Abstract:
A tile fitting device is provided for use in marking and cutting a loose tile of a predetermined size to be marked to permit it to be laid on a narrow untiled floor space disposed between an upright wall surface and confronting outer edge of a plurality of like laid tile of a predetermined size on a contiguous tiled floor space.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to the art of laying floor tiles, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a device which is useful in fitting tiles to be laid on a narrow floor space along a wall. 
     2. Related Art 
     In laying floor tiles it is sometimes necessary to cut and lay a series of tiles on a relatively narrow floor space extending along a wall or other obstruction. At present, there are a number of devices for marking or cutting a loose tile to be fit in the narrow floor space. However, the previously designed devices are not designed to hold multiple tiles enabling its user to more speedily complete the job. Previous designs fail to trace the part of the wall immediately joining the floor. Previous devices trace along a part of the wall different from the part which the tile will actually be resting up against. Often times, especially in older structures, there are significant differences between the portion of the wall immediately adjoining the floor and the portion of the wall just above that portion. 
     In addition to not being able to hold a plurality of loose tiles to be laid, the single tile which previously designed tile marking/cutting devices did hold was often not guided by side portions. Therefore, the user would have to take time to be careful to properly align the tile to be marked or cut. Also, the means of gauging the narrow floor space to be fitted with a tile would lack any guidance, allowing the user to mark or cut a tile based on a portion a wall not representative of the space being measured. In other words, when the gauging means is not guided, the user is able to trace along a portion of the wall which is not directly before the tile marking/cutting device and the narrow space to be measured. Therefore, the more inexperienced the user, the greater the likelihood of error. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a tile fitting tool which may be used for quickly and accurately fitting tiles to be laid on a relatively narrow floor space along a wall or like obstruction. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive tile fitting tool which may assist inexperienced persons in fitting floor tiles. 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to tile fitting device for use in marking or cutting a tile to permit it to be laid on a narrow untiled floor space disposed between an upright wall surface and confronting outer edge of a plurality of like laid tile on a contiguous tiled floor space. The tile fitting device includes a base and a measuring aid. The base is able to hold a plurality of the tiles, having a bottom portion for resting on the laid tile, a down-turned lip for engaging the outer edge of the laid tile, an upturned lip parallel with the down-turned lip and spaced approximately a tile length therefrom for engaging an edge of the loose tile to be laid, and at least two side walls positioned at right angles to the upturned lip and upwardly extending from the bottom portion, parallel with each other. The tile to be marked is positioned between the side walls and the upturned lip such that the tile rests against the upturned lip and at least one side wall such that at least one side wall extends at a height slightly above the tile to be marked; 
     The measuring aid provides an edge for use in marking the tile to be marked. The measuring aid includes a central portion for holding the measuring aid, a wall tracing portion generally perpendicularly attached to the central portion, and a tile marking portion generally perpendicularly attached to the central portion, parallel to the wall tracing portion. The down-turned lip of the wall tracing portion rests on the floor and against the wall surface, and the tile marking portion rests on the tile to be marked such that the central portion does not touch the tile to be marked. The tile marking portion, when resting on the tile to be marked, is substantially parallel with the upturned lip. The tile marking portion has sufficient space to move between the side walls of the base such that a user of the device may use a marking utensil to trace along the tile marking portion to make a mark on the tile. The portion of the tile between the mark and the upturned lip of the base will be substantially the exact dimension of the narrow untiled floor space disposed between the upright wall surface and the confronting outer edge of the laid tile, even when the narrow untiled floor space is asymmetrical. 
     TERMINOLOGY 
     “Cut” is to cut completely through or to score an object. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a partially tiled floor on which the present invention is shown being used to gauge a loose tile prior to its being cut and laid on an untiled portion of the floor space. 
     FIG. 2 a  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a tile fitting device 
     FIG. 2 b  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a tile the tile fitting device 
     FIG. 3 a  is another perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2 a.    
     FIG. 3 b  is another perspective view of an embodiment of FIG. 3 a.    
     FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention is directed to a tile fitting device  18  for use in marking or cutting a tile  13  to permit it to be laid on a narrow untiled floor space  14 . Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a room having a floor  10 , a wall  11 , and a baseboard  12  projecting upwardly from the floor  10  and extending along the wall  11 . A plurality of square tiles  13 , laid on substantially the entire floor area  10  define a relatively narrow untiled floor space  14  between their outer edges  13   a , and the base board  12  (see FIG.  3 ). The tiles  13  are permanently bonded to the floor  10  by a suitable adhesive  15  which is exposed in the untiled area  14  before loose tiles  13   b  are laid thereon. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 2 a  and  2   b , the tile fitting device  18  includes a base  20  and a measuring aid  22 . The base  20  includes a planar bottom portion  24  for resting on the previously laid tiles  13 . It should be understood, however, that the bottom portion  24  may also contain projections  26  which are made of a material which does not scratch the finish of the previously laid tiles  13  (see FIG.  4 ). One or more of the projections may also be able to roll. Through experimentation, it has been learned that the embodiment in FIG. 4 shows the use two projections  26  on the base  20 . The base  20  also includes a down-turned lip  28  for engaging the outer edge  13   a  of the previously laid tiles  13 . The lip  28  may be of a predetermined dimension for particular types of tile (e.g., ceramic, linoleum, etc.) or of a common or unique dimension of a particular type of tile. It is understood that the lip  28  may also be modified to be adjustable. The lip  28  of the tile fitting device  18  can be continuous, it is understood that the lip  28 ′ may also be noncontinuous (see FIG.  5 ). 
     The base  20  also includes an upturned lip  30  for engaging an outer edge  13   b ′ of a loose tile  13 ′ to be marked or cut. Upturned lip  30  runs parallel to down-turned lip  28 , and is spaced about one tile length therefrom extending at a generally right angle from the base  20 , while down-turned lip  28  extends at a generally right angle from the base in an opposite direction. It is understood that the lip  30  may also be modified to be adjustable. Though the lip  30  of the present invention  18  is continuous, it is understood that the lip  30 ′ may also be noncontinuous (see FIG.  5 ). 
     The base  20  also includes a first side wall  32  and a second side wall  34 . As illustrated in FIG. 2 the side walls  32  and  34  extend from base  20  at right angles, running parallel to one another. The side walls  32  and  34  are also connected to and the same height as the upturned lip  30 . However, the side walls  32  and  34  may be lower or higher than upturned lip  30 . Also, side walls  32  and  34  may be different heights from one another. It is understood that side walls  32  and  34  may also be modified to be adjustable. Though side walls  32  and  34  of the present invention  18  are shown continuous, it is understood that side walls  32 ′ and  34 ′ may also be noncontinuous (see FIG.  5 ). 
     The measuring aid  22  of the invention  18  includes a central portion  36  for holding the measuring aid  22 . The central portion  36  may include projections, indentations, openings, contours, etc. for enhancing the user&#39;s ability to manipulate the  22 . 
     The measuring aid  22  also includes a wall tracing portion  38  perpendicularly attached to the central portion  36 . The wall tracing portion  38  is attached to the central portion  36  by a spine  40  from which a down-turned lip  42  extends at a right angle. As illustrated in FIG. 3 a , the down-turned lip may optionally have projections  44  extending therefrom, made of a material which does not scratch the finish of the baseboard  12  or wall  11 . It is understood that the down-turned lip  42  may also be modified to be adjustable. It is also contemplated that the projections  44  or some alternative spacing device can be inserted to account for additional spacing requirements, such as grout. Though the down-turned lip  42  of the present invention  18  is continuous, it is understood that the down-turned lip  42 ′ may also be noncontinuous (see FIG.  5 ). 
     The measuring aid  22  further includes a tile marking portion  46  perpendicularly attached to the central portion  36 , substantially parallel to the wall tracing portion  38 . The tile marking portion  46  is planar and rectangular in shape, at a length just less than the distance between side wall  32  and  34 . The width of the tile marking portion  46  is predetermined to allow for a predetermined amount of movement of the tile marking portion  46  between side wall  32  and  34 . It should be understood that the rectangular shaped edges  49  of the tile marking portion  46 , for instance, may alternatively be rounded. 
     Preferably, the tile fitting device  18  is placed onto the previously laid tiles  13  so that the down-turned lip  28  of the base  20  lays immediately adjacent to their outer edge  13   a  so that the bottom portion  24  lays on top of the previously laid tiles  13 . Depending on the pattern of the previously laid tiles  13 , the bottom portion may fit precisely over a single previously laid tile  13  or may rest upon a plurality of previously laid tiles  13 . One or more loose tiles  13 ′ are positioned between the side walls  32  and  34  such that the loose tiles  13 ′ are immediately adjacent to at least one side wall, while also being immediately adjacent to the upturned lip  30 . It is important to note that the total height of the loose tiles  13 ′ as they rest on the base  20 , between the side walls  32  and  34  and the upturned lip  30  should preferably not exceed the height of the upturned lip  30 , and should be somewhat below the height of the side walls  32  and  34  for the reason that the side walls act to guide not only the loose tiles  13 ′, but also the tile marking portion  46  of the measuring aid  22 . 
     The measuring aid  22  is positioned between the wall  11 , baseboard  12 , or other structure/surface which is immediately in relation to the narrow untiled floor space  14  and the base  20  such that, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the down-turned lip  42  is placed immediately adjacent the baseboard  12 , resting on the floor  10  immediately adjoining the wall  11 . The tile marking portion  46  is positioned to rest on the loose tiles  13 ′, between the side walls  34  and  34  such that the area of the loose tile  13 ′ between the tile marking portion  46  and the upturned lip  30  is substantially the area of the narrow untiled floor space  14  being measured. As previously mentioned, in the case that the baseboard  12  is not parallel with the previously laid tiles  13 , the slight “play” between the side walls  32  and  34  and the tile marking portion  46  allows the user to follow the line of the baseboard  12  with the wall tracing portion  38  while staying in the confines of the side walls  32  and  34  with the tile marking portion  46 . Should the tile marking portion  46  be modified to include rounded edges, as previously mentioned, the marking/cutting edge  47  may have some play between the side walls  32  and  34 . The result of a longer marking/cutting edge  47 , the less need there is for the user to “free-hand” the mark or cut. 
     Upon positioning the tile fitting device  18  between a baseboard  12  and previously laid tiles  13  to measure a narrow untiled floor space  14 , the user may then mark along the tile marking portion  46  closest to the upturned lip  30  with a marking utensil (e.g., pen, pencil, marker, chalk, etc.,). The user may then remove the loose tile  13   b  that has been marked to make the appropriate cut. Removal of the loose tile  30  to make the cut would be common practice for tiles made from harder material such as stone, ceramic, marble, etc. 
     The user may, in place of marking the loose tile  13   b , use a cutting utensil (e.g., utility knife, pen knife, razor blade, etc.) to score or cut the loose tile  13 ′ along the tile marking portion  46  closest to the upturned lip  30 . Scoring or cutting the loose tile  13 ′ while between the side walls  32  and  34  would be common practice for tiles made from softer materials such as linoleum, cork, rubber, etc. In the case that the user wishes to cut completely through a loose tile  13 ′, while the loose tile  13 ′ is on at least one other loose tile  13 ′, a pad or plate may be positioned there between to avoid damaging the loose tile  13 ′ underneath. 
     Upon cutting the loose tile  13   b , the user may slide the tile fitting device along the previously laid tiles  13 , placing the loose tile  13 ′ into the narrow untiled floor space  14 . The measuring aid  22  may also be slid along the baseboard  12  and floor  10 . In most cases, after removal of the first cut loose tile  13 ′, and removal thereof, a second loose tile  13 ′ will be immediately underneath, ready for the process to be repeated. 
     The tile fitting device  18  may be made of metal or plastic, or a combination of both. For instance, if the measuring aid  22  was made of plastic, the tile marking portion  46 , or at least a portion thereof, might include at least a portion of metal surface for purposes of durability against repeated scoring or cutting of loose tiles  13 ′. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated and understood that modification may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.