Claims
- 1. A device for supporting a plurality of scalers or the like for simultaneous usage comprising;
- a main body element fabricated of rectangular tubing including an upper portion having a plurality of threaded bores to adjustably receive the scalers having complementary threads and a plurality of bottom bores coaxial with the threaded bores, said bottom bores including bushings to prevent lateral movement of the bottoms of the scalers during use and means for retaining the bushings in their respective bores.
- 2. A device as in claim 1 wherein the bushings are tapered.
- 3. A device as in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the main body portion is reinforced.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 286,037, filed on Dec. 19, 1988 now abandoned.
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to devices for cleaning decking or the like and, more particularly, to an apparatus for holding and guiding a plurality of commercially available scalers or needle guns permitting easy removal of a single gun for individual use and providing for axial adjustment of the indiviudal guns assuring uniform contact with the surface to be scaled and reducing breakage.
2. Background Art
The maintenance of decking, such as steel decks on boats or the like, has generally required chipping or scaling to remove the paint, spillage, rust or anything else that needed to be removed prior to the final preparation and painting of the surface.
Originally the cleaning and/or chipping was done largely by hand, oftentimes with a handheld tool and a hammer. This chipping process evolved to the point where a reciprocating motion was given to a chisel, again usually handheld, by a pneumatic cylinder. The process later evolved through the use of what is known as a needle gun wherein a pneumatic cylinder causes the reciprocation of a plurality of captured rods or needles causing multiple, small point impact during each stroke, which has greatly increased the efficiency of the process. It is still fairly standard, however, for the operator either to bend over or be on his knees holding one of the needle guns as he proceeds over the surface to be refinished.
The process as described hereinabove is slow, tedious, puts stress on the operator's hand and arm because of the continuous vibration, puts stress upon the operator's knees and/or back because of the position assumed. Further, the process of scaling with a handheld tool endangers the operator because of the proximity of the operator's unprotected anatomy to the scaling operation and the inherent possibility of flying paint chips or other debris.
As with any tool, the needle gun or scaling tool will have a far greater expected life if used properly and, in the case of the needle gun type scalers, the device should ideally be perpendicular to the surface being cleaned, should be operated under a prescribed air pressure and further must be appropriately lubricated.
Some of these operational concerns are addressed by the present invention which encourages proper deck contact and which also allows an individual operator to operate more than one of the needle guns simultaneously, increasing his efficiency.
Prior art known to the present inventor includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,585,740, granted to Saulia May 25, 1926, for a pneumatic tool including a plurality of pneumatic hammers within a single body for simultaneous reciprocal action for scaling or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 1,684,668, granted to Gartin Sept. 18, 1928, discloses a lubrication mechanism for use in a pneumatic drill.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,345,412, granted to Moore Mar. 28, 1944, discloses a method for manufacturing billets including the disclosure of a plurality of torches which are held in a common carrier to move along and clean the surface of a manufactured billet.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,435, granted to Briese May 15, 1951, discloses a deck scaler having a plurality of chisels held in a common carrier which is moved along the deck in a wheeled cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,562,899, granted to Finn Aug. 7, 1951, likewise discloses a pneumatic deck scaling machine wherein a plurality of hammers are moved along the deck in a wheeled cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,420, granted to Young on Jan. 30, 1968, likewise discloses a plurality of deck scalers which are fed from a common pneumatic source and are moved along the deck in a wheeled cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,643, granted to Cameron et al Aug. 1, 1972, discloses a fluid activated scaling device of the type the current invention is designed to utilize.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,055, granted to Caruso et al Feb. 10, 1976, discloses a modification of the device of Cameron et al and likewise a device which could be used in the current inventive device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,546, granted to Rawlings Sept. 22, 1987, discloses an apparatus for stripping paint and includes, as a part of the apparatus, a plurality of needle chisels mounted in a common holder.
With the above-noted prior art and problems in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for a plurality of scalers such that the operator can, in fact, cover a greater area in the same amount of time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a holder for a plurality of scalers such that the scalers can be operated with maximum contact with the surface and consistently at the appropriate relationship thereto.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a holder for a plurality of scrapers or the like wherein axial adjustments to the location of the individual scrapers may easily be made.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a holder for a plurality of scrapers or the like wherein an individual scraper may be quickly and easily removed for use by itself.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 333995 |
Mar 1921 |
DE2 |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
286037 |
Dec 1988 |
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Patent Grant
4947532
