Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: RESIN BASEBOARDS
FIELD OF THE INVEI~Tf ION
The present invention relates to a resin material
baseboard having an internal hollow.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to give a room a finished appearance it is
often completed with a baseboard located at floor level and
rising to a height of several inches at the base of the
room wall. Conventional baseboards have a wooden
construction and are typically installed by a carpenter.
There are drawbacks with conventional wooden
baseboards. Firstly, carpenters are expensive and
substantial care must be taken to ensure that the paint
does not get onto the flooring beneath the baseboard.
Furthermore, the baseboard itself is subject to damage and
paint chipping and generally requires frequent maintenance.
Conventional wooden baseboards have no function
other than their esthetic appeal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a baseboard made
from resin material. The baseboard comprises an upright
body formed with a backwall which seats against a room wall
and has a front surface including a front cover and an
internal hollow between the backwall and the front cover.
The front cover is releasably secured to the upright body
of the baseboard which allows access to the internal hollow
which can be used to receive speaker wire and the like.
The cover when fitted onto the baseboard covers the
internal hollow and anything which is placed in the hollow.
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The resin backboard can be manufactured in various
different colors eliminating the requirement for painting.
Furthermore, because of its resin construction with
integrated coloring the baseboard of the present invention
is extremely durable and stands up to substantial abuse
without the requirement for constant maintenance.
The resin baseboard is relatively easy to install
and does not require the expensive services of a carpenter.
BRTEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and features
of the present invention will be described in greater
detail according to the preferred embodiments of the
present invention in which;
Figure 1 shows the interior of a room completed
with a resin material baseboard according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view along the lines 2-2 of
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the
front cover removed from the resin baseboard.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED
_EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Figure 1 shows the interior of a room having an
upright wall WA and a floor F. The floor may either be
carpeted or uncarpeted.
Running around the base of the wall at the floor
level is a baseboard generally indicated at 1. In
accordance with the present invention baseboard 1 has a
resin and preferably an extruded vinyl construction.
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As seen in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings,
baseboard 1 has a relatively tall or upright narrow
construction and is formed with a flat backwall 3 and a
front surface comprising an upper front portion 5 and a
front cover 7 below the upper front surface 5 of the
baseboard.
Although the entire baseboard has a generally
hollow construction, it includes an accessible internal
hollow region generally indicated at 17. This internal
hollow region is located between the front cover 7 and the
backwall 3 of the baseboard. As clearly shown in comparing
Figures 2 and 3, cover 7 is removable from the baseboard
for gaining access to the internal hollow 17.
Located internally of the baseboard is a screw port
19. This screw port leads towards the flat backwall 3 of
the baseboard and is used to receive a screw for securing
the baseboard to the wall. As will be appreciated a number
of these screw ports are provided along the length of the
baseboard.
Screw port 19 is located within the hollow 17 and
is accessible by removing cover 7 from the baseboard. Once
the screws have been fitted through the baseboard secured
into the wall, they are then covered by cover 7.
In the preferred embodiment cover 7 has a right
angle step 8 near its lower end. Step 8 incldues an end
barb 9. The body of the baseboard includes a corresponding
right angle step 13 which receives barb 9 on step 8 at the
bottom end of the cover. The body of the baseboard also
includes an undercut 15 at the upper end of the hollow 17
and the upper end 11 of cover 7 fits into the undercut
recess 15. Since the cover is bendable the cam shaped barb
9 is then slid and snap locked into the undercut recess 13.
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As will be appreciated, in order to release the
cover, the upper end 11 must be deflected downwardly out of
the undercut recess 15 which then allows the cover to be
pulled off of the baseboard. As will be further
appreciated, the resilient or flexible nature of the vinyl
or other resin construction of the baseboard results in the
ability to bend the cover in and out of its interlocking
position with the baseboard.
The baseboard includes flexible skirts 21 and 23 at
its upper and lower ends. These skirts which are formed
integrally with the main body portion and the cover are
made from a vinyl material having a substantially lower
durometer than that of the rest of the baseboard and will
easily flex to cover wall and floor imperfections. The
lower skirt 23 can also be made as part of the main body of
the baseboard rather than as part of the cover.
It will be understood from the description above,
that installation of the baseboard is accomplished in an
simple and efficient manner. Furthermore, the baseboard
can be co-extruded with a covering material of an desired
color and the color cannot easily be chipped or warn off of
the baseboard. The flexible skirts 2l and 23 would also be
co-extruded with the baseboard.
Another benefit of the baseboard is that it can be
used to hide items which would otherwise be exposed at the
base of the wall. For example, Figure 1 shows a speaker S
located in the room. Speaker S is wired back to an
amplifier by means of wires W. These wires would normally
be seen running around the base of the wall or in the case
of a carpeted floor can be hidden beneath the carpet.
However, in accordance with the present invention, the
wires are fed directly into hollow 17 where they are hidden
internally of the baseboard. The fitting of the wires into
the hollow is an extremely simple operation by simply
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removing cover 7, fitting the wires inside the baseboard
and then replacing the cover to hide the wires within the
baseboard. In order to initially fit the wire through
cover 17, the cover may be provided with small wire
receiving openings as shown.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described herein in detail, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended
claims.
