Patent ID: 6118101
Filing Date: 2000-09-12
Classification: B29C,E04F

Abstract:
An assembly for heating vinyl composition tiles, having top and bottom faces, for cutting by an installer, comprising:a housing mounted on wheel means for rolling movement, said housing having at least one open side and forming an internal chamber;a stack of vertically spaced, horizontally oriented, heat conductive trays affixed to the housing within the chamber, said tray providing an upper heat transferring surface operative to contact and support substantially the entire bottom face of the tile so that substantially the entire area of the tile will be uniformly and conductively heated, the spacing between each pair of trays being sufficient to accommodate a tile and allow an installer to grasp and remove a tile;a plurality of discrete heating elements, one for each tray, each heating element being in thermal engagement with substantially the entire area of a tray's bottom surface for heating the tray conductively substantially uniformly across its width and length;thermostatic control means for controlling the heat output of the heating elements;the heating elements being operative to supply heat to the tiles through the trays as required to ensure sustainable, sequentially cyclic operation whereby if a fully heated tile from an originally fully loaded stack is removed and replaced with a replacement tile, then after all of the original tiles have been removed, cut and installed in sequence, the replacement tile will be ready for cutting.