Seaming Iron Views

General Goods

When the width of a room is larger than the typical width of carpeting, it is necessary to abut two edges of carpet together and form a seam with adhesive glue. The adhesive glue is located on a seaming tape that is placed underneath the carpeting. Various devices have been provided to melt the adhesive so that the carpeting can easily and quickly be seamed together. Some irons have a heat plate that is directly laid upon the adhesive. The heat can scorch the adhesive or damage the underlying padding.

The present invention addresses the aforementioned concerns. A carpet seaming iron is provided which heats and melts the adhesive on a seam tape without the heating element contacting the seam tape. The carpet seaming iron of the present invention includes a base plate having top and bottom surfaces and air passages extending therethrough. The carpet seaming iron further includes a heating means spaced from the base plate. The carpet seaming iron has a housing defining a cavity wherein the heating means is disposed therein and the base plate forms a bottom end wall of the housing. A handle is connected to the housing and has a passage way open to the cavity of the housing. The handle has an open port for receiving atmospheric air which communicates with the passageway. A means is provided for directing the atmospheric air through the air passages in the base plate. The bottom surface of the base plate is spaced from the seam tape to prevent smoking or puddling of the adhesive.

Looking at FIGS. 1-3 , the carpet seaming iron 14 has an outer shell 16 forming a cavity 18 therein. The outer shell 16 forms an upper handle portion 20 that extends to a base portion 22 . The handle portion 20 has an open port 24 at its terminating point. The open port 24 provides an access for atmospheric air into the interior cavity 18 of the carpet seaming iron 14 . The open port 24 may have a screening material 26 covering the port 24 to prevent items or debris from entering the cavity 18 of the carpet seaming iron.

The base portion 22 of the carpet seaming iron has an electroplate 28 positioned in the base portion 22 so that it is parallel with the adhesive tape 12 . The electroplate 28 is connected by conventional means to the interior of the base portion 22 . FIG. 4 shows an elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the electroplate 28 . The electroplate 28 has a frame 30 for supporting a quartz lamp 32 . The quartz lamp 32 provides the heat source to melt the adhesive tape 12 . The quartz lamp 32 also provides a means of illumination. The quartz lamp 32 is connected to the frame 30 and is centrally located therebetween. The frame configuration allows the atmospheric air to flow around and through the frame 30 and toward an airflow plate or base plate 34 . The frame configuration also allows the illumination from the quartz lamp 32 to extend to the carpet seaming tape 12 and the ground to provide light to guide the operator especially in dark areas such as closets.