The invention concerns a means for covering skirting board corners .

The commonly used skirting boards, often made of wood or else of marble or other materials, serve to protect indoor walls at the point where wall and floor meet.

Since rooms are generally square or rectangular, the corner angle where two pieces of board join is generally about 90°.

This fact raises considerable problems of cleanliness and hygiene as well as risks of infection, since dirt and mi¬ crobes collect in such narrow spaces which are difficult to reach properly ith cleaning tools.

M chanical cleaners with rotating cylindrical brushes ob¬ viously cannot penetrate into these corner areas. This creates a serious situation in places such as hospitals, nursing homes, chemical laboratories, industrial buildings generally.

The above invention solves these problems and offers besides other considerable advantages as will be explained. Subj c of the invention is a corner covering for the skirt¬ ing boards mounted to protect the base of indoor walls where these join the floor, said covering being substantially in the form of an isosceles triangle, the apex angle of which is less than 90°. The corner being of this size at its summit angle said co¬ vering can be mounted in an inclined position so as to fit continuously against both walls at the corner junction and with the floor. In this way a substantially flat and inclined covering is placed over the corner concerned creating an effect which favours hygiene but is also pleasing.

The cen ral zone of the structure is preferably concave while the three sides and the base are rectilinear if con¬ cavity remains internal. If concavity extends to the base, said base will be sufficiently curved to ensure a close fit with the floor.

If concavity extends to the sides as well, said sides will be adequately curved to ensure continuous fit with the face of the skirting board and with the walls above it. The height of the structure when mounted is less than that of the skirting board or is equal to or greater than said height.

In a preferred type the angular zone at the summit of the st ructure is posterially inclined and therefore the angle at the summit is greater than that at the extension of the sides below said summit zone to ensure a fit with the sur¬ faces of the skirting board.

If the angular summit zone of the structure is posterially inclined, the vertex angle will be likewise greater than that corresponding to the extension of the sides below said summit zone while the sides of said summit zone are curved to ensure their fitting over the skirting board. The angular zone at the summit is preferably convex. If the height of the structure when mounted is greater than the height of the skirting board, the sides of the summit zone, that extends above the skirting board, have a grea- ^; ter outward projection than the sides that fit close to the skirting board,by an amount corresponding to the thickness of said skirting board. This is so to ensure that the sides of the structure's sum- mit zone fit closely to the walls above the skirting board.

If the structure is higher than the skirting board, its

sides follow the board's shape and therefore curve at its summit to correspond with said summit's curve, if said sum¬ mit is rounded, or a horizontal section if said summit is at an angle of 90° with the face of said skirting board.

The structure concerned is preferably made in a single piece of light alloy, plastic material, ceramic or any other suit¬ able material.

It is mounted in position by means of two screws in the base near the structure's extremity, the screws being screwed into the skirting board below through holes made in said structure, or else fixed by glueing or in some other way.

The edges of the structure, are bound by geometrical planes whose angle, in relation to said structure, is such as to ensure that the edges will fit close to both walls and floor.

The advantages of the invention are clear.

By use of a means, which may be of a single piece, consist¬ ing practically of a laminar structure, a protective cover¬ ing can be simply and quickly applied to the zone formed by junction of the three planes, namely the two walls and the floor of rooms where the skirting board is mounted.

Its construction being substantially that of an inclined plane, said covering eliminates the corner where dirt can collect facilitating cleaning at that point whether by hand or by the use of mechanical means. In its optimum concave form the structure makes possible a thorough cleaning action by the rotating brushes, obviously cylindrical in shape, of cleaning machines. The appearance of such corners will be greatly improved, partly because the described structure can even be of an ornamental kind especially if made in shades to harmonize - with the skirting board and with the walls.

Characteristics and purposes of the invention will become even clearer by the following examples of its execution illustrated by diagrammatic drawings. Fig. 1: Angular covering means, subject of the invention, suitable for narrower skirting boards, plan view. Fig. 2: The covering seen from one side. Fig. 3: Perspective view of the mounted covering, seen from abov . Fig. 3: Angular covering means, subject of the invention, suitable for wider skirting boards, plan view.

Fig Side view of the covering in Fig. 4

Fig. 6: Upper perspective of the coverings in Figs.4 and 5.

The corner covering 10 is formed of a single laminar shaped substantially like an isosceles triangle. Said covering has a apex anele 11 less than 90° to enable it to be placed in an inclined position in relation to the floor .

The two sides 12, 13 and the base respectively fit aeainst the faces of the two skirtingboards 33 and 34 and to the floor 32.

Said covering is divided into two zones, zone A above and zone B below in relation to a geometrical axis XX parallel to the base of the trianele.

In relation to sides 12 of the upper zone, A, sides 13 of the lower zone B are set further back innermost to an extent equivalent to the thickness of the skirting boards and are substantially parallel to the above sides 12.

Sides 12 and 13 are connected by the curves 14 which almost exactly follow the upper curve of the skirting board. The base 36 of the triangle constituting the covering is shaped like an arc of a circle whose radius is such as to ensure a continuous fit with the surface of the floor.

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The height of the lower zone B is practically equivalent to .that of skirting boards 33 and 34, when the structure has been mounted, and is concave giving rise to the spine 16 (Fig. 2). The upper zone A is more inclined than lower zone B and therefore angle size at the apex is greater than the angle at which the sides lower down are set, this being so to en¬ sure a close fit between the covering and the walls above the skirting board. Said upper zone A is also is also bulging giving rise to the projection 15 (Fig. 2).

Sides 12 are given a suitable curve to ensure a fit with the walls 30, 31 of the room. The covering is held in place by screws 20 (Fig. 3) which pass through the holes 21 made at the lower end of the co¬ vering 10, inside raised seats 22 standing up in the un¬ derneath surface.

As will be seen in Fig. 3, the described covering mounted in the space between the walls 30 and 31 and the floor 32 where the pair of skirting boards 33 and 34 meet, goes to cover the junction area 39 between said two skirting boards cut, as is normally done, at 45° to allow them to join.

Sides 12 of the upper zone A of the covering fit against the walls 30 and 31 while sides 13 and the curve 14 of the lower zone B of the cover fit to the upper curved top and t o the sides of the skirting boards 33 and 34. The whole of the curved base 36 of the covering coincides with the floor. The screws 20, screwed into the skirting boards, ensure that the covering is stable while their heads are practi¬ cally flush with the surface as the axes of the holes for

the screws 20 are perpendicular to the described covering at the point where the holes are made.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a variant consisting of the covering 40 suitable for applications on skirting boards 50 and 51, higher than the covering itself, which join at zone 61.

Said covering 40 is likewise in the form of an isosceles triangle with an apex angle less than 90° and sides 41.

The base 43 of the triangle is in the form of an arc of a circle continuing from one extremity to the other 44.

Said covering also consists of two zones, A above and B below divided by the geometrical axis XX parallel to the base of the triangle. Zone B is concave while sides 41 are rectilinear and fit to the skirting boards 50 and 51.

Upper zone A bulges slightly and makes a moderate curve in¬ wards and therefore towards the apex of the triangle, its edges 42 also curving slightly to ensure a fit with the skirting boards 50 and 51. Apex angle 47 is therefore slightly wider than inclination of the sides below it to ensure continuous fit on all sides of the covering both above and below.

The covering is held in position stably by screws 60 passing through holes 46 made in the seats 45 set in the back side, screwing into skirting boards 50 and 51 mounted on the walls 52 and 53 at point 54 of the floor.

As may be clearly seen from Figure 6, sides 41 and 42 of the covering closely fit to the skirting boards and round the entire arc of said covering's base 43 on the floor.