Patent Publication Number: US-6219878-B1

Title: Caulk bead tool

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/051,215, filed Apr. 2, 1998, now abandoned which is a 371 of PCT/CA96/00657 filed Oct. 1, 1996. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to tools utilize for contouring and finishing beads of caulk, grout, putty and other fluent materials (hereinafter referred to only as “caulk”). More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for compressing and contouring beads of fluent Material freshly applied to joints, and for the simultaneous removal of excess fluent material from the sides of the joints. 
     Many tools are available in the prior art for contouring and finishing beads of caulk applied to intersecting planar surfaces. Some such tools teach a one-step application and contouring of a bead of fluent material within a joint, other tools are used after the initial bead of caulk has been applied to finish the bead uniformly. A few such tools disclosed purport to be able to avoid excess distribution of fluent materials in the first instance but most are devoid of any teaching or recognition of potential clean up problems along the sides of an applied and contoured bed. Some other tools available in the prior art teach an additional clean-up step to the process of producing a finished uniform bead of caulking between intersecting planar surfaces devoid of excess caulking material. However, to the extent that they may not always satisfactorily perform in the manner suggested, the tools disclosed are inadequate to remove such excess material. 
     Many of the tools in the prior art are constructed in a complex manner especially where the initial application of a uniform caulk bead is the preferred method of operation. This complexity reduces the potential use of such tools under most job conditions encountered by this inventor. 
     Moreover even those such tools which are of simple construction and operation compete under job conditions with more readily available traditional methods of caulking finishing tools such as a moistened finger or palette knife, which though messy and imprecise continue to be the foremost methods of finishing caulk beads. Such work practices hold the benefit to the employer of resilience and flexibility, although a few tools available in the prior art also teach resilience and flexibility of construction, none can offer flexibility of use required to achieve uniform beads of caulk in many instances especially where the adjacent surfaces are not perpendicular or include non-conformities such as joints, cracks or surface texture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The resilient and flexible hand held tool of the present invention provides a handle with a fixed head holding working edges for uniformly compressing and contouring an applied bead of caulk and the simultaneous removal of excess material from the contoured bead and adjacent surfaces. 
     In a preferred form the tool comprises an elongated handle and isosceles acute triangular shaped head portion firmly holding the working edges. In this preferred embodiment the said handle and head portions are constructed in one piece from a resilient plastic material with the head portion located symmetrically at one end of the said handle and at an angle extending way from the central axis of the handle, the acute angle thereby directed axially away from the handle. The working edges are two edges of a six-sided arrow-shaped single flat sheet of durable elastomer or gasket rubber-like material which join at an acute angle. This said shaped sheet is held by and extends slightly beyond, the triangular head at the axial extremity of the handle, the said acute angled end is rounded and is so disposed to form a bead of caulk into a desired curvature and the two edges of the working surfaces extending symmetrically from the rounded end are disposed to wipe clean any excess caulk from the surfaces adjoining the caulk joint towards the axis of the tool during a pass of the tool over a previously applied bead of caulk In this preferred embodiment the excess material so gathered is collected in a cavity running longitudinally within the head and into the handle portions of the tool. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the tool of the present invention, shown applied against a bead of previously applied caulk to form the caulk into a finished concave bead joint. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the tool of FIG. 1 
     FIG. 3 is a top face view of the same tool 
     FIG. 4 is an under face view of the same tool 
     FIG. 5 is an end view of the same tool 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1 a preferred embodiment of a caulk bead tool of the present invention  30  is shown physically supported against two intersecting elements  10  and  12  which form a joint  15  to which rough bead of caulk  17  has been freshly dispensed. The rounded end  14  of the working edges  13  is in contact with the rough bead and is pulled along the bead to compress the caulk into the joint and to form a finished smooth concave bead of caulk and to wipe clean excess material from the adjacent surfaces of the two intersecting elements. 
     The elongated body of the tool is a handle  16  which in the preferred form is approximately 100 mm. long and 20 mm. wide and varies between 10 mm. and 15 mm. high. At the said thicker end the handle widens in a planar fan shape  19  to form a structurally confluent junction  20  with the isosceles acute triangular head portion  11 . The head  11  extends axially approximately 35 mm. beyond the end of the handle and narrows from 45 mm. wide at the confluence to a point  23  directed axially away from the handle. This head is substantially a flat element approximately 4 mm. thick which is reduced to 2 mm. along the outer edges of the triangular head where a rebate of approximately 6 mm. width is formed to support the working edges. In the preferred embodiment the body and head portion are molded from resilient plastic material. The shaping at the junction between the handle and the head  11  in this embodiment also facilitates collection of excess caulk from the working edges and ease of holding and in the hand. The working edges are substantially a symmetrical six-sided arrow-like shaped piece die-cut from a single sheet of elastomeric or gasket rubber-like material approximately 2 mm. thick. The outer edges of the said arrow-like shape are approximately 40 mm. in length (see FIG. 4) and extend beyond the head by approximately 2 mm. the said edges form an acute angle at the axial extent of the tool remote from the handle and this angle is rounded to achieve the desired finished form of a concave bead of caulk (see FIG.  3 ). The said working edges are rigidly held within the said rebate through the use of glue, snap moldings or other similar practice known to ensure firmness of location in the prior art connections and plastics molding techniques, the rebate  18  is stopped at the short edges of the said arrow-like shape, head is rigidly held to the glued or otherwise fixed into. 
     Now referring to FIG. 2 where the shaping of the tool in this preferred embodiment is shown in side view. The axial extremity  22  of the handle remote from the head is angled acutely to the base plane of the underside face  24  of the tool. This end forms an obtuse angle with the main longitudinal upper face of the tool which itself slopes towards a structurally stronger thickening at the confluence  20  of the handle and head. The head portion  11  slopes away from the said confluence towards the plane of the said underside face. The solid structure of the head is rebated to retain the thin working edges and through the angling of the said head obtusely from the said handle these edges are directed at a greater angle than the handle to the caulk bead joint this having been found by the present inventor to be an optimum solution for comfort of the operator and the creation of an ideal formed bead. In this preferred form the head ends perpendicularly at the previously noted plane of the underside  24  of the tool. The working edges extend approximately 2 mm. beyond the supporting head such that under a slight pressure the working edges will flex and compress into deviations in the planes of the intersecting elements adjacent to the caulk joint and will simultaneously wipe dean the said faces. 
     The sides of the tool are shaped at the junction  20  to form triangular cheeks  19  to the head portion. The reduction of the sides towards the end of haunching to the rebate  18  which holds the working edges facilitates the rigidity of the head and allows the operator to maneuver the tool to a very acute angle with the caulk bead and thus to achieve smooth finished caulk beads in joints between elements of other than mutually perpendicular and planar disposition. The said cheeks to the head which are contiguous with the sides of the handle also create a funneling collection area for excess material derived during an operation to compress and smooth a rough caulk bead. The said excess is then directed into a cavity which is substantially the underside of the tool extending from the head longitudinally along the handle. This cavity is terminated in the presently preferred embodiment in a smoothly curved end within the axial extremity of the handle remote from the head for ease of cleaning. 
     Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown the top face view of the same tool  30  of the presently preferred embodiment. In this view the axial symmetry of the tool is shown with the elongated handle  16  describing a rectangular form up to the said fan shaped confluence  20  with the said acute isosceles triangular head  11 . The acute angle  23  of the said head is located axially at the extremity of the tool remote from the said handle and the rounded acute angle  14  of the said working edges extends shortly beyond. The said working edges extend beyond the said head along both sides of the said head at the anal extreme of the tool and is seated firmly and glued or otherwise fixed in the said rebate formed in the face of the said head continuous with the said longitudinal cavity and which is stopped at the extremity short edges of the said working edges (see in FIG.  4 ). The tool thus resists excessive flexing of the working edges when put under pressure during an operation to smooth a bead of caulk maintaining the preferred action of evenly compressing, smoothing and cleaning of the rough bead. 
     FIG. 4 shows the extent and shape of the elongated cavity  21  extending substantially the length of the tool towards the axial end of the said handle remote from the said head ending in a smooth and rounded concavity  27  for ease of cleaning. The said side cheeks  19  to the confluence of the said handle and said head  11  are shown forming a funnel shape which corresponds to and is a continuation of; the sides to the said handle into the fanning incorporated at the said confluence  20 . As noted above the said cheeks introduce additional structural stability and direct excess caulk material extracted during an operation upon a bead of caulk towards the said collection cavity away from the site of the caulk joint. The base of the said cavity is substantially flat and contours closely the upper face contours of the body of the tool of the presently preferred embodiment (see FIG.  2 ). The said rebate  18  in the said head is formed to house the working edges six-sided sheet  28  accurately to ensure that the substantially flat base of the said collection cavity is substantially level with the face of the said sheet and the sheet is supported substantially along its opposite, hidden face and substantially along four edges. 
     FIG. 5 is an end view of the tool of the presently preferred embodiment showing the said planar and angled head  11  and the said confluence of the said head with the said handle with the said supported working edges  13  continuous to the haunching to the rebate  18  extending beyond the said head to the extremity of the tool. 
     Although only one presently preferred embodiment is shown and described herein, numerous additional embodiments are envisioned to fall within the scope and spirit of this invention and the following claims.