House painting

Abstract

A wheeled vehicle for use in painting homes has mounted thereon low-pressure oversized tires so as to avoid damage to the lawn area under the vehicle. The vehicle has an extensible support boom which terminates in a man-carrier, and controls are provided at each end for operation either by the man in the man-carrier or by an assistant on the ground to maneuver the man-carrier. Pumps are connected to supply reservoirs and to hose lines extending along the extensible boom to the carrier. Spray heads are connected to the extended ends of the hoses to selectively cleanse, water-blast, chemically treat or paint the home surface. Cleansing is preferably accomplished by injecting a detergent, a foaming agent and compressed air into a flow of water to generate a cleansing foam which is sprayed on the house. A sand blasting unit may also be used for cleansing portions of the house which require it. The truck enables a complete painting job including cleansing the entire exposed surface of the house, rinsing the house to remove residual cleansing agent and dirt, using pressure water to remove loose paint and the like, masking the window panes and painting the windows and trim, masking or shielding the decorative trim where desired, painting the body of the house and then removing the masks.

Parent Case Text

The present application is a division of and discloses only subject matter disclosed in my co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 140,044, filed May 4, 1971, now abandoned.

Description

The present invention relates to painting homes and commercial buildings and has particular application to a novel apparatus to do a thorough and efficient job of housing painting the exterior of homes and similarly situated buildings.

Exterior home painting today is, for the most part, performed by individual painting contractors and by the home owners themselves. Prior to the present invention, the painting of homes has been a hand-labor operation in which the painter brushes on or rolls on the paint using a conventional ladder or ladders. A considerable portion of the painter's time is consumed in climbing up and down the ladder and moving the ladder from one location to the next. Although the painter may use a hand scraper or wire brush to prepare the surface before painting, he rarely washes off the dirt. Spray painting has been performed to a limited extent but the bulkiness of the spray equipment and the inconvenience of handling it, and the danger of spraying areas that should not be painted limit the use and render it generally uneconomical to acquire spray equipment, and to learn to use it.

In view of the manual labor involved in preparing and painting a residential house, the preparatory phase of the painting job is frequently given less attention than it requires for a good job.

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides a mobile painting rig which can be driven over lawns and walkways around the home without damaging the same, the rig including an extensible boom for supporting a painter closely adjacent the areas to be painted, and providing the equipment both for preparing the surface for painting and for applying the paint.

The present invention provides a wheeled vehicle having incorporated therein reservoirs for cleansing materials and for paint, along with pump means for the respective materials to enable spraying of them by the operator on the boom.

The apparatus disclosed herein provides an improved method of painting a house which includes preparing the surface prior to painting with a cleansing material to remove the dirt particles and film which detract from the adherence of the fresh paint to the surface.

All of the objects of the invention are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view illustrating the use of the equipment to prepare the house surface for painting;

Fig. 2 is a pictorial view illustrating the use of a spray to paint a window sash, the panes of which has been masked;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the painting operation; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the supply reservoirs and the connections thereto.

To obtain the best possible adhesion of paint or similar coatings to any structure, it is desirable that the surface to be painted, be clean of fine particles and films. Furthermore, the surface should be free of loose paint and bubbles remaining from the previous painting operation. Following removal of loose paint, dirt and the like, the surface should be abraded, for example by sanding or sand blasting, to eliminate surface irregularities which would otherwise appear through the coat of paint or other material applied thereto. For some surfaces, it may be desirable to further condition the surface by applying a primer or other material which improves the adherence of the finished coat to the surface. These surface preparation procedures have been found to constitute an important part of producing a first-rate finished paint job.

The drawings illustrate apparatus which is employed for painting a house in accordance with the present invention. As shown in these figures, the apparatus comprises a one-ton self-propelled vehicle 11 which is adapted to be driven both over the road and over the terrain surrounding the home. To avoid damage to the lawns and walkways surrounding the home, the vehicle is equipped with enlarged relatively smooth tires 12 which are about 2 feet wide and 4 feet high. When used for the lawn and the pathway surrounding the house, the inflation of the tires is reduced to approximately 4 to 12 pounds so as to provide an enlarged contact area with the terrain. When inflated in this manner, each smooth tire provides about 180 square inches of contact area, and when the load of the vehicle is distributed over the four smooth tires, the pressure in pounds per square inch on the terrain exerted by the loaded vehicle is less than that exerted by a man walking in ordinary shoes over the terrain. It should be noted that the tires 12 are devoid of the standard cleated treads which woudl concentrate the forces excessively.

When inflated at the low pressure, the ground speed of the vehicle should be maintained at less than 10 miles per hour. Accordingly, when it is desired to use the vehicle over the road, the tires may be inflated to a high pressure, for example 28 pounds per inch which reduces the contact area and permits the vehicle to travel at highway speeds. To accommodate the oversized tires, the wheel housing and steering assembly of the vehicle must be modified, but in other respects the vehicle is of conventional construction. The vehicle is equipped with a boom 14, in the present instance in the form of an extensible aerial ladder having a man-carrier 15 with hydraulic controls at the top end which allow a workman on the carrier at the end of the ladder to displace the boom both horizontally and vertically and to extend and retract the boom as desired so as to avoid the necessity for ground control by a second operator.

In addition to the hydraulic control lines within the structure of the extensible ladder 14, the boom has a pair of pressure lines 21 and 22 (see FIG. 4) extending along its length which terminate at the upper end of the boom in fittings 23 and 24 respectively to which may be coupled spray guns, spray wands, nozzles or other pressurized discharge devices. FIG. 1 illustrates a spray wand 25 connected to the pressure line 21 which is used for dispensing a foamed cleansing agent onto the home. FIG. 2 illustrates a spray gun 26 connected to the line 22 for projecting a small-angle spray of paint and FIG. 3 illustrates a painting gun 27 connected to the line 22 for providing a wide angle spray. While it is convenient to employ separate guns for different spray angles, the same gun may be used by simply exchanging the spray tip or nozzle to provide the desired spray discharge angle.

At the end of the pressure line 21 opposite to the end with the fittings 23, the line is connected with reservoirs. The reservoirs comprise two tanks 31 and 33 connected with a pump 34 which can discharge water at up to 1,500 pounds pressure and 5 gallons per minute. The pump 34 is connected to the power takeoff 35 from the vehicle 11 so that a separate power source other than the engine of the vehicle 11 is not required. The tank 31 is filled with clear water. The water is employed to cleanse the home structure prior to the painting operation.

Where additional cleansing power is desired, a detergent and a foaming agent are added to the water, for example in the tank 33 and compressed air from a tank 37 is mixed with the fluid cleansing material by a supply line 36 connected through a valve device 38. When the valve 38 is actuated to inject the air into the line 21, the water discharged through the line 21 will generate a foamed cleansing agent which is discharged through the upper end of the line 21, for example through the wand 25 as shown in FIG. 1.

The pressure line 22, on the other hand, is connected to the reservoir 32 for paint or other suitable coating material. The reservoir 32 is provided with a hydraulic pump 42 which, like the pump 34, is connected to the power takeoff 35 so as to be driven thereby. The pump 42 preferably is capable of pumping up to 3,000 pounds pressure, as much as a gallon a minute.

For certain structures, for example for structures having a large metallic area, a chemical treating agent may be applied prior to painting. Such agents are useful in treating metals such as steel, aluminum and galvanized steel. The chemical may be applied from a reservoir in place of either one of the reservoirs 31, 32 or 33, depending upon the requirements, and if the primer composition is water based, it may be injected into the flow of water in the line 21 similarly to the compressed air from the tank 37. The power takeoff 35 also supplies the power to run the compressor or air pumps for supplying pressurized air to the tank 37 for making foam, for sandblasting equipment, for cleaning equipment including spray nozzles, and to inflate the tires to the road-running pressure when the truck is converted for over-the-road travel.

The mobile equipment just described enables efficient house painting with thorough preparation of the house surface so that an improved adherence of the paint to the building is obtained. To this end, in use of the equipment, the turck is driven close to the house to be painted, as shown in FIG. 1 and the operator in the carrier 15 connects the wand 25 to the pressure line 21, and with the valve 38 in condition to foam the detergent in the line 21, the operator applies the foam to the side of the house, manipulating the man-carrier 15 with the hydraulic controls at the upper end of the ladder to enable a thorough covering of the house with the detergent foam. The foam loosens any film or other foreign materials which are adhered to the surface of the house and the surface is properly cleansed of foreign particles which would otherwise impair the adherence of the paint to the surface.

The truck is normally positioned to enable a complete coverage of one side of the house with the detergent foam by simply manipulating the aerial boom 14 to the far reaches of the house side. For larger houses, it may be necessary to relocate the vehicle 11 to permit full coverage of one side, and for smaller houses it may be possible to locate the vehicle so that two sides may be cleansed without moving the vehicle. Before moving the vehicle, it is normally preferable to rinse the foam from the house and with the rinsing of the foam, remove the foreign particles therefrom. To accomplish this, clear water only is used to rinse the foam from the house, preferably using the same wand that was used for applying the foam to the house with or without adjusting the nozzle to alter the spray pattern.

Following the cleansing by the foam and the rinsing of the foam from the house, the next procedure is to remove the loose particles of paint which may be present. For this purpose, a small angle spray nozzle is preferred which operates to discharge water at a high velocity against the house. The high velocity spray is effective to remove any loose paint which may remain after the cleansing operation. After the removal operation, any rough edges may be smoothed by abrading, for example with scrapers, wire brushes, sandpaper, or the like.

It has been found that the window frames and sash may be painted effectively with the use of spray techniques, but to avoid spattering the glass, it is desirable to shield the glass panes. To this end, precut panels 51 of acetate or other transparent material are adhered to the windows to cover the panes of glass. The adherence is preferably by means of double-faced tape, but other temporary adhesive bonds may be used. It is preferable that the panels 51 be transparent to diminish the darkening effect in the interior of the home during the period when the panes are masked. After the panels 51 are in place over the panes, the sash is painted with a small-angle spray from the gun 26 as shown in FIG. 2. The panels 51 may be left on the panes to mask the panes and prevent the adherence of paint particles to the panes when the rest of the house is subsequently spray painted. The entire window trim may be masked with a suitable masking material 53 which is adhered for example by stapling at 54.

When the house is suitably masked, the paint is applied to the body by a wide angle spray gun 27 as indicated in FIG. 3. The spray equipment used is preferably of the airless spray type in which the paint is projected under pressure onto the house in a fine spray devoid of air. This type of spray equipment limits the amount of paint applied to the house and permits the skilled operator to avoid migration of the paint particles beyond the selected spray angle. Thus, there is minimum wastage of paint and little likelihood of the paint being carried beyond the surface of the house onto the surrounding shrubberies, etc.

Where it is not desired to mask the trim, the trim may be shielded by a hand-held shield which permits the skilled operator to paint up to the very edge of differently painted areas. Since the painter is in the carrier, he has both hands free so that one hand may hold the shield while the other hand manipulates the spray gun.

By using the airless spray equipment from the carrier at the end of the extensible boom, the skilled operator will complete the painting of the body of the house in a relatively short period of time, since the operator does not lose time in shifting ladders, and the like. Furthermore, since the spray equipment is well suited to applying water-based paints, the painting operation may be performed immediately following the rinse operation while the house is not yet completely dried.

Standard airless painting nozzles may be used for spraying the body of the house, and it has been found that special fine finish spray nozzles may be used along the edges of the painted areas to "cut in" around projections and the like and to paint close-up to the masked or shielded areas.

For rough stucco and other surfaces such as rough wood, which do not readily accept full coverage by airless spray techniques, it has been found that a thorough coating of the rough surface may be obtained by using a roller to distribute the sprayed paint into the rough cracks and crevices which might otherwise be left unpainted. Since the rolling operation distributes the paint rather than applying it, the roller may be a long-handled device which may be operated from the ground by an assistant following along after the spray painting operation from the boom.

The vehicle also has included thereon sandblasting equipment which is used to cleanse suitable portions of the house. Conventional sandblasting equipment includes a sand pot or reservoir having a compressed air inlet and an outlet for the compressed air-sand mixture. The sandblasting nozzle is connected to the outlet by a pressure line.

By using the equipment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the present invention permits a thorough preparation of the house surface to be painted so as to insure thorough adherence of paint to the surface. The ability of the operator in the carrier 15 at the end of the boom 14 to readily traverse the surfaces to be painted so as to locate himself in a convenient working position at any point thereon, permits the operator to devote the required effort to properly prepare the surface, regardless of the size of the area that requires attention. With prior art techniques involving brushing and ladders, if a defective area was sufficiently small, the preparation of that area to eliminate the defect was often overlooked, particularly because of the excessive effort required to move the ladders into position to properly treat the area. Furthermore, the use of the equipment of the present invention enables close inspection of the entire are prior to the painting operation, as opposed to the tedious techniques of the prior art in which the area is not closely inspected until the painter is on the ladder ready to apply the paint to the area. Thus the present invention provides the procedure for painting homes which enables the craftsman to devote full attention to the performance of his craft.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been herein illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosure but changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. House painting apparatus comprising a self-propelled motor vehicle having an extensible boom, a carrier mounted at one end of said boom, means mounting the other end of said boom on said vehicle for displacement of said one end horizontally and vertically, said boom being extensible by controls mounted on said one end of said boom, at least one reservoir mounted on said vehicle, pump means associated with said reservoir, said vehicle having a power means connected to said pump means for driving the same, and pressure-line means extending from said reservoir to said carrier along the length of said boom and terminating in a terminal fitting operable to be connected to spray means selected from the group including a nozzle, a spray wand and a spray gun, said motor vehicle comprising a wheeled vehicle having oversized pneumatic tires on its wheels, said tires being relatively smooth and devoid of cleated treads, and when inflated providing a wide contact area between said tires and the terrain on which they rest so as to distribute the load of said vehicle over said wide area and thereby minimize the pressure in pounds per square inch applied to the terrain by said vehicle to a value less than that exerted by a man walking in ordinary shoes over the terrain, the width of each tire being at least half its outside diameter, and having a substantially smooth uninterrupted surface across its entire width.

2. House painting apparatus according to claim 1 including an additional reservoir associated with said pump means.

3. House painting apparatus according to claim 2 wherein one of said reservoirs is a reservoir for fluid cleansing material, said reservoir having associated therewith means for injecting another ingredient into the fluid pumped therefrom through said line means.

4. House painting apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said cleansing fluid is water with a detergent and a foaming agent and said means to inject the additional ingredient comprises a supply of compressed air and a valve connected to said pressure line.

5. House painting according to claim 1 wherein said boom is an aerial ladder having hydraulic controls at its outer end to control the displacement and extension of said boom.