Drywall installation generally involves securing wallboard panels in place, and applying and smoothing a joint compound (often called drywall “mud”) to conceal fasteners, tape, joints between adjacent wallboard panels, minor wallboard damage and the like. Drywall installers (referred to herein as “drywallers”) apply the mud in a wet state and use a drywall “knife” to smooth it while still wet. The mud dries, leaving a smooth wall finish for painting or wallpapering. Sometimes multiple applications of mud are required, a final coat possibly being a “skim coat” that covers the wallboard and previous applications of mud, to minimize any visual differences between otherwise bare wallboard, and mudded areas. The drywaller applying the mud generally handles at least a drywall knife and a mud pan at most times, and may also handle other tools such as hammers, screwdrivers and the like occasionally to address minor issues such as nails or screws that are not completely seated.
In an embodiment, a drywall knife holster includes a belt hook, a back member and a knife holder formed of a material. The back member couples with the belt hook through a downwardly facing U-bend formed of the material. The knife holder couples with the back member through an upwardly facing U-bend, and the upwardly facing U-bend biases a pinch region of the knife holder toward the back member. Inserting a drywall knife blade between the knife holder and the back member, and seating a leading edge of the drywall knife blade within the upwardly facing U-bend, causes the pinch region of the knife holder to urge a handle of the drywall knife into contact with the back member.
In an embodiment, a drywall knife holster includes a belt hook portion formed of a first material and a holster portion formed of a second material. The holster portion includes a back member formed of the second material, and a knife holder formed of the second material. The knife holder couples with the back member through an upwardly facing U-bend, and the upwardly facing U-bend biases a pinch region of the knife holder toward the back member. Inserting a drywall knife blade between the knife holder and the back member, and seating a leading edge of the drywall knife blade within the upwardly facing U-bend, causes the pinch region of the knife holder to urge a handle of the drywall knife into contact with the back member. The holster portion couples with the belt hook portion through a swiveling connector.
In an embodiment, a drywall knife holster includes a belt hook, a back member and a knife holder formed of a material, and a continuation of the material. The back member couples with the belt hook through a downwardly facing U-bend of the material. The knife holder couples with the back member through an upwardly facing U-bend of the material, and the upwardly facing U-bend biases a pinch region of the knife holder toward the back member. Inserting a drywall knife blade between the knife holder and the back member, and seating a leading edge of the drywall knife blade within the upwardly facing U-bend, causes the pinch region of the knife holder to urge a handle of the drywall knife into contact with the back member. The continuation of the material forms at least one of a second knife holder and a loop member that accommodates a tool other than a drywall knife.
The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appended figures:
Holsters that can conveniently hold one or more drywall knives and/or other tools ready for use by a drywaller are disclosed herein. Advantages provided by embodiments include providing a convenient way to store the drywall knife, while also providing easy access for the drywaller to retrieve the drywall knife for use. Optional features include apertures that allow loose drywall mud to escape from the holster, provisions to store multiple tools, and a mechanism that allows a portion of the holster to swing freely when a user of the holster moves to a leaning position.
In some embodiments, drywall knife holster 100 is fabricated from a single piece of material, such as plastic, rubber or metal, while in other embodiments, combinations of any of these materials can be used. Suitable materials will be resistant to the chemical components of typical drywall muds, and will be mechanically durable, and moderately flexible. Suitable plastics include thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride (sometimes sold by Sikisui SPI under the brand name Kydex), certain acrylics, certain polyvinyl chlorides (PVCs), certain polyethylenes, certain polypropylenes, certain polycarbonates, certain polyamides (e.g., nylon), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), combinations of these materials, and the like.
Holster 100 includes a back member 110 that couples, through an upwardly facing U-bend 122, with a knife holder 120. Back member 110 also couples, through a downwardly facing U-bend 132, with a belt hook 130. The downwardly facing end of belt hook 130 is considered a proximal end of the material forming holster 100, while the upwardly facing end of knife holder 120 is considered a distal end of the material.
Advantageously, U-bend 122 biases knife holder 120 toward back member 110 at a knife pinch region 124, as shown; knife holder 120 may or may not contact back member 110 at knife pinch region 124 when no drywall knife is present. Knife holder 120 ends, distal to upwardly facing U-bend 122 and knife pinch region 124, at a distal end 126 that is advantageously a slight distance from back member 110, forming a gap G. Downwardly facing U-bend 132 may bias belt hook 130 toward back member 110. Belt hook 130 may include an optional retaining feature 136 at a proximal end of the material of holster 100. Belt hook 130 and/or optional retaining feature 136 may be in contact with back member 110, or may be a slight distance from back member 110, when holster 100 is not in use. Alternatively, a proximal end of the material of holster 100 may not form retaining feature 136. The presence, absence and/or size of retaining feature 136 may involve a tradeoff between functionality and comfort. That is, when retaining feature 136 is present, drywall knife holster 100 may couple more securely with a belt or pocket of a drywaller. However, when retaining feature 136 is present and especially if it is large, it may cause belt hook 130 to press against and irritate the drywaller, as compared with drywall knife holster 100 without retaining feature 136. Thus, if present, retaining feature is ideally smaller than a thickness of a belt that it is intended for use with.
Knife holder 120 may form one or more apertures 140 near upwardly facing U-bend 122, as shown in
In use, a drywaller inserts belt hook 130 over a belt or within a pants pocket, and slides a drywall knife blade between knife holder 120 and back member 110 so that a leading edge of the drywall knife blade seats within upwardly facing U-bend 122 (see
Certain dimensions of drywall knife holster 100 are discussed below. The dimensions discussed are exemplary only; many equivalents and variations will be evident to one skilled in the art, based on the teachings herein. A thickness T of material forming holster 100 (e.g., as shown in
A width W1 at upwardly facing U-bend 122 typically matches a width of a drywall knife intended for use with holster 100. Most drywallers will prefer width W1 to be the same as, or up to about one inch wider than, a drywall knife intended for use with holster 100. Holster 100 can be used with drywall knives wider than W1, but one or both corners of the drywall knife may protrude from the sides of holster 100, and may pose an injury or damage hazard.
A height H1 of knife holder 120 above U-bend 122, and a height H2 of knife pinch region 124 above U-bend 122, help determine a retaining force exerted on a drywall knife blade within holster 100, and relate to how holster 100 prevents the drywall knife from accidentally contacting nearby objects or surfaces. For a six inch drywall knife having a blade that extends about four inches from its handle, a height H1 of about 3 inches and a height H2 of about 2½ inches are suitable. It may be undesirable to have H1 less than a distance that the drywall knife extends from a handle, as the handle will run into distal end 126 before the knife edge seats within U-bend 122. An overall height H4 is also related to size of a drywall knife intended for use therewith. For a six inch drywall knife, a height H4 of about seven inches is suitable. Height H4 should at least exceed a length of the intended drywall knife blade, so that when the blade is seated within holster 100, the handle contacts back member 110 (e.g., at point 128, see
A width W2 at downwardly facing U-bend 132 relates to the fit of holster 100 on or within a drywaller's belt or pocket. A width W2 of about 1¾ inches has been found to be useful, but a wider or narrower width W2 can be used. Similarly, height H3 below downwardly facing U-bend 132 relates to securing belt hook 130 to the drywaller's belt or pocket. A longer height H3 may improve secure coupling of holster 100 to the drywaller's belt or pocket, but may become cumbersome. A height H3 of about 2 inches has been found to be suitable, but a longer or shorter height H3 can be used.
In some embodiments, dual drywall knife holster 200 is fabricated from of plastic (possibly, a single piece of plastic) while in other embodiments, rubber or metal, or combinations of any of these materials, can be used. Holster 200 includes a back member 210 that couples, through an upwardly facing U-bend 222, with a knife holder 220. Back member 210 also couples, through a downwardly facing U-bend 232, with a belt hook 230. Advantageously, U-bend 222 biases knife holder 220 into proximity with back member 210 at a first knife pinch region 224, as shown; knife holder 220 may or may not contact back member 210 when no drywall knife is present. Knife holder 220 continues, away from upwardly facing U-bend 222 and past first knife pinch region 224, into a second downwardly facing U-bend 226 that is advantageously a slight distance from back member 210, forming a gap G1. An intermediate member 250 continues from second U-bend 226 and forms a location for holstering a second drywall knife. That is, intermediate member 250 continues into a fourth U-bend 262 and beyond to form a second knife holder 260. Second knife holder 260 forms a second knife pinch region 264, and a distal end 266 that may be separated from intermediate member 250 by a second gap G2.
In use, a first drywall knife can be seated between back member 210 and first knife pinch region 224, and a second drywall knife can be seated between intermediate member 250 and second knife pinch region 264. The principles discussed above in connection with
Similar to the U-bends discussed above, U-bend 232 advantageously biases belt hook 230 toward back member 210; belt hook 230 may or may not contact back member 210 when drywall knife holster 200 is not in use; belt hook 230 may include an optional retaining feature 236 that may be a slight distance from back member 210 when holster 200 is not in use; and/or, belt hook 230 can end without forming retaining feature 236.
Also, similar to apertures 140 discussed above, knife holder 220 may form one or more apertures 240 near U-bend 222, and knife holder 260 can form one or more apertures 242 near U-bend 262. Apertures 240 and/or 242 may be of any shape and/or size, recognizing the consequences of the apertures on strength of holster 200, as discussed above in connection with holster 100.
In use, a drywaller can insert belt hook 230 over a belt or within a pants pocket, slide a first drywall knife between knife holder 220 and back member 210 so that an edge of the drywall knife seats within upwardly facing U-bend 222, and slide a second drywall knife between knife holder 260 and intermediate member 250. A drywaller that uses holster 200 quickly becomes familiar with its position, and the positions of both drywall knives, relative to his or her body. The drywaller readily adapts to inserting leading corners or edges of drywall knives into gaps G1 and G2, readily learns where handles of the drywall knives are, and can retrieve them easily for use.
In some embodiments, drywall knife holster 300 is fabricated from a single piece of plastic, while in other embodiments, rubber or metal, or combinations of any of these materials, can be used. Holster 300 includes a back member 310 that couples with a knife holder 320 through an upwardly facing U-bend 322; back member 310 also couples with a belt hook 330 through a downwardly facing U-bend 332. Advantageously, U-bend 322 biases knife holder 320 into proximity with back member 310 at a first knife pinch region 324, as shown; knife holder 320 may or may not contact back member 310 when no drywall knife is present. Knife holder 320 continues, away from U-bend 322 and past first knife pinch region 324, into a bend 326 that is advantageously a slight distance from back member 310, forming a gap G3. A loop member 350 continues from bend 326 and forms an aperture 352 for retaining a further tool such as a hammer or a screwdriver. Dimensions of loop member 350 and aperture 352 may be varied as needed to accommodate various tools, and loop member 350 may form multiple apertures 352 therethrough, to accommodate multiple tools. One skilled in the art will readily conceive of many equivalents and variations, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure.
In some embodiments, drywall knife holster 400 is fabricated of plastic, while in other embodiments, rubber or metal, or combinations of any of these materials, can be used for the multiple portions of holster 400 now described. Holster 400 includes a belt hook portion 430 that in turn includes a proximal portion 431, a downwardly facing U-bend 432 and a distal portion 434 formed of a first material. Proximal portion 431 may end in a retaining feature 436, as shown. In a region 433 of belt hook portion 430 that includes U-bend 432, the material is thicker than in other parts of belt hook portion 430. The increased thickness of region 433 may help strengthen belt hook portion 430 to increase its service life (e.g., by mitigating cracking that can occur at U-bend 432).
Belt hook portion 430 couples with a holster portion 411 through a swiveling connector 438 which may be a separate mechanical feature such as a rivet or a snap, or may be a protrusion formed by one of belt hook portion 430 or back member 410 that extends through an aperture formed in the other. Back member 410 that couples with a knife holder 420 through an upwardly facing U-bend 422.
Swiveling connector 438 is advantageously loose enough to allow holster portion 411 to swing freely in response to the weight of a drywall knife stored therein, so that when the drywaller using holster 400 leans or moves, the knife is less likely to fall out of holster 400. However, connector 438 also advantageously supplies enough resistance to rotation so that holster portion 411 does not distract the drywaller by swinging back and forth.
Because swiveling connector 438 mechanically decouples belt hook portion 430 from holster portion 411, embodiments that use swiveling connector 438 can benefit from use of differing materials for belt hook portion 430 and holster portion 411. In one particularly advantageous embodiment, belt hook portion 430 is formed of metal and includes a protrusion extending therefrom, while holster portion 411 is formed of plastic and forms an aperture that accepts the protrusion, to form swiveling connector 438.
Except as discussed above, features of holster 400 such as belt hook portion 430, U-bends 422 and 432, knife holder 420, knife pinch region 424, distal end 426 forming gap G4 from back member 410 have similar or identical function to similar items described above in connection with holsters 100, 200 and 300.
Although the features of increased thickness in selected regions, using a swiveling connector between a belt hook portion and a holster portion, omitting apertures in a knife holder, and forming sealed edge portions are disclosed in
It should thus be clear that a variety of drywall knife holsters and features are contemplated as within the scope of the present application. Having described several embodiments, it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/891,045, filed Feb. 7, 2018, entitled “DRYWALL KNIFE HOLSTER,” the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15891045 | Feb 2018 | US |
Child | 16705802 | US |