DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the handheld floor seam grooving tool of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view illustrating use of the tool to form grooves in the edges of the coving areas of abutting sheets of flooring.
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan detail view illustrating a portion of the grooving tool of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a detail view taken along the lines 4-4 of the FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative manner of use of the tool of the invention to that shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 is a top plan view illustrating use of the tool as shown from above in FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 illustrates a grooving tool 10 for cutting grooves 19 in the concave, upwardly curved coving surfaces 12 of abutting sheets of flooring 14 and 16 at a linear interface 18 therebetween. The grooving tool 10 is provided with an elongated, hard rubber handle 20 having a handgrip portion 22 for manual gripping by the hand of a user and having an opposite blade mounting end 24. A cutting blade mount 26 projects linearly from the blade mounting end 24 of the handle 20. The cutting blade mount 26 is preferably formed of a plate of stainless steel about sixty millimeters in width and has opposing faces 28 and 30, each of which has a generally rectangular blade seating pocket 32 defined therein. A transverse blade mounting aperture 35 is defined through the cutting blade mount 26 at about the centers of the blade seating pockets 32. The opposing faces 28 and 30 of the cutting blade mount 26 are oriented parallel to the alignment of the handle 20. The handle 20 may be considered to be aligned along a longitudinal, bifurcating center plane 34, indicated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6.
The cutting blade mount 26 supports a cutting blade 36 formed of a strip of stainless steel about thirty-six millimeters in length and about twelve millimeters in width, which is bent into a U-shaped cross section. The cutting blade has opposing legs 38 and 40 joined together by an arcuately curved, hairpin bend center portion 42.
Both of the long edges 44 and 46 of the metal strip forming the cutting blade 36 are sharpened, so that the U-shaped hairpin bend portion 42 can cut in either direction. Mounting apertures 48 are defined through both of the blade legs 38 and 40 so that they reside in registration with the mounting aperture 35 in the cutting blade mount 26. The pair of flat blade legs 38 and 40 of the cutting blade 36 fit into the seating pockets 32 to embrace the opposing faces 28 and 30 of the cutting blade mount 26.
The cutting blade 36 is releaseably attached to the cutting blade mount 26 by means of a screw 50, a washer 52 and a nut 54. The shank of the screw 50 passes through the mounting apertures 48 in the cutting blade legs 38 and 40, and through the mounting aperture 35 of the cutting blade mount 26. The cutting blade legs 38 and 40 embrace the opposing sides of the cutting blade mount 26 and seat snugly in the blade seating pockets 32 defined in the opposing faces 28 and 30 of the cutting blade mount 26. In use, the blade 36 is tightly secured to the cutting blade mount 26 by means of the screw 50, washer 52, and nut 54, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example. When the blade 36 is locked into position projecting from the cutting blade mount 26, which in turn projects from the mounting end 24 of the handle 20, the cutting hairpin bend portion 42 of the blade 36 forms a grooving tunnel 60 with the cutting blade mount 26, which is clearly illustrated in FIG. 3.
One unique feature of the grooving tool 10 is the planar guide fin 62 that projects longitudinally from the cutting blade mount 26 at an angled corner of the blade support mount 26. The angled corner from which the planar guide fin 62 projects forms flat floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 that are mutually coplanar with each other. The planar guide fin 62 is perpendicular to the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 and is oriented parallel to and located midway between the opposing legs 38 and 40 of the cutting blade 36. The flat floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 are each preferably about three millimeters in length, measured in planes parallel to the guide fin 62, and about two millimeters in width, as measured in a plane perpendicular to the guide fin 62.
The axis of linear alignment of the blade mounting end 24 is indicated at 70 in FIG. 1. The floor contact surfaces 30 reside at an angle of about thirty degrees relative to the linear alignment axis 70 of the blade mounting end 24 of the handle 20. That is, the plane of the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 is oriented at an angle of about thirty degrees relative to the axis of alignment 70 of the blade mounting end 24 and the cutting blade mount 26. The guide fin 36 projects outwardly from flat floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 on the cutting blade mount 26 formed at an angled corner of the cutting blade mount 26.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the guide fin 62 is located at the entrance to the grooving tunnel 60 and is oriented parallel to and midway between the opposing legs 38 and 40 of the cutting blade 36. The planar guide fin 62 is preferably no greater than about 0.5 millimeters in thickness and projects from the plane of floor contact defined by the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 a distance of no greater than about three millimeters. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 6, the guide fin 62 bisects the grooving tunnel 60 and resides in the longitudinal, bifurcating center plane 34 containing the axes of alignment 70 and 25 of the handle mounting end 24 and handgrip 22, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the tunnel opening of the grooving tunnel 60 has a uniform cross section throughout. The tunnel opening of the grooving tunnel 60 is about three millimeters wide and about three millimeters high.
The handle 20 has an elbow bend in it delineating the handgrip 22 from the blade mounting end 24. The blade mounting end 24 projects from the handgrip 22 at an angle of about forty degrees from alignment relative thereto. That is, the alignment of the handgrip indicated by the axis of alignment 25 thereof intersects the axis of alignment 70 of the blade mounting end 24 at an angle of about forth degrees.
As a result, the handle 20 is bent so that the blade mounting end 24 thereof forms an obtuse angle of about one hundred fifty degrees on the top side of the handle 20 and a reflex angle of about two hundred ten degrees on the bottom side of the handle 20.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, and 6, the cutting blade mount 26 is inscribed with a linear indicia 74 that longitudinally bisects the cutting blade mount 26 so as to provide a visual reference for alignment of the guide fin 62 with the linear interface 18 between the sheets of abutting flooring 14 and 16.
The grooving tool 10 is utilized to great advantage in cutting grooves in the coving surfaces 12 at the edges of the abutting sheets of flooring 14 and 16, as illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in that drawing figure, the grooving tool 10 may typically be positioned with the cutting blade 36 located at the top of the coving section of abutting sheets of linoleum 14 and 16 on the wall surface 78 thereof a few centimeters above the floor surface 80. The handle 20 is oriented so that the obtuse angle of the top faces upwardly and the reflex angle of the bottom of the elbow bend thereof faces downwardly, as shown in FIG. 2.
The guide fin 62 is then inserted into the crevice 18 between the edges of the abutting sheets of flooring 14 and 16 and pushed against the flooring sheets 14 and 16 until the floor contract faces 64 and 66 of the angled corner of the cutting blade mount 26 reside in face to face contact with the exposed coving surfaces 12 of the sheets of flooring 14 and 16. That is, the floor contact surface 64 resides in direct contact and is pressed against the coving surface 12 of the floor sheet 16, while the floor contact surface 66 resides in direct contact and is pressed against the surface of the flooring sheet 14.
The tool 10 is then moved vertically down the wall 78 as indicated by the directional arrow 84. As the tool 10 is pushed downwardly the guide fin 62 travels in the crevice 18 between the abutting sheets of flooring 14 and 16 and with the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 in face to face, intimate contact with the exposed coving surfaces 12 of the sheets of flooring 14 and 16. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the depth of penetration of the guide fin 62 into the crevice 18 is limited by the contact between the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 and the exposed flooring coving surfaces 12 on either side of the guide fin 62.
As the tool 10 is pushed vertically downwardly against the wall 78, the grooving tunnel 60 of the cutting blade 36 gouges out a groove or channel 19 of generally semicircular cross section in the coving surfaces 12 of the floor sheets 14 and 16 to a uniform depth as determined by the projection of the hairpin bend portion 42 of the cutting blade 36 beyond the cutting blade mount 26. As the tool 10 is forced downwardly along the wall 78 as illustrated in FIG. 2, the user is able to maintain visual alignment between the inscribed indicia 74 on the cutting blade mount 26 and the crevice 18 between the flooring sheets 14 and 16. A groove 19 is thereby created at the flooring sheet interface of uniform depth and which precisely follows the interface between the flooring sheets 14 and 16. The inscribed indicia 74 formed lengthwise on the cutting blade mount 26 provides a visual reference that aids the user in holding the handle 20 in proper alignment and achieving a groove 19 of uniform depth throughout the interface between the sheets of flooring 14 and 16, particularly in the coving areas thereof.
As the tool 10 reaches the arcuate curve of the coving surfaces 12 of the sheets of flooring 14 and 16, the handgrip 22 of the handle 20 is to rotated upwardly in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated at 10′ in FIG. 2, in order to maintain the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 flush against the flooring surfaces at the edges of the sheets of flooring 14 and 16. The elbow bend in the handle 20 facilitates observation of the cutting blade 36 by the user, which in turn facilitates maintaining linear alignment between the inscribed indicia 74 and the crevice 18 between the abutting edges of the flooring sheets 14 and 16.
As the tool 10 is moved through the coving area from a location pressed against the wall surface 78 to a location pressed against the floor surface 80, as indicated at 10″ in FIG. 2, the handle 20 is rotated further upwardly in a counterclockwise direction to an almost vertical orientation, as illustrated at 10″ in FIG. 2. This progressive rotation of the handgrip 22 from a substantially horizontal orientation at the top of the coving region to a substantially vertical orientation as the tool 10 is moved from a position in which it is pressed against the wall 78 to a position in which it is pressed against the floor 80, is necessary to maintain intimate contact between the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 on either side of the planar guide fin 62 and the exposed coving surfaces 12 of the sheets of flooring 14 and 16.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the orientation of the axis of alignment 70 of the blade mounting end 24 of the handle 20 relative to the coving surfaces 12 of the sheets of flooring 14 and 16 is always at an angle of about fifty-five degrees. This ensures a uniform depth of the channel-shaped groove 19 formed in the abutting edges of the flooring sheets 14 and 16. The guide fin 62 ensures that the cutting blade 36 properly follows the interface between the sheets of flooring 14 and 16, while the floor contact surfaces 64 and 66 ensure a uniform depth of cut by the grooving tunnel 60.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, since the guide fin 62 bisects the cutting tunnel 60 at the entrance thereto, the material from the surfaces 12 emanates as a pair of ribbons 88 from the exit end of the grooving tunnel 60. The ribbons 88 are simply discarded as the groove 19 is formed.
As is evident in FIGS. 2 and 6, the unique configuration of the grooving tool 10 makes it ideal for following the curvature of the coving surfaces 12 and for achieving a uniform depth and alignment of the groove 19 created at the interface between the flooring sheets 14 and 16. The inscribed linear indicia 74 that extends about the cutting blade mount 26 facilitates maintenance of precise alignment of the handle 20 relative to the demarcation between the flooring sheets 14 and 16 delineated by the crevice 18 therebetween. The grooving tool 10 having the features depicted and described is much easier to utilize to create accurate grooves at the interface between flooring sheet 14 and 16, particularly in curved coving areas, as illustrated in FIG. 2, than conventional grooving tools.
Some installers prefer to create grooves between seams of sheets of flooring 14 and 16 progressing through the coving region proceeding from the floor 80 forward and up the wall 78, rather than in the opposite direction shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the tool 10 in this reverse direction. That is, the tool 10 is used to form a groove 19 at the interface formed by the crevice 18 between sheets of flooring 14 and 16, commencing at the bottom of the coving, and proceeding up the wall 78 with the tool 10 held in the reverse direction, as illustrated in FIG. 5. As shown in that drawing figure the tool 10 is counterrotated from a position in which the handle 22 is in a nearly vertical orientation by pushing the blade 36 toward the wall 78, and up the wall 78, through the position indicated at 100+, along the path 94, with continued clockwise rotation as the cutting blade 36 moves up the wall 78, along the path 96, whereupon the handgrip 22 assumes a hear horizontal orientation, as indicated at 100″.
The choice of manner of use of the tool 10 as between the wall to floor groove formation shown in FIG. 2, or the floor to wall groove formation shown in FIG. 5, is largely a matter of personal choice among different flooring installers. The tool 10 is equally easy to use and provides uniform, high quality results when use either way.
Undoubtedly, numerous variations and modifications of the invention will become readily apparent to those persons familiar with the field of flooring installation and the design of tooling used for flooring installation. For example, as in conventional floor grooving tools, the tool 10 is provided with a hollow cavity 98 in its handle 20 for the purpose of storing spare blades 36. Other variations and modifications of the invention will also be readily apparent to individuals skilled in the flooring trades. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be construed as limited to the specific embodiment illustrated and described, but rather is defined in the claims appended hereto.
Patent Application
20080078089
