Patent Application
20170107089
The disclosure relates to wall trim removal devices and more particularly pertains to a new wall trim removal device for assisting a person in removing either trim or molding from a wall surface.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a panel that has a top side and a bottom side. The top side includes a front edge, a rear edge, a first lateral edge, and a second lateral edge. The front edge is angled downwardly from the top side to the bottom side such that a terminal edge is defined at a juncture of the top side and the bottom side to form a sharpened edge. The panel has a bend therein extending between the first and second lateral edges. The bend forms an obtuse angle in the top side. The panel has an opening therein positioned between the bend and the front edge. The opening has a forward edge, a rearward edge, a first side edge and a second side edge. The forward edge is adjacent to the front edge. A tab is attached to the forward edge of the opening in the panel. The tab is angled upwardly from the panel. The tab has an upper surface and a lower surface and an angle is formed between the upper surface and the top side that is between 135° and 175°. A grip is attached to the rear edge and extends away therefrom.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The panel 12 has an opening 34 therein positioned between the bend 28 and the front edge 18. The opening 34 has a forward edge 36, a rearward edge 38, a first side edge 39 and a second side edge 40. The forward edge 36 is adjacent to the front edge 18 and is typically less than 1.0 inches from the front edge 18. A grip 42 is attached to the rear edge 20 and extends away therefrom. The grip 42 is angled upwardly from the rear edge 20. The grip 42 has an attached end 44 and free end 46 with respect to the panel 12. A longitudinal axis is defined extending through the attached 44 and the free 46 ends. An angle 48 formed at a juncture of the top side 14 and attached end 44 is between the 180° and 230°. The front edge 18 has a width from the first lateral edge 22 to the second lateral edge 24 between 3.5 inches and 4.5 inches. The panel 12 has a length from the front edge 18 to the bend 28 in the panel 12 between 3.0 inches and 4.0 inches and a length from the bend 28 in the panel 12 to the rearward edge 20 between 2.0 inches and 3.0 inches. The grip 42 may have a length depending on usage and in particular be between 6.0 inches and 9.0 inches when used on floor trim attached to walls while it may have a length between 30.0 inches and 50.0 inches when the assembly 10 is being used for harder to reach areas such as crown molding. The grip 42 may be covered by a handle 50 which terminates in a head 52, or cap. The head 52 may be comprised of a metallic material, such as steel, or an elastomeric material such that the head 52 may be struck with a mallet or hammer without damaging the assembly 10. The free end 46 may be formed by a slit 54 extending into the grip 42 to form an upwardly extending shoulder 56 and a downwardly extending shoulder 58 positioned opposite of the panel 12. The upwardly 56 and downwardly 58 extending shoulders are received by the head 52 and facilitate an impact force of a striking hammer to move through the grip 42 and into the panel 12 without bending or damaging the grip 42.
A tab 60 is attached to the forward edge 36 of the opening in the panel 12. The tab 60 is angled upwardly from the panel 12 and has an upper surface 62 and a lower surface 64. An angle 66 is formed between the upper surface 62 and the top side 14 that is between 135° and 175°. The tab 60 has a size to fit through the opening 34 and the opening 34 may have a length and width each being between 2.0 inches and 3.0 inches. The tab 60 has a distal edge 68 with respect to the forward edge 36. The tab 60 has a bend 70 therein positioned adjacent to the distal edge 68 and more specifically less than 0.25 inches from the distal edge 68. An angle 72 formed in the upper surface 62 by the bend 70 in the tab 60 is between 195° and 225°. The tab 60 has a length from the forward edge 36 to the distal edge 38 between 2.0 inches and 3.0 inches.
In use, the user extends the terminal edge 26 of the panel 12 between a wall surface and molding or trim attached to the wall. The user may, if needed, strike the free end 46 or heat 52 of the grip 42 to force the panel 12 between the wall and the trim. As the panel 12 moves between the trim and the wall, the tab 60 will begin to engage the trim and force it away from the wall. The panel 12 protects the wall from damage as the trim is forced away from the wall.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
