Manual and automatic heat welding gun

A device for sealing seams between adjoining sheets of flooring comprising:

• a portable, handheld seam sealing welding gun weighing no more than about 10 pounds and small enough to be lifted and manipulated for operation with only one hand, and having a body defining a longitudinal axis of welding gun alignment and having a front heating element end and an opposite rear operator gripping end,
• a sealant dispensing tip mounted on said front heat welding element end of said body,
• a roller mounting structure having opposing ends wherein said roller mounting structure is formed as an inseparable part of said rear operator gripping end of said welding gun body, and said roller mounting structure defines an axis of roller rotation,
• a seam follower oriented perpendicular to said axis of roller rotation, wherein said seam follower together with said longitudinal axis of welding gun alignment define a welding gun equilibrium plane that is perpendicular to said adjoining sheets of flooring when said welding gun is operated to dispense sealant between said adjoining sheets of flooring,
• rollers mounted on said opposing ends of said roller mounting structure equidistant from said welding gun equilibrium plane, and said rollers are disposed on said roller mounting structure for rotation about said axis of roller rotation,
• an electrically driven propulsion system with an adjustable speed switch for driving said rollers in rotation to travel along said adjoining sheets of flooring in a direction away from said sealant dispensing tip at a speed set by said manually adjustable speed switch, and
• an electrical kill switch connected to disable said propulsion system.

A device for discharging sealant to seal adjacent sheets of flooring together in a seam therebetween comprising:

• a handheld seam welding implement weighing no more than about 10 pounds and having an elongated body defining an axis of welding implement alignment and having a first heating end and a second, opposite power supply end,
• a sealant dispensing tip mounted on said first heating end of said body,
• a roller support structure formed as an inseparable portion of said power supply end of said body, wherein said roller support structure has mutually opposing extremities and defines a transverse axis of rotation extending between said mutually opposing extremities,
• a thin, seam following element depending from said roller support structure to fit into said seam and oriented perpendicular to said axis of rotation, and said seam following element and said axis of welding implement alignment together define a welding implement plane of operation perpendicular to said sheets of flooring when said welding implement is operated to discharge sealant into said seam,
• a pair of rollers carried by said roller support structure and said rollers are located on opposite sides of said welding implement plane of operation from said seam following element,
• an electrically powered propulsion system with an adjustable speed switch for driving said rollers in rotation to travel along said adjoining sheets of flooring in a direction away from said sealant dispensing tip, and
• an electrical kill switch to connected to disable said electrical propulsion system.