DESCRIPTION

"A FIXING SYSTEM FOR FINISHING AND DECORATIVE PROFILES"

The present invention relates to a fixing system for joint profiles, finishing profiles or decorative profiles. It can be applied in the fixing of finishing profiles, decorative profiles or expansion joints, for use with wall coverings, ceilings, partitions or floor panels, and in the case of the latter, whether they are stratified, ceramic, or made of natural stone or parquet.

Prior art

Many fixing systems for joints exist on the market, all of which use at least two elements that are separate or manufactured jointly with the profiles. Normally, one of the elements, the lower one, is glued or screwed and acts as the base for an upper finishing element, the said elements being joined by various clipping processes. These elements are made of plastic, aluminium or another metal, or wood derivatives. These systems, as well as being expensive, require the components or parts to be assembled beforehand. In turn, this assembly requires specialist workers, which nowadays involves a high cost.

Fixing systems that use gluing are also known. They work by means of a strip of self-adhesive tape (or glued applied directly) , which is placed on the lower part of the profile to be used and allows it to be fixed by sticking to one or both of the covering edges. This is no doubt an efficient system, though it presents some inconveniences relating to the removal of the profile. In fact, the removal of the profile, by accident or necessity, damages the self- adhesive strip of tape, which cannot be reused.

Summary of the invention

The basic objective of the present invention is to devise a system which is extremely simple to apply and can be reapplied whenever it is dislodged, for any reason, from the place of fixing.

Another objective of the invention is to devise a fixing system for profiles, which is very easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

A further objective of the invention is to allow rapid assembly and disassembly for cleaning or repairing in the case of flooring, or for the repairing or inspection of cables (in a floor or wall) if the profile has the function of a cable cover.

In order to achieve the abovementioned objectives, the applicant has devised a system which uses

permanent magnets as its fixing elements, the said magnets being placed in the form of a strip along the profile to be fixed and on the edge of the joint. Obviously, the said magnets must be positioned in such a way that the polarisation of the sides that are in contact is opposite on the two strips. If only one magnet is used, the polarisation will have to be appropriate for fixing on the metal part of the profile.

Brief description of the drawings

The description that follows is based on the drawings attached hereto, which represent without any restrictive character: - In figures Ia to If, various embodiments of the subject of the invention; and

- In figure 2, a further embodiment of the invention, wherein the profile has two magnets, one at each end.

Detailed description of the invention

As may be observed from the figures, the fixing system basically consists of two magnetic strips positioned on the profile 1 to be fixed and on one of the edges of the joint that it is intended to be hidden (not shown) . The strip 2 is of reduced thickness and has a predetermined length and width. The profile 1 has two projections 3, the height of which are in accordance with the thickness of the strip 2 and which, as well as positioning the strip 2 in a

rapid and precise manner, thus acting as a guide, ensure that it does not move when it is subjected to forces which could otherwise dislodge it from the profile 1.

The magnetic strip 2 can be grooved on one or both sides. This grooving will on one side increase the surface for application of the glue and on the other side minimise slipping caused by cutting forces to which the profile may be subjected.