The present invention is a combination squeegee (i.e., a scraper) and hand trowel tool. The tool can be conveniently used to first remove a material from a can, bucket or other material container and then used to spread the material evenly on a surface or substrate. The tool has a blade having a curved edge portion for removing material from cans or buckets and a separate notched edge portion (preferably with indentations or serrations) for evenly spreading the material on a surface. The invention further contemplates a method of using the tool to remove material from a can, bucket or container and applying the material to a surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/047,080, filed Jan. 31, 2005. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention generally relates to tools such as scrapers for removing residual material from cans, buckets or similar containers, and also generally relates to trowels for spreading materials on a surface.  
         [0004]     The use of scrapers and trowels to remove various materials such as adhesives, grouts, cements, plaster, resin, stucco, paint and the like from cans, buckets or other containers is well known in the prior art. Examples of such scrapping tools are shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,355,432; 4,627,128; 4,987,635; and 5,875,515. When using such scrapping tools to apply a material, some material is removed from the container with the tool, then the material is deposited upon the surface to which the material is to be applied such as a surface to be tiled. The user must then put the scrapping tool away and pick up a different tool such as a trowel which is then used to spread the material on the surface. This process of switching from one tool to another then back again can be time consuming and tedious. A tool which functioned to improve the efficiency of this process would be desirable.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention is a combination squeegee (i.e., a scraper) and hand trowel tool. The tool can be conveniently used to first remove a material from a can, bucket or other material container and then used to spread the material evenly on a surface or substrate. The tool has a substantially flat blade having a continuous arcuate curved edge portion substantially conforming to a portion of an interior wall of a container for efficiently removing residual material from the interior wall of containers such as cans or buckets and a separate notched edge portion (preferably with indentations or serrations) for evenly spreading the material on a surface. The invention further contemplates a method of using the tool to remove material from a can, bucket or container and applying the material to a surface.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a combination squeegee and hand trowel constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the combination squeegee and hand trowel of  FIG. 1  taken along line  2 - 2  thereof.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the combination squeegee and hand trowel of  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3  thereof.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of another embodiment of a combination squeegee and hand trowel constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of another embodiment of a combination squeegee and hand trowel constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of another embodiment of a combination squeegee and hand trowel constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view yet another embodiment of a combination squeegee and hand trowel constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  is a side cross-sectional view showing the use of the tool of  FIG. 1  for removing material from an interior wall of a container.  
         [0014]      FIG. 9  is a top plan view illustrating a curved edge portion of the combination squeegee and hand trowel disposed substantially adjacent an interior wall of a container. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to  FIGS. 1-3 , shown therein is a combination squeegee and hand trowel  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention. The combination squeegee and hand trowel  10  (hereinafter also referred to as tool) is provided with a substantially flat blade  12  having an upper surface  14  and a lower surface  16 . A handle  18  is connected to the flat blade  12  so as to extend upwardly from the upper surface  14  of the blade  12  so that a person can grasp the handle  18 . The handle  18  can be releaseably or non-releaseably connected to the blade  12  of the tool  10 .  
         [0016]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the blade  12  has a semi-circular configuration (i.e. the shape of a half-circle) and has a curved edge  20  and a notched edge  22 . The curved edge  20  is a continuous arc which extends from a first end  24  of the notched edge  22  to a second end  26  of the notched edge  22 . That is, the blade  12  is provided with a continuous arcuate curved edge  20  and the curved edge  20  of the blade  12  is sized to substantially correspond to a portion of a curved interior sidewall of the container for which the blade  12  is used to remove material from the interior sidewall of the container as will be described in more detail hereinafter.  
         [0017]     The notched edge  22  includes a plurality of notches  28 , only a portion of which are specifically indicated by a reference numeral. The configuration of the notched edge  22  can vary widely and will depend, to a large extent, on what the tool  10  is to be used for. For example, the notched edge  22  is shown in  FIG. 2  as being crenelate, a desired configuration when using the tool  10  to apply an adhesive to a surface, such as when laying tile.  
         [0018]     The blade  12  has a length  30  and a width  32  which extends perpendicularly from a center point  33  of the notched edge  22  to the curved edge  20 . The length  30  and width  32  of the blade  12  will vary depending on the size of the container with which the blade  12  is used to scrape material from the sidewall of the container. That is, the blade  12  is provided with a sufficient length  30  and a sufficient width  32  so that the curved edge  20  of the blade  12  can be disposed substantially adjacent a portion of the curved interior surface or wall of the container whereby a material on the sidewall can be removed by the tool  10 . For example, when using the tool  10  to remove material from the sidewall of a conventional five gallon bucket, desirable results have been obtained wherein the blade  12  of the tool  10  is provided with a length of about 10.25 inches and a width of about 6.75 inches.  
         [0019]     As previously stated, the curved edge  30  of the blade  12  has a continuous curvature which conforms to or compliments the curvature of an inner surface of a side wall of a container with which the tool  10  is anticipated to be used. That is, the curved edge  30  of the blade  12  is void of any straight line segments. Thus, the particular size of the blade  12  of the tool  10  will be determined based upon the size of the container with which the tool  10  is to be used. Further, the material removed from the container can be tile adhesives, grouts, stucco, plaster, or other bonding materials as well as paints which are used in construction. Such containers are well known in the art. Thus, no further discussion concerning the size of such containers or the nature of such containers is deemed necessary.  
         [0020]     As noted above, the handle  18  of the tool  10  is sized to permit a person to grip the handle so that the tool  10  can be used to scrape material from the inner surface of the sidewall of the container. Thus, the handle  18  has a length  34 , a width  36  and a height  38 . The length  34 , width  36  and height  38  of the handle  18  can vary widely depending on the size of the blade  12 . For example, desirable results have been obtained wherein the length  34  of the handle  18  is about 6.75 inches, the width  36  is about 1 inch and the height  38  is about 1.5 inches.  
         [0021]     To enhance removal of material from the interior surface of the sidewall of the container, the curved edge  20  of the blade  12  is desirably beveled substantially as shown. The degree of beveling of the curved edge  20  of the blade  12  can vary widely. However, desirable results have been achieved wherein the curved edge  20  of the blade  12  has a bevel height  40  of about 0.125 inch and a bevel width  42  of about 0.25 inch.  
         [0022]     As previously noted, the notched edge  22  of the blade  12  is provided with a plurality of notches  28 . Each notch  28  has a notch width  44 . The notched edge  22  of the blade  12  shown in  FIGS. 1-3  has a crenelate shape. The distance between the notches  28  of the notched edge  22  can vary widely depending on the intended use of the tool  10 , as can the width of the notches  28 . For example, the notches  28  can be provided with a notched width  40  of about 0.25 inches.  
         [0023]     Referring now to  FIGS. 4-6 , shown therein are three additional embodiments of a tool constructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the notched edges of the tools have alternate notch patterns. Shown in  FIG. 4  is a tool  10   a  having a flat blade  12   a . The blade  12   a  has a handle  18   a  connected to an upper surface  14   a  of the blade  12   a  such that the handle  18   a  extends upwardly therefrom. The blade  12   a  has a semi-circular configuration, and as such has a curved edge  20   a  and a notched edge  22   a . The curved edge  20   a  is a continuous arc which extends from a first end  24  of the notched edge  22   a  to a second end  26   a  of the notched edge  22   a . Thus, with exception of the configuration of the notched edge  22   a , the blade  12   a  of the tool  10   a  is similar in construction and functioned to the blade  12  of the tool  10  hereinbefore described with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 . That is, the notched edge  22   a  of the blade  12   a  of the tool  10   a  has a serrated or “toothed” pattern rather than the notched pattern of the blade  12  of the tool  10 .  
         [0024]     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , shown therein is a tool  10   b  constructed in accordance with the present invention. The tool  10   b  is provided with a flat blade  12   b  having a handle  18   b  connected to an upper surface  14   b  of the blade  12   b  such that the handle  18   b  extends upwardly therefrom. The blade  12   b  has a semi-circular configuration and as such has a curved edge  20   b  and a notched edge  22   b . The curved edge  20   b  is a continuous arc which extends from a first end  24   b  of the notched edge  22   b  to a second end  26   b  of the notched edge  22   b . Thus, with exception of the configuration of the notched edge  22   b , the blade  12   b  of the tool  10   b  is similar in construction and function to the blade  12  of the tool  10  hereinbefore described with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 . That is, the notched edge  22   b  of the blade  12   b  of the tool  10   b  has a crenelate or scalloped pattern which is “curved” or “wavy”.  
         [0025]     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , shown therein is a tool  10   c  constructed in accordance with the present invention. The tool  10   c  has a flat blade  12   c . The blade  12   c  has a handle  18   c  connected to an upper surface  14   c  of the blade  12   c  such that the handle  18   c  extends upwardly therefrom. The blade  12   c  has a semi-circular configuration and as such has a curved edge  20   c  and a notched edge  22   c . The curved edge  20   c  is a continuous arc which extends from a first end  24   c  of the notched edge  22   c  to a second end  26   c  of the notched edge  22   c . Thus, with exception of the configuration of the notched edge  22   c , the blade  12   c  of the tool  10   c  is similar in construction and function to the blade  12  of the tool  10  hereinbefore described with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 . That is, the notched edge  22   c  of the blade  12   c  of the tool  10   c  has a pattern wherein smaller notches  28   c  alternate with larger notches  28   cc.    
         [0026]     While certain patterns for the notched edge of the tools hereinbefore described have been shown, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that other notch patterns can be employed in the construction of the notched edge of the tool of the present invention.  
         [0027]     As noted before, the handle  18  of the tool  10  may be releaseably connected, i.e. detachable, from the blade  12 . Shown in  FIG. 7  is a tool  10   d  which includes a blade  12   d , a handle  18   d  and a connector assembly  47  for connecting the handle  18   d  to the blade  12   d . The blade  12   d  is provided with a curved edge  20   d  and a notched edge  22   d . The blade  12   d  of the tool  10   d  may be the same as the blade of any other tool described herein. The tool  10   d  differs from the tools  10 - 10   c  described herein in that the handle  18   d  is detachably connected to the blade  12   d.    
         [0028]     The connector assembly  47  includes a female connector  48  and a male connector  49 . The female connector  48  is formed integrally with the blade  12   d  so as to extend outwardly from an upper surface  14   d  of the blade  12   d  substantially as shown. The male connector  49  is formed on one end of the handle  18   d  and is adapted to matingly engage the female connector  48  so that the handle  18   d  can be connected to the blade  12   d.    
         [0029]     Any suitable mechanism can be used as the connector assembly  47 . For example, the female connector  48  can include a housing having an opening therein with internally disposed threads and the male connector  49  can be a threaded portion on one end of the handle  18  which can be inserted within the housing for mating engagement with the threads in the housing of the female connector  48  substantially as shown. Thus, the handle  18   d  can be operably connected or disconnected from the blade  12   d  via the connector assembly  47 .  
         [0030]     Any of the tools  10 - 10   d  contemplated herein or alternate embodiments of them may be constructed of materials known to be used in the construction of trowels, squeegees, scrapers, or the like, including metals, polymers, plastics (including thermoplastics), rubber, wood, wood products, cardboard, or combinations thereof. The tools  10 - 10   d  may be flexible or rigid. The tools described herein, such as tools  10 - 10   c,  may be formed as an integral one piece construction molded from a thermoplastic material, although the tool  10   d  is shown as constructed of separate materials such as a separate blade  12   d  and a separate handle  18   d  which are connected together via the connector assembly  47  hereinbefore described.  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the manner of usage and operation of the combination squeegee and hand trowel of the present invention will now be described with reference to the tool  10 . Once a cylindrically shaped container  50 , such as a gallon bucket, a 5 gallon bucket or a 10 gallon bucket has been opened, the tool  10  is inserted into the container  50  to remove material therefrom. Once the container  50  has been substantially emptied the curved edge  20  of the tool  10 , which is arcuately shaped to substantially correspond to an arc configuration of a segment of an inner surface  52  of a sidewall  54  of the container  50 , is positioned adjacent the segment of the inner surface  52  of the sidewall  54  and the interior surface  52  of the sidewall  54  is scraped with the curved edge  20  of the tool  10  to remove residual material from the inner surface  52  of the sidewall  54 . The scraping motion utilizing the curved edge  20  of the tool  10  is repeated until substantially all the material has been removed from the inner surface  52  of the sidewall  54  of the container  50 . It should be noted that the tool  10  may also be used to remove residual amounts of material from the bottom of the container  50  or from beneath an interior rim of the container  50 . As such, removal of substantially all material within the container  50  can be effected utilizing the tool  10  (or any other tool of the present invention). Furthermore, the tools described herein can be utilized to spread or otherwise apply material removed from a container, such as the container  50 , to a surface or substrate in a manner appropriate for the material. That is, the notched edge  22  of the blade  12  of the tool  10  can be utilized to effectively spread material removed from the container  50  as required for a particular application.  
         [0032]     The size of the container  50  can vary widely but the container  50  will typically be of a size used in various manners of construction and remodeling. Further, the size of the tool  10  and any other tools described herein, will vary and desirably be sized and configured to enhance removal of material from the interior surface  52  of the sidewalls  54  of the container  50 .  
         [0033]     It is to be understood that the dimensional relationships of the materials from which the tools  10 - 10   d  and the handles  18  and  18   d  are fabricated, and the components of the tools  10 - 10   d  of the invention such as the blades  12 - 12   d  or the handles  18  and  18   d , can vary, as well as the configuration of the handles  18  and  18   d  of the tools  10 - 10   d.    
         [0034]     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the tools  10 - 10   d  of the present invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the tools  10 - 10   d  and their uses are not limited to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and all suitable modifications and equivalents of the tools  10 - 10   d  described herein may be resorted to, and fall within the scope of the present invention.