Patent Application
20130112340
The present invention relates to systems, methods, and compositions for repairing interior structure surfaces such as walls and ceilings and, more particularly, to such systems, methods, and compositions adapted to form a spackle base and a paintable texture surface.
The surfaces of drywall materials defining wall and ceiling surfaces are commonly coated with texture materials. Texture materials are coatings that are deposited in discrete drops that dry to form a bumpy, irregular texture on the destination surface. Texture materials are commonly applied using a hopper gun connected to a source of pressurized air. However, when only a small area is to be coated or an existing textured surface is repaired, texture materials are typically applied using an aerosol dispensing system.
An aerosol dispensing system for dispensing texture material typically comprises a container assembly, a valve assembly, and an outlet assembly. The container assembly contains the texture material and a propellant material. The propellant material pressurizes the texture material within the container assembly. The valve assembly is mounted to the container assembly in a normally closed configuration but can be placed in an open configuration to define a dispensing path along which the pressurized texture material is forced out of the container assembly by the propellant material. Displacement of the outlet assembly places the valve assembly in the open configuration. The outlet assembly defines a portion of the outlet path and is configured such that the texture material is applied to the destination surface in an applied texture pattern.
The texture material dispensed by an aerosol dispensing system may employ a solvent base, a water base, or a base containing a combination of water and water soluble solvents. A solvent based texture material dries quickly but can be malodorous and may require the use of complementary solvent cleaners for clean up. A water based texture material is typically not malodorous and can be cleaned using water but can take significantly longer to dry. A water/solvent based texture material can be cleaned using water, is typically not unacceptably malodorous, and has a dry time somewhere between solvent based and water based texture materials.
The propellant used by aerosol dispensing systems for texture materials may simply be a compressed inert gas such as air or nitrogen. More typically, the propellant used by aerosol dispensing systems is a bi-phase propellant material, including mixtures of volatile hydrocarbons such as propane, n-butane, isobutane, dimethyl ether (DME), and methylethyl ether.
At room temperature, bi-phase propellant materials typically exist in both liquid and vapor states within the container assembly. Prior to use, the vapor portion of the bi-phase propellant material is pressurized to an equilibrium pressure. When the valve assembly is placed in its open configuration, the vapor portion of the bi-phase propellant material forces the texture material out of the container assembly along the dispensing path.
When the valve assembly returns to its closed position, part of the liquid portion of the bi-phase propellant material changes to the vapor state because of the drop in pressure within the container assembly. The vapor portion of the propellant material returns the pressure within the container assembly to the equilibrium value in preparation for the next time texture material is to be dispensed from the aerosol dispensing system.
To repair a hole in an existing wall, two functions are typically performed. First, a structural component is applied to form a bridge across the hole. Second, the structural component is coated substantially to match the coating on the wall surrounding the repair.
The need exists for systems, methods, and compositions that simplify the two-step process of repairing a hole in an existing wall.
The present invention may be embodied as a method of covering an anomaly in a wall substantially to match a pre-existing texture pattern surrounding the anomaly, comprising the following steps. A container assembly is provided. A valve is supported on the container assembly to define a main chamber, where the valve operates in a closed configuration and an open configuration. Wall material concentrate is disposed within the main chamber, the wall material concentrate comprising 28.0-38.0% by weight of a solvent/carrier comprising water, 3.0-4.5% by weight of a resin/binder, and 57.4-64.8% by weight of filler material. Propellant material is disposed within the main chamber. The propellant material combines with the wall material concentrate to form a contained material. The propellant material comprises substantially within 5-20% by weight of the contained material. An actuator defining an outlet and a button is provided. The actuator is arranged relative to the container assembly such that displacement of the button relative to the valve changes the valve from the closed configuration to the open configuration, thereby allowing a portion of the propellant material to force the contained material out of the main chamber through the outlet. A first portion of the contained material is applied to the anomaly by directing the outlet at the anomaly and displacing the button. The first portion of the contained material is worked to form a base coat that covers the anomaly.
The present invention may also be embodied as a method of covering an anomaly in a wall substantially to match a pre-existing texture pattern surrounding the anomaly comprising the following steps. A container assembly is provided. A valve is supported on the container assembly to define a main chamber, where the valve operates in a closed configuration and an open configuration. Contained material comprising propellant and wall material concentrate is disposed within the main chamber. An actuator defining an outlet and a button is provided. The actuator is arranged relative to the container assembly such that displacement of the button relative to the valve changes the valve from the closed configuration to the open configuration, thereby allowing a portion of the propellant material to force the contained material out of the main chamber through the outlet. A first portion of the contained material is applied to the anomaly to form a base coat by directing the outlet at the anomaly and displacing the button. A second portion of the contained material is applied to the base coat by directing the outlet at the base coat and displacing the button. The second portion of the contained material forms a desired texture pattern on the base coat that substantially matches the pre-existing texture pattern.
Referring initially to
The example aerosol dispensing system 20 comprises an aerosol assembly 30 comprising a container assembly 32, a valve 34 (
The main chamber 38 contains a liquid material 40 and a vapor material 42. The liquid material 40 comes into contact with at least a portion of the container assembly 32 and the valve 34. The liquid material 40 comprises texture material and propellant material in liquid form. The vapor material 42 comprises propellant material in vapor form. The liquid material 40 comprises propellant material in liquid form and a texture material concentrate. The combination of the liquid material 40 and the vapor material 42 in the aerosol assembly 30 will be referred to as the contained material 44.
When the valve 34 is in a closed configuration, the flow of fluid out of the main chamber 38 is substantially prevented. However, the vapor material 42 pressurizes the liquid material 40 within the main chamber 38 such that, when the valve 34 is in an open configuration, the vapor material 42 forces the liquid material 40 out of the main chamber 38.
The example texture material concentrate is formulated as described in the following table:
The texture material concentrate described in the table set forth above is combined in the container assembly 32 with the propellant material to obtain the contained material 44. The preferred amount of propellant material used to form the example dispensing system 20 is approximately 10.0% of the contained material 44 by weight and is preferably within a first preferred range of 7.5-12.5% by weight of the contained material 44 and is in any event preferably within a second preferred range of 5-20% by weight.
The texture material concentrate is preferably formulated and combined with propellant material as follows. If used, anti-corrosion materials are initially dissolved in the water. The remaining materials are then mixed with the water solution to obtain the wall cover material concentrate. The wall cover material concentrate is introduced into the container assembly 32, and the valve 34 is mounted onto the container assembly 32 to form the aerosol assembly 30. The propellant material is then introduced into the container assembly 32 through the valve 34 to form the dispensing system 20.
With the foregoing general understanding of the present invention, the details of several example formulations of the wall cover material concentrate and the construction and use of the example aerosol dispensing system 20 will now be described in further detail.
Referring now to
An actuator passageway 130 between an outlet opening 132 formed in the outlet 122 and a valve opening 134 formed in the button 124. The base 120 is sized and dimensioned to be mounted on the container assembly 32 such that a valve stem 126 extends into the valve opening 134. The outlet 122 defines an elongate outlet portion 136 of the actuator passageway 130.
The button 124 is pivotably supported by the base 120 such that pressing the button 124 causes the button 124 to move relative to the base 120 from an undeformed or proximal position 140 (
When button 124 is in the proximal position, the valve stem 126 is in a fully extended position, and the valve 24 is in its closed position. As the button 124 pivots relative to the base 120 from the proximal position to the distal position, the button 124 displaces the valve stem 126, placing the valve 34 in an open configuration. The valve 34 is variable in that, as the valve stem 126 moves from the fully extended position, as size of a valve opening defined by the valve 34 increases. Many conventional aerosol valves operate in this way, and the dispensing system 20 may use any aerosol valve that defines a variable valve opening and can handle the viscosity of the liquid material 40.
The size of the valve opening determines how the liquid material 40 is dispensed by the dispensing system 20. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Other portions of the wall surface 24 may be textured, which defines a pre-existing texture pattern. If so, once the base coat 160 has been formed, a texture coat 166 may be formed on the base coat 160 by again applying the wall cover material 22 to the base coat 160. When forming the texture coat 166, the button 124 is depressed to a desired position between the proximal and distal positions when applying the texture coat 166. In this desired position, the wall cover material 22 is dispensed in droplets sized and dimensioned such that the texture pattern of the applied texture coat 166 substantially matches the pre-existing texture pattern.
The dispensing system 20 thus allows a product to form both the base coat 160 and the texture coat 166. Optionally, the dispensing system 20 may be used to form only the base coat 160 or only the texture coat 166. The dispensing system 20 of the present invention thus provides the user with significant flexibility to perform a wide variety of wall repair functions with a single product.
A base coat 180 is formed by applying a raw layer 182 of the wall cover material 22 to the wall surface 24 over the drywall tape 176. The raw layer 182 is worked with the tool 162 such that the resulting base coat 180 defines a relatively smooth surface 184. The base coat 180 may also be sanded when dry or otherwise worked. A texture coat may or may not be formed on the base coat 180.
Referring now to
The second example actuator 36a comprises a base member 220 and a stop member 222. The base member 220 comprises a base 230, an outlet 232, and a button 234.
An actuator passageway 240 between an outlet opening 242 formed in the outlet 232 and a valve opening 244 formed in the button 234. The base 230 is sized and dimensioned to be mounted on the container assembly 32 such that a valve stem extends into the valve opening 244. The outlet 232 defines an elongate outlet portion 246 of the actuator passageway 240.
The stop member 222 defines a main surface 250 and first, second, and third stop surfaces 252, 254, and 256. First, second, third, and fourth indicia 260, 262, 264, and 266 are on the main surface. The first, second, and third indicia 260, 262, and 264 are associated with the first, second, and third stop surfaces 252, 254, and 256, respectively, and the fourth indicia is associated with the main surface 250.
The button 234 is pivotably supported by the base 230 such that pressing the button 234 causes the button 234 to move relative to the base 230 from an undeformed or proximal position 270 (
When button 234 is in the proximal position, the valve stem 236 is in a fully extended position, and the valve 24 is in its closed position. As the button 234 pivots relative to the base 230 from the proximal position to the distal position, the button 234 displaces the valve stem 236, placing the valve 34 in an open configuration. Again, the valve 34 is variable in that, as the valve stem 236 moves from the fully extended position, as size of a valve opening defined by the valve 34 increases. Many conventional aerosol valves operate in this way, and the dispensing system 20 may use any aerosol valve that defines a variable valve opening and can handle the viscosity of the liquid material 40.
The size of the valve opening determines how the liquid material 40 is dispensed by the dispensing system 20. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The stop member 222 is arranged such that the main surface 250 corresponds to the distal position 272 and the first, second, and third stop surfaces 252, 254, and 256 correspond to the proximal position 270, the first intermediate position 274, and the second intermediate position 276, respectively, of the button 234. In particular, the example stop member 222 is arranged to rotate relative to the base member 220 such that the main surface 250 and the stop surfaces 252, 254, and 256 limit the travel of the button 234 as perhaps best shown by a comparison of
Because at least a portion of the container assembly 32 is metal and thus may be susceptible to corrosion, the wall cover material concentrate is formulated to have anti-corrosion properties. The example wall cover material concentrate thus comprises at least one anti-corrosion material. The anti-corrosion material should be in a first range of approximately 0.5-3.0% by weight and in any event should be in a second range of 0.125-7.0%.
The example wall cover material concentrate comprises first and second anti-corrosion materials. The first anti-corrosion material is in a first preferred range of approximately 0.5-2.0% by weight of the wall cover material concentrate and in any event should be within a second preferred range of approximately 0.1-5.0% by weight. The second anti-corrosion material is in a first preferred range of approximately 0.05-1.0% by weight of the wall cover material concentrate and in any event should be within a second preferred range of approximately 0.025-2.0% by weight.
The example first anti-corrosion material is an anionic, phosphate ester. The first anti-corrosion material is or may be Elfugin, a proprietary product sold by Clariant Paper Chemicals as an antistatic for application to paper products. In the general example described above, approximately 1.00% (±5%) of the first anti-corrosion material is preferably used. The second anti-corrosion material of the example wall cover material concentrate is sodium nitrite. In the general example described above, approximately 0.200% (±5%) of the first anti-corrosion material is preferably used. The exact amount of the first and second anti-corrosion materials depends upon the nature of the remaining components of the wall cover material concentrate and the propellant.
When sprayed onto a target surface as will be described in further detail below, the first example wall cover material concentrate forms what is commonly referred to as a “knockdown” spray texture pattern. A knockdown spray texture is formed by a bumpy, irregular texture pattern that is lightly worked with a tool after application to the target surface such that the tops of the bumps formed by the wall cover material are flattened.
In the foregoing example, the amounts of the first and second anti-corrosion materials are preferably held to tolerances of substantially ±5% of the amounts specified in the foregoing table.
This application (Attorney's Reference No. P217256) is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/715,228 filed Mar. 1, 2010. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/715,228 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/080,687 filed Apr. 4, 2008, now abandoned. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/080,687 claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/922,041 filed on Apr. 4, 2007. The contents of all related applications listed above are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60922041 | Apr 2007 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12715228 | Mar 2010 | US |
| Child | 13732274 | US | |
| Parent | 12080687 | Apr 2008 | US |
| Child | 12715228 | US |
