Patent Application
20130308878
Yardwork/landscaping involves the collection and transport of debris such as leaves, sticks, compost, clippings, and other material. Typical tools used to facilitate the collection and transport of these materials include wheelbarrows and tarps.
Construction often involves the mixing and pouring of bagged concrete and cementitious products, or collection and movement of waste or debris. Bagged concrete is an inexpensive product and is often used in small quantities of 1-12 bags at a time. Small batches of concrete are commonly bought as dry aggregate in a bag from a hardware or construction supply store. Bagged concrete comes in 60 and 80 pound bags and requires mixing with water. In its dry state, it is dry and dusty. When mixed with water concrete's viscosity can vary but it is generally runny. The mixing process is typically messy and concrete has the tendency to stain clothes, tools and object it contacts. The mixing process also often involves specialized tools and devices that are not readily adapted to other purposes.
Most bagged concrete is mixed either by hand in a reservoir (bucket, wheelbarrow, tub) or in an electric mixer. Manual mixing can be slow, strenuous, and sloppy as the dry powder and water are mixed with a shovel or hand implement. After mixing, the slurry is then shoveled or poured from the mixing reservoir to the area of use. When an electric mixer is used, the process is less laborious. However, electric mixers are large, heavy and can be cumbersome to maneuver for pouring. In addition, they are also more expensive than may be warranted by a smaller project.
There are methods of mixing concrete that involve using a flat sheet or tarp to combine the dry and wet ingredients. This method involves two or more people holding up corners of the sheet to contain the mixture and rhythmically tossing it back and forth to combine. The finished mixture is then carried in the sheet to the desired destination and poured like water would be poured from a bag. This sheet method makes concrete mixing faster than traditional manual methods. Rather than stirring the mix like one would make dough with a spoon, the mix is folded on top of itself by moving the reservoir that contains it. The flexible nature of the reservoir not only aids in quick mixing but also facilitates easier transport and pouring post-mix. When stored, the sheet can be folded and made much more compact than a rigid reservoir. Traditionally, the sheet method involves a flat, square or rectangular piece of fabric or tarp. In order for this fabric to hold a liquid, it must be lifted at the corners in order to create a reservoir. In order to mix, the users must hold on to the sheet and fold the mixture over on itself. To carry the mix, the sheet must be lifted (bearing the weight of the mixture) and transported. If the reservoir is lost, the mixture will spill out. If the user loses grip on the fabric, mixing and carrying is impossible.
A variety of handles have been designed to increase the grip on the fabric. Many of these involve a plastic or webbed handle fastened to the sheet. Improving the handle design can also improve the integrity of the reservoir, but built-in reservoirs have also been employed to contain the mixture without any action needed by the user. While a plastic or webbed handle can help grip the fabric, they may be difficult and expensive to bond to the fabric. Rigid or formed reservoirs built in to the fabric of the mixer also incur an increased complexity and cost.
Crete Sheet is a tool for mixing concrete made from a flexible membrane. Four handles are added to a square sheet in order to increase the grip on the material. This sheet method requires all four corners to be lifted simultaneously in order to create a reservoir. While mixing, carrying or pouring, the reservoir can be lost causing the mixture to spill out. Cost is higher than necessary, in part because the production method and materials are less common and thus more expensive.
Prior sheet or mat-based mixing techniques include:
“Mix it Quik” (http://www.mixitquik.com/product/html).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,636 “Mixing mat for concrete”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,989 “Flowable material container and mixing mat”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,265 “Method and apparatus for mixing materials”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,638 “Flexible mixing mat and method of use”
United States Patent Application Publication US20060245297 “Portable mixing sheet with handles”
United States Patent Application Publication US20090179446 “Folding Quik mat catch all apparatus”.
Herein described is an apparatus that may be utilized for multiple purposes including collection and transport of yard or light construction debris, and the mixing of small batches of concrete by one or two people.
In the drawings, the same reference numbers and acronyms identify elements or acts with the same or similar functionality for ease of understanding and convenience. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.
Preliminaries
References to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively, unless expressly limited to a single one or multiple ones. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list, unless expressly limited to one or the other.
Overview
A time and labor saving apparatus is described for use by the general consumer (homeowner) as well as the construction tradesmen or contractor. The apparatus may reduce the amount of time and effort involved in both collecting and transporting yard or light construction debris, and the mixing of a cement product, specifically bagged concrete. In one example usage scenario, the apparatus allows for two people to use one tool to mix and pour a 60 pound bag of concrete in less than 1 minute.
Several elements are combined cooperatively to yield a multifunctional apparatus that is useful and convenient for material collection, transport, and mixing of cement materials. Shape, style, handle placement, and handle formation are all simultaneously adapted into a unique configuration involving an envelope formed from a single a sheet of material (3 sided or more) that is folded and bonded on at least two sides, with at least one side remaining open.
Handles are formed from the mat/sheet material itself, into shapes that resemble in form, size, and function, pockets made from material (3 sided or more) folded and bonded along at least two sides with at least one side remaining open to accept the user's hand. Thus both shape, size, and manner of forming the handles diverges from prior approaches utilized for collection tarps or mixing mats. Furthermore, a continuous row of handles may be formed around any or all of the open sides of the envelope. Thus, in addition to divergence in shape, size, and manner of forming the handles, a number and placement of the handles may also (in some cases, drastically) diverge from prior approaches of most similar application. In yet a further divergence from prior techniques of similar application, bonding/fastening is applied to the sheet itself in order the alter the formed shape, and to constrain the openness, with a compound and unexpected effect on handle placement and position.
The cooperative handle and sheet configuration also results in the emergence of another an unexpected property. Specifically, a smooth adaptation and transition from a mixing (or collection) configuration to a pouring/disgorging configuration emerges. In a still further divergence from prior approaches, at least some of the handles are coded to facilitate the transition from collection/mixing to pouring/disgorging configurations.
In one embodiment the apparatus is formed from a rectangle of lightweight sheet material preferably less than 5 oz per square yard and/or less than 7 mils in thickness. The unassembled dimensions are preferably less than 6′ by 8′. These are of course the dimensions for only one of many possible sizes and thicknesses. The sheet is folded in half along its longest dimension, forming a fold axis, and stitched/bonded along one distal end of the fold axis. Leading edges of each of the sides of the other distal end of the fold axis are folded over on themselves, and stitched/bonded in a substantially triangular pattern to form a row of handles. These handles form pockets that accept the forefingers of the user's hands.
Prior to being formed into the apparatus, the sheet is substantially rectangular, meaning it comprises two pairs of sides each pair of sides comprising two sides parallel to one another. A square is a special case of a rectangle. A sheet of material with rounded corners is still substantially rectangular. An example of a rectangular sheet is shown in
Two sides of the sheet (two lateral sides 110) are folded over between three and six inches each, and preferably about 4 inches each, and a continuous substantially triangular seam 112 is formed joining each folded edge to the sheet. This creates a line of pockets extending the entire length of each of the sides 110. The drawings illustrate the formation of four pockets per side; in one preferred mode, there are five pockets per side, for a total of ten. While this number of pockets (sometimes drastically) exceeds the number of handles used in prior approaches, there is unexpected utility that emerges once the shape of the apparatus is compounded by further modification.
In a different embodiment, the seam forming the pockets is not substantially triangular. Instead, the seam is formed as a smooth wave pattern, for example as a “sine” wave or something of similar periodic nature. A “wave” pattern is one that flows continuously and does not have sharp angles (e.g., see
In this partially-formed state, the apparatus is a sheet of material having two edges each folded and stitched to the sheet to form two separate lines of handholds along two edges. One of ordinary skill in the art might find it disadvantageous to perform such extensive stitching in a complex pattern involving angled lines, to create not one but two rows of continuous pockets in locations they would not seem useful. However, the lines of unusually formed pockets may, with additional modification to the form of the sheet, emerge with unexpected utility.
A seam is “substantially triangular” if the seam forms repeated triangular peaks, even if the seam also includes some straight runs of stitches parallel to the edges of the sheet (e.g., a “clipped” triangle with flattened tops or bottoms, such as the illustrated pattern, is still substantially triangular). When the sides of the sheet are drawn up using the handles, the two edges with the triangular stitching become the “top edges” or “top perimeter” 114.
The terms “handhold”, “handles”, and “pockets” are all used herein interchangeably, to refer to the structures formed by the rectangular stitching along the top edges.
The sheet is next folded down a middle axis (it can be either a long or short axis) and a seam 106 is formed joining the two sides 110 of the folded sheet together, thus forming an envelope having an open “top” 108 and one open side 116. This unusual approach, which seals one side from further use to insert or extract material, may nonetheless be utilized advantageously as will be described. Herein, the “top” of 108 the formed apparatus refers to an opening formed when the sheet is laid on the ground and the sides drawn upwards (against gravity) using the handles 104. The open side 116 is the side (in addition to the top 108) that remains unseamed and open to material being added or removed to the envelope while the handles 104 are drawn up.
Once constructed, the apparatus has a three dimensional form that resembles an open-ended envelope with a top perimeter 114 lined with handles 104. The envelope may be filled with materials for mixing or hauling and may be operated by either one or two people. Instructions for one person operation may be described in instructions which may printed on the sheet 102.
A method of construction of an embodiment of the mixing/hauling apparatus in illustrated in
Material inside the envelope may be mixed with water by alternately lifting and lowering opposing paired handles. Bearing the majority of the weight of the internal load is avoided by lifting only a fraction of a side with each alternating lift. To disgorge the load, the handle paring configuration is altered. Handles are paired so that a spout is formed. A back handle pair may be lifted, pivoting the sheet, while a front handle pair is used to guide the contents with the spout to desired location. Alternatively one of the rear handles is used in place of the handle pair to lift back edge and empty out the contents.
Larger batches can be mixed or hauled by two people by positioning one person on each side of the sheet. The sheet is unfolded and placed on the ground with the long fold on the bottom and the handled edges lying on either side to create a pocket. A load is placed inside the pocket. For example, for mixing a bag of concrete may be emptied into the pocket and an appropriate amount of water added depending on the desired mix consistency. Each person alternatively lifts their sides of the device, providing a folding action to mix the materials. Once a desired consistency is achieved, each person continues to hold their current handle configuration. The completed mix can then be hauled within the sheet. To disgorge the contents each person lifts a respective pair of back handles and draws a respective pair of front handles together to form a spout and direct the contents to a desired location. If desirable, one person may lift the back handles while one person uses the front handles to guide pouring.
The present application claims priority as follows: Filing date ofApplicationApplication toapplication toclaimingBasis ofwhich prioritywhich priorityprioritypriority claimis claimedis claimedThis35 U.S.C. 119U.S. Pat. No. 61/647,883May 16, 2012application Each application above to which priority is claimed is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61647883 | May 2012 | US |
