Floor covering corner pieces for salient corners where floors and walls meet, appliance and method for fitting

Abstract

An appliance is provided for fitting a corner piece in the form of a module for a floor and wall covering. The appliance comprises a floor base comprising a rear part to support the operative's knees and forwardly having a fixed shaped bracket. An upper part of the bracket accommodates a support yoke which can be angularly oriented relative to the bracket. The support yoke is designed to receive a first structure for centering the appliance against the corner of the wall which receives the module, a second structure for gripping by the operative and a third structure for actuating and transmission and pressing against the module in order to obtain final shaping of the module. The third structure contributes to creep deformation of certain parts of the module to be fitted.

1 . A module which constitutes a salient floor or wall covering corner piece comprising a flat cut out piece of plastic material capable of being deformed by heating and being cooled in order to be fitted on part of a corner and then sized in situ to match a final shape to be obtained,
 wherein the corner piece comprises, in an initial state, a flat cut out piece having a specific configuration relative to a template based on floor covering surrounding the corner piece, said corner piece comprising a base, a tip of triangular configuration, an intermediate connecting part connecting the base to the tip, each side of the connecting part having a specific curved indent, and the tip comprising two sloping walls which intersect at an apex of the corner piece,   and wherein said corner piece, in a final state, has, at pressed areas, a reduced thickness and straight outer connecting shapes to match configurations of parts of the floor covering that are adjacent to the salient corner piece of the module.   
   
   
       2 . An appliance for fitting the module as claimed in  claim 1  to a corner, the appliance comprising a floor base articulately supporting an orientable telescopic arm controlled by an operating lever, an end of said telescopic arm having a means of pressing the module against the corner, said pressing means having a central V-shape portion which angularly matches the corner,
 wherein the floor base comprises a rear part to support knees of an operator and a forward fixed shaped bracket, an upper part of the bracket accommodating a support yoke which can be angularly oriented relative to the bracket,   and wherein the support yoke includes a first means for centering the appliance against a corner part of a wall which receives the module and prepositioning the corner piece, a second means of gripping by the operator and a third means of transmission actuation and pressing the pressing means against the module allowing final shaping of the module, said third means, in a plane underneath the first means, contributing to creep deformation of certain parts of the module to be fitted and final shaping of the module, said third means being recessed from the first means before actuation and being movable in order to allow partial pressing and cause, by pressure, material creep of the certain parts of the module in order to obtain final shapes of the module, said module having variations in structural thickness.   
   
   
       3 . An appliance, as claimed in  claim 2 , further comprising, on a front of the floor base, a fixed bracket arranged vertically and having two shaped arms, upper ends of the arms being parallel with a big enough gap between them to allow positioning of, the support yoke, the support yoke being articulated relative to said bracket. 
   
   
       4 . An appliance, as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the support yoke has a U-shaped configuration with two parallel wings that are longitudinally perpendicular to a plane of the bracket and protrude towards the front of the appliance,
 the support yoke forming a closed frame which encloses, the third means,   and wherein the support yoke is articulated relative to the bracket and has openings in the wings through which fastening means passes,   and wherein, near a front end of the yoke, the support yoke has a support spacer accommodating a knob which can be gripped in one hand by the operator and constitutes the second means,   and wherein, at the front end, the support yoke has the first means.   
   
   
       5 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the first means comprises two parallel L-shaped sections connected to each other by fastening means and extending as two curved pieces which allow centering and pressing the module against either side of the corner part of the wall. 
   
   
       6 . An appliance, as claimed in  claim 4 ,
 wherein the third means comprises a first component for gripping and controlling movement, a second component for pressing the module to shape the module, and a third component linking between the first component and the second component, to enable operational use of the appliance.   
   
   
       7 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the first component comprises a grip, a base of the grip being articulately mounted on a support section mounted relative to the support yoke,
 and in that the grip forms a handle for gripping and controlling other mechanisms,   and the base of said grip has wings which are recessed relative to an articulation part and accommodate, between the wings, a support for a push rod.   
   
   
       8 . An appliance, as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the third means which is located inside the frame of the support yoke comprises a receiving bearing surface fixedly and articulately mounted between the wings of the support yoke and the bracket by a hinge pin which links the support yoke to the bracket, said bearing surface having a bore through which the push rod passes. 
   
   
       9 . An appliance, as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the push rod is long and protrudes forwardly as an underlying extension of the support yoke in a plane which is not parallel to the support yoke,
 a forward end of the push rod is attached to a connecting ring, a forward part of the ring, which is an extension of the push rod, accommodates a support yoke of the pressing means, the pressing means comprising a shoe for pressing against the module.   
   
   
       10 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the shoe comprises two identical paddles oriented at an acute angle in order to press up against the module,
 each of the two paddles has a cylindrical paddle configuration opening at an angle of the order of 90°,   each paddle is connected to a flat arm which is attached to the support yoke of the pressing means,   and blades of the two paddles of the shoe are parallel and are connected to each other by fastening and securing pin on which a compensating spring is mounted, the spring providing a certain degree of flexibility in positioning and spreading the two paddles apart.   
   
   
       11 . A method for fitting the module to a corner area of the wall and floor using the appliance of  claim 2 , comprising:
 a) applying contact adhesive to a back of the module and to the area of the wall and floor that are to receive the module and allowing the adhesive to dry;   b) using a heat gun to uniformly heat the module until physical state of the module changes, allowing the module to be shaped;   c) pressing the module against the corner of the wall by hand;   d) moving the appliance close to the corner and positioning the first means against a sharp edge of the corner of the wall.   e) immobilizing the appliance by kneeling on the floor base and using the second means and the third means to transmit movements and actuates the pressing means;   f) pressing the module with the pressing means onto a skirting board, action of the pressing means causing the material to deform in corresponding contact areas of the module, and producing straight outer connecting shapes to match configurations of parts of the floor covering that are adjacent to the module.   g) fixing an upper edge of the module to the wall;   h) using a freezer spray to rapidly cool and stabilize configuration of the module; and   i) having completed fitting the module, moving the appliance away from the corner.   
   
   
       12 . An appliance as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein each paddle has a plurality of openings.