MASKING TAPE AND METHOD

Abstract: There is disclosed a masking tape (11) adapted for masking carpet (12) while painting a skirting board (13) comprising a resiliently flexible strip (11) of sufficient transverse stiffness at one edge to permit insertion of that edge laterally of the strip between carpet and skirting board, and having at its other edge a releasable adhesive, the resilience of the strip and the caracteristics of the adhesive being such as to permit the strip to be bent back after insertion between carpet and skirting board so that the adhesive adheres to the carpet and is not pulled away therefrom by the resilience of the strip, but can be manually removed from the carpet after having served its masking purpose.

Description: MASKING TAPE AND METHOD This invention relates to masking tape, particularly for masking carpet, while painting a skirting board (US, base board), and a method for using the same. Conventional masking tape is usually a soft, flexible tape with adhesive on one face and being free of adhesive on the opposite face. The adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive which can be removed from hard, smooth surfaces such as glass and wood after it has served its purpose. It tends to stick too well to soft materials such as textile fabric and particularly fabric with a pile, such as carpet, and is not generally recommended for use thereon, though low-tack tapes can be obtained for specialist purposes. Various tapes and methods for masking carpet have been proposed of varying degrees of complexity. The present invention provides an inexpensive tape which is easy and effective in use, and which has advantages over the soft tapes generally available. The invention comprises a masking tape adapted for masking carpet while painting a skirting board comprising a resiliently flexible strip of sufficient transverse stiffness at one edge to permit insertion of that edge laterally of the strip between carpet and skirting board, and having at its other edge a releasable adhesive, the resilience of the strip and the characteristics of the adhesive being such as to permit the strip to be bent back after insertion between carpet and skirting board so that the adhesive adheres to the carpet and is not pulled away therefrom by the resilience of the strip, but can be manually removed from the carpet after having served its masking purpose. The releasable adhesive may be protected by a removable layer. However, if the opposite face of the tape is suitably treated, the adhesive will adhere preferentially to the face to which it is applied, and the removable layer can be dispensed with. Or the adhesive can be in, or opposite, a recessed part of the tape so that, on a roll, it does not come into contact with the opposite face. The tape may be of resilient plastics material, such as a polyester or polystyrene. However, it may be made of a less expensive material such as a stiff, impervious paper or card. The tape may be supplied on a roll; where there is a removable layer, it may be on adhesive on the inner face of each turn of tape on the roll, for convenience of application to the job in hand. The masking tape may have a means of attachment for a drip sheet for covering areas of carpet inboard of the masking tape, and may, for that purpose, have at said other edge a second releasable adhesive on the face which will, in use, be uppermost. It may be arranged that, on a roll, the said releasable adhesive and the said second releasable adhesive do not contact each other. The invention also comprises a masking tape in combination with a drip sheet. The drip sheet may comprise a foldable plastic film material, and may be commonly packed with the masking tape. The masking tape may be a tape as more particularly described herein. The invention also comprises a method for masking carpet while painting a skirting board, comprising inserting a masking strip between carpet and skirting board, with the releasable adhesive edge uppermost and the releasable adhesive facing away from the skirting board, and bending the strip until the releasable adhesive adheres to the carpet while the strip is still between the carpet and the skirting board. The invention also comprises a method for masking carpet while painting a skirting board comprising masking the edge of the carpet and attaching a drip sheet to the edge masking. The drip sheet may be attached adhesively to an edge masking strip after the masking strip has been deployed. The invention also comprises a method for masking carpet while painting a skirting board, comprising inserting the masking strip between carpet and skirting board with the removable layer uppermost and facing towards the carpet, and bending the tape until the adhesive adheres to the carpet. One advantage of the methods is that the edge of the carpet is pulled away from the skirting board, enabling the paint brush to reach below the level of the carpet.. Embodiments of a masking tape according to the invention and a method for using the same will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section of a skirting board with a carpet to be masked, showing the tape inserted laterally; Figure 2 is a cross-section like Figure 1, showing the tape bent to adhere to and mask the carpet; Figure 3 is a cross-section through a portion of a roll of the tape shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a view of a roll of the tape of Figures 1 and 2, partially unwound, with the removable layer partially removed; Figure 5 is a cross-section of another embodiment; Figure 6 is a cross-section of a third embodiment; and Figure 7 is a cross-section showing a drip sheet; and Figure 8 is a view of a pack with masking tape and drip sheet. The drawings illustrate a masking tape 11 adapted for masking carpet 12 while painting a skirting board 13. The tape 11 comprises a resiliently flexible strip of e.g. polyester or polystyrene material of sufficient transverse stiffness at one edge 1 la to permit insertion of that edge 1 la laterally of the strip 11 between carpet 12 and skirting board 13. At its other edge 1 lb the strip has a layer of a releasable adhesive 14 (Figures 1 to 4). This layer is, on the roll, protected by a removable layer 15 e.g. of paper. The resilience of the strip 11 and the characteristics of the adhesive 14 are such as to permit the strip 11 to be bent back, as seen in Figure 2, after insertion between carpet 12 and skirting board 13, so that the adhesive adheres to the carpet 13 and is not pulled away therefrom by the resilience of the strip 11, but can be manually removed after having served its masking purpose. As seen in Figures 3 and 4, the tape 11 can be supplied on a roll 6, the removable layer 15 being on an adhesive 14 on the inner face of each turn of tape 11 on the roll 15. As the tape 11 is unwound from the roll 16, the removable layer 15 prevents the fingers, manipulating the tape 11 into position, from sticking to the tape. Once a length of tape 11 has been inserted between carpet and skirting board, the protective layer can be removed from the tape to be bent back as shown in Figure 2. The adhesive 14 and the resilience of the strip 11 are such that the adhesive 14 adheres to the carpet 13 and is not pulled therefrom by the resilience of the strip 11. The adhesive 14 is such, however, that the tape 11 may be readily removable manually, without any tendency to damage the carpet. As seen in Figures 3 and 4, the removable layer 16 is attached on the inside of each turn of the tape on the roll 16. This facilitates unwinding the tape 11 from the spool 16 in correct orientation for applying between the carpet 12 and skirting board 13. The tape 11 may be typically 50mm wide, the adhesive 14 (and, hence, the removable layer 15) covering one half the width. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate tapes without a protective removable layer for the adhesive 14. Figure 5 shows a tape, in cross-section, with adhesive 14 on one face and a release coating 16 on the opposite face, the adhesive 14 easily pulling off the coating 16 when being unwound from a roll. The adhesive 14 should, of course, be on the inside face of the tape when on a roll. Figure 6 shows a tape, in cross-section, in which the adhesive 14 is in a recessed region R of the tape 11 so that it does not come into contact with the opposite face on the roll. The recessed region R might be made by thermoforming or embossing. The adhesive 14 could equally, of course, be on the flat face of the tape, but opposite a recess on the other face, to serve the same purpose. Having the adhesive in a shallow recess will, while avoiding adhesion between layers of tape on the roll, not hinder in any way adhesion, in use, to a carpet. Figure 7 shows a making tape 11 in situ masking the edge of a carpet 12. This tape has a second releasable adhesive 14a on the face which, in use, is uppermost. To this second adhesive 14a is fixed the edge 17a of a drip sheet 17 which extends out from the skirting board 13 over a substantial area of carpet 12, possibly over all the carpet. The second adhesive could, of course, be on the drip sheet rather than the masking tape. Such a drip sheet 17 can be made of a plastic film or sheet-material and sold in a common pack 18 - as seen in Figure 8 - with a roll of the masking tape. The tape 11 which may be some 50 mm wide may be wound into a roll having an internal diameter of, say, 50 mm. A drip sheet 17, which may be as long - say 10 m - as the tape 11 in the pack 18, may be in width an integral multiple of the width of the tape 11 - say 200, 400, or 500 mm. The masking tape 11 - and, indeed, the drip sheet 17 - need not be made of plastic. A stiff paper or board could serve as the tape, but it would, of course, need to be suitably impervious to paint. An inexpensive non-woven fabric could serve as the drip sheet 17 - say an air-laid, heat or adhesive bonded scrim.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A masking tape adapted for masking carpet while painting a skirting board comprising a resiliently flexible strip of sufficient transverse stiffness at one edge to permit insertion of that edge laterally of the strip between carpet and skirting board, and having at its other edge a releasable adhesive, the resilience of the strip and the characteristics of the adhesive being such as to permit the strip to be bent back after insertion between carpet and skirting board so that the adhesive adheres to the carpet and is not pulled away therefrom by the resilience of the strip, but can be manually removed from the carpet after having served its masking purpose. 2. A masking tape according to claim 1, in which the releasable adhesive is protected by a removable layer. 3. A masking tape according to claim 1, in which the face of the tape opposite to the face having the releasable adhesive is treated so that the adhesive will adhere preferentially to the face to which it is applied. 4. A masking tape according to claim 1, in which the releasable adhesive is in a recessed part of the tape so that, on a roll, it does not come into contact with the opposite face. 5. A masking tape according to claim 1, in which the releasable adhesive is opposite a recessed part of the tape so that, on a roll, it does not come into contact with the opposite face. 6. A masking tape according to any one of claims 1 to 5, of resilient plastics material. 7. A masking tape according to claim 6, of which the plastics material is a polyester. 8. A masking tape according to any one of claims 1 to 5, of a stiff, impervious paper or card. 9. A masking tape according to any one of claims 1 to 8, supplied on a roll. 10. A masking tape according to any one of claims 1 to 9, having a means of attachment for a drip sheet for covering areas of carpet inboard of the masking tape. 11. A masking tape according to claim 10, having at said other edge a second releasable adhesive on the face which, in use, is uppermost. 12. A masking tape according to claim 11, so arranged that, on a roll, the said releasable adhesive and the said second releasable adhesive do not contact each other. 13. A masking tape in combination with a drip sheet. 14. A combination tape according to claim 13, in which the drip sheet comprises a foldable plastic film material. 15. A combination according to claim 13 or claim 14, in which the drip sheet and masking tape are commonly packed. 16. A combination according to any one of claims 13 to 15, in which the drip sheet has on it adhesive to attach to the masking strip. 17. A method for masking carpet while painting a skirting board, comprising inserting a masking strip according to any one of claims 1 to 12 between carpet and skirting board, with the releasable adhesive edge uppermost and the releasable adhesive facing away from the skirting board, and bending the strip until the releasable adhesive adheres to the carpet while the strip is still between the carpet and the skirting board. 18. A method for masking carpet while painting a skirting board comprising masking the edge of the carpet and attaching a drip sheet to the edge masking. 19. A method according to claim 18, in which the drip sheet is attached adhesively to an edge masking strip after the masking strip has been deployed.

Inventors: JEVONS OLIVER, JEVONS, OLIVER
Applicants: JEVONS OLIVER, JEVTEC LTD, JEVONS, OLIVER, JEVTEC LIMITED
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B05B15
IPC codes: B05B15