Abstract
A device suitable for finishing and sealing the joints and openings of different surfaces is described here. The device includes a base, which is conical in its essence. The base has a collar to connect the device to the gun of sealant of finishing material; a holder is integrated with the base at an angle, a movable smoothing pad with a carriage is fitted in the holder, and the carriage is installed in a casing inside holder. In the working position, there is a space between the smoothing pad and the tip of the nozzle of the tube, so that the material which is applied from the tube to the surface can visually be monitored and thus the desirable quantity dosed during the performance of the works.
Claims
1. A device for smoothing viscous construction materials, the device consisting essentially of: a base comprising a collar and a tubular cone; the tubular cone being formed of an external conical part and of an internal conical part fitting inside the external conical part; the collar being attached to wider end of the internal conical part and configured to attach the tubular cone to a nozzle and gun of a tube filled with the viscous material; the external conical part having a stepped cut at its wider end, and the internal conical part having a pin configured to fit in the cut of the external part; and a holder integrated with the base at an angle and comprising a carriage having replaceable and adjustable smoothing pad and being movably arranged on the holder; wherein moving the carriage on the holder moves the pad closer to and further away from the nozzle such that a space is left between the smoothing pad and the nozzle to visually monitor quantity of material applied from the tube and dose a desired quantity.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the integrated holder is essentially groove-shaped.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the carriage of the smoothing pad is connected to the holder by means of a casing that can be rotated outwards from the holder.
4. The device of claim 3, wherein in its working position, the casing of the carriage is fixed to the groove-shaped holder with two locking devices.
5. The device of claim 3, wherein the carriage can be moved back and forth in the casing to fixable positions.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the smoothing pad is a silicone pad.
7. The device of claim 1, wherein the smoothing pad has a fingertip-shaped surface with a broader and a narrower end.
8. The device of claim 7, wherein the smoothing pad has a cavity for collection of excess viscous material, and the cavity has a protruding pouch at the narrower end of the smoothing pad.
9. The device of claim 1, wherein the smoothing pad is removably connected to the carriage.
10. The device of claim 1, wherein the smoothing pad is connected to the carriage with a butterfly bolt that extends through the carriage and the smoothing pad, and wherein the bolt is screwed in a threaded opening of a plate inside a cavity in a bottom side of the smoothing pad.
11. The device of claim 10, wherein the plate in the bottom side cavity of the smoothing pad has a protruding tip at one end, which is pressed inside the smoothing pad in order to ensure a rigid connection between the smoothing pad and the carriage.
Description
LIST OF DRAWINGS
(1) A more thorough understanding of the invention can be attained by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
(2) FIG. 1 is a general view of a preferred embodiment of the device of the invention.
(3) FIG. 2A is a side view of the device.
(4) FIG. 2B is a top view of the device.
(5) FIG. 2C is an end view of the device from the side of a silicone gun.
(6) FIG. 3 is an end view of the device from the side of the smoothing pad.
(7) FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 3.
(8) FIG. 5A is a side view of the device with the smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
(9) FIG. 5B is a top view of the device with the smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
(10) FIG. 5C is an end view of the device with the smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
(11) FIG. 6 is a general view of a preferred embodiment of the device of the invention, indicating the enlarged views of certain details of the device.
(12) FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of detail A in FIG. 6.
(13) FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of detail B in FIG. 6.
(14) FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of detail C in FIG. 6.
(15) FIG. 10 represents an end view of the carriage of the device and the smoothing pad attached to it.
(16) FIG. 11 is a sectional view along the line B-B in figure FIG. 10.
(17) FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of detail D in FIG. 11.
(18) FIG. 13 is a general view of the smoothing pad of the device.
(19) FIG. 14A is a bottom view of the smoothing pad of the device.
(20) FIG. 14B is an end view of the smoothing pad of the device.
(21) FIG. 14C is a side view of the smoothing pad of the device.
(22) FIG. 15 is a side view of the device attached to a silicone gun and cartridge, its smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
(23) FIG. 16 is a top view of the device attached to a silicone gun and cartridge, its smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
(24) FIG. 17 is an end view of the device attached to a silicone gun and cartridge, its smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
(25) FIG. 18 is a general view of the device attached to a silicone gun and cartridge, its smoothing pad reversed from the working position.
AN EXAMPLE EMBODIMENT OF THE DEVICE
(26) Base 1 (see FIG. 1, FIG. 2A) in the preferred embodiment is a conical pipe for attachment to the end of a silicone cartridge or attachment to the end of a silicone cartridge with an extra mount to a silicone gun. In the preferred embodiment, base 1 is made up of two conical parts that fit in each other, an external part 2, and an internal part 3. The remaining components of the device are attached to the external part. The external part has a stepped cut 4 at the wider end of the cone (see FIG. 9 for more details). The internal part 3 has a pin 6 in the collar 5 area with cuts matched to the steps 4. The pin 6 is movable along the stepped cut by rotating the internal and external part in relation to each other. When the internal and external parts are rotated in one direction, the connection between the internal and external part can be tightened; by rotating the internal and external part in an opposite direction, the parts can respectively be separated from each other. The internal part may have one or more cuts in the area of the narrower part of the cone in the longitudinal direction, which makes it possible for the diameter of the narrower part of the internal part to change if the internal part moves deeper into the external part. This makes it possible to adjust the device to the nozzles of silicone cartridges of different shapes. In an alternative embodiment, the internal part may have an internal thread for fixing the device to the nozzle of a silicone cartridge.
(27) A groove-shaped holder 7 is connected to base 1 of the device at an angle. The groove-shaped holder 7 is designed for fixing the working position of the smoothing pad 8. The groove of the groove-shaped holder 7 holds the casing 10 of the carriage 9 of the smoothing pad 8. The carriage 9 can be moved back and forth inside the casing 10 in the manner known from the state of art, such as the well-known movement of the blade of a carpet knife inside its housing (see the detail in FIG. 7). The casing is connected to the groove-shaped holder 7 with a joint at one end, so that the casing 10 together with the carriage of the smoothing pad 8 inside it can be rotated outwards from the groove-shaped holder and moved to a reversed position (see figures FIG. 5A-5AC). In the working position, the casing 10 is fixed inside the groove-shaped holder 7 with locking devices 11. In its reversed position, the casing 10 is fixed with the retainers 12 at the ends of the groove-shaped holder 7 (a more detailed view is provided in figure FIG. 8). Bringing the smoothing pad 8 to a reversed position is necessary for forming the corners of the room that is being finished, for example, because otherwise the smoothing pad would obstruct the application of silicone or other elastic sealants to the corners. In the preferred embodiment, the smoothing pad 8 is attached to the end of the carriage 9 with a butterfly bolt 13 that extends through the opening 14 in the smoothing head. The counter side of the bolt is a plate 16 (see FIGS. 4, 11, 12) received by the cavity 15 (see FIGS. 13, 14A, 14B, 14C) of the bottom side of the smoothing pad. The plate has a threaded opening for receiving the bolt 13. In addition, the plate 16 has a tip 17 designed to be pushed into the smoothing pad to fix the smoothing pad 8 more rigidly to the carriage 9. The face of the smoothing pad 8 has a surface with the shape of a fingertip, which has a cavity 15 in the bottom side for the collection of excess finishing materials or sealants during the smoothing operation. The cavity 15 extends to the back of the smoothing pad; the cavity has a protruding pouch 18 at the end of the narrower part of the smoothing pad. A collection spoon (not shown in the figures) may be provided for the collection of any viscous material accumulated in the cavity 15.
(28) In brief, the work procedure using the device is as follows. The device is connected to a gun for silicone, acrylics or other viscous material by the use of base 1. The casing 10 with the carriage of the smoothing pad 8 is rotated out of the groove-shaped holder and moved to a reversed position (see FIG. 5A-5C, FIG. 15-18). The tip of the tube of silicone, acrylics or other viscous material is then placed in the corner that is to be treated or finished, and the corner part is first completed. The casing 10 is then rotated to the working position together with the carriage 9 of the smoothing pad 8 held in the casing and the smoothing pad 8; the casing is fixed with the locking devices 11 after which material can be applied to corner joints of the walls or the ceiling of the room.
