Tile Installation Assembly

Abstract

A tile installation assembly for leveling floor tile during installation includes a handle that has a foot thereon for inserting beneath a floor tile being installed on a floor. The foot is tapered between the handle and an end of the foot for raising the floor tile to a preferred height as the foot is pushed under the floor tile. A grip is coupled to the handle and the grip is oriented transverse with the handle thereby enhancing a user's ability to rotate the handle. A cushion is positioned around the grip and the cushion is comprised of a resiliently compressible material for enhancing gripping the grip.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to tile installation devices and more particularly pertains to a new tile installation device for leveling floor tile during installation.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to tile installation devices. The prior art discloses a tile lifting tool that includes a handle and a hook for engaging, and lifting, floor tile for leveling. The prior art discloses a tile spacer removing tool for cutting tile spacers for removal after floor tiles have been installed. The prior art disclose a variety of tile pry bars for inserting beneath a floor tile for levering the floor tile into a level position. The prior art discloses a molding removal tool that includes a handle and a blade oriented transverse to the handle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a handle that has a foot thereon for inserting beneath a floor tile being installed on a floor. The foot is tapered between the handle and an end of the foot for raising the floor tile to a preferred height as the foot is pushed under the floor tile. A grip is coupled to the handle and the grip is oriented transverse with the handle thereby enhancing a user's ability to rotate the handle. A cushion is positioned around the grip and the cushion is comprised of a resiliently compressible material for enhancing gripping the grip.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a tile installation assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new tile installation device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the tile installation assembly 10 generally comprises a handle 12 having a foot 14 thereon for inserting beneath a floor tile 16 being installed on a floor 18. The foot 14 is tapered between the handle 12 and an end of the foot 14 to raise the floor tile 16 to a preferred height as the foot 14 is pushed under the floor tile 16. The handle 12 has a top end 20 and a bottom end 22, and the handle 12 is elongated along a longitudinal axis extending through the top end 20 and the bottom end 22. Additionally, the handle 12 has a length of at least 4.0 inches.

The foot 14 is positioned adjacent to the bottom end 22 and the foot 14 is oriented to extend along a perpendicular axis with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle 12. The foot 14 has a top surface 24 and a bottom surface 26, and the bottom surface 26 is aligned with the bottom end 22 of the handle 12. The bottom surface 26 lies on a plane that is coplanar with the bottom end 22 and the top surface 24 slopes downwardly between the handle 12 and the end of the foot 14. Moreover, the foot 14 has a maximum thickness of at least 0.75 inches and a minimum thickness of at least 0.125 inches. In this way the foot 14 can lift the floor tile 16 to an appropriate height, commonly encountered during floor tile installation, for leveling the floor tile 16 with adjacent floor tiles 16.

A grip 28 is provided and the grip 28 is coupled to the handle 12 for gripping. The grip 28 is oriented transverse with the handle 12 thereby enhancing a user's ability to rotate the handle 12. The grip 28 is positioned on the top end 20 of the handle 12 and the grip 28 has a bottom surface 29. The bottom surface 29 of the grip 28 has a plurality of valleys 30 to accommodate the user's fingers for enhancing gripping the grip 28. A cushion 32 is positioned around the grip 28 and the cushion 32 is comprised of a resiliently compressible material for enhancing gripping the grip 28.

In use, the grip 28 is gripped and the foot 14 is placed on the floor 18 upon which the floor tile 16 is being installed. The grip 28 is rotated thereby facilitating the foot 14 to slide beneath the floor tile 16. In this way the floor tile 16 can be raised for leveling the floor tile 16 with adjacent floor tiles 16. Moreover, the handle 12 can be tilted to lift the floor tile 16 higher than permitted by the thickness of the foot 14. Thus, each floor tile 16 can be installed on the floor 18 with precision and accurate leveling.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.

Claims

1. A tile installation assembly being configured to lift a floor tile during installation that has a low area, said assembly comprising:

a handle having a foot thereon wherein said foot is configured to be inserted beneath a floor tile being installed on a floor, said foot being tapered between said handle and an end of said foot wherein said foot is configured to raise the floor tile to a preferred height as said foot is pushed under the floor tile;

a grip being coupled to said handle wherein said grip is configured to be gripped, said grip being oriented transverse with said handle thereby enhancing a user's ability to rotate said handle; and

a cushion being positioned around said grip, said cushion being comprised of a resiliently compressible material for enhancing gripping said grip.

2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said handle has a top end and a bottom end, said handle being elongated along a longitudinal axis extending through said top end and said bottom end, said foot being positioned adjacent to said bottom end, said foot being oriented to extend along a perpendicular axis with respect to said longitudinal axis of said handle.

3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said foot has a top surface and a bottom surface, said bottom surface being aligned with said bottom end of said handle, said bottom surface lying on a plane being coplanar with said bottom end, said top surface sloping downwardly between said handle and said end of said foot.

4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said handle has a length of at least 4.0 inches.

5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said foot has a maximum thickness of at least 0.75 inches and a minimum thickness of at least 0.125 inches wherein said foot is configured to lift the floor tile to an appropriate height for leveling the floor tile with adjacent floor tiles.

6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said grip is positioned on a top end of said handle, said grip having a bottom surface, said bottom surface having a plurality of valleys wherein each of said valleys is configured to accommodate the user's fingers for enhancing gripping said grip.

7. A tile installation assembly being configured to lift a floor tile during installation that has a low area, said assembly comprising:

a handle having a foot thereon wherein said foot is configured to be inserted beneath a floor tile being installed on a floor, said foot being tapered between said handle and an end of said foot wherein said foot is configured to raise the floor tile to a preferred height as said foot is pushed under the floor tile, said handle having a top end and a bottom end, said handle being elongated along a longitudinal axis extending through said top end and said bottom end, said foot being positioned adjacent to said bottom end, said foot being oriented to extend along a perpendicular axis with respect to said longitudinal axis of said handle, said foot having a top surface and a bottom surface, said bottom surface being aligned with said bottom end of said handle, said bottom surface lying on a plane being coplanar with said bottom end, said top surface sloping downwardly between said handle and said end of said foot, said handle having a length of at least 4.0 inches, said foot having a maximum thickness of at least 0.75 inches and a minimum thickness of at least 0.125 inches wherein said foot is configured to lift the floor tile to an appropriate height for leveling the floor tile with adjacent floor tiles;

a grip being coupled to said handle wherein said grip is configured to be gripped, said grip being oriented transverse with said handle thereby enhancing a user's ability to rotate said handle, said grip being positioned on said top end of said handle, said grip having a bottom surface, said bottom surface having a plurality of valleys wherein each of said valleys is configured to accommodate the user's fingers for enhancing gripping said grip; and

a cushion being positioned around said grip, said cushion being comprised of a resiliently compressible material for enhancing gripping said grip.