Stone working – Tools – Impact
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-19
2001-03-13
Banks, Derris H. (Department: 3723)
Stone working
Tools
Impact
C125S030010, C125S023010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199545
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the art of engraving a surface, often for the purpose of providing a decorative design on a previously hardened concrete, asphalt or other workable surface.
2. Background Information
Many earlier inventors have taught methods of concrete decoration in which a stencil is laid on a concrete surface and wet, colored concrete materials are added to the pre-existing surface through holes in the stencil. Notable among teachings in this area are the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,511, wherein Oliver et al. show a stencil that remains embedded in the decorative coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,094, wherein Zember describes a coating process using specific materials and involving pulling a stencil out of the coating before it sets up.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,752, wherein Cobb describes a similar process using different materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,905, wherein Webber teaches a stencil comprising interlocking segments and used in a coating process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,621, wherein Gonzales describes a way of putting isolated decorative figures in a wet concrete slab.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,714, Dye et al. teach an arrangement for spraying a dye, but not additional concrete, through a stencil having a gasket on the bottom thereof.
The inventor, in his U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,426 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,437, has taught method and apparatus for engraving decorative figures into a hardened concrete surface by guiding a cutting apparatus across the surface to be decorated. These arrangements have generally employed small wheeled carts carrying abrasive grinding wheels.
Apparatus of the sort generally referred to as “flux chippers” or “needle scalers” is also of interest. In these sorts of apparatus one or more impacting tools, retained for translational motion of a limited extent along a predetermined axis, are repeatedly driven into the surface to be engraved by impacts from a hammer that is conventionally pneumatically operated, but that could be electrically or hydraulically driven. A needle scaler typically uses ten to thirty pointed rods, called “needles”, as the impacting tools. Each of these needles may have a diameter of two to three millimeters and commonly has a nail-head end distal from the pointed or beveled work-impacting end that commonly projects outwardly from a nosepiece of the apparatus. A pneumatically driven hammer head strikes the array of needles and is returned to the beginning of its reciprocating stroke by a return spring. This arrangement provides several thousand blows per minute on the array of nail heads and thereby repeatedly drives the needles back and forth over a total stroke distance of some three centimeters. Needle scalers are generally used in a freehand mode and are made with a variety of grips and nose configuration to adapt them to differing applications. The uses for needle scalers include cleaning rust (e.g., mill scale) from iron and steel castings, peening welded joints, removing barnacles from marine apparatus, and chipping stone, concrete and brick.
In addition to the use of grinding wheels and of chisels, it is also known to engrave hard surfaces by sandblasting, shot peening and other such techniques in which impacting tools, comprising small particles of a hard material, are expelled from the nose or nozzle of a tool driving or dispensing means and energetically impact a surface being engraved. When used to make deep cuts in hardened concrete or other aggregate materials comprising segregated portions of differing hardness, sandblasting leads to an engraved region having a rough texture because the softer portions of the concrete are removed more easily than harder ones.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides apparatus for engraving a hardened surface of stone, concrete, asphalt, or the like. This apparatus may comprise one or more impacting tools, retained for translational motion of a limited extent along a predetermined axis; as well as an impact-absorbing stencil exposing those regions of the surface to be engraved while protecting adjacent regions from the impacting tools. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a plurality of impacting tools protruding outwardly of an aperture having a selectively alterable shape. This allows an operator to select a relatively elongated and narrow aperture when engraving a narrow swath and to select a relatively equi-axial aperture when engraving broader expanses.
In some embodiments, the apparatus of the invention comprises a stencil defining one or more relatively narrow swaths of exposed surface. In some cases, a swath is bordered by a stencil frame or by one of a plurality of non-contiguous “islands” covering portions of the surface that are not to be worked by the tool. In other cases, a swath may be exposed by a slit cut into a single sheet of material used for the stencil. In embodiments having islands, and in some embodiments having a plurality of long slits, bridge-like members may be used to connect adjacent portions of the stencil. In some embodiments these bridges allow engraving of the surface immediately beneath them. This is sometimes done by providing a clearance above the center of the respective exposed swath that is greater than the minimum diameter of the nose of a needle scaler, so that the scaler can be used to engrave that portion of the swath beneath the bridge. In other embodiments, stanchion portions of a bridge are hingedly connected to each of two non-contiguous portions of the stencil so that the bridge can be pivoted from side to side in order to provide an operator with access to the entire swath being engraved. In still other embodiments, one or more of the islands are connected to a space frame disposed on and extending outward from that side of the stencil distal from the engraved surface by connecting means preferably selected to allow a chiseling apparatus or needle scaler free access to all portions of the exposed swaths.
The invention provides methods for decoratively engraving a surface, such as hardened concrete or stone. In some embodiments the invention provides a method of engraving a surface by cutting stencil-defined swaths into the surface. This method may comprise the steps of covering portions of the surface with stencil material capable of withstanding a chisel blow, the spaces between adjacent stencil portions defining the swaths; and to then engrave the swaths by repeated chisel blows from one or more chisels having a restricted stroke. In some of these embodiments the method further comprises attaching non-contiguous portions of stencil material to each other by connecting means selected to allow free access to the entire swath by a needle scaler or other chisel driving apparatus.
Although it is believed that the foregoing recital of features and advantages may be of use to one who is skilled in the art and who wishes to learn how to practice the invention, it will be recognized that the foregoing recital is not intended to list all of the features and advantages of the invention. Moreover, it may be noted that various embodiments of the invention may provide various combinations of the hereinbefore recited features and advantages of the invention, and that less than all of the recited features and advantages may be provided by some embodiments.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3344868 (1967-10-01), Mikiya et al.
patent: 3915061 (1975-10-01), Stockman
patent: 4132151 (1979-01-01), Weber
patent: 4624609 (1986-11-01), Pickett
patent: 4954192 (1990-09-01), Dziekan
patent: 5038714 (1991-08-01), Dye et al.
patent: 5133621 (1992-07-01), Gonzales
patent: 5176426 (1993-01-01), Adamson
patent: 5243905 (1993-09-01), Webber
patent: 5445437 (1995-08-01), Adamson
patent: 5447752 (1995-09-01), Cobb
patent: 5735094 (1998-04-01), Zember
patent: 5792511 (1998-08-01), Oliver et al.
Puma Air Tools Inc., on-line catalog sheet (http:/
Banks Derris H.
Kiewit David
Wilson Lee
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