Sanding system

Details Sanding system Sanding system

2001-09-14

2003-09-09

Rose, Robert A. (Department: 3723)

Abrading

Tool support for flexible-member tool

Including taper or wedge tool holding member

C451S524000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06616519

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a sanding system and specifically to a sanding system comprising a deformable pad with an abrasive surface and a holder means by which the pad may be applied to a surface.
Deformable sanding pads have been described in many different forms. Usually the form of that of a expanded foam material with one or more abrasive surfaces. However the foam has been replaced in some formats by a porous fibrous web comprising filaments with abrasive particles adhered thereto. The key feature is deformability such that the surface can be compressed to conform to a non-planar surface, or so that the pressure applied can be varied to change the amount of sanding performed. The pads can be adapted to provide hand gripping means as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,012 where the pad is bulky enough to provide some separation between the sanding surface and the hand gripping the pad. It is also known to back rotary abrasive discs with a deformable support, made from a foam rubber pad or the like. A family of such pads designed to be attached to a holder by a hook and loop attachment means is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,128. Here the pad is used to apply a fine sanding powder or slurry rather than itself having an abrasive surface and the surface has a waffle pattern imposed upon it.
In addition to the above art there are many patents describing holders for abrasive sandpaper sheets such that the sheets are stretched over a surface of a holder so that a surface can be sanded without risking the knuckles of the one holding the sandpaper. Typical among these is U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,523 which describes a corner sander with a handle shaped holder. U.S. Pat. No. 2,112,593 describes a block contoured to be easily grippable and adapted to trap a sheet of sandpaper and stretch it over a flat surface of the block. U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,672 describes a similar device with a rather more complex system for retaining the sheet in place. U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,519 describes a flexible elongated gripping block with a sanding surface adapted to receive and support a sheet of sandpaper attached thereto by a pressure sensitive adhesive or a hook and loop fastener system. Other patents describing a system with an associated gripping means include U.S. Pat. No. 2,280,767 (where the abrading means is provided by abrasive blocks), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,512,010; 5,383,308; 5,172,524; 5,054,248; 2,400,928; 1,844,996; 1,599,906; and 1,067,280.
However the sytems providing a holder usually have a substantially rigid support for a sheet of sandpaper or else an extension of a foam block providing the gripping means. Mechanical gripping of a deformable pad is not straightforward precisely because it is deformable. In use the retention of the pad within the holder becomes difficult as the intensity of the sanding increases. In addition making the abrasive pad deformable and giving it an abrasive surface implies that the pad is to be thrown away after use thereby adding to the cost significantly.
A sanding system has now been devised in which the sanding pad is deformable and yet can be retained in a holder securely, and which can provide a plurality of abrading surfaces. Moreover the retention means does no damage to the abrading surfaces meaning that the pad can be removed and replaced a plurality of times without compromising the security with which the pad is held.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a sanding system comprising:
a) a relatively rigid rectangular backing plate having first and second opposed surfaces and provided on said first surface with a handle and, on said second surface, means to support a sanding pad, and having a pair of opposed parallel ends with at least one attachment means on said first surface adjacent at least one of said parallel ends;
b) a deformable sanding pad with rectangular dimensions similar to those of the backing plate and a thickness that is not greater than the shorter of the rectangular dimensions and having at least one sanding surface; and
c) at least one retaining means adapted at one end to pierce opposed sides of the deformable sanding pad in the thickness dimension and at the other to be releasably secured to the attachment means.
The active surfaces of the deformable pad are referred to as “sanding surfaces” and in the context of this application, the term is intended to embrace surfaces adapted to move a loose abrasive powder or a slurry of such a powder against a substrate surface, such as might be appropriate in a polishing or buffing operation, as well as conventional sanding in which the surface is provided with abrasive grain fixed in location with respect to the surface and intended for polishing or material removal from the substrate.
The deformable sanding pad preferably has parallel first and second opposed surfaces with each provided with a sanding surface, preferably with different sanding qualities. It is also possible to provide that two of the opposed surfaces representing the thickness or side surfaces of the pad be also adapted for sanding. Normally these side surfaces are smaller than the opposed major surfaces but it is also within the purview of the invention to provide that the pad has a thickness dimension such that at least two pairs of opposed side surfaces are substantially equivalent in size to the rectangular backing plate such that four out of the six sides have similar dimensions and are provided with sanding surfaces. The remaining pair of opposed surfaces are preferable not adapted for sanding since, in use, these cooperate with the retaining means to attach the pad to the backing plate. The sanding surfaces of the pad can be provided with abrasive grits of the same fineness but it is often preferable to have sanding surfaces having at least two different grit sizes such that for example, by changing the mounting of the pad to the backing plate it is possible to go from a coarse sanding surface to a finer in one or more steps, simply by changing the orientation of the pad with respect to the backing plate.
The material from which the sanding pad is made is deformable but preferably resilient so that it can be conformed to a variety of surfaces. The preferred material is a foam such as an open-celled polyurethane foam though open or closed cell foams of other polymeric materials such as natural or synthetic rubber, PVC, polyolefins and the like can be substituted. The actual surface can be planar and this is the preferred embodiment when the surface comprises fixed abrasive grits. However when the surface is adapted for use with loose or slurried abrasive particles the surface may be contoured, (as for example by providing a waffled or a wavy surface), with different degrees of resilience. This can be achieved by having foams of different densities or degrees of contouring providing each surface.
Where the sanding pad is subjected to significant deformation pressures during use it can be advantageous to incorporate into the sanding pad a strengthening member to help it retain its structural integrity. This may take the form of a core of relatively dense but flexible material such as a rubber, or a reinforcing relatively rigid layer adhered, for example by a pressure sensitive adhesive, to the surface of the sanding pad in contact with the backing plate.
Pads for polishing applications often have surfaces with a relatively high level of conformability, that is to say, they are often readily deformable to conform to the surface being sanded to avoid excessive pressure being applied to one spot by comparison with an adjacent spot.
The surface of the pad which contacts the workpiece can be planar or contoured with the latter being preferred where it may be desired to polish lightly with only a portion of the surface in contact with the workpiece or, more vigorously, compressed so essentially all the foam surface contacts the workpiece.
The backing plate can be made of any suitable rigid material such as metal or plastic or wood. Generally for ease of forming and expense, plastic i

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