrounding baseboard  22  or wall  20 . Alternatively, the corner guard may be transparent to allow the existing baseboard  22  or wall  20  to be seen through the corner guard. It is contemplated that the corner guard may be washable and used indoors and outdoors. It is also contemplated that the corner guard may be used on a surface that is not a floor, for example to seal dirt and grime from a corner of a workstation, workbench or other elevated surface. It is also contemplated that the corner guard could be used on a carpeted floor wherein only the wall seating surfaces  8  are used to adhere the corner guard  1  to the corner  26 . 
         [0030]    Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.