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RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/615,545 filed Sep. 30, 2004, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     In the flooring industry, carpet is typically installed from 12-foot wide rolls or in one foot square carpet “tiles”. The carpet material is glued and/or tacked to the subfloor. It is a laborious task to remove such installed carpeting. There are limited tools for assisting with carpet removal, especially for homeowner use in the residential setting.  
         [0003]     There is a motorized tool/machine for removing carpet tiles and other tiles in an industrial setting by National Flooring Equipment of Minneapolis, Mo. Further National Flooring Equipment provides an industrial carpet lifting or pulling machine that utilizes a ¾ horsepower electric motor.  
         [0004]     Other carpet removal tools are not automated or motorized such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,433 to Carmichael et al.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Thus there is a need for a carpet removing or stripping machine that improves over the prior art.  
         [0006]     The present invention provides a system and method that addresses the needs and problems of the prior art. The present invention provides a motorized mechanism for lifting or peeling carpet off the glued surface resulting in carpet removal. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention includes a dolly member carrying an electric winch and having a plurality of teeth protruding from a back surface of the dolly member for anchoring or stabilizing the invention machine in place during operation. A dual purpose safety screen serves as a cover over the teeth during transportation of the invention machine, and during operation of the invention machine, the safety screen shields the user from potential airborne debris. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in transportation mode.  
         [0009]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective views of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  but in use or operational mode and including a pull bar.  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the pull bar in the embodiment of  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the pull bar of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the embodiment of  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 7  is a partial view of Fib.  6  at the circled inset. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     Illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3  is one embodiment of the present invention. Generally the illustrated machine  10  is formed of a main dolly-like member  11 , a motorized winching system  21 , and a safety shield  31  that has a dual purpose. Each of these components or subsystems is described in more detail below.  
         [0015]     The main dolly-like member  11  has a one foot wide main body (frame) with a handle proximal end  13  opposite a distal foot end  15 . Between the proximal  13  and distal  15  ends are front face (side)  17  and opposite back face (side)  19  of the main body/frame. Wheels  23  are attached to the foot end  15  of the main body enabling the invention machine  10  to be mobile (movable under user control). Two prongs  25  protrude from main body front face  17  at the foot end  15 .  
         [0016]     In a preferred embodiment dolly member  11  (including main body, prongs  25  and wheels  23 ) is a Magliner aluminum dolly with two 8 inch wheels. Other dollies or similar assemblies with common dimensions may be used.  
         [0017]     Coupled to the front side  17  between prongs  25  is a motorized winching system  21 . In a preferred embodiment, the winching system  21  includes a Dayton 2K pound capacity electric winch  29  with a 5/16 inch diameter aircraft (steel) or similar material cable  33  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The electric powered winch  29  is bolted to a steel plate  27  that is fixed to the front side  17  of the dolly member  11 . Steel plate  27  is preferably ¼ inch thick and about 1 foot wide by 15 inches long. Other dimensions for steel plate  27  are suitable.  
         [0018]     Cable  33  of the winching system  21  is about 20 feet long or longer in the preferred embodiment. One end of the cable  33  is connected to the winch pulling or take-up mechanism while the opposite end is connected to a clasping hook  39  or similar connector. The clasping hook  39  is either threaded through or removably coupled to an appropriate loop  35  of pull bar  37  ( FIG. 3 ).  
         [0019]     In a preferred embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , pull bar  37  is formed of a 1¾ inch thick U-shaped piece of steel  41  with two plates  43  of 1½ inch square stock fitted into the opening of the U-shape. Two or more C clamps  45  (or other clamps) are welded to the U-shaped steel piece  41  and spaced apart along the length of the pull bar  37 . A carpet edge  55  ( FIG. 3 ) is insertable into the opening of the U-shape and clamped between the plates  43  upon tightening of the C clamps  45 . Pull bar  37  may be of various lengths. Applicant prefers the use of a 2 foot long pull bar  37  for doorway and other relatively narrow areas and a 4 foot long pull bar  37  for other areas of use.  
         [0020]     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , the back side  19  of the dolly member  11  is lined with a ¼ inch thick steel plate  47  (about 1 foot wide by 44 inches long in the preferred embodiment). Steel liner plate  47  is bolted or otherwise fixed to the dolly  11  frame. As illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , framing plates with a plurality of ¾ inch long or longer teeth  49  are fixedly attached to the steel liner plate  47  such that the teeth  49  protrude out and away from the back side  19  of dolly member  11 . In a preferred embodiment, the invention machine  10  has over 3000 such teeth  49 . In contrast, the carpet pulling tools in the prior art have about ⅓ or fewer number of teeth and smaller sized teeth which have proven not to grip well so that the prior art machines tend to slide during operation which poses a safety hazard and a performance loss.  
         [0021]     During storage (times of non-use) and transportation of the invention machine  10 , safety shield  31  serves as a protective cover over teeth  49  as shown in  FIG. 1 . This protects the user from the sharp teeth  49  as well as protects truck surfaces or other exposed surfaces from being scratched or gouged by the teeth  49 . Safety shield  31  is a framed 1 foot by 5 foot metal screen removably bolted to the dolly frame. For example, in one embodiment, two wing nut bolts  51  ( FIG. 1 ) hold safety shield  31  onto the back side  19  of the dolly member  11 .  
         [0022]     Thus during transportation and upon arrival at the desired site for use of the invention machine  10 , safety shield  31  is in teeth  49  covering position as shown in  FIG. 1 . The invention machine  10  is safely and easily handled and maneuvered just like a typical dolly. The invention machine  10  being only about 1 foot wide overall (the width of main dolly member  11 ) easily fits through doorways and passages in a house setting, for example (as opposed to industrial/commercial settings in the prior art).  
         [0023]     Once the user has wheeled the invention machine  10  to the desired location for carpet removal, the safety shield  31  is removed from the dolly member back side  19  and removably attached (i.e., bolted) on end to the dolly prongs  25 . See  FIGS. 2, 3  and  6 . The invention machine  10  is placed in operating position by laying the dolly member back  19  and teeth  49  side down on the carpet (the safety shield  31  no longer covering the teeth). The teeth  49  under the weight of the invention machine  10  have an anchoring effect and stabilize (make stationary) the invention machine  10  during operation.  
         [0024]     The winch cable  33  is uncoiled and the clasping hook end  39  is either strung through or removably attached to a loop  35  of a desired pull bar  37 . If the clasping hook  39  is strung through loop  35  then the cable  33  is doubled back to the winch unit  29  where the clasping hook  39  is secured (connected) appropriately. An exposed edge  55  of the subject carpet  57  is placed into the opening of the pull bar  37  and the pull bar  37  is made to securely grip the carpet edge  55  as previously described in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Once the pull bar  37  is secured onto the subject carpet edge  55 , the user can operate the winch  29  to pull the pull bar  37  and thus pull (or peel) the carpet  57  off the subfloor toward the anchored invention machine  10 . During this operation, the user stands behind the safety shield  31  now in its user screening position. In this mode, the safety shield  31  provides an effective area of protection for the user to stand in. The effective area of protection is about 1 foot wide by 5 feet high, which is an improvement over the prior art dimensions for safety shielding. The safety shield  31  being of screen material allows the user to view the carpet pulling activity (of the winch  29  and pull bar  37 ) while being shielded from any airborne debris. Where the cable  33  is of a material that will not stretch or bind, there is reduced danger of any snap back should the cable break. Further, the cable  33  in the preferred embodiment is of material proven to unlikely break. The safety shield  31  provides added protection in the event of the cable breaking during operation of the invention machine  10 . Such is not the case in the prior art tools.  
         [0025]     Accordingly, the present invention provides a relatively light weight motorized carpet removal machine  10  usable especially by the homeowner or in the residential setting. A safety shield  31  duals as a cover to the teeth side  49  of the invention machine  10  and a safety screen for the user to stand behind during operation of the invention machine  10 . Such a carpet removal machine has heretofore been unachieved by the prior art.  
         [0026]     While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.  
         [0027]     For example, the foregoing description includes various dimensions for purposes of illustration and not limitation of the present invention. Similarly, material of the various parts is specified for purposes of illustration and not limitation of the present invention.  
         [0028]     In another example, the electric winch  29  may be remotely controlled and/or powered by a battery pack as opposed to AC current. Other motorized winches and power sources for the same are suitable.  
         [0029]     Where bolts and hooks are mentioned, it is understood that other fasteners and connectors are suitable and in the purview of one skilled in the art given this disclosure.

Summary:
A carpet removal or stripping method and system (machine) employs a common dolly. The backside of the dolly member has a plurality of teeth. A motorized winching system is coupled to the front side of the dolly member. A dual purpose safety shield covers the teeth during transportation and serves as a protective screen for the user during carpet removal operation of the invention machine. The winching system automates carpet peeling activity with the dolly member lying backside down during operation, and the teeth provide an anchoring effect. A pull bar removably grasps the subject carpet. A cable is coupled between the winching system and the pull bar. The winching system takes up or pulls the cable and hence the pull bar, such that the carpet is peeled away and separated from the subfloor.