PROTECTIVE CAP FOR MASONRY STRAPS

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

I hereby claim the benefit under 35 U.S.C., Section 120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/787,579 filed on Jul. 29, 2024.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to protective coverings and more particularly pertains to a new protective covering for preventing punctures and lacerations caused by exposed sheet metal hardware.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art discloses myriad coverings for shielding construction elements such as rebar and T-posts and drawing attention to the same to communicate hazards. However, the prior art fails to disclose such a covering which is adapted to fit over masonry straps and similar hardware elements. Such an apparatus would be advantageous by covering previously overlooked puncture and laceration hazards. Such a covering may also have a sleeve with corrugated walls to improve strength and rigidity and which has an envelope that is defined between inner portions of the corrugated walls which contains an end of a masonry strap or similar hardware element when the covering is applied to the element.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base with a top side, a bottom side, and a perimeter side. The perimeter side extends between the top side and the bottom side. A sleeve is coupled to and extends away from the top side of the base. The sleeve has a front wall, a back wall, and a pair of lateral walls. The lateral walls are coupled to and extend between the front wall and the back wall. The sleeve has a slot which is defined by the front wall, the back wall, and the pair of lateral walls. The slot is open at a top end of the sleeve. The slot is sized and configured to fit around an exposed end of an article of hardware. The front wall is corrugated to have a plurality of inner front wall segments and a plurality of outer front wall segments arranged in alternating fashion between the pair of lateral walls. The front wall further comprises a plurality of joining front wall segments, each of which is coupled to and extends between an associated inner front wall segment and an associated outer front wall segment. An envelope with a rectangular cross section is defined between the plurality of inner front wall segments and the back wall.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cap apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new protective covering embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the cap apparatus 10 generally comprises a base 12 which has a top side 14, a bottom side 16, and a perimeter side 18. The perimeter side 18 extends between the top side 14 and the bottom side 16, and the perimeter side 18 tapers from the top side 14 to the bottom side 16. In some embodiments, the perimeter side 18 also may have a rounded edge with the top side 14 and a rounded edge with the bottom side 16. The top side 14 and the bottom side 16 have oval shapes but may have any suitable shape, such as a circle, a rectangle, or another polygon. Shapes with sharp or abrupt corners are contemplated for the top side 14 and the bottom side 16, but rounded corners and vertices may be preferable to avoid injury to a user when the user collides with or grasps the base 12 at the perimeter side 18.

A sleeve 20 is coupled to and extends away from the top side 14 of the base 12. The sleeve 20 has a front wall 22, a back wall 24, and a pair of lateral walls 26. The lateral walls 26 are coupled to and extend between the front wall 22 and the back wall 24. The sleeve 20 has a slot 28 which is defined by the front wall 22, the back wall 24, and the pair of lateral walls 26. The slot 28 is open at a top end 30 of the sleeve 20. The slot 28 is sized and configured to fit around the exposed end 48 of the article of hardware 46 with an interference fit. A clearance fit or other fits suitable to position the sleeve 20 around the exposed end 48 of the article of hardware 46 are contemplated.

The front wall 22 and the back wall 24 each are corrugated to improve strength and rigidity of the sleeve 20. The front wall 22 has a plurality of inner front wall segments 32 and a plurality of outer front wall segments 34 arranged in alternating fashion between the pair of lateral walls 26. The front wall 22 further comprises a plurality of joining front wall segments 36, each of which is coupled to and extends between an associated inner front wall segment 32 of the plurality of inner front wall segments 32 and an associated outer front wall segment 34 of the plurality of outer front wall segments 34. Each inner front wall segment 32 and each outer front wall segment 34 is equal in length to each other as measured between the pair of lateral walls 26.

The back wall 24 has a plurality of inner back wall segments 38 and a plurality of outer back wall segments 40 arranged in alternating fashion between the pair of lateral walls 26. The back wall 24 further comprises a plurality of joining back wall segments 42, each of which is coupled to and extends between an associated inner back wall segment 38 of the plurality of inner back wall segments 38 and an associated outer back wall segment 40 of the plurality of outer back wall segments 40. Each inner back wall segment 38 and each outer back wall segment 40 is equal in length to each other as measured between the pair of lateral walls 26.

Each lateral wall 26 is coupled to and extends between a corresponding inner front wall segment 32 and a corresponding inner back wall segment 38. Each inner front wall segment 32 is positioned opposite an associated inner back wall segment 38. Consequently, each outer front wall segment 34 is also positioned opposite an associated outer back wall segment 40. An envelope 44 within the slot 28 is defined by the pair of lateral walls 26, the plurality of inner front wall segments 32, and the plurality of outer front wall segments 34. The envelope 44 has a rectangular cross section, and the sleeve 20 is configured to receive the article of hardware 46 into the slot 28 such that the article of hardware 46 lies substantially within the envelope 44. In some embodiments, deviations in the cross section of the envelope 44 may be present to accommodate features of the article of hardware 46.

The cap apparatus 10 may be integrally formed of polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, or other suitable materials. The cap apparatus 10 also may be formed of distinct segments fastened together. The cap apparatus 10 may include indicia such as a bright, distinctive color (e.g., orange), a graphic, or the like to warn viewers of a hazard.

In use, the cap apparatus 10 is placed to cover the exposed end 48 of the article of hardware 46. Typical hardware which may be covered by the cap apparatus 10 includes masonry straps and ties which often have substantially rectangular ends that are exposed when anchored into concrete. These exposures pose a puncture and laceration hazard. other similar hardware includes similar sheet metal brackets which may have exposed end also may be covered. The base 12 extends outwardly from the sleeve 20 to keep appendages or other objects away form the article of hardware 46 and to provide a suitable gripping structure in the form of the perimeter of the base 12.

The tapered nature of the perimeter side 18 of the base 12 facilitates deflection of appendages and other objects which may impact the perimeter side 18 from a generally rearward direction with respect to the base 12. The material used may also cushion against forces exerted against the cap apparatus 10 which would otherwise puncture or lacerate against the article of hardware 46.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.