Patent Publication Number: US-7712199-B1

Title: Portable apparatus for installing floor boards and associated method

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not applicable. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field 
   This invention relates to hand tools and, more particularly, to a portable apparatus for installing laminate flooring on a floor surface. 
   2. Prior Art 
   Laminate flooring is the hottest trend to hit the residential flooring industry since the early days of linoleum! As the younger generation of homeowners look to modernize the look and feel of their decor, laminate flooring has slowly become one of the hottest consumer products on the house and home market. Laminate flooring is an ultra-durable product that looks like a real wood or stone floor. But it&#39;s less costly than the ‘real thing’, easier to install and can last a lot longer. Laminate floors are quickly becoming the flooring of choice for active families and homeowners. If you love the gorgeous look of a wood or stone floor but are worried about high traffic that can ruin expensive floors, laminate flooring is probably the best option on the market. Laminate flooring is a lot like Formica countertops—a combination of layers of wood and melamine plastic that imitate real wood, stone or other textures. But what you&#39;re seeing when you look at laminate flooring is actually a picture—a high-quality photograph of real wood or stone that has been placed on top of the floor and covered with ultra-strong, clear plastic. Laminate flooring is available in planks, strips and tiles. 
   Traditionally, it is glued into place, but in the past few years manufacturers have introduced some incredible glueless and pre-glued formats that cut installation time in half! Laminate flooring is installed on top of your existing floor. And, if you choose a glueless floor, you can even remove the floor and take it with you when you move! One of the few disadvantages to laminate flooring is that it cannot be refinished, sanded or stripped. However, with some of the strongest warranties in the flooring industry, there&#39;s not much chance you&#39;ll ever need to replace your laminate floor! However, the installation of laminate flooring can be both difficult and tedious at times. Obviously it would be advantageously to develop a device that would make the installation of laminate flooring simple and convenient. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,361 to Heimbach discloses a clampless flooring tool that includes a base, a wedge sidewardly guidable by and in slidable contact with the base, and a force applying device secured to the base and in contact with the wedge, which drives the wedge sidewardly. The wedge provides a force oblique to the force applied from the force applying device such that a flooring piece can be acted upon by the oblique force in a direction oblique to the direction of the force applied by the force applying device. An obliquely movable member, which, in addition, may be sidewardly immovable, may be provided between and in contact with the wedge for contact with the flooring. The tool is especially useful in installation of laminate flooring. Unfortunately, this prior art example may still require use of a hammer. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,221 to Muhlebach discloses a multi-part gripping device for pressing together flooring elements, such as laminates and finished parquet, in side-by-side relationship includes two rod parts that are axially and telescopically connected. One of said rod parts includes a pressure jaw at an end having parallel shoulders that extend toward the other rod part, the shoulders being at a different spacing from the associated rod part for abutting a base portion of a flooring element over which the gripping device is positioned. A longitudinally adjustable lead screw is pivotally connected between the two rod parts for moving the two rod parts together, such that a connecting pressure is applied to a flooring element being interconnectably positioned adjacent one or more previously positioned flooring elements. Unfortunately, this prior art example is not designed to work with the pushing and pulling motions of a user&#39;s weight. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,450 to Pasto discloses a flooring tool for the installation or repair of wooden tongue and groove flooring. The tool has a jack for exerting linear force, with a fixed and a movable portion. A pivoting gripper is mounted upon the movable portion, and a guide is mounted upon the fixed portion, which allows a brace such as a 2 by 4 board to be inserted into the guide and gripper and held in place, extending the reach and usefulness of the tool. A foot upon a push-pull rod extends downwards from the fixed portion of the jack, and pushes upon the flooring planks. In a preferred embodiment, two attachment points are provided for the foot on its rod, at each end of the fixed portion, providing maximum flexibility. Unfortunately, this prior art example is not designed to work with various types of floor boards. 
   Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The present invention is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for installing laminate flooring on a floor surface. The manually operable hand tool is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for installing laminate flooring on a floor surface. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are provided by a manually operable hand tool. 
   A manually operable hand tool for installing laminate flooring includes an elongated shaft and a base member statically connected to the elongated shaft and including a downwardly averted shoulder spaced from a distal end of the shaft. Such a downwardly averted shoulder is monolithically formed with the base member and is registered orthogonal thereto. The base member includes a planar central section effectively provided with an angled proximal end offset from the central section at an oblique angle. Such an angled proximal end is directly mated to a distal end of the shaft such that the shaft and the first handle are upwardly offset from the central section. The shaft is statically welded to the proximal end of the base member and further lies flush with the proximal end of the base member. 
   The apparatus further includes a first handle slidably conveniently engaged with the shaft. Such a first handle is asymmetrically formed, with a distal end being proportionately larger than a proximal end for increasing a user grip on the first handle during operating procedures. A stop member is affixed to a proximal end of the shaft for preventing removal of the first handle from the shaft. Such a stop member is statically affixed to the distal end of the shaft. The handle includes an axial bore centrally aligned and extending through an entire longitudinal length of the first handle, and the shaft is interfitted through the bore. 
   The apparatus further includes a second handle connected to the base member and advantageously extending upwardly from a top surface thereof. Such a second handle is forwardly offset at an oblique angle biased towards the averted shoulder and is securely welded to the base member for providing an additional gripping surface seated above the base member for applying additional weight to the base member during installation procedures. 
   A method for installing laminate flooring on a floor surface includes the steps of: providing an elongated shaft; statically connecting a base member to the shaft; slidably engaging a first handle with the shaft; and affixing a stop member to a proximal end of the shaft for preventing removal of the first handle from the shaft; securely welding a second handle to the base member for providing an additional gripping surface seated above the base member; positioning a downwardly averted proximal edge of the base member against the laminate board; simultaneously applying additional weight to the second handle while forwardly sliding the first handle along the shaft and towards the averted shoulder; and adjustably positioning a washer between the first handle and the stopper for absorbing an impact force from the first handle and thereby shielding the stopper during operating conditions. 
   There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention 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 invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
   It is noted the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a top planar view of a manually operable hand tool, in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a top planar view of a manually operable hand tool, in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a manually operable hand tool, in use with a piece of laminate flooring, in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the handle, in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4B  is a top planar view of the second handle, in accordance with the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, this embodiment is provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the figures. 
   The apparatus of this invention is referred to generally in  FIGS. 1-4B  by the reference numeral  10  and is intended to protect a manually operable hand tool. It should be understood that the apparatus  10  may be used to protect many different types of hand tools and should not be limited in use with only those types of hand tools mentioned herein. 
   Referring initially to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 B, a manually operable hand tool  10  for installing laminate flooring includes an elongated shaft  20  and a base member  21  statically connected to the elongated shaft  20  and including a downwardly averted shoulder  22  spaced from a distal end of the shaft  20 . Such a downwardly averted shoulder  22  is monolithically formed with the base member  21  and is registered orthogonal thereto. The base member  21  includes a planar central section  23  provided with an angled proximal end  24  offset from the central section  23  at an oblique angle. Such an angled proximal end  24  is directly mated, without the use of intervening elements, to a distal end of the shaft  20  which is essential such that the shaft  20  and a first handle  25  are upwardly offset from the central section  23 . The shaft  20  is statically welded to the proximal end of the base member  21  and further lies flush with the proximal end of the base member  21 . The base member  21  and averted shoulder  22  are used for gripping a laminate floor board. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 A, the apparatus  10  further includes the first handle  25  slidably engaged with the shaft  20 . Such a first handle  25  is asymmetrically formed, with a distal end  26  being proportionately larger than a proximal end  27  for increasing a user grip on the first handle  25  during operating procedures. A stop member  28  is affixed to a proximal end of the shaft  20  for preventing removal of the first handle  25  from the shaft  20 . Such a stop member  28  is statically affixed to the distal end of the shaft  20 , and preferably includes a plug welded to the end of the shaft  20 . The handle  25  includes an axial bore  29  centrally aligned and extending through an entire longitudinal length of the first handle  25 , and the shaft  20  is interfitted through the bore  29 . The stop member  28  is provided for preventing inadvertent removal of the first handle  25  from the shaft  20 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 B, the apparatus  10  further includes a second handle  31  connected to the base member  21  and extending upwardly from a top surface thereof. Such a second handle  31  is forwardly offset at an oblique angle biased towards the averted shoulder  22  and is securely welded to the base member  21  for providing an additional gripping surface seated above the base member  21  for applying additional weight to the base member  21  during installation procedures. The second handle  31  is provided for better gripping the base member  21 . 
   The present invention, as claimed, provides the unexpected and unpredictable benefit of an apparatus for installing laminate flooring that does not require the use of a hammer. Anyone who has installed laminate flooring will appreciate this product. It works by pulling and pushing the weight of a user, making the job easier. The product measures approximately three inches in width by 18 inches in length. It is shaped like a flat triangle and contains a rod with a weight on it, and a handle. It is further constructed of a durable material. 
   In use, a method for installing laminate flooring on a floor surface includes the steps of: providing an elongated shaft  20 ; statically connecting a base member  21  to the shaft  20 ; slidably engaging a first handle  25  with the shaft  20 ; and affixing a stop member  28  to a proximal end of the shaft  20  for preventing removal of the first handle  25  from the shaft  20 ; securely welding a second handle  31  to the base member  21  for providing an additional gripping surface seated above the base member  21 ; positioning a downwardly averted proximal edge of the base member  21  against the laminate board; and simultaneously applying additional weight to the second handle  31  while forwardly sliding the first handle  25  along the shaft  20  and towards the averted shoulder  22 . 
   While the invention has been described with respect to a certain specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
   In particular, with respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the present invention may include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation. The assembly and use of the present invention are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art.