Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Implements – Bladed spreader
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-02
2001-10-02
Till, Terrence R. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Implements
Bladed spreader
C015S143100, C015S144200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295689
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hand tools for smoothing-out pastey and plastic substances on planar surfaces, and more specifically to wipe-down knives for smoothing wet plaster and other finishing compounds during drywall construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the phase of residential and commercial building construction in which the interior wall surfaces are applied to supporting studs, sheet rock panels are nailed or screwed to the studs and then the seams therebetween are taped-over and plastered. After tape and plaster are applied to the seams, the surface of each seam must be wiped-down to give it a finished surface appearance and to prepare it for the application of paint.
The wipe-down phase of drywall construction is commonly carried out with the use of a short hand trowel. However, using a hand trowel for wipe-down purposes has many drawbacks. For example, most hand trowels have a relatively short blade which requires the user to make multiple horizontal passes back and forth across the seam to yield a ridge-free seam surface appearance. Further, on walls where the ceiling height is over eight feet, or so, the user must climb upon a ladder, scaffold or other apparatus to reach and wipe-down the seams.
Various long-handled trowels have been proposed, but these are generally clumsy and more difficult to control as their handles get longer. And, despite their long handles, it is difficult to apply the blade of a long-handled trowel to a wall surface at the proper angle to smooth-out plaster.
The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,229 issued to Sedillo in 1989, comprises a swiveling, short-edged, semicircular-shaped trowel blade on a long handle pole for wiping-down high seams. Sedillo's apparatus attempts to address the problem of achieving the correct blade-to-wall angle when using a long-handled trowel, but it is difficult to use and lacks the durability the journeyman drywall specialist would normally expect of his or her tools. Further, Sedillo's short blade makes it necessary to use a great many individual strokes in smoothing out a plaster surface. This makes it difficult to avoid telltale ridges between strokes.
Several long-bladed trowels have been proposed for the purpose of reducing the number of strokes required to finish a plaster surface. However, those constructed of metal are too heavy and not sufficiently flexible because, when thinner sheets of metal are used, these tend to deform upon being bolted as securely as necessary to an elongate blade-supporting bar. Securely bolting a thin metal blade along one edge tends to warp the opposing edge and make it wavy; this results in a wavy pattern in the plaster surface being worked. The same has been found in experimenting with over-sized plastic blades.
Thus, it appears that a need exists for a wipe-down knife fit for use in all drywall seam-finishing operations, no matter the height of the wall being finished.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The wipe-down knife of the present invention is adapted to overcome the above-noted shortcomings and to fulfill the stated needs. It is assembled upon an elongate handle, one end of which is fitted with a generally cylindrical, blade-supporting head. The head has means on one end for securely engaging the handle shaft and means on its other end for engaging blade-supporting apparatus. The blade support comprises a plate and bracket which grasp the blade at its base. The blade is wide and flexible, projecting from the blade support at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the knife's handle, and curving roughly 90 degrees such that the plane of its working edge is parallel with the handle's longitudinal axis.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wipe-down knife that is easier to use than earlier tools in finishing drywall in high-ceilinged rooms.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wipe-down knife that is more versatile and durable than earlier tools available to the drywall specialist.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a wipe-down knife having interchangeable parts of different sizes, so that the drywaller needing a tool having a shorter or longer handle, or a wider or narrower blade, is able to adapt the tool with an interchangeable part best suited to his or her immediate purpose.
Another object of this invention is to provide a blade-supporting assembly for an over-sized wipe-down knife blade which assures that the working edge remains straight and waveless.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a long-handled tool with an adjustable, flexible blade suited to many different purposes in a wide array of skills, tasks, industries, professions and arts.
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patent: 4520527 (1985-06-01), Maggio et al.
patent: 5261144 (1993-11-01), Mitchell et al.
patent: 5347676 (1994-09-01), Saitoh
patent: 5528793 (1996-06-01), Schbot
patent: 5580608 (1996-12-01), Capoccia
patent: 5930863 (1999-08-01), Samuelsson
patent: 4447503 (1995-11-01), None
Gerber Joseph E.
Millemann Audrey A.
Till Terrence R.
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