Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Implements – Mason's trowel or float
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-18
2001-04-24
Spisich, Mark (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Implements
Mason's trowel or float
C425S458000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219878
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to tools utilize for contouring and finishing beads of caulk, grout, putty and other fluent materials (hereinafter referred to only as “caulk”). More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for compressing and contouring beads of fluent Material freshly applied to joints, and for the simultaneous removal of excess fluent material from the sides of the joints.
Many tools are available in the prior art for contouring and finishing beads of caulk applied to intersecting planar surfaces. Some such tools teach a one-step application and contouring of a bead of fluent material within a joint, other tools are used after the initial bead of caulk has been applied to finish the bead uniformly. A few such tools disclosed purport to be able to avoid excess distribution of fluent materials in the first instance but most are devoid of any teaching or recognition of potential clean up problems along the sides of an applied and contoured bed. Some other tools available in the prior art teach an additional clean-up step to the process of producing a finished uniform bead of caulking between intersecting planar surfaces devoid of excess caulking material. However, to the extent that they may not always satisfactorily perform in the manner suggested, the tools disclosed are inadequate to remove such excess material.
Many of the tools in the prior art are constructed in a complex manner especially where the initial application of a uniform caulk bead is the preferred method of operation. This complexity reduces the potential use of such tools under most job conditions encountered by this inventor.
Moreover even those such tools which are of simple construction and operation compete under job conditions with more readily available traditional methods of caulking finishing tools such as a moistened finger or palette knife, which though messy and imprecise continue to be the foremost methods of finishing caulk beads. Such work practices hold the benefit to the employer of resilience and flexibility, although a few tools available in the prior art also teach resilience and flexibility of construction, none can offer flexibility of use required to achieve uniform beads of caulk in many instances especially where the adjacent surfaces are not perpendicular or include non-conformities such as joints, cracks or surface texture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The resilient and flexible hand held tool of the present invention provides a handle with a fixed head holding working edges for uniformly compressing and contouring an applied bead of caulk and the simultaneous removal of excess material from the contoured bead and adjacent surfaces.
In a preferred form the tool comprises an elongated handle and isosceles acute triangular shaped head portion firmly holding the working edges. In this preferred embodiment the said handle and head portions are constructed in one piece from a resilient plastic material with the head portion located symmetrically at one end of the said handle and at an angle extending way from the central axis of the handle, the acute angle thereby directed axially away from the handle. The working edges are two edges of a six-sided arrow-shaped single flat sheet of durable elastomer or gasket rubber-like material which join at an acute angle. This said shaped sheet is held by and extends slightly beyond, the triangular head at the axial extremity of the handle, the said acute angled end is rounded and is so disposed to form a bead of caulk into a desired curvature and the two edges of the working surfaces extending symmetrically from the rounded end are disposed to wipe clean any excess caulk from the surfaces adjoining the caulk joint towards the axis of the tool during a pass of the tool over a previously applied bead of caulk In this preferred embodiment the excess material so gathered is collected in a cavity running longitudinally within the head and into the handle portions of the tool.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3498101 (1970-03-01), Daniell
patent: 3744079 (1973-07-01), Krause
patent: 3761992 (1973-10-01), Schneller
patent: 3846060 (1974-11-01), Otis
patent: 3878581 (1975-04-01), Perna
patent: 4586890 (1986-05-01), Marchbanks
patent: 4673346 (1987-06-01), Anderson
patent: 5018956 (1991-05-01), Lemaster
patent: 5033951 (1991-07-01), Cook
patent: 5075916 (1991-12-01), Englehart
patent: 5239725 (1993-08-01), White
patent: 5440776 (1995-08-01), Kartler
patent: 5675860 (1997-10-01), Campbell
patent: 385244 (1932-12-01), None
patent: 844416 (1960-08-01), None
patent: 94/27001 (1994-11-01), None
Kolisch Hartwell Dickinson & McCormack & Heuser
Spisich Mark
Vancouver Tool Corporation
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