BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a carpet kicker with a wing panel, and more particularly to a carpet kicker that is employed to move the free end of the carpet forward when the carpet is laid. Moreover, a wing panel with spreading units can be attached thereto for multiplying the spread area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Carpets are commonly laid on the floor of our home or office and give us an indoor warm and comfortable feeling. However, carpets must be laid evenly and smoothly on the floor, or else the carpets will be uneven, not only affecting its appearance, but also creating a problem of stumbling people easily.
If a large carpet is laid, a user usually cannot pull and spread the thick and heavy carpet smoothly by hands, and thus a carpet kicker is needed for the job.
Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art carpet kicker 70 is used to hold a free end of a carpet 62 to push it towards a pin board 60 at a wall, and the carpet kicker 70 includes a rectangular main body 71, a kicking unit 72 installed at a front end of the main body 71, a plurality of protruding pins 73 disposed at the bottom surface of the kicking unit 72 for hooking and pulling the carpet 62. The height of the protruding pin 73 can be controlled by a knob 74. The main body 11 includes a cushion 75 disposed at an end of the main body 11, and carpet kickers of this sort are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,023.
When the carpet kicker 70 is in use, a user presses the main body 71 by hands, and pushes the cushion 75 in the arrowed direction by knees, such that the kicking unit 72 holds and moves the carpet 62 gradually towards a pin board 60 on a wall, and finally hooks an edge of the carpet 62 to a hook pin 61 of the pin board 60 to spread and fix the carpet 62.
Referring to FIG. 2 for another prior art carpet kicker 80, the carpet kicker 80 comprises an air pressure input end 81 connected to an air compressor 90 for providing air pressure to a housing 83 through a handle 82. The housing 83 includes a piston (not shown) for controlling a piston rod 85 to move forward and backward axially, and an external end of the piston rod 85 is connected to a hooking rod 86, and the bottom of the hooking rod 86 includes a hook 861. Further, a kicking unit 84 is installed at the bottom of a front end of the housing 83.
However, the width W1 of the kicking unit 70, 84 for hooking and pulling the carpet 62 is almost the same to that of the apparatus (see FIG. 3) no matter if the manual type carpet kicker 70 or the power type carpet kicker 89 is employed. On the one hand, this design can meet the requirement when the side of the apparatus approaches to a wall parallel thereto. On the other hand, the width W1 of the kicking unit is from 7 cm to 10 cm, thereby concentrating the whole force for hooking and pulling the carpet on a small area with 10 cm when the whole carpet is gripped by this smaller area. As a result, a ̂-shaped unevenness is created and a further improvement is needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a carpet kicker with a wing panel which is attached to an original kicking unit without use of any tools when required for increasing the lateral spreading area. In this way, the carpet can be smoothly moved forward.
Another object of the invention is to provide a carpet kicker with a wing panel that can be rapidly and easily removed without affecting the function of the carpet kicker when the wing panel is not used.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the invention includes a main body and a first spreading unit for spreading the carpet. The first spreading unit is attached to the bottom of the main body. A first spreading unit is attached to the bottom of the main body. Both sides of the first spreading unit are provided with a rail for connecting with a wing panel in place. The wing panel includes an elongated portion that is at least two times as long as the width of the first spreading unit. A U-shaped groove opposing to both sides of the first spreading unit is formed at the internal side of the center of the elongated portion. Both sides of the U-shaped groove are provided with a rail recess corresponding to the rail at both sides of the first spreading unit. A receiving chamber with an opening directed downward is formed at both sides of the U-shaped groove, respectively. Moreover, a needle unit for spreading the carpet is disposed within each of the receiving chambers such that a second spreading unit and a third spreading unit are symmetrically positioned at both sides of the U-shaped groove of the elongated portion. In this way, the area for simultaneously spreading the carpet is multiplied.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions and its accompanying figures of which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a conventional manual carpet kicker;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a conventional pneumatic carpet kicker;
FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of a conventional carpet kicker in an application state;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carpet kicker of the invention;
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the wing panel arrangement in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the wing panel arrangement in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the wing panel arrangement in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line of 8-8 in FIG. 7; and
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the carpet kicker with a wing panel in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
First of all, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a preferred embodiment of the invention includes a carpet kicker main body 10. A first spreading unit 20 for spreading the carpet is attached to the bottom of the carpet kicker main body 10. The carpet kicker main body 10 and the first spreading unit 20 are the prior art and can be manually or electrically operated. According to the embodiment, the machine body is an electric type of U.S. Pat. No. 7,222,898, and should not be restricted thereto. A hook element 11 is disposed at a front end of the carpet kicker main body 10. Moreover, the top of the first spreading unit 20 is provided with a knob 21 for controlling the protruding length of projecting needles 22.
The carpet kicker in accordance with the invention has the following features.
Both sides of the first spreading unit 20 are provided with a rail 23 for connecting with a wing panel 30 in place. As shown in FIG. 5, the wing panel 30 includes an elongated portion 31 that is at least two times as long as the width W1 of the first spreading unit 20. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the width W2 of the elongated portion 31 is preferably ca. 30 cm when the width W1 of the first spreading unit 20 is 10 cm (see FIGS. 6 and 7). Of course, it can be longer. As shown in FIG. 5, a U-shaped groove 32 opposing to both sides of the first spreading unit 20 is formed at the internal side of the center of the elongated portion 31. Both sides of the U-shaped groove 32 are provided with a rail recess 33 corresponding to the rail 23 at both sides of the first spreading unit 20 such that the rails 23 fit into the rail recesses 33 when the first spreading unit 20 is inserted into the U-shaped groove 32. In this way, a reliable connection is ensured. As if the diver wears diving shoes before diving, the width of the carpet kicker in accordance with the invention for gripping the carpet becomes triple (from W1 to W2). It is not necessary to use any tools in attaching the wing panel 30 to the carpet kicker. In addition, no other fixing elements are required. An engaging force is created when the carpet kicker main body 10 is pushed forward. Likewise, the wing panel 30 is easily removed by pulling it forward.
However, only the elongated portion 31 is not enough for hooking and pulling the carpet. Therefore, a receiving chamber 34 with an opening directed downward is formed at both sides of the U-shaped groove 32, respectively. A needle unit 40 for spreading the carpet is disposed within each of the receiving chambers 34 such that a second spreading unit 50A and a third spreading unit 50B are symmetrically positioned at both sides of the U-shaped groove 32 of the elongated portion 31 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). In this way, the area for simultaneously spreading the carpet is multiplied.
Referring back to FIG. 5, the receiving chamber 34 of the wing panel 30 includes a through hole 35 at the top thereof. Moreover, the needle unit 40 includes a knob 41, a threaded element 42, a needle base 43 and a plurality of the positioning strips 46. The knob 41 corresponding to the through hole 35 is disposed at the top of the elongated portion 31. The threaded element 42 has a top portion 421 projecting through the through hole 35 to be in connection with the knob 41. The threaded element 42 further includes a bottom portion in form of a threaded body 422. The center of the needle base 43 includes a threaded sleeve 44 corresponding to the threaded body 422. A plurality of needles 45 are arranged at the bottom of the needle base 43. The positioning strips 46 are fixed by screws 47 at the bottom of the needle base 43 and interposed between the needles 45.
As shown in FIG. 8, the vertical position of the needle base 43 within the receiving chamber 34 is adjusted by turning the knob 41 in match of the threaded element 42, thereby controlling the protruding length of the needles 45 for meeting requirements of different carpets. Of course, the needle unit 40 within the first spreading unit 20 can be also identical with the needle unit 40 of the second and third spreading units 50A. However, it should not be restricted thereto.
FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of the application state of the invention fitted with the wing panel 30. The area for gripping the carpet kicker is multiplied such that the carpet can be pulled and spread more smooth and stable.
Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20090195003
