Patent Application
20240318438
The present invention relates to rolling tools for flooring. In particular, the present invention relates to a floor rolling apparatus and associated methods.
Laying floors is an arduous task that can be strenuous on a person's body. Oftentimes flooring such as vinyl must be rolled after it has been applied in order to ensure it is flat. Other rollers in the art do not leverage a person's arms and weight to ease the user's body strain.
There exists a need in the art for a floor roller that leverages a person's own body and weight to facilitate the floor rolling process. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a floor rolling apparatus as claimed and described herein.
Embodiments of the present invention are related a floor rolling apparatus with a pair of longitudinal support members, an upper lateral support connecting from one longitudinal support member to the other, a lateral grip connecting from one longitudinal support member to the other, a lower reinforcement assembly, and a roller assembly with removably attached roller. The longitudinal support members may include a respective pair of upper vaulted ends and the lower reinforcement assembly may include an L-bracket. The L-bracket may include an L-bracket bottom, an L-bracket side, and an angled support member. The angled support member may extend from the L-bracket bottom to the L-bracket side. Additionally, the roller assembly may include a roller brace structured to fit a removable roller therein. There may be a lower extension structured to fit the roller assembly between the pair of longitudinal support members and the roller assembly may include a roller with a pair of opposing compressible attachment knobs structured to removably attach the roller within a pair of knob holes on opposing sides of the L-bracket. Furthermore, the upper lateral support may be positioned on an upper portion of the apparatus and the lateral grip may be positioned medially on the apparatus.
Another embodiment of the invention may include a floor rolling apparatus including a pair of longitudinal support members with a respective pair of upper vaulted ends, an upper lateral support connecting from one longitudinal support member to the other, a lateral grip connecting from one longitudinal support member to the other, a lower reinforcement assembly, and a roller assembly with removably attached roller. The longitudinal support members may include a first leveraging section and a second leveraging section that together with the upper lateral support may be structured to leverage a user's weight, lower arms and upper arms to facilitate rolling the apparatus roller on a floor.
In this embodiment, the vaulted ends may be structured to rock along a user's upper arms when the roller is being used and may be angled on at least two sides of the longitudinal support members allowing the apparatus to be reversible. The longitudinal support members may include a fitting notch at one respective end allowing respective compressible attachment knobs to rest therewithin when the roller is attached. The longitudinal support members may be structured to be spaced apart by a length equivalent to an average user's shoulder width. A lower extension may be structured to fit the roller assembly between the pair of longitudinal support members. Additionally, the roller assembly may be attached to the lower reinforcement assembly via fasteners fitting through adjustable fitting holes within the roller assembly. The lower reinforcement assembly may include an L-bracket with an angled support member.
Yet another embodiment of the invention may include a floor rolling apparatus with a pair of longitudinal support members including a respective pair of upper vaulted ends, an upper lateral support connecting from one longitudinal support member to the other, a medially positioned lateral grip connecting from one longitudinal support member to the other, a lower reinforcement assembly, a roller assembly with removably attached roller, and a lower extension structured to fit the roller assembly between the pair of longitudinal support members. The longitudinal support members may be structured to be spaced apart by a length equivalent to shoulder width and may include a first leveraging section and a second leveraging section that together with the upper lateral support may be structured to leverage a user's weight, lower arms and upper arms to facilitate rolling the apparatus roller on a floor. The lateral grip may be positioned medially on the apparatus and the upper lateral support may be positioned on an upper portion of the apparatus.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment descriptions are illustrative and not intended to be limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to persons with ordinary skill in the art after having the benefit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the following embodiments are set forth without any loss of generality and without imposing limitation upon the claimed invention.
Directional terms such as “above” “below” “upper” “lower” and other like terms are used for the convenience of the reader in reference to the drawings. Additionally, the description may contain terminology to convey position, orientation, and direction without departing from the principles of the present invention. Such positional language should be taken in context of the represented drawings.
Quantitative terms such as “generally” “substantially” “mostly” and other like terms are used to mean that the referred object, characteristic, or quality constitutes a majority of the referenced subject. Likewise, use of the terms such as first and second do not necessarily designate a limitation of quantity. Such terms may be used as a method of describing the presence of at least one of the referenced elements or may provide a means of differentiating orientation. The meaning of any term within this description is dependent upon the context within which it is used, and the meaning may be expressly modified.
Referring now to
Positioned at a lower end may be a lower reinforcement assembly 103 structured to connect with and reinforce a roller assembly 108 that holds a roller 104. The roller assembly 108 may be positioned between the pair of side longitudinal support members 101 at a lower end of the apparatus 100. Further positioned between each side longitudinal support 101 and connecting from one side longitudinal support 101 to the other may be a lateral grip 105 and an upper lateral support 106. The upper lateral support 106 may be positioned on an upper portion of the apparatus 100 and the lateral grip 105 may be positioned medially on the apparatus 100. Each may be connected to the side longitudinal supports 101 via fasteners 107, which may be nut and bolt combinations.
Furthermore, the upper segment 201 may include a first leveraging section 211 and a second leveraging section 212. The first leveraging section may range from the upper vaulted ends 102 to the upper lateral support 106 and the second leveraging section 212 may range from the upper lateral support 106 to the lateral grip 105.
The roller assembly 108 may fit within a lower extension housing 425. This may be an extension of the side longitudinal supports 101 structured to fit a roller brace 405 therein. The roller brace 405 may have a brace foundation 406 and a brace side 407. Additionally, the roller 104 may removably attach at opposite ends to the brace sides 407 via compressible attachment knobs 408.
Furthermore, this angle shows that the vaulted ends 102 prevent the ends of the side longitudinal supports 101 from awkwardly thrusting into the user's 801 upper arms. They instead rock along a user's upper arms 802 when the roller 104 is being used. Additionally, the vaulted ends 102 may be angled on at least two sides of the longitudinal support members 101 allowing the apparatus 100 to be reversible.
