Protective strip

Abstract

 Protective strip (1) to cover and protect floors, walls and other surfaces (6) while painting, bricklaying or other work in general is being carried out, which is mainly characterised in that it is made up of a protective element (2), preferably a wide strip of paper, and, on its side edges (12), the necessary fixing elements (3), preferably masking tape or painter's tape. The strip (1) is presented in rolls (10) with the particularity that the masking or painter's tape itself (3) provides the means of adhesion to the surface to be protected (6) while at the same time it provides the means of nonadherence of the protective strip (1) with regard to itself when the product is rolled up. To achieve this, the protective element (2) is provided with some gaps (9).

Description

Technical field

[0001] The invention relates to strips of paper or other materials used to cover and protect floors, walls or other surfaces while painting, bricklaying or other work in general is being carried out.

Prior art

[0002] It is well known that while painting or other building work is being carried out, it is advisable to cover the floor or other surface areas close to the work area with paper, plastic or other materials. In domestic use, any available paper has generally been used, by arranging it along the surface to be protected and fixing it to this surface with the appropriate adhesive means, usually adhesive tape and, among the types available, usually painter's tape or coach-builder's tape (masking tape) because of its good properties (clean, ecological, easily removable and does not leave marks or remains on the surface).

[0003] For these tasks to be carried out professionally, there are several optimised protection systems on the market which, in addition to providing a means of protection similar to the domestic means of protection described above, seek to offer a notably faster and easier method of installation in order to reduce work times. To this effect, the main novelty of the protection systems for preferably professional use lies in the fact that the protective material (paper, plastic, etc.) has the adhesive incorporated into it, so that its installation is fast and simple as it does not require the adhesive strips to be manually attached to the protective material in advance.

[0004] Among these protection systems with adhesive incorporated, two models known on the market are of special relevance. The first of these consists of a narrow strip for covering skirting boards and has an adhesive band incorporated into one of its side edges. The second model, intended to be installed on larger surface areas than the first (floors, walls, etc.), consists of a wider strip of paper than the previous model and has a longitudinal strip of adhesive material applied in its central area, with this adhesive material enabling the paper to be fixed to the surface to be protected.

[0005] This second model is usually presented in the form of rolls and, therefore, to prevent the adhesive from sticking to the paper itself when it is in roll form, a strip of non-adherent material is applied to the paper on the opposite side to the adhesive material, in the central area of the paper so that its position coincides with the position of the adhesive material.

[0006] The disadvantage of this second model of protective strip is that during manufacture it is necessary to apply two types of materials onto the paper separately (an adhesive material and a non-adherent material), which means that the manufacturing process is slowed down and complicated. Moreover, the adhesives used are usually very strong, which means that they leave residues on the surface to be protected once that the paper has been removed from it.

[0007] On the other hand, it has been proven in practice that the installation of several strips of this model arranged parallel or adjacent to each other has a clear disadvantage: as the adhesive is located in the central area of each strip, there is no adhesive in the area where one strip is overlapped by the adjacent strips, and therefore the union between strips does not exist, and gaps are left where paint or dust might enter or where the paper itself might easily become torn. It has even been demonstrated that users opt to reinforce these areas of union by manually attaching strips of adhesive tape, which contradicts the purpose of the product and raises doubts about its effectiveness.

[0008] For all the reasons given, the objective of the present invention is to achieve a protective strip of paper or other materials in order to cover and protect floors, walls or other surfaces while painting, bricklaying or other work in general is being carried out, which has the adhesive material incorporated into it and enables larger or smaller surface areas to be protected by means of the correct arrangement of several portions of the protective strip either parallel or adjacent to each other.

[0009] Another objective of the invention is to achieve a correct form of sealing in the areas of union or overlapping between the strips in the said adjacent installation of several portions of the protective strip.

[0010] Another objective of the invention is to achieve a protective strip whose manufacture is simplified, not requiring the separate application of an adhesive product or material and of another non-adherent product or material.

Detailed description of the invention

[0011] In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, a protective strip is defined in order to cover and protect floors, walls or other surfaces while painting, bricklaying or other work in general is being carried out, characterised mainly in that it is made up of a protective element and a fixing element, in which the protective element is the main component of the protective strip, and in which the fixing element is the component that gives the adhesive nature to the protective strip, with the particularity that the fixing element is arranged on at least one side edge of the protective strip and that the fixing element in itself contains an adhesive area and a non-adherent area, so that the application onto the protective element of adhesive and non-adherent products separately is not necessary.

[0012] The protective element in question might be made of paper, plastic or any other materials suitable for the application. The fixing element, for its part, will consist of any kind of known tape which has one adhesive side and one non-adherent side.

[0013] In the preferred form of production of the invention, the protective strip in accordance with the invention will include fixing elements on both side edges, and these fixing elements will consist of strips of masking tape (painter's tape), of the type known and used in the applications for which the protective strip in accordance with the invention is going to be used.

[0014] In those side areas where the protective strip is gong to be given an adhesive character, the protective element is provided with one or more gaps designed to remain covered by the fixing element and which have a surface area smaller than that of the fixing element.

[0015] The fixing element is placed over the protective element in those side areas provided with the above mentioned gaps, with the adhesive area or side of the fixing element facing towards the protective element. By placing the fixing element in this way, two effects are achieved simultaneously: on the one hand, as the fixing element has a greater surface area than the surface area of the gaps, it is the adhesive of the fixing element that provides the means of physical union between the fixing element and the protective element; on the other hand, the adhesive part of the fixing element which is arranged in the interior of the gaps is the part that provides the adhesive character of the whole with regard to the surface to be protected. Moreover, when the protective strip in accordance with the invention is rolled up, the non-adherent side or area of the fixing element comes into contact with its own adhesive area, preventing this adhesive area from coming into contact with the protective element.

[0016] In this way, by means of the placing of a single element, the fixing element, the effects of providing the whole with adhesive properties with regard to the surface to be protected and of providing the whole with non-adherent properties with regard to itself are achieved.

[0017] The protective strip in accordance with the invention is presented in roll form, which is easily unrolled for installation onto the surface to be protected.

[0018] Given that the protective strip in accordance with the invention has adhesive areas on its side edges, in case of different portions of the protective strip being installed parallel to each other onto the surface to be protected, the unions between adjacent portions will be perfectly sealed and resistant to breakage or tearing, because the adhesive area are to be found precisely at these unions.

[0019] Moreover, the preferred form of production of the invention, which includes the use of masking or painter's tape, offers many advantages with regard to the known solution in which an adhesive and a non-adherent are applied directly onto the protective material: firstly, masking tape is a known element and is extensively used in the sector, with a guarantee of proven good operation and which inspires trust among users; secondly, the adhesive which is present on masking tape does not leave residues or traces when it is removed from the surface to be protected, during withdrawal of the protective strip in accordance with the invention.

[0020] In the same way, the preferred form of production of the protective strip in accordance with the invention has the additional advantage of providing fixing to the surface to be protected with much greater stability or resistance to movement than the fixing which is provided by the known strip with adhesive in its central area only.

Description of the drawings

[0021] The details of the invention can be appreciated in the figures in the accompanying drawings, which do not seek to be restrictive as regards the scope of the invention, but rather to help understanding of the items claimed:

• Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the improved protective strip in accordance with the invention.
• Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the main elements that make up the improved protective strip in accordance with the invention, shown separately.
• Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the main elements that make up the improved protective strip in accordance with the invention, once they have been fixed together.
• Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a protective strip known in prior art, previous to the invention.

[0022] In Figure 1, the main form of production of the protective strip (1) in accordance with the invention is represented, in which the said protective strip (1) has the form of a roll (10) of protective element (2) which includes two strips of fixing element (3), arranged longitudinally in the side areas (12) or close to the edges of the roll (10). The fixing element (3) has one adhesive side or area (5) whose function is to provide the means of fixing the protective strip (1) to the surface to be protected (6). In addition, the fixing element (3) has a non-adherent side or area (4) whose function is to prevent the adhesive area (5) from adhering to the protective element (2) itself when the protective strip (1) is rolled up, so that it is possible to correctly unroll and install it.

[0023] The installation of the protective strip (1) onto the surface to be protected (6) is carried out by means of rotation of the roll (10) of protective strip (1) in the direction indicated by the arrow (11). At the same time, light pressure is applied onto the non-adherent areas (4) of the fixing element (3), with which the adhesive areas (5) remain firmly fixed to the surface to be protected (6), with the protective strip (1) becoming correctly installed.

[0024] Figure 2 shows a partial view of the improved strip of the invention that corresponds with one of the areas where the fixing element (3) is to be found over the protective element (2), in this case in the pre-assembly situation, with both components (2, 3) separated. As can be observed in the Figure, the fixing element (3), whose width has been represented as 'd1', includes an adhesive area (5) and a non-adherent area (4). Moreover, the protective element (2) has a gap (9), in this case arranged longitudinally, whose width 'd2' is smaller than width 'd1' of the fixing element (3). In this way, the surface of the fixing element (3) is greater than the surface of the gap (9).

[0025] Figure 3, like Figure 2, shows a partial view of the improved strip of the invention that corresponds with one of the areas where the fixing element (3) is to be found over the protective element (2). In this case, the fixing element (3) is to be found mounted or fixed onto the protective element (2). As can be observed in the Figure, the fixing element (3) remains adhered to the protective element (2) thanks to the greater surface of the former in relation to the latter, which ensures that part of the adhesive area (5) around the gap (9) comes into contact with the protective element (2). Moreover, the part of the adhesive area (5) inside the gap (9) provides the fixing element that fixes the protective strip (1) to the surface to be protected.

[0026] Figure 4 shows and example of protective strip (1) known in prior art, in which the protective element (2) is arranged in the form of a roll (10) and has a single, central, longitudinal adhesive part, produced by means of the direct application of an adhesive (8) onto the protective element (2) in its central area (12). With the purpose of preventing the adhesive (8) from becoming stuck to the protective element (2) when it is rolled up, a non-adherent (7) is applied on the opposite side of the protective element (2), logically central and with a longitudinal shape and coinciding with the shape of the adhesive (8). The installation of this protective strip (1) onto the surface to be protected (6) is carried out in a similar way to that in Figure 1, by means of the rotation of the roll (10) of protective strip (1) in the direction indicated by the arrow (11).

Claims

1. Protective strip (1) to cover and protect floors, walls or other surfaces (6) while painting, bricklaying or other work in general is being carried out, of the type made up of a protective element (2) and at least one fixing element (3), in which the protective element (2) is the main component of the protective strip (1) and is responsible for covering the surface to be protected (6), and in which the fixing element (3) is the component that gives the adhesive character to the protective strip (1), for which the fixing element (3) comprises an adhesive area (5) and a non-adherent area (4), characterised in that:

- in at least one side area (12), the protective element (2) is provided with one or more gaps (9) designed to be covered by the fixing element (3) and which have a smaller surface than that of the fixing element (3),

- the fixing element (3) is placed over the protective element (2) on those side areas (12) provided with gaps (9), with the adhesive area (5) of the fixing element (3) facing towards the protective element (2), in such a away that the part of the adhesive (5) of the fixing element (3) that remains outside the gaps (9) provides the means of physical union between the fixing element (3) and the protective element (2), and the part of the adhesive (5) inside the gaps (9) provides the means of physical union between the protective strip (1) and the surface to be protected (6).

2. Protective strip (1), in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that there is only one gap (9) in the protective element (2) along the entire length of the protective element (2), and it has a width (d2) which is smaller that the width (d1) of the fixing element (3).

3. Protective strip (1), in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the protective element (2) is made of paper, plastic or other materials.

4. Protective strip (1), in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the fixing element (3) is a masking tape or painter's tape.

5. Protective strip (1), in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the protective strip (1) is presented in the form of a roll (10), which, when rolled up, has the particularity that the non-adherent area (4) of the fixing element (3) comes into contact with the adhesive area (5) of the fixing element (3), preventing this adhesive area (5) from coming into contact with the protective element (2).

Drawing