Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Implements – Fabric
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-21
2001-08-14
Graham, Gary K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Implements
Fabric
C015S143100, C015S231000, C451S524000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272715
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for applying coatings to planar and non-planar surfaces, and specifically to pad-type applicators especially well adapted to apply thin coatings, such as stains and varnishes, to flat surfaces such as table tops, and contoured surfaces, such as chair spindles, which eliminates the use of rags or brushes and the mess and wastefulness inherent in the use of rags and brushes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rags and brushes have, to the present time, been almost exclusively used for the applications of thin coatings. By “thin coatings” is meant coatings having generally lower viscosities than the viscosities characteristic of interior and exterior paints and specifically coating materials which may be described, for purposes of ready reference, as stains and varnishes.
In coating stains for example, the most commonly used procedure is to saturate a rag, or a portion of a rag, with the stain, apply the stain containing portion of the rag to the surface to be stained and thereafter wiping the just-applied stained surface with a second rag for the purposes of removing the excess and smoothing the coated layer of stain uniformly and evenly over the surface being treated so as to avoid a final blotchy or uneven appearance. An alternative method is to apply a stain with a brush, and thereafter wipe the applied stain with a rag. The purpose of the rag is, again, to wipe off excess stain just applied by the brush, and to smooth the coated layer of stain uniformly and evenly over the surface being treated to avoid a blotchy or uneven appearance. The brush-rag process is less efficacious than the two-rag system in several respects, one being that a brush may not apply the coating to a thick enough depth, particularly when a non-planar surface is being treated such as a chair spindle, due to the separation of the filaments during the application strokes. If insufficient coating is initially applied by a brush, the insufficiency usually cannot be remedied by the subsequent wipe of a rag. And a third generally inefficient method of applying stain, which is usually used only on large flat surfaces, is to flood coat the surface area to be stained with the stain and thereafter wipe off the excess with a rag or rags. Although the possibility of insufficiency application of stain may not be great in flood-coating, this process is very wasteful of stained material and exceedingly messy.
The applicator of choice for varnish is a brush, though a combination of a brush and a rag and even, in rare occasion, flood-coating has been used. The disadvantage of using a brush to apply varnish is that brush strokes are frequently seen in the final finish, particularly when the varnish has been applied by the occasional user, such as a do-it-yourself consumer who is not skilled with a brush. Loose filaments are often shed from the brush and, if not noticed and removed while the varnish is still fresh, remain as an unsightly discontinuity in an otherwise smooth surface. Lint from a rag produces a similar undesirable result, and bubbles frequently appear in the final surface. In addition, considerable effort must be made to apply varnish uniformly a task which is more difficult than application of conventional paints for example, since varnishes are almost uniformly stickier and harder to work than paint. Both foam and brush filament brushes are prone to pump air into the applied coating, thereby creating undesirable bubbles in the final surface, though foam brushes are more apt to do so than filament brushes.
In summary, all of the above-described applicators and application methods are messy and wasteful. They are messy in that the user's hands invariably come in contact with the coating and this is true even when varnish is brushed on since invariably the user must pick up a loosened filament or a piece of lint, which has come loose from the applicator during use, and alighted on the coated surface where it is not desired. Said methods are wasteful in that the rag used to apply such coatings, at the end of a coating session, are loaded with coating which is of no further use and must be thrown away along with the rag. The greater the number of small jobs separated by a time span in which the coating-filled rags are fully or partially dried, the more wasteful is the rag or foam brush application process. Further, job requirements often dictate that the operator be confined to only one type of applicator and that specific need-dictated applicator may be undesirable for reasons peculiar to the user, such as an aversion to messy operations, or cost. Brushes for example, are not generally suitable for rounded curved surfaces, such as the spindles in a chair back or a round chair leg. Thus, the user is forced to use a flood-coating or, more likely, the rag application system with respect, particularly, to stains and varnishes.
Thus, there is an existing need for a type of applicator and method of application which is not messy, is not wasteful of coating material, which is applicable to both planar and non-planar surfaces, and which always results in a neat, smooth, uniform depth of coating.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a stain and a varnish applicator which overcomes all the operational disadvantages of currently used applicators in that it does not create a mess during or after application, is not wasteful of the stain or varnish coating material (hereafter usually referred to simply as “coating material”), is usable on all planar and non-planar surfaces, lends itself to mass production fabrication methods, and is economically competitive with, and often less expensive for the consumer than, conventional rag and brush coating systems.
Specifically, the invention includes an applicator having a velour or velvet fabric with a directional filament which has the ability to reach all surface contours and to apply, spread evenly and remove excess coating material in a single operation and which does not bring the coating into contact with the user and wastes none or only a minimum amount of the coating material.
In one embodiment, which is particularly well-adapted for large surface area application, a pad of convenient size having said directional fabric is formed with edges which are upwardly angled with respect to the surface to be coated so that the applicator may be pulled over the surface to be coated as many times as necessary without scraping off the coating already applied, and, also, to feather finishing strokes so as to remove any undesirable bubbles which may have appeared before the final stroke.
In another embodiment, which is particularly well-adapted for non-planar surfaces, such as chair back spindles, a pad having said directional fabric is formed with an interior portion which is mounted to freely flex and thereby conform to the contour of a non-planar surface with a pressure which is substantially uniform over the non-planar area so that coating can be uniformly applied, the flexing action mimicking a human hand wrapping around or along the non-planar surfaces. The foregoing is accomplished without the creation of a drainage channel within the applicator which would permit the coating to run out.
In yet another embodiment which is particularly well-adapted for small spaces, such as the surfaces of individual slats or louvers in a louver blind or window sash trimming, a pad having said directional fabric is formed with a very thin, flat contour and acute angles which results in a configuration having all of the characteristics above-mentioned and, also, the ability to apply coatings evenly and efficiently in very small spaces such as on the surfaces of individual slats or louvers or on surfaces defined by acute angles.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the foregoing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1079672 (1913-11-01), Simpson
patent: 1086809 (1914-02-01), Davids
patent: 1517864 (1924-12-01), Run
Barton William W.
Polzin Bruce C.
Shehow Kenneth L.
Sterwald Mark T.
Foley & Lardner
Graham Gary K.
Newell Operating Company
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