Abstract:
A compound applicator includes: an applicator head which includes a body for applying a bead of compound onto a surface, wherein the profile of the compound bead has a convex profile with a crown and bead thickness; a device for controlling the crown and bead thickness of the convex profile with an adjustment mechanism. The adjustment mechanism includes a blade which includes a horizontal portion and a vertical portion and wherein the distal ends of the horizontal portion of the blade abut against the body, such that the blade can be resiliently flexed between a highest cambered position and a low camber position by vertically displacing a central portion of the blade.

Description:
[0001]    The present application is a national stage entry of international application PCT/CA2015/050580 which claims priority from regularly filed U.S. provisional patent application 62/016,912 filed Jun. 25, 2014 under the title; COMPOUND APPLICATOR in the name of Jamie Pentland. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present concept relates to compound applicators and more particularly relates to applicator heads used in conjunction with compound applicators. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The compound applicator of the present design utilizes a molded applicator head which includes a smooth surface flow channel and a uni-body design. 
         [0004]    The molded uni-body design allows for the elimination of the formation of sharp internal corners, crevasses and raised obstructions within the compound flow channel that can be found in other similar tools that have machined surfaces and use multiple components and fasteners within their construction. These formations are difficult to clean after use and compound that is left to harden in these areas can later come loose while the tool is in use and mar the desired smooth appearance of the bead of compound being applied to the wall surface. 
         [0005]    The applicator body and all components that make up the applicator are constructed of molded engineering plastics that are light weight and that will not corrode when in contact with water or the caustic materials the applicator is used to apply. This construction method effectively eliminates the use of metals that are heavier and that will corrode even when protective coatings are employed, as described by Murray in U.S. 2005/0100386 A1 filed Sep. 10, 2004, under the title: Methods and Apparatus for Drywall Tools. 
         [0006]    Additionally it is possible to use clear plastic to allow the user visibility of the compound within the applicator body, which in turn enhances the ability to control the flow of compound being applied to the target surface. 
         [0007]    The applicator body includes a connector and socket that allows an applicator reservoir to be rotatable and fluidly mounted easily into the receiving socket and held firmly in place by the enclosing receiving socket geometry. This arrangement also allows the applicator reservoir to be detached easily from the applicator socket and then attached to another applicator of similar design without the need of tools or disassembly such as that described by Ruha et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,881 B2 filed May 1, 2001, under the title: applicator head. 
         [0008]    The socket communicates compound to a transversely oriented applicator flow channel that disperses the compound across the width of the applicator and against the target surface namely a drywall seam the compound is being applied to. 
         [0009]    The applicator head includes a camber adjustment mechanism for controlling the thickness and contour of the compound bead applied to a wall. 
         [0010]    Skid pads are incorporated into the applicator body beneath the forward most projections on each side. Other known applicators employ wheels in this area that limits the movement of the tool to a linear path when being used. The employment of skid pads allows for the unrestricted movement of the applicator while in use, allowing the user to negotiate turns without interrupting the flow of compound being applied to a wall joint such as the outside corner of an archway as described by: Williams et al in US2809513 10/1957 filed Aug. 17, 1953 under the title Paint Applicator, and Ovens in US20100196078A1 filed Jan. 30, 2009 under the title Applicator for Applying Material Such as Mastic to a Surface. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present concept is an applicator for applying dry wall compound or other semi-fluid materials in a controlled manner to a flat surface joint, or to an outside wall joint or, in another embodiment, two surfaces that join at an inside corner. 
         [0012]    The applicator includes a molded base head with an integrated receiving socket that allows for the flow of compound through a flow channel contained within the applicator head and onto any desired surface such as a wall. 
         [0013]    The applicator has a removable horizontal blade that is adjustably mounted for the manipulation and control of the flow of compound material that is being applied to the target surface. 
         [0014]    The curvature of the blade is adjustably set by means of an interlocking slide mechanism which allows for the compound to be applied to the target surface in a controlled range of desired thicknesses as well as with the desired camber profile of the applied compound. 
         [0015]    The blade has a series of projections along its length that shear through the pseudoplastic drywall compound, making it easier to apply in a controlled manner with a smooth surface free of voids or other flaws. 
         [0016]    The attachment between the applicator head and the applicator reservoir allows for a range of single axis rotation between the head and reservoir, giving the user better control of the applicator while the semi-fluid material is being applied to the target surface. 
         [0017]    A tubular reservoir carries the source material being applied to the wall joint in a manner that distributes the weight over its length, lending the tool better balance and making it easier to operate. 
         [0018]    The attachment method is such that the applicator reservoir can be easily detached and reattached to the applicator head, or another applicator head without the use of tools to do so. 
         [0019]    All the components that comprise the applicator are made of engineering plastics that suffer no ill effects such as corrosion when in contact with the compound or water. 
         [0020]    The present concept is a compound applicator which includes; 
         [0000]    a) an applicator head for applying a bead of compound onto a surface, wherein the profile of the compound bead has a convex profile having a crown and bead thickness;
 
b) a means for manually controlling the crown and thickness of the convex profile with an adjustment mechanism;
 
c) wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a blade which includes a horizontal portion and a vertical portion such that the horizontal portion can be flexed between a highest cambered position and a no camber position.
 
         [0021]    The present concept is a compound applicator comprises; 
         [0000]    a) an applicator head which includes a body for applying a bead of compound onto a surface, wherein the profile of the compound bead has a convex profile with a crown and bead thickness;
 
b) a means for controlling the crown and bead thickness of the convex profile with an adjustment mechanism;
 
c) wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a blade which includes a horizontal portion and a vertical portion and wherein the distal ends of the horizontal portion of the blade abut against the body, such that the blade can be resiliently flexed between a highest cambered position and a low camber position by vertically displacing a central portion of the blade.
 
         [0022]    Preferably wherein the adjustment mechanism further includes a cam and a cam follower, such that urging the cam follower laterally in one direction lifts the central portion of the blade up to a the highest cambered position and urging the cam follower laterally in the opposite direction lowers the central portion of the blade down to a low camber position. 
         [0023]    Preferably wherein the cam follower is a linear inclined cam follower. 
         [0024]    Preferably wherein the adjustment mechanism further includes an upstanding selector connected to the cam follower for finger actuation of the cam follower in the lateral direction. 
         [0025]    Preferably wherein the horizontal portion includes vertical slots and the body includes corresponding slideably engaging positioning fingers to prevent lateral movement of the blade. 
         [0026]    Preferably further including laterally spaced indents releasably engaging with the selector for indexing the cam follower in the highest cambered position, the low camber position and intermediate camber positions. 
         [0027]    Preferably wherein the distal ends of the horizontal portion includes trailing edge left and right skids integrally part of the blade, the skids providing a smooth sliding area when the body contacts the surface. 
         [0028]    Preferably wherein the horizontal portion including evenly laterally spaced projections, the projections are elongated along a longitudinal orientation and serve to create even flow across a bottom side of the horizontal portion. 
         [0029]    Preferably further including a pivoting connector for connecting a compound applicator reservoir to the body and channeling compound from the reservoir to the body, the connector includes a hollow longitudinal section attached to a hollow transverse section, the transverse section dimensioned to fit in a socket defined in the body, such that the connector pivoting between a down position and an up position. 
         [0030]    Preferably wherein the connector includes a cylindrical transverse section dimensioned to fit in a cylindrical socket such that the connector pivots about a pivot axis. 
         [0031]    Preferably wherein the longitudinal section includes a threaded collar inlet for connecting to the reservoir. 
         [0032]    Preferably wherein the body includes removable front skids located at the distal ends of a front portion of the body, the skids providing a smooth sliding area when the body contacts the surface. 
         [0033]    Preferably further includes an applicator gun for urging compound out of the applicator reservoir, through the body and out through a flow channel defined in the body for distributing compound along the entire length of the blade. 
         [0034]    Preferably further includes an applicator gun for urging compound out of the applicator reservoir, through the connector and body and out through a flow channel defined in the body for distributing compound along the entire length of the blade. 
     
    
     
       FIGURE DESCRIPTIONS 
         [0035]    The present concept will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which: 
           [0036]      FIG. 1  is a schematic top perspective view of the present concept namely drywall compound applicator head shown as a component of a drywall compound applicator applying drywall compound over a taped drywall seam. 
           [0037]      FIG. 2  is an exploded assembly perspective view of the present concept a drywall compound applicator head. 
           [0038]      FIG. 3  is a schematic central cross sectional view of the present concept a drywall compound applicator head further showing the plunger mechanism extended nearly to its longest travel position and the applicator reservoir in the down position. 
           [0039]      FIG. 4  is a schematic central cross sectional view of the present concept a drywall compound applicator head further showing the plunger mechanism extended nearly to its longest travel position and the applicator reservoir in up position. 
           [0040]      FIG. 5  is a schematic central cross section of the body component of the present concept a drywall compound applicator head. 
           [0041]      FIG. 6  is a schematic transverse cross sectional view of the applicator head showing outlet camber mechanism set to the highest cambered position which is the least flow restricting “ 6 ” position. 
           [0042]      FIG. 7  is a schematic transverse cross sectional view of the drywall compound applicator head further showing camber adjustment mechanism set to a low camber position specifically to the highly flow restricting “ 1 ” position. 
           [0043]      FIG. 8  is a schematic bottom perspective view of the blade component of the present concept a drywall applicator head further showing the bottom side of the blade with projections. 
           [0044]      FIG. 9  is a schematic cross sectional view of the taped drywall seam post application of compound via the present concept a drywall compound applicator head. 
           [0045]      FIG. 10  is a bottom schematic view of the body component of the present design a drywall applicator head. 
           [0046]      FIG. 11  is an exploded assembly perspective schematic view of a further embodiment of the present concept a drywall compound applicator head. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0047]    The present concept is a compound applicator shown generally as  100  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The major components of compound applicator  100  are as follows: applicator head  102  attached connector  104  which in turn is attached to applicator reservoir  106  which in turns is attached to applicator gun  108 . 
         [0048]    Applicator head  102  also includes an adjustment mechanism  110  which is described more fully below. 
         [0049]    Applicator gun  108  of compound applicator  100  includes a ratchet mechanism  120  which includes a push rod  122  and a trigger  124 . Ratchet mechanism  120  is of the type known in the art used in for example caulking guns. 
         [0050]    Applicator reservoir  106  includes tube  130  which is attached to applicator gun  108  at cap  132  and is attached at outlet end  134  threadably to collar  136  of connector  104 . 
         [0051]    Tube  130  not shown in  FIG. 1  however shown in  FIG. 3  houses a piston  138  which is attached to push rod  122  and is urged longitudinally down through tube  130  for the purpose of urging compound or other materials found within tube  130  out through outlet end  134  of tube  130 . 
         [0052]    Connector  104  is connected to tube  130  via collar  136  which includes threads  152  which are shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0053]    Referring now to  FIG. 2  which shows further details of connector  104  which also includes a longitudinal section  140 , a transverse section  142 , a right shoulder  144  and a left shoulder  146 . Transverse section  142  has a connector diameter  148  shown as D and pivots about pivot axis  150 . Connector  104  further has an inlet  153  that communicates with the applicator reservoir  106  shown in  FIG. 1 ; and an outlet  154  which communicates with flow channel  156  shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0054]    Applicator head  102  has a body  160  which defines a socket  162  wherein the transverse section  142  of connector  104  snugly fits therein. 
         [0055]    Applicator head  102  further includes leading edge  164 , trailing edge  146 , front skids  168 , left skid  170 , right skid  172 , left edge  174  and right edge  176 . 
         [0056]    Further shown in  FIG. 1  is compound bead  180  which is laid down by applicator head  102  overtop of tape  182  by moving the compound applicator  100  in the longitudinally downward direction  184  as show by the arrow in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0057]    Referring now to  FIG. 2  further details of the body  160  of applicator head  102  is shown. 
         [0058]    Referring first of all to the socket  162  of applicator head  102  the reader will note that the transverse section  142  of connector  104  is a male cylindrically shaped element which is inserted into socket  162  which is also a cylindrically female shaped receptor. 
         [0059]    Socket  162  includes bearing surfaces  200  socket flange  202 , connector relief  204  and flange relief  206 . Transverse section  142  slideably and pivotly is received onto bearing surface  200  of socket  162 . Socket flange  202  is resiliently flexible enough such that one is able to simple insert the transverse section  142  of connector  104  by manually urging transverse section  142  downwardly into socket  162  until the transverse section  142  snaps in place. 
         [0060]    Referring now to body  160  of applicator head  102  it further includes a front portion  210 , a scale  212 , indents  214 , selector slot  216 , a left abutment  218 , a right abutment  220 , a rear portion  222  and a rear wall  224 . 
         [0061]    Adjustment mechanism  110  includes a cam follower  230  which has a finger operated selector  232  attached thereto. Adjustment mechanism  110  further includes a blade  140  which includes a horizontal portion  142  and a vertical portion  144 . Blade  140  further includes a trailing edge  146 , a cam  148  and a tab  150 . 
         [0062]    Horizontal portion  142  has a top side  152  and vertical portion  144  includes vertical slots  154 . 
         [0063]    Referring now to  FIG. 3  a portion of compound applicator  100  is shown in cross sectional view namely the applicator head together with a portion of the applicator reservoir  106  showing piston  138  therein as well as connector  104 . 
         [0064]      FIG. 3  shows a portion of tube  130  of applicator reservoir  106  in a down position  270  which has a tilt angle theta  272  of approximately 30° relative to the drywall  274 . 
         [0065]      FIG. 3  also shows the compound  280  which is forceably urged by piston  138  out through flow channel  156  and past retaining wall  292  and under the horizontal portion  142  of blade  140  which is at a slight incline  290  to the drywall  274  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0066]      FIG. 10  shows the flow channel  156  in the body  160  without the blade  140 . Compound  280  is urged through the flow channel  156  and laterally before passing under the horizontal portion  142  of the blade. 
         [0067]    Eventually compound  280  is forceably urged out of exit slot  294  forming compound bead  180  on drywall  274 . 
         [0068]    Referring now to  FIG. 4  compound applicator  100  is shown in the maximum up position  300  wherein tilt angle theta shown as  302  is approximately 80°. 
         [0069]    Therefore the tube  130  of applicator reservoir  106  can be tilted about pivot axis  150  from an angle of approximately 30° or relative to the drywall as shown in  FIG. 3  to a maximum angle of approximately 80° relative to the drywall  274  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0070]    Body  160  of applicator head  102  is shown in cross sectional view in  FIG. 5  without the blade  140  and/or the cam follower  230  mounted therein. 
         [0071]    In particular  FIG. 5  shows retaining wall  292 , blade channel  310 ; which houses the vertical portion  144  of blade  140 , channel wall  312  which together with rear wall  224  defines cam housing  314  for housing cam follower  230  therein as well as cam  148 . It further shows selector slot  216  wherein selector  232  protrudes therethrough. 
       IN USE 
       [0072]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7  the adjustment mechanism  110  is shown firstly in a highest cambered position  360  in  FIG. 6  wherein selector  232  is indicated as position number  6  on scale  212 . In this position cam follower  230  is urged in a lateral direction  233  to its rightmost position thereby lifting the central portion  351  via the cam  148  which is rigidly attached to blade  140  as cam  148  rides within cam follower  230 . 
         [0073]    When adjustment mechanism  110  is in the highest cambered position  360  show in  FIG. 6  the crown center  350  is at its maximum namely the height of the horizontal portion  142  of blade  140  is at its maximum off of drywall  274  as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0074]    The centre of blade  140  can be urged upwardly as shown in  FIG. 6  however both the left skid  170  and the right skid  172  of blade  140  are constrained from movement since they contact with left abutment  218  and right abutment  220  respectively. Further, positioning fingers  155  mate with corresponding vertical slots  154  to constrain lateral movement. 
         [0075]    The ends of blade  140  are constrained from moving upwardly however the center portion where cam  148  is located is free to move upwardly thereby creating a crowned or curved horizontal portion  142  of blade  140 . 
         [0076]    In this manner when compound  280  is forced under the horizontal portion  142  of blade  140  and out through exit slot  294  a crowned compound bead is created typically as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0077]    Referring now to  FIG. 7  wherein adjustment mechanism  110  is shown in a low cambered position namely wherein selector  232  is urged to position numeral  1  on scale  212  which is almost the lowest camber position available. 
         [0078]    When selector  232  is moved to 0 on scale  212  this would be the no cambered position in other words the horizontal portion  142  of blade  140  would be completely flat and have no camber whatsoever and would uniformly make contact with drywall  274 . 
         [0079]    Referring now to  FIG. 8  blade  140  is shown such that the bottom side  382  is visible. The bottom side  382  is on a slight incline  290  as compound  280  is urged out through and along the horizontal portion  142  of blade  140 . 
         [0080]    Blade  140  includes projections  380  which preferably are small longitudinally oriented protrusions which are spaced evenly along the transverse length of blade  140 . 
         [0081]      FIG. 9  shows the compound bead  180  having previously exited the applicator head  102 . 
         [0082]    The bead thickness  386  is shown as the distance between the crown center  350  and the drywall  274 . The compound bead  180  is further shown having a convex profile with boundaries defined by the bead edge  384  and a vertex defined by the crown center  350 . 
       FURTHER EMBODIMENT 
       [0083]    An alternate embodiment of the present concept is a compound applicator shown generally as  400  as shown in  FIGS. 11 . 
         [0084]    Referring first to  FIGS. 1 and 11 , the major components of compound applicator  400  are as follows: applicator head  402  attached to an applicator reservoir  106  which in turns is attached to an applicator gun  108 . 
         [0085]    The major components of the applicator head  402  are as follows: pressure control connector  404 , body  406 , front skid  408 , and adjustment mechanism  110 . 
         [0086]    Referring specifically to  FIG. 11  which show further details of the body  406  of applicator head  402 . The reader will note that the body  406  shown in  FIG. 11  is similar to body  160 , shown in  FIGS. 1 to 10 , with minor modifications relating to the removability of the skids; namely, the left skid  170  and right skid  172 . 
         [0087]    The body  406  defines a socket  662  wherein the pressure control connector  404  snugly fits therein. The body  406  further includes leading edge  664 , trailing edge  667 , and skid socket  607 . A front skid  408  is releasably attached to each skid socket  607 . 
         [0088]    Socket  662  includes bearing surfaces  600  socket flange  602 , connector relief  604  and flange relief  606 . Transverse section  416  slideably and pivotly is received onto bearing surface  600  of socket  662 . Socket flange  602  is resiliently flexible enough such that one is able to simple insert the transverse section  416  of pressure control connector  404  by manually urging transverse section  416  downwardly into socket  662  until the transverse section  416  snaps in place. 
         [0089]    Referring now to body  406  of applicator head  402  it further includes a front portion  610  and a rear portion  622 . 
         [0090]    The reader will note the adjustment mechanism shown generally as  110  is unmodified in this alternate embodiment.