Abstract:
An integrated conduit and molding mounting system for use at the intersection of a wall and ceiling is disclosed. The system comprises a conduit receiver and a conduit cover bonded to a molding piece. After installation of the conduit receiver at the wall and ceiling joint, the conduit cover and molding is snapped into place over the conduit receiver. The system also comprises a corner piece to eliminate mitering the joints at a corner and a seam cover to be mounted at the intersection of two straight runs.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to the field of building construction. In particular it is directed to the field of moldings or trim work used at the top of walls and ceilings. The present invention is also directed to the field of installing cables in buildings for various purposes such as telephone cables, electrical wiring cables, fiber optic cables, cable or satellite television cables and other similar cables and wire. 
     In general, the utility company provides a main line for service into the building. In an apartment or office complex, the service lines to the individual units must be run separately into the individual units. Consequently, the lines are run through various parts of the buildings. Generally, the cables run through the interior hallways in conduits located in the corner where the side walls meet the ceilings. The conduit covers must be easily removable to service, upgrade and to splice the cables when each customer calls for service. 
     The presently available conduits for use in these types of buildings generally are mounted at the corner where the walls intersect the ceiling. The available conduits generally are fabricated from plastic with a triangular cross-section. Thus, the currently available conduits provide a plain and inexpensive looking appearance. This inexpensive looking appearance creates a problem in up-scale residences and office buildings because it detracts from the ambiance of the building. In such up-scale buildings, the occupants expect high quality appearing moldings at the corners of walls and ceilings. However, placing a conventional corner molding over the available conduits cannot be easily implemented. 
     A primary object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problem. The present invention, as explained in detail below, solves this problem by providing a novel corner conduit and molding combination for installing wires and cables therein. The interchangeable architectural face plate also allows for ease of installation for the typical homeowner. Pre-finished moldings can be installed without nails or putty eliminating the need to nail through the pre-finished face plate. The system eliminates mitering, coping and provides an overlapping seam cover to allow for expansion and contraction. The product is also UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring. 
     There are many techniques currently used for installing and mounting various types of decorative molding at the intersection of walls and ceilings. Most of the techniques are complicated and difficult to accomplish especially at corners and intersections of molding pieces. In addition to these issues, it has been contemplated that moldings can be also utilized to contain a conduit for the installation of various types of cables and wires. In this way, unsightly cables and wires can be easily installed or replaced but also are hidden from view. 
     Another issue with available extrusion and injection molding manufacturing processes, (due to different screw temperature settings for both processes) is that it will always yield a different color and gloss between the extruded lineal and the injection molded fittings. An object of the present invention is create a molding system whereby the color and gloss of the various components can be matched. 
     The primary object of the present invention is to solve the problems with the presently available moldings by providing a simple to install system to which a variety of molding designs can be attached. In addition, the present invention incorporates a conduit for the installation of various types of cables. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A crown molding conduit system for installation at the intersection of a wall and ceiling comprising a conduit receiver comprising two side surfaces generally oriented perpendicular to each other, a back surface and semi-circular receiving ends disposed near the ends of the side surfaces whereby the side surfaces and back surface form an enclosure for receipt of cables or conduits; a conduit cover comprising a central panel with longitudinal serrated grooves on one side thereof, connecting units adapted to removeably snap into the semi-circular receiving ends, a longitudinal projection with serrated groves on its vertical surfaces and first projections on the end thereof and second projections on the end of the conduit cover; and a molding fixed to the conduit cover by adhesive placed in the serrated grooves and by the first projections and second projections digging into the surface of the molding wherein the conduit cover and molding are removeably attached to the conduit cover by snapping the connecting units into the semi-circular receiving ends. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of the present invention 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded side view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an assembled side view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a part of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a partially exploded perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is an assembled perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a partially exploded view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is an assembled perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the present invention as installed. 
         FIG. 10  is an assembled perspective view of the present invention as installed. 
         FIG. 11  is a view of a partial assembly view of the present invention at the intersection of two walls. 
         FIG. 12  is a front view of a portion of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a rear view of a portion of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will now be described in terms of the presently preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
     The corner conduit  10  is shown in the drawings. The corner conduit  10  comprises a generally hollow longitudinally extending cable receiver  12 , a longitudinally extending conduit cover  14  and a molding  16 . The molding  16  comprises a front ornamental surface design  17 . The ornamental surface design  17  shown in the appended drawings is merely one example of the ornamental surface features of the molding  16  that could be used as an interchangeable face plate on the cable receiver  12 . It is presently contemplated that the molding  16  may be fabricated from MDF, wood, PVC, foam PVC, polyurethane, vinyl, styrofoam (also called expanded polystyrene) or nylon although other materials may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 
     The corner conduit  10  will be UL® rated and may be used as a path for electrical wiring. 
     The cable receiver  12  is illustrated in cross-section in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The cable receiver  12  comprises two side panels  18  and  20 , generally oriented perpendicular to each other, with an integral back panel  22 . The cable receiver  12  forms a trough where cables can be placed. The cable receiver  12  is adapted to be installed in a corner where a side wall meets a ceiling with the side panel  20  adjacent to the ceiling and the side panel  18  adjacent to the side wall. The cable receiver  12  is generally attached to the wall and ceiling by means of conventional fastening techniques, such as screws, well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The cable receiver  12  further comprises semi-circular open receiving ends  24  and  25 . First receiving end  25  comprises projections  28  and  29 . Second receiving end  24  comprises projections  26  and  27 . 
     The conduit cover  14  will now be described in detail. The conduit cover  14  is adapted to securely snap into the cable receiver  12  as shown in the assembled view of  FIG. 3 . The conduit cover  14  comprises a central panel  30 , a first open circular connecting unit  31  and a second open circular connecting unit  32 . 
     The central panel  30  is flat with a generally rectangular longitudinal projection  33 . The central panel  30  comprises a plurality of longitudinal serrated grooves  34 . The rectangular projection  33  also comprises longitudinal grooves  34  on its vertical outside surface  3 . The first connecting unit  31  extends from the central panel  30  on the opposite to the second connecting unit  32 . The first connecting unit  31  is adapted to be received in first receiving end  25  on the side panel  20  and the second connecting unit  32  is adapted to be received in the second receiving end  24 . The central panel  30  further comprises two end projections  38  &amp;  40 . 
     The generally rectangular projection  33  on central panel  30  is adapted to be received into a mating opening  36  on molding  16 . The conduit cover  14  further comprises two end projections  38  and  40  that are adapted to be received in mating openings  35  and  37  on molding  16 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the molding  16  is joined to the conduit cover  14 . Prior to joining the molding  16  to the conduit cover  14 , a layer of adhesive is placed over the longitudinal grooves  34  on the central panel  30  and the vertical surface of the generally rectangular projections  33 . The presently preferred type of adhesive is thermoplastic amorphous polypropylene although other types of similar adhesives may be used without departing from the scope of the patent invention. The longitudinal grooves  34  create more surface area for the adhesive layer to bond securely and prevent delamination of the adhesive bond due to shearing. After the adhesive layer is placed on the conduit cover  14 , the conduit cover  14  is secured to the molding  16  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The small tips on the end of projections  38 ,  40  and  33  dig into the molding  16  and help create a secure attachment between the conduit cover  14  and the molding  16 . 
     The cable conduit  12  receives the unitary conduit cover  14  and molding  16  after bonding as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The first and second connecting open units  31  and  32  are received in the openings  24  and  25  on the cable conduit  12 . The diameter of the openings  24  and  25  are such that the first and second open connecting units  31  and  32  are slightly displaced inward at the openings on the ends thereof. After passing through the openings  24  and  25 , the connecting units  31  and  32  then expand outward and securely attach to the conduit receiver  12 . When assembled as shown in  FIG. 3 , the projection  28  forms a trough which receives the cables or wires to keep them from spilling out if the cover is removed. 
     The final assembly of the conduit receiver  12 , conduit cover  14  and molding  16  is placed at the intersection of a wall and ceiling. The conduit receiver  12  is first affixed to the wall and ceiling with conventional fasteners such as screws and the cables are placed therein. The bonded molding  16  and conduit cover  14  is then snapped in place as described above and can also be removed in similar fashion. 
     The present invention is adapted to be installed in a corner with the use of a corner molding  40 . The corner molding  40  is generally formed in a right angle. On the rear of each side of the corner molding is a portion of the conduit cover  14  as shown and described above. In the case of the corner molding  40 , the conduit cover  14  is mounted to a block  42  which is adapted to be bonded with adhesive onto the contour of the back side of the molding piece  40 . This creates a smooth fit with the strait pieces of molding near to the corner and the electrical cables can easily be run past the corner. The corner molding piece  40  makes a smooth transition between two straight runs of conduit as shown in  FIG. 8  The corner molding  40  thus eliminates any miter cuts that would ordinarily be required at a corner for conventional molding. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a molding seam covering piece  44 . The seam covering piece  44  is used where more than one piece of conduit is required on a long straight wall. The seam molding piece  44  is constructed in similar fashion to the corner molding piece  40  in that a portion of the conduit cover  14  is bonded to a block  46  that is adapted to fit into the contour of the back side of the seam molding piece  44 . The seam molding piece  44  snaps into the conduit receiver  12  so that a seam in the molding is not visible. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.