Abstract:
A hand held device tamping, smoothing or impressing a specifically desired pattern or form onto freshly poured concrete, such as on a sidewalk or another selected surface. The hand held device including a base and a handle, the base having a non-circular shaped receiver which matches with a non-circular cross-section portion of the handle to provide a rigid connection between the handle and the base and a simple means for aligning a hole in the handle with a hole in the base for a pin to pass through.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to hand held devices for tamping, smoothing or impressing a specifically desired pattern or form onto recently poured concrete which has not set or cured, such as a sidewalk or another selected surface. The devices of this invention are commonly known as tampers, pounders or stampers. 
         [0003]    2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,387,466 discloses a known device for imprinting patterns on concrete. The device includes a base with a cylindrical recess for receiving a cylindrical handle. The cylindrical handle is secured to the base with a pin which extends through the cylindrical recess and the cylindrical handle. One shortcoming of the &#39;466 Patent is that it can be difficult to align a hole in the cylindrical recess with a hole the cylindrical handle to pass the pin through both holes. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    A general object of the invention is to provide an improved device for tamping, smoothing or impressing a specifically desired pattern or form onto freshly poured concrete, such as on a sidewalk or another selected surface. 
         [0006]    The improved device of this invention includes a base that is attached and secured to a handle with a pin. The base includes an opening with a non-circular cross-section for receiving the handle. The handle includes a non-circular shaped end that corresponds to the non-circular cross-section of the opening. The improved device provides a rigid connection between the handle and the base and a simple means for aligning a hole in the handle with a hole in the base so that the pin can easily pass through both holes. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    These and other objects and features of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective angled side view of a tamper, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, for smoothing or impressing a pattern onto freshly poured concrete; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective side view of the tamper shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention provides an improved device for smoothing or impressing a specifically desired pattern or form onto uncured concrete such as, but not limited to sidewalks, driveways, streets, curbs, concrete floors or other surfaces. 
         [0011]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate a tamper  10  according to one embodiment of this invention. The tamper  10  preferably includes a base  12  and a handle  14  that are secured to each other with a pin  16  which passes through a hole in each of the base  12  and the handle  14 . In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the tamper  10  includes a plurality of pins  16 . 
         [0012]    The base  12  of this invention is preferably manufactured of an elastomeric material including, but not limited to, Shore A urethane (such as Shore A urethane with a durometer in the range of 25 to 100), Shore D urethane, silicone and/or latex. The elastomeric material reduces the physical impact on a user tamping freshly poured concrete. Alternatively, the base  12  can be made of any other material useful for tamping freshly poured concrete, such as, but not limited to, metal or composite materials. Further, those skilled in the art and guided by the teachings herein provided will understand and appreciate that the base  12  can be desirably fabricated or manufactured by various techniques including, for example, injection molding. In another alternative embodiment, the base  12  may be manufactured with a core material which is a different material than a surrounding material, for example, but not limited to, a metal core surrounded by an elastomeric material. 
         [0013]    The base  12  includes a platform  18  with a collar  20  extending from an upper surface of the platform  18 . In this embodiment, the platform  18  comprises a square or rectangular shape however, the platform  18  may comprise any shape. In an embodiment of this invention, a lower surface of the platform  18  includes a textured surface for impressing a pattern or texture onto recently poured concrete which has not set. Such as a pattern in the form or appearance of brick, stone, rock, wood or other material as may be desired in a specific or particular application. In an alternative embodiment, the lower surface of the platform  18  includes a smooth surface for tamping and/or smoothing a surface of recently poured concrete which has not set. 
         [0014]    The collar  20  is preferably integrally formed with and extends from the upper surface of platform  18 . In this embodiment, the collar  20  comprise four surfaces that extend from the platform  18  and gradually narrow, in a pyramid-like fashion near the bottom, and transition into generally vertical surfaces that end at a generally flat top surface. However, the collar  20  is not limited to this shape and may comprise any shape capable of receiving a portion of the handle  14 . As shown in the figures, the collar  20  includes a receiver  22  comprising an opening in the flat top surface and a void extending into the collar  20  for receiving a portion of the handle  14 . In a preferred embodiment, the receiver  22  comprises a polygon-shaped cross-section that matches with an insert portion of the handle  14  allowing for easy alignment of holes for receiving the pin  16 . In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the receiver  22  comprises a square-shaped opening however, the receiver  22  may comprise any non-circular shape including, but not limited to, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, an elliptical shape, a star shape, a pentagon shape and a hexagon shape. 
         [0015]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the handle  14  includes a polygon-shaped handle terminal end  24  that is designed to match the polygon-shaped receiver  22  of the base  12 . In this embodiment, the handle  14  includes an upper cylindrical portion that transitions into a polygon-shaped handle terminal end  24 . In an alternative embodiment, the handle  14  may comprise a uniform polygon-shape along an entire length of the handle without a transition portion. The polygon-shaped handle terminal end  24  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  comprises a square shape however, the handle insert  24  may comprise any non-circular shape including, but not limited to, a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, an elliptical shape, a star shape, a pentagon shape and a hexagon shape. 
         [0016]    The collar portion  20  and the handle terminal end  24  each include holes which must be aligned so that the pin  16  can pass through both holes to secure the base to the handle. The polygon-shaped receiver  22  and the matching polygon-shaped handle terminal end  24  simplifies the alignment process by restricting the number of ways that the handle terminal end  24  can fit into the receiver  22 . 
         [0017]    In an alternative embodiment of this invention, the tamper  10  may be used with a mat, not shown, that includes a surface with a textured or smooth surface for impressing a pattern or texture onto recently poured concrete or for smoothing recently poured concrete. The mat may be placed on uncured concrete and the tamper  10  may be used to press the mat into the uncured concrete to create a surface impression in the concrete. 
         [0018]    The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element, part, step, component, or ingredient which is not specifically disclosed herein. 
         [0019]    While in the foregoing detailed description this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purposes of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.