BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a gripping and pulling assembly used to strip adhes ively mounted or otherwise fixedly secured carpeting from a floor surface incorporating a pulling harness attached to a gripping structure for engagement with a users body such that the user may exert as much pulling force as poss ible on the carpet being removed thereby eliminating the need for winches or other mechanical pulling devices.

Description of the Prior Art

In large industrial and commercial complexes, where carpet is used as a primary floor covering over generally very large floor areas, it is common to adhere or affix the under surface of the carpeting directly to the exposed surface of the floor. This is usually done by an adhesive o like material distributed substantially over the entire surface to be covered. This type of installation is considered necessary in high-traffic areas.

While effective for maintaining carpet for long periods of time, it has been realized that the removal of adhesively secured carpeting from floor surfaces is extremely difficult. Removal is required due to replacement or repair. Prior art attempts to accomplish such removal are still extremely time consuming and manually very difficult. In removing adhesively secured carpets from floor surfaces, the prior art has primarily relied on equipment designed

exhibits a bonding or holding strength much less than the extremely strong adhesive currently used to secure jute back carpets to flooring surfaces.

My existing U.S. Patent 4,560,146 is directed to a stripper assembly for removing carpet which is directly adhered by adhesive and incorpo ating a gripping mechanism secured to the carpet and used in combination with an anchored, driving assembly in the form of a mechanical winch interconnected to the gripping structure and the carpeting being removed by a cable or like pulling device. Activation of the winch causes a pulling force to be exerted on the gripping structure and steadily pulls and thereby strips the carpet from the surface to which it was adhered. While applicable for its intended function, other applications involving the removal of carpeting from perhaps smaller areas or from homes frequently does not lend itself to the use of the mechanical winch and accompanying anchoring assembly as outlined in the above-noted patent.

Accordingly, there is a need for the removing of adhered carpeting from flo.oring surfaces in areas which because of the expense, size, etc. does not as readily lend itself to the use of mechanical equipment including powered winches to apply the pulling force to the carpeting being stripped.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is directed towards a stripping assembly designed to remove adhesively secured or otherwise permanently attached carpeting, especially jute back carpeting from a floor surface ^to which it is attached. As is well known in the industry that extreme force is required to remove such adhesively secured carpeting. Therefore, the

gripping assembly of the present invention comprises a gripping means designed to removably be secured in firm gripping engagement with preferably an edge portion of the carpeting which is initially, peeled back, by hand or tools from the wall or its secured position in covering relation to the floor surface. Once free therefrom, the gripping means, preferably comprising a gripping jaw, is secured to the free edge .

The gripping means includes a base wherein the gripping jaw is attached at. one end thereof . The opposite end of the base is attached to a pulling means. An important feature of the present invention is the adaptation and structure of the pulling means so as to easily mount it in surrounding and secured relation to a preferred portion of the users body. More specifically, the pulling means includes some type of body engaging harness preferably in the form of a waist band which is partially disposed in surrounding relation to the waist or hip area of the torso of the wearer. The pulling means further comprises an elongated connecting strap. The connecting strap has one distal end removably secured to the base in a substantially opposite orientation to the gripping means which is also attached thereto. The proximal end of the connecting strap is removably secured to the harness which, as set forth above, engages and is removably mounted on the wearers body. By virtue of the harness and its interconne tion to the gripping means by virtue of the connecting strap, the wearer may effectively utilize the force of his entire body as he "leans" in a direction away from the carpet being stripped and "against" the waist band in a similar manner as he would when pulling a wagon or any appliance of this nature. Obviously,

much more pulling force may be exerted on the carpeting being removed by enabling the user to utilize the larger muscle in his body, including but not limited to the leg muscles.

Other features associated with the gripping means include a lever handle pivotally connected to the gripping means by means of an appropriately structured hinge assembly which allows selective 0 positioning of the lever handle in either an open or a closed and locked position. In the locked position, the gripping means is structured so as to eliminate the possibility of inadvertent dislodgment or detachment of the carpeting from a firm fixed

■^ engagement with the jaws thereof.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, a combination of elements and an arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of

20 the invention will be indicated in the claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the 25 following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view In partial

•cut-away of the gripping means of the present invention; 30 Figure 2 is a longitudinal side view of the structure of figure 1 shown in gripping engagement with a carpeting portion being stripped from a floor surface.

Figure 3 is a perspective view wherein the ,c gripping assembly is shown mounted on a pulling wearer by means of an approp iately structured

harness which is part of the pulling assembly of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the harness which is part of the pulling assembly of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective view wherein the gripping assembly is shown in connection with two harnesses and two pullers working in unison.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts

10 throughout the several views of the drawings.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

As shown in figures 1 through 3, the present invention relates to a stripping assembly including a

15 gripping means 10 for stripping or removing carpeting 12 from its covering position relative to a floor- surface 14 particularly of the type wherein the carpeting 12 is secured to the floor surface 14 by

20 means of adhesive or any other applicable means.

The pulling assembly of the present invention includes the gripping means 10 having a base 16 to which a gripping jaw generally indicated as 18 is attached. The gripping jaw is specifically designed -- to be removably secured preferably to one edge which is peeled away from the floor surface either by the hand of the user 20 or by using any type of hand manipulatable tool or the like. Once the edge 12' is free, it is fixedly secured to the gripping jaw 18.

The pulling assembly of the present invention

30 further includes a pulling assembly generally indicated as 22 and at least partially defined by a harness means 24 and an elongated connecting strap 26.

As is clearly pictured in figure 3, once the

35 gripping means 10 and more specifically the gripping

jaw 18 is secured into its gripping, locked position as shown in figure 2, the user or wearer 20 mounts the harness means 24 in an appropriate location preferably about his hips, waist or generally the lower torso area and exerts the proper pulling force by effectively "leaning" against the harness in a direction in accordance with the directional arrow 23 away from the carpeting 12. A stripping force will be exerted directly on the carpet and it will be readily removed from the floor surface 14 to which it is has been adhered in accordance with the directional arrow 25.

Details of the components of the present stripping assembly include the elongated rigid material base 16 being formed preferably from a metallic or high-strength material and having the gripping jaw 18 located and mounted at least preferably at one end thereof. The gripping jaw includes a first member 26 rigidly mounted adjacent one end 16 ^l of the base 16 in communicating relation to the carpet portion being stripped as at 12'. The first member 26 of the gripping jaw 18 may be fixedly secured as by bolting or any other appropriate means of securing to the upper exposed surface of the base 16 as shown in both figures 1 and 2. A proper- connecting bolt as at 28 may be applied as is shown. The gripping jaw 18 further includes a second movable member 30 movably mounted on base 16 in registered cooperative relation with the first member 26 through the workings of a hinge assembly generally indicated as 32. An elongated arm support 34 has the second member 30 fixedly mounted thereon. One end of the arm 34 is pivotally attached to a fixed support 36 itself being fixedly secured to the exposed surface of the base 16 by a mounting plate or like mounting

end 34' of the mounting arm 34 as at 35 and to a corresponding end of a lever handle generally indicated as 40 wherein the pivotal connection between the link 37 and the lever handle 40 is at 42. The lever handle itself is pivotally mounted as at 44 onto a spaced apart portion of the fixed support 36 as is clearly shown in figure 1. By virtue of the hinge structure 32 and the pivotal interconnection of the lever handle 40 and the support arm 34 affixed to the second jaw member 30, the jaw member 30 may be selectively disposed between an open position as shown in figure 1 and a closed, locked position as shown in figure 2.

The gripping jaw 18 further comprises a plurality of teeth 48 having an outer substantially sharpened or pointed end to facilitate penetration of a portion of the carpeting as at 12' (see fig. 2). The plurality of teeth 48 are arranged in parallel spaced-apart rows as is best shown in figure 1. At least one but preferably a plurality of elongated retainer members 50 are fixedly secured to move with the second member 30 on an inner face thereof and are cooperatively mounted relative to one another and to the rows of teeth on the first member 26 so as to be positioned between adjacent rows of teeth in engaging relation to the carpet end 12' being gripped. As is apparent both from review of figure 1 and 2, the retaining members secure the carpet into their gripped penetrated engagement relative to the plurality of teeth 48 and insure that the carpet will not easily become inadvertently disengaged therefrom.

The opposite end of base 16 has a connector as at 54 attached thereto preferably through the provision of an aperture 56. A snap hook or like cooperating connector element 58 is secured to a proximal end of the elongated connecting strip 26 and

serves to interconnect the harness means 24 to the gripping means 10 and more specifically to the base 16. As is pictured in figure 3, the proximal end as at 29 is secured to a mounting assembly generally indicated as 62 which may be defined as part of the harness means 24 and serves to facilitate mounting of the harness means 24 in at least partially surrounding relation to the user or wearer 20.

In a preferred embodiment, the harness means 24 is in the form of an elongated and at least partially padded or cushioned waist band 64, as shown in figure 4, and is designed to engage and allow pulling stress to be exerted thereon when the waist band 64 is surrounding the hips, waist or generally lower torso portion of the wearer. Obviously, the dimension and configuration of the waist band 64 and the fact that it is partially padded, allows greater versatility in choice of placement of the portion of the body on which the waist band 64 is located in order that the wearer or user 20 may exert the maximum amount of force depending upon the orientation of the carpeting 12 or whatever space or volume limitations are present in the area from which the carpeting is being removed. In another embodiment of the present invention, a second connector strap 70 is used in addition to the connector strap 26. The second connector strap 70 is of a significantly shorter length andhas a specific longitudinal dimension such that a pulling force can be exerted on the gripping assembly by the arms of theuser gripping the handle member 74 and 76 while at the same time, the harness means 24 engaging the back portion of the torso exerts and additional pulling force in the same manner as when the connecting strap 26 was utilized. Obviously, the connecting strap 26 as shown in figure 5 is too long

to allow simultaneous gripping of the handle means 72 by the hands and arms of the user.

In actual use, the longer connecting strap 26 may first be connected to he connector element 54 through any type of snap type connector element 58. The length of the second connector strap 70 is sufficient to allow the user to at least partially stand up and thereby exert sufficient leverage to initially separate a sufficient portion of the carpet from the floor to which it is attached. Once the user is in a substantially full standing position, he can then change connector straps and disconnect connecting strap 70 and connect the first connecting strap 26. As set forth above, the shorter length of the second connecting strap 70 allows the user to grip the handle means 72 while concurrently exerting a pulling force through the harness means 24. The second connecting strap 70 also has a snap type connector 58 prime as clearly shown. In another preferred embodiment, two harness means 24 are used in conjunction with two wearers 20, as shown in figure 5, so that a greater overall pulling force can be exerted on the gripping means. In this manner, the carpeting 12 can be removed much faster and efficiently.

Now that the invention has been described,