Patent Publication Number: US-7716893-B1

Title: Wall resurfacing kit and associated method

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/928,444, filed May 10, 2007, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference: 

   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not Applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field 
   This invention relates to wall resurfacing kits and, more particularly, to a wall resurfacing kit for allowing users to quickly and easily resurface wallpapered walls. 
   2. Prior Art 
   Wallpaper is a well known covering that can selectively be applied to entire wall surfaces or to only select portions thereof. Sometimes, however, a person may no longer like the color or pattern displayed on the wall paper and may wish to change it. Also, in the even that a home is sold the new owners may not have the same affinity for the current wallpaper as the previous residents did. The conventional method of removing wall paper is rather time consuming, requiring a lot of patience and effort. At times the wallpaper can not be completely removed in certain areas, thus complicating the application of new wallpaper, or painting over the desired surface. 
   Accordingly, a need remains for a wall resurfacing kit in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for allowing users to quickly and easily resurface wallpapered walls. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are provided by a wall resurfacing kit. 
   A wall resurfacing kit for allowing users to quickly and easily resurface a damaged wallpapered surface includes a plurality of rectangular mesh screen sheets. The plurality of mesh screen sheets are made of fiberglass and are directly attachable to the wallpapered surface. 
   The wall resurfacing kit further includes a reinforcing member. The reinforcing member is applied directly onto the mesh screen sheets such that the reinforcing member penetrates through the mesh screen sheets. The reinforcing member directly couples the plurality of mesh screen sheets to the wallpapered surface. The wall resurfacing kit further includes a set of instructions indicating a decoration mode. The decoration mode is used to decorate the wallpapered surface. 
   The plurality of mesh screen sheets overlap each other and each mesh screen sheet of the plurality of mesh screen sheets measures approximately eight feet to twelve feet in length, approximately four feet in width and approximately less than one sixteenths of an inch in thickness. 
   The reinforcing member directly couples the plurality of mesh screen sheets to the wallpapered surface in such a manner that the plurality of mesh screen sheets are intercalated between the reinforcing member and the wallpapered surface. 
   In one embodiment, the reinforcing member is a spackling mixture selected from a group of materials including an element a compound, a powder and any combination thereof. The spackling mixture is applied in one form selected from a group comprising a solid, a liquid and a paste. The reinforcing member is applied over the plurality of mesh screen sheets. 
   The decoration mode of the set of instructions includes a wallpaper design, a paint color and a paint applicator. 
   In use, a method for using a wall resurfacing kit to quickly and easily resurface a damaged wallpapered surface without having to remove damaged wallpaper from the wallpapered surface includes identifying the damaged wallpapered surface; providing a plurality of fiberglass and rectangular shaped mesh screen sheets over the damaged wallpapered surface; providing a reinforcing member; coupling the plurality of mesh screen sheets directly to the damaged wallpapered surface by directly applying the reinforcing member to the mesh screen sheets such that the reinforcing member penetrates through the mesh screen sheets; providing a set of instructions indicating a decoration mode for decorating the wallpapered surface; and decorating the wallpapered surface based upon a selected one of the decoration mode. 
   There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
   It is noted the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a front view showing a damaged wallpaper surface, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front view showing an application of a mesh screen sheet to the damaged wallpaper surface, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a front view showing an application of a reinforcing member, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a front view showing a resurfaced wallpaper surface, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a front view showing an application of a plurality of mesh screen sheets to the damaged wallpaper surface, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 6  is a flow diagram illustrating a set of instructions to resurface a damaged wallpaper surface, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTIVE KEY 
   
       
         10  Wall resurfacing kit 
         15  damaged wallpaper surface  35  decoration mode 
         20  mesh screen sheets  40 - 70  instructions 
         25  reinforcing member  80  resurfaced wall 
         30  set of instructions 
     
  
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, this embodiment is provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the figures. 
   The apparatus of this invention is referred to generally in  FIGS. 1-5  by the reference numeral  10  and is intended to provide a wall resurfacing kit  10 . It should be understood that the wall resurfacing kit  10  may be used to cover many different types of wall finishes and should not be limited in use to only covering wallpaper covered walls. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 , a wall resurfacing kit  10  for allowing users to quickly and easily resurface a damaged wallpapered surface  15  includes a plurality of rectangular mesh screen sheets  20 . The plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  are made of fiberglass and are directly attachable to the wallpapered surface  15 . 
   The wall resurfacing kit  10  further includes a reinforcing member  25 . The reinforcing member  25  is applied directly onto the mesh screen sheets  20  such that the reinforcing member  25  penetrates through the mesh screen sheets  20 . The reinforcing member  25  directly couples the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  to the wallpapered surface  15 . The wall resurfacing kit  10  further includes a set of instructions  30  indicating a decoration mode  35 . The decoration mode  35  is used to decorate the wallpapered surface  15 . 
   The plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  overlap each other and each mesh screen sheet  20  of the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  measures approximately eight feet to twelve feet in length, approximately four feet in width and approximately less than one sixteenths of an inch in thickness. 
   The reinforcing member  25  directly couples the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  to the wallpapered surface  15  in such a manner that the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  are intercalated between the reinforcing member  25  and the wallpapered surface  15 . 
   In one embodiment, the reinforcing member  25  is a spackling mixture selected from a group of materials including an element a compound, a powder and any combination thereof. The spackling mixture is applied in one form selected from a group comprising a solid, a liquid and a paste. The reinforcing member  25  is applied over the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20 . 
   The decoration mode  35  of the set of instructions  30  includes a wallpaper design, a paint color and a paint applicator. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 6 , the set of instructions  30  include a plurality of steps. At step  40 , the damaged wallpaper surface  15  is identified. At step  45 , the plurality of fiberglass and rectangular shaped mesh screen sheets  20  are taken. At step  50 , the reinforcing member  25  is taken. At step  55 , the reinforcing member  50  is directly applied to couple the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  to the damaged wallpaper surface  15 . At step  60 , the damaged wallpaper surface  15  is resurfaced using the wall resurfacing kit  10 . At step  65 , a resurfaced wall  80  is decorated with the decoration mode  35 . In one embodiment, the decoration mode  35  is a wallpaper, a paint, a paint applicator and the like. 
   The present invention, as claimed, provides the unexpected and unpredictable benefits by providing a wall resurfacing kit that is convenient and easy to use, is versatile in its applications, and eliminates the need to spend hours peeling away old wallpaper, allowing users to simply cover it up in a neat and easy way. Since it is extremely easy to use, the present invention can be used by decorators of any skill level. While this wall resurfacing kit is conceived with do-it-yourselfers in mind, professional interior decorators as well as contractors certainly find the present invention to be a valuable tool for assisting them in serving their clients. The wall resurfacing kit allows users to easily and creatively add style and charm to any room, without the hassles commonly associated with the wallpaper removal. 
   In use, a method for using a wall resurfacing kit  10  to quickly and easily resurface a damaged wallpapered surface  15  without having to remove damaged wallpaper from the wallpapered surface  15  includes identifying the damaged wallpapered surface  15 ; providing a plurality of fiberglass and rectangular shaped mesh screen sheets  20  over the damaged wallpapered surface  15 ; providing a reinforcing member  25 ; coupling the plurality of mesh screen sheets  20  directly to the damaged wallpapered surface  15  by directly applying the reinforcing member  25  to the mesh screen sheets  20  such that the reinforcing member  25  penetrates through the mesh screen sheets  20 ; providing a set of instructions  30  indicating a decoration mode  35  for decorating the wallpapered surface  15 ; and decorating the wallpapered surface  15  based upon a selected one of the decoration mode  35 . 
   The combination of such claimed elements provides an unpredictable and unexpected result which is not rendered obvious by one skilled in the art. It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope. 
   While the invention has been described with respect to a certain specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
   In particular, with respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the present invention may include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation. The assembly and use of the present invention are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art.