U.S. patent application number 12/835040 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-19 for tool for removing acoustic ceiling material.
Invention is credited to Christopher K. Goble.
Application Number | 20120011675 12/835040 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45465753 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120011675 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Goble; Christopher K. |
January 19, 2012 |
TOOL FOR REMOVING ACOUSTIC CEILING MATERIAL
Abstract
A tool is designed to simultaneously remove and catch the
materials used for finishing acoustical ceilings, thereby greatly
reducing or, in some cases, eliminating the need for extensive drop
cloth and plastic coverage of the room's interior and furnishings.
The tool may reduce or eliminate the laborious task of cleaning up
the removed acoustical ceiling material, which, with conventional
methods, often dries on surfaces before clean-up begins. The tool
may include a scraper to remove the acoustical ceiling material and
a hollow body cavity to accumulate the removed material. The tool
may be designed to be ergonomically friendly, lightweight and easy
to use within a broad range of prestidigitation.
Inventors: |
Goble; Christopher K.;
(Chapin, SC) |
Family ID: |
45465753 |
Appl. No.: |
12/835040 |
Filed: |
July 13, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/236.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/022 20130101;
A47L 13/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/236.01 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/02 20060101
A47L013/02 |
Claims
1. A tool comprising: a tray portion having a blade mounting region
and a material collection region, the blade mounting region having
a surface sloped at an angle relative to a top edge of the tray
portion; a blade adapted to attach to the surface of the blade
mounting region; and a handle extending from a lower portion of the
tray portion.
2. The tool of claim 1, wherein the handle is hollow, wherein the
hollow portion of the handle is in fluid communication with the
material collection region of the tray portion of the tool.
3. The tool of claim 1, wherein the angle is about 30 degrees.
4. The tool of claim 1, wherein the blade extends from one side of
the tray portion to the other side of the tray portion.
5. The tool of claim 1, wherein an edge of the blade extends beyond
a plane formed by the top edge of the tray portion.
6. The tool of claim 5, wherein the edge of the blade is
rounded.
7. The tool of claim 1, wherein the handle extends from the bottom
of the tray portion at an angle.
8. The tool of claim 1, wherein the tray portion and the handle are
formed of a lightweight plastic and the blade is formed of
stainless steel.
9. A method for removing acoustical ceiling material, the method
comprising: wetting at least a portion of a surface having
acoustical ceiling material applied thereupon; pulling a blade of a
tool along the wetted portion, wherein the blade is mounted within
the tool at an angle and the tool includes a material collection
region adapted to receive acoustical ceiling material that is
removed from the surface; and collecting removed acoustical ceiling
material in the material collection region of the tool.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the blade of the tool is pulled
by pulling on a handle of the tool, the handle being a hollow
handle extending from and in fluid communication with the bottom of
the material collection region.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to hand tools and, more
particularly, to a tool for efficiently removing acoustical ceiling
material from a ceiling.
[0002] Removal of acoustical ceiling material is an extremely messy
task that requires as much time spent in cleaning as the actual
task of acoustical ceiling material removal itself, perhaps more.
The material will usually detach from the ceiling surface rather
easily, but tends to disperse in many directions, thereby creating
the need to have all objects in the room, including the wall
surfaces, covered by some means of shielding that will prevent the
acoustical ceiling material from landing on these objects and wall
surfaces. Often, the material will dry and stick on these objects
and wall surfaces before the user gets a chance to clean up the
dispersed material.
[0003] A putty knife with a thin blade is commonly used to perform
the removal of acoustical ceiling material by first wetting an area
of the ceiling material (typically about 2 square feet at a time)
and then, after about a 2 minute wait and while holding the putty
knife at approximately a 30 degree angle to the ceiling surface,
the working edge of the putty knife is applied to the ceiling
surface and pushed forward to remove the softened acoustical
ceiling material.
[0004] A conventional acoustical ceiling material removal device
may be designed to be mounted onto a pole, and therefore requires
the user to exert force from a distance to remove the acoustical
ceiling material. These conventional devices may include a
collection bag to collect the removed material. The collection bag,
however, may obstruct the working area and may become heavy as it
fills, causing additional stress to the user.
[0005] As can be seen, there is a need for a tool for removal of
acoustical ceiling material that may contain the dispersed removed
material to reduce or eliminate post-removal clean-up time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, a tool comprises a
tray portion having a blade mounting region and a material
collection region, the blade mounting region having a surface
sloped at an angle relative to a top edge of the tray portion; a
blade adapted to attach to the surface of the blade mounting
region; and a handle extending from a lower portion of the tray
portion.
[0007] In another aspect of the present invention, a method for
removing acoustical ceiling material comprises wetting at least a
portion of a surface having acoustical ceiling material applied
thereupon; pulling a blade of a tool along the wetted portion,
wherein the blade is mounted within the tool at an angle and
collecting removed acoustical ceiling material in the material
collection region of the tool.
[0008] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with reference to
the following drawings, description and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tool according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the tool of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the tool of FIG. 1;
and
[0012] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the tool of FIG. 1,
being used to remove acoustical ceiling material from a
ceiling.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The following detailed description is of the best currently
contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the
invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense,
but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general
principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is
best defined by the appended claims.
[0014] Various inventive features are described below that can each
be used independently of one another or in combination with other
features.
[0015] Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a
tool designed to simultaneously remove and catch the materials used
for finishing acoustical ceilings, thereby greatly reducing or, in
some cases, eliminating the need for extensive drop cloth and
plastic coverage of the room's interior and furnishings. The tool
may reduce or eliminate the laborious task of cleaning up the
removed acoustical ceiling material, which, with conventional
methods, often dries on surfaces before clean-up begins. The tool
may include a scraper to remove the acoustical ceiling material and
a hollow body cavity to accumulate the removed material.
[0016] The tool, as described in greater detail below, may have an
ergonomically configured handle arrangement to minimize wrist
flexure of the user, thereby providing greater ease of use. The
tool may be designed to be pulled back toward the user instead of
pushed. This configuration may help minimize tearing of the paper
coating on the drywall material surface, typically directly beneath
the acoustical ceiling material. The tool may greatly reduce the
need for the user to exert a high level of force to remove the
acoustical ceiling material. The tool may be designed to be used
with the user on a ladder or other elevation means, thereby
eliminating the need for an unwieldy extension handle. The user, on
the elevation means and positioned within reach of the ceiling, may
be optimally located for ergonomic operation of the tool.
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, a tool 10 may include a tray
portion 12 attached to a handle portion 24. In one embodiment, the
tray portion 12 may be formed integrally with the handle portion
24. In one embodiment, the handle portion 24 may extend from the
bottom of the tray portion at an angle 30. The tray portion 12 may
include a material collection region 26 and an angled blade
mounting region 28. The material collection region 26 may form
about 2/3 of the tray portion, wherein the blade mounting region 28
may form about 1/3 of the tray portion. The blade mounting region
28 may be angled from about 15 to about 45 degrees, typically about
30 degrees, relative to the top edge 32 of the tray portion 12. A
blade 14 may attach to the blade mounting region 28. In one
embodiment, carriage bolts 16 may pass through the blade 14 and the
tray portion 12. Wing nuts 18 may secure the bolts 16. The bolts 16
may be 1/2 inch carriage bolts fitting into a 0.210 square hole in
the blade 14, thereby preventing rotation of the bolts 16 when the
nuts 18 are tightened thereupon. In an alternate embodiment, the
blade 14 may be insert-molded into the blade mounting region 28. In
a further alternate embodiment, the tray portion 12 may be formed
of two halves which may be glued or welded together to captivate
the blade within the recess details of the tray portion 12.
[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, a tip 36 of the
blade 14 may be rounded with a radius of about 0.060. The blade 14
may be made of a hard material capable of scraping and removing
acoustical ceiling material 22. In one embodiment, the blade 14 may
be made of stainless steel. The blade 14 may extend about 0.2 inch
from a plane formed by the top edge 32 of the tool. In one
embodiment, holes 34 in the tray portion 12 may be larger than the
diameter of the bolts 16 to allow for height adjustment of the
blade 14. Because there is a small gap between the top edge 32 of
the tool and the ceiling 20, loss of dislodged acoustical material
22 outside of tool 10 may be minimized. This configuration may also
provide sufficient clearance for the protruding portions of the
rough textured acoustical material 22. The blade 14 may be disposed
near the top edge 32, thereby allowing the user to remove material
from the ceiling 20, even close to a side wall or other
obstruction.
[0019] Acoustical ceiling material 22 may be removed from the
ceiling 20 with the tool 10. The blade 14 may remove the material
22, which may collect in the material collection region 26 and in
the handle 24, as shown in FIG. 4. The handle 24 may be from about
4 to about 5 inches in length. In one embodiment, the handle 24 may
be a solid handle and the removed material may simply collect in
the material collection region 26.
[0020] The tool 10 may be manufactured from, for example, a
lightweight and durable plastic, such as a thermoplastic material,
by injection molding.
[0021] To operate the tool 10 to remove acoustical ceiling material
22 from a ceiling 20, a user may mount a ladder and spray an area
of the ceiling, about 2 by 2 feet, with water to moisten and loosen
the material to be removed. After the water treatment has
effectively loosened the material, for example, after about 2
minutes, the user may grip the handle 24 of the tool 10, with the
material collection region 26 facing forward, and the device may be
positioned against the ceiling so that the blade 14 is flush to the
ceiling 20. The user may then exert pressure against the ceiling 20
and pull the tool 10 towards them, scraping the acoustical ceiling
material 22 off the ceiling 20. The blade 14 may be maintained at
an angle for optimal removal of acoustical ceiling material 22 with
minimal ceiling damage.
[0022] The acoustical ceiling material 22 may accumulate in the
material collection region 26 and in the handle 24. The accumulated
material may then be dumped into a receptacle. The above process
may be repeated until the entire ceiling area is stripped of the
acoustical ceiling material 22.
[0023] It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing
relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that
modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
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