US 2003/0115760 A1 · Floor groover

Abstract

A manually operated floor grooving tool is provided which has opposing front and rear ends with a seam-following roller at its front end and a groove-following roller at its rear end. The tool also employs a pair of grooving blades, one at the front end and one at the rear end. The front grooving blade is inclined upwardly and rearwardly with its cutting tip located just behind the forward axis of rotation of the seam-following guide. The rear-end grooving blade, on the other hand, projects rearwardly from the rear end of the tool and is inclined upwardly and forwardly and behind the groove-following roller. The front-end grooving blade is utilized to form a groove along abutting sections of flooring with the seam-following guide following the seam between the abutting sections and with the groove-following guide traveling in the groove formed by the front-end grooving blade. At a vertical abutment, such as a wall or a cabinet, the orientation of the tool is reversed so that the rear-end grooving blade is directed toward the vertical abutment. Since the rear-end grooving blade projects beyond the end of the tool in which it is secured, it can complete the formation of the groove all the way up to the vertical abutment. The groove is thereafter filled with sealant in a conventional manner. The tool and blades of the invention can also be utilized to create curved grooves in a flooring surface which are later filled with sealant to form decorative patterns.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A floor groover for creating grooves in sheets of flooring comprising:

a longitudinally aligned elongated body having front and rear ends and defining a handgrip therebetween,
a narrow, rotatable seam-following guide mounted at said front end of said body for rotation about a forward axis of rotation perpendicular to the alignment of said body,
a rotatable groove-following guide that is wider than said seam-following guide mounted at said rear end of said body for rotation about a rear axis of rotation perpendicular to the alignment of said body and parallel to said forward axis of rotation, whereby the alignment of said seam-following and groove-following guides defines a longitudinal plane perpendicular to said axes of rotation,
a metal front-end grooving blade secured to said body and projecting downwardly and forwardly at an inclination therefrom at the underside thereof centered on said longitudinal plane and formed in the shape of a concave upwardly facing scoop having a forwardly directed cutting edge that is located directly behind said forward axis of rotation of said seam-following guide, and
a metal rear-end grooving blade projecting rearwardly from said rear end of said body and downwardly and rearwardly at an inclination relative to said body centered on said longitudinal plane and formed in the shape of a concave upwardly facing scoop having a rearwardly directed cutting edge that is spaced rearwardly from said groove-following guide and beyond said rear end of said body.

2 more elements

A floor groover for creating grooves in sheets of flooring comprising:

a longitudinally extending body having opposing front and rear ends and an intermediate portion providing a handgrip therebetween,
a seam follower mounted to said body at said front end thereof for rotation about a forward axis that lies in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal alignment of said body and including a narrow, annular, rotatable seam-following guide, and
a metal front-end grooving blade defining a longitudinally aligned, concave upwardly facing scooping channel and having an open cutting mouth at its forward tip located directly behind said forward axis and said front-end scooping blade is secured to said body and is oriented in an upwardly and rearwardly inclined disposition from said narrow, rotatable seam-following guide.

A floor groover for cutting grooves in sheets of flooring at seams between abutting sheets of flooring comprising:

a longitudinally extending body having opposing front and rear ends and an intermediate portion providing a handgrip between said front and rear ends,
a seam-tracking roller mounted to said front end of said body for rotation about a forward transverse axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the direction of travel of said seam-tracking roller and said seam-racking roller includes a narrow, annular, rotatable seam-following guide,
a metal front-end grooving blade defining a longitudinally aligned, concave upwardly facing scoop and defining a concave cutting edge at its forward tip located directly behind said forward transverse axis, and said front-end grooving blade is secured to said body and is oriented in an upwardly and rearwardly inclined disposition directly behind said forward transverse axis of rotation,
a groove-tracking roller mounted to said rear end of said body for rotation about a rear transverse axis of rotation that is parallel to said forward transverse axis of rotation, and said groove-tracking roller includes an annular, rotatable groove-tracking guide that is wider than said seam-following guide,
a metal rear-end grooving blade defining a longitudinally aligned, concave upwardly facing scoop having a concave cutting edge at its lower tip, and said rear-end grooving blade is secured to said body and is located behind said groove-following guide and is oriented in an upwardly and forwardly inclined disposition behind said rear transverse axis of rotation in longitudinal alignment with said groove-tracking guide, with said cutting edge of said rear-end grooving blade projecting rearwardly beyond said rear end of said body.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Floor groover

Life of this patent

Floor groover

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18