Motorized grout-removing device

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6719504
  • Patent Number
    6,719,504
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, August 23, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 13, 2004
    20 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Cadugan; Erica
    • Ross; Dana D
    Agents
    • Sim & McBurney
Abstract
A device for removing grout from between a joint. The device comprises at least one handle member with at least one guide and at least one motor portion. The motor portion has at least one cutting member. The guide and the cutting member are aligned. The guide is adapted to guide the cutting member along the joint.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates generally to the removal of grout between joints and, in particular, to a motorized grout-removing device for removal of grout between tiles.




In the present invention, the term ‘grout’ is understood to include mortar or any other similar material used to separate, join or fill-in between joints, joins or interfaces between ‘tiles’. The term ‘tiles’ includes ceramic and/or refractory tiles, building blocks such as bricks, stone blocks, cladding, marble tiles or slabs.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Tiles are used widely in construction in a wide variety of locations, including as flooring and walls. For instance, tiles may be used in walls, counters and floors of kitchens, as walls and flooring in bathrooms, as walls and flooring in showers, and in many other locations. In the installation of tiles, grout is placed between the tiles, especially to seal the tiles in place and prevent water, dirt or the like from entering the space between the tiles and causing damage to the structure on which the tiles are located or causing an unacceptable appearance.




In the event that tiles need to be removed after installation e.g. for replacement with new tiles or for repair of damaged tiles, or for other reasons, it is necessary to remove the grout. Removal of grout in the joints between tiles is a tedious process. There are very few devices available commercially for the removal of grout from between tiles, regardless of whether the grout is between ceramic tiles or the like or between building blocks e.g. bricks and stone blocks or the like. Clean-cut grout removal is very difficult to obtain and use of unsuitable devices often results in cracked or broken tiles.




Grout may be removed either by manually cutting or by chiseling the grout. One particular device used in this manner has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,718. This patent describes a screwdriver-type device whereby the grout-removing portion of the device is a blade. The user operates the device by manually chiseling the grout.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,588 describes a grout-cleaning device having an elongated pear-shaped handle, which incorporates a single saw blade within a slot disposed along the narrow edge of the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,881 describes a similar grout-removal device with multiple saw blades fitted side-by-side within a slot of the narrow edge of the elongated handle. Various saw blades may be used to accommodate various sizes of grout joints.




All of these particular devices require the user to either manually saw or chisel the grout to remove it, both of which are tedious processes.




International Patent Application WO 97/48536 describes a device that removes grout using a laser. The laser is directed onto the grout to remove the grout. The disadvantage of this particular device is that it is quite complicated in design and, thus, costly and difficult to manufacture.




It would be beneficial, therefore, to provide a grout-removal device that is adaptable for use with various sizes of grout joints, affords the user control to avoid or reduce damage to adjacent tiles, and allows the grout to be removed quickly and easily, in a more cost effective manner.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for removing grout from between a joint, the device comprising:




at least one handle member with at least one guide and at least one motor portion, the motor portion having a motor and at least one cutting member;




the guide and the cutting member being aligned;




the guide being adapted to guide the cutting member along the joint.




In a preferred embodiment of the device of the present invention, the guide is a wheel or a guiding edge.




In another embodiment, the guide is an elongate guide such as an elongate guiding edge.




In a further embodiment, the handle member is substantially perpendicular to the guide.




In another embodiment, the device has one or more handle members and one or more motor portions. Preferably, there are two handle members and one motor portion, each handle member having an end connected to the motor portion.




In another embodiment, there is one handle member and two motor portions, the two motor portions being a first motor portion and a second motor portion, the handle member having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to the first motor portion and the second end is connected to the second motor portion.




In another embodiment, the handle member has an end, wherein the end is connected to the motor portion, the motor portion being angled with respect to the surface such that the guide and the cutting member remain in contact with the joint. Preferably, the motor portion is angled towards the handle member, at an angle of from about 45° to less than about 90° with respect to the surface.




Preferably, the motor portion is a battery operated motor portion or has an electrical power cord. More preferably, the motor portion is a power drill or power tool.




Preferably, the cutting member is selected from the group consisting of a blade, a saw and a side cutting bit. More preferably, the cutting member is selected from the group consisting of a router bit, an end mill, a rasp bit, a circular saw and a reciprocating saw. Most preferably, the cutting member is a router bit.




Preferably, the handle member has an opening for receiving a hand of a user.




Preferably, the handle member is made from a rigid material selected from the group consisting of wood, metal, plastic and medium density fibreboard. More preferably, the handle member is made from plastic.




In another embodiment, the motor portion is connected to the handle member by a flange or a spigot. Preferably, the flange or the spigot has at least one of a vertical adjustment means and an angle adjustment means for adjusting the motor portion. More preferably, the at least one of the vertical adjustment means and the angle adjustment means is a slot.




In another embodiment, the motor portion is moulded into the handle portion.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and in which:





FIG. 1

is a side elevation of a first embodiment of a motorized grout-removing device;





FIG. 2

is a side elevation of a handle portion of the first embodiment;





FIG. 3

is a bottom elevation of the handle portion of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

is an end elevation of the handle of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 5

is a side elevation of a second embodiment of a motorized grout-removing device;





FIG. 6

is a side elevation of a third embodiment of a motorized grout-removing device; and





FIG. 7

is a side elevation of a fourth embodiment of a motorized grout-removing device.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The present invention is directed to a motorized grout-removal device that is adaptable for use with various sizes of grout-containing joints, especially various widths and depths of grout-containing joints. The device has a motor portion incorporating a cutting member for removal of grout as the device is moved and guided along the joint. In addition, the device has a guide, such as a guiding edge or at least one wheel, for guiding the device along the grout-containing joint and to facilitate maintaining the cutting member of the device within the joint. The cutting member is spaced from the guide.




Referring to the drawings and, initially, to

FIG. 1

, there is illustrated a motorized grout-removing device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The device is generally indicated by


10


. Device


10


comprises handle portion


12


and motor portion


14


. Handle portion


12


has opening


16


for receiving the hand of a user. Handle portion


12


also has a pair of wheel wells


18


located on its lower edge, for accommodating wheels


20


. Wheels


20


are held in place by axles


22


. Wheels


20


are aligned, and may be referred to as in-line wheels.




Motor portion


14


is connected to handle portion


12


by flanges


24


and held in place by a plurality of screws


26


. Bolts, rivets or other attachments could be used. Motor portion


14


has motor


28


with drill chuck


30


, which in turn receives router bit


32


. Router


32


is an example of the cutting member discussed above. Motor portion


14


has switch


34


to activate motor


28


. It is understood that wheels


20


and router


32


are aligned.





FIG. 2

shows only handle portion


12


of FIG.


1


. Handle portion


12


has opening


16


for receiving the hand of a user. Handle portion


12


also has a pair of wheel wells


18


located on its lower edge, for accommodating wheels


20


. Wheels


20


are held in place by axles


22


.





FIG. 3

shows the bottom elevation of handle portion


12


. It shows a pair of wheels


20


located within wheel wells


18


. Wheels


20


are held in place by axles


22


.





FIG. 4

shows a view of end portion


36


of

FIG. 2

, with wheel


20


located within wheel well


18


. Wheel


20


is held in place by axle


22


.




In other embodiments, the device may have a plurality of motor portions. For example,

FIG. 5

shows a device


40


with a handle portion


42


. Motor portions


44


and


46


are connected to both the front end and back end of handle portion


42


, respectively. Handle portion


42


has an opening


48


for receiving the hand of a user. Handle portion


42


also has wheel wells


50


located on its lower edge, for accommodating wheels


52


. Wheels


52


are held in place by axles


54


. Wheels


52


are aligned, and may be referred to as in-line wheels.




Motor portions


44


and


46


are connected to handle portion


42


by flanges


56


and


58


and held in place by a plurality of screws


60


or other attachment means. Motor portions


44


and


46


have motors


62


and


64


, respectively, with drill chucks


66


and


68


, which in turn receive router bits


70


and


72


, respectively. Each motor portion


44


and


46


has a switch,


74


and


76


respectively, to activate motors


62


and


64


. It is understood that wheels


52


and router bits


70


and


72


are aligned.




In another embodiment, the device may also have a plurality of handle portions. For example,

FIG. 6

shows a device


80


with a motor portion


82


situated between handle portions


84


and


86


. Each handle portion,


84


and


86


, has an opening


88


and


90


, respectively, for receiving the hands of a user. Handle portion


84


and


86


also have wheel wells


92


and


94


, respectively, located on its lower edge, for accommodating wheels


96


and


98


. Wheels


96


and


98


are held in place by axles


100


and


102


, respectively. Wheels


96


and


98


are aligned, and may be referred to as in-line wheels.




Motor portion


82


is connected to handle portions


84


and


86


by flanges


104


and


106


, respectively and held in place by a plurality of screws


108


or other attachment means. Motor portion


82


has a motor


110


with a drill chuck


112


, which in turn receives router bit


114


. Motor portion


82


has a switch


116


to activate motor


110


. It is understood that wheels


96


and


98


and router bit


114


are aligned.




Although the embodiment of

FIG. 6

shows each handle having two wheels, it is understood that one or both handles could have only one wheel. Additional wheels could be added to one or both handles.




In other embodiments, the device may have an angled motor portion. For example,

FIG. 7

shows a device


120


with a motor portion


122


connected to a handle portion


124


at an angle. Handle portion


124


has an opening


126


for receiving the hand of a user. Handle portion


124


also has wheel wells


128


located on its lower edge, for accommodating wheels


130


. Wheels


130


are held in place by axles


132


. Wheels


130


are aligned, and may be referred to as in-line wheels.




Motor portion


122


is connected to handle portion


124


by a flange


134


and held in place by a plurality of screws


136


or other attachment means. Motor portion


122


has a motor


138


with a drill chuck


140


, which in turn receives a router bit


142


. Motor portion


122


has a switch


144


to activate motor


138


. It is understood that wheels


130


and router bit


142


are aligned with one another in such a way that wheels


130


and router bit


142


remain in contact with the grout-containing joint.




In this embodiment, motor portion


122


is usually in the plane formed by handle portion


124


but with motor


138


and router bit


142


not perpendicular to the surface containing the joint, especially with motor portion


122


being angled towards handle portion


124


. Preferably, motor portion


122


is less than about 90° with respect to the surface. More preferably, the angle is in a range of from about 45° to less than about 90° with respect to the surface.




Further embodiments may have the guide and the cutting member aligned, with the handle portion at right angles to the guide.




The handle portion of the device may be made from any material such as plastic, medium density fibreboard, metal or wood, as long as the material is rigid enough to withstand use of the device for grout removal. Preferably handle portion


12


is made from plastic. The handle portion may be any shape or size provided that the handle portion may accommodate the guide and motor portion, and be readily gripped by a user. Ergonomic designs may be used, and are preferred.




The motor portion may be any motorized device, preferably battery operated or having an electrical connection. More preferably, the motor portion is a power drill or power tool.




The motor portion is connected to the handle portion. In preferred embodiments, the motor portion is connected to the handle portion by a flange or a spigot. The motor portion may be moulded into the handle portion.




The cutting member may be any type of blade, saw, or side cutting bit, and in preferred embodiments, the cutting member may be a router bit, an end mill, a rasp bit, a circular saw or a reciprocating saw. Various sizes of cutting members e.g. router bits, may be used, especially to fit the width and depth of the joint. The cutting member may also be adjusted in such a manner as to decrease or increase its depth. For example, the router bit may be adjusted within the drill chuck to expose a certain and desired length of the router bit.




In another embodiment, the connection of the motor portion to the handle portion could be adjusted in such a way as to raise or lower the motor portion relative to the handle portion such that the cutting member would increase or decrease its depth of penetration within the joint. This could be achieved using slots within the flange attaching the motor portion to the handle portion with screws and butterfly nuts. Other means of vertical adjustment may be used.




In another embodiment, the connection of the motor portion to the handle portion could be adjusted in such a way as to angle the motor portion relative to the handle portion such that the motor and cutting member are not perpendicular to the surface containing the joint. This could be achieved using slots within the flange attaching the motor portion to the handle portion with screws and butterfly nuts. Other means of angle adjustment may be used.




In another embodiment, the connection of the motor portion to the handle portion could be adjusted in such a way as to angle the motor portion relative to the handle portion such that the motor and cutting member are not perpendicular to the surface containing the joint and raise or lower the motor portion relative to the handle portion such that the cutting member would increase or decrease its depth of penetration within the joint.




The cutting member may be attached to the motor of the motor portion by a clamping member. The clamping member is preferably a drill chuck.




As illustrated in the above embodiments, the guide may be a plurality of wheels. There are a variety of different types of guides that could be used, for instance, a guiding edge. The guide may be one wheel only. The guide may also be an elongate guide such as an elongate guiding edge. The guide is preferably adaptable to various widths of the joints, and more preferably, the guide fits the approximate width and depth of the grout-containing joint, allowing the guide to move with ease along the joint.




Devices


10


,


40


,


80


and


120


of the first, second, third and fourth embodiments all operate in a similar manner. Device


10


is initiated by activating switch


34


, which initiates motor portion


14


. Wheels


20


are aligned in the joints of the tiles and, using handle portion


12


, device


10


is pushed or pulled along the joint allowing router bit


32


to cut through the grout. Router bit


32


is set to the required depth.




These devices are adaptable for use with various sizes of grout joints, afford the user control to reduce or avoid damage to adjacent tiles, and allow the grout to be removed quickly and easily, in a more cost-effective manner.



Claims
  • 1. A device for removing grout from between a joint between adjacent tiles on a planar surface, said device comprising:a planar at least one handle member having a forward end and a rearward end and a motor portion connected to said rearward end of the handle member, said handle member having an opening therethrough for receiving a hand of a user, said motor portion having a motor and at least one cutting member; a first guide in the form of a wheel mounted adjacent the forward end of said handle member and a second guide in the form of a wheel mounted adjacent the rearward end of said handle member, said guides being in planar alignment with said handle member, said guide and said cutting member being axially aligned for axial alignment thereof with said grout; said guides guiding said cutting member along said joint while engaging tiles on said planar surface.
  • 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein there is one handle member and one motor portion.
  • 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said handle member has an end connected to said motor portion, said motor portion being angled with respect to the joint such that said guide and said cutting member remain in contact with the joint.
  • 4. A device according to claim 1 wherein said motor portion is angled towards said handle member at an angle of from about 45° to less than 90°.
  • 5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said motor portion is a battery operated motor portion.
  • 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein said motor portion has an electrical power cord.
  • 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein said motor portion is a power drill or power tool.
  • 8. A device according to claim 1, wherein said cutting member is selected from the group consisting of a blade, a saw and a side cutting bit.
  • 9. A device according to claim 1, wherein said cutting member is selected from the group consisting of a router bit, an end mill, a rasp bit, a circular saw or a reciprocating saw.
  • 10. A device according to claim 9, wherein said cutting member is said router bit.
  • 11. A device according to claim 1, wherein said handle member is made from a rigid material selected from the group consisting of wood, metal, plastic and medium density fibreboard.
  • 12. A device according to claim 11, wherein said handle member is made from plastic.
  • 13. A device according to claim 1, wherein said motor portion is connected to said handle member by a flange or a spigot.
  • 14. A device according to claim 13, wherein said flange or said spigot has at least one of a vertical adjustment means and an angle adjustment means for adjusting said motor portion.
  • 15. A device according to claim 14, wherein said at least one of said vertical adjustment means and said angle adjustment means is a slot.
  • 16. A device according to claim 1, wherein said motor portion is moulded into the handle portion.
  • 17. A device for removing grout from a joint, said device comprising:two planar handle members, each having a forward end and a rearward end, and one motor portion connected to said rearward end of each handle member, each said handle member having an opening therethrough for receiving a hand of a user, said motor portion having a motor and at least one cutting member, and wheels mounted adjacent the forward end of each of said handle members and wheels mounted adjacent the rearward end of each of said handle members, said wheels being in planar alignment with said handle members said wheels and said cutting member being axially aligned to axial alignment thereof with the grout, said wheels guiding said cutting member along said joint.
  • 18. A device for removing grout from a joint, said device comprising:one planar handle member and two motor portions, said two motor portions being a first motor portion and a second motor portion, said handle member having a forward end and a rearward end, wherein said forward end is connected to said first motor portion and said rearward end is connected to said second motor portion, said handle member having an opening therethrough for receiving a hand of a user, each said motor portion having a motor and at least one cutting member, a wheel mounted adjacent the forward end of the handle member and a wheel mounted adjacent the rearward end of the handle member said wheels being in planar alignment with said handle member, said wheels and said cutting member being axially aligned for axial alignment thereof with said grout, said wheels guiding said cutting member along said joint.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority pursuant to 35 USC 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/266,291 dated Nov. 1, 2000.

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Number Name Date Kind
4064588 Cooper Dec 1977 A
4155142 Demetriadis May 1979 A
4338718 Olkkola Jul 1982 A
4738571 Olson et al. Apr 1988 A
4769201 Chiuminatta et al. Sep 1988 A
5409299 Holder Apr 1995 A
5725036 Walter Mar 1998 A
5885139 Lemieux et al. Mar 1999 A
5902080 Kopras May 1999 A
6023811 Ciarrocchi Feb 2000 A
6027289 Posh Feb 2000 A
6048260 Kopras Apr 2000 A
6224305 Huggins May 2001 B1
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
WO 9748536 Dec 1997 WO
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/266291 Nov 2000 US