EP1832694A2

EP1832694A2 - Tool for laying floors, for gripping window or door glass panes, for removing residual concrete or the like, and for removing previously laid floors

Info

Publication number: EP1832694A2
Application number: EP07425127A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Maurizio Del Borrello
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-03-08
Filing date: 2007-03-06
Publication date: 2007-09-12
Also published as: EP1832694A3; ITTS20060004U1

Abstract

A tool for laying floors, for gripping window or door glass panes, for removing residual concrete, plaster or glue, and for removing previously laid floors, comprises a prism-shaped hollow body (1), a first stop (2), a second stop (3), a weight, means enabling the movement of the weight, a hitting element (6), a cap (7) and plates (8) made of an anti-scratch material; the stops (2,3) are placed at both ends of the hollow body (1); the hitting element (6) is fixed with screws (13) to the second stop (3); the means enabling the movement of the weight are placed between the two stops (2,3); the weight is shifted manually thanks to a handle (10) fixed to the weight; the quick movement of the weight and the collision against the first stop (2) causes the shifting of the tool and the component part of the floor or the section (16) gripping window or door glass placed against the hitting element (6); underneath the base of the body (1) leaning on the floor, plates made of an anti-scratch material (8) are fixed.

Description

Field of application

The present invention can be applied to the laying of floors and is particularly handy for the floor areas in the proximity of a wall. It can also be used for the fitting of sections gripping window and door glass and for the removal of the residual building material and of already laid floors.

State of the art

The laying of floors, including parquet floors, laminate floors, tiles and panel floors envisages all the component parts of the floor being put next to one another or fit in. The worker often finds it difficult to put component parts next to an already laid floor, especially if component parts are quite thin or if the job needs to be done quickly because of the use of glues for the assembling. The problem is solved by using a hammer and hitting the edge of the component part opposite to that where component parts have been put next to each other or fit in, thus taking the risk of damaging the component part itself.
The problem arises frequently when the component part needs to be fit into the other component parts, in the proximity of a wall. There is often so little room between the last component part and the wall that the worker finds it really difficult to fix the last component part to the one next to it. Various makeshift tools can be used including chisels, screwdrivers and so on with an increased risk of damaging either the component part or the wall.
The ' EP-1600580 ' can solve the problem. It describes a tool including horizontal rod, a flanged member at its end, a stabilizing ring at the end of the rod opposite to that of the flanged member and a weighted member used to generate a momentum which is transferred in a horizontal direction. The flanged member has a vertical part and a horizontal part and the vertical part has a notch which contacts the floorboard. The weighted member slides on the rod toward the stabilizing ring and the momentum is transferred to the vertical part of the vertical member leading a horizontal force to be transmitted to the floorboard - fixed to the vertical member of the flanged member - in the same direction of the weighted member.
The tool, unfortunately, is not flawless. Firstly, the floor-layer is likely to hurt his hand when shifting the weight. Moreover, the notch of the weighted member acts against the upper part of the component part of the floor, thus easily deforming it or splintering it. Moreover, when the tool is in motion, it is likely to scratch the component part of the floor since there are no means to protect the floor when the tool glides on it.
The laying of floors can raise another problem to the worker, namely the residual concrete (or other building material) at the base of the wall, which needs to be removed for the component part to be fit next to the wall.
Another problem can be raised, similar to the above-mentioned, in the laying of component parts, namely the fitting of sections gripping window and door glass into the frames of windows and doors. Given the proximity of the section to the glass, the fitting is often difficult and the glass can be scratched or splintered.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to produce a tool able to solve the above-mentioned problems and to put it to the disposal of workers.
One more object of the invention is to produce a hammer-like tool able to hit a floor component part without damaging it.
One more object of the invention is to produce a tool able to remove component parts of already laid floors.
These and other objects have been met by the tool in question as claimed by claim 1.
The tool includes a body, the first stop, the second stop, a weight, means that facilitate the movement of the weight itself and a hitting element. Complementary elements are a plastic or rubber cap and a chisel-like element. The body has a prism-like shape, is hollow and contains the stops, the weight and the means facilitating the movement of the weight. When used, the longitudinal axis of the body is parallel to the work surface. The stops are placed at both ends of the hollow body. The means facilitating the movement of the weight, namely guide slots made of self-lubricant material or rollers, spheres or small wheels extend between the stops. The weight has quite a flat shape and is shifted manually thanks to a handle fixed to the weight itself with a shank going through a slit placed on the side opposite to that resting on the floor. There are no means facilitating movement if the weight is made of a self-lubricant material.
The hitting element is a plate higher than the body and extending beyond the body downwards. At the bottom it has at least a stop facing the inside. The chisel-like element is fit into the body in the place of the hitting element. Underneath the hitting element and at the base one or more thin plates are fixed. They are made of an anti-scratch material like, for instance, rubber. Anti-scratch plates of different thickness can be used on the tool to adapt it to the different thickness of component parts of the floor. Anti-scratch plates are particularly useful when the tool glides on glass sheets to fit sections gripping window and door glass into the frames of windows and doors.
In order to be able to make the most of the tool and work on component parts of different heights, it is possible to further regulate it, thanks to button hole-shaped holes placed on the hitting element, allowing the hitting element to move vertically, with respect to the body. Both ways of regulating the tool and the presence of a stop in the lower part of the hitting element make it possible to work on the middle part or the lower part of the edge of the component part of the floor opposite to that where two component parts of the floor are put next to each other or fit in, thus avoiding the deforming or the splintering of the upper part of the component part itself. Hitting elements of different heights with stops of different shapes and thickness can be supplied to be able to hit the chosen part of edge of the component part of the floor.
Thanks to the tool it is possible to push hard the component part of the floor in order to fix it to those already laid, even if there's little room between the component part and the wall (or another obstacle). The tool is particularly handy when glues are used for a quick assembling.
As has already been mentioned, the weight is shifted manually with a handle.
The worker can not possibly hurt himself when the weight collides heavily with one of the stops, since his hand never touches the weight. Moreover the plate-shaped-weight is definitely longer than the slit placed on the body. The weight covers the whole slit , no matter where the handle is. Therefore, the worker can not possibly hurt himself by accidentally inserting his fingers through the slit into the body of the tool. Both the above-mentioned features guarantee the safety of the tool.

Brief description of drawings

Further characteristics and advantages will become better apparent from the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the tool, according to invention, illustrated only by way of a non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a lateral view of the tool;
Figure 2 shows the tool from above;
Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section along the A-A surface;
Figure 4 shows a transversal section along the B-B surface;
Figure 5 shows a front view of the tool;
Figure 6 shows an exploded view of the tool;
Figures 7 and 8 show the tool when used;
Figure 9 shows the first hitting element;
Figure 10 shows the second hitting element;
Figure 11 shows the third hitting element;
Figure 12 shows the fourth hitting element;
Figure 13 shows the tool with a chisel-like element in perspective.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

With reference to Figures 1 to 6, the tool includes a hollow body 1, the first stop 2, the second stop 3, a plate-shaped weight 4, two guide slots 5, a hitting element 6, a cap 7 and plates 8 made of anti-scratch material.
The rectangular parallelepiped-shaped body 1 contains the plate 4 and the two guide slots 5. The two guide slots are self-lubricant C-shaped straight-lined sections, placed along the longer sides of the rectangular base of the body 1. Along the guide slots 5 glides the heavy plate 4.
The stops 2, 3, small rectangle-shaped plates are placed at both ends of the body 1. The plate 4 collides with the fronts of the stops 2, 3, facing the inside of the body 1.
On the surface of the body 1 opposite to that leaning on floor component part a slit 9 is placed in the centre of the surface, extending in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the body 1. A handle 10 is fixed to the plate 4 thanks to a shank 11 going through the slit 9.
The cap 7, made of plastic or rubber, is fixed with screws 12 to the first stop 2, whereas the hitting element 6 is fixed with screws 13 to the second stop 3. The hitting element 6 is a plate higher than the body 1 so that it extends beyond the body 1 downwards. The hitting element 6 is L-shaped and has a stop 14 in its lower part facing the inside and parallel to the base of the body 1. The holes of the hitting element 6 through which screws 13 are fit in are button-hole-shaped. Underneath the base of the body 1 resting on the floor a few rubber anti-scratch plates 8 are fixed.
When used, the tool is placed on the component part of the floor which needs to be fit in. The longitudinal axis of the body 1 is parallel to the work surface. The hitting element 6, facing downwards with respect to the body 1, is placed - with its stop 14 - in the middle or in the lower part of the edge of the component part, opposite to that which needs to be fit in. In order to avoid the upper part of the edge of the floor component part to be hit by the stop 14 because of the different height of the component part itself, it is possible to shift the hitting element 6 vertically, with respect to the body 1, thanks to the button hole-shaped holes through which screws 13 go through. Should this vertical regulation reveal insufficient, it is necessary to replace the hitting element 6 with another having a suitable height. It is possible to use a hitting element 6 having at least two stops 14, 15 as shown in Figure 11, for the stop 14 to hit the component part of the floor in a position where it does not cause visible damage to the component part itself.
Then the worker can grasp the handle 10, - previously placed in such a way that the shank 11 is at the far end of the slit 9 next to the hitting element 6 - and push it hard towards the first stop 2. The plate 4, fixed to the handle 10 thanks to the shank 11, is forced to move from the second stop 3 along the guide slots 5 and collide with the first stop 2. Given the weight of the plate 4 and the quick forced movement, the collision is such as to shift both the tool and component part of the floor on which the hitting element 6 rests. Consequently the component part of the floor is forced to fit into the component part next to it.
The tool is particularly handy when the component part to be fit in is in the proximity of a wall. The hitting element 6 is placed between the wall and the component part of the floor, in the little room at his disposal, so that the stop 14 of the hitting element 6 is placed against the edge of the component part of the floor opposite to that which needs to be fit in. The worker, in this case, can use a hitting element 6 with an extremely thin stop 14, as shown in Figure 12.
The cap 7 enables the tool to be used like a hammer. It is therefore possible to hit the component part of the floor from above to fix it better with glue or laterally to put it next to those already laid. The cap 7 is made of rubber and does not damage the component part when hit.
If there is residual plaster at the foot of the wall, the hitting element 6 is removed and the screws 13 unscrewed. In its place, a chisel-like element 16, - made of an L-shaped plate, with its cutting edge facing outwards and parallel to the base of the body 1 - is fixed to the second stop 3 with the screws 13. The worker can then grasp the handle 10- previously placed in such a way that the shank 11 is at the far end of the slit 9 next to the first stop 2 - and push it hard towards the other end of the slit 9. The plate 4, fixed to the handle 10, is forced to move from the first stop 2, far from the wall, glide along the guide slots 5 and collide with the second stop 3, next to the wall. Given the weight of the plate 4 and the quick forced movement, the collision against the second stop 3 is such as to enable the cutting edge of the chisel-like element 16 to collide heavily with the base of the wall, thus removing the residual concrete, plaster or other building material.
The chisel-like element 16 is obviously able to remove the residual plaster, glue or other building material from the whole the floor of a room. The chisel-like element 16 can also be used to remove the component parts from an already laid floor.
When sections gripping window or door glass need to be fit into the seat of the window sash the tool can be used in the same way, with the chisel-like element 16. In other words, the chisel-like element 16 is placed on the section gripping the glass. A quick movement of the plate 4 up to the second stop 3, next to the section of the window sash leads to a shifting of both the tool and the section gripping the glass, thus enabling the fitting of said section into the frame of the window sash.

Claims

- Tool to ease laying of floors and section bars gripping the plates, the removal of residual plaster, glue or other building material from the floor of a room and the removal of component parts from an already laid floor, comprising the first stop (2), the second stop (3) and a weight shifting between the two stops (2, 3), the quick movement of the weight and its collision against the first stop (2) leads to the shifting forwards in one direction of the tool and the component part of the floor or of the section gripping window or door glass on which the tool rests; the collision against the second stop (3) causes the shifting of the tool only in the opposite direction, characterized by the fact that the stops (2,3), the weight and the means enabling the movement of the weight are inside a prism-shaped hollow body (1); when used, the longitudinal axis of the body is parallel to the work surface; the tool also comprises at least a hitting element (6), a cap (7) made of plastic or rubber, one or more plates made of an anti-scratch material (8) and a chisel-like element (16); the stops (2,3) are placed at both ends of the hollow body (1), and the means facilitating the movement of the weight (4) extend between the two stops (2, 3); the weight has quite a flat shape, glides along the means facilitating its movement and is shifted manually thanks to a handle (10), fixed to the weight with a shank (11), moving within a slit (9) of the body (1); the slit (9) is placed on the surface of the body (1) opposite to that leaning on the floor, in the middle of the surface and along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body (1); the weight collides with the front sides of the two stops (2, 3), facing the inside of the body (1); the weight is definitely longer than the slit (9); the hitting element (6) is fixed with screws (13) to the second stop (3) whereas the cap (7) is fixed with screws (12) to the first stop (2); the hitting element (6) is a small plate and is higher than the body (1), extends beyond the body (1) downwards; the hitting element (6) has at least one stop (14, 15) facing towards the inside and parallel to the base of the body (1); the stop (14, 15) is placed against the middle or the lower part of the component part of the floor opposite to that which needs to be fit in; the holes of the hitting element (6), through which the screws (13) go through, fixing the hitting element (6) to the second stop (3); the holes are button hole-shaped; underneath the base of the body (1) leaning on the floor a few plates made of a anti-scratch material are fixed (8); the chisel-shaped element (16) is fixed to the second stop (3) with screws (13) after removing the hitting element (6); the chisel-like element (16) is an L-shaped plate, with its cutting edge facing outwards and parallel to the base of the body (1) leaning on the floor.
- The tool, according to claim 1, characterized in that the weight is a plate (4) and the means enabling the movement of the weight itself include two guide slots (5), namely C-shaped straight-lined sections made of a self-lubricant material; the plate (4) glides between the two guide slots (5).
- The tool, according to claim 1, characterized in that the weight is a plate (4) and the means enabling the movement of the weight itself include rollers, spheres and small wheels.
- The tool, according to claim 1, characterized in that there are no means facilitating movement of the weight if the weight is made of a self-lubricant material.
- The tool, according to claim 1, characterized in that it has different hitting elements (6), each one of a different height.
- The tool, according to claim 1, characterized in that it has different hitting elements (6), each one with a stop (14,15), shaped in such a way to adapt to a given edge.
- The tool, according to claim 1, characterize in that it can have a very thin stop (14).