Joint tape embedding apparatus, system, and method

Abstract

A joint tape embedding apparatus configured to determine the bonding and/or feel of embedding joint tape into a dry wall or wall board joint using a particular joint compound. The joint embedding apparatus is configured to allow the same user or different users to accurately repeat the determination of the bonding and/or feel attributes of the joint compound.

Claims

1. A joint tape embedding apparatus configured for controlled embedding of the joint tape into joint compound, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a pair of spaced apart rails supported by the frame; a carriage slidably supported by said rails; a swing arm pivotably connected to the carriage; and a knife connected to the swing arm; and wherein the knife is provided with one or more weights and/or the pivoting arm is provided with one or more weights.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the knife is provided with one or more weights.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the one or more weights on the knife can be changed.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pivoting arm is provided with one or more weights.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the knife is provided with a reinforcement bar configured to reinforce an edge of the knife.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an upper end of the pivoting arm is pivotably connected to the slidable carriage and a lower end of the pivoting arm is fixed to the knife.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pivoting arm is provided with one or more weights.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the one or more weights on the pivoting arm can be changed.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the knife is provided with a reinforcement bar configured to reinforce an edge of the knife.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a joint compound applicator for delivering joint compound to the knife during operation.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the joint applicator comprises a joint compound pump having tubing connected to a nozzle located to supply joint compound to the knife.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spaced apart rails are connected to cross-members of the frame located at ends of the frame.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator configured to move the slidable carriage.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, comprising a sensor configured to measure force on the knife during operation.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising one or more sensors for detecting the location and speed of movement of the slidable carriage during operation.

16. A joint tape embedding system configured for controlled embedding of joint tape into a drywall joint using a particular joint compound, the apparatus comprising: the apparatus according to claim 1, comprising the frame; the pair of spaced apart rails supported by the frame; the carriage slidably supported by said rails; the swing arm pivotably connected to the carriage; the knife connected to the swing arm, wherein the knife is provided with one or more weights and/or the pivoting arm is provided with one or more weights; one or more electrical sensors to measure one or more of force, drag and knife deflection involved with the spreading or applying the joint compound into a joint using the knife; and a computer for receiving input signals from the one or more electrical sensors and configured to provide quantitative assessment of the feel attributes of the joint compound.

17. A method for controlled embedding of joint tape into a drywall joint using a particular joint compound comprising: providing a measuring device comprising the apparatus of claim 1 comprising the frame; the pair of spaced apart rails supported by the frame; the carriage slidably supported by said rails; the swing arm pivotably connected to the carriage; and a knife applicator comprising the knife, wherein the knife is connected to the swing arm, wherein the knife is provided with one or more weights and/or the pivoting arm is provided with one or more weights; providing a supply of joint compound to be measured to the knife applicator; using the knife applicator to apply joint compound to embed joint tape into a drywall joint; measuring one or more force, drag and knife deflection involved with the spreading or applying of the joint compound using the knife applicator; quantitatively assessing the particular joint compound using the measured one or more force, drag and knife deflection of the knife; and determining the feel of the particular joint compound expressed in a manner understandable to user's of joint compounds.

18. A joint tape embedding apparatus configured for controlled embedding of the joint tape into joint compound, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a pair of spaced apart rails supported by the frame; a carriage slidably supported by said rails; a swing arm pivotably connected to the carriage; and a knife connected to the swing arm; and a joint compound applicator for delivering joint compound to the knife during operation.

19. A joint tape embedding apparatus configured for controlled embedding of the joint tape into joint compound, the apparatus comprising: a frame; a pair of spaced apart rails supported by the frame; a carriage slidably supported by said rails to slide in a sliding direction; a swing arm pivotably connected to the carriage; and a knife, for embedding the joint tape into the joint compound, connected to the swing arm, wherein the knife has an exposed edge, distal to the swing arm, transverse to the sliding direction.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the swing arm is pivotably connected between the rails to the carriage.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a joint tape embedding apparatus according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a top planar view of the joint tape embedding apparatus shown in FIG.

(3) FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the joint tape embedding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 is an opposite end elevational view of the joint tape embedding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 5 is a detailed broken away end perspective view of the slidable carriage with knife of the joint embedding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

(6) FIG. 6 is a detailed broken away side elevational view of the slidable carriage with knife of the joint embedding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of another joint tape embedding apparatus according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) A joint tape embedding apparatus 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-4.

(9) The joint tape embedding apparatus 10 comprises a frame 12 having horizontal side members 12a, horizontal cross-members 12b, and vertical legs 12c connected together into the frame 12. For example, the frame 12 is made of tubing sections (e.g. rectangular steel tubing sections) welded and/or fastened together to assemble the frame 12. A set of resilient pads 12d are applied to the bottom ends of the vertical legs 12c to maintain the frame 12 stationary during use.

(10) A pair of spaced apart guide rails 14 (e.g. made of solid or tubular round bar stock) is supported by the frame 12. Specifically, the opposite ends 14a of each guide rail 14 is connected to the cross-members 12b of the frame 12 by connectors 16 having threaded fasteners 16a (FIG. 1).

(11) A slidable carriage 18 supported by the pair of spaced apart rails 14 is shown in detail in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6. The slidable carriage 18 comprises a cross-member 20 (e.g. made of bar stock having angled cross-sectional profile) fitted with linear bearings 22 (FIG. 5) configured to glide along the spaced apart guide rails 14.

(12) The carriage 18 further comprises a support block 24 (FIG. 5) having a swing arm pivot pin 26 (FIG. 6). The support block 24 is mounted on the cross-member 20 (FIG. 5). A swing arm 28 having a through hole 28a at an upper end thereof is fitted onto the swing arm pivot pin 26 and locked onto the end of the swing arm pivot pin 26 by a retainer 30 (e.g. clip, pin, cotter pin). The swing arm 28 is then free to pivot about the swing arm pivot pin 26. An upper edge 20a (FIG. 5) of the cross-member 20 can serve as a stop for the swing arm 28 when the swing arm is lifted upwardly and then coming into contact with the upper edge 20a.

(13) A lower end of the swing arm 28 is fitted with a knife 32 having a knife edge 32a. The knife 32 can be fitted with one or more reinforcement bars 34 (e.g. made of metal bar stock) on an upper surface of the knife 32, as shown in FIG. 6, to prevent the knife 32 from bowing or crowing along its lower working edge. For example, the reinforcement bar 34 can be fastened, adhered, soldered, and/or welded to an upper surface of the knife 32. Further, one or more weights 36 can be added to the knife 32 (e.g. fitted on top of the reinforcement bar 34) to provide a downward force onto the tip of the knife 32.

(14) In addition, one or more weights 38 can be fitted to the swing arm 28 (FIG. 6) to provide downward force on swing arm 28 to cause the knife 32 to bend (FIG. 6) during application of joint compound to the dry wall joint. For example, an eye bolt 40, upper washer 42, and lower washer can be used to fasten the one or more weights 38 to the swing arm 28. Specifically, a threaded end of the eye bolt 40 is threaded into a threaded hole in the top edge of the swing bar 28 (FIG. 6).

Operation

(15) The joint tape embedding apparatus 10 can be manually operated. For example, a pair of dry wall panels are placed together and in edge contact with each other underneath the joint tape embedding apparatus 10. A joint between the adjacent dry wall panels is centered along the center longitudinal axis of joint tape embedding apparatus 10.

(16) A quantity of joint compound is placed on the joint, and then the knife 32 is dragged along the joint by manually pulling or pushing the slidable carriage 18 to spread the joint compound along the joint. A force gauge can be applied between the slidable carriage 18 and the user's hand to determine the amount of force required to move the slidable carriage 18 in steady state.

(17) The amount of weight applied by weights 38 can be varied run-to-run to further define an operational profile of the particular joint compound being tested and to determine or characterized the feel of the particular joint compound.

Enhancement

(18) Another joint tape embedding apparatus 110 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 7.

(19) The joint tape embedding apparatus 110 comprises a frame 112 having horizontal side members 112a, horizontal cross-members 112b, and vertical legs 112c connected together into the frame 112. For example, the frame 112 is made of tubing sections (e.g. rectangular steel tubing sections) welded and/or fastened together to assemble the frame 112. A set of resilient pads 112d are applied to the bottom ends of the vertical legs 112c to maintain the frame 112 stationary during use.

(20) A pair of spaced apart guide rails 114 (e.g. made of solid or tubular round bar stock) is supported by the frame 112. Specifically, the opposite ends 114a of each guide rail 114 is connected to the cross-members 112b of the frame 112 by connectors 116 having threaded fasteners 116a.

(21) A slidable carriage 118 supported by the pair of spaced apart rails 114. The slidable carriage 118 comprises a cross-member 120 (e.g. made of bar stock having an angled cross-sectional profile) fitted with linear bearings 122 configured to glide along the spaced apart guide rails 114.

(22) The carriage 118 further comprises a support block 124 having a swing arm pivot pin 126. The support block 124 is mounted on the cross-member 120. A swing arm 128 having a through hole 128a at an upper end thereof is fitted onto the swing arm pivot pin 126 and locked onto the end of the swing arm pivot pin 126 by a retainer 130 (e.g. clip, pin, cotter pin). The swing arm 128 is then free to pivot about the swing arm pivot pin 126. An upper edge 120a of the cross-member 120 can serve as a stop for the swing arm 128 when the swing arm is lifted upwardly and then coming into contact with the upper edge 120a.

(23) A lower end of the swing arm 128 is fitted with a knife 132 having a knife edge 132a. The knife 132 can be fitted with one or more reinforcement bars 134 (e.g. made of metal bar stock) on an upper surface of the knife 132, to prevent the knife 132 from bowing or crowing along its lower working edge. For example, the reinforcement bar 134 can be fastened, adhered, soldered, and/or welded to an upper surface of the knife 132. Further, one or more weights 136 can be added to the knife 132 (e.g. fitted on top of the reinforcement bar 134) to provide a downward force onto the tip of the knife 132.

(24) In addition, one or more weights 138 can be fitted to the swing arm 128 to provide downward force on swing arm 128 to cause the knife 132 to bend during application of joint compound to the dry wall joint. For example, an eye bolt 140, upper washer 142, and lower washer can be used to fasten the one or more weights 138 to the swing arm 128. Specifically, a threaded end of the eye bolt 140 is threaded into a threaded hole in the top edge of the swing bar 128.

(25) The joint embedding apparatus 110 can further comprise sensors 160, 162, 164, 166 (S.sub.1, S.sub.2, S.sub.3, S.sub.4) for detecting the operation of the joint embedding apparatus 110. For example, a location/speed sensor S.sub.1 is connected to slidable carriage 118, a force sensor S.sub.2 is connected to swing arm 128 to detect the amount of force exerted on the swing arm during operation, a start sensor S.sub.3 is connected to the initiating end 14a of the guide rails 14, and a finish sensor S.sub.4 is connected to the finish end 14a of the guide rails 14. The sensors S.sub.1, S.sub.2, S.sub.3, S.sub.4 are electrically connected to a central processing unit (CPU) 180 (e.g. of a computer) for inputting signal thereto.

(26) The joint embedding apparatus 110 can even further comprise a joint compound pump 168 having a funnel for receiving bulk joint compound. A length of tubing 172 connects the joint compound pump 168 to a delivery nozzle 174 configured to direct joint compound at a position below the knife 132 during operation. Further, an actuator 176 (e.g. electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic) can be provided between the carriage 118 and the horizontal cross-member 112b for moving the slidable carriage 118 along the guide rails 114 along a direction of slidable travel T as seen in FIG. 7. Specifically, an extension rod 176a of the actuator 176 is connected to a bracket 178 connected to the cross-member 120 of the slidable carriage 118, and a rod connector 176b is connected to the cross-member 112b. The joint compound pump 168 and actuator 176 are electrically connected to the central processing unit (CPU) 160 and controlled thereby.

Operation

(27) The joint embedding apparatus 110 can be programmed to operate and control the joint embedding apparatus 110 in a particular manner to being test and determine or characterized the feel of the particular joint compound.