Scribing tool
United States Patent [191 Diner 1 SCRIBING TOOL [76] inventor: Karl Diner. 3071 Sunrise Lakes Dr.  
 East. Sunrise. Fla. 33313 [22] Filed: Jan. 4. 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 430,682  
 30/286. 289, 314, 317, 164.95, 164.9; 33/42, 33/41 E, 41 F, 41 R, DIG. 20  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1.792.393 2/1931 Phillips 33/42 1 1 Apr. 8, 1975 2.572.791 10/1951 White 30/289 X 2.588.757 3/1952 Peeples 33/41 F 2.660.791 12/1953 Honell et a1. 301164.) 2.726.451 12/1955 Johnson 33/41 E 3.643.335 2/1972 Smith 33/42 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 151.914 1/1952 Australia 33/42 Y Primary E.\&#39;aminerA1 Lawrence Smith Assistant Etantiner.l. T. Zatarga Attorney, Agent. or Firm-Gottlieb, Rackman. Reisman &amp; Kirsch [57] ABSTRACT A scribing tool is provided for scribing or cutting tile which must be cut in&#34; next to a walL The scribing tool is of a width equal to the width of one of the tiles and is adapted to ride along the wall to scribe or cut the tile to necessary size.  
 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 2.305.065 12/1942 2.347.659 5/1944 2.416.913 3/1947 DelDebbio et a1. 33/41 E PATENTEDAPR 1915 3.875.664  
 FIG. 1  
 FIG. 5  
 SCRIBING TOOL This invention relates generally to cutting tools and, more particularly, to a scribing tool utilized to scribe or cut floor tiles.  
  As is generally well known, floor tile (such as asbestos tile, vinyl tile, or the like) is usually formed in 9 inch by 9 inch or 12 inch by 12 inch squares, with the squares being placed next to each other and cemented to the floor as the floor is laid. More likely than not, the tile must be cut in next to the wall. This refers to the fact that as the floor is laid, the distance between a tile and the wall is frequently less than nine inches and a tile must be cut in to fit into the space between a full size tile already cemented in place and the wall.  
  For years, the procedure for cutting in a piece of tile has been generally as follows, The tile that is to be cut in is placed over and in registry with the full size tile which is spaced from the wall and cemented in place. A guide tile is then placed partially over the cut-in tile, with one edge of the guide tile being placed flush against the wall so that only part of the cut-in tile is exposed. Using the parallel opposite edge of the top or guide tile as a guide, a knife, usually carried in a pin vice, is utilized to scribe the intermediate or cut-in tile at its partially exposed face. The top or guide tile is then removed; the intermediate or cut-in tile is lifted up from the full size tile which is permanently in place; and the cut-in tile is broken along the scribe line to provide a piece of tile of a size to fit between the wall and the full size tile.  
  The cut in procedure or technique set forth is subject to several disadvantages. First, although the procedure works satisfactorily with straight walls, difficulty is encountered when a piece of tile must be cut in against a curved wall or a wall having some other irregularity. In this case. the edge of the guide tile cannot be maintained flush against the wall and errors are therefore introduced as this tile is used as a guide along its other edge. Second, since a separate knife held by a pin vice or other tool is utilized to scribe the tile, the knife is not always maintained flush against the guiding edge of the guide tile sometimes the entire pin vice strays from the guiding edge and even if the pin vice remains generally next to the guiding edge, the orientation of the pin vice often changes so that the knife blade is not maintained perpendicular to the cut-in tile. Lastly, even if this procedure is utilized with a straight wall and even if no errors are introduced as a result of variations as the pin vice strays away from the guide tile, the prior art technique is nonetheless less than satisfactory since it requires quite a bit of dexterity to maintain both the cut-in tile and the guide tile in place and to concurrently scribe the cut-in tile with the pin vice.  
  Accordingly, it is a broad object of the present invention to provide a scribing tool which eliminates or substantially reduces the above described disadvantages resulting from the prior art technique utilized to cut in tile.  
  A specific object of this invention is to provide a scribing tool which may be utilized to cut in tile next to walls having diverse configurations.  
  Yet another object of this invention is to provide a scribing tool which eliminates the need of using a separate guide tile and pin vice.  
  Yet another object of this invention is to provide a scribing tool which is not only easy to utilize, but which is also relatively inexpensive to fabricate or manufacture.  
  Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a scribing tool which includes a support plate of a width equal to the width of a floor tile. Disposed at one end of the support plate is a series of roller means which are provided to enable the support plate to ride along a wall near the floor. A scribing blade, such as a pin or the like, is supported at the opposite edge of the support plate for cutting or scribing a tile to be cut in. A handle is provided at the top of the support plate for moving the scribing tool across the cut-in tile.  
  The above brief description of the present invention may be more fully appreciated by reference to the following description of a presently preferred, but none theless illustrative embodiment of the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein:  
  FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the scribing tool of the present invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a right side view of the scribing tool of FIG. I; and,  
  FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially along the line 33 of FIG. 1.  
  Referring now to the drawings, a scribing tool according to the present invention is generally designated 10. Scribing tool 10 includes a support plate 12 which may be generally flat, relatively narrow and ofa gener ally square configuration. Disposed along one end 14 of the support plate is a plurality of roller means, with three such rollers or wheels 16 illustrated in the drawing. The rollers are supported in a generally U-shaped roller channel 18 which is fastened to a first edge I4 of the support plate by screws or similar fastening elements 20 (see FIG. 2).  
  The rollers 16 are supported in roller channel I8 by mounting screws 22 which extend between the opposite legs of the bearing channel (see FIG. 3). As illustrated specifically in FIGS. I and 3, the rollers 16 partially extend out of the roller channel, with the rollers rotating about mounting screws 22 thereby enabling the support plate to ride along the wall near a floor, with the rollers providing a low friction surface.  
  The scribing tool 10 also includes a scribing means, generally designated 24, which is disposed at a second edge 26 of support plate 12 and which is substantially parallel to the first edge 14. The scribing means includes a support member 28 which is connected to support plate 12, near edge 26, by fastening elements, such as screws 30. The support member 28, which is fastened to support plate 12 so that it partially overhangs edge 26 (see FIG. 3), is adapted to receive and hold in place a scribing blade, such as a pin 32. The pin is inserted through an appropriate passageway 34 defined in support member 28 (see FIG. 3), with the pin adapted to extend through the passageway, along edge 26, so as to project or extend beneath the support plate 12 and to be generally perpendicular thereto as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. A set screw 36 cooperates with passageway 34 to maintain pin 32 in place, when the set screw is tightened against the pin. Set screw 36 may be adjusted to preset the amount that the pin projects beneath support plate 12, and it is also provided so that other pins may be inserted into passageway 34 to re place pin 32, as the latter becomes worn and dull.  
  A handle, generally designated 38, and including a grasping surface 40, is connected to the top of support plate 12 by appropriate fastening elements, such as screws 42 (see FIG. 2). The grasping surface is maintained in a inclined position. relative to the top of the support plate, by handle supports 44 which are connected, at one end thereof, to the support plate via screws 42 and, at the other end thereof, to grasping surface 40, for example, by screws 46.  
  Having now described the structure of scribing tool 10, a brief description of the manner in which this tool is utilized to scribe or cut in floor tiles now follows.  
  At the outset, it will be appreciated that although the length of support plate 12, along edges 14 and 26, may vary, e.g., the support plate need extend only between two of the rollers, the width of the support plate is chosen such that the dimension W between the outer surface of roller 16 and the point of pin 32 (see FIG. 3) is substantially equal to the width ofa piece of floor tile, e.g., 9 inches or 12 inches.  
  Scribing tool It) eliminates the need for using a separate guide tile and pin vice, utilized in the prior art for cutting in a piece of tile between a wall and an already placed full size tile.  
  As set forth hereinbefore, the cut in space is defined by the distance between the wall and the last full size tile which is secured or cemented to the floor. (The cut in dimension is always less than the width of a single tile.)  
  The cut-in tile is placed directly over the full size tile already in place. The scribing tool is placed with its rollers l6 against the wall which is perpendicular to the tile so that the scribing tool is partially over the cutin tile. Grasping handle 38, the scribing tool is then moved across the cut-in tile, with the rollers riding against the wall and with pin 32 scribing or cutting the cut-in tile. It is not necessary for the pin to cut entirely through the cut-in tile it is only necessary for the pin to partially go through the cut-in tile to provide a scribe line sufficient for the tile to be bent or broken to provide the cut in piece which fits in the cut in space be tween the wall and the full size tile.  
  The use of rollers 16 enables the scribing tool to ride along the wall on a low-friction surface defined by the rollers thereby decreasing the effort to scribe the cut-in tile. In addition, by moving the scribing tool along the wall on rollers 16, the pin 32 traces the general outline of the wall and, therefore. the scribing tool may be utilized with walls which are curved or which have other irregularities. Still further, the use of the scribing tool provides an exact scribe or cut into the cut-in tile, since the scribing pin is maintained a fixed distance W from the wall and since the pin is maintained generally perpendicular to the support plate and therefore is maintained generally perpendicular to the cut-in tile. Still further, the scribing tool is easy to utilize and little dexterity is required it is easy to utilize the scribing tool while keeping the cut-in tile in place Obviously, other modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, more or fewer ball rollers l6 may be utilized if so desired, with the length of the support plate 12 along edge l4 likewise being lengthened or reduced. The length of edge 14 may be reduced to enable the scribing tool to ride along walls having a high degree of curvature. Similarly, other ways may be utilized for supporting pin 32 on the support plate 12. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiment described is merely illustrative of the present invention and other embodiments may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims.  
 What is claimed is:  
  l. A scribing tool for cutting in a cut-in tile to fit into a cut in space between a full size tile and an upstanding wall generally perpendicular to said full size tile comprising a generally flat rectangular support plate having first and second edges, a substantially U-shaped channel disposed at said first edge of said support plate, at least two rotatable elements supported in said U- shaped channel, said rotatable elements disposed in the same plane as said support plate and partially extending out of said U-shaped channel to define a low-friction contact surface for enabling said support plate to ride along an upstanding wall generally perpendicular to said support plate, a support member disposed substantially at said second edge of said support plate, a scribing blade supported by said support member and extending beneath said support plate and adapted to scribe a cut-in tile partially disposed beneath said support plate as said support plate is moved along said wall and handle means connected to said support plate for moving said support plate along said wall.  
  2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said scribing blade is supported by said support member substantially perpendicular to said support plate and the distance between said scribing blade and said lowfriction contact surface is substantially equal to the width of a tile to be scribed.  
  3. The invention according to claim 1 further comprising means for adjustably maintaining said scribing blade within said support member.  
 4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein said means for adjustably maintaining said scribing blade is aset screw.