Abstract:
An elevator cover assembly having a cover pad and a trim with openings for receiving a hanging knob inside the elevator is disclosed. The trim is a separate piece attached to the elevator cover after openings are made in the trim. The trim slits formed therein are sized and positioned to receive hanging knobs. The trim is made of a flexible material that can be deformed to broaden the openings to more easily position the openings over the knobs.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates generally to a cover assembly for hanging against a surface to protect the surface, such as in an elevator to protect the walls of the elevator. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Elevator pads are commonly used in elevators to protect the interior surfaces from scratching or other damage. The elevator pads can be attached to the interior walls of the elevator when a large or potentially damaging cargo is to be carried by the elevator, such as when a tenant in an apartment building moves in or out. Conventionally these elevator pads are clipped to the walls of the elevator or otherwise attached by a metal hanger or by another type of hardware. The pads include holes in the pad itself arranged at certain intervals along a top edge of the pad to attach to a peg or post in the elevator. However, this arrangement has significant disadvantages. For example, the spacing of the holes may not match with the spacing of the pegs in a given elevator installation. Making additional holes or other accommodations can be a costly process and may compromise the strength of the pad. Some elevator pads have buttonholes with stitching around the interior edges, which are time-consuming and expensive to manufacture. These configurations are not easily modifiable and may not fit a given installation of pegs. Making adjustments to the pegs themselves in the elevator is even more costly and difficult. Also, placing the holes in the pad itself may weaken the pad or cause it to tear at any spacing interval. Another problem is accommodating an installation with an irregular ceiling profile. Pads are generally produced with a straight top edge leaving the proprietor with the choice of modifying the pad somehow to accommodate the ceiling, or leaving a portion of the ceiling uncovered by the pad. Neither option is ideal. There is a need in the art for a more simple, more easily deployed elevator pad. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present disclosure is generally directed to an elevator protection assembly including a substantially flat protective cover sufficiently thick and sturdy to protect an interior surface of an elevator, and a trim formed separately from the cover and attached to an edge of the cover. The trim has a first edge attached to an upper edge of the cover and a second edge extending beyond the upper edge of the cover. The assembly also includes a plurality of openings formed in the trim and configured to receive projections such as hooks extending from within elevator to hang the cover assembly within the elevator. The second edge of the trim extends beyond the edge of the cover a sufficient distance that the openings are positioned on the trim beyond the edge of the cover. 
         [0004]    In some embodiments, the projection (or hook) includes a base, a stem protruding from the base, and a head coupled to the outer end of the stem. The base provides a stable support for the stem and is secured to a wall with a quick-curing permanent adhesive. The head is preferably slightly larger than the stem to maintain the elevator cover assembly on the projection. 
         [0005]    In still other embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to a method of forming an elevator cover assembly. The method includes forming an elevator cover pad from a generally flat, protective sheet of material having sufficient resiliency and durability to protect an elevator wall from a predetermined amount of impact or abrasion. Trim is attached to an edge of the cover pad. Before attachment to the cover, the trim is formed separate from the cover from a woven synthetic material and is sized and positioned to support the cover pad in a desired orientation within the elevator. The method also includes forming a plurality of openings in the trim oriented to correspond to a plurality of projections within the elevator. 
         [0006]    The cover may have an irregular profile, including one or more cover regions having a stepped or angled profile. The method further includes attaching the trim in segments to the cover regions at lengths corresponding to the length of the cover regions. 
         [0007]    In yet other embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to a knob for use with an elevator wall cover. The knob has a base, a projection extending from the base a sufficient distance to provide support for the elevator wall cover, and an attachment mechanism coupled to the base. The attachment mechanism is configured to secure the base to an elevator wall to be protected by the elevator pad. The knob also includes a head at the outer end of the projection configured to hold the elevator cover on the knob. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Preferred and alternative examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic isometric depiction of a cover, trim, and knobs according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the cover assembly and a knob according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the cover assembly of  FIG. 2  according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a schematic, isometric, exploded view of the elevator cover assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  illustrates various knob configurations according to the present disclosure. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates cover assemblies according to embodiments of the present disclosure including a flat, stepped, and angled profile. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates an elevator cover assembly  100  having a cover  110  and a trim  120 . The cover  110  is a sheet of material with sufficient resiliency and padding to protect a surface, such as an interior surface of an elevator. The embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are specifically tailored to protect interior elevator walls. The cover  110  is preferably made of flexible fabric with padding sewn into the interior as is standard in the industry. The cover  110  can include rigid panels joined together with flexible fabric sections. The cover  110  is generally flexible enough to fit through the elevator door. The trim  120  is a strip of material positioned at an edge of the cover  110 . The trim  120  is attached to the cover  110  by stitching or other suitable attachment means. The trim  120  has a plurality of openings  122  formed in the trim  120 . In some embodiments, the trim  120  is made of a flexible material, such as a woven synthetic material like nylon, that is attached to the edge of the cover  110  with a portion of the trim  120  extending beyond the edge of the cover  110 . 
         [0016]    The trim  120  is formed as a separate piece from the cover  110  and is later attached to the cover  110 . The trim  120  can be made in large quantities separate from the cover and can be cut to any length to fit any size of cover. The openings  122  can easily be formed in the trim  120  before the trim  120  is attached to the cover  110 . In some embodiments the openings  122  are slits formed by passing a heated blade through the trim  120  at desired intervals. The heated blade also melt-fuses the cut synthetic material ends to bond them together such that they do not fray or tear. The openings  122  can also be holes, key-hole openings (e.g. combination slit and hole), crescent shape openings, etc. In other embodiments, the trim  120  can be initially formed to include the openings, such as by including a lower scalloped or jagged edge that will engage a knob to keep the cover in place. 
         [0017]    The apparatus and methods of production of the present invention are very economical compared to conventional methods, such as cutting and sewing buttonholes in the cover itself. In some embodiments of the present invention, the trim  120  can be passed under a wheel having appropriately shaped blades at desired intervals such that the openings  122  are formed by simply moving the trim web under the blade wheel. As mentioned above, the blades can be heated to fuse the edges of the openings in the synthetic material that forms the trim to prevent fraying or tearing. In other embodiments the openings  122  can be formed using a radio frequency weld, which is also very cost-effective compared to conventional techniques. 
         [0018]    The flexible nature of the trim  120  allows the trim  120  to be deformed to spread the openings  122  to insert the knob  130  into the slits. The spacing of the openings  122  is designed to correspond to the spacing of the knobs  130  for hanging. For example, the knobs  130  can be positioned in the interior of an elevator near the top of the walls. In preferred embodiments, the trim material is chosen such that it can withstand openings separated by very short intervals, such as approximately one inch between openings. Likely this spacing is more frequent than the knobs will be, but the high frequency makes the assembly able to fit a variety of knob configurations. 
         [0019]    In some embodiments, the trim  120  is oriented generally horizontally and is positioned at a top of the cover  110 . In other embodiments the trim  120  can be positioned vertically along a side edge of the cover  110 . The cover assembly  100  can have multiple trims along multiple edges of the cover  110 . For example, the cover  110  can have a trim  120  at the right and left-hand side of the cover  110  to engage with knobs  130  aligned vertically at a deployment site, or the cover  110  can have a trim  120  at all four edges of the cover  110 . In still further embodiments, the trim  120  is positioned at an interior position on the cover  110  to provide still further engagement points. The number, spacing, and layout of the knobs  130  can vary as needed. For example, for embodiments in which the cover assembly  100  is to be used with very heavy-duty equipment, where the cover  110  itself is relatively heavy, the trim  120  and corresponding knobs  130  can be more numerous and placed closer together. In other circumstances in which the cover  110  is relatively light, the openings  122  and corresponding knobs  130  can be spaced further apart. The size of the individual openings  122  can also vary according to expected load. Another variable that may influence the size of the openings  122  is the aesthetic placement of the knobs  130  in the elevator or other location. For example, the openings  122  and knobs  130  may be aligned linearly at approximately the same level such that the load of the cover  100  when resting on the knobs  130  is distributed evenly on the openings  122 . The openings  122  and knobs  130 , however, may not always be aligned in a linear array, perhaps for functional or aesthetic reasons. The pattern of the openings  122  can match the pattern of the knobs  130 . With enough slits in the trim, the alignment to various knobs that may not have the exact spacing of the slits can still be accommodated. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the elevator cover assembly  100  with a single knob  130  coupled to the trim  120  according to embodiments of the present invention. The cover  110  has a herringbone stitching pattern  112  designed to improve padding capabilities. The trim  120  is a separate piece of material from the cover  110  that is then stitched to the cover  110  with two linear stitches  126 . The trim  120  has a first side  124   a,  an upper edge  125  of the trim  120 , and a second side  124   b  (on reverse side of trim  120 ; not visible in  FIG. 2 ) opposite the first side  124   a.  The trim  120  includes multiple openings  122  spaced throughout the trim  120 . The openings  122  can be made using a heated blade that melts the edges of the openings  122  to prevent fraying. Alternatively, the slits can be cut or otherwise formed in the trim  120  and then heated later to seal the edges against fraying. Since the trim  120  is a separate piece of material it can be made of a different material than the cover  110 , which may not withstand so many slits at such small intervals without expensive reinforcement and or expensive cuts to make the openings. A conventional elevator pad is designed to withstand impacts, but not necessarily to support its own weight when perforated by several slits at small intervals. This drawback is avoided by the assembly  100  of the present disclosure. 
         [0021]    A knob  130  is shown protruding through one of the openings  122 . The trim  120  may have more openings  122  than the expected number of knobs  130  to provide compatibility with a number of different knob layouts. The material of the trim  120  and the cover  110  can be such that having extra openings  122  does not substantially weaken the cover assembly  100  and reduces the cost of manufacture by obviating the need to match certain slit configurations with various knob configurations. A building proprietor or service contractor therefore need not know the exact layout of the knobs in the elevator and potentially select a cover that does not fit the knobs. The high number and small interval of the slits provides a one-size-fits-all approach that reduces costs of manufacture and ownership. 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the assembly  100  of  FIG. 2  according to embodiments of the present disclosure. From this vantage point the upper edge  114  of the cover  110  is visible. The openings  122  in this embodiment does not pass through any portion of the cover  110 ; rather, they are confined to the material of the trim  120 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a schematic, isometric, exploded view of an alternate embodiment of an elevator cover assembly  200 . The assembly  200  includes a cover  100  having an edge  114  similar to previous embodiments. The edge  114  can be the top, bottom, or side edge of the cover  110 . The assembly includes a trim  220  having a first side  224   a,  a second side  224   b,  and a fold  225  between the two sides. The first side  224   a  has a first trim edge  232   a,  and the second side has a second trim edge  232   b.  The first trim edge  232   a,  cover edge  114 , and second trim edge  232   b  are stitched together to join the trim  220  to the cover  110 . The trim  220  therefore extends beyond the cover edge  114  by a certain distance. The assembly also includes slits  222  formed in this portion of the trim  220  for coupling with a knob  130  via the slits  222  as shown by arrow A. The slits  222  can pass through one side of the folded trim  220  or through both sides of the folded trim  220  as shown in  FIG. 4 . In some embodiments, the slits do not pass through the cover  110 . The amount of trim  220  protruding beyond the cover edge  114  depends on the size and layout of the slits  222 . In other embodiments the cover edge  114  can extend all the way to the fold  225 , and the slits  222  can be formed in the trim  220  as well as through the cover  110 . In still further embodiments, the trim  220  can be a single sheet of material stitched to the cover  110  on one side, having no fold, and having slits  222  that engage the knobs  130 . The trim  220  can be a long, continuous strip of material as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , or it can be smaller, discrete fabric sections having slits  222  configured to engage knobs  130  to hold the cover assembly  200  in place. In still further embodiments, the slits  222  can be formed directly into the cover  110  and the trim  220  can be omitted partially or entirely. 
         [0024]      FIG. 5  shows several knob configurations for use with the elevator cover assemblies disclosed herein. The knob  130   a  has a base  134 , a stem  136 , and a head  138  at an end of the stem  136 . The head  138  can be slightly larger than the stem  136  to prevent the cover assembly  100  from falling off the knob  130 . Base  134  preferably includes an quick-cure adhesive  135  on the backside thereof for easy application to a wall, including glass. The adhesive can be a high-strength adhesive such as a 3M&#39;s VHB 4941 acrylic adhesive tape that provides excellent adhesion to a broad range of high and medium surface energy substrates including metals, glass, and a wide variety of plastics and plasticized vinyl, even with mismatched substrates. The preferred adhesive tapes have very high tensile strength having a normal tensile strength of between 480-620 kPa, a 90° peel adhesion strength of between 245-385 N/100 mm, and a dynamic overlap sheer strength of between 450-620 kPa. Use of an adhesive allows the knob to be attached to the wall without intrusive and expensive penetration of the wall such as by drilling or puncturing. In other embodiments, the base  134  includes another attachment mechanism, such as a threaded fastener or the like. Other than the adhesive layer, the knob  130   a  can be a unitary piece of material or can be a base  134  welded to a stem  136  and a head  138  welded to the stem  136 . It may be formed by machining or otherwise forming from a single piece of material, preferably metal. 
         [0025]    Another embodiment is knob  130   b,  which has a base  134  and an upwardly angled stem  140 . The upward slope keeps the cover assembly  100  from slipping off the knob  130   b  and therefore obviates the need for a head. The slope and length of the knob  130   b  can vary as needed for a particular installation. Another embodiment is knob  130   c,  which includes a base  134 , a horizontally extending stem portion  142 , and an upwardly extending portion  144  that functions similarly to the head  138  to prevent the cover assembly  100  from slipping off the knob  130   c.  In any of these embodiments, the base  134  can be omitted in favor of a simple stem and head combination extending from the wall of the elevator. In some embodiments, the knob can include a base having multiple projections extending therefrom. Virtually any configuration of knob can be used with the elevator cover assembly of the present disclosure. 
         [0026]      FIG. 6  shows three cover pad assemblies according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The first assembly  300  includes a flat cover  302  and a linear trim  304 . This type of assembly will fit most elevator installations with flat ceilings without complex light fixtures that impede the cover in some way. The cover  302  can include cut outs to accommodate emergency lights or other ceiling structures. As described above, the cover  302  and trim  304  are separate and are joined by stitching, welding, fusing, or another suitable material joining technique. 
         [0027]    The second assembly  310  includes a cover  312  having a stepped top. A first portion  313   a  is longer than a second portion  313   b.  The assembly  310  includes a two-part trim with a first trim portion  314   a  and a second trim portion  314   b  attached to the first portion  313   a  and second portion  313   b,  respectively. The cover can have any number of different regions at different elevations to accommodate virtually any ceiling profile. The trim portions  314   a,    314   b  can be separate strips each attached to the corresponding region of the cover independently. Constructing the separate trim strips is a simple matter of cutting the strip material to match the width of the portion to which it corresponds. Attaching the separate trim portions to the cover is also a simple matter, requiring only that the trim be sewn to the right cover region. This construction is much simpler and less expensive to manufacture than other designs in which the attachment slits are constructed directly into the cover itself with no separate material for the trim. 
         [0028]    The third assembly  320  includes a cover  322  having a first region  323   a  that is flat and a second region  323   b  that is angled. The trim includes corresponding regions  324   a  and  324   b.  The angle of the second region  323   b  and trim portion  324   b  can take any appropriate angle as needed for a given elevator assembly. Other profile shapes are also possible, including curved and jagged profiles. By virtue of the trim being a separate material from the cover, the trim assemblies shown in  FIG. 6  are much more easily constructed, yet are more durable than conventional cover assemblies. 
         [0029]    While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiments. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.