Patent Application
20180148938
The present invention relates to a grout float, and more particularly, to a grout float which is assembled by three parts which are replaceable.
The conventional grout float known to applicant is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,010,133 which includes a first body, a second body and a handle. The first body is a metal plate and the second body is made of soft material. The handle is connected to the first body. Nevertheless, the first body protrudes beyond the grout float and may hurt the users. Besides, the second body is fixed to the first body and cannot be replaceable.
The present invention intends to provide a grout float wherein the second body is replaceable relative to the first body so as to eliminate the shortcomings mentioned above.
The present invention relates to a grout float and comprises a first body made of rigid material and being a board. The first body is received in a first hole in a second body which is a board. The second body has a first face and a second face respectively defined in the top and the underside thereof, wherein the second face is larger than the first face to shape the second body as a trapezoidal body. The second body has a first side and second side. The second body has four first corners. A first inclined face is connected between the first and second faces. A second inclined face is connected between the first and second sides. The second body is made of soft material.
The present invention receives the first body in the second body so that the users do not touch the first body, and the outer appearance of grout float has is attractable and neat. The connection members extend through the third holes, the fourth holes, the second holes and are threadedly connected to the first holes such that the handle unit can be dis-assembled from the second body.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to
The second body 20 is a rectangular board and has two second holes 21 which are located corresponding to the first holes 11. The second body 20 has a first connection portion 22 in which the first body 10 is received. The second body 20 has a first face 23 defined in the top thereof, and a second face 24 is defined in the underside of the second body 20. The area of the second face 24 is larger than that of the first face 23, such that the second body 20 is a trapezoidal body. The second body 20 has a first side 25 and a second side 251 on two opposite sides thereof. A first corner 251 is defined in each of four corners of the second body 20. A first inclined face 26 is connected between the first and second faces 23, 24, and a second inclined face 261 is connected between the first and second sides 25, 251. The first and second inclined faces 26, 261 have the same inclination. The second body 20 is made of soft material such as rubber, plastic, epoxy resin, or sponge. The material of the second body is softer than the material of the first body 10.
The handle unit 30 is connected to the second body 20 and includes a first handle 31 and a second handle 32 which is received in the first handle 31. The second handle 32 is put in the mold set of the first handle 31 so that when the first handle 31 is formed and removed from the mold set, the second handle 32 is located in the first handle 31. The first handle 31 is a U-shaped body and has two third holes 311 which are located corresponding to the first and second holes 11, 21. The first handle 31 has two second connection portions 312 which are located between the two third holes 311, in this embodiment, the second connection portions 312 are passages. The first handle 31 is made of soft material. The second handle 32 is received in the first handle 31 and has two third connection portions 321 which protrude beyond the first handle 31 and are connected to the first face 23. Each of the third connection portions 321 has a fourth hole 322 which is located corresponding to the first hole 11, the second hole 21 and the third hole 311. The second handle 32 has a fourth connection portions 323 which are connected to the two third connection portions 321 and located in the first handle 31. The fourth connection portions 321 each are an inverted U-shaped portion. The second handle 32 is made of stiff material which is different from the material of the first handle 31.
Two connection members 40 each extend through the third hole 311, the fourth hole 322, the second hole 21 and the first hole 11 corresponding thereto so as to connect the handle unit 30 to the first and second bodies 10, 20. In this embodiment, the connection members 40 each have outer threads.
The first body 10 can be put in the mold set of the second body 20 of different shape and specification so that the users can connect the handle unit 30 to the second body 20 of different shape and specification according to practical needs. In other words, the grout float may have different second body 20 while the first body 10 is the same. When unscrewing the connection members 40, the handle unit 30 can be separated from the first and second bodies 10, 20.
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The advantages of the present invention are that the first body 10 is received in the second body 20 so that the users do not touch the first body 10. The outer appearance of grout float has is attractable and neat. The connection members 40 extend through the third holes 311, the fourth holes 322, the second holes 21 and are threadedly connected to the first holes 11 such that the handle unit 30 can be dis-assembled from the second body 20.
The first body 10 can be put in the mold set of the second body 20 of different shape and specification so that the users can connect the handle unit 30 to the second body 20 of different shape and specification according to practical needs.
The expensive part of the grout float is the handle unit 30, the present invention allows the handle unit 30 to be connected multiple sets of the first body 10 and the second body 20 to reduce the cost of the grout floats.
The gout float is used to remove the surplus material between two tiles by the second body 20. When there are three tiles located at the a corner, if the user wants the corner to be a right-angle corner, the right-angle first corner 252 of the second body 20 is used to remove the surplus material. When the corner needs to be form a spherical protrusion, the fourth corner 255 of the second body 20 can be used. When corner needs to be an inclined side or a curved side, the second corner 253 or the third corner 254 is used. The present invention provides the second body 20 of different shapes and the second body 20 can be connected to the handle unit 30 to have more ways of applications.
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
