Upholstery finishing strip

May 7,. 1935. a. l. Howard 2,000,466

UPHOLSTERY FINISHING STRIP

Filed May 21, 1930

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Patented May 7, 1935

2,000,466

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,000,466

UPHOLSTERY FINISHING STRIP

Albert L. Howard, Brockton, Mass., assignor to Hamilton-Wade Company, Brockton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts

Application May 21, 1930, Serial No. 454,328

Claims. (CL 155—184)

This invention relates to molding or finishing strips for use in upholstering, and more especially to that class of strip which conceals the means whereby it is secured in place.

Heretofore, this type of strip has embodied a fiat bottom portion and a preferably convex top portion connected together and initially spread out open in a manner exposing both portions. In use, the bottom portion is nailed in. place and the top portion then folded thereover in a manner entirely concealing the bottom portion and nails, means being provided within the strip for holding the same in its folded position. My invention herein contemplates a molding strip wherein the said bottom and top portions are made as independent units or strips, one or both of which are provided with fastener elements for securing the top strip in place on the bottom strip.

My invention contemplates the use of fasteners of either the releasable type or clincher type, and ordinarily the fasteners or portions thereof will be so carried by one portion of the strip as to extend into the other portion of the strip when in attached relation and said other portion will preferably carry some means to cooperate with the said fastener to facilitate the holding operation. The object of my invention resides in the provision of a new and improved two-piece molding strip having these characteristics.

The top portion of my improved strip preferably comprises a suitable core covered with a fabric material and the bottom portion may comprise one or more plies of a suitable tape or fabric material. In a preferred embodiment the molding strip of my invention is characterized by cooperating fastener elements so incorporated on or in the strips that in addition to securing the two strips together, they serve the additional function of securing the covering fabric in place on the body core and bind the plies of the bottom strip portion into a unit.

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated certain specific embodiments of my invention but it will be understood that the invention can be otherwise embodied and that the drawing is not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims appended hereto being relied upon for that purpose.

Referring to the figures of the drawing,

Fig- 1 is a view in side elevation of the top portion of my improved molding strip;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the cooperating bottom portion thereof;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on line 3—4 of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the ap- 5 plication of the two strip portions;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view through the core and one of its fastener elements before the application of the cover fabric thereto; ,

Fig. 7 is a view in perspective of cooperating 10 top and bottom portions of a modified form of my invention; and

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view through this molding strip and one of its fasteners.

Referring first to the form of my invention u illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, the core 20 is of suitable material adapted to be molded or shaped to provide a lower flat side, a convex upper side and preferably beads 2i at the opposite edges thereof. This core forms the body of the top 20 portion 22 of my molding strip. The covering for the core may comprise a strip 23 of textile fabric. The bottom portion of the strip may comprise one or more plies of a suitable tape or fabric 24. 25

In this form of my invention, I have illustrated these top and bottom portions of the strip asprovided with cooperating snap fastener elements of the resilient type. Each of the male elements 25 attached to the bottom strip por- 30 tion comprises a single strip of metal having its intermediate portion formed into an outwardly-projecting head 26 and its two ends clinched tightly over the edges of the tape forming the bottom portion in a manner securing the 35 fastener element thereto and securing the plies of the tape together. The female fastener elements 27 are mounted within the flat face of the core in a spaced relation corresponding to the spacing of the elements 25. Each element 27 40 comprises a central hollow body portion extending into the core and two wing portions 28 extending outwardly therefrom, as shown in Fig. 6. The fabric 23 is preferably cemented to the core and the two side edges thereof are firmly 45 secured in place by the fastener ends 28. When the fabric has been applied to the core, these two ends 28 are bent downwardly through the fabric and clinched into the core, as shown in Fig. 3. 50

The core 20 is preferably made of a resilient plastic composition,'such as rubber, which will permit the sides of the fastener elements 27 to spread when engaged over the heads 26 of the elements 25. As illustrated in the drawing, the ^M

2,000,468 interengaging shoulders of the fasteners are so constructed that the top strip portion 22 will be held securely in place on the bottom, strip portion 24 and it will be understood that these shoul5 ders can be made>o provide either a positive or releasable engagement therebetween merely by changing the angle of the engagement. In use, the bottom portion is nailed in place at 29 and the top portion applied thereto, the beads 21 10 engaging over the edges of the bottom portion in a manner completely covering and housing the same.

It will be understood that my invention contemplates the use of any desired form of fasten15 er and the locating thereof in any desired or most suitable position. For example, in Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated the use of a clincher type fastener. In this form of the invention, the bottom strip portion 40 may comprise one or 20 .more plies of tape or suitable fabric. Clincher type fasteners 41 are mounted in this tape in a manner securing the plies of the tape together and extending the bifurcated ends of the fasteners outwardly beyond the top face of the tape. 25 The cooperating top portion 42 of the strip comprises a core 43 covered with a fabric 44 and shaped to engage over the bottom strip portion 40. A V-shaped anvil element or elements 45 are provided in the top portion to engage the bi30 furcated ends of the fasteners and clinch the same into the core, as shown in Fig. 8.

The core 43 is preferably of a plastic composition which can be extruded through a die to form a core of the desired cross sectional shape. 35 The anvil 45, as illustrated herein, is a strip of metal triangular in cross section and extending throughout the core. This anvil is seated within the core by being drawn through the extruding die along with the formation of the core. One of the V-shaped corners of the anvil is located in a position directly disposed over the bifurcated ends of the fasteners when the top portion 42 is applied to the bottom portion 40 of the strip.

In applying the strip, the bottom portion 40 is placed in the desired position and nailed at ° 46. The top portion is then applied, whereupon the bottom V angle of the anvil engages the bifurcated ends of the fasteners. The top strip portion is then tapped with a hammer sufflciently to spread the. fastener ends, as shown in Fig. ^ou 8. The bifurcated ends are thereby clinched into the core and the top portion of the core thus firmly secured in place on the bottom strip portion 46.