Flooring edge tools
AssigneeColumbia Insurance Company
InventorsDANIEL TUMLIN, WILLIAM DREW PIERCE, CHAVIS WILLIAMS, JOHN MOORE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hand-held or table-mounted tool for adhering a flooring edge finish to a flooring edge. The hand-held tool includes a main body, which can include a handle, a base, and a bi-level soleplate, which is heated during application to adhere a flooring edge finish to a flooring edge. The soleplate of the tool can be made of polymer, carbon, metal, ceramic, glass, or a mixture thereof.
Claims20
A flooring edge tool for applying a flooring edge finish to a flooring surface comprising:
- a main body comprising a base having a length L and a first width W1, and a handle or grasping surface;
- a bi-level soleplate coplanar with and coupled to the base, the bi-level soleplate comprising:
- a first section having a first thickness T1, the length L and a second width W2;
- and
- a second section having a second thickness T2, the length L and a third width W3,
- wherein T2 is greater than T1 and W3 is approximately equal to W1−W2;
- and
- a heating element within the main body for heating the bi-level soleplate.
A method of applying a flooring edge finish to flooring using a flooring edge tool comprising:
- positioning a flooring edge finish along an edge of flooring;
- and
- applying heat, pressure or a combination thereof to the flooring edge finish using the flooring edge tool having a bi-level soleplate, wherein the flooring edge finish is adhered to a bottom surface and an edge of the flooring simultaneously.
A heating table for applying and adhering a flooring edge finish to flooring, said table comprising:
- a feed section comprising:
- a first lower plate having a length and width;
- an upper plate positioned along both the length of the first lower plate and a portion of the width;
- and
- a first edge plate positioned along the length of the first lower plate and adjacent to the upper plate, wherein the upper plate and the first edge plate are separated by a gap;
- wherein the flooring edge finish is folded while moving through the feed section, such that a first longitudinal section of the finishing strip is positioned between the first lower and upper plates, and a second longitudinal section of the finishing strip is positioned between the upper plate and the first edge plate;
- and
- an attachment section abutting the feed section, comprising:
- a second lower plate;
- a second edge plate;
- and
- one or more heating elements for heating the second lower plate and the second edge plate to apply the flooring edge finish to bottom and edge surfaces of flooring.
A method of applying a flooring edge finish to flooring using a table-mounted flooring edge tool comprising a feed section and an attachment section, the method comprising:
- feeding a flooring edge finish into the feed section so that the flooring edge finish contacts the edge, bottom, or both edge and bottom of the flooring;
- feeding the flooring along the feed section so that a bottom and side of the flooring is adjacent to the flooring edge finish when leaving the feed section and enters the attachment section;
- and
- applying heat, pressure, or a combination thereof to the flooring edge finish using a heating element coupled to the attachment section, wherein the flooring edge finish is adhered to a bottom surface and an edge of the flooring simultaneously.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.