EP3259417A1 - Device for protecting the base of a wall or a partition - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (1) for protecting the base of a wall (3) where it joins the floor (4), characterised in that it comprises: a skirting board (2) comprising a hard, one-piece profile having at least one smooth front face, and two flexible lips extending from said front face in an inclined manner towards the rear face of said profile respectively along the upper and lower longitudinal edges of said profile; fixing means attached between said rear face for ensuring the fixing of the skirting board (2) along the base of the wall (2); and complementary sealing means attached to said rear face.

Description

 DEVICE FOR PROTECTING THE BASE

 FROM A WALL OR A CLOISON

Technical area

 The present invention relates to a device for protecting the base of a wall intended to rest on the ground and against the lower base of said wall to protect the base of the wall, isolate the wall against microorganisms, facilitate floor maintenance and aesthetically hide the junction between said floor and wall. The invention finds application in the field of the protection of partitions and walls in industrial premises, particularly in the food industry.

Prior art

 Nowadays, it is known, in the field of the protection of partitions and walls in particular in an industrial premises, to equip the lower parts thereof baseboard, impact resistant, to protect these lower parts of deterioration that could cause, for example, handling equipment that accidentally hit them.

 Such a plinth, particularly in the food industry, must be easily cleaned, for example, by spraying water under pressure so as to remove any traces of dirt likely to be deposited during the production phase. Therefore, the skirting board must therefore have an almost smooth outer surface and must be watertight at its junction with the partition or the wall as well as with the ground to avoid the stagnation of moisture which, when it is loaded with soil, becomes able to promote the development of microorganisms such as, for example bacteria or fungi.

To do this, these known baseboards are made of plastic material such as, for example, polyester or polyester. polyvinyl chloride and conventionally comprise two flexible sealing lips arranged along their edges in contact with the ground and the wall, and a hollow area in which will be positioned the fastening means such as screws or rivets, for example, allowing maintain said skirting boards against the wall, said hollow area being covered by a removable cover. This type of baseboard is hygienic, rot-proof, resistant and easy to clean.

 However, these known skirting boards have three main weaknesses:

 - The skirting boards do not allow, despite the presence of flexible sealing lips, to have an effective seal when important irregularities of the supports such as, for example, chamfers on the walls or tiled joints on the ground,

 - These skirting boards still have many retention zones (behind the baseboard, screw cover) which represent a risk of development of microorganisms and thus an alteration of product hygiene.

 - The cover covering the hollow area reveals grooves degrading the aesthetics of the plinth and creating a new retention area.

 In addition, the longitudinal junction between these known skirting degrades the aesthetics of the assembly and also creates a possible retention zone difficult to clean and representing a risk of development of microorganisms.

Presentation of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is therefore to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide a device for protecting the base of a perennial wall, easy to set up and clean, resistant to shocks and to ensure excellent sealing while by presenting a neat aesthetics.

 According to the invention, it is therefore proposed a device for protecting the base of a wall at the junction between the latter and a floor, comprising a plinth comprising a solid one-piece profile having at least one smooth front face, and two flexible lips issuing from said front face and extending inclined towards the rear face of the profile respectively along the upper and lower longitudinal edges of said profile, said protection device (1) being remarkable in that it comprises:

 - Elastically deformable fixing means, fixed on said rear face and arranged to ensure the attachment of the baseboard along the base of the wall, and on the one hand, to mechanically absorb shocks and thus limit damage on said front face and, on the other hand, to absorb the irregularities of said wall, and

 complementary sealing means (6) fixed on said rear face,

said fastening means (5) and complementary sealing means (6) comprising foam strips.

 According to a preferred embodiment, the front face of the profile does not have a sharp angle and the flexible lips are such that their respective front face extends in the continuity of said front face.

 Said fixing and additional sealing means are advantageously closed cell foam strips.

Preferably, the fastening means comprise a strip of foam provided on each of its two longitudinal vertical faces with an adhesive and adhered to the upper part of the vertical part of the rear face of the profile by virtue of the adhesive of the face the vertical longitudinal strip of the foam strip, the adhesive affixed to the longitudinal vertical face of the foam strip allowing the fixing the plinth on the base of the wall.

 Said complementary sealing means advantageously comprise:

 a first strip of foam provided on one of its vertical longitudinal faces with an adhesive and adhered to the lower part of said vertical part of the rear face,

 - A second strip of foam provided on one of its longitudinal longitudinal faces with an adhesive and glued on the horizontal portion of the rear face of the profile.

 Advantageously, the foam strip of the fastening means and the first and second foam strips of the complementary sealing means completely cover the rear face of the skirting board.

 The protection device according to the invention also comprises at least one connector disposed at at least one of the longitudinal ends of a skirting board or at the junction between two longitudinally adjacent skirting boards, said fitting comprising a support arranged to be fixed to the base a wall and adapted to receive one of the longitudinal ends of a skirting board or the longitudinal ends of the two skirting longitudinally adjacent, and a monobloc covering element, clipped on said support and provided with a central portion and a peripheral flexible lip disposed along the entire periphery of said central portion, said cover member being wider than the support.

 According to a preferred embodiment, said central portion has at least one smooth front face, and the flexible lip is derived from said front face and extends inclined towards the rear face of said central portion.

Said flexible lip is advantageously such that its front face extends in the continuity of the front face of the central part.

 Said support advantageously comprises a body provided with at least a plurality of first orifices adapted to cooperate with suitable fastening members to allow the attachment of said support to the base of the wall, and a plurality of second orifices each having at least one deformable zone. elastically.

 Preferably, the covering element comprises a plurality of fastening members projecting from the rear face of said central part, each fastening member being able to cooperate with one of the second orifices of the support. .

 According to an advantageous embodiment, each attachment member comprises retaining means arranged to be in contact, when the covering element is clipped onto the support, with the edge of the second orifice opposite to that comprising the deformable zone. .

 The retaining means preferably comprise a plurality of resiliently flexible strips coming from one of the sides of said hooking member and inclined towards the rear face of said central portion.

Brief description of the figures

 Other advantages and features will emerge more clearly from the following description of an embodiment of a device for protecting the base of a wall according to the invention with reference to the appended figures in which:

 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device for protecting the base of a wall according to

The invention;

 - Figure 2 is a vertical section of a skirting of the protective device of Figure 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective front view a connection of the protective device of Figure 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective rear view of a connection of the protection device of FIG. 1;

 - Figure 5 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the fitting of the protection device;

 FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second alternative embodiment of the connection of the protection device;

- Figure 7 is a partial perspective view of a third embodiment of the fitting of the protective device. Best way to achieve 1 '^' technical invention

 Thus, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the protection device 1 of the base of a wall according to the invention comprises at least one plinth 2 arranged to be fixed to the base of a wall 3 at the junction between said wall 3 and the ground 4.

 Walls here are indifferently a built-up wall (made of stone, bricks, blocks, plaster tiles, etc.), a concrete wall, a light partition (in honeycomb panels, plasterboard or cement boards mounted on a frame , agglomerate, medium or high density fiber, polymeric material such as polyurethane, etc.), and generally any panel forming a partition wall.

Said skirting board 2 comprises a solid one-piece profile 21, preferably made by extrusion of reinforced PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and having at least one smooth front face 22, and two flexible lips 23, 24 extending inclined in the direction of the rear face 25 of said profile 21 respectively along the upper and lower longitudinal edges of said profile 21. The term "rear face" designates the face which is on the side of the wall 3 or the ground 4 when the protective device 1 is fixed on said wall 3 and by front face the face situated on the opposite side.

 The rear face 25 conventionally has a vertical portion 251 and a horizontal portion 252.

 For a question of mechanical strength, said profile 21 preferably comprises a cross section in the overall shape of L.

 For obvious reasons of tightness and ease of maintenance, the front face 22 of the plinth does not have a sharp angle and the respective front faces 231, 241 of the two flexible lips 23, 24 extend in the continuity of said face. before 22.

 It is understood that with this configuration significantly limits the retention zones thus avoiding moisture stagnation which, when loaded with soil, becomes able to promote the development of microorganisms such as, for example, bacteria or fungi.

 Said two flexible lips 23,24, which guarantee the sealing respectively with the wall 3 and the ground 4, are made of flexible plastic material and advantageously obtained by coextrusion.

 The protection device 1 comprises fastening means 5 for fastening the skirting 2 along the base of the wall 3 and complementary sealing means 6 to ensure the seal at the skirting 2 despite the presence of irregularity on the wall 3 and / or the floor 4.

The fastening means 5 are elastically deformable to, firstly, mechanically absorb shocks and thus limit damage to the front face 22 of skirting 2 that could cause, for example, handling equipment that would accidentally hit them and, on the other hand, absorb the irregularities of the wall 3.

 According to a preferred embodiment, said fastening means 5 and complementary sealing 6 are closed cell foam strips such as, for example, polyethylene foam, in order to limit the development of microorganisms, said strips being laminated on the profile 21.

 Thus, said fastening means 5 comprise a strip of foam 51 provided on each of its two vertical longitudinal faces 52, 53 of an adhesive and adhered to the upper part of the vertical part 251 of the rear face 25 of the section 21 thanks to the adhesive of the vertical longitudinal face 52 of the foam strip 51, the adhesive affixed to the vertical longitudinal face 53 of the foam strip 51 allowing the attachment of the baseboard 2 to the wall 3.

 The foam strip 51 advantageously has a thickness greater than or equal to five millimeters to guarantee the attachment of the plinth 2 despite the presence of irregularity on the wall 3, said foam strip 51 also replacing the flexible lip 23 to ensure sealing from the top of the plinth 2.

 Moreover, it is well understood that this foam strip 51 makes it possible to mechanically absorb the shocks in an effective manner by providing an elastic connection between the skirting board 2 and the wall 3. In fact, under the action of a shock, said strip foam 51 will compress and absorb the energy of the impact and thus prevent damage to the front face 22 of the baseboards 2.

Finally, given the elasticity of this foam strip 51, it is also understood that once glued between the plinth 2 and the wall 3, it will create a force tending to bring the plinth 2 towards the wall 3 and therefore at apply the flexible lip 23 on the wall 3 thus reinforcing the tightness of the upper part of the plinth 2.

 Similarly, said complementary sealing means 6 comprise:

 a first strip of foam 61 provided on one of its vertical longitudinal faces with an adhesive and bonded to the lower part of the vertical part 251 of the rear face of the profile in the extension of the foam strip; previously described,

 a second strip of foam 63 provided on one of its horizontal longitudinal faces with an adhesive and adhered to the horizontal part 252 of the rear face of the profile.

 The first and second foam strips 61, 63 advantageously have a thickness greater than or equal to three millimeters to compensate the flexible lip 24 for sealing the lower part of the plinth 2.

According to a preferred embodiment, the foam strip 51 and the first and second foam strips 61, 63 completely cover the rear face 25 so as to limit the free spaces between the plinth 2 and the wall 3 / floor 4 and limit the deposit and development of ^micro¬ organisms.

 With such a configuration, the baseboard 2 and the fastening means 5 and complementary sealing 6 have the following advantages:

 - a refined aesthetic due to the absence of a groove on the front face of the plinth 2,

 - ease of assembly because without screws or glue or mortar,

- Impact resistance and punching due to a suitable thickness of the section 21 and the presence of the foam strip 51 between the wall 3 and said section 21 which allows shock absorption. In addition, with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the protection device 1, according to the invention, comprises at least one connector 7 disposed at at least one of the longitudinal ends of a plinth 2 or at the junction between two baseboards 2 longitudinally adjacent.

 Said connector 7 comprises a support 8 arranged to be fixed to the base of a wall 3 and adapted to receive one of the longitudinal ends of a skirting board 2 or the longitudinal ends of the two skirting boards 2 longitudinally adjacent, and a covering element 9 clipped on said support 8 and provided with a central portion 91 and a flexible lip 92 peripheral disposed along the entire periphery of said central portion 91 so as to cover a portion of the (or) baseboard (s) 2, the wall 3 and the floor 4 marrying the external form thereof in a substantially watertight manner to ensure the aesthetic continuity of the baseboards 2 and the sealing of the protection device 1 relative to the wall 3 and floor 4.

 Said cover member 9 is monobloc, and preferably made by polypropylene injection. Said central portion 91 has at least one smooth front face 93. The flexible lip 92 comes from the front face 93 and extends inclined towards the rear face 94 of said central portion 91.

 For obvious reasons of tightness and ease of maintenance, the front face 93 of the central portion 91 does not have a sharp angle and the front face 921 of the flexible lip 92 extends in the continuity of said front face. 93.

Said support 8 comprises a body 81 provided with at least a plurality of first orifices 82 capable of cooperating with suitable fastening members, not shown, such as, for example, a screw to allow the fixing of said support 8 to the base of the wall 3, and a plurality of second orifices 83 each having at least one deformable zone 84 elastically to allow clipping of the associated cover member 9 while making disassembly almost impossible without destruction of said cover member 9. Said first orifices 82 are arranged so that, regardless of the shape of the body 81, each first orifice 82 can receive the associated fastener.

 It is well understood that said covering element 9 must be wider than the support 8 to cover the skirting board (s) 2 so as, on the one hand, to maintain the longitudinal end of the plinth (s) ( s) 2 and, secondly, to be able to set up, if necessary, along the peripheral edge of the rear face 94 of said central portion 91 complementary sealing means, not shown, similar to the means of complementary sealing 6 previously described.

 To allow its clipping on the associated support 8, the covering element 9 comprises a plurality of fastening members 95 projecting from the rear face 94 of the central portion 91, each fastening member 95 being capable of to cooperate with one of the second orifices 83 of the support 8.

 In a preferred embodiment, each of said second orifices 83 has a generally square cross section and has a light-shaped deformable zone 84 extending along one edge of said second square hole 83.

The associated fastening member 95 then has a generally rectangular section and comprises retaining means 96 in the form of a plurality of resiliently flexible strips from one of the long sides of said rectangle fastening member 95. and inclined towards the rear face 94 of said central portion 91, the overall width of the fastening assembly 95 - means of retaining 96 being greater than that of the second orifice 83 associated.

 The retaining means 96 are arranged to be in contact, when the covering element 9 is clipped on the support 8, with the edge of the second orifice 83 opposite that comprising the deformable zone 84 so as to be able to cooperate with a part rigid said second orifice 83, said deformable zone then exerting a force tending to apply said retaining means 96 on the associated rigid edge of the second orifice 83 in order to make it almost impossible to disassemble the covering element 9.

 The support 8 is preferably made of plastic. Those skilled in the art will have no difficulty in choosing the appropriate plastic material to obtain a rigid support 8 having at least one deformable zone 84 elastically.

Description of other embodiments

 In a first embodiment shown in Figure 5, the protection device according to the invention comprises a connector 10 disposed between two adjacent skirting whose front faces form an angle of 90 ° between them.

Said connector 10 is similar to the connector 7 previously described and comprises a support, not shown, arranged to be fixed to the base of a wall and adapted to receive the longitudinal ends of the two adjacent baseboards, and a cover element 100 clipped on said support and provided with a profile 101 and a flexible lip 102 disposed along the entire periphery of said profile 101 so as to cover a portion of the baseboards, the wall and the floor by marrying the external form of the latter substantially waterproof. The profile 101 is then in the global shape of a quarter cylinder of revolution and the support in shaped angle.

 In a second embodiment shown in Figure 6, the protection device according to the invention comprises a connector 11 disposed between two adjacent skirting whose front faces form an angle of 270 ° between them.

 Said connector 11 is similar to the connector 7 previously described and comprises a support, not shown, arranged to be fixed to the base of a wall and adapted to receive the longitudinal ends of the two adjacent baseboards, and a covering element 110 clipped on said support and provided with a profile 111 and a flexible lip 112 disposed along the entire periphery of said profile 111 so as to cover a portion of the baseboards, the wall and the floor by marrying the outer shape of the latter substantially waterproof. The profile 111 is then in the global shape of a quarter cylinder of revolution and the bracket-shaped angle.

 Finally, in a last embodiment partially shown in Figure 7, the protection device according to the invention comprises a connector 12 disposed between two adjacent skirting whose front faces form an angle of 270 ° between them. Said connector 12 is similar to said connector 11 previously described and comprises a support, not shown, and a covering element 120 clipped on said support and provided with a section 121 and a flexible lip 122 disposed along the entire periphery of said profile 121.

However, said connector 12 differs from said connector 11 in that the flexible lip 122 has a notch 123 in its upper middle portion to limit the flexion of said flexible lip 122 in the upper corner and the associated bellows effect due to the difference in flexing said flexible lip 122 in said upper corner. Possibility of industrial application

 It is well understood that the protective device 1 according to the invention is particularly suitable for equipping the base walls of industrial premises of the food industry. However, this protection device 1 may also equip any other type of premises requiring a high level of hygiene.

 Finally, it goes without saying that the example of protection device 1 according to the invention which has just been described is only a particular illustration, in no way limiting the invention.

Claims

 1 - Device for protecting (1) the base of a wall (3) at the junction between the latter and a floor (4), comprising at least one plinth (2) comprising a section (21) solid, one-piece, having at least one smooth front face (22), and two flexible lips (23,24) issuing from said front face (22) and extending inclined towards the rear face (25) of said profile (21) respectively the along the upper and lower longitudinal edges of said profile (21), said protection device (1) being characterized in that it comprises:  - Elastically deformable fixing means (5), fixed on said rear face (25) and arranged to ensure the fixing of the baseboard (2) along the base of the wall (3), and allowing, on the one hand, mechanically absorb shocks and thereby limit damage to said front face (22) and, on the other hand, absorb irregularities of said wall (3), and  complementary sealing means (6) fixed on said rear face (25), said fastening means (5) and complementary sealing means (6) comprising foam strips. 2 - Protection device (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the front face (22) of the profile (21) has no sharp angle and that the flexible lips (23,24) are such that their front face (231,241) extends in the continuity of said front face (22). 3 - Protection device (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that said fixing means (5) and complementary sealing (6) are closed cell foam strips. 4 - Protection device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the fastening means (5) comprise a strip of foam (51) provided on each of its two longitudinal longitudinal faces (52,53) of an adhesive and adhered to the upper part of the vertical part (251) of the rear face (25) of the profile (21) by virtue of the adhesive of the vertical longitudinal face (52) of the foam strip (51), the adhesive affixed to the vertical longitudinal face (53) of the foam strip (51) for fixing the baseboard (2) to the base of the wall (3). 5 - Protection device (1) according to any one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that said complementary sealing means (6) comprise:  a first strip of foam (61) provided on one (62) of its longitudinal vertical faces with an adhesive and adhered to the lower part of said vertical part (251) of the rear face (25),  - A second foam strip (63) provided on one (64) of its longitudinal longitudinal faces with an adhesive and adhered to the horizontal portion (252) of the rear face (26) of the profile (21). 6 - Protection device (1) according to any one of claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the foam strip (51) and the first and second foam strip (61,63) completely cover the rear face (25). ) of the plinth (2). 7 - Protection device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising at least one connector (7) disposed at least one of the longitudinal ends of a plinth (2) or at the junction between two baseboards (2) longitudinally adjacent, characterized in that said connector (7) comprises a support (8) arranged to be fixed to the base of a wall (3) and able to receive one of the longitudinal ends of a plinth (2) or the longitudinal ends of the two skirting boards (2) longitudinally adjacent, and a cover element (9) integral, clipped on said support (8) and provided with a central portion (91) and a flexible lip (92) peripheral disposed along the entire periphery of said central portion (91), said cover member (9) being wider than the support (8). 8 - Protection device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that said central portion (91) has at least one front face (93) smooth, and in that the flexible lip (92) is derived from said front face (93) and extends inclined towards the rear face (94) of said central portion (91). 9 - Protection device (1) according to claim 8 characterized in that said flexible lip (92) is such that its front face (921) extends in the continuity of the front face (22) of the central portion (91). ). 10 - Protection device (1) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that said support (8) comprises a body (81) provided with at least a plurality of first orifices (82) adapted to cooperate with fasteners suitable for allowing attachment of said support (8) to the base of the wall (3), and a plurality of second orifices (83) each having at least one deformable zone (84) elastically. 11 - Protection device (1) according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the covering element (9) comprises a plurality of fastening members (95) projecting from the rear face (94) of said central portion (91), each latching member (95) being adapted to cooperate with one of the second orifices (83) of the support (8). 12 - Protective device (1) according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that each fastening member (95) comprises retaining means (96) arranged to be in contact, when the covering element ( 9) is clipped on the support (8), with the edge of the second orifice (83) opposite to that comprising the deformable zone (84). 13 - Protection device (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that the retaining means (96) comprise a plurality of flexible strips élast ically derived from one side of said fastening member (95) and inclined in rear face direction (94) of said central portion (91).