Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Decorative article
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-24
2001-05-08
Loney, Donald J. (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Decorative article
C428S167000, C428S172000, C428S192000, C428S213000, C052S287100, C442S386000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06228507
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to ornamental crown moldings, and relates more particularly to elongated crown molding strips having outer surfaces with decorative ornamentation and side surfaces for engaging supporting walls, usually the ceiling and a vertical wall of a room space. The invention also relates to the method of making such strips, usually of plaster.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has long been the practice to use crown moldings to cover and decorate the junctures of room walls and ceilings, and to provide ornamentation on the exposed outer sides of the crown moldings as additional room decoration. Current examples of such crown moldings are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,433,048, 5,662,753 and 5,398,469, and older approaches are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,981,988, 3,201,910 and 3,481,092. It will be seen in these patents that there are numerous ways to design, manufacture and install crown moldings and a variety of different materials that may be used. As stated in the Loos patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,753, the manufacture of ornamental molding made of plaster has required a relatively high skill level, either to run the molding “in place” on a wall or ceiling, or to cast the molding in elongated strips in stationary molds and then to mount the strips on the supporting room surfaces. It is generally accepted that plaster moldings, whether run-in-place or cast in stationary molds, are the richest looking and generally provide the most elegant appearance, but cost often leads to the use of cheaper substitutes.
Loos, for example, proposes the use of a relatively complex substitute for traditional plaster crown moldings, using a special base molding in an attempt to avoid the need for expensive production techniques and highly skilled labor. The other patents cited above provide other approaches for the same general purpose.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention resides in a novel construction for crown moldings that may be composed of plaster or similar molding materials and prefabricated at relatively low cost in elongated strips that are both ligher in weight and stronger in structure than prior plaster crown moldings, and that are specially designed and manufactured for easy installation by a single, unskilled installer. In other words, the crown molding strips of the present invention are particularly well suited for the do-it-yourself market, yet with highly desirable decorative ornamentation of the type previously available only in very expensive moldings.
More specifically, the crown molding strip of the present invention has an elongated body that may be composed primarily of conventional plaster, and an outside surface with raised, highly defined ornamentation of any selected design, and two layers in a novel combination of reinforcing fiber that makes it practical to provide the strips in thinner, lighter weight pieces that are not likely to break in shipment or when handled by one person during installation. One layer is bulk fiber, preferably fiberglass in bulk or “wool” form, and is mixed throughout the outer portion of the strip that carries the surface ornamentation. The second layer is a thin sheet of fabric, preferably fiberglass netting, that is approximately the same size as the crown molding strip and embedded in, and substantially coextensive with, the strip, with its edges close to the edges of the strip. This sheet cooperates with the bulk fiber to provide a high degree of strength in a thin, and very light weight, crown molding strip.
In addition, the preferred embodiment of the invention has corrugated side surfaces formed by patterns of grooves and ridges for engagement with the room surfaces, facilitating shaping of the side surfaces to accommodate irregularities in the room surfaces. These corrugations also enhance the attachment of the crown moldings with adhesives, providing increased bonding surface area and alleviating the need for precise measurement of the adhesive, and are of predetermined depth to serve as gauges for removal of material to fit bulges in the wall. Pre-formed nail-hole indentations may be provided in the strips at preselected nailing locations, facilitating nailing by a lone installer to secure each strip in place while the adhesive sets. These also may be formed by the installer at the site.
The novel method of the invention provides for the manufacture of crown molding strips according to the invention, as described in detail in the following detailed description, from which other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2981988 (1961-05-01), Schweitzer
patent: 3201910 (1965-08-01), Keesee
patent: 3481092 (1969-12-01), Constantino
patent: 3940528 (1976-02-01), Roberts
patent: 4144372 (1979-03-01), Beck
patent: 5398469 (1995-03-01), Logan
patent: 5433048 (1995-07-01), Strasser
patent: 5662753 (1997-09-01), Loos
patent: 5819485 (1998-10-01), Lane et al.
patent: 5918435 (1999-07-01), Mcgowen
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