Abstract:
A deck tool has a blade edge with unsharpened bumps and an end projection. The blade fits into a gap between planks, where the unsharpened bumps permit sawing of soft gap-clogging material but do not damage structural members. The projection can hook material so that the material may be pulled from the gap or can scrape material from the top of a supporting structure. A handle of the tool may be directly held in hand and may include a feature for attachment of an extension that permits a user to stand upright while using the tool on a plank floor.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Decks and other structures having plank floors often have gaps between the planks. The gaps allow for expansion and contraction of the planks and permit drainage of moisture, which might collect on top of the deck from precipitation or other sources. Dirt and other materials commonly get into and obstruct or clog the gaps between the planks. The clogging material may impede drainage and is particularly a problem over joists or other substructure adjacent to the gaps. Clogging material in a gap over a wood joist may particularly keep the joist wet, which may hasten rotting or other damage. Removing the clogging material may thus extend the useful life of a deck or other structure having a plank floor. The gap-clogging material between planks may also need to be removed before painting, staining, or otherwise treating the planks. 
         [0002]    A power washer may be used to direct a high pressure stream of water through the gaps between planks to push the clogging material out of the gaps. Power washers may, however, be unable to remove hard material such as rocks, nails, screws, or pinecone scales that may be tightly wedged in the gap between planks. Power washers may also be less effective where gaps are directly over joists or other structures that block the clogging material from being pushed out of the gaps. Even where power washers are effective at removing material, applying a blast from a high-pressure washer when the nozzle is close enough to remove the clogging material may damage adjacent planks and leave scars or marks that impair appearance of the structure. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a deck tool includes a blade that is patterned to create a series of unsharpened bumps and an end projection or scraper to hook or scrape material out of a gap between planks. The blade extends from a handle and is thin enough for inserting into a gap between planks of a deck and wide enough to provide sufficient strength to push or pull clogging material out from between the planks. The edge pattern of bumps permits sawing or abrading of soft gap-clogging material, but the bumps may be rounded or blunt so that the sawing or abrading action does not easily damage wood or other structural material. The end projection, which may be implemented as a notch in the blade, may be shaped to hook or catch gap-clogging material so that the clogging material may be removed, e.g., pulled up, from the gap. The end projection may also work as a scraper for scraping or dragging material from the top of a top surface of a joist. The handle may be shaped to be directly held for close manual use and may further include a feature such as treading capable of engaging an extension handle, to permit a user to stand upright while using the tool to clean the gaps between planks. 
         [0004]    One specific implementation disclosed herein is a deck cleaning tool. The tool includes a handle, a blade, and a projection hook or scraper. The blade extends from the handle and patterned to include unsharpened bumps along at least one edge of the blade. The projection is at an end of the blade and may be shaped to hook material caught in a gap between planks. 
         [0005]    Another specific implementation disclosed herein is a method for removing material from a gap between planks. The method includes: inserting a blade of a tool into the gap; moving the tool up and down while in the gap so that a patterned edge of the blade pulls and pushes material out of the gap; and dragging a projection at an end of the blade along the gap and across a top of a supporting structure under the planks. Dragging the projection can scrape material from the top of the supporting structure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  shows a deck tool in accordance with an implementation having edges with a rounded pattern. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a deck tool in accordance with an implementation having edges with a shallow zigzag pattern. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  shows a deck tool in accordance with an implementation having edges with a shallow plateau pattern. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C  illustrate uses of a deck tool between planks of a deck. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  shows an end view of the handle of a deck tool in accordance with an implementation including a feature for attaching a handle extension. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  shows a user with an upright posture using a deck tool with an extended handle. 
       
    
    
       [0012]    The drawings illustrate examples for the purpose of explanation and are not of the invention itself. Use of the same reference symbols in different figures indicates similar or identical items. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    A hand tool may be used to clean material from gaps between planking.  FIG. 1  shows a side view of a deck tool  100  having a blade portion  110  and a handle portion  120 . Blade and handle portions  110  and  120  may primarily consist of a single core of sheet metal or other material thin enough to fit in a gap between planks, e.g., less than about ¼ inch thick, and of sufficient strength to withstand the mechanical operations described further below. For many applications, the overall length of tool  100  and the core of tool  100  may be between about 10 and 40 inches with blade portion  110  being about 6 to 24 inches long and handle portion  120  being about 4 to 12 inches long. In one specific implementation, the core may be steel or galvanized steel about 1/16 inch thick and between about 1 and 4 inches wide. For example, the core of tool  100  may be made of a tempered or tool grade steel such as employed in handsaws so that blade portion  110  may flex without causing a permanent deformation of tool  100 . 
         [0014]    Blade portion  110  of tool  100  may have one or both edges patterned to create a series of unsharpened bumps, which may be used for a back-and-forth or up-and-down action as described further below. A unsharpened bumps may be created, as shown in  FIG. 1 , by having a pattern of rounded peaks and valleys with edges that are blunt or dull. Further, edge  112  may be without any set, i.e., without bending the bumps sideways away from the plane of the major surface of blade  110 . In one specific implementation, each bump on edge  112  may be about 1 to 2 inches long, and the depth from peak to valley may be about ¼ to ½ inch. Many other edge patterns could be employed in other implementations to provide dull or unsharpened bumps.  FIG. 1  shows blade portion  110  with both edges having the same pattern. Alternatively, the two edges of blade portion  110  may have different patterns, e.g., a smaller or more abrasive pattern on one side. 
         [0015]    One or both edges of the blade portion  110  may include a projection  116  that is near an end of blade portion  110 . Projection  116  may be formed in blade portion  110  by cutting a notch  114  that is a deeper or more aggressive than pattern  112  so that projection  116  can better hook or catch material. In the implementation of  FIG. 1 , blade portion  110  has only one projection  116 , and a saw-tooth notch  114  creates a projection  116  that extends sideward no further than the peaks in pattern  112 . Projection  116  may still be able to hook and drag material that is in a gap between planks. Alternatively, pattern  112  may not include a notch, and instead, projection  116  may extend laterally from blade  110  further than the remainder of pattern  112 . 
         [0016]    Projection  116  may further include a scraping feature  118 , e.g., a tip that may be wider than the thickness of blade portion  110 . For example, scraping feature  118  may include a carbide tip or a metal crosspiece that is attached at the end of projection  116 . Scraping feature  116  may be blunt but provide a width suitable for scraping or dragging material that may be caught in the gap between planks or on a surface of a joist or other support structure underlying the planks. Alternatively, no scraping feature is added, and the shape and thickness of projection  116  allows for scraping as described herein. 
         [0017]    Handle portion  120  may include a covering  122  over a portion of the core of tool  100 . Covering  122  may be made, for example, using rubber, tape, plastic, metal, or any material that can that provides a suitable length, thickness, and texture for gripping with one or two hands. In some implementations, the pattern on the edge or edges of blade portion  110  continues to the edge or edges of handle portion  120  and provide a contour for gripping by hand. Handle portion  120  may additionally include an extension attachment feature  124  that facilitates connecting an extension handle to the handle  122  of tool  100 . For example, attachment feature  124  may be threaded to receive a threaded broom handle or an extension handle of a type commonly used for painting. 
         [0018]      FIG. 2  shows an implementation of a deck tool  200  that includes a blade portion  210  having an edge pattern  212  created with straight line cuts forming a shallow and unsharpened zigzag pattern. For example, edge pattern  212  may have peaks and valleys with angles greater than 120° so that a back-and-forth or sawing movement of edge pattern  212  may abrade or cut into dirt or debris trapped in a gap between planks, but pattern  212  will not significantly cut into wood or other deck material. Cuts to form pattern  212  (and the resulting edges) may be at 90° to the surface of blade portion  210  so that no sharp edges are created. Tool  200  also includes a notches  214  that create two projection  216  on opposite edges of blade portion  210 . In tool  200 , projections  216  rely on the shape and the thickness of the core material to hook, catch, or scrape debris. Neither projection  216  uses an added tip, but the tip may be shaped or may be at a non-zero angle with the length of blade  210  to better scrape or hook material in a gap between planks. A handle portion  120  of tool  200  may be the same as handle portion  120  of tool  100 , which is described above. 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  shows an implementation of a deck tool  300  that includes a blade portion  310  having an edge pattern  312  created with straight line cuts forming a series of plateaus. In particular, edge pattern  312  may have flat peaks and flat valleys connected by angled slops so that a back-and-forth or sawing movement of edge pattern  312  may abrade or cut into dirt or debris trapped in a gap between planks, but pattern  312  will not significantly cut into wood or other deck material. Opposite edges  312  of blade portion  310  may be offset so that peaks on one edge  312  are opposite valleys on the other edge  312 . The offset pattern may allow for more uniform strength along the length of blade portion  310  and more efficient use of sheet metal from which the core of tool  300  may be cut. Cuts to form patterned edges  312  may be at 90° to the surface of blade portion  310  so that no sharp edges are created. Tool  300  also includes a notch  314  that create a projection  316  on one edge of blade portion  310 . A handle portion  120  of tool  300  may be the same as handle portion  120  of tool  100 , which is described above. 
         [0020]      FIG. 4A, 4B, and 4C  illustrate a process for using a tool  400  to clean a gap between planks  430  on a support structure including joists  440 . Tool  400  may be substantially the same as tool  100  or  200  described above with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As shown in  FIG. 4A , a blade  410  of tool  400  fits within the gap between planks  430  and extends so that a portion of blade  410  is below plank  430 . A user can work tool  400  up and down (with an edge perpendicular or at any angle to the gap) while moving tool  400  along the gap, e.g., from one joist  440  to the next joist  440  as illustrated in  FIG. 4B . If both edges of blade  410  are patterned, a user may move in either direction along the gap while working blade up and down and may reverse direction without removing blade  410  from the gap being cleaned. In general, the up-and-down movement of tool  400  will push some debris down out of the gap and pull some debris up out of the gap. Any dislodged debris can then be easily vacuumed or otherwise removed from the top surface of planks  430 . In some configurations of tool  400 , the edge pattern of tool  400  provides bidirectional sawing so that both upward and downward movement of tool  400  dislodges debris from the gap with nearly equal efficiency. Alternative, an asymmetric pattern on the edge of tool  400 , e.g., a saw-tooth pattern, may more efficiently remove debris when moved in one direction, e.g., when pulled up or when pushed down. Whether the pattern is symmetric or asymmetric, the edge of blade  410  may be unsharpened so that when the edge of tool  400  encounters a joist  440  up and down motion does not easily saw into the joist  410 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 4C  illustrates how when tool  400  reaches a joist  440  a projection  416  on the end of blade  410  can be positioned on the top edge or surface of the joist  440  and dragged across the top of the joist  440  to scrape away debris. The scraped debris may be caught on projection  416  and pulled up and out of the gap or pulled past joist  440  and pushed down and out of the gap. The removal of debris can prevent retention of moisture and prevent rotting, which may occur when joists  440  are wood. Projection  416  can be similarly used to hook material that may be too hard to easily removed from the gap by the sawing motion of tool  400  illustrated in  FIG. 4B . For example, projection  416  may be slid under a hard object such as a rock, screw, or nail that may have become wedge in a gap, so that a user can hook and pull the object up out of the gap. Removal of iron items such as nails or screws may be important to prevent rust stains on planks  430  or support structure  440 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 5  shows an end view of one implementation of a tool  100  having a handle  120  with an attachment feature  124 . Attachment feature  124  includes an openings with threads into which a handle extension  620  may be threaded as shown in  FIG. 6 . With handle extension  620 , a user  650  may stand upright while using a tool to clean the gap between planks  430 . Alternatively, a long tool may incorporate an extended handle  620  that is permanently attached to a blade portion  110  that is similar or identical to the blades disclosed above. A detachable handle extension may, however, have the advantage of allowing removal of handle extension  620  when the available working space makes a long handle tool cumbersome. For example, handle extension may be removed when cleaning gaps between planks on stairways or narrow sections of a deck. 
         [0023]    Although particular implementations have been disclosed, these implementations are only examples and should not be taken as limitations. Various adaptations and combinations of features of the implementations disclosed are within the scope of the following claims.