Patent Publication Number: US-2022235561-A1

Title: Concrete Rake

Description:
The current application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of the U.S. design application Ser. No. 29/768,129 filed on Jan. 27, 2021. 
     The current application also claims a priority to a U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/142,332 filed on Jan. 27, 2021. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to construction materials and equipment. More specifically, the present invention is a tool that facilitates the placing, leveling, and tamping of concrete. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Concrete is a building material composed of cementing material and mineral aggregates that harden over time. During concrete work, a concrete placer is used for placing, leveling, and tamping fresh concrete. Most of the concrete placers currently available often have a flat foot connected to a pole that serves as a handle. This common design of concrete placer helps push, pull, and tamp down the aggregates and bring concrete paste to the top surface to provide smooth finishing and to increase the strength and longevity of the concrete structure by preventing the aggregate from being exposed due to natural elements (weather, foot traffic, vehicles, etc.). For example, when tamping wet concrete down, the surplus wet concrete is pushed sideways, which makes the smoothing of the fresh concrete more tedious. 
     Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a uniquely designed concrete rake for placing and leveling concrete in a more efficient manner. The present invention facilitates the placing of freshly poured concrete and helps move the wet concrete to desired areas. Unlike other concrete placers in the industry, the present invention provides means of enabling the concrete paste to move through the present invention. Thus, while tamping the aggregates of the concrete, the present invention allows the concrete paste to move up and float on top of the present invention to facilitate the smooth finishing of the concrete. Additional features and benefits are further discussed in the sections below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a concrete rake that is preferably used in flat concrete work. The concrete rake can be used to place wet concrete that is freshly poured and move the wet concrete to areas needed. To do so, the present invention includes a rake head with multiple orifices that enable the movement of wet concrete through the rake head. While tamping the wet concrete using the present invention, the aggregate is being pushed down as the orifices allow the cement paste of the wet concrete to flow upwards onto the rake head. This enables the concrete installer to easily push, pull, and tamp the wet concrete down. With the present invention, the wet concrete starts to self-level by filling in dips/holes and by bringing the concrete to the proper height and/or pitch. This process leaves a nice finish and assists the next procedure, hand and bull float, to smooth out the concrete, consolidate the aggregates down, and bring up the cement surface paste, which is the goal when installing concrete. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front top right perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a magnified view taken about circle  2  in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a rear bottom left perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a front top right perspective view of the rake head of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a rear bottom left perspective view of the rake head of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the rake head of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a right elevational view of the rake head of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION 
     All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The present invention is a concrete rake head  1  that is used to place wet concrete that is freshly poured and move the wet concrete to areas needed. By utilizing the present invention, the user can spread and level the wet concrete while being poured. Further, the user can spread, level, and bring the cement paste to the top surface using the present invention for a smoother finish. To do so, the present invention preferably comprises a rake head  1  and a rake handle  13 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 through 3 , the rake head  1  is designed to help pull, push, and tamp down wet concrete while enabling concrete paste to flow through the rake head  1  for a smoother finish of the wet concrete. The rake handle  13  helps the user control the movement of the rake head  1  in a comfortable manner while moving the wet concrete. 
     The general arrangement of the aforementioned components enables the user to more efficiently move and pack wet concrete to achieve a smooth finish. As can be seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the rake head  1  is designed to facilitate the pulling, pushing, and tamping of wet concrete. To do so, the rake head  1  comprises a first panel  2 , a center panel  3 , a second panel  4 , a plurality of first orifices  10 , a plurality of second orifices  11 , and a plurality of third orifices  12 . The first panel  2 , the center panel  3 , and the second panel  4  are overall flat strips of metal material that are strong enough to support the load applied to the rake head  1 . The first panel  2 , the center panel  3 , and the second panel  4  are also arranged to form a non-flat structure that enables the pulling, pushing, and tamping of the wet concrete. The plurality of first orifices  10 , the plurality of second orifices  11 , and the plurality of third orifices  12  are orifices large enough to enable the flow of cement paste through the rake head  1 . The plurality of first orifices  10 , the plurality of second orifices  11 , and the plurality of third orifices  12  are preferably circular orifices but other shapes may be utilized as well. Due to the overall flat structures of the individual panels, the first panel  2 , the center panel  3 , and the second panel  4  each comprise a proximal face  5  and a distal face  6  corresponding to opposing flat surfaces of the panels. 
     As can be seen in  FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 , to form the non-flat structure of the rake head  1 , the first panel  2  is laterally connected along the center panel  3 . Similarly, the second panel  4  is laterally connected along the center panel  3 , opposite to the first panel  2 . This arrangement of the panels positions the first panel  2  and the second panel  4  opposite to each other across the center panel  3 , forming an overall elongated and rectangular structure. Further, the plurality of first orifices  10  traverses through the first panel  2  to enable the flow of cement paste through the first panel  2 . The plurality of first orifices  10  is also distributed across the first panel  2  so that the cement paste can flow through most of the first panel  2 . Likewise, the plurality of second orifices  11  traverses through the center panel  3  to enable the flow of cement paste through the center panel  3 . The plurality of second orifices  11  is also distributed across the center panel  3  so that the cement paste can flow through most of the center panel  3 . Similarly, the plurality of third orifices  12  also traverses through the second panel  4  to enable the flow of cement paste through the second panel  4 . The plurality of third orifices  12  is also distributed across the second panel  4  so that the cement paste can flow through most of the second panel  4 . Therefore, the cement paste can flow through the rake head  1  while pulling, pushing, or tamping the wet concrete. Furthermore, to connect the rake head  1  to the rake handle  13 , the rake head  1  is terminally mounted onto the rake handle  13 . Finally, the proximal face  5  of the first panel  2 , the proximal face  5  of the center panel  3 , and the proximal face  5  of second panel  4  are oriented towards the rake handle  13 . On the other hand, the distal face  6  of the first panel  2 , the distal face  6  of the center panel  3 , and the distal face  6  of second panel  4  are oriented away from the rake handle  13 . This arrangement results in an overall L-shaped structure between the rake handle  13  and the rake head  1 . 
     As can be seen in  FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 , to facilitate the pulling and the pushing of the wet concrete, the first panel  2  and the second panel  4  are angled in relationship to the center panel  3  to form the non-flat structure of the rake head  1 . Accordingly, the proximal face  5  of the first panel  2  is oriented at a first obtuse angle  16  with the proximal face  5  of the center panel  3 . Similarly, the proximal face  5  of the second panel  4  is oriented at a second obtuse angle  17  with the proximal face  5  of the center panel  3 . This angled arrangement of the first panel  2  and the second panel  4  with the center panel  3  create a non-flat structure that is resembles a U-shape. This design also enables the user to easily pull wet concrete by using the first panel  2  and the second panel  4  as hooks to collect and move the wet concrete around. Similarly, the angled first panel  2  and second panel  4  enable the user to push wet concrete and at the same time level the wet concrete. In some embodiments, the first obtuse angle  16  and the second obtuse angle  17  can each be different angles to provide a steeper angle and a flatter angle. Alternatively, the first obtuse angle  16  and the second obtuse angle  17  can be equal angles to provide a symmetric rake head  1 . 
     As previously discussed, the rake head  1  is preferably an elongated and overall rectangular structure. Accordingly, the first panel  2 , the center panel  3 , and the second panel  4  each further comprise a panel body  7 . As can be seen in  FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 , the panel body  7  is preferably a flat strip of material, preferably metal material, that is long enough to retain enough concrete material for quick and efficient work. The proximal face  5  and the distal face  6  are positioned opposite to each other about the panel body  7  due to the overall flat structure of the panel body  7 . In addition, a panel length  8  of the panel body  7  is greater than a panel width  9  of the panel body  7 . Due to the first panel  2  and the second panel  4  being laterally connected along the center body, the rake head  1  has an overall rectangular structure. Consequently, the panel length  8  of the first panel  2 , the panel length  8  of the center panel  3 , and the panel length  8  of the second panel  4  are equal to each other. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a panel width  9  of the central panel  3  may be less than a panel width  9  of the first panel  2  and a panel width  9  of the second panel  4 . This forms a basket-like structure that facilitates the collection of the wet concrete. In addition, the panel width  9  of the first panel  2  and the panel width  9  of the second panel  4  may be equal to each other to form a symmetrical structure. In other embodiments, the panel body  7  may have non-rectangular shapes that together form a non-rectangular shape for the rake head  1 . Alternatively, the panel bodies of the different panels may have different sizes to create an asymmetrical shape for the rake head  1  for specific needs of the user. 
     Due to the stress that is experienced by the rake handle  13  adjacent to the rake head  1  when the user is moving wet concrete, the present invention provides additional structural support to that area. To do so, the present invention further comprises a first strut  18  and a second strut  19  to provide lateral support to the rake head  1  and to the rake handle  13 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 through 3 , the first strut  18  and the second strut  19  are preferably elongated rods that are strong enough to support the load on the rake head  1 . Due to the elongated structure of the first strut  18  and the second strut  19 , the first strut  18  and the second strut  19  each comprises a proximal strut end  20  and a distal strut end  21  corresponding to the terminal ends of each strut. The first strut  18  and the second strut  19  are positioned opposite to each other about the rake handle  13  to provide full lateral support. The first strut  18  and the second strut  19  are also angled with the rake handle  13  to create a triangular support structure for the present invention. Further, the distal strut end  21  of the first strut  18  and the distal strut end  21  of the second strut  19  are both connected onto the rake head  1 , offset from the rake handle  13 , to connect the corresponding strut to the rake head  1 . Similarly, the proximal strut end  20  of the first strut  18  and the proximal strut end  20  of the second strut  19  are both laterally connected to the rake handle  13 , offset from the rake head  1 , to secure the corresponding strut to the rake handle  13 . Therefore, the area where the rake handle  13  is connected to the rake head  1  is strengthened and there is less risk of the rake handle  13  breaking apart from the rake head  1 . 
     To help the user have better control on the rake head  1  using the rake handle  13 , the rake handle  13  is connected to the rake head  1  in such a way that the user can fully use all the panels of the rake head  1 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 through 3 , the rake handle  13  is preferably an elongated cylindrical structure that is long enough to prevent the user from crouching excessively, which can harm the user in the long term. Due to the elongated structure of the rake handle  13 , the rake handle  13  comprises a fixed end  14  and a free end  15 . The fixed end  14  is connected onto the proximal face  5  of the first panel  2 , while free end  15  is positioned offset the rake head  1 . This way, the fixed end  14  does not block portions of the center panel  3  or the second panel  4 , leaving enough surface area to grab as much wet concrete as possible. Further, the rake handle  13  is positioned normal to the central panel to create an overall L-shaped structure, which facilitates the handling of the wet concrete. In other embodiments, the fixed end  14  may be connected to other panels, or the rake handle  13  may be oriented at an angle with the center panel  3 . 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.