Apparatus and method for shaping drywall mud

Abstract

A drywall mud-shaping tool and a method of using the same to finish cured drywall mud. The tool has a flexible blade that does not contact an exterior surface of a drywall sheet until pressure is applied to the blade. Pressure is applied to the blade by holding the tool's housing in a user's hands and pressing downwardly thereon while drawing the housing across the sheet's exterior surface. The pressure causes the blade to move from a first position where the blade is spaced a distance away from the drywall sheet, to a second position where the blade contacts the drywall sheet. The blade removes some cured drywall mud from the exterior surface and collects the same in a collection chamber provided in the tool housing. The housing may be moved across the drywall sheet's exterior surface a number of times to finish the cured drywall mud.

Description

BACKGROUNDTechnical Field[0001]The present disclosure relates generally to the field of drywall hanging and finishing. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to handheld tools for finishing drywall. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a handheld tool for shaping and finishing drywall mud.Background Information[0002]Drywall, which can also be known as plaster wallboard, sheetrock, or gypsum board, is a common wallcovering and construction material in the U. S. and throughout the world. Drywall is commonly installed on interior walls and ceilings in homes and businesses by attaching sheets of the material to framing studs in order to form a wall or ceiling covering. Once installed, drywall is typically put through a finishing process that includes applying a paper tape over spaces between adjacent drywall sheets, applying mud over the paper tape and portions of the sheets, and then shaping the mud to achieve a smooth and uniform finish on the drywall surface.[00...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]In another aspect, the present disclosure may provide a method of shaping drywall mud comprising the steps of applying wet drywall mud to an exterior surface of a sheet of drywall; allowing sufficient time for the drywall mud to cure; placing a drywall mud-shaping tool against the exterior surface of the sheet of drywall; hand-applying pressure to a main body housing of the drywall mud-shaping tool in a direction oriented at right angles to the exterior surface; moving a blade provided in the main body housing from a first position to a second position relative to a top of the main body housing; contacting cured drywall mud with an edge of the blade when the blade is in the second position; drawing the drywall mud-shaping tool across the cured drywall mud in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the exterior surface of the drywall sheet; and removing some of the cured drywall mud from the exterior surface of the drywall sheet using the blade.

Problems solved by technology

One embodiment of the prior art device described in the '539 publication is not easily adapted to changing conditions of the drywall and drywall mud as it requires use of adjustment screws to change the shape and curvature of the blade.

This requires the operator to stop work to adjust the tool anytime a different profile is desired or anytime a non-uniform condition is present.

This can result in multiple adjustments of the tool being necessary during the finishing process which can cause the operator to lose the time that might have been saved using the disclosed tool.

Further, the inclusion of multiple spring loaded pistons requires additional maintenance and cleaning as dust and debris can become lodged within the springs during use and can diminish performance over time.

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