Abstract:
This disclosure relates to building materials, in particular to attachment of insulating board and trims on building surfaces. Various embodiments of attachment clips to attach the trims on their place without nails or screws through the trim are provided. This disclosure provides an economical, fast, easy, and esthetic method to attach building trims.

Description:
PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/851,037, filed on Sep. 11, 2015, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/047,407, filed on Oct. 7, 2013, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,151,061, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/710,234 filed on Oct. 5, 2012 and 61/788,847 filed on Mar. 15, 2013, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to building materials, in particular to attachment of insulating board and trims on building surfaces. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to building materials in particular to attachment of insulating board and trims on building surfaces. 
         [0004]    The selection of building siding materials today is vast. The siding may be wood, vinyl, fiber cement, fiber glass or other materials. Essential today is to have insulation underneath the siding to save in energy costs and to protect the building structures from weather elements. Customarily the insulation layer is attached to the building first and the siding is attached on top of the insulation layer. 
         [0005]    Once the siding elements are attached on top of the insulation boards, the siding still needs to be trimmed. The trims are usually narrower boards and they are used to finalize the look. It is important that the insulation extends under the trim boards also. Lack of insulation, especially around windows allows hot and cold air to leak and may cause high energy costs. 
         [0006]    The usual practice today is that after the insulation boards have been attached to the building sides, the siding boards are attached to the insulation boards and after this smaller board of insulation are attached around the windows, close to the roof, or at the house corners and the look is finalized by attaching trim boards. This is usually done by nailing the trim boards on their place. The trim boards are needed even if no insulation boards are used. 
         [0007]    There is a need for an easy and economic way to attach the trim boards, and this application provides such easy and economic way. Furthermore, there is a need for attaching trim boards without leaving the nail heads visible on the board. Thus there is a need for an easy, fast, cost effective, and esthetic way to attach the trim boards. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    It is an object of this invention to provide an easy, economic and an esthetic way to attach trim boards on the building. 
         [0009]    It is another object of this invention to provide means to attach trim boards on the building without making through holes on the trim boards. 
         [0010]    It is another object of this invention to provide a ready to use combination of trim board and insulation layer to be attached on the building side. 
         [0011]    A further object of this invention is to provide clips for attaching trims on buildings without making through holes on the trims. 
         [0012]    Another object is to provide an adjustable clip for attaching trim boards on building. 
         [0013]    It is an object of this invention to provide an adjustable trim clip for attaching a siding trim on a wall structure, said clip comprising; a first part having a vertical side with a first end and a second end, said first end being attached to a flat bottom and said second end being attached to a horizontal prong extending to same direction as the flat bottom; a second part having a vertical side with a first end and a second end, said first end being attached to a flat bottom and said second end being attached to a horizontal prong extending to same or different direction as the flat bottom; and wherein the flat bottom of the second part slides on top or under the flat bottom of the first part, thereby forming a clip that has an adjustable width. 
         [0014]    It is another object of this invention to provide a method to attach a siding trim on a wall, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing at least one trim clip having two vertical sides connected together with a substantially flat bottom having a width substantially similar to the width of the siding trim, b) attaching the trim clip on the wall structure; c) inserting the siding trim into the clip between the vertical sides; and d) providing a pressure by the vertical sides to the trim such that the trim stays securely between the sides. 
         [0015]    It is yet another embodiment of this invention to provide a trim clip for attaching a siding trim on a wall structure, said clip comprising; two vertical sides connected together with a substantially flat bottom having a width substantially similar to the width of the siding trim, wherein the bottom has attachment holes or a female/male attachment assembly, and wherein the trim clip is attached to the wall structure with fasteners through the attachment holes or with female/male attachment means, and wherein the siding trim is inserted into the clip between the side walls and hold in place by a pressure provided by the side walls. 
         [0016]    A further object of this invention is to provide a method to attach a siding trim on a wall, said method comprising the steps of providing a set of mounting clips having a wall mounting clip and a trim mounting clip, said clips forming a male/female attachment device; attaching said wall mounting clip on the wall and said trim mounting clip on the trim; and attaching the siding trim to the wall by allowing the wall mounting clip and the trim mounting clip form a male/female attachment. 
         [0017]    It another object of this invention to provide a building trim kit, comprising a siding trim having a front side and a back side, said back side having one or more trim mounting clips attached; one or more wall mounting clips to be attached to a wall, and said trim mounting clips and wall mounting clips forming a male/female attachment device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1A  is a horizontal cross section showing a wall and a trim and the mounting clips. 
           [0019]      FIG. 1B  is a horizontal cross section showing the trim attached to the wall with the mounting clips. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim that is attached to an insulation board and the mounting clips. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a horizontal cross section of a house corner, showing the walls, the trims and the mounting clips. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a horizontal cross section showing a trim attached to the wall with the mounting clips. The mounting clips form a male/female attachment device. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim attached to an insulation board attached to the wall with the male/female mounting clips. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a trim board and markings on the trim board to show where the mounting clips locate. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7A  shows an end view of a trim attached on a wall or insulation with a trim clip having rubber lining. 
           [0026]      FIG. 7B  shows a top view of a trim clip with attachment holes. 
           [0027]      FIG. 7C  shows a side view of a trim clip with a squeezing lever. 
           [0028]      FIG. 8A  shows a trim clip for attachment of a trim-insulation combination, where the trim is attached on the insulation with male-female attachments. 
           [0029]      FIG. 8B  shows a trim clip attached to insulation with male female attachment and a trim attached to the trim clip. 
           [0030]      FIG. 9A  shows an end view of an embodiment where the trim has attachment grooves and the trim clip have protrusions fitting into the grooves. 
           [0031]      FIG. 9B  shows the trim attached to the clip and the clip attached to insulation. 
           [0032]      FIG. 9C  shows the trim attached to insulation and the trim-insulation combination attached to the clip with the clip protrusions fitting into the trim grooves. 
           [0033]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  show an embodiment where the clip of  FIGS. 9A-C  is formed of two parts. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]    The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1-10  of the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals. 
         [0035]      FIG. 1A  is a horizontal cross section showing a wall and a trim and the mounting clips. The figure shows a wall  10 , a trim board  20 , wall mount clips  30  and trim mount clips  31 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 1B  is a horizontal cross section showing the trim attached to the wall with the mounting clips. The figure shows a wall  10 , a trim board  20 , wall mount clips  30  and trim mount clips  31 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim that is attached to an insulation board and the mounting clips. The figure shows a wall  10 , a trim  20 , an insulation board  40 , wall mount clips  30  and trim mount clips  31 . The insulation board  40  may be glued on the trim  20 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 3  is a horizontal cross section of a house corner, showing the walls, the trims and the mounting clips. The figure shows the walls  10 , the trims  20 , the wall mount clips  30  and the trim mount clips  31 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 4  is a horizontal cross section showing a trim attached to the wall with the male/female mounting clips. The figure shows the wall  10 , the trim  20 , the wall mount clip  30  and the trim mount clip  31 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 5  is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim attached to an insulation board attached to the wall with the mounting clips. The figure shows a wall  10 , a trim  20 , an insulation board  40 , a wall mount clip  30  and a trim mount clip  31 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a trim board  20  showing markings  22  indicating where the mounting clips are located. 
         [0042]      FIG. 7A  is an end view of another trim clip embodiment. The figure shows a substantially U-formed clip  50 , having two vertical sides  52  and a horizontal bottom  54 . The vertical sides have an inner rubber lining  60 . The figure shows the trim  20  inserted into the clip. The clip  50  is attached to the wall  10  from its bottom  54 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 7B  shows a top view of the clip  50  of  FIG. 7A . The figure shows the vertical sides  52 , the rubber lining  60 , the bottom part  54  and attachment holes  56  in the bottom  54 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 7C  shows another embodiment of the clip  50 . The figure shows the vertical sides  52 , the horizontal bottom  54  and a squeezing lever  58 . The clip is attached to a wall  10 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 8A  shows another embodiment of the clip  50 . The figure shows the vertical sides  52 , the bottom  54 , a trim  20 , an insulation board  40  and mounting clips  30  and  31 . The trim  20  is attached to the insulation board with the mounting clips and the trim/insulation combination is inserted into the clip which is attached to the wall  10 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 8B  shows another embodiment of the clip  50 . The figure shows a trim  20  inserted into the clip. The clip has vertical sides  52  and a bottom  54 . The figure shows an insulation board  40  attached to a wall  10  and the clip attached to the insulation board with wall mounting clip  30  and trim mounting clip  31 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 9  shows yet another embodiment of the clip  50 .  FIGS. 9A-9C  show the trim  20  with grooves  22  on both of its vertical sides  24 . The figures show the clip  50  with vertical sides  52 , bottom  54  and horizontal prong  59 . Attachments  70  are also shown 
         [0048]      FIG. 9B  shows the trim  20  inserted into the clip  50 , the prongs  59  snugly fitting in the grooves  22 . The figures shows the clip attached to insulation board  40  with attachments  70 . 
         [0049]      FIG. 9C  shows the trim  20  attached to the insulation board  40  and the trim/insulation board combination inserted into the clip  50 . The clip is attached to the wall  10  with the attachments  70 . 
         [0050]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  show another embodiment of the trim clip. The clip now consists of two parts. The first part has a bottom  54 , a vertical side  52  and a horizontal prong  59 . The second part has a bottom  84 , a vertical side  82  and a horizontal prong  89 . The bottom portion  84  of the second part slides on top of the bottom portion of the first part  54  whereby the width of the clip is adjustable. 
         [0051]    In  FIG. 10A  the horizontal prong  89  of the second part extends to opposite direction than the bottom part  84 . In  FIG. 10B  the prong  89  and the bottom part  84  extend to same direction. 
         [0052]    In  FIG. 10A  the trim  20  is inserted into the clip and the clip is attached to an insulation foam  40 . In  FIG. 10B  the trim  20  is attached to foam  40  and the trim/foam combination is attached to a wall  10 . 
         [0053]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , one preferred embodiment of this invention provides a pair of mounting clips to attach a trim board to a building wall. The pair of clips consists of a wall mounting clip  30  and a trim mounting clip  31 . The wall mounting clip  30  is attached to the wall  10  and the trim mounting clip  31  is attached to the trim  20 . As is shown in  FIG. 1B  the wall mounting clip  30  forms a female partner and the trim mounting clip  31  forms a male partner. However, one skilled in the art would understand that the invention embraces also an embodiment where the wall mounting clip  30  is a male partner and the trim mounting clip  31  is a female partner. According to this embodiment, by pressing the trim mounting clip  31  toward the wall mounting clip  30 , the male/female design locks the clips together and holds the trim on the wall  10 . It is understood by one skilled in the art, that the way how the female and male partners attach to each other is not a limiting element of this invention, but that any method resulting locking of the female and male partners together is within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the clips may for example be hooks or hooks and loops that lock together. 
         [0054]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , another embodiment of the invention is shown. According to this invention, an insulation board  40  is glued on back of the trim  20 . The trim mounting clips  31  are attached to the insulation board, and the wall mounting clips  30  are attached to the wall  10 . Again by pressing the trim mounting clip  31  toward the wall mounting clip  30 , the male/female design of the clips locks them together and holds the foam and the trim on the wall. 
         [0055]    Referring now to  FIG. 3  it is shown how the trim is easily attached to a corner of the house. In the shown embodiment the trim  20  on the corner is formed by two separate trims, but it is also possible to provide one trim that has a right angle, so that it fits to the corner. The mounting clips are attached close to the corner and further away from the corner. 
         [0056]      FIG. 4  shows one embodiment of the male/female attachment device of the trim mounting clip/wall mounting clip pair. As is shown in the figure the trim mounting clip  31  snugly fits in the wall mounting clip  30 . One skilled in the art would understand, that such male/female pairing can be achieved by various designs. Only illustrative design is shown here. According to a preferred embodiment the dimensions of the mounting clips is such that when the wall clip  30  is attached to the wall  10  and the trim clip  31  to the trim  20  or insulation foam  40 , and the trim wall clip  30  is attached to the wall trim clip  31 , the distance between the wall and the inner side of the trim or the insulation board is less than ¾″, more preferably less than ½″ and most preferably not more than ¼″. 
         [0057]    According to one preferred embodiment, the female and male partners are attached to the trim board, insulation board, or the siding board by screwing mechanism. According to another preferred embodiment the female and male partners are attached by pushing. According to yet another embodiment the attachment system may include tubular elements that are attached to the trim board, insulation board, or the siding board and the female and male partners are attached to these tubular elements. 
         [0058]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an embodiment is shown where an insulation board  40  is glued on the inner side of the trim  20  and the trim/insulation combination is attached on wall  10  with male/female mounting clips  30 ,  31 . 
         [0059]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 , according to one preferred embodiment the location of the mounting clips may be indicated on the top surface of the trim  20 . This would help attaching the trim to the wall with the clips that remain invisible on the back side of the trim. According to a preferred embodiment the attachment with the male/female attachment device is meant to be a permanent attachment. However additional nails or other means for attachment may also be applied. 
         [0060]      FIG. 7A  shows an end view of a trim or a trim with insulation attached with the trim clip. The figure shows the trim clip  50  having a bottom  54  and two vertical sides  52 . In other words, the clip is substantially U-formed. The inner surfaces of the clip sides are covered with rubber pads  60  or similar material. The trim  20  or the trim with insulation foam is inserted in between the two vertical clip sides. The width of the trim clip (i.e. distance between the rubber pads) is such that the trim snugly fits there and the rubber pads keep the trim secured in place. When insulation is attached to the trim (shown in  FIG. 8A ) the clip is attached directly to the wall  10 . When the trim does not include insulation, then the clip is installed on the insulation of the wall structure. In this case the clip may have female/male attachment assembly to attach it to the insulation board ( FIG. 8B ). 
         [0061]      FIG. 7B  shows a top view of a trim clip of this invention. The clip  50  has two vertical sides  52  and a bottom side  54 . The inner surfaces of the clip sides are covered with rubber pads  60  and the trim bottom has one or more attachment holes  56  for penetrating a nail or screw to attach the clip on the wall. The trim or the trim with insulation is then inserted in the clip between the rubber pads which securely hold the trim in its place. 
         [0062]      FIG. 7C  shows another embodiment of the invention. Here the trim clip  50  has two vertical sides  52  and a bottom  54 . A squeezing lever  58  is attached to one or both of the vertical sides  52  of the clip. The trim  20  or the trim with insulation foam is inserted in the clip between the two vertical clip sides. When the lever is pushed down the trim side will bend inward and squeezes the trim inside the clip. The lever  58  may then be attached to the wall by nailing or gluing whereby the squeezing pressure of the clip is maintained and the trim or trim with insulation remains securely in place. 
         [0063]    According to one embodiment of this invention the clip is substantially of the same length as the trim to be attached. According to another embodiment the length of the clip may vary between about an inch to the full length of the trim. When the trim is substantially shorter than the length to the trim multiple clips may be used to attach the trim. 
         [0064]      FIG. 8A  shows a trim clip with a trim  20  that is attached to insulation foam  40 . The attachment may be done by wall clip/trim clip assembly  30 / 31 , but other methods may also be used, such as gluing. The insulation foam has either a male attachment or a female attachment and the trim has the counterpart. Pushing the counterpart attachment together will lock them together and the trim  20  will hold on the insulation foam  40 . The clip is attached directly to the wall and the rim with insulation attached to it is inserted into the trim clip. 
         [0065]      FIG. 8B  shows a trim clip without insulation. In this case the insulation board  40  is attached to the wall  10  and the insulation board has wall clip/trim clip assembly  30 / 31 . The trim clip bottom  54  has the counterpart. Now pushing the counterpart attachment together will lock the parts and the clip will hold on the insulation board. The trim is then inserted into the trim clip. 
         [0066]      FIG. 9A  shows another embodiment of this invention. The vertical sides  52  of the clip  50  have short horizontal prong  59  at their upper end. The trim  20  in this case has been modified so that it has horizontal grooves  22  in its vertical sides  24 . The prongs  59  snugly fit into the grooves  22 , thereby locking the trim into its place. The clip is attached to the wall or to an insulation board with attachments  70 . The attachments may be screws or nails but they may as well be the male/female mounting clips described above. 
         [0067]      FIG. 9B  shows the clip attached to an insulation board  40 . The trim is in its place secured by the prongs  59  which are fitted into the grooves  22 . 
         [0068]      FIG. 9C  shows an embodiment where the trim is attached to an insulation  40  and the insulation/trim combination is inserted into the trim clip. The clip is attached to a wall  10  with attachments  70 . The attachment may be screws or nails but they may also be male/female mounting clips as described above. The trim may be glued onto the foam, but it may also be attached to the foam with male/female mounting clips as described above. 
         [0069]      FIG. 10  shows still another embodiment. In this case the clip  50  is made of two parts. The first part has a long bottom part  54 , a vertical side  52  and a short horizontal prong  59 . The second part has a short bottom part  89 , a vertical side  82  and a horizontal prong  89 . The second part slides on top or under the first part so that the width of the clip is adjustable to trims with different widths. In one embodiment shown in  FIG. 10A  the prong  89  of the second part points to opposite direction than the bottom part  84  and in another embodiment shown in  FIG. 10B  the bottom part  84  and the prong  89  point to same direction. 
         [0070]    In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 10A  the clip is attached to an insulation board or directly to a wall with attachments that may be nails, screws or male/female assembly shown above in this application. The clip may have several holes in the bottom parts  84  and  54  through which the attachments are attached, or the bottom parts may have elongated slots that coincide for attachments. 
         [0071]    According to one preferred embodiment the vertical side  52 / 82  may be 1/16″ to 1″, more preferably the prong is 2/16″ to ½″ and most preferably the prong is about 5/16″. One skilled in the art would understand that the vertical side can be of any length provided that it equals to the thickness of the trim (or trim plus insulation) or is shorter than the thickness. If the length is same as the thickness then the trim does not have the grooves but the horizontal prongs would in that case be on the trim surface. 
         [0072]    According to one preferred embodiment the short bottom part  84  is between 1″ and 3″and most preferably about 1.5″. The long bottom part  54  is preferably 5-10″ and most preferably about 7″. However, one skilled in the art would understand that the length of the bottom parts can be adjusted to be anything and the most preferable measures are such that combination of the short and long bottom part would allow attachment of trims of any available widths. 
         [0073]    According to one preferred embodiment the length of the horizontal prong  59 / 89  of the clip and the depth of the groove  22  in the trim is between 1/8″ and 1″, more preferably between ¼″ and ½″ and most preferably about ⅜″. Again the skilled artisan would understand that the length of the prong and the depth of the groove can be any reasonable measure as long as the prong fits into the groove and holds the trim in its position. 
         [0074]    One skilled in the art would understand that the slidable two part clip shown in  FIGS. 10A  and B may also be used in connection with other embodiments of this invention, such as the clip having rubber liners as shown in  FIG. 7 . Also it is possible to use the male/female attachments in connection with the slidable two part embodiment. 
         [0075]    It is understood by one skilled in the art that the method and devices described in this disclosure would be applicable to trim boards of any material, with or without the insulation layer and to trim boards of any size. 
         [0076]    The trim clips  50  of this invention may be made of any feasible material, including but not limited to aluminum, plastic, fiber glass, 
         [0077]    Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.