Abstract:
A floor coving comprising: a vertical section that in use abuts a vertical structure; a horizontal section that in use abuts a floor extending from said vertical structure; and a concave surface extending between the vertical section and the horizontal section, said concave surface being adapted to support a pliable layer of flooring material in use, wherein an upper surface of said vertical section is declined towards said concave surface.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to floor covings, particularly floor covings suitable for use in special purpose buildings that generally require a clean environment, such as those used for handling, storage or processing of food and pharmaceuticals, or those used in various fields of scientific research. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    In many industries there is a requirement that a very clean working environment be maintained. For example, various industries that involve food preparation or storage may require cleanliness in order to meet health and safety obligations and standards. These industries, which may include for example food suppliers such as bakeries, cafes and butchers, food packagers and food manufacturers will generally require clean flooring and cleaning of that flooring on a daily basis. 
         [0003]    In the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing conditions sometimes require relatively high levels of cleanliness, up to and including cleanroom specifications. Manufacturing of electronics may also see such requirements. High levels of cleanliness are often also required in many fields of scientific research where contaminants must be avoided as much as possible. 
         [0004]    Floor covings have been proposed that provide for a concave face that extends between wall and floor to avoid the generally 90° corner that would otherwise be evident. In the above described industries this may be advantageous as the presence of such coving will remove the risk of food or contaminants collecting in the corner join between the wall and floor. 
         [0005]    In other instances, during construction floors and walls are prepared with a concave surface between them, avoiding the need for separate floor covings to be applied post-construction. 
         [0006]    It is considered that many floor covings that are currently available still have issues in that they may be difficult to apply to existing structures and/or may result in joins that promote the undesirable collection of food or other contaminants. 
         [0007]    The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. This background is provided to illustrate exemplary technology areas where some embodiments of the invention described herein may be practiced. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0008]    One aspect of the present invention provides a floor coving comprising: 
         [0009]    a vertical section that in use abuts a vertical structure; 
         [0010]    a horizontal section that in use abuts a floor extending from said vertical structure; and 
         [0011]    a concave surface extending between the vertical section and the horizontal section, said concave surface being adapted to support a pliable layer of flooring material in use, 
         [0012]    wherein an upper surface of said vertical section is declined towards said concave surface. 
         [0013]    The upper surface of said vertical section may be declined at any suitable angle. This advantageously alleviates potential issues relating to collection and retention of contaminants, for example if the upper surface of the vertical section was a flat horizontal surface. In a preferred embodiment, the upper surface is declined at about 45°, but may also be declined at from 20-70°, or 30-60°, or 40-50°. In other embodiments, the upper surface of the vertical section extends from a distal edge of the vertical section and is contiguous with the concave surface. That is, the upper surface of the vertical section may taper to a fine edge. 
         [0014]    In preferred embodiments a continuous bevel extends between an abutment face of said vertical section that in use abuts said vertical structure and an abutment face of said horizontal section that in use abuts said floor. The continuous bevel may advantageously ensure a good fit of the floor coving when applied to junctures of vertical structures, such as walls and fittings, and the floor. This is particularly so when the juncture is not a right angle corner. 
         [0015]    In even more preferred embodiments, the floor coving comprises a continuous step section cut into said abutment face of said vertical section and extending vertically from said continuous bevel. This advantageously facilitates application of the floor coving to junctures that already have a section of skirting or boxing applied, for example in the event of sandwich panel installation. That is, the continuous step section of the floor coving accommodates the existing skirting or boxing ensuring a good fit of the floor coving on the existing juncture and skirting or boxing. 
         [0016]    To that end, in alternative embodiments, the invention provides a floor coving comprising: 
         [0017]    a vertical section that in use abuts a vertical structure; 
         [0018]    a horizontal section that in use abuts a floor extending from said vertical structure; and 
         [0019]    a concave surface extending between the vertical section and the horizontal section, said concave surface being adapted to support a pliable layer of flooring material in use, 
         [0020]    wherein a continuous bevel extends between an abutment face of said vertical section that in use abuts said vertical structure and an abutment face of said horizontal section that in use abuts said floor, 
         [0021]    and wherein a continuous step section is cut into said abutment face of said vertical section and extends vertically from said continuous bevel. 
         [0022]    In certain embodiments, the vertical section comprises a substantially planar upper portion comprising a planar surface extending from said upper surface of said vertical section, said planar surface of said planar upper portion being contiguous with said concave surface. In other embodiments, the vertical section and horizontal section are substantially equal in length and the concave surface is substantially uniform extending along the length of both of the vertical and horizontal sections. 
         [0023]    In certain embodiments, the concave surface tapers to an edge of said horizontal section. That is, there is little or no step at the juncture of the horizontal section and the floor. This may advantageously ensure that flooring material applied over the horizontal section in use does not display a raised ridge where the flooring material overlays the juncture of the horizontal section and the underlying floor. In certain embodiments, for example, the concave surface tapers to about 1 mm or less along said edge of the horizontal section. 
         [0024]    The height of the vertical section and depth of the horizontal section are not particularly limited. Generally, the height of the vertical section will be at least equal to the depth of the horizontal section. In certain embodiments, the ratio of height of said vertical section to depth of said horizontal section is from 1:1 to 2:1. For example, the height of the vertical section may be from 50 to 150 mm and the depth of the horizontal section may be from 25 to 75 mm, although it will be appreciated that the invention is not so limited. 
         [0025]    In certain embodiments, one or both of said vertical section and said horizontal section comprises one or more grooves or shallow incisions. It is envisaged that in certain situations this may assist in the application of the floor coving. It is also thought that such grooves or shallow incisions may be included in place of any continuous bevel, as described above. Although, floor coving including both features is considered within the ambit of the present invention. 
         [0026]    The floor coving may be applied in any suitable manner. For example, adhesive may be applied to the floor coving prior to application of the floor coving to the vertical structure and floor. Fasteners, such as screws or rivets are not preferred as these would provide areas for collection of contaminants and, as such, if these fasteners were used one would also need to fill any fastening points to remove this potential issue. In more preferred embodiments, one or both of said vertical section and said horizontal section comprises a longitudinally extending strip of releasable paper that when removed exposes a band of contact adhesive adapted to adhere said vertical section and said horizontal section to said vertical structure and said floor respectively. 
         [0027]    The floor coving may be manufactured by any suitable method. For example, this may be injection moulded or produced through a forming process. Preferably, the floor coving is constituted by a unitary extrusion of resilient synthetic material. In that regard, the floor coving may be extruded and cut into lengths appropriate to the building industry of a particular jurisdiction. For example, the floor coving may be cut to lengths of from 3 to 6 m, or any other length deems appropriate for a particular application. 
         [0028]    Although the floor coving may be formed from any suitable material, including but not limited to metals or metal alloys, as noted above the floor coving is preferably extruded from a resilient synthetic material. Preferably, the resilient synthetic material is flexible and has a Shore A Hardness of from 80-85. Preferably, the resilient synthetic material is resistant to thermal degradation over a relatively wide operating range. For example, the floor coving may be required in refrigerated conditions and elevated processing temperatures. As such, the resilient synthetic material preferably has resistance to thermal degradation over a range of from −40 to 120° C. The resilient synthetic material forming the floor coving, according to this embodiment, is preferably selected from synthetic rubbers and vinyl polymers. Other suitable polymeric materials may also be employed. In particular embodiments, the resilient synthetic material is neoprene or polyvinyl chloride. 
         [0029]    In certain applications, it is envisaged that it may be desirable to include additives in the resilient synthetic material forming the floor coving. For example, the resilient synthetic material may contain an additive selected from a fungicide, a bactericide, and antimicrobial and a pigment or a combination thereof. Specific examples of antimicrobials and fungicides include members of the VINYZENE™ range supplied by The Dow Chemical Company. Such additives may be included in amounts of, for example, up to about 5 wt. %. Pigments may be included to impart a desired colour to the floor coving, removing the need for subsequent painting. 
         [0030]    According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of flooring a room comprising: 
         [0031]    applying floor coving according to any one of the preceding claims to junctures between vertical structures and a floor in said room, such that vertical sections of said floor coving abut said vertical structures and horizontal sections of said floor coving abut said floor; and 
         [0032]    laying a flooring material on said floor, 
         [0033]    wherein edges of said flooring material extend over said horizontal sections of said floor coving and at least part way up said vertical sections of said floor coving, conforming to contours of the concave surface of said floor coving. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS 
         [0034]    To further clarify various aspects of some embodiments of the present invention, a more detailed description of the invention will be rendered with references to the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated that these drawings depict certain embodiments of the invention and should therefore not to be considered limiting on its scope. The invention will now be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0035]      FIG. 1  illustrates a floor coving of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  illustrates an expanded plan view of a floor coving of an embodiment of the invention, including contact adhesive strips. 
           [0037]      FIG. 3  illustrates a floor coving of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  illustrates a floor coving of a further embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0039]    Hereinafter, this specification will describe the present invention according to the preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments of the invention is merely to facilitate discussion of the present invention and it is envisioned without departing from the scope of the appended claims. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a floor coving  10  is illustrated. The floor coving  10  includes a vertical section  11  and a horizontal section  12  disposed at about 90° to one another. The vertical section  11  includes an upper surface  13  that declines at 45° towards a concave surface  14  that extends between the vertical section  11  and the horizontal section  12 . 
         [0041]    The dimensions of the vertical section  11 , horizontal section  12  and concave surface  14  may be somewhat dependent on the application intended for the floor coving  10 . For example, as noted above, the height of the vertical section  11  may be from 50 to 150 mm and the depth of the horizontal section  12  may be from 25 to 75 mm. An exemplary radius for the concave surface  14  is about 50 mm, although the radius of the concave surface  14  may be any dimension, for example from 40-60 mm, or 45-55 mm. 
         [0042]    The concave surface  14  tapers towards an edge  16  of the horizontal section  12 . Generally, the edge  16  will taper to 1 mm or less, ensuring flooring material that is overlaid does not include a ridge caused by the underlying edge  16 . 
         [0043]    An expanded view of a floor coving  20  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . Again, the floor coving  20  includes a vertical section  21 , a horizontal section  22  and an upper surface  23  to the vertical section  21 . A bevel  25  is located between the vertical section  21  and the horizontal section  22 . An abutment face  26  of the vertical section  21  and an abutment face  27  of the horizontal section  22  include contact adhesive  28  underlying a strip of releasable paper  29 . On removal of the strips of releasable paper  29 , the contact adhesive  28  on the abutment faces  26 ,  27  of the vertical section  21  and horizontal section  22  may be applied to a vertical structure and floor respectively. 
         [0044]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example of floor coving  30  of an embodiment of the invention in situ. As illustrated, an abutment face  36  of a vertical section  31  of the floor coving  30  is adhered to a vertical structure  38 , while an abutment face  37  of a horizontal section  32  is adhered to a floor  39 . Pliable flooring material  33  overlays the horizontal section  32 , extends over much of the concave surface  34  an up the vertical section  31 . 
         [0045]    In this embodiment of the floor coving  30 , the previously described bevel is replaced by grooves  35 . The grooves  35  provide some give in the floor coving  30  in the event the fit of the floor coving  30  relative to the vertical structure  38  and the floor  39  requires some compression of the floor coving  30 . For example, the grooves  35  may be useful if the vertical structure  38  does not meet the floor  39  at a right angle. 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , an alternative embodiment of a floor coving  40  is illustrated. In this embodiment, again, a vertical section  41  and horizontal section  42  are provided, as is a concave surface  44  and a bevel  45 . In this embodiment, a step  48  is cut away from an abutment face  46  of the vertical section  41 . As discussed above, this provides advantages in situations where the floor coving  40  is to be applied to a vertical structure that includes skirting or boxing applied to it. That is, the step  48  may advantageously accommodate the skirting or boxing ensuring a suitable fit of the abutment face  46  with the vertical structure to which it is applied. As illustrated, the vertical section  41  of the floor coving  40  includes a declined surface  43 , although it is envisaged that the inclusion of the step  48  will provide advantages to the floor coving  40  irrespective of the inclusion of the declined surface  43 . That is, embodiments of the invention that include the step  48  may be provided with a flat surface as opposed to the declined surface  43  illustrated while still providing advantages where skirting or boxing is applied in situ. 
         [0047]    Unless the context requires otherwise or specifically stated to the contrary, integers, steps or elements of the invention recited herein as singular integers, steps or elements clearly encompass both singular and plural forms of the recited integers, steps or elements. 
         [0048]    Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated step or element or integer or group of steps or elements or integers, but not the exclusion of any other step or element or integer or group of steps, elements or integers. Thus, in the context of this specification, the term “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense and thus should be understood as meaning “including principally, but not necessarily solely”. 
         [0049]    It will be appreciated that the foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons of skill in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth.