Wall base

The specification describes a wall base which is preferably provided by an elongate strip of carpeting with a pair of spaced-apart strips of double-sided adhesive tape on the back of the strip of carpeting covered by a release liner. For a 3 to 6 inch wide carpet strip, the strips of adhesive tape are preferably spaced apart by a distance of from about 1/4 inch to about 2 inches, one being positioned close by adjacent the top edge of the carpet strip and the other spaced from the bottom edge.

This invention relates generally to wall bases used along the base of a
 wall to protect the lowermost part of the wall adjacent the wall-floor
 intersection, and for decorative purposes. More particularly, this
 invention relates to a wall base which is easier to mount and which more
 tenaciously adheres to vertical wall surfaces as compared to conventional
 bases.
 Flooring wall bases are commonly provided by lengths of relatively rigid
 materials (e.g. wood or hard plastic) or flexible materials (e.g. flexible
 plastic, rubber, or strips of carpet) having widths of from about 3 to
 about 6 inches, most typically from about 31/2 to about 5 inches. Such
 flooring bases are typically attached along the lowermost portions of a
 vertical wall adjacent the wall-floor intersection using fasteners such as
 nails or staples or an adhesive applied between the base and wall.
 As will be appreciated, the use of fasteners to secure flooring bases is
 undesirable in that installation of the base using fasteners is very
 laborious and time consuming, the fasteners cause damage to the wall and
 the fasteners often remain visible and detract from the appearance of the
 base requiring cosmetic measures to hide them from view. Conventional
 adhesive techniques for installing wall bases are also undesirable in that
 application of adhesive to the base is time consuming and messy and does
 not provide a reliable securement of the base. Attempts have been made to
 use adhesive tape, but with only limited success. Prior efforts with
 adhesive tape have resulted in generally poor adhesion and the bases tend
 to separate from the wall after a time.
 Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved
 wall base and an improved method of installing a wall base.
 A further object of the present invention is to provide a wall base which
 offers improved adherence to vertical wall surfaces.
 Still another object of the present invention is to provide a wall base of
 the character of the character described which is uncomplicated in
 construction and is economical to make, use and install.
 Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved method for
 manufacturing a wall base which is readily installable as made.
 With regard to the foregoing and other objects, the present invention is
 directed to a wall base construction which includes an elongate wall base
 member having generally planar front and back surfaces and a plurality of
 elongate laterally spaced apart adhesive members secured to the back
 surface disposed generally parallel to and along the length of the base
 member for securing the base member to the wall. The base member has a
 relatively wide, thin configuration with substantially linear elongate
 side edges. In a preferred embodiment, the adhesive members comprise a
 pair of elongate substantially parallel spaced-apart strips of adhesive.
 One of the strips is positioned closely adjacent one of the side edges
 running generally continuously along the length thereof. The other strip
 is spaced laterally inwardly from the other side edge of the base member
 and from the strip positioned closely adjacent one of the side edges.
 According to one aspect of the invention, the wall base member is an
 elongate strip of carpet having parallel side edges running along its
 length. A lower side edge is positionable along a wall/floor intersection.
 An upper side edge is finished in any suitable manner such as by binding
 for placement against the wall surface spaced vertically above the
 intersection and observable by viewers in the area. The carpet strip may
 have a relatively stiff backing onto which are applied a plurality of
 laterally spaced apart elongate adhesive elements disposed along the
 length of the carpet strip. Preferably, two such elements are used and
 include a first continuous adhesive strip on the backing closely adjacent
 the upper edge and a second continuous strip spaced from the lower side
 edge. Preferably a release liner is provided over the first and second
 adhesive strips.
 An important aspect of the invention is the use of multiple strips of
 adhesive and the spaced apart relationship of the strips. It has been
 found, quite surprisingly, that the use of multiple strips of spaced apart
 adhesive provides superior adhesion on a carpet wall base as compared to a
 single strip of adhesive tape having a size that is the same or greater
 than the aggregate size of the multiple strips of tape. As an example, it
 has been found that use of two 1-inch tapes spaced apart on a 4 inch wide
 carpet wall base in accordance with the invention provides superior
 results as compared to a single strip of tape having a width of 2 inches
 or greater.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
 With initial reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a carpet wall base 10 in
 accordance with one embodiment of the invention installed along the
 lowermost portion of vertical walls 12 and 14 adjacent the edges of
 horizontally disposed wall-to wall carpeting 18 to provide a decorative
 appearance. Conventionally, the wall-to-wall carpeting 18 overlies a
 carpet pad 20 which overlies a subflooring 22.
 With additional reference to FIGS. 2-4, the base 10 is preferably provided
 by an elongate strip of carpeting material 24 having a width W of from
 about 3 to about 6 inches, most preferably about 4 inches, and having a
 length corresponding to the length of the wall on which the base will be
 installed. The thickness of material 24 will typically range from about
 1/4 to about 3/4 inches.
 It will be understood that while the base 10 may be provided in one
 continuous length, a plurality of smaller segments may be placed
 end-to-end or one above the other to provide the desired coverage along
 the wall 14.
 Upper edge 25 of the carpet material 24 is preferably finished with a
 binding material 26 in a manner well known in the art to provide an
 aesthetically pleasing appearance to the base (to cover a cut edge) and to
 avoid unraveling or fraying of the upper edge. The width B of the covered
 portion of the base 10 is preferably about 1/4 inch.
 The material 24 may be made of any substance commonly used as a wall base
 or baseboard material, and is preferably provided by an elongate strip of
 carpeting which matches carpeting 18 and has been cut to the desired
 length and width. When base 10 is supplied as a carpet strip, it will
 typically contain a relatively stiff backing provided by a
 resin-impregnated or coated open-weave fabric commonly referred to as
 reinforced latex which supports the carpet fibers in an upright
 configuration relative to the backing and supports the overall carpet
 structure in a planar, spread out configuration which resists buckling,
 bulging, creasing or wrinkling. Such carpeting materials typically have a
 face weight of from about 16 to about 60 oz/yd.sup.2. The carpet backing
 may be any of the various other backings common to carpet, such as jute,
 rubber, woven, so-called "action back" or the
 While the preferred embodiments are described herein in relation to wall
 bases made using carpet material, it will be understood that the invention
 may find application with other wall base materials such as vinyl or
 synthetic wall bases or wood or wood/resin composite wall bases and
 various types of baseboard moldings. In general, base 10 may have a wide
 range of widths and thicknesses typically such bases will have a width
 ranging from about 21/2" to about 10" and a thickness which may or may not
 be uniform ranging from about 1/16" to about -3/4". In addition, the base
 10 may be used with other flooring, such as linoleum, tile, cement or-wood
 floors.
 Backside surface 28 of the base 10 which is to be positioned adjacent the
 walls 12 and 14 includes a pair of spaced apart, parallel adhesive strips
 30 and 32. In general, backside 28 is substantially planar for the various
 embodiments of base 10 so as to enable placement of the base with strips
 30, 32 thereon flat against the wall surface.
 The strips 30 and 32 are preferably provided by identical continuous strips
 of double sided adhesive tape each preferably having a length
 corresponding to the length of the base and, as an example, for a base
 having a width of 4 inches, the strips each would have a width S of from
 about 1/4 inch to about 2 inches, most preferably about 1 inch. Strips 30,
 32 are preferably of uniform width and thickness. A preferred double-sided
 adhesive tape is a 1 inch wide double-sided polyacrylic adhesive tape
 available under the tradename JANTAC from Janser of Benton Harbor,
 Michigan. The strips may be applied to the backside 28 of the base 10 by
 hand or machine using known techniques and equipment for applying double
 sided adhesive tape to roll or sheet material.
 One side of each strip 30 and 32 is adhesively secured to the backside 28
 of the base 10 and the other side of each strip is covered with a
 pull-away release liner strip 34. The release liners 34 which may be
 silicon-coated unbleached kraft paper having a basis weight of about 90
 lbs/3000 ft.sup.2 are removed when the base 10 is ready to be secured to a
 wall surface as explained below. While separate release liner strips 34
 are shown, it is understood that one release liner wide enough to cover
 both adhesive strips 30, 32 until installation may be used.
 For 1-inch wide adhesive strips and a 4-inch wide base, the strips 30 and
 32 are preferably spaced apart a distance D of at least about 1/4 inch,
 preferably from about 3/4 to about 1 and 1/2 inches, and most preferably
 about 1 and 14 inches. Strip 30 is preferably placed closely adjacent the
 top edge 25 of the base 10, just below the bottom edge of the binding
 material 26, and strip 32 is spaced a distance E of from about 1/4" to
 about 3/4" from bottom edge 35 of the base 10, most preferably about 1/2"
 inches. For wider or narrower base members, it will be understood that the
 exemplary dimensions given herein for the strips 30 and 32 and their
 relative spacing may be used as a guide for determining the proper
 placement.
 As will be appreciated, more than two strips of tape may be used provided
 they are spaced apart and positioned in accordance with the invention. For
 example, with reference to FIG. 5 there is shown another embodiment of a
 wall base 10' made of carpeting material 24' having a width W' of about 6
 inches which includes strips 30' and 32' each having a width S of about 1
 inch each and spaced a distance D apart of about 1 inch with strip 30
 closely adjacent binding material 26 along upper edge 25. A further
 adhesive strip 36 having a width S' of about 1/2 inch and spaced a
 distance D' of about 1/2 inch below the strip 32' supplied by the same
 material as strips 30', 32', and all strips 30', 32' and 36 are preferably
 covered by a release liner to protect them from adhering to other surfaces
 until base 10' is ready to be installed.
 It has been found that the invention has an unexpected synergistic effect
 and provides superior adhesion of a wall base to the wall as compared to
 the use of glue or of a single width of tape regardless of the width of
 the tape. For example, a wall base in accordance with the invention having
 two 1 inch strips spaced apart as described herein has been observed to
 provide superior attachment of the base member to a wall as compared to a
 base coated with glue or having a single width of tape of 1 inch width, 2
 inch width or greater.
 In addition, wall bases provided in accordance with the invention offer
 improved ease of installation as compared to conventional wall bases. For
 example, a wall base having two strips is easier to install than a wall
 base having one strip of greater or equal width or to which glue has been
 applied in that the position of the base of the invention may be more
 easily adjusted when initially placed against the wall, yet is more secure
 once installation is complete. As will be appreciated, this ability to
 adjust the position of the base during installation enables a more precise
 installation of the base to provide a more aesthetically pleasing
 appearance.
 The wall base 10 is preferably secured along the lower part of the wall
 after a flooring such as wall-to-wall carpeting has been installed. The
 base 10 may be applied from a roll thereof by pulling off a first short
 length of the base and removing the release liner to expose the adhesive.
 The base with the exposed adhesive strips is positioned at the desired
 location against the wall at a starting point such as at the comer between
 two walls with the lower edge at the wall-floor intersection and slight
 hand pressure is applied to initially press the strips 30 and 32 against
 the wall. The base 10 is then unrolled to the end of the wall under hand
 tension to stretch the base slightly. Slight hand pressure is preferably
 applied to the outer surface of the base during this process to secure the
 base to the wall as the base is unrolled. Adjustments may then be made to
 the position of the base by hand to position the base evenly along the
 wall and firm pressure applied by hand or a suitable tool such as a roller
 or the like to finally fix the position of the base.
 A carpet tractor may be used to further press the base against the wall and
 the comers of the base tucked under the edge of the carpeting by use of a
 tucking knife or stair tool. If desired, fasteners, such as staples may be
 used at the corners for additional securement.
 The foregoing description of certain exemplary embodiments of the present
 invention has been provided for purposes of illustration only, and it is
 understood that numerous modifications or alterations may be made in and
 to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope
 of the invention as defined in the following claims.