Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Implements – Mason's trowel or float
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-08
2001-01-30
Till, Terrence R. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Implements
Mason's trowel or float
C015S235400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178586
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to trowels for use in the laying of ceramic tiles doing masonry and plastering work which allow the user to apply the cementious material that allows attachment of the tile or other materials to a floor or wall surface through the manipulation of a hand-actuated tool called a trowel. Specifically, the invention relates to providing a single trowel that not only allows the user to manually apply and space the cementious material through the application of plurality of grooves but also provides for the use of the trowel as a lever for moving and rearranging a ceramic tile piece (once in place) through manual manipulation. The trowel also include a level indicator, built in the handle of the trowel to aid in the laying of ceramic tile, brick, block and plastering.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of hand trowels for applying and distributing cementious material that allows ceramic tile to be attached to a floor or wall surface is well-known. Typically, such a trowel is a thin rigid metal blade having a plurality of notches about one or two edges which are used to provide grooves or spacing in the cementious material before the adhesive material hardens or sets up which allows for better attachment of a ceramic piece of tile to a floor or wall by having rows of spaces or groove-like spaces in the cementious material that spreads when the tile is pressed against the cementious adhesive material.
Margin trowels are used that are hand-held rigid, thin flat surfaces that allow the user to pry up a piece of ceramic tile that has been misplaced or misaligned so that the tile can be rearranged or repositioned. Typically, the thin edge is slid under the tile into the cementious material and the entire ceramic tile is pried upwardly.
Conventionally today, most tile setters employ a plurality of trowels, one for applying cementious material in grooves and a second margin trowel for use in rearranging or pulling up tile that has been laid.
Another problem facing a tile setter is making sure that the ceramic tile is level. This requires the use of a separate level that once the tile has been installed, the level is placed on the tile to see how level the tile is. The margin trowel is also used for prying up ceramic tile and allowing more cementious material to be applied in order to level the tile.
Thus, in today's ceramic tile setting, the tile setter would have a first trowel for applying cementious material and making grooves in the cementious adhesive, a second trowel (called a “margin” trowel) for prying and lifting a ceramic tile and a separate level in order to ensure that the ceramic tile, once in place, is level.
The present invention eliminates the multiplicity of the above tools by providing a single trowel that can be used both for applying cementious material and grooving and also be used as a margin trowel for lifting while at the same time providing a built-in level in the trowel.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A hand-held trowel for use in laying and setting ceramic tile to a floor or wall surface comprising a thin, rigid flat blade-shaped body (called a “blade”) having at least three peripheral edges, at least one of said edges having a plurality of spaced-apart notches; a second edge having an extended protruding portion substantially rectangular, and a handle for grasping manually said trowel, said handle including a support member rigidly affixed (welded or screwed) to said rigid flat blade above said blade top surface on one side thereby forming a trowel.
The blade includes at least one notched edge along at least one side (and preferably two sides) of said blade. The notched pattern may be triangles spaced apart in a uniform pattern along the one or two blade edges length and width. The height of each triangle would be approximately at least a quarter of an inch but sized based on the depth of the cementious adhesive material rows or grooves desired or the pattern can be square or rectangles (much like a saw tooth pattern) with the depth of each saw tooth being dependent on the depth of the grooves desired.
In the preferred embodiment, at least two edges of a rectangularly shaped flat blade has a saw tooth pattern, the right side edge (length), and the top edge (the width). The bottom blade edge extends beyond the handle and may include one or more reinforcing bars for blade body strength to increase the amount of manual leverage available when prying up a tile without bending the blade. The bottom edge is rectangular and slightly smaller than the width of the middle blade body portion and includes a prying edge that can be used in conjunction with the handle of the trowel as a margin trowel.
In an alternate embodiment, rigid vertical support members could be connected between the upper surface of the blade body and the handle support for additional blade body strength especially for use as a margin trowel end prying edge. The handle support can be substantially L-shaped and welded to the top of the blade.
In the preferred embodiment, the trowel is made of a thin metal blade and is rectangularly shaped. The top edge (width) and the long side edge (length) includes a series of notches, symmetrically spaced apart, along the top and side edges. The left elongated edge (length) is straight, and does not have notches.
The bottom edge is extended and slightly narrower in width than the width of the entire trowel body and extends at least 1½ inches beyond the end of the trowel and is formed as part of the trowel blade to act as a margin trowel edge.
A cylindrical wooden or plastic handle may have a level indicator (relative to the earth) embedded in one or two areas. The level indicator is conventional and includes a tube housing a liquid and an air bubble that act as a level indicator with markings on the tube to show when the bubble is centered, indicating level. The level tube is mounted such that when the left straight blade edge (along the length viewed from the top) is laid flush against a tile upper surface, the level indicator in the handle can be observed by the user and the bubble can be observed between the marker lines to show whether or not the single piece of tile is level. This can be done in all directions on top of the tile.
When an in alternate embodiment, two different level indicators are used, the alignment of the level indicating gages is such that when placed in the handle of the trowel, one level is essentially parallel or in the plane of the trowel blade which means that when the edge of the trowel along the longitudinal edge is placed on top of a tile, then the level indicator positioned longitudinally in the cylindrical handle is in effect parallel to the earth or approximately parallel to the earth to give indications of whether or not the longitudinal edge of the trowel is level that is flush against a tile surface. The second level indicating device is a essentially at a 90° angle and rotated such that when the trowel is sitting flush on the blade, then the indicator is disposed laterally as a chord and is perpendicular to the longitudinal, cylindrical axis of the cylinder handle. The second level indicator is thus observable from above with the blade sitting flush. When the blade is moved to a vertical position, the second level indicator will be horizontal and thus parallel to the earth. The vertical position of the blade means that the longitudinal axis of the trowel blade is disposed vertical, essentially perpendicular to the earth's surface. Thus, with a single trowel, two separate and independent level measurements can be made—the first being whether or not a piece of ceramic tile on the floor is level relative to the earth and the second being whether or not ceramic tile on a wall surface is itself straight up and down relative to the earth's surface.
It is an object of this invention to provide improved trowel that can be used for laying cementious adhesive material used in laying ceramic tile, and can also be used as a margin trowel for
Malin Haley & DiMaggio, P.A.
Till Terrence R.
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