TROWEL/FLOAT WITH LEVEL AND REPLACEABLE SURFACES

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a trowel and/or float having a utilitarian and adjustable level built-in for ease of use and creating uniform, properly angled, smooth surfaces, and replaceable undersides for creating various effects all in one simple to use tool.

Claims

1. A trowel comprising: a handle; a base configured to accept a specially configured and replaceable blade and at least one area that is co-planar with a blade when attached in place; an at least one level configured to be set in place into said area in said base that is co-planar with a blade when attached in place; and a blade specially configured with a means for replaceably attaching said blade to said base.

2. The trowel of claim 1, wherein it comprises two levels configured to be set in place into said area in said base that is co-planar with a blade when attached in place.

3. The trowel of claim 2, wherein said two levels are in 90 orientation to each other.

4. The trowel of claim 1 wherein the handle and base are made from a non-stick plastic.

5. The trowel of claim 1 wherein the at least one level is adjustable.

6. The trowel of claim 3 wherein both levels are adjustable.

7. The trowel of claim 1 wherein the blade is a composite where one material is wood and the other is plastic.

8. The trowel of claim 1 wherein the blade is a composite of two dissimilar materials.

9. The trowel of claim 1 wherein said means for replaceably attaching said blade to said base is via snaps.

10. The trowel of claim 1 wherein said means for replaceably attaching said blade to said base is via magnets.

11. The trowel of claim 1 wherein said means for replaceably attaching said blade to said base is via a quarter turn fastener.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of a trowel as disclosed herein depicting a handle (1), a base (2) having an area (2a) co-planar with the underside working surface (not seen in this view), and a plurality of embedded adjustable levels (3) in said area (2a). The handle may have at least one access area (10) to a fastening means to secure a bottom surface

[0016] FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a trowel as disclosed herein in an exploded view depicting a handle (1), a base (2) having an area (2a) co-planar with the underside working surface, a plurality of embedded adjustable levels (3) in said area (2a), and a snap-on tray for blade interchangeability providing an underside working surface (4) with one snap shown (5). In one embodiment, and alternatively, the snap (5) could be replaced with quarter-turn fastener(s), or the top side of the blade could be outfitted with a magnet means (5a) to mate with a magnetic underside of the base (2).

[0017] FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of a trowel as disclosed herein with a view from underneath depicting a handle (1), a base (2) having an area (2a) co-planar with the underside working surface, and the underside of a snap-on tray for blade interchangeability (4).

[0018] FIG. 4 depicts one embodiment of a trowel as disclosed herein depicting a close-up view of the snap (5) of a snap-on tray (4), that fits over and snaps onto a base (2), for blade interchangeability.

[0019] FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of a trowel as disclosed herein depicting a close-up view of the underside of a snap on tray 4, featuring a smooth blade (6), which may in alternative embodiments have teeth or a ridged surface to provide some bite in gripping mortar to be spread making the process easier and more effective.

[0020] FIG. 6. Depicts one embodiment of a level as used within the trowel as disclosed herein depicting a spirit level with a bubble (7) that indicates a degree of levelness with index lines (8) and an adjustment mechanism (9) to vary the horizontal with respect to the plane of the blade.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] For clarity of disclosure, and not by way of limitation, the detailed description of the invention is divided into the following subsections that describe or illustrate certain features, embodiments or applications of the present invention.

Definitions

[0022] handle as used herein means a part of an implement by which such implement is held, carried or controlled and is generally conducive to manipulation by a human hand. It will have at least one connection point to a base and in a preferred embodiment, have two connection points for stability in maintaining a constant level reading.

[0023] base as used herein means a part of an implement attached to a handle that acts as a housing or support for the other features of the implement, namely, at least a blade and a level.

[0024] blade as used herein means a part of an implement attached to the bottom or underside of a base of a trowel that is the part of the implement configured to come into contact with the material the trowel is designed to spread, smooth, level, texture or otherwise manipulate.

[0025] level as used herein means any device or mechanism capable of determining a desired plane line or adjusting something to a horizontal plane surface or otherwise determining an imaginary line or surface of a desired plane or elevation.

[0026] trowel as used herein means an implement that is a hand tool used to spread, smooth, level, texture or otherwise manipulate concrete, plaster, mastic or other spreadable material used in the construction trades, and comprises at least a handle, a base, and a blade, and in preferred embodiments, also a level and wherein the blade is configured to be easily replaceable.

[0027] float as used herein means a specialized type of trowel that is used to spread grout into the grooves of tiles that have previously been laid in place and forcing the grout or other cement into place within those tile spaces.

The System and Method of the Present Invention

[0028] In one embodiment, this disclosure teaches a trowel, comprising, a base, a handle, an interchangeable blade, and at least one configurable level.

[0029] In one embodiment, two levels are disposed within the base of the trowel, each being oriented 90 to each other. In one embodiment, the levels are each static such that when the base and the corresponding attached blade is in the desired position, the level will indicate, against a static index line, how to maintain that desired plane. In an alternative embodiment, each level is adjustable within its base housing such that if in either the front to back or the left to right plane, an angled plane is desired, such angle can be set by manipulating the angle of the level to be the new horizontal making it easier to maintain throughout use.

[0030] In one embodiment, blades of various shapes, sizes and/or textures are easily interchangeable to allow use in various environments and to create various desired textures within the surface of the material to be spread, smoothed, leveled, textured or otherwise manipulated. In one embodiment, a blade made of wood, desirable in some circumstances, is incorporated onto the bottom of an interchangeable blade and in this configuration, whereas wood normally warps, the blade composite here will prevent warping.

[0031] In one embodiment, a blade is configured with a molded in texture to provide tooth that better moves cement or other material resulting in faster and more accurate placement. In this embodiment, this feature can be ridges or teeth, angled or not, of various heights, all depending on the type of mortar or other material to be used.

[0032] In one embodiment, the handle and base are configured and molded from a special slippery plastic to provide a non-stick surface making the overall implement easy to clean.

[0033] In one embodiment, levels used herein are spirit levels. In an alternative embodiment, any type of known level device could be used that imparts easy readability, adjustability, and durability. In one embodiment, whatever type of level is used, it is housed in a compartment that is in an area of the base that is co-planar with the blade when in place and further has an adjustment feature to allow the level to be adjusted to any desired plane such that when the level indicates horizontal, the plane of the blade is a desired angle from that horizontal.

[0034] In one embodiment, the base is configured to accept various blades through a snap-on/snap-off configuration making blade interchangeability fast and easy, while maintaining the same planar orientation from blade to blade. Moreover, in this embodiment, one handle/base/levels combination can be used with any number of blades and thus, blades when worn or broken do not necessitate a replacement of anything other than the worn or broken blade. In one embodiment, the snap is located on the blade and there is nothing to break on the base. This allows for separate work surfaces to be sold, each with a different texture for different applications. Additionally in this embodiment, the handle may be attachable through the bottom of the base making it changeable, as well, as the connection would be covered up by a snapped into place blade (for example, See FIG. 2). In one embodiment, a blade could be a composite allowing for one material (such as wood that warps with moisture contact) to be affixed onto another material (such as plastic that does not warp) creating a blade with dual properties (a wood contact surface with the non-warping features of plastic).

[0035] In one embodiment, there many be any number of known attachment means for replaceably attaching the blade to the base, For example, and not by way of limitation, the blade could attach to the base by way of magnets (as shown in FIG. 2).

[0036] In one embodiment, the base and handle are molded in one contiguous unit to prevent any liquid infusion. In an alternative embodiment, the handle and base are separately molded and then permanently attached using ultrasonic assembly to achieve the same result.

[0037] In one embodiment, the handle has a rubberized overlay for better handling in wet environments.

EXAMPLES

[0038] The present invention is further illustrated, but not limited by, the following examples.

[0039] Use of a trowel or float has always been a matter of skill and judgment. Holding a set angle to achieve and ideal slope of in height every 12 in length is difficult. But, with built in levels, maintaining a specific slope is a matter of holding a particular level index. Alternatively, a level could be adjustable so that an adjustment could be made so that the user maintains the new horizontal level which in actuality is a desired slope.

[0040] When installing a mud floor or a shower floor, a ribbon is run around the perimeter of the space. Pressure is used from the outside inwards (or towards the drain location). Utilizing the levels, a constant and similar pressure is easily maintained resulting in a constant and uniform pitch. As noted above, maintaining the specific slope is a matter of holding a particular level index or, alternatively, setting an adjustable level so that a new horizontal is established, making the process even easier. Thus, in an embodiment with an adjustable level, a user adjusts the level so that a blade with an angle is set to a level with a bubble in the center making it easier and more consistent to use.

[0041] Publications cited throughout this document are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Although the various aspects of the invention have been illustrated above by reference to examples and preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is defined not by the foregoing description but by the following claims properly construed under principles of patent law.

[0042] Each and every feature described herein, and each and every combination of two or more of such features, is included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in such a combination are not mutually exclusive.