Patent Publication Number: US-2009229065-A1

Title: Mud retriever

Description:
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/075,675 which was filed on Mar. 13, 2008 and from which priority is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     GENERAL BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a mud retriever and more particularly to a mud retriever which may easily and efficiently be used to selectively retrieve mud or drywall joint compound material from a can or other receptacle and then allow the retrieved material/mud to be easily applied to a certain desired surface or placed into an application assembly (e.g., a trough type assembly) after which it may be applied to a desired surface. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     Mud retrievers are used to selectively retrieve mud or drywall joint compound from a typically and generally round can or other receptacle and then to deposit the retrieved mud in an applicator assembly, such as one which includes a trough or other receptacle. From the trough or other receptacle, various types of applicators are used to apply the mud/material to various surfaces or desired locations. 
     While these prior retrievers do allow the mud or drywall joint compound to be selectively retrieved and then eventually applied upon a surface, they are difficult and awkward to use and such deficiencies cause mud to be unintentionally splattered or distributed over a relatively wide area, thereby necessitating an undesirable and time consuming “clean up” effort. Moreover, these prior mud retrievers do not effectively and efficiently retrieve all or most of the material contents from a cylinder shaped or generally round container, such as a one gallon or five gallon container. 
     This deficiency is oftentimes due to the inability of these prior retrievers to readily and structurally conform to the round internal surface of the container and consequently material is often left on the surface when the container is disposed of. The “unretrieved” material is often thrown away as waste. As earlier indicated, one non-limiting attribute of these prior retrievers which makes them difficult to use is that their blade or material reception portions are typically formed in the shape of a square or rectangle, while the containers are generally round. This “nonconformity” or “shape dissimilarity” makes it difficult to retrieve the material from the container and makes it difficult to then deposit the retrieval material to or upon an applicator assembly. Moreover, this “unconformity” often causes the material to be undesirably “splattered” or deposited in the surrounding environment as the surface of the relatively square blade forcibly meets the rounded internal surface and an attempt is made to “scoop” the surface material on the blade. The flexible blade typically moves or flexes against the round surface and such forced movement causes the material to forcibly emanate from the container and into the surrounding environment. 
     Thus, these prior retrievers further do not allow the retrieved mud to be efficiently retrieved for placement within a mud application assembly and/or for placement upon a desired drywall surface, thereby increasing waste and overall cost. These prior retrievers also cause the material which is being retrieved to oftentimes splatter or become deposited in the ambient environment, thereby making for an overall aesthetically displeasing appearance. 
     There is therefore a need for a new and improved drywall joint compound or mud retriever and the present invention provides such a new and improved retriever. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a first non-limiting object of the present invention to provide a mud or drywall joint compound retriever which overcomes the various previously delineated deficiencies of prior mud or drywall joint compound retrievers. 
     It is a second non-limiting object of the present invention to provide a new and improved mud or drywall joint compound retriever which allows drywall joint compound to be easily and efficiently retrieved from a container and then to be selectively and accurately placed within a mud application assembly and/or upon a desired surface or location. 
     According to a first non-limiting aspect of the present invention, a mud retriever is provided and includes a handle portion; and a blade portion having a straight edge which integrally terminates into a second semi-elliptical shaped edge and wherein the blade portion further includes a third acute shaped edge. 
     According to a second non-limiting aspect of the present invention, a mud retriever is provided and includes a handle portion having a longitudinal axis of symmetry; and a blade portion which integrally terminates into the handle portion and wherein the blade portion is unsymmetrical about the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the handle portion and wherein the blade portion is also unsymmetrical about any axis which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of symmetry. 
     According to a third non-limiting aspect of the present invention, a mud retriever is provided and includes a handle portion having a longitudinal axis of symmetry and wherein the handle portion includes a generally round bottom portion and a pair of opposed and substantially identical flared side portions; and a blade portion which integrally terminates into the handle portion wherein a first of the pair of opposed and substantially identical flared side portions terminates into a first edge of the blade portion which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of symmetry and wherein a second of the pair of opposed and substantially identical flared end portions terminates into a second edge of the blade portion which protrudes away from the longitudinal axis of symmetry and wherein the first and second edges terminate into a third semi-elliptical edge portion. 
     According to a fourth non-limiting aspect of to the present invention, a mud retriever is provided and includes a handle portion; and a blade portion which terminates into the handle portion and which includes an arcuate edge; and four separate straight edges which each have a respectively unique length. 
     These and other aspects, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, including the subjoined claims, and by reference to the following drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a retriever which is made in accordance with the teachings of the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a container of drywall joint compound being selectively opened with the retriever which is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of drywall joint compound being selectively retrieved from the container which is shown in  FIG. 2  by the use of the retriever which is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the retriever which is shown in  FIG. 1  being used to apply mud or drywall joint compound upon a desired or selected surface or location according to the teachings of a non-limiting aspect of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a top frontal view of a retriever which is made in accordance with the teachings of an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a top back view of the retriever which is shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the retriever shown in  FIG. 5  taken in the direction of arrow  7 . 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the retriever shown in  FIG. 5  taken in the direction of arrow  8 . 
         FIG. 9  is a view taken in the direction of arrow  9 . 
         FIG. 10  is a view taken in the direction of arrow  10 . 
         FIG. 11  is a right perspective view of the retriever shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 12  is a back perspective view of the retriever shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a mud retriever  10  which is made in accordance with the teachings of the preferred embodiment of the invention. It should be appreciated that the term “mud”, throughout this application, means drywall joint compound or some other type of substance which may be selectively retrieved from a container and applied in a desired manner. Thus, the present inventions are not limited to use with such drywall mud or any other specific type of material. Thus, retriever  10  may be used with substantially any type of material. 
     As shown, the mud retriever  10  includes a generally elongated handle portion  12  having a generally round or bulbous shaped bottom portion  14  and a blade portion  16  which integrally terminates into the handle portion  12  (e.g., the term “integrally terminates” means that the applicator  10  is, in the most preferred embodiment, formed as a “one piece” item). 
     Further, as shown, the handle portion  12  includes a pair of opposed and substantially identical flared side portions  18 ,  20  and the side portion  18  integrally terminates into a straight edge portion  22 . That is, the handle portion  12  includes a longitudinal axis of symmetry  24  and the straight edge portion  22  is parallel to the longitudinal axis of symmetry  24 . The second edge portion  20  integrally terminates into edge portion  30  which protrudes away from the longitudinal axis of symmetry  24  and the edge portions  22 ,  30  each integrally terminate into the semi-elliptically shaped edge  32 . Arcuate edge  30 , in one non-limiting embodiment, has a varying radius of curvature (i.e., in one non-limiting embodiment, the distance from point  29  to each point on the surface of edge  30  is not constant). 
     As is evident from  FIG. 1 , the blade portion  16  is unsymmetrical about any longitudinal axis (i.e., about any axis which is parallel to axis  24 ) and blade portion  16  is unsymmetrical about axis  24  and blade portion  16  is unsymmetrical about any axis which is perpendicular to the axis  24 , such as axis  7 . This “unsymmetrical attribute” is important because it allows for different shaped blade edges  32 ,  30 ,  22 , each of which, as will be seen, may have a respectively unique function. 
     In one non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the blade portion  16  is generally flat and is coplanar with the portions  12 ,  14 . However, in another non-limiting embodiment of the invention, as shown best in  FIG. 1 , the handle portion  12  forms an acute angle  40  with the blade portion  16  (i.e., the handle portion  12  is positioned away from the blade portion  16 ) such that portion  12  and  16  are not coplanar. 
     In one-non limiting embodiment of the invention, the width  50  varies from about four inches to about six inches, the length  54  of edge  22  varies from about two inches to about three and one quarter inches, the distance  56  varies from about three quarters of an inch to about one inch, and the distance  60  varies from about six inches to about eight inches. Distance  56  is one non-limiting embodiment, is defined as the linear distance between point  2  (the apex of portion  14 ) and the point  3  which is where the edge  18  first becomes straight as the edge  18  proceeds from point  2  to point  3 . The entire retriever  10  may be constructed of plastic, metal, wood, or some sort of composite material or some desired combination of materials. However, nothing in this application limits the retriever  10  to a certain size or construction. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a fairly conventional or typical and generally cylindrically shaped container  70  of mud or drywall joint compound (not shown in this  FIG. 2 ). The container  70  includes a selectively removable top  72  which is selectively, frictionally, and removably attached to and which overlays the lip  74  of the container  70  (e.g., container  70  may comprise a paint type can). To selectively remove the top  72 , a user of the retriever  10  causes the straight edge  22  to selectively engage one or more portions of the top  72  which is, at that time, removably attached to the lip  74  and forces the retriever  10  to move in the direction of arrow  80 , thereby causing the top  72  to be dislodged from the container  70  and allowing access to the mud  90  which is resident within the generally round internal cavity  88  of the container  70 , as is perhaps best shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Once the top  72  is removed, the retriever  10  is selectively placed within the generally round cavity  88  and the semi-elliptical edge portion  32 , which readily conforms to the curved lip  72  and curved interior surface  93  of the cavity  88  is readily used to relatively easily retrieve some of the contained mud  90  (e.g., including that portion of the mud  90  which “clings to” or is resident upon the curved internal surface  93 ). There is no need to “Flex” or force the edge  32  against the surface  93  to obtain/retrieve the mud  90 . The curved wide blade portion  16  allows the retrieved portion of the mud  90  to be easily removed from the container  70  (e.g., from the curved interior surface  93 ), without a substantial probability of undesired splattering, and then deposited within a trough or some other applicator assembly, or even directly applied to a surface or location  100 , which may be a sheet rock or drywall surface (see, for example  FIG. 4 ). One non-limiting example of such an application assembly is the combination of a trough supplied by WALBOARD TOOLS located at 1697 Seabright Ave., Long Beach, Calif. and referred to as “CAT NO pp-14, Com. No. 027-004” and a drywall application tool which may be purchased from Belmore Tools (www.BelmoreTools.com) (e.g., the flat applicator hand tool). 
     As shown best in  FIG. 4 , the edges  22 ,  32  may each be used to selectively “smear” the applied material (i.e., previous retrieved portion of mud  90 ) upon the surface  100  in an efficient and accurate manner. When it is desired to closed the container  70 , the top  72  is placed upon the lip  74  and the end  14  may be used to selectively strike the top  72 , thereby forcing the top  72  to frictionally engage the lip  74  and close the cavity  88 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5-12 , there is shown a mud retriever  120  which is made in accordance with the teachings of an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
     Particularly, the mud retriever  120  includes a handle portion  122  which integrally terminates into a blade portion  124 . The handle portion  122  may be of substantially any desired shape and includes an opening  123  which is designed to allow the handle  122  to receive a hook or other fastener in order to allow the retriever  120  to hang on a wall or other storage location Alternatively, the blade portion  124  and the handle portion  122  may be separately found and operatively coupled after they are separately found (or concurrently although separately formed) and then operatively coupled after they are separately formed. 
     The blade portion  124 , which is used, in part, to selectively retrieve drywall type mud or other materials, forms an acute angle  130  with the handle  124  and includes a first straight edge portion  134  which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of symmetry  140  of the handle  122 , second and third straight edges  146 ,  148 , which are co-linear and orthogonal to the axis  140 , and a fourth straight edge  150  which is parallel to the straight edges  146 , 148 . Edge  148  is longer than edge  146 . Further, blade portion  120  includes an accurate edge  180  which integrally terminates into and lies operatively between edges  124 ,  146 . The accurate edge  180  is not semi-elliptical but rather has a substantially constant slope of between two and five degrees. Each edge  150 ,  134 ,  146 ,  148 , in one non-limiting embodiment, has a respective and unique length and edge  150  may also be used to “smear” mud upon a surface. 
     If the handle portion  140  is separately held in the right hand by a user, than the edge  134  is closest to the left hand of the user and the foregoing blade configuration  124  allows mud (or other material) to be easily removed from a container by the use of edge  180 , which the edge  180 ,  134  may be used to securely place the top on the container and/or to apply the retrieved material in a desired manner. Users who are naturally “left handed” may use the bottom of the “backside” of the tool as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     In the most preferred configuration of this alternate embodiment of the invention, the blade portion  124  operatively and fixedly resides within a slot  170  formed within the handle portion  122 . Edges  146 ,  148  are orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of symmetry  140 . The non-uniform lengthed edges  134 ,  146 ,  148  may each be used to “smear” or selectively apply mud (or other material) upon surfaces of varying length. That is, an edge  134 ,  146 ,  148  having a respective length just shorter than the length of the surface to which mud or other material is to be applied is chosen for use. The non-elliptically shaped edge  180  may, in some applications, be better than an elliptically shaped edge at selectively and securely obtaining material from a container. 
     It is to be understood that the inventions are not limited to the exact embodiments which have been described above but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the inventions as delineated within the subjoined claims. Further, it should be appreciated that applicator  10  may be used with virtually any material, not just drywall compound