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Patent Searching and Data


Title:
METHOD OF PROTECTING WALLS FROM OVERSPRAY
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/130170
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A system (10) for protecting a surface having a plurality of rolls (300) of a sheet material (315) having an adhesive on one of its surfaces. The plurality of rolls (300) supported by a plurality of brackets (100) attached to a wall (200); and wherein the plurality of rolls (300) extended along a length of the wall (200) with the adhesive side facing the wall (200).

Inventors:
GULLICKS SCOTT D (US)
BOYD ANDREW M (US)
CARROLL SCOTT J (US)
MINOBE RANDALL M (US)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2018/060373
Publication Date:
July 04, 2019
Filing Date:
December 19, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO (US)
International Classes:
B05B12/24
Domestic Patent References:
WO2011014734A12011-02-03
Foreign References:
US6206990B12001-03-27
US20020066538A12002-06-06
DE2714172A11978-10-05
JPS5851200A1983-03-25
US4078355A1978-03-14
US6124018A2000-09-26
US8105450B22012-01-31
US6294249B12001-09-25
US5804610A1998-09-08
US4728571A1988-03-01
US4973513A1990-11-27
US2532011A1950-11-28
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
HUNSBERGER, Lynn R. et al. (US)
Download PDF:
Claims:
What is claimed is:

1. A system for protecting a surface comprising:

a plurality of rolls of a sheet material having an adhesive on one of its surfaces;

the plurality of rolls supported by a plurality of brackets attached to a wall; and

wherein the plurality of rolls extended along a length of the wall with the adhesive side facing the wall.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of rolls each have an axis of rotation and the plurality of rolls share a common axis of rotation.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of rolls each have an axis of rotation and the plurality of rolls have at least two different vertical elevations for the axis of rotation.

4. The system of claims 1 or 3 wherein the plurality of rolls each have an axis of rotation and the plurally of rolls have at least two different horizontal distances for the axis of rotation from the wall.

5. The system of claims 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein the bracket comprises a first side, a second side, and a recess is located between the first and second sides.

6. The system of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 wherein the plurality of rolls are supported by a core plug with one core plug inserted into each end of the roll.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the core plug comprises a flange with a spindle extending from near the center of the flange.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the flange is disposed into the recess.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein two flanges fit into one recess on a bracket thereby supporting the ends of two adjacent rolls.

10. The system of claims 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 wherein the bracket comprises the first side, the second side and an end wall joining the first and second sides with the recess located between the first and second sides, and an upper surface of each of the first and second sides comprises a notch.

11 The system of claim 10 wherein the notch is J-shaped.

12. The system of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 wherein the sheet material comprises a nonwoven material having opposing first and second surfaces; a pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on the second major surface; a scrim material in contact with the pressure sensitive material; and wherein the scrim material is partially embedded in the pressure sensitive material such that at least a portion of the scrim material extends above the pressure sensitive adhesive and is substantially free from adhesive.

13. A method of protecting a wall comprising the system of claim 1 and the steps of:

pulling on a free end of the sheet material and unwinding one of the plurality of rolls;

pushing the sheet material towards the wall and attaching the sheet material to the wall with the adhesive; and

repeating the pulling, the unwinding, the pushing, and the attaching processes with the remaining rolls.

14. A system for protecting a wall comprising:

a roll of a sheet material having an adhesive on one of its surfaces;

the roll of sheet material supported by a pair of brackets attached to a trolley; and at least one rail extending along a length of the wall with the trolley attached to the at least one rail; and the adhesive side of the sheet material positioned facing the wall.

15. A method of protecting a wall comprising the system of claim 14 and the steps of:

pulling on a free end of the sheet material and unwinding the roll;

pushing the sheet material towards the wall and attaching the sheet material to the wall with the adhesive;

severing the sheet material adhesively attached to the wall from the roll; and

indexing the trolley along the wall such that the roll of sheet material will be adjacent to or slightly overlap the sheet material adhesively attached to the wall; and

repeating the pulling, the unwinding, the pushing, and the attaching processes with the sheet material.

Description:
METHOD OF PROTECTING WALLS FROM OVERSPRAY

BACKGROUND

Overspray from paints and other sprayed materials is often present during spraying operations. Despite continuing efforts to transfer 100% of the sprayed material to the workpiece, some amount of the material often ends up as an airborne contaminant that can become attached to other surfaces besides the intended workpiece. There continues to be a need to protect these surfaces from the overspray.

SUMMARY

A sheet material, such as a nonwoven due to its high surface area, can effectively trap airborne contaminates in its undulating surface. An adhesive can be applied to one side of the sheet material enabling it to stick to other surfaces needing protection such as walls, floors, ceilings, and/or the interior of a paint spray booth. Thereafter, the sheet material can be applied as a sacrificial layer to these other surfaces effectively trapping and containing the airborne contaminates that land on the protective material’s surface during spraying operations. An adhesive nonwoven material for surface protection can be obtained from 3M under the name 3M™ Dirt Trap Protection Films and Materials available from 3M Company, St. Paul MN. During application of the Dirt Trap material, there remains the problem of conveniently attaching the adhesively coated nonwoven material to another surface. Anyone who has ever wrangled with duct tape or contact paper knows that sticky, unwieldly materials can prematurely stick where unintended, stick to itself, or otherwise be hard to apply at times. Therefore, an improved system for applying the Dirt Trap material is needed.

The inventors have solved this problem by supporting a series of rolls of the nonwoven material in brackets attached along the length of a wall such that the nonwoven material can be pulled down to the floor and then pushed back into contact with the wall adhering it to the wall greatly simplifying the installation. In some embodiments, the brackets are designed to support a flanged core plug of the nonwoven roll and two such core plugs facing opposite directions can fit into one bracket reducing the number of brackets needed. In other embodiments, the nonwoven roll is supported by brackets that are attached to a trolley that transverses a track or a rail attached to the wall near its top. Using the track and trolley, the roll can be repeatedly indexed along the wall to apply multiple strips of the nonwoven material to the wall’s surface BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A shows one embodiment of the wall protection system illustrating a plurality of brackets attached to a wall and a plurality of rolls supported from the brackets in a perspective view. In this embodiment, all the rolls share a common axis.

FIG. 1B shows the embodiment of FIG. 1 A from a front view.

FIG. 1C shows the embodiment of FIG. 1A from a side view.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a roll of nonwoven material supported by two core plugs inserted into the ends.

FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a core plug.

FIG. 3B shows a side view of the core plug of FIG. 3 A.

FIG. 4A shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a bracket.

FIG. 4B shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a bracket.

FIG. 5A shows a front view of another embodiment of the system illustrating a plurality of brackets attached to a wall and a plurality of rolls supported from the brackets. In this embodiment, the rolls are staggered vertically and overlap horizontally.

FIG. 5B shows a side view of FIG. 5 A.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of another embodiment, where the roll is supported by brackets that are attached to a trolley that transverses along a rail attached to the wall.

The various figures are not to scale. In particular, the height of the wall is shortened quite a bit to enable seeing the details of the wall protection system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Throughout this document, values expressed in a range format should be interpreted in a flexible manner to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. For example, a range of “about 0.1% to about 5%” or“about 0.1% to 5%” should be interpreted to include not just about 0.1% to about 5%, but also the individual values (e g., 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) and the sub-ranges (e g., 0.1% to 0.5%, 1.1% to 2.2%, 3.3% to 4.4%) within the indicated range. The statement “about X to Y” has the same meaning as“about X to about Y,” unless indicated otherwise. Likewise, the statement“about X, Y, or about Z” has the same meaning as“about X, about Y, or about Z,” unless indicated otherwise. In this document, the terms“a,”“an,” or“the” are used to include one or more than one unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term“or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive “or” unless otherwise indicated. The statement“at least one of A and B” or“at least one of A or B” has the same meaning as“A, B, or A and B.” In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein, and not otherwise defined, is for the purpose of description only and not of limitation. Any use of section headings is intended to aid reading of the document and is not to be interpreted as limiting; information that is relevant to a section heading may occur within or outside of that particular section.

The term“about” as used herein can allow for a degree of variability in a value or range, for example, within 10%, within 5%, or within 1% of a stated value or of a stated limit of a range, and includes the exact stated value or range.

The term“substantially” as used herein refers to a majority of, or mostly, as in at least about 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.5%, 99.9%, 99.99%, or at least about 99.999% or more, or 100%. The term“substantially free of’ as used herein can mean having none or having a trivial amount of, such that the amount of material present does not affect the material properties of the composition including the material, such that the composition is about 0 wt% to about 5 wt% of the material, or about 0 wt% to about 1 wt%, or about 5 wt% or less, or less than, equal to, or greater than about 4.5 wt%, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.01, or about 0.001 wt% or less. The term“substantially free of’ can mean having a trivial amount of, such that a composition is about 0 wt% to about 5 wt% of the material, or about 0 wt% to about 1 wt%, or about 5 wt% or less, or less than, equal to, or greater than about 4.5 wt%, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.01, or about 0.001 wt% or less, or about 0 wt%.

First Embodiment

Referring now to FIG. 1 A, 1B, and 1C, one embodiment of the wall protection system 10 is shown illustrating a plurality of brackets 100 attached to a wall 200 and a plurality of rolls 300 supported from the brackets in a perspective view. In this embodiment, all the rolls 300 share a common axis 305 and are positioned approximately the same height from the floor 220. The brackets allow for an optional core plug 400 to be inserted into them to support the rolls as will be discussed in more detail later. To use the system, soiled, adhesive sheet material that is used as a barrier material or protection sheet is first removed from the wall if present. Next, the free end 310 of the sheet material 315 (used as a barrier material or protection sheet) on the first roll

320 is pulled to unwind a portion of the sheet material. When the free end 310 is close to the floor 220 the unwinding procedure is stopped. Next, the adhesive side 330 of the sheet material 315 is attached to the wall 200 by pushing the sheet material towards the wall and applying pressure, typically with one’s hands, to attach the sheet material to the wall 200. In a like manner, the procedure is repeated for the second roll 340, the third roll 350, and any other rolls needed to span the length of the wall 200. As seen, the rolls can have different lengths to cover the length of the wall 200. Optionally, the sheet material 315 can be severed from the corresponding roll near where it is being unwound at the top.

Use of the brackets 100 to support the rolls 300 can leave a small gap 360 present between adjacent strips of sheet material 315. The gap 360 can be optionally covered by additional strips of narrower sheet material that are cut to length and applied over the top of the gap and adhesively attached to the two adjacent wider pieces of sheet material. Alternatively, the intermediate brackets 100 can be eliminated, the optional core plugs removed and the rolls butted up against each other and hung from a common rod that passes through each roll’s core.

In this manner, the gap 360 can be reduced or eliminated. The tradeoff is more complicated roll changes since all the rolls must be threaded onto the common rod at the same time versus being individually replaceable as shown in the illustrated embodiment. Prior to discussing alternative embodiments, the individual parts for this and the other embodiments will be discussed in more detail in separately headed sections.

Bracket

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B embodiments of a bracket are shown. This bracket is designed to be complementary with the optional core plug 400; however, any other suitable bracket could be used. For example, closet shelf brackets designed to support a clothes rod could be substituted and used with each roll’s core supported and threaded onto the clothes rod. Other brackets that can support a roll on a core can also be substituted.

In FIG. 4B, bracket 100 has a first side 110, a second side 120, and an end wall 130 joining the first side 110 to the second side 120. The first and second sides (110, 120) are substantially planar and parallel to each other and separated by a recess 140. The end wall 130 forms approximately a ninety degree angle with the corresponding first and second sides. The width of the end wall 130 nominally fixes the distance, W, between the opposing first and second sides (110,120) and this dimension is selected such that the flanges of two core plugs 400 will fit into the recess 140. The recess 140 may be open to the bottom or an optional bottom plate 150 can connect the lower edges of the first and second sides (110, 120). The depth of the recess is sufficient to allow the flange to be positioned in the recess such that the spindle of the core plug rests in the J-shaped notch.

The first side 110 has a first attachment flange 160 positioned opposite the end wall 130 and the second side 120 has a second attachment flange 170 positioned opposite the end wall 130. The attachment flanges (160, 170) form an approximately ninety-degree angle with the corresponding first or second sides. The attachment flanges may optionally have at least one hole 185 such that a fastener can pass through the hole and secure the bracket to a wall with screws or nails being commonly used fasteners. Alternatively, the flanges may be adhesively secured to the wall and the holes eliminated or not used in conjunction with fasteners. Rather than two separate attachment flanges, the first and second sides (110, 120) may be connected to a unitary mounting plate 187 that extends the requisite distance past each side to provide clearance for the fasteners if used. Such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 4A, which also utilizes the elements previously described for embodiment 4B. .

The upper surface 180 of the first and second sides (110, 120) can vary in height and forms a J-shaped notch 190 in each side in one embodiment. The J-shaped notch has a taller first leg 192, a shorter second leg 194, and a half round surface 196 connecting the two. An optional ramp 195 as seen in F1G. 4B may be present that slopes toward the first leg 192 to help slide the core plug into the J-shaped notch. Alternative notches 190 such as, but not limited to, V-shaped or U-shaped can be substituted.

In one embodiment in FIG. 4B, the bracket was constructed from 1/8-inch-thick sheet metal. There was a 1.5-inch gap between the first and second sides for the recess and the overall dimensions for the bracket were approximately 11 inches deep and 11 inches tall.

The bracket 100 can be made of any suitable material. Common examples include sheet metal such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, etc. that is cut and bent into the requisite shape as seen in FIG. 4A Alternatively, the bracket could be fabricated as a plastic piece through an injection molding process as seen in FIG. 4B. In the various embodiments, sharp comers can be rounded with an appropriate radius to reduce their sharpness as shown.

Roll of Sheet Material

Referring now to FIG. 2, the roll of sheet material 300 with the optional core plugs 400 is illustrated The sheet material is used as a protection sheet or a barrier material to protect surfaces from overspray during spraying operations. Such surfaces are typically the walls, ceilings and floors in the spraying application area. A frequent use is on the interior surfaces of a paint booth such as an automobile paint spray booth. The sheet materials’ surface can immobilize aerosols, particles and dried paint, while providing a white covering to enhance light reflection, and is both durable and removable even after repeated exposure to elevated temperatures that are used to dry and/or cure paints applied to automobiles in the paint booth.

The sheet material 315 has a room facing side 360 and an adhesive side 330. The roll can be wound with the adhesive side either facing the exterior surface of the roll or facing the core of the roll. In some embodiments, there can be an advantage to having the adhesive facing the exterior surface as it shifts the reaction moment closer to the wall when the roll is unwound.

This can reduce the force on the bracket system.

The sheet material 315 can be made from any suitable flexible material such as paper, nonwovens, films, plastics, woven materials and the like. The adhesive can be any suitable removable adhesive material such as a pressure sensitive material.

In one embodiment, the sheet material was Dirt Trap as described in US patent number 8,105,450 herein incorporated by reference. Dirt Trap can comprise a nonwoven material which has a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface. A layer of low adhesion backsize 50 may optionally be disposed on the first major surface of the nonwoven material. A layer of pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on the second major surface of the nonwoven material. A layer of scrim material is disposed such that it is in partial contact with the pressure sensitive adhesive. The scrim layer can be only partially disposed in the pressure sensitive adhesive, thus providing at least a portion of scrim material which extends above the pressure sensitive adhesive layer and which is substantially free from adhesive. This can help to reinforce the adhesive layer and provide adequate adhesion to the surface needing protection while still allowing for easy removal of the Dirt Trap when changing is required.

In one embodiment, the Dirt Trap nonwoven material can comprise spun laced fibers selected from the group comprising polyester fibers, rayon fibers, polyolefin fibers (e.g.

polypropylene and blend fibers), cotton fibers, and equivalents and blends thereof. In one specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the nonwoven material comprises spun laced polyester fibers. The interstices in the nonwoven’ s surface are effective to capture airborne paint and coating particles.

In one embodiment, the adhesive of the Dirt Trap was a pressure sensitive adhesive made using the process described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,294,249 and 5,804,610 (both incorporated by reference herein) comprising an acrylate adhesive having a monomer blend range from about 100/0% to about 95/5% iso-octyl acrylate (IOA)/acrylic acid (AA), from about 0.07 to about 0.30% 2,2-dimethoxy-l,2-diphenylethan-l-one, commonly known as Irgacure 651 from Ciba

Specialty Chemicals Corporation, from about 0 to about 0.05% Iso-octyl thioglycolate (IOTG) from Evans Chemetics, LP, from about 0.10 to about 0.25% alpha-benzophenone (ABP), from about 0 to about 0.6% octadecyl 3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-ditertbutyl-phenyl)propanoate commonly known as Irgacure 1076 FD from Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation, and from about 0 to about 0.02% 1, 6-Hexane Diol diacrylate (HDDA). The resulting adhesive can be coated or laminated on the nonwoven substrate by methods known in the art, thus forming the resultant pressure sensitive adhesive article.

In one embodiment, the scrim of the Dirt Trap material was a greige cloth, which is defined as a "light to medium weight, loom state, woven fabric without any additional finishing commonly known as gauze. Greige cloth, taken directly from the loom, is not processed through any additional finishing operations." (taken from the website for American Fiber and Finishing Co., Albermarle, N.C. (http://www.affme.com/). The scrim can comprise a material having a thread count with less than about one hundred threads in the warp or machine direction for every thirty threads in the fill or cross direction, in some other embodiments less than about fifty threads in the warp direction for every thirty threads in the fill direction, and in yet further embodiments less than about thirty threads in the warp direction for every fifteen threads in the fill direction.

The thread count and fiber denier can be selected such that a proper balance between material reinforcement, tackiness and adhesiveness is met. When the scrim is at least partially free from adhesive, if the scrim material has too high a thread count and/or too high fiber denier, then too much of the underlying pressure sensitive adhesive layer is covered by the scrim and the protection sheet is not tacky or adhesive enough to stay in place where desired. Conversely, if the scrim material has too low a thread count and/or too low fiber denier, then lamination to the adhesive surface becomes difficult, the adhesive surface is not reinforced properly, and the adhesive surface can become too tacky for easy positioning and removal.

In some embodiments, the Dirt Trap material had a low adhesion backsize that provides a surface with a reduced adhesive affinity for the pressure sensitive adhesive. Such reduced adhesion facilitates the separation of layers as the roll is unwinding. Materials suitable for use as a low adhesion backsize include acrylates, fluorochemicals, polyethylenes, silicones, vinyl copolymers and combinations of these compounds. Compounds suitable as a low adhesion backsize are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,571 issued to Clemens et al. A specific example of a suitable low adhesion backsize is SYL-OFF TM , a silicone compound available from Dow Corning Corp. Exemplary low adhesion backsize compositions are the siloxane and acrylate based compounds disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,513 issued to Riedel, and the water-insoluble hydrophobic urethane (carbamate) copolymer of polyvinyl alcohol and octadecyl isocyanate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,532,011 issued to Dahlquist et al. All of the proceeding patents herein incorporated by reference.

Optional Core Plug

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, optional core plug 400 comprises a flange 420 and a spindle 430 extending from near the center of the flange 420. The spindle has a distal end 440 that can be optionally tapered 450 for easier insertion in the roll’s core. The spindle’s diameter, d, can be sized for a clearance fit with the internal diameter of the roll’s core such that the roll 300 can be rotated while supported by the spindle.

Flange 420 has a perimeter 460 that can be selected to be any suitable geometric shape.

In one embodiment, the perimeter 460 was selected to be substantially square with an optional radius 470 on the corners. In some embodiments, the height, h, of the flange 420 is greater than the diameter, D, of the of the roll 300. This can protect the roll during shipment since the outside surface of the roll does not support its weight, which instead bears on the opposing flanges of the two core plugs 400 as shown in FIG. 2. The roll 300, supported with the flange on each end as shown in FIG. 2, can then be placed into a cardboard box for shipping and transport. This substantially protects the roll 300 from damage during shipping.

Flange 400 has a thickness, t. The width of the recess 140 is sized to be equal to or greater than 2t, thus allowing for two flanges to be placed into each bracket’s recess with the distal ends 440 of each spindle 430 facing opposite directions. Additionally, the J-shape notch 190 is sized to be slightly wider than the diameter, d, of the spindle 430. Two core plugs can be inserted into and supported by each bracket 100. See the middle bracket in Fig. 1 A for an illustration of two core plugs inserted into one bracket 100 supporting the ends of two adjacent rolls 300 of sheet material 315.

In one embodiment, the core plug had a square flange with approximately 10.5 inch sides, 1 inch radius comers, and the thickness of the flange was approximately ½ inch. The spindle was approximately 3 inches long and 2.875 inches in diameter. A 1 inch length taper reduced the diameter from 2.875 inches to 1.875 inches at the distal end The core plug was made from injection molded plastic. Alternatively, the core plug can be made from other suitable materials such as metals or composites

Second Embodiment

This embodiment can also use the individual parts discussed above. Referring now to

FIGS. 5 A and 5B, another embodiment of the wall protection system 10 is shown illustrating a plurality of brackets 100 attached to a wall 200 and a plurality of rolls 300 supported from the brackets. In this embodiment, each roll’s axis of rotation 305 is alternately staggered vertically at two different elevations from the floor 220 and the ends of adjacent rolls can be positioned to meet or overlap slightly horizontally eliminating the gap 360 of the first embodiment.

Additionally, as seen in the sideview, the roll’s axis of rotation 305 can be staggered horizontally at two different distances from the wall 200 such that the upper rolls can payout over the top of and miss the rolls positioned beneath. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper rolls can be wound such that the adhesive side 330 faces the core and the lower rolls can be wound such that the adhesive side 330 faces the exterior. Thus, when the rolls are hung and paid out towards the floor 220, the adhesive side of both the upper and lower rolls faces the wall 200. Alternatively, all the rolls can be wound in the same direction with the adhesive side facing either the core or the exterior surface but the payout of the rolls would need to be altered from that shown. For example, if all the rolls were wound with the adhesive side facing the exterior the upper rolls would need to payout around the lower rolls as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5B.

An optional spacer 500 can be positioned between the bracket 100 and the wall 200 such that the bracket 100 is first attached to the spacer 500 and then the spacer 500 is attached to the wall for the upper brackets holding the upper rolls. This allows for a common bracket to be used in the system while still staggering the roll’s rotation axis horizontally from the wall 200.

Alternatively, two sets of brackets can be designed for direct attachment to the wall 200 with the center of the notch 190 staggered the appropriate horizontal amount. Alternatively, all the rolls 300 could be positioned to be the same distance horizontally from the wall 200, but the upper sheet material 315 would need to be threaded around and over the lower rolls.

The brackets 100 allow for an optional core plug 400 to be inserted into them to support the rolls as discussed. To use the system, soiled, adhesive sheet material is first removed from the wall if present Next, the free end 310 of the sheet material 315 on the first roll 320 is pulled to unwind a portion of the sheet material. When the free end 310 is close to the floor 220 the unwinding procedure is stopped. Next, the adhesive side 330 of the sheet material 315 is attached to the wall 200 by pushing the sheet material towards the wall and applying pressure, typically with one’s hands, to attach the sheet material to the wall 200. In a like manner, the procedure is repeated for the second roll 340, the third roll 350, and any other rolls needed to span the length of the wall 200. As seen, the rolls can have different lengths to cover the length of the wall 200. Optionally, the sheet material 315 can be severed from the corresponding roll near where it is being unwound at the top. Third Embodiment

This embodiment, can also use the individual parts discussed above. Referring now to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the wall protection system 10 is shown illustrating two brackets 100 supporting a roll 300. In this embodiment, the brackets 100 are attached to a trolley 600 that rides on at least one rail 610. In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of spaced apart parallel rails 610 and 612 run substantially the length of the wall 200.

The brackets 100 allow for an optional core plug 400 to be inserted into them to support the roll as previously discussed. To use the system, soiled, adhesive sheet material is first removed from the wall if present. Next, the free end 310 of the sheet material 315 on the roll 300 is pulled to unwind a portion of the sheet material. When the free end 310 is close to the floor 220 the unwinding procedure is stopped. Next, the adhesive side 330 of the sheet material 315 is attached to the wall 200 by pushing the sheet material towards the wall and applying pressure, typically with one’s hands, to attach the sheet material to the wall 200. The upper end of the sheet material is severed near the roll 320 using a cutoff tool such as a knife or scissors. This leaves an applied section of sheet material 620 adhesively attached to the wall 200.

Optionally, additional sheet material 625 can be unwound from the roll prior to severing it and the additional sheet material can be used to cover the rail(s) and wall 200 behind or above the rail(s) as seen by the dashed outline in FIG. 6.

Next the trolley 600 with the brackets 100 and roll 300 is indexed such that the sheet material 315 will be adjacent to or overlap slightly with the previous length of applied sheet material 620. The free end 310 of the sheet material 315 on the roll 300 is again pulled to unwind a portion of the sheet material. When the free end 310 is close to the floor 220 the unwinding procedure is stopped. Next, the adhesive side 330 of the sheet material 315 is attached to the wall 200 by pushing the sheet material towards the wall and applying pressure, typically with one’s hands, to attach the sheet material to the wall 200 The upper end of the sheet material is severed near the roll 320 using a cutoff tool such as a knife or scissors.

Optionally, additional sheet material 625 can be unwound from the roll prior to severing it and the additional sheet material can be used to cover the rail(s) and wall 200 behind or above the rail(s). In a like manner, the procedure is then repeated for the third or additional pieces of sheet material applied to the wall 200.

Suitable rails and trolleys that can be employed include linear bearings blocks to which each bracket is attached to and the linear bearing rails. Linear bearings can be designed to resist twisting moments such that a single rail could be employed. Alternatively, round tubes and wheels with a concave perimeter can be used like the sliding ladder system often used in combination with a tall bookcase in a study or library. Round tubes with linear bushings can be utilized as well. A block can be fabricated to serve as the trolley with four bushings installed, two in each opposing end, and the brackets are attached to the block that is slides along the round tubes. The bushings can be C-shaped such that they can pass by anchor bolts through the center of each tube that are used to secure it. The front of the tube can have linearly spaced clearance holes for screws that are passed through the clearance hole and into a securing hole in the back of the tube that is smaller in diameter than the fastener’s head thereby securing the tube to the wall. A spacer, such as a short length of a small diameter tube, can employed between the exterior surface of the parallel support tubes and the wall to allow passage of the trolley along the wall with the C-section cutout portion passing over the anchor bolts as the trolley is indexed.

Methods of Use

In each of the embodiments, at least one roll of sheet material having one adhesive side or surface is placed into or supported by at least one pair of brackets. Optionally, the roll may be supported with a pair of core plugs, one in each end. The core plugs can have a flange and a spindle such that the flange is disposed into a recess in the bracket and the spindle is supported by a notch in the bracket. In some embodiments, multiple rolls are positioned in a plurality of brackets placed linearly along a wall. All of the rolls may have a common axis of rotation, or the rolls may have two different elevations for the axis of rotation such as a first vertical distance and a second vertical distance with the second vertical distance being greater than the first vertical distance. All of the roll’s axis of rotation may be the same horizontal distance from the wall, or the roll’s axis of rotation may be at two different horizontal distances from the wall such as a first horizontal distance and a second horizontal distance with the second horizontal distance begin greater than the first horizontal distance. Next a free end of the sheet material is pulled to unwind the roll such that the adhesive side faces the wall. The free end is pulled until it is close to or touching the floor. The adhesive side of the sheet material is then attached to the wall and the procedure is repeated for each additional roll along the wall. In some embodiments, a gap between sheets attached to the wall is covered by a separate strip of the sheet material. In other embodiments, the pieces of the sheet material on the wall can be either touching or slightly overlapping depending on the system design. The sheet material can be optionally severed from the roll near the top after it has been attached to the wall. In some embodiments, the roll is indexed along the wall on a trolley attached to at least one rail. In this embodiment, the sheet material is severed from the roll such that the roll and trolley can be indexed into the next position. The sheet material can be severed near where it is being unwound from the roll, or additional sheet material can be unwound from the roll prior to severing it and the additional sheet material can be used to cover the rails and the wall behind or above the rails.

While the system has been primarily described in use with a wall, it can be used to protect other surfaces. For example, the brackets could be attached to a horizontal surface such as a workbench and the system used to protect the surface of the workbench. Thus, a system for protecting a surface comprises: a plurality of rolls of a sheet material having an adhesive on one of the sheet material’s surfaces; the plurality of rolls supported by a plurality of brackets attached to the surface; and wherein the plurality of rolls extend along a length of the surface with the adhesive side facing the surface.

SELECT EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

Embodiment 1. A system for protecting a surface comprising:

a plurality of rolls of a sheet material having an adhesive on one of its surfaces;

the plurality of rolls supported by a plurality of brackets attached to a wall; and wherein the plurality of rolls extended along a length of the wall with the adhesive side facing the wall.

Embodiment 2. The system of embodiment 1 wherein the plurality of rolls each have an axis of rotation and the plurality of rolls share a common axis of rotation.

Embodiment 3. The system of embodiment 1 wherein the plurality of rolls each have an axis of rotation and the plurality of rolls have at least two different vertical elevations for the axis of rotation.

Embodiment 4. The system of embodiments 1 or 3 wherein the plurality of rolls each have an axis of rotation and the plurally of rolls have at least two different horizontal distances for the axis of rotation from the wall.

Embodiment 5. The system of embodiments 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein the bracket comprises a first side, a second side, and a recess is located between the first and second sides.

Embodiment 6. The system of embodiments 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 wherein the plurality of rolls are supported by a core plug with one core plug inserted into each end of the roll. Embodiment 7. The system of embodiment 6 wherein the core plug comprises a flange with a spindle extending from near the center of the flange.

Embodiment 8. The system of embodiment 7 wherein the flange is disposed into the recess.

Embodiment 9. The system of embodiment 8 wherein two flanges fit into one recess on a

bracket thereby supporting the ends of two adjacent rolls.

Embodiment 10. The system of embodiment 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 wherein the bracket comprises the first side, the second side and an end wall joining the first and second sides with the recess located between the first and second sides, and an upper surface of each of the first and second sides comprises a notch.

Embodiment 11. The system of embodiment 10 wherein the notch is J-shaped.

Embodiment 12. The system of embodiments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 wherein the sheet material comprises a nonwoven material having opposing first and second surfaces; a pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on the second major surface; a scrim material in contact with the pressure sensitive material; and wherein the scrim material is partially embedded in the pressure sensitive material such that at least a portion of the scrim material extends above the pressure sensitive adhesive and is substantially free from adhesive.

Embodiment 13. A method of protecting a wall comprising the system of embodiment 1 and the steps of:

pulling on a free end of the sheet material and unwinding one of the plurality of rolls; pushing the sheet material towards the wall and attaching the sheet material to the wall with the adhesive; and

repeating the pulling, the unwinding, the pushing, and the attaching processes with the remaining rolls.

Embodiment 14. A system for protecting a wall comprising:

a roll of a sheet material having an adhesive on one of its surfaces;

the roll of sheet material supported by a pair of brackets attached to a trolley; and at least one rail extending along a length of the wall with the trolley attached to the at least one rail; and the adhesive side of the sheet material positioned facing the wall.

Embodiment 15. A method of protecting a wall comprising the system of embodiment 14 and the steps of:

pulling on a free end of the sheet material and unwinding the roll;

pushing the sheet material towards the wall and attaching the sheet material to the wall with the adhesive;

severing the sheet material adhesively attached to the wall from the roll; and indexing the trolley along the wall such that the roll of sheet material will be adjacent to or slightly overlap the sheet material adhesively attached to the wall; and

repeating the pulling, the unwinding, the pushing, and the attaching processes with the sheet material.