DE20112765U1 - Fugenglätter - Google Patents

Description

V#feits«Äältin·,.· ·”· ·”♦ Dr. rer. nat. Martina Winter Dipl.-Chem.

European Patent Attorney European Trademark Attorney

Applicant:

Marcel Kopple

Markgräfler Strasse 18 B

70329 Stuttgart

Attorney file K 403 06.08.2001

UTILITY MODEL REGISTRATION Title: Joint smoother

Patent Attorney Dr. Winter

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Description

The present invention relates to a joint smoother with at least one scraping edge for smoothing joints filled with sealant.

Joint smoothers of this type are well known. They are used for grouting, for example when laying tiles or when applying sealant, e.g. made of silicone, to a joint. The well-known joint smoothers are a disc-shaped tool made of plastic with at least one smoothing edge. Depending on the dimensions and shape of the smoothing edge, a joint with a certain cross-sectional shape is created, e.g. round or rectangular. A joint smoother of this type is disclosed in DE 43 12 985 A1.

The problem with the known joint smoothers is that they require a gripping surface for handling, which requires certain minimum dimensions in order to be able to hold the joint smoother securely. However, due to their dimensions, hard-to-reach joints are difficult to reach. Furthermore, only some or a few joint shapes can be created with a joint smoother.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a joint smoother of the above-mentioned type which can be used in a wide variety of ways.

The solution consists in a joint smoother with the features of claim 1. According to the invention, the joint smoother has a handle and a smoothing part with at least one scraping edge attached to the handle. By using a handle, the gripping surface required for handling the joint smoother in the joint smoothers of this type is eliminated. The smoothing part can therefore be smaller than the joint smoothers in the prior art. With the help of the handle, even hard-to-reach joints can be easily reached. Because the smoothing part can be easily replaced, smoothing parts can be used whose scraping edge

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or scraping edges that have a wide variety of contours, so that, depending on requirements or wishes, a wide variety of joint shapes can be realized in a simple and cost-effective manner.

Advantageous further developments emerge from the subclaims. A preferred further development provides that the handle has a handle part and an insertion part and the smoothing part has an opening for plugging onto the insertion part. This means that only one handle is required for different smoothing parts of different sizes.

The at least one scraping edge can have a round, oval or linear contour in order to be able to create different joint shapes. Particularly preferred are three scraping edges, which can be arranged symmetrically around a central axis, for example, in order to create a triangular joint.

An embodiment of the present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1: a schematic, not to scale plan view of an embodiment of a joint smoother according to the invention;

Figure 2: a section along the line Il - Il in Figure 1;

Figures 3a and 3g are schematic, not to scale, plan views of various smoothing parts for the joint smoother according to the invention from Figure 1.

The joint smoother 1 according to the invention shown as an example in Figure 1 consists of a handle and a smoothing part 3. The handle 2 is preferably made of a metallic material or a hard plastic. It has a handle part 2a and an insertion part 2b. In the exemplary embodiment, the handle 2 is 130 mm long, with the handle part 2a being 110 mm and the insertion part 2b being 20 mm long. The width of the handle part 2a is 10 mm and the height of the handle part 2a is 5 mm. Other dimensions are of course also possible. By using a handle 2, the smoothing part 3 can be made smaller than in the prior art, since a gripping surface is no longer required. With the help of the handle 2, even hard-to-reach joints can be easily reached.

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The handle part 2a and the insert part 2b preferably have a cross-section that is approximately rectangular or square. However, this is not mandatory; a round or oval cross-section of the handle part 2a and/or the insert part 2b is also possible. The cross-section of the insert part 2b has a smaller edge length (with a square or rectangular cross-section) or a smaller diameter (with a round or oval cross-section) compared to the cross-section of the handle part 2b.

The smoothing part 3, which has the function of the actual joint smoother, is attached to the insertion part 2b of the handle 2 and in the example is slightly wider than the handle part 2a, e.g. 25 mm. The smoothing part 3 is made of a plastic that is dimensionally stable enough to enable even smoothing of the joint and to create a regular joint profile, but at the same time elastic enough to prevent damage, e.g. to the adjacent tiles. Suitable plastics are, for example, polyurethane or polyethylene.

The smoothing part 3 is in one piece and divided into different areas. The rear area 4 is provided with an opening for the insertion part 2b of the handle 2. Therefore, the rear area 4 is preferably exactly as long or longer than the insertion part 2b. The front area 5 has a central scraping edge 6. The scraping edge 6 is bordered on the right and left by two lateral scraping edges 7, 8. The front area 5 is bevelled forwards in the direction of these scraping edges 6, 7, 8, so that relatively sharp scraping edges 6, 7, 8 are created. With such a smoothing part 3, a so-called triangular joint is created when the sealant, e.g. the silicone, is removed.

It goes without saying that smoothing parts are also part of the invention, with which other joint shapes can be realized, for example round, oval or square shapes in cross-section. To do this, a smoothing part with a correspondingly shaped front area 5 and a rear area 4 with an opening only needs to be placed on the insertion part 2b of the handle 2. The desired joint shape can therefore be realized without great effort. Figures 3a to 3g show examples of smoothing parts 3a to 3g with which different dimensioned triangular joints can be realized. These smoothing parts differ in the dimensions of the scraping edges 6a to 6g, 7a to 7g and 8a to 8g. The length of the middle scraping edge 6a to 6g is 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 mm in the embodiments. Since the total width of the

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smoothing part 3a to 3g remains constant, the length of the lateral scraping edges 7a to 7g and 8a to 8g is shortened accordingly. In order to make it easier to select a suitable smoothing part 3a to 3g without having to check the length of the scraping edges, the smoothing parts 3a to 3g can be colored in different colors, for example blue, red, yellow, violet, gray, green and orange, with each color representing a specific edge length of the scraping edges.

The smoothing parts 3a to 3g shown in the embodiments are mirror-symmetrical to the longitudinal axis of the handle 2. This is of course not absolutely necessary. Depending on the desired joint shape, the smoothing parts can also be designed asymmetrically.

The joint smoother according to the invention thus allows easy processing of even hard-to-reach joints while at the same time allowing the greatest possible variability of the joint shape.

Claims (9)

1. Joint smoother ( 1 ) with at least one scraping edge ( 6 , 6a to 6g ) for smoothing joints filled with sealant, characterized in that the joint smoother ( 1 ) has a handle ( 2 ) and a smoothing part ( 3 ) attached to the handle ( 2 ) with at least one scraping edge ( 6 , 6a to 6g ). 2. Joint smoother according to claim 1, characterized in that the handle ( 2 ) has a handle part ( 2a ) and an insertion part ( 2b ) and the smoothing part ( 3 ) has an opening for plugging onto the insertion part ( 2b ). 3. Joint smoother according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one scraping edge ( 6 , 6 a to 6 b) has a round, oval or linear contour. 4. Joint smoother according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the smoothing part ( 3 ) has three scraping edges ( 6 , 6 a to 6 g; 7 , 7 a to 7 g; 8 , 8 a to 8 g). 5. Joint smoother according to claim 4, characterized in that the three scraping edges ( 6 , 6 a to 6 g; 7 , 7 a to 7 g; 8 , 8 a to 8 g) are mirror-symmetrical about a central axis (x). 6. Smoothing part ( 3 ) for a joint smoother ( 1 ) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it has at least one scraping edge ( 6 , 6a to 6g ) and an opening for attachment to a handle ( 2 ) and/or the insertion part ( 2b ) of a handle ( 2 ). 7. Smoothing part according to claim 6, characterized in that the at least one scraping edge ( 6 , 6 a to 6 b) has a round, oval or linear contour. 8. Smoothing part according to one of claims 6 to 7, characterized in that it has three scraping edges ( 6 , 6 a to 6 g; 7 , 7 a to 7 g; 8 , 8 a to 8 g). 9. Smoothing part according to claim 8, characterized in that the three scraping edges ( 6 , 6 a to 6 g; 7 , 7 a to 7 g; 8 , 8 a to 8 g) are mirror-symmetrical about a central axis (x).