Carpet seam lock

Abstract

A carpet seam clamping device for maintaining pre-positioned carpet sections abutted at a seam subsequent to removal of a carpet stretcher which prevents overlapping. The device employs a pair of planar surfaces which translate toward each other and lock in position once totally translated. The length of translation is equal to or less than the length of pins which engage into the carpet body thereby preventing overstretch.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The device herein described relates to the installation of carpet and to a phase in the installation process where it is necessary to maintain a stretched piece of carpet taut and static to adjoining carpet sections, in order to facilitate the drying of the carpet glue while concurrently maintaining sectional alignment between adjoining sections. More specifically, the device provides a means to secure newly laid carpet in a stretched position by engaging it to adjoined stretch sections and allowing patterns and seams to maintain a match during the adhesive drying process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Carpet has become a very popular way to cover indoor floors of any scale, and new styles, colors and patterns are being introduced all the time. Likewise, age-old carpet laying techniques are being refined and new tools introduced.

Most residential carpeting is installed by attaching the end of a roll of carpet to the base of a wall and stretching it with one of several carpet stretching devices to the other side of the room where it is attached to the base of the opposing wall. The carpet is stretched in this fashion to ensure that it lays flat and will not be prone to wrinkling later on.

When carpeting larger scale commercial floors, conventionally a different installation technique is used. When large distances are to be carpeted, the glue-down installation method is preferred over the stretch method used in smaller rooms of homes. In the glue-down method, carpet is adhesively attached directly to an underlying substrate such as plywood sub-flooring or concrete foundation. The process involves covering the flooring substrate in its entirety with adhesive and rolling the carpet onto the floor so the backing can bond with the substrate over a defined period of time wherein the carpet may be moved or positioned to its final mounted position on the substrate.

When installing carpet in this fashion which has a design or pattern formed in the weave, special installation concerns arise. Carpet, like any textile, falls victim to inherent distortions of pattern and shape which can be caused during manufacturing, shipping, or poor storage. Common defects that occur in patterned carpet include trueness of edge, bowing and skewing of the visual pattern. Bowing is the result of the pattern lagging or gaining in the middle of the roll width. Skewing occurs when the pattern doesn't line up perpendicular to the edge of the carpet roll. Trueness of an edge can be easily recognized if the edge of the carpet forms an ‘S’ shape. In any instance, it is highly impractical to cut out the distortions and much more effective and efficient to stretch the carpet section such that its pattern matches appropriately with adjacent carpet sections with the same pattern.

When stretching a section of carpet to match patterns or correct other distortions, once a first section is in its final position matched to adjacent sections, it must be held in that position until the adhesive or other means for permanent mounting fixes the relative positions of the different carpet sections. To this end, in commercial installations on concrete surfaces, it is common to temporarily nail the terminating edges of freshly laid adjacent carpet sections to the underlying floor while the adhesive dries. This type of temporary positioning causes a plethora of problems for both the installer and the future occupant. Whether the underlying floor is plywood, concrete or even padding, temporarily nailing the stretched carpet section is intrusive, noisy and destructive. When it is necessary to temporarily nail carpet to the underlying floor, the process often deforms or even chips the sub-flooring, causing mounds or divots once the carpet is laid which will eventually damage the carpet and cause tripping from the uneven surface. Concrete is especially prone to this chipping and the process itself causes much unneeded noise at an already loud commercial construction site.

While a number of devices exist which may be employed to stretch and pull large pieces of carpet toward each other at a seam, none is well adapted to simply hold already stretched carpet sections in their relative positions. Conventional carpet stretching devices generally consist of two blocks with a plurality of pins extending downward to engage the carpet. These opposing planar blocks providing the pin mounts are engaged to a mechanical levering apparatus providing sufficient torque to the two opposing blocks to pull them a large distance with levers to thereby align the terminating edges of adjacent carpet sections at large carpet seams. While it may be tempting to use these carpet pullers to lock a seam in place while glue dries, several problems inevitably occur if this is done. First, carpet pullers and stretchers are large, cumbersome and have a levering system providing mechanical advantage that is much too powerful to simply hold the carpet at the seam. Such carpet pullers are gear driven or employ cams to achieve the mechanical advantage necessary to pull sometimes hundreds of pounds of individual carpet sections toward another, each having a very large frictional engagement with the underlying floor or substrate and any adhesive that may be applied. Due to the nature of their design, such carpet pullers inevitably over pull adjacent sections of carpet causing them to overlap onto each other at the seam. This overlap, once accomplished, is a major impediment to a timely completion of the job since both sections of carpet must then be repositioned and then drawn toward each other in an engagement registering their patterns once again. This constant recurring problem, especially where conventional pullers and stretchers are in inexperienced hands, occurs because such stretching devices are designed to pull hundreds or thousands of pounds of carpet sections frictionally or adhesively engaging an underlying floor, but not to engage carpet sections already aligned and to simply hold them in registered engagement.

Thus, there is an unmet need for a carpet section positioning device that is adapted to engage with adjacent aligned carpet sections having registered carpet patterns, and to provide a means to hold the carpet sections in registered engagement while the adhesive affixing their relative positions dries during a glue-down application. Such a device should be self-limiting as to a distance of travel of both of the two engaged carpet sections abutted on a seam. Such a device should prevent any damage to the sub-flooring or any harm of the proximal surfaces. Furthermore, such a device should not pull or stretch the carpet directly but should act only as a means to secure and maintain the position of an already pulled or stretched carpet section. Finally, such a device, being engaged when a larger carpet stretcher is removed, should be sufficient in strength to maintain the large amounts of torque and force from stretched carpet sections for long periods of time, without allowing the carpet to slip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is disclosed and described herein a device used to secure and maintain a carpet seam between two adjacent sections of carpet, in a registered substantially static engagement, during a glue-down application. The device herein is adapted for engagement to, and holding adjacent carpet sections in a static position relative to each other, without over pulling or causing an overlap of adjacent sections on the seam.

The device consists of two planar members engaged by a means for translation such as a sliding rail allowing both members to slide toward and away from each other. The device has a lever or handle extending from the sliding engagement which acts as a means to translate the two planar members upon its sliding engagement. The handle is rotationally engaged to the first member or the rail engaged thereto of the sliding engagement.

Each planar member of the device has a plurality of pins extending downward from the bottom surface of the member. These pins preferably have a specific length and angle which are crucial for the optimal operation of the device. Employing a calculated length to the pins at a determined angle renders the device substantially incapable of pulling or stretching the carpet further than has already been accomplished by a carpet stretcher being removed. The device thereafter acts only as a means of securing the two pieces of carpet at the seam and maintaining their relative positions to each other until removed.

The two planar members are connected with a sliding engagement allowing the members to easily slide toward and away from one another. As noted, a handle is rotationally engaged at a pin or axle at one member of the sliding engagement. A cross member is then rotationally engaged at a middle portion of the handle at a first end. A second end of the cross member is engaged to the second sliding member in a rotational engagement. So engaged between the two planar members, the handle acts as a means of translating the two planar members toward each other, and on release, away from each other when the handle is rotated an opposite direction.

In operation, the device is employed to maintain carpet sections in static positions relative to each other by placing one planar member on one section of carpet on one side of the seam, and placing the other planar member oh the other section of carpet on the opposite side of the seam. The seam is best located in a central portion of a gap formed between the two planar members.

Engagement of the two planar members to their respective carpet sections is accomplished by imparting force to a top side of the device, opposite the carpet sections, while concurrently rotating the handle. When the handle is rotated toward the carpet surface from a substantially elevated position to a substantially horizontal position relative to the carpet, the two planar members translate toward one another. The pins extending from the lower surface of each planar member, employing both the translation and the downward force imparted to the device, bite into the carpet as the planar members move toward each other. Because the pins are of a length and at an angle to cause the carpet to contact the bottom surface of both planar members at or just prior to the finish of translation toward each other, they only engage within the body of the carpet a distance less than or equal to the distance of translation of the planar members toward each other. Once in this engaged position, the device effectively locks the carpet sections in place relative to each other, but because they will not over translate, over pulling causing overlapping of adjacent carpet sections at the seam is prevented. A means to maintain the device in the engaged position is provided by the handle being rotated to an angle wherein it is just past a horizontal position to the mount of the cross member to the opposite planar member, or slightly over rotated. This over-rotated position combined with the pressure against both planar members by the restrained carpet sections imparting pressure force to the handle, provides a means to maintain the device locked in the engaged position.

This unique construction therefore provides a device that will allow low skilled workers to follow higher skilled workers who use the carpet stretchers. This is because the risk of over stretching a carpet section and ruining the registered engagement between one or more carpet sections is prevented by the limited movement of the two planar members toward each other.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description of illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means to adequately secure two adjacent sections of carpet at a seam in a fixed relative engagement.

It is further an object of this invention to secure a carpet seam without causing damage to the underlying floor or proximal surface or to the carpet sections.

It is further an object of this invention to provide a means to secure adjacent sections of carpet at a seam in a manner which eliminates the possibility of further stretch or overpull of the carpet sections which can cause overlaps or de-registration of registered patterns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts a top perspective view of the device in a first or disengaged position having a larger gap between the two planar members.

FIG. 2 depicts the device from the side as it appears in the disengaged mode of FIG. 1. The pins rest on top of the carpet and the handle is at an elevated angle from the parallel planar members.

FIG. 3 depicts the same side view of another mode of the device wherein the handle has been rotated to engage the device to the carpet sections to a second or engaged position and is held locked in place by the force of the carpet sections.

FIG. 4 depicts a side view of another mode of the device wherein the pins are engaged to plates which are removably engaged to the planar members. Changing the plates to those with different pin lengths allows for adjustment of the pin length if needed to accommodate different carpets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings in FIGS. 1-4, wherein similar parts are identified by like reference numerals, the device 10 as shown in FIGS. 1-4 consists of two planar members 12 and 14 each having a top surface 13 and 15 respectively, and each having a lower surface 17 and 19 respectively. On the lower surfaces 17 and 19 of each of the planar members 12 and 14 are located a plurality of pins 26 extending away from the lower surfaces. The pins 26 extend at an angle and have a specific length calculated to engage the carpet 11 but not the underlying surface. As shown in FIG. 4, the distance D3 is the horizontal distance created by the angled pins 29 from their pointed distal tip 27 to the base of the pin 29 engaged to the lower surfaces of the planar members 12 and 14.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1-3, the planar members 12 and 14 are operatively engaged for translation relative to each other by a means of a translating engagement. This means for translation is shown in a particularly preferred mode of the device as in a two-piece slide with a first translating member 18 engaged to the first planar member 14 and a second translating member 20 which is slidably engaged with the first translating member 18 and attached to the other planar member 12. A handle 16 is rotationally engaged to the second translating member 20 and to a crossbar 24.

At a mid-section of the handle 16 between the rotational engagement 23 of the handle 16 to the second translating member 20 and the distal end of the handle 16, the crossbar 24 is rotationally engaged on a hinge pin 21 or other means for rotational engagement at one end. The opposite end of the crossbar 24 is in a rotational engagement 23 to the first translating member 18. As shown, the hinge pin 21 is off the center axis of the handle 16 so as to position the hinge pin 21 lower than the rotational engagement 23 at the opposite end of the crossbar 24 when it is rotated fully to a position substantially horizontal to the plane of the top surface 13 but at a slightly declining angle downward toward the top surface 13.

As can be seen in FIG. 2 a gap is formed by the distance between the planar members 12 and 14 and at its widest point is depicted as D1. In operation, when the handle 16 is rotated in a direction away from the crossbar 24 in a circular motion toward the carpet 11, the second translating member 20 is pulled toward the first translating member 18 causing the two attached planar members 12 and 14 to translate a determined short distance toward each other narrowing the gap by that distance. As can be seen in FIG. 3, after translation of the two planar members 12 and 14, from a first position spaced further apart, to a second position at their closest proximity, the gap D1 has been narrowed by the translated distance to the smaller distance, D2. The gap defined by D2 is the distance between the planar members 12 and 14 after the handle 16 has been rotated causing the planar members to translate closer to each other to the second position.

Means to hold the device locked in the engaged or second position is provided by the biasing force of the two sections of the carpet 11a and 11b. This force is communicated to the crossbar 24 which is engaged to the rotated handle 16. The point of rotatable engagement of the crossbar 24 to the handle 16 is slightly below the rotational engagement 23 of the crossbar 24 to the planar member 14 when the handle 16 is in the rotated position shown in FIG. 3. This causes the crossbar 24 to impart the biasing force to pull the handle 16 toward the top surface 13 of the planar member 12 thereby locking the device 10 in the second or engaged position.

The length and angle of the pins 26 directly affects the distance translated by the carpet sections 11a and 11b when engaged with the two planar members 12 and 14. When the device 10 is placed on the two separate pieces of carpet 11 & 11b, the pins 26 rest on top of the carpet as can be seen in FIG. 2. When the device is employed, the handle 16 is rotated away from the crossbar 24 and pushed toward the ground. The translation of the planar members 12 and 14 caused by the depression of the handle 16 forces the pins 26 to bite into the carpet 11 material. Due to the angled nature of the pins 26, and their length matching the distance of travel of the planar members 12 and 14, as the pins 26 slide down into the carpet 11, they allow translation of one planar member toward the other planar member but without forcing the carpet sections 11a and 11b toward each other. Forming the pins 26 to a length to slide at an angle into the carpet 11 while the two planar members translate toward each other, and having the top surface of the carpet 11 contacting the bottom of the planar members concurrently with the travel distance of the two planar members toward each other, substantially prohibits the device from forcing the pre-positioned carpet sections 11a and 11b toward the seam 9 and provides a means to prevent overlapping of the seam 9 between the two carpet sections 11a and 11b. This solves the previous noted problems of prior art where a mis-adjusted carpet stretcher will mis-align the seam and cause overlapping which can take much time to correct.

By limiting the total translation distance of the two planar members 12 and 14 as allowed by the handle 16 and using a specific angle and length of pins 26, the pins 26 are able to sink into the carpet 11a distance equal to the translation of the planar members 12 and 14 themselves. As the pins 26 bite into the carpet, they are thus only allowed to penetrate the carpet 11a distance equal to or less than the translation of the two planar members 12 and 14 towards each other. By limiting the amount of translation by the planar members 12 and 14 and penetration of the pins 26, the device 10 is provided a means to prevent over pull or overlap of the two pieces of carpet 11a and 11b as traditional commercial carpet pullers are prone to do. Also, since the length of the pins 26 is calculated to never fully penetrate the carpet 11 there is no risk of damaging the underlying floor.

It is envisioned that because of the many types of carpet 11 commercially available, pins of different length may be required to accommodate a thin carpet or thick carpet with the same device 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the pins 26 may be removably engaged to the planar members 12 and 14 to allow for this adjustment. As depicted in a favored embodiment of FIG. 4, the pins 26 would be engaged to a plate 30. The plate 30 is then removably engaged to the planar members 12 and 14. The plates 30 can be provided in a kit featuring a plurality of plates 30, each member of the plurality having different length pins 26 and each removably engageable to the planar members 12 and 14 using means for removable engagement such as a screw (not shown).

Or in a particularly preferred mode of the device 10, the plate 30 can have two sets of pins 26 thereon in similar angled engagements. Slots 32 in the planar members 12 and 14 would be placed to engage the pins 26 of the non-used side of the plate 30. By making one set of pins 26 shorter than the other, the device 10 can change the pin length by flipping the plate 30, thereby allowing workers to accommodate a plurality of carpet thicknesses by simply flipping over the plate 20. The slots, 32 would in this case be equal to, or slightly longer than the length of the longer of the two sets of pins 26 on the plate 30 to allow the plates 16 to engage the planar members with either set of pins 26.

While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the carpet section locking apparatus and method have been described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instance, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should be understood that such substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations are included within the scope of the invention as defined herein.

Claims

1. A carpet seam clamping apparatus for holding pre-positioned carpet sections abutted at a seam in position subsequent to removal of a carpet stretcher, comprising:

a first planar member having a top surface and bottom surface;

a second planar member having a top surface and bottom surface;

means for translational engagement of said first planar member to said second planar member between a first position and a second position;

a gap between said first planar member and said second planar member, said gap reduced by a first distance when said first planar member and second planar member are translated to said second position;

a plurality of pins projecting to distal ends from engagement points on said bottom surfaces of said first planar member and said second planar member, each of said pins having a length between said engagement point and said distal ends;

means to hold said first planar member and said second planar member in said second position; and

wherein, said clamping apparatus engages with two pre-positioned carpet sections abutting a seam by translating said first and second planar members to said second position thereby causing said pins to pierce said carpet sections for said length of said pins during said translation from said first position to said second position.

2. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 1 additionally comprising:

said length of said pins being sized cause a positioning of a top surface of said abutting carpet sections against said bottom surfaces of said first and second planar members, said positioning occurring concurrent with said first and second planar members reaching said second position, whereby said carpet sections are held abutted by said pins and prevented from an overlapping by said positioning being concurrent to reaching said second position.

3. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means to translational engagement of said first planar member to said second planar member comprises:

said top surface of said first planar member, being substantially in the same plane as said top surface of said second planar member;

a first elongated member engaged to said top surface of said first planar member slidably engaged with a second elongated member engaged to said top surface of said second planar member;

a handle, said handle having a first end and a second end, said first end rotatably engaged at a first rotation point, with one of said first elongated member or said second elongated member;

a connecting member having a first end and a second end, said first end of said connecting member rotationally engaged at a second point, with the other of said first elongated member or said second elongated member from that of said first end of said handle;

said second end of said connecting member rotatably engaged at a third point, to a middle portion of said handle in-between said first end and said second end of said handle; and

whereby a rotation of said handle from a substantially vertical to said plane, away from said connecting member to a rotated position substantially horizontal to said plane, will cause a translation of said first planar member and said second planar member to said second position.

4. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means to translational engagement of said first planar member to said second planar member comprises:

said top surface of said first planar member, being substantially in the same plane as said top surface of said second planar member;

a first elongated member engaged to said top surface of said first planar member slidably engaged with a second elongated member engaged to said top surface of said second planar member;

a handle, said handle having a first end and a second end, said first end rotatably engaged at a first rotation point, with one of said first elongated member or said second elongated member;

a connecting member having a first end and a second end, said first end of said connecting member rotationally engaged at a second point, with the other of said first elongated member or said second elongated member from that of said first end of said handle;

said second end of said connecting member rotatably engaged at a third point, to a middle portion of said handle in-between said first end and said second end of said handle; and

whereby a rotation of said handle from a substantially vertical to said plane, away from said connecting member to a rotated position substantially horizontal to said plane, will cause a translation of said first planar member and said second planar member to said second position.

5. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 3 wherein said means to hold said first planar member and said second planar member in said second position comprises:

said third point positioned closer to said plane than said second point, when said handle is in said rotated position;

said carpet sections imparting a biasing force of said first planar member away from said second planar member when in said second position; and

said connecting member communicating said biasing force to said handle causing at said third point to thereby bias said handle toward said rotated position.

6. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 4 wherein said means to hold said first planar member and said second planar member in said second position comprises:

said third point positioned closer to said plane than said second point, when said handle is in said rotated position;

said carpet sections imparting a biasing force of said first planar member away from said second planar member when in said second position; and

said connecting member communicating said biasing force to said handle causing at said third point to thereby bias said handle toward said rotated position.

7. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 3 additionally comprising:

said engagement points of each of said plurality of pins extending from said first and second planar members each being engaged with a respective plate; and

each said respective plate being removably engageable with a respective said bottom surface of said first planar member and staid second planar member.

8. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 4 additionally comprising:

said engagement points of each of said plurality of pins extending from said first and second planar members each being engaged with a respective plate; and

each said respective plate being removably engageable with a respective said bottom surface of said first planar member and staid second planar member.

9. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 5 additionally comprising:

said engagement points of each of said plurality of pins extending from said first and second planar members each being engaged with a respective plate; and

each said respective plate being removably engageable with a respective said bottom surface of said first planar member and staid second planar member.

10. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 6 additionally comprising:

said engagement points of each of said plurality of pins extending from said first and second planar members each being engaged with a respective plate; and

each said respective plate being removably engageable with a respective said bottom surface of said first planar member and staid second planar member.

11. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 9 additionally comprising:

a kit having a plurality of pairs of said plates, each said pairs having a said plurality of said pins having a different said length;

said different length accommodating said carpet sections having different thicknesses whereby said lengths of said plurality of pins extending from said bottom surfaces of said first and second planar member, may be changed by attaching a different said pair of plates to said first and second planar members.

12. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 10 additionally comprising:

a kit having a plurality of pairs of said plates, each said pairs having a said plurality of said pins having a different said length;

said different length accommodating said carpet sections having different thicknesses whereby said lengths of said plurality of pins extending from said bottom surfaces of said first and second planar member, may be changed by attaching a different said pair of plates to said first and second planar members.

13. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 9 additionally comprising:

a said plurality of pins extending from each of two sides of each said plate;

said plurality of pins on a first of said two sides having a said length longer than a said plurality of pins extending from the other of said two sides of said plate;

a plurality of slots formed in said bottom surface of said first and said second planar members;

said slots having a length at least as long as said plurality of pins on said first side of said plate;

said slots positioned to engage each of said plurality of pins on both sides of said plate; and

whereby said plates may be engaged to said bottom surfaces of said planar members on either of said two sides to thereby change said length of said pins extending from said bottom surfaces.

14. The carpet seam clamping apparatus of claim 10 additionally comprising:

a said plurality of pins extending from each of two sides of each said plate;

said plurality of pins on a first of said two sides having a said length longer than a said plurality of pins extending from the other of said two sides of said plate;

a plurality of slots formed in said bottom surface of said first and said second planar members;

said slots having a length at least as long as said plurality of pins on said first side of said plate;

said slots positioned to engage each of said plurality of pins on both sides of said plate; and

whereby said plates may be engaged to said bottom surfaces of said planar members on either of said two sides to thereby change said length of said pins extending from said bottom surfaces.