Abstract
Cleaning implement apparatus for cleaning boreholes formed within various different substrates, such as, for example, concrete slabs, concrete blocks, bricks, or the like, comprises a first embodiment for use within a power-operated tool, such as for example, a roto-hammer type power tool for drilling boreholes within concrete or brick substrates, while a second embodiment of the apparatus comprises a manually-operated tool. The first embodiment comprises a bit member having a slotted drive shank (SDS) connection for mounting within the chuck mechanism of the roto-hammer type power tool. In this manner, the same roto-hammer type power tool can be used for both drilling the borehole within the substrate as well as for cleaning the borehole by exchanging the cleaning implement for the drill bit.
Claims
1. A method for drilling and cleaning a borehole in a substrate, the method comprising: mounting a drill bit having a slotted drive shank (SDS) connection formed thereon to a roto-hammer type power tool so the drill bit is operatively connected to an SDS connection of a chuck of the roto-hammer type power tool and the chuck can rotate the drill bit while enabling the drill bit to move axially along a longitudinal axis of the drill bit; driving the borehole within the substrate by actuating the roto-hammer type power tool to rotate the drill bit; removing the drill bit from the roto-hammer type power tool after completing the drilling of the borehole; mounting a cleaning brush assembly to the roto-hammer type power tool so an SDS connection formed on the cleaning brush assembly is operatively connected to the SDS connection of the chuck of the roto-hammer type power tool and the chuck can rotate the cleaning brush assembly while enabling the cleaning brush assembly to move axially along a longitudinal axis of the bit member; inserting a free end of the cleaning brush assembly into the borehole, the free end of the cleaning brush assembly having one or more cleaning brushes disposed thereon; and actuating the roto-hammer type power tool to rotate the cleaning brush assembly to clean the drilled borehole.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Various other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
(2) FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional PRIOR ART cleaning brush implement which may be inserted into, for example, a suitable rotary power tool such that a rotary-powered cleaning operation can be performed;
(3) FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a conventional PRIOR ART manually manipulable handle implement into which a threaded end portion of the conventional PRIOR ART cleaning brush implement illustrated within FIG. 1 may be inserted such that a manual cleaning operation can be performed;
(4) FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a first embodiment of a new and improved cleaning brush implement which has been constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and which is adapted for insertion and fixation within a rotary power tool, such as, for example, a roto-hammer type tool, such that the roto-hammer type tool can not only form or drill a borehole within a concrete or brick substrate, but in addition, can also be utilized to thoroughly clean the interior surface portions of the drilled borehole in preparation for the installation and fixation of a rod or anchor member within the pre-drilled bore-hole formed within the concrete or brick substrate; and
(5) FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of a new and improved cleaning brush implement which has also been constructed in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention and which is adapted to be manually manipulated such that a manual cleaning operation may be performed in connection with the cleaning of the interior surface portions of boreholes formed within concrete or brick substrates in preparation for the installation and fixation of a rod or anchor member within the pre-drilled bore-hole formed within the concrete or brick substrate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
(6) Referring now to the drawings, more particularly to FIG. 3 thereof and in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, a first embodiment of a new and improved apparatus, for cleaning boreholes formed within any one of the various different aforenoted substrates such as, for example, concrete slabs, concrete blocks, brick, or the like, by means of a power-operated rotary tool, such as, for example, a roto-hammer, comprises an implement which is capable of being used within the power-operated tool and is generally indicated by the reference character 300. More particularly, the first embodiment implement 300 comprises an extension rod 302 which may be fabricated, for example, from a suitable steel, which has a diametrical extent of, for example, one half inch (0.500″), and which may have any desirable or predetermined length dimension, such as, for example, twelve inches (12.00″). A first end portion 304 of the extension rod 302 is provided with a first blind bore 306 which may be, for example, one inch (1.00″) in length and which has an internally threaded ⅛″ NPT (National Pipe Thread) taper portion 308 formed therewithin so as to accommodate, for example, the second opposite externally threaded end portion 106 of the solid rod or shaft member 104 of the cleaning brush implement 100, as illustrated within FIG. 1, which is correspondingly provided with the externally threaded ⅛″ NPT (National Pipe Thread) taper. A second opposite end portion 310 of the extension rod 302 is provided with a second blind bore 312 which may have a depth of, for example, one and one-quarter inches (1.250″), and a first end portion 314 of a bit 316 is adapted to be fixedly disposed by any suitable means, such as, for example, a press fit or the like, within the second blind bore 312 of the extension rod 302. In addition, it is also seen that a second opposite end portion 318 of the bit 316 extends axially outwardly from the second blind bore 312, formed within the extension rod 302, and is provided with a slotted drive shank (SDS) type male connector portion 320 which is capable of being accommodated and fixedly secured within a correspondingly configured slotted drive shank (SDS) type female connector portion, not shown, formed within, for example, the chuck mechanism of a roto-hammer type power tool 322. In this manner, it can be readily appreciated that when in fact the second opposite end portion 318 of the bit 316, having the slotted drive shank (SDS) type male connector portion 320 formed thereon, is inserted into and fixedly secured within the correspondingly configured slotted drive shank (SDS) type female connector portion of the chuck mechanism of the roto-hammer type power tool 322, the entire cleaning implement 300 of the present invention, comprising the conventional cleaning brush implement 100, the extension rod 302, and the slotted drive shank (SDS) bit 316 is fixedly mounted and secured within the roto-hammer type power tool 322 such that powered cleaning operations of the borehole, pre-drilled within the concrete or brick substrate, can in fact be performed.
(7) It is therefore to be appreciated that, in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, and more particularly by providing the first internally threaded blind bore with the National Pipe Thread (NPT) taper portion 308 upon the first end portion 304 of the extension rod 302 so as to accommodate and mount the conventional cleaning brush implement 100 thereon, by additionally providing the second blind bore 312 within the second end portion 310 of the extension rod 302 so as to accommodate the first end portion 314 of the bit 314 therewithin, and by providing the second end portion 318 of the bit 314 with the slotted drive shank (SDS) type male connector portion 320 for operatively mating with the correspondingly configured slotted drive shank (SDS) type female connector portion of the chuck mechanism of the roto-hammer type power tool 322, the entire cleaning implement 300 of the present invention can be mounted within the chuck mechanism of the roto-hammer type power tool 322 in a manner similar to the mounting of the conventional drill bit within the chuck mechanism of the roto-hammer type power tool 322 for forming the pre-drilled borehole within the concrete or brick substrate.
(8) In this manner, it is to be appreciated still further that a single rotary power tool, more particularly, the roto-hammer type power tool 322, can be utilized to both pre-drill the borehole within the substrate, into which a suitable rod, anchor, or the like, is to be fixedly installed by means of suitable adhesive bonding procedures, and for cleaning the interior wall surfaces of the pre-drilled borehole so as to permit the adhesive material, substance, or the like, to adhere thereto so as to, in turn, adhesively bond the rod, anchor, or the like, within the borehole formed within the concrete or brick substrate as a result of simply exchanging the mounting of the drill bit and the cleaning implement within the roto-hammer power tool as needed. Lastly, by selectively varying, for example, the axial length dimension of the extension rod 302, or by providing the extension rod 302 with a sufficiently large axial length dimension, such structure effectively ensures the fact that all depths, and interior surface regions of the pre-drilled borehole, can effectively be reached by means of the conventional cleaning brush implement 100 utilizing the roto-hammer type power tool 322 in order to perform powered cleaning operations.
(9) With reference now being lastly made to FIG. 4, a second embodiment of a new and improved apparatus, for cleaning boreholes formed within any one of the various different aforenoted substrates such as, for example, concrete slabs, concrete blocks, brick, or the like, is also disclosed and is generally indicated by the reference character 400. It is to be noted, however, that in lieu of the second embodiment apparatus comprising an implement for use within a powered tool, such as, for example, the roto-hammer 322 as disclosed within FIG. 3, the second embodiment apparatus implement 400 comprises a manual tool which has structural features which are similar, or correspond to, those of the first embodiment apparatus implement 300 as disclosed within FIG. 3, and in addition, the second embodiment apparatus implement 400 has structural features which are also different from those of the first embodiment apparatus implement 300 as disclosed within FIG. 4. Accordingly, the description of the second embodiment apparatus implement 400 will be directed primarily toward the differences between the first and second embodiment apparatus implements 300, 400 as respectively disclosed within FIGS. 3 and 4, however, it is to be noted that those particular component parts of the second embodiment apparatus implement 400 which correspond to particular component parts of the first embodiment apparatus implement 300 will be designated by corresponding reference characters except that they will be within the 400 series.
(10) More particularly, as can be readily appreciated from FIG. 4, and in accordance with additional principles and teachings of the present invention, the second embodiment apparatus implement 400 likewise comprises an extension rod 402 which may be fabricated, for example, from a suitable steel, which has a diametrical extent of, for example, one half inch (0.500″), and which may have any desirable or predetermined length dimension, such as, for example, approximately twelve inches (12.00″). A first end portion 404 of the extension rod 402 is provided with a first blind bore 406 which may be, for example, one inch (1.00″) in length and which has an internally threaded ⅛″ NPT (National Pipe Thread) taper portion 408 formed therewithin so as to accommodate, for example, the second opposite externally threaded end portion 106 of the solid rod or shaft member 104 of the cleaning brush implement 100, as illustrated within FIG. 1, which is correspondingly provided with the externally threaded ⅛″ NPT (National Pipe Thread) taper. A second opposite end portion 410 of the extension rod 402 is provided with an externally threaded distal end section 412 which is adapted to be threadedly engaged within an internally threaded second blind bore 414 which is provided within a transversely oriented handle member 416. The externally threaded distal end section 412 of the extension rod 402 has an axial extent of approximately five-eighths of an inch (0.625″), and accordingly, the depth of the internally threaded second blind bore 414 has substantially the same depth dimension so as to accommodate the externally threaded distal end section 412 of the extension rod 402. The transversely oriented handle member 416 may have a transversely oriented length dimension of approximately five inches (5.000″), and may be fabricated, for example, from aluminum round stock having a diametrical extent of approximately seven-eighths of an inch (0.875″). It is lastly seen that the oppositely disposed end portions of the transversely oriented handle member 416 are chamfered or rounded as at 418. It can therefore be readily appreciated that in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, the second embodiment apparatus implement 400 can be manipulated by means of operator personnel so as to reach all interior wall portions of the pre-drilled bore-hole so as to thoroughly clean the same, and it can also be appreciated that the structure of the overall cleaning implement 400 is relatively simple and therefore quite economical to fabricate.
(11) Thus, in summary, it may be seen that in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, there has been disclosed first and second embodiments of cleaning apparatus for cleaning dust and debris from bore-holes pre-drilled within concrete or brick substrates, and wherein in accordance with the first embodiment of the apparatus, the cleaning implement can be used within the same power-operated tool that is used for forming or drilling the borehole whereby a single tool can effectively be used to form or drill the borehole as well as to clean the same as a result of simply exchanging the mounting of the drill bit and the cleaning implement within the roto-hammer power tool as needed. In accordance with the second embodiment of the apparatus, a manually-operated implement has been disclosed that exhibits the necessary rigidity and length dimensions so as to in fact permit the borehole cleaning operations to be performed regardless of the depth dimension of the particular borehole, and in addition, the second embodiment cleaning implement is economical to manufacture.
(12) Obviously, many variations and modifications of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
