Method and apparatus for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings

A method and apparatus for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings. The preferred form of the apparatus includes a marking device having a body member. The body member includes a channel for receiving a guide member. The apparatus further includes a guide member to guide movement of the marking device along a predetermined path. The guide member is flexible so that it can be positioned on floor coverings in various configurations. The marking device includes a marking implement to mark floor coverings as the marking device is moved along the guide member. The preferred method is performed on site, i.e. at the site of the installation. Further, the preferred method is such that it can be performed relatively expeditiously and with great precision. Moreover, the preferred method can be performed with great accuracy without the need for a highly trained artisan.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention generally relates to the field of floor coverings
 including but not limited to carpet, vinyl tile and linoleum floor
 coverings. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a
 method and apparatus for forming predetermined patterns in floor
 coverings.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 It has become desirable in the field of floor coverings and in particular
 in office buildings and hospitals for interior designers and architects to
 design floors which are compatible with the design theme of the furniture,
 floor plan and wall covering layout selected by the designer. In order to
 create an appropriate floor design, it has become necessary to use
 different colors and/or patterns of floor covering material (e.g. carpet,
 vinyl tile or linoleum floor covering material). This is accomplished by
 cutting out desired shapes of one color and/or pattern of floor covering
 material and inserting corresponding shapes of another color and/or
 pattern of floor covering material. Before now, this process was
 accomplished in one of two manners. The first was to use expensive
 machinery connected to an autocad system to cut precise shapes of a first
 floor covering material and bond in new shapes of a second floor covering
 material. This machinery is located off-site, i.e. at a site other than
 the site of installation. Hence, there is significant delays and
 additional expense in shipping the desired floor covering materials to the
 off-site location to have the floor covering materials cut to the
 specifications of the designer or architect. Obviously, this process is
 disadvantageous because of its expense and the fact that it prolongs the
 time necessary to complete the installation. The second manner is to
 attempt to cut the material out by hand. This is extremely difficult and
 time consuming. Further, this process generally creates a sloppy looking
 finished product even when performed by a highly skilled artisan. A
 template may be used in this process. However, the template is
 pre-configured and, therefore, can only cut one specific pattern. Hence,
 there exists a significant need for a method and apparatus for forming
 decorative patterns in floor coverings which overcome the substantial and
 numerous inherent disadvantages of the prior art.
 OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 An object of a preferred form of the present invention is to provide novel
 and unobvious method and apparatus for forming decorative patterns in
 floor coverings.
 Another object of a preferred form of the present invention is to provide a
 method for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings which can be
 performed relatively expeditiously and with great precision.
 A further object of a preferred form of the present invention is to provide
 an apparatus for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings which can
 be operated relatively expeditiously and with great precision.
 Still a further object of a preferred form of the present invention is to
 provide a method of forming decorative patterns in floor coverings that
 can be performed on site, i.e. at the site of installation.
 Yet still a further object of a preferred form of the present invention is
 to provide an apparatus for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings
 that can be used on site, i.e. at the site of installation.
 Yet another object of a preferred form of the present invention is to
 provide a method for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings which
 can be performed in considerably less time and at less expense than
 previously known methods.
 Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide an
 apparatus for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings which
 performs with the precision of off-site machinery at a fraction of the
 cost.
 These and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent
 upon review of the following detailed description of the invention and the
 accompanying drawings. These objects of the present invention are not
 exhaustive and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the
 claimed invention.
 In summary, a preferred form of the present invention is directed to a
 method and apparatus for forming decorative patterns in floor coverings.
 The preferred form of the apparatus includes a marking device having a
 body member. The body member includes a channel for receiving a guide
 member. The apparatus further includes a guide member to guide movement of
 the marking device along a predetermined path. The guide member is
 flexible so that it can be positioned on floor coverings in various
 configurations. The marking device includes a marking implement to mark
 floor coverings as the marking device is moved along the guide member. The
 preferred method is performed on site, i.e. at the site of the
 installation. Further, the preferred method is such that it can be
 performed relatively expeditiously and with great precision. Moreover, the
 method can be performed with great accuracy without the need for a highly
 trained artisan. The foregoing summary describes a preferred form and is
 not in any way to be construed as limiting the claimed invention to the
 preferred form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
 The preferred apparatus of the present invention will now be described with
 reference made to FIGS. 1 to 3.
 FIGS. 1 THROUGH 3
 Referring to FIG. 1, a marking device A includes a body B having a central
 roller carriage C, a left roller carriage D, a right roller carriage E, a
 support arm F and a handle G. The handle G is provided to permit an
 individual to readily push or pull the marking device A along the floor
 covering. It will be readily appreciated that the handle G could be
 provided with a conventional handle grip or could be omitted entirely.
 Further, the handle could be replaced with a support arm for attaching
 various auxiliary elements, for example, a router. The central roller
 carriage C includes a support plate 2 having left and right side walls 4
 and 6, as best seen in FIG. 2. Support legs 8, 10, 12 and 14 extend
 downwardly from the four corners of the support plate 2, as seen in FIGS.
 1 to 3. Support legs 8 and 10 are positioned opposite from each other and
 support roller guide 16 on shaft 18 of bolt 20. Roller guide 16 is free to
 rotate relative to shaft 18 of bolt 20. Bolt 20 passes through openings
 formed in support legs 8 and 10 and is secured thereto via nut 22. Support
 legs 12 and 14 are positioned opposite from each other and support roller
 guide 24 on shaft 26 of bolt 28, as seen in FIG. 2. Roller guide 24 is
 free to rotate relative to shaft 26 of bolt 28. Bolt 28 passes through
 openings formed in support legs 12 and 14 and handle G and is secured to
 these elements via nut 30. It should be noted that the roller guides 16
 and 24 may be suspended from the corresponding support legs in various
 different manners.
 Guide rollers 32, 34, 36 and 38 are suspended from support plate 2 via
 bolts 40, 42, 44 and 46, respectively. The rollers 32, 34, 36 and 38 are
 all free to rotate on the shafts of the corresponding bolts. The bolts 40,
 42, 44 and 46 are secured to the support plate 2 via conventional nuts.
 The roller guides 32, 34, 36 and 38 extend substantially parallel to each
 other and substantially perpendicular to roller guides 16 and 24. Roller
 guides 32, 34, 36 and 38 may be suspended from support plate 2 in various
 different ways.
 Referring to FIG. 2, a bore is formed in the head of bolt 42 for receiving
 a marking implement 48. A screw 50 holds the marking implement 48 in the
 desired position and permits adjustment as well as replacement thereof.
 The marking implement 48 can either be a scoring tool or a cutting tool.
 As used herein a cutting tool is a tool that cuts substantially completely
 through the thickness of the floor covering. More specifically, after a
 cutting tool has cut a closed section (e.g. a circular inner section) of
 floor covering, this closed section can be removed from the remaining
 section of floor without additional cutting. As used herein a scoring tool
 is any implement which marks but does not cut through substantially
 completely the thickness of the floor covering. Examples of scoring tools
 are: (1) a tool which forms a mark on the top surface of a floor covering
 via a pencil or other writing implement; (2) a tool which forms a
 depression such as a valley or groove in the top surface of a floor
 covering; (3) or a tool which forms a scratch in the top surface of a
 floor covering.
 Central carriage C has a channel 52 for receiving a guide member H.
 Preferably, the guide member H is a flexible hosing which can be readily
 placed on floor coverings in linear and non-linear configurations.
 However, it will be readily appreciated that the guide member could be a
 rigid member pre-shaped to the desired configuration. Roller guides 16 and
 24 engage the top of the guide member H while roller guides 32, 34, 36 and
 38 engage the sides thereof. In this manner, the marking device A can be
 readily advanced along the guide member H to mark the floor covering in
 the desired manner.
 Support arm F is secured to the support plate 2 and extends outwardly from
 the left side wall 4 and the right side wall 6. The support arm F could be
 secured to the support plate 2 in various different manners including but
 not limited to by welding or by conventional fasteners. Additionally, the
 support arm F could be formed as one-piece with the support plate 2. Left
 carriage D and right carriage E are suspended from support arm F via bolts
 54 and 56, respectively and are secured thereto with conventional nuts.
 Left carriage D includes a support plate 58 and support legs 60 and 62
 extending downwardly therefrom. A bolt 64 passes through openings in
 support legs 60 and 62 to support advancement roller 66 on shaft 68. Bolt
 64 is secured to the support legs via a nut 70. Advancement roller 66 is
 free to rotate on shaft 68. Right roller carriage E includes a support
 plate 72 and support legs 74 and 76 extending downwardly therefrom. A bolt
 78 passes through openings in support legs 74 and 76 to support
 advancement roller 80 on shaft 82. Bolt 78 is secured to the support legs
 via a nut 84. Advancement roller 80 is free to rotate on shaft 82.
 FIG. 3A
 Referring to FIG. 3A, an alternative marking device 65 is depicted. The
 marking device 65 is exactly the same as the marking device A with the
 exceptions that the support arm F' is extended and provided with a slot 67
 so that the position of left roller carriage 69 is adjustable. The left
 roller carriage 69 is provide with a marking implement 71 similar to
 marking implement 48. In this manner, a strip of floor covering having a
 width equal to the distance between the marking implement 48 and the
 marking implement 71 can be readily marked and cut for removal. Further,
 the width of this strip can be readily adjusted by adjusting the position
 of the left roller carriage 69.
 FIG. 4
 Referring to FIG. 4, a further alternative marking device I is depicted.
 The marking device I is exactly the same as the marking device A with the
 sole exception that the marking tool 86 is a cutting tool that cuts
 substantially completely through the floor covering J.
 Screw 87 holds the cutting tool 86 in the desired position and permits
 adjustment as well as replacement thereof.
 PREFERRED METHOD OF OPERATION
 The preferred method of operation will now be described with reference to
 FIGS. 1 through 8. Referring to FIG. 5, the guide member H is positioned
 on top of floor covering J' in a serpentine fashion to form curve 88.
 Using the handle G, the marking device A is then positioned on the guide
 member H and advanced the length thereof to mark the floor covering J' in
 a configuration corresponding to curve 88. Subsequently, the guide member
 H is positioned in a serpentine fashion to form curve 90. The marking
 device A is then positioned on the guide member H and advanced along the
 floor covering J' to form a mark corresponding to the curve 90. Since the
 marking tool of the marking device A does not cut completely through the
 floor covering J', an individual takes a conventional tool for cutting
 floor coverings and cuts along the marks formed by the marking device A.
 The cut sections are then removed and replaced with the desired different
 floor coverings J" and J'". The floor coverings may differ in various
 manners including but not limited to color or pattern. Preferably, a
 Leister welder model no. CH-6056 is used to heat weld adjacent floor
 coverings in a conventional manner, as depicted in FIG. 6. This heat
 welding process forms a decorative border between adjacent sections of
 floor coverings. Welding rods of different colors can be used to form a
 pin stripe appearance.
 It should be noted that when a cutting tool is used, it is not necessary to
 have an individual go over the markings with a conventional cutting tool.
 It should also be noted that a rigid preformed guide member in connection
 with the marking device may be used to form the desired markings on the
 floor covering. FIGS. 7 and 8 depict finished floor coverings K and L,
 respectively with two of numerous different possible designs. Another
 possible design could be a half hitch formation in the center of the
 flooring with one strand of the half hitch a first color and the second
 strand a second color. The surrounding flooring of the first strand would
 be the second color while the surrounding flooring of the second strand
 would be the first color.
 ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF OPERATION
 As opposed to placing the guide member H directly on a floor covering, it
 could alternatively be placed on an intermediate element, for example,
 paper. In this alternative process, the marking implement of the marking
 device A would preferably be a perforation wheel. As the marking device is
 moved along the guide member H, perforations are formed in the paper or
 other intermediate element. The perforated paper is then placed on the
 object to be marked, for example the back of very thick carpeting which
 can not be cut with ease. Then powdered marking chalk is sprinkled on the
 paper so that the back of the carpeting is marked with the powdered
 marking chalk along the perforations of the paper. Subsequently, the
 carpet is cut along the marks formed by the marking chalk on the back of
 the paper to cut the carpet in the desired pattern.
 While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is
 understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or
 adaptions of the invention following in general the principle of the
 invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as
 come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the
 present invention pertains and as maybe applied to the central features
 hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and the
 limits of the appended claims.