US 12,024,902 B2Granted

Tapeless fastening and finishing system for wallboard installation

AssigneeTrue Corners, LLC

InventorsCharles W. Mineo, Samuel J. Mineo, Mark F. Mineo

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Abstract

A wallboard-fastening device secures first and second wallboards to a framing member without fasteners passing through the wallboards. The device includes first, second, and third framing panels joined along lengthwise edges to form a three-sided cup sized to fit around the framing member, first and second flat-spring flanges joined along lengthwise edges to form a front seam, and a channel-dividing panel joined lengthwise to the front seam and to the second framing panel to form first and second channels that receive the first and second wallboards. The flat-spring flanges flex to exert restoring forces on the wallboards that push the wallboards against the second framing panel. The device may be configured for edge joints, outside-corner joints, and inside-corners, and thus may be combined for any type of wallboard installation, including both parallel and perpendicular applications.

A wallboard-fastening device for securing first and second wallboards to a framing member, comprising:

a frame comprising first and second framing panels joined lengthwise to each other, the frame being sized to fit against a corner of the framing member where an outward face of the framing member and a side face of the framing member meet, the first framing panel being configured such that one or more fasteners can pass through the first framing panel to secure the first framing panel to the side face of the framing member while the second framing panel contacts the outward face of the framing member;
first and second flat-spring flanges joined lengthwise to each other;
and
a channel-dividing panel having first and second channel-dividing-panel edges, the first channel-dividing-panel edge being joined lengthwise to one or both of the first and second flat-spring flanges, the second channel-dividing-panel edge being joined lengthwise to the second framing panel to divide the second framing panel into first and second portions;
wherein:
the channel-dividing panel, first flat-spring flange, and first portion of the second framing panel form a first channel sized to receive the first wallboard;
the channel-dividing panel, second flat-spring flange, and second portion of the second framing panel form a second channel sized to receive the second wallboard;
the first flat-spring flange flexes, when the first wallboard is inserted into the first channel, to exert a first restoring force that pushes the first wallboard against the first portion of the second framing panel to secure the first wallboard against the first portion of the second framing panel;
and
the second flat-spring flange flexes, when the second wallboard is inserted into the second channel, to exert a second restoring force that pushes the second wallboard against the second portion of the second framing panel to secure the second wallboard against the second portion of the second framing panel.

7 more elements

Facts

Application

17/431,415Filed 14 Feb 2020 · us provisional application

Priority

15 Feb 2019

Published

US 2022/0120097 A121 Apr 2022

Granted

2 Jul 2024

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

E04F 19/062
Specially designed for securing panels or masking the edges of wall- or floor-covering elements: used between similar elements
E04F 19/064
Used between similar elements: in corners
E04B 2/7457
With panels and support posts, extending from floor to ceiling: with wallboards attached to the outer faces of the posts, parallel to the partition
E04F 19/024
For use at vertical intersections of walls: for outside use, e.g. imitating brickwork

Abstract

Claims22