Carpet seaming iron and method
AssigneeOrcon Corporation
InventorsJames M. Carroll, Robert T. Zajdel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A carpet seaming iron includes a platen, a heating element conductively coupled to the platen, and a passageway interposed between the platen and handle. The passageway is configured to accommodate a piece of seaming tape over the platen and under the handle of the seaming iron. The handle is designed to protrude between adjacent pieces of carpet that are to be seamed together. The seaming iron may be used to make a seam using a seaming tape having thermal adhesive on an upper side, by heating the seaming tape from below. Advantageously, a seam may be completed without contact between the thermal adhesive of the seaming tape and the platen of the seaming iron.
Claims20
A seaming iron for use with thermally-activated seaming tapes, the seaming iron comprising:
- a thermally conductive platen having a leading edge, a trailing edge, an upper surface, and a bottom surface;
- a heating element in thermally conductive contact with the platen;
- a bridge connected to the platen, configured to provide a passageway between the upper surface of the platen and an undersurface of the bridge, the passageway large enough to permit a length of seaming tape to be drawn lengthwise through the passageway over the platen;
- and
- a handle connected to the bridge, the handle extending above the passageway away from the platen.
A method for seaming adjacent pieces of carpet using a thermally-activated seaming tape having a thermal adhesive on an upper side of the tape, and a seaming iron having a passageway interposed between a handle and a heated platen, the method comprising:
- positioning the platen and passageway of the seaming iron on a supporting surface underneath the adjacent pieces of carpet, with the handle protruding between and above the adjacent pieces of carpet;
- positioning the seaming tape in the passageway in contact with the platen, with the upper side of the tape facing a backing of each of the pieces of carpet and facing away from the platen;
- heating the platen so as to melt the thermal adhesive on the seaming tape at a molten portion;
- positioning the carpet together with the backing of each of the adjacent pieces of carpet in the molten portion of the seaming tape;
- and
- moving the seaming iron forward between the adjacent pieces of carpet away from the molten portion, thereby cooling the thermal adhesive to harden it and to fix the seaming tape to the backing of each of the adjacent pieces of carpet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.