U.S. patent application number 11/397295 was filed with the patent office on 2007-11-15 for corner bead drywall compound applicator.
Invention is credited to John S. Conboy.
Application Number | 20070261334 11/397295 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38683781 |
Filed Date | 2007-11-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070261334 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Conboy; John S. |
November 15, 2007 |
Corner bead drywall compound applicator
Abstract
A device for applying drywall compound to a length of corner
bead. The device comprises a trough for holding a quantity of
drywall compound and an opening at the bottom of the trough through
which a length of corner bead may be inserted. A removable block is
located near an opening in the trough having a plurality of grooves
located therein for preventing excess drywall compound from
adhering to the bead while allowing sufficient compound to remain
with the bead. A flange attached to the top of the trough is
adapted to be attached to a bucket, the bucket having a portion of
the bottom removed, to provide drywall compound to the trough.
Inventors: |
Conboy; John S.;
(Chesterfield, MO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
POLSTER, LIEDER, WOODRUFF & LUCCHESI
12412 POWERSCOURT DRIVE SUITE 200
ST. LOUIS
MO
63131-3615
US
|
Family ID: |
38683781 |
Appl. No.: |
11/397295 |
Filed: |
April 4, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/255 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F 21/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/255 |
International
Class: |
E04B 1/00 20060101
E04B001/00 |
Claims
1. A device for applying drywall compound to a length of corner
bead comprising: a trough for holding a quantity of drywall
compound; an opening at the bottom of the trough through which a
length of corner bead may be inserted; a removable block located
near an opening in the trough for preventing excess drywall
compound from adhering to the bead while allowing sufficient
compound to remain with the bead; and a flange attached to the top
of the trough adapted to be attached to a bucket, the bucket having
a portion of the bottom removed, to provide drywall compound to the
trough.
2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a pair of legs
rotatably attached to the trough, the legs being adapted to move
between an extended position in which the legs support the device
and a retracted position in which the legs do not extend past an
outer periphery of the flange.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the block is maintained in place
by a pin that extends through the device and the block.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the block defines a bottom surface
having the same general shape as a bottom surface of the
trough.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the block defines grooves on a
surface thereof for allowing a defined quantity of drywall compound
to adhere to the bead.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein the flange defines bores
therethrough for attaching the flange to the bottom of a
bucket.
7. The device of claim 2 wherein the legs may be retracted to store
the item within a bucket of the same size as the bucket attached to
the flange.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein the trough has a concave bottom
surface.
9. The device of claim 1 further comprising a bottom block
insertable into the trough, the bottom block creating a convex
bottom surface of the trough.
10. The device of claim 9 wherein the block has a bottom surface
having the same general convex shape as the trough with the bottom
block inserted therein.
11. A device for applying drywall compound to a length of corner
bead comprising: a general concave shaped trough for holding a
quantity of drywall compound; an opening at the bottom of the
trough through which a length of corner bead may be inserted; a
removable block located near opening in the trough having a
plurality of grooves located therein for preventing excess drywall
compound from adhering to the bead while allowing sufficient
compound to remain with the bead; and a flange attached to the top
of the trough adapted to be attached to a bucket, the bucket having
a portion of the bottom removed, to provide drywall compound to the
trough.
12. The device of claim 11 further comprising a pair of legs
rotatably attached to the trough, the legs being adapted to move
between an extended position in which the legs support the device
and a retracted position in which the legs do not extend past an
outer periphery of the flange.
13. The device of claim 11 wherein the block is maintained in place
by a pin that extends through the device and the block.
14. The device of claim 11 wherein the block defines a bottom
surface having the same general shape as a bottom surface of the
trough.
15. The device of claim 11 wherein the block defines grooves on a
surface thereof for allowing a defined quantity of drywall compound
to adhere to the bead.
16. The device of claim 11 wherein the flange defines bores
therethrough for attaching the flange to the bottom of a
bucket.
17. The device of claim 12 wherein the legs may be retracted to
store the item within a bucket of the same size as the bucket
attached to the flange.
18. The device of claim 11 wherein the trough has a concave bottom
surface.
19. The device of claim 11 further comprising a bottom block
insertable into the trough, the bottom block creating a convex
bottom surface of the trough.
20. The device of claim 19 wherein the block has a bottom surface
having the same general convex shape as the trough with the bottom
block inserted therein.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to drywall construction. More
specifically, the invention relates to a device for applying
drywall mud or joint compound to corner beads or tape-on-trims
prior to their attachment to joints or corners between adjacent
drywall panels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Corner beads are elongate, narrow strips of metal, plastic,
or metal with a paper face on one side, or the like, folded or
angled along their longitudinal center line, or along a line offset
from the center line in some cases, to produce a generally v-shaped
cross-section. They are made in various angles and corner shapes,
including sharp 90 degree angle corners, sharp corners at other
angles, rounded or so-called "bullnose" corners of various angles,
and offset or L-shaped corners. Corner beads are also designed for
covering both inside (concave) and outside (convex) corners. For
application to an inside corner, drywall mud is applied to the
outside (convex) faces of an inside corner bead. For application to
an outside corner, drywall mud is applied to the inside (concave)
faces of an outside corner bead. Joint compound is applied to the
appropriate faces of the bead, and the bead is then pressed against
the corner, with the joint compound forming an adhesive joint
between the bead and corner.
[0003] Although drywall mud or joint compound may be applied to
corner beads by hand, this is a time consuming and inconvenient
process. Hopper devices have been proposed in the past for applying
joint compound to the inside faces of an outside corner bead. One
such apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,449 of Raught.
The apparatus comprises a hopper with a V-shaped trough in its
base, and triangular shaped end walls at opposite ends of the
trough forming a generally V-shaped gap between the lower edge of
each end wall and the trough. Removable end panels are adjustably
secured to the end panels to adjust the height of the gap. A corner
bead is fed through the base of the hopper from one end wall
opening to the opposite end wall opening, and drywall mud in the
hopper will be applied to the upwardly facing surfaces of the
corner bead. All except a thin layer will be scraped off by the
edge of the end panel as the corner bead exits the hopper.
Removable liners may be placed into the hopper to define different
trough cross-sectional shapes, corresponding to different shapes of
corner bead, and associated with end panels with corresponding edge
shapes.
[0004] Other systems have been designed which allow joint compound
to be applied to either the inside or outside faces of the corner
for applying the corner bead to inside or outside corners. For
example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,907,908 discloses a hopper apparatus for
applying joint compound to corner beads that has a hopper for
holding a quantity of joint compound and a feeder apparatus secured
across the lower end of the hopper. The feeder apparatus has a
channel and a series of elongate feeder inserts for selectively
securing in the channel. A first set of outside feeder inserts each
have a generally V-shaped indented groove extending along their
length for guiding an outside corner bead through the feeder
apparatus, while a second set of inside feeder inserts each have a
generally V-shaped ridge extending along their length for guiding
an inside corner bead through the feeder. The feeder inserts in
each set have grooves and ridges of different angles and corner
shapes matching those of a plurality of different inside and
outside corner beads and are releasably secured in the channel.
[0005] One problem with prior art hoppers having corner bead
feeders for applying joint compound is that they are used with
hoppers that must be filled and then emptied with every use or the
drywall compound within the hopper will become too dry to work
with. This represents lost time and tedious work to a drywall
finishing professional. Moreover, prior art devices for applying
drywall compound to a corner bead use panels which scrape the
excess drywall compound from the corner bead to obtain the desired
surface for coating. However, in the past it has been thought that
thin panels were most advantageous, perhaps due to the abrasiveness
of drywall compound. However, thin panels allow drywall to escape
as the hopper sits, particularly when the hopper is full of
compound, and if corner bead is pulled through on an angle, the
thin panels will deflect to wipe of excessive amounts of
compound.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention comprises a device for applying
drywall compound to a length of corner bead. The device comprises a
trough for holding a quantity of drywall compound and an opening at
the bottom of the trough through which a length of corner bead may
be inserted. A removable block is located near an opening in the
trough having a plurality of grooves located therein for preventing
excess drywall compound from adhering to the bead while allowing
sufficient compound to remain with the bead. A flange attached to
the top of the trough is adapted to be attached to a bucket, the
bucket having a portion of the bottom removed, to provide drywall
compound to the trough.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a top view of an apparatus according to a
preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an apparatus according to a
preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 is front view of an apparatus according to a
preferred embodiment of the invention with its legs in a first,
extended position;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a front view of an apparatus according to a
preferred embodiment of the invention with its legs in a second,
retracted position;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a front view of a side plate of a leg of the
apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a right side view of an apparatus with a block
removed according to a preferred embodiment of the invention with
its legs in a first, extended position;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a right side view of an apparatus with a block
inserted according to a preferred embodiment of the invention with
its legs in a first, extended position;
[0014] FIG. 8A is a front view of a block according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
[0015] FIG. 8B is a side view of a block according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 9 is a front view of a pin according to a preferred
embodiment of the invention;
[0017] FIG. 10 is a view of a container with the apparatus
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention
applied thereto resting upon a second container;
[0018] FIG. 11 is a view of a container with the apparatus
according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention
applied thereto placed within the second container;
[0019] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a bottom block according to
a preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 13 is a top view of the device with a bottom block
inserted therein according to a preferred embodiment of the
invention;
[0021] FIG. 14 is a front view of a block according to another
embodiment of the invention;
[0022] FIG. 15 is a front view of a block according to another
embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a block of FIG. 15;
[0024] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a block of FIG. 16; and
[0025] FIG. 18 is a side view of a block and a bottom block
according to an embodiment of the present invention adapted for
bullnose corner beads.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many
different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be
described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an
exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not
intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the
embodiments illustrated.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention comprises an
apparatus 10 for applying drywall compound to a length of corner
molding. The apparatus 10 includes a top plate 12 comprising a
circular plate defining a central opening 14. The top plate 12 has
a top surface 18 and includes a plurality of bores 16 generally
evenly spaced about the circumference of the top plate 12.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, attached to a bottom surface 20 of the
top plate 12 are two pairs of flanges 22 and 24. The pairs of
flanges 22 and 24, which may also be provided as a single assembly,
are preferably attached by welding an extension 25 of the flange 22
or 24 to the top plate 12. The flanges 22 and 24 each define
through-bores (not shown) through which fasteners 26 are inserted.
The fasteners 26 also extend through through-bores (not shown)
located in a pair of rotatably attached legs 28 and 30.
[0029] The legs 28 and 30 each comprise a pair of side plates 32
attached to one another with a pair of bars 34. The side plates 32
have a profile as shown in FIG. 5, which includes a bucket rest
cutout 33. Adjacent the bucket rest cutout 33 is a safety hook
portion 37 which keeps the side plates 32 in association with the
buckets, as described below. The legs 28 and 30 are rotatable about
the fasteners 26 between a first, extended position as shown in
FIG. 3 where the legs 28 and 30 rest against stops 35 on the
flanges 22 and 24 and a second, retracted position as shown in FIG.
4 where the legs 28 and 30 contact one another.
[0030] A V-shaped trough 36 is also attached to the bottom side 20
of the top plate 12. The trough 36 covers the central opening 14.
Ends of the trough 36 are open as viewed in FIG. 6, but the end
openings are partially covered by end plates 38 extending from the
top plate that are located inboard of an outer edge of the trough
36. A cutout 39 is located in each end plate 38.
[0031] Placed in the ends of the trough 36 are blocks 40 (FIGS. 8A
and 8B). Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the blocks 40 fit within the
end openings and against the end plates 38. The blocks 40 generally
conform to the end openings of the trough 36 also include a
recessed portion 39 that forms a gap 42 near a bottom 44 of the
trough 36. Referring back to FIGS. 8A and 8B, grooves 46 are formed
in the bottom of the blocks 40 (FIG. 8A). The blocks 40 are
preferably made from a phenolic material which is rigid and can
withstand the abrasiveness of drywall compound. The gap 42 between
the block 40 and the trough 36 is preferably about 1/4'' or 3/16''
and the grooves 46 are preferably 1/8'' deep. Additionally, the
block 40 is preferably about 11/2'' thick. It has been discovered
that a thicker block 40 prevents drywall compound from being easily
forced through the gap 42 when the apparatus 10 is not being used.
The blocks 40 preferably removably held in place by pins 48 (FIG.
9) that extend through the trough 36 and through a bore 100 in the
block in the block 40. A block 40 not defining grooves 46 may also
be used on one side of the trough 36. The block 40 is further
located 1/4'' or more from the edge of the trough in order to
provide a surface of the trough 36 upon which to rest the corner
bead or make alignment and insertion of the corner bead easier into
the gap 42 easier. Moreover, the block 40 defines a second bore 102
in the block 40 which is located at a different vertical height to
provide for a different width gap.
[0032] Finally, it is preferred that corner bead support flanges 44
are attached to either side of the trough with the pin 48. The
corner bead support blocks 44 help support corner bead as it is fed
through the apparatus.
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the apparatus 10 of the
present invention is used by taking a common five-gallon bucket 104
in which drywall compound is normally delivered and cutting a hole
in the bottom of the bucket that at least conforms to the size of
the opening 14. The top plate 12 is then attached to the bottom of
the bucket 104 of drywall with fasteners, as shown in FIG. 10. In
this manner a common five-gallon drywall bucket is used as a hopper
for the apparatus 10, containing drywall compound which by the
force of gravity falls into the trough 36. The common five gallon
bucket 104 further includes a lid which can be replaced on the
bucket 104 between uses so that that hopper of the apparatus does
not need to be emptied and cleaned between uses.
[0034] The apparatus 10 is used by inserting a length of drywall
corner bead into one end of the trough 36 and pushing it through
the trough 36 until it extends out the other end of the trough 36.
The drywall compound within the trough 36 adheres to top surface of
the corner bead, and the corner bead is pulled through the trough
36 until its full length has gone through the trough 36. On the
exit end of the trough 36, the gap 40 formed by the recess 39
allows an appropriate amount of drywall compound to exit the trough
36 adhered to the corner bead. The grooves 46 further allow raised
beads of drywall compound to exit the trough 36 on the corner bead.
In this manner drywall compound is applied to the surface of the
corner bead.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 11, in order to bring the apparatus 10 up
to an appropriate working height, the legs 28 and 30 are placed in
the position shown in FIG. 3 and placed on top of a second,
preferably empty five gallon bucket 106 of the type in which
drywall compound is normally delivered. The second bucket 106
further acts as a receptacle to drywall compound that falls off of
the corner bead as it is pulled through in order to minimize
mess.
[0036] Moreover, the second empty bucket 106 is utilized as a
storage receptacle for the apparatus 10. By placing the legs 28 and
30 in the position of FIG. 4, the first bucket 104 serving as the
hopper and the apparatus can be set into the second bucket 106 as
shown in FIG. 12. In this manner, the first bucket 104 can be
sealed with its lid and the apparatus placed into the second bucket
106 and the apparatus does not have to be emptied of drywall
compound and cleaned for storage between uses because drywall
compound portions of the apparatus 10 will be sealed from air and
therefore the drywall compound within first bucket 104 and the
trough 36 will not dry out.
[0037] While present invention is described with the trough having
the profile of an inverted triangle as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it
is within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art that the
drywall trough and the block can take on any appropriate form for
different type of corner bead and for applying drywall compound to
an opposite side of the corner bead for applying, for example,
compound to inside corners, bull nose corners, ells and end
caps.
[0038] The preferred embodiment of the present invention also
comprises a bottom block 50 as shown in FIG. 13. The bottom block
50 is placed in the bottom of the trough 36 and, as shown in FIG.
14, causing the bottom of the tough 36 to be convex rather than
concave. Extensions 51 cooperate with the trough to hold the bottom
block 50 in place.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 15-18, the blocks 40 are replaced with
block 52 and block 54. The block 54 defines a plurality of grooves
56 in a concave portion of the block 54. The blocks 52 and 54 may
optionally also comprise a tapered portion 58 for guiding the
corner bead through the device. By using the bottom block 50 and
the blocks 52 and 54, drywall compound may be applied to the other
surface of the corner bead so that the corner bead can be applied
to inside rather than outside corners.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 19, the blocks 40 are replaced with blocks
60, which are modified to have a convex curved bottom surface 62 to
handle outside bullnose corner beads. The bottom block 50 is
similarly replaced with bottom block 64 which has a concave curved
surface 66 that corresponds to the convex surface 62. Similarly, it
will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the
block 40 and bottom block 50 can have the appropriate profile to
handle corner bead of most any profile used as inside or outside
corner beads.
[0041] While the specific embodiments have been illustrated and
described, numerous modifications come to mind without
significantly departing from the spirit of the invention, and the
scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the
accompanying claims.
* * * * *