Abstract:
A stain applicator comprising a pad frame, a handle assembly attached to an upperside thereof, and an applicator pad wherein said applicator pad includes a slit therein allowing the retraction and extension of an applicator blade frame and attached applicator blade pad to allow staining of both the tops of generally flat decking boards mounted having gaps therebetween and the sides thereof through the extension and retraction of the applicator blade frame and applicator blade pad.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/351,353, filed Jun. 4, 2010 and titled “STAIN APPLICATOR,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to devices for applying liquids to substrates and, more specifically, to devices for use in applying stain and/or paint to substrates comprised of surfaces made of boards, such as decking boards, having a gap between adjacent boards. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Decks generally made of wood decking boards are usually constructed with intentional gaps to allow for water to quickly and easily drain therethrough. These decking boards generally need to be stained or painted fairly frequently. Most prior art stain/paint applicators for these applications have not provided a single apparatus that is useful for allowing a user to paint/stain the flat surfaces of the decking boards while simultaneously allowing for the convenient and easy staining of the sides of the boards through the relatively narrow gaps. Instead, users generally have had to employ the use of separate pad-type applicators along with a conventional brush to apply stain both to the planar surface of the decking boards and to the opposed surfaces thereof formed by the gaps. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a single deck staining/painting tool which could effectively be used to stain/paint both the flat surface of the decking boards as well as the sides thereof. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a first aspect of the present invention to provide an applicator for stain and/or paint (or paint-like liquids) to a substrate, such as a deck, comprised of boards having a gap between the boards, comprising 
     In a more detailed embodiment of the first aspect, a stain applicator of the present invention preferably includes a pad frame, a handle assembly attached to an upperside thereof, and an applicator pad. The applicator pad preferably has a longitudinal slit therein. Preferably, the stain applicator includes an applicator blade frame and an applicator blade pad attached thereto which is shaped and sized to be extended and retracted through said slit such that a user may use said stain applicator to apply stain to an upperside of deck boards when the applicator blade frame is in a retracted position and wherein a user may use the stain applicator to apply stain to the upperside and sides of the deck boards when the applicator blade frame is in the extended position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a lower side perspective view of an exemplary stain applicator in accordance with the present invention, wherein the applicator blade is shown in a partially extended position; 
         FIG. 2  is a cutaway upper side perspective view of the exemplary stain applicator of  FIG. 1 , wherein the applicator blade is shown in the fully extended position; 
         FIG. 3  is a cutaway side elevational view of the exemplary stain applicator shown in  FIG. 1  showing the applicator blade in a fully retracted position; 
         FIG. 4  is a cutaway side elevational view of the exemplary stain applicator shown in  FIG. 1  showing the applicator blade in a partially extended position; 
         FIG. 5  is a cutaway upper side perspective view of the exemplary stain applicator shown in  FIG. 1  showing the applicator blade in a fully retracted position; 
         FIG. 6  is a cutaway upper side perspective view of the exemplary stain applicator shown in  FIG. 1  showing the applicator blade in a partially extended position; 
         FIG. 7  is a cutaway upper side perspective view of the exemplary stain applicator shown in  FIG. 1  showing the applicator blade in a fully extended position; and 
         FIG. 8  is a cutaway rear elevation view of the exemplary stain applicator shown in  FIG. 1  showing the applicator blade in a partially retracted position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Initially, it is noted that the applicator disclosed and claimed herein maybe referred to as a stain applicator, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the applicator of the present invention may be used to apply stain, paint, sealants, etc., without departing from the scope of the invention. Of course, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the preferred embodiments discussed below are exemplary in nature and may be reconfigured without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. However, for clarity and precision, the exemplary embodiments as discussed below may include optional steps, methods, and features that one of ordinary skill should recognize as not being a requisite to fall within the scope of the present invention. 
     Referencing  FIGS. 1-8 , an exemplary stain applicator  100  includes a pad frame  102 , a handle assembly  104  attached to an upperside thereof, and an applicator pad  106 , preferably having rounded leading and trailing edges  108 , held thereon (in an exemplary embodiment) by tabs  110 . The applicator pad  106  has a longitudinal slit  122  therein. The applicator pad  106  may be made of any suitable material for picking up, holding and dispensing stain and/or paint on to decking boards including, without limitation, foam, fibers, flock, microfiber, bristles and the like and may be disposable or reusable. The pad frame  102  preferably has a housing  114  positioned on an upper portion including a longitudinal groove  115  placed in a center portion thereof and pivot holes  119  positioned on the sides thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the handle assembly  114  includes a yoke  116  and is attached to the housing  114  by pivots  120  on each end of the yoke  116  that are sized and shaped to be pivotably received in the pivot holes  119 . Preferably, the handle assembly  104  also includes a hand grip  118  thereon and may include a threaded portion  122  in an outer extent thereof shaped to receive a threaded end of a handle extension pole (not shown). Preferably, the handle assembly  114  includes a Z-shaped link arm  124  including a head  126  on an end thereof shaped to be received through groove  115  in housing  114 . In a preferred embodiment, the head  126  of the Z-shaped link arm  124  is slidably received in a groove formed by sliding plate  132  having upright extensions  133  and inwardly projecting retaining members  134  thereon. Preferably, the plate  132  is integrally formed or attached to an applicator blade frame  128  being sized and shaped to receive an applicator blade pad  130 . The Z-shaped link arm  124  may be formed integrally with or attached to handle assembly  104 . 
     The applicator blade pad  130  may be made of any suitable material for picking up, holding and dispensing stain and/or paint on to decking boards including, without limitation, foam, fibers, flock, microfiber, bristles and the like and may be disposable or reusable. The combination of the applicator blade frame  128  and applicator blade pad  130  is preferably ⅜ inches in width which is slightly larger than the typical ⅛ to ¼ inches spacing between decking boards in order for the applicator blade pad  130  to be compressed against the outsides of the decking boards during staining operations. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, slit  112  is preferably at least slightly narrower than the width of the applicator blade frame  128  and applicator blade pad  130  so that when the applicator blade pad  130  is retracted and extended through slit  112 , the applicator blade pad  130  is able to pick up stain from the sides of the applicator pad  106  for application to the sides of the decking boards. 
     In operation, the handle assembly  104  may be used to retract and extend the applicator blade frame  128  and applicator blade pad  130  through the use of the camming action provided by the Z-shaped link arm  124 . Specifically, as best shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , when the handle assembly  104  is pivoted to the right such that the “Z” of the Z-shaped link arm  124  is right-side up, the head  126  of the Z-shaped link arm  124  is placed at its highest point and, through the force of the head  126  against the retaining members  134  and plate  132 , holds the applicator blade frame  128  and applicator blade pad  130  in the fully retracted position. Conversely, as best shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  4  and  6 - 8 , as the handle assembly  104  is pivoted to the left, the camming action of the head  126  against the retaining members  134  and plate  132  extends the applicator blade frame  128  and connected applicator blade pad  130  through the slit  112  to the fully extended position. In the fully left-pivoted position of the handle assembly  104  the “Z” of the Z-shaped link arm  124  is upside down placing the head  126  at its lowest point and, through the force of the head  126  against the retaining members  134  and plate  132 , placing the applicator blade frame  128  and applicator blade pad  130  in the fully extended position. In a preferred embodiment, the length of the plate  132  and retaining 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment as disclosed herein, in use a user would pivot the handle assembly  104  of the stain applicator  100  to the fully retracted position (in the present embodiment, to the right) and then place the applicator pad  106  in a stain reservoir, such as a paint tray or the like. The stain applicator  100  would then be able to be used to stain either the tops and/or the sides of the decking boards. If it was desired to stain the sides of the decking board, the handle assembly  104  would be rotated to the left thereby extending the applicator blade frame  128  while simultaneously loading the applicator blade pad  130  with stain. This process would be repeated until the deck staining job was completed. 
     It should be understood that the foregoing exemplary embodiment description describes in detail only a single specific structure for providing a stain applicator comprising a generally flat pad and a retractable blade that extends and retracts through a slit in the pad to provide a staining device capable of simultaneously staining the tops of flat decking boards and the sides of the same decking boards provided with gaps therebetween. Other, non-limiting examples of structures that would fall within the scope of the invention include, but are not limited a spring loaded blade structure that may be extended and retracted through well-known mechanical means, other similar and non-similar camming mechanisms that would utilize a similar extending/retracting motion as disclosed herein through slightly different cams/followers, etc. Indeed, a person of ordinary skill in the art would be aware of many similar (and different) structural mechanisms which could achieve the required extending/retracting function of the applicator blade frame and applicator blade pad, all of which would fall within the scope of the present invention. 
     Following from the above description and invention summaries, it should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that, while the methods and apparatuses herein described constitute exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the invention contained herein is not limited to this precise embodiment and that changes may be made to such embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the claims and it is not intended that any limitations or elements describing the exemplary embodiments set forth herein are to be incorporated into the interpretation of any claim element unless such limitation or element is explicitly stated. Likewise, it is to be understood that it is not necessary to meet any or all of the identified advantages or objects of the invention disclosed herein in order to fall within the scope of any claims, since the invention is defined by the claims and since inherent and/or unforeseen advantages of the present invention may exist even though they may not have been explicitly discussed herein.