Abstract:
A decorative corner moulding and guard for protecting an edge of intersecting surfaces including a pair of elongated segments joined at an angle, each of the joined segments having an inner surface and an outer surface. Each inner surface is substantially flat to contact one of the intersecting surfaces. Each outer surface is contiguous. A decorative pattern is formed on the contiguous outer surface of the segments, such that the pattern wraps around the outer surface corner formed by the segments.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/664,174, filed Mar. 23, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a decorative moulding and guard for protecting the corner of a wall, and more particularly, to a decorative moulding for protecting an outside corner formed by two intersecting walls.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     The use of decorative mouldings, for example, crown, baseboard and chair rails, adds elegance and style to home and commercial construction. The use of decorative mouldings in home and commercial buildings has increased drastically upon the development of polyurethane mouldings.  
         [0006]     There are numerous architectural moulding patterns available in the marketplace, duplicating numerous periods in history. However, these available mouldings have the pattern only on one side, with the opposite side being relatively smooth to enable the installer to get the moulding flush against the wall or surface.  
         [0007]     It is also well known to protect the corner and edges of a room&#39;s wall by attaching a wall guard to the corner of the intersecting walls. However, typically such corner guards are unsightly strips of clear plastic that are adhered to the wall. U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,250 discloses attaching a strip of adhesive to a portion of an edge formed by intersecting walls. Moreover, the available corner guards are smooth and do not have any pattern or architectural detail on the outer surface.  
         [0008]     Thus, there is the need for a decorative corner guard that can wrap around the corner of two intersecting walls and have simple to ornate architectural detail or pattern on the outer surface thereof.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     One aspect of the present invention is to provide a decorative corner guard that can protect the edges of two intersecting painted or wallpapered walls.  
         [0010]     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a decorative corner guard that includes an ornate or simple three-dimensional architectural pattern that wraps and extends around the corner guard to form an uninterrupted pattern.  
         [0011]     Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a custom decorative corner guard that can be matched to existing architectural mouldings.  
         [0012]     According to these and other aspects there is provided a decorative corner guard for protecting an edge of intersecting surfaces including a pair of elongated segments joined at an angle, each of the joined segments having an inner surface and an outer surface. Each inner surface is substantially flat to contact one of the intersecting surfaces. Each outer surface is contiguous. A decorative pattern is formed on the contiguous outer surface of the segments, such that the pattern wraps around the outer surface corner formed by the segments.  
         [0013]     According to these and other aspects there is also provided a method of forming a decorative corner guard, comprising the steps of providing a pair of intersecting segments having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the inner surface is substantially flat; and forming a three-dimensional decorative pattern on the outer surface.  
         [0014]     According to these and other aspects of the present invention there is further provided a method of protecting an edge of intersecting surfaces with a decorative corner guard, including the steps of providing a pair of intersecting segments having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the inner surface is substantially flat. A decorative three-dimensional pattern is formed on the outer surface of the segments such that said pattern is contiguous and wraps around the segments. The inner surface of one of the segments is attached to one of the intersecting surfaces and the inner surface of the other segment is attached to another one of the intersecting surfaces.  
         [0015]     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment relative to the accompanied drawings, in which: 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a decorative corner guard according to the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the decorative corner guard of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0018]     FIGS.  3  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the steps for making a prototype decorative corner guard.  
         [0019]     Fig. 4  is a flow diagram of a first method for producing the decorative corner guard according to the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of another method for producing the decorative corner guard according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the decorative corner guard moulding  10  of the present invention is designed to wrap around and cover the corner  12  of two intersecting walls or surfaces  14 ,  16 . Guard  10  not only protects the corner from everyday damage and tear, but can also act as a transition between two different wall surfaces. For example, wall  14  could be painted and wall  16  covered with wallpaper, or walls  14  and  16  could be painted with different colors. By placing guard  10  on the corner between the two different surfaces/colors, guard  10  provides an aesthetic transfer.  
         [0022]     Guard  10  comes in strips which can be cut to fit a variety of wall heights. As will be described further herein, guard  10  includes a pattern  20 , which extends about the entire outside surface  22  of the guard. Referring to  FIG. 2 , guard  10  includes two intersecting segments  24 ,  26 , which intersect at an angle. Although shown as a 90° angle of intersection, it should be appreciated that segments  24 ,  26  can intersect at a variety of different angles depending on the corner to be protected.  
         [0023]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the inside surface  28  of segments  24 , 26  is relatively flat and smooth, which enables the guard to be mounted flush against corner  12  and walls  14 ,  16 . During installation inside surface  28  can be hot glued, nailed, screwed or attached with liquid nail to adhere it to corner  12 , and walls  14 ,  16 . When installing from floor to ceiling the top of the guard can be hot glued to the corner to hold the strip in place while the glue dries.  
         [0024]     Decorative guard  10  can be made from a variety of materials, for example, resin. The material is impact and weather resistant Moreover, the material can include an insect or animal retardant. The guard can also be produced in limitless colors and stains or painted or stained before or after installation. The material is designed to withstand impact and resist chipping and breakage. Further, the material can be fiber enforced to provide strength. The material is flexible so that it can be installed on curved corners or arches.  
         [0025]     Decorative guard  10  can be made in a plurality of existing patterns. Referring to  FIG. 3 , a prototype corner guard is made for each desired pattern. As will be discussed further herein, this prototype can then be used to produce molds for mass production. In step (a) two strips of identically patterned mouldings  30  are removably attached to wood blocks  32 . The moulding strips  30  should be as flat as possible with a thickness of ½ in or less. A variety of widths of the strips can be used to make the prototype. Strips  30  can be free of a three-dimensional pattern or include an existing moulding pattern. The strips can be glued to the boards and allowed to dry.  
         [0026]     Next, as shown in step (b), the edges of the resin strips and wood block are mitered, for example, to an angle of 45°. Thereafter, the strips are removed from the blocks. Additional blocks can be cut at a corresponding angle and joined together to make a frame. Moulding strips  30  can be attached to the frame and the strips can be glued along the angled edges, as shown in step (c). Blocks can be placed at the end of the resin strips to provide pressure at the seam and facilitate bonding. In step (d) the pattern  20  is made by carving wood putty such that the pattern flows from one resin strip to another. In other words, the pattern on each segment or strip is matched and putty is used to bridge the pattern form one side to another about the intersection point  34 . Once the pattern is carved, it is sanded and the prototype is complete.  
         [0027]     The present invention contemplates a plurality of different methods for producing the decorative corner guard of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 4 , as discussed above a prototype is made for a particular pattern. That prototype can be used to make a flexible mold in step  42 . The material, i.e., resin can be poured into the mold in step  44 . After the material has cured, the length of decorative corner guard can be removed from the mold at  46 . Thereafter, the strip of corner guard can be packaged and/or installed in new or existing structure.  
         [0028]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , another method of producing the decorative corner guard of the present invention is shown. In this method, the decorative guard can be injection molded. Initially, a mold can be made at  52  using the prototype previously made. A steel mold can be made using aluminum cast inserts. In this manner a plurality of different patterns can be built in a single mold. At step  54 , the resin or other material is injected into the mold(s). Upon curing, the corner guards can be removed at  56  and packaged or installed.  
         [0029]     Although not illustrated, the present invention also incorporates another method of producing the decorative corner moulding according to the present invention. An injection molding unit in communication with an extruder can extrude a length of corner guard which is fed beneath an impression wheel. The impression wheel can form pattern  20  on outside surface  22  whilst inner surface  28  of attached segments  28  remains relatively flat and smooth. An impression wheel for each particular pattern can be removably attached to the manufacturing line to enable a plurality of different patterns to be produced.  
         [0030]     Additionally, the present invention contemplates other known moulding production methods. For example, the moulding can be advanced through a coating chamber or hopper having a template conforming to the desired decorative profile established by the prototype moulding. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,794,502 and 6,253,510  
         [0031]     In summary, the corner guard of the present invention can be used as: i) decoration at corners of intersecting walls; ii) as a guard to protect the corners from wear and damage; and iii) as a transition from one wall to the others at intersecting wall edges, such as, from one wall to another, or from wallpaper on one wall to paint on another, or from a faux finish on one wall to a solid color or wallpaper on the other.  
         [0032]     The corner guard of the present invention can also be produced in a non-flexible form using wood, polyester, plaster, and other non-flexible materials.  
         [0033]     It should be appreciated that other conventional molding and extruding techniques to form the decorative guard of the present invention are contemplated.  
         [0034]     Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.