US870671A - Carpet-stretcher. - Google Patents

Description

Noi 870,671. PATENTED NOV. 12, 1907. I. PREED.

CARPET STRBTCHER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16, 1907.

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PATENTED NOV. 12, 1907.

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CARPET STRETGHER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.16, 1907.

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ISAAC FREED, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA,

CARPET-STRETCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1907.

Application filed April 15 1907. Serial 110- 368,334-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Isaac FREED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Harrisburg, in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carpet- Stretchers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improved carpet stretcher, and it consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed. 7

Que object of my invention is to provide an improved carpet stretcher, which is extremely light, cheap and portable, which may be readily disposed compactly, so as to take up but little space when not in use, and which when so disposed presents no projecting points to tear the clothing or injure the person of the user.

A further object is to effect improvements in the means for gripping the carpet.

A further object is to provide improved means for holding the carpet stretched while tacking the same to the floor.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation of a carpet stretcher embodying my improvements, showing the same engaged with a carpet and employed in stretching the same; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the holder engaged with the carpet to hold the same to the floor after the carpet has been stretched and while the same is being tacked; and Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the stretcher folded,

In the embodiment of my invention, I provide a stretcherhead 1, which is a cross-bar at the inner end of a bar 2. Said bar has an upraised portion 3 at a suit able distance from its rear end, is provided with a depending guide loop 4 at its outer end and is provided on its upper side, near its inner end, with a pair ol upwardly-extending ears 5. On the ends of the stretcher head are pivoted the ends of a holding bail (i. Said holding bail is provided with a holding bar 7, which has spurs 8 which extend downwardly when the said holding bail is in use. A bar 9 is slid-ably related to the bar 2, bears under the same, passes through the guide loop 4, and has on its inner end an upwardlyextending guide loop 10. which engages and travels on the bar 2. Said bar 9 has ratchet teeth 11 on its upper side for a suitable distance from its outer end and its said. outer end is downwardly and outwardly turned. as at 12, and is provided with a depending spur 13 to be pressed into the floor near the washboard when the device is used for stretching carpet. The said bar 2 is provide dnear its outer end with a pivotally mounted dog 14, here shown as substantially U-shaped, and which 'coacts with the ratchet teeth of the bar 9, as will be understood. 7

A stretcher level-i5 is also provided, which is adapted to engage the ratchet. teeth of the bar 9 and is connected with the bar 2 by links 16, each of which has its outer end pivotally connected to said lever and its inner end pivotally connected to said bar 2;

A clamping jaw 17 is employed in coaction with the stretcher head 1 to grasp and clamp the carpet between them. Said clamping jaw is provided with a guide loop 18, which operates on the inner end portion of the bar 2 to connect said jaw to said bar for longitudinal movement with reference thereto and the said loop has on its upper side a pair of upstanding ears 19, between which a guide loop 20 is pivotally mounted. A jaw-operating lever 21 has its inner end pivotally mounted between the lugs 5 of the bar 2 and is connected by a link 22 to the guide 20, the said link being adapted to move freely in longitudinal direction through the said guide and having a screw-threaded portion which extends through an unthreaded opening in said guide. On the said screw-threaded portion are adjusting nuts 23, 24, which are on opposite sides of the guide and which are employed to firmly adjust the jaw 17 with reference to the stretcher head 1, according to the thickness of the carpet which is to be grasped between said stretcher head and said jaw. The said lever and the said link form a toggle connection between the clamping jaw and the bar 2 and assuming that the link has been adjusted as required by the thickness of the carpet and that the latter has been doubled at a point at some distance from its outer edge and placed between said stretcher head and jaw, said jaw may be closed upon said carpet to compress the same between such jaw and stretcher head by operating the lever 21 and turning such lever to the position shown in Fig. 1, so as to move the pivotal connection between the link and the lever slightly past the dead center of the lever and so as to engage the latter with one of the adjusting nuts and cause such nut to act as a stop for such lever. .When thus disposed, the lever will remain in such position and hold the clamping jaw in the required position to clamp the carpet between it and the stretcher head.

It will be understood that when the bar 9 has been attached to the floor by the engagement of its spur therewith, and the carpet has been attached to the stretcher head, the carpet may be stretched by operating the lever 15, so as to cause it to coact with the ratchet bar 9 in drawing said bar 2 and the stretcher head forward. When the carpet is being stretched, the holding bail is elevated, so that its spurs are out of engagement with the carpet. When the carpet has been suffi ciently stretched, the holding bail is turned down upon the same, then the operator with one foot forces the spurs thereof through the carpet into the floor, thereby holding the stretched carpet to the floor, as shown in Fig. 3, and the stretcher head and clamping jaw are disengaged from the carpet and the latter is tacked permanently to the floor at the washboard or outer edge of the carpet, after which the holding bail is withdrawn from the carpet and floor.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. 4, that when the device is not in use, the bar 9 may be moved inward under the bar 2, the lever 15 and' its link 16 may be folded down over the bar 2, and the holding bail may be turned under the inner portion of the bar 2 and hence disposed in a compact position out of the way where its spurs cannot project to tear the clothing or injure the person of the user. It will be further apparent'that when thus folded, the device is reduced to a very small compass, and that it may be readily grasped and carried from place to place.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood Without requiring a more extended explanation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is,

1. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of'means for grasping a carpet, a ratchet bar connected therewith for longitudinal movement and having means to engage the floor, a dog, carried by said carpet-grasping means, and a lever, connected with said carpet-grasping means and adapted to coact with the ratchet bar to move said carpetgrasping means in the direction required to stretch the carpet.

2. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of a carpet grasping element comprising a bar, a head carried by said bar, a jaw movable on said bar toward and from the head, and means to operate and lock said jaw; a ratchet bar connected to the first-mentioned bar for longitudinal movement and having means to temporarily secure it to a floor, a dog, carried by the firstmentioned bar to coact with the ratchet bar, a lever, and links connecting said lever to the firstmentioned bar, said lever being adapted to engage the ratchet bar, for the purpose set forth 3. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of a stretcher head, a longitudinal bar extending therefrom and having a dog at its outer end, a jaw having a guide loop slidable on the longitudinal bar, said jaw coacting with said stretcher head to grasp the carpet between them, a guide pivotally mounted on said guide loop, a lever pivotally connected to the said longitudinal bar for vertical angular movement, a screw link pivotally connected to said lever and free to slide in the said pivotally mounted guide, adjusting nuts on said screw link on opposite sides of said guide, a ratchet bar slidably connected to the said 1ongitudinal bar and having means at its outer end to engage the floor, said ratchet bar being engaged by said dog, an operat ing lever for coaction with said ratchet bar, and links pivotally connected to said operating lever and to said longitudinal bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ISAAC FREED.

Witnesses:

C. G. Nrnsnnr, H. H. FREEBURN.

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