FR2837228A1 - Spatula for smoothing coating comprises blade held by U-shaped section and comprises plane principal part and folded end connected to section vertical face - Google Patents

Abstract

The spatula comprises a blade (2) and a handle (1). It has a U-shaped rigid section (3), of the same length as the blade for holding it, having two horizontal portions and a vertical portion. There are means for fixing the handle in a direction perpendicular to a vertical face of the section or to a junction piece (4) fixed to the section. The flexible blade comprises plane principal part (21) and a folded end (22) connected to the vertical face of the section.

Description

level than that of the upper surface of the slab (4).

:

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Smoothing spatula

  The present invention relates to a spatula intended to smooth a coating.

  The invention relates more particularly to a spatula for smoothing a coating on

  s a cured surface such as a wall, a vaTe or a work ceiling.

  11 is known in the prior art spatulas of substantially flat shape consisting of a wooden handle in the extension of a metal blade to smooth a layer of mortar applied to a wall. The smoothing of a coating with such spatulas cannot be carried out by keeping the blade o of the spatula parallel to the surface because of the thickness of the hand around the handle of the spatula. The hand being too close to the surface of the wall to be coated during smoothing, the surface obtained has irregularities, in particular undulations. The use of such flat spatulas is not easy to place the blade on the coating and hold it in parallel. It is therefore very difficult not to scratch or remove the coating. These spatulas must be tilted at an angle of 10 to 15 when smoothing and the manipulator cannot maintain constant pressure on the fresh coating while maintaining a certain inclination of its spatula. Such an operation is all the more delicate as the surface to be smoothed is large. Smoothing o poor quality of the coating, with corrugations, is however hardly

  tolerable when it is necessary to decorate or effectively protect a wall.

  The object of the present invention is therefore to alleviate one or more of the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a spatula which makes it possible to smooth

homogeneous coating.

  This object is achieved by a spatula to smooth a coating comprising a blade of determined length and a handle, characterized in that it comprises a profile formed in a rigid material and substantially the same length as the blade, and means for fixing the handle in a direction perpendicular to a vertical face of the profile or to at least one piece of

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  junction fixed in particular to said profile, said blade is flexible and has a substantially planar main part and a folded end forming a perpendicular part of width less than that of the main part to have a substantially L-shaped profile, the folded end of the blade being connected to a vertical face to said profile by an adaptable link, the handle being substantially parallel to the blade and offset upwards by a sufficient distance for the passage of the fingers when the handle of the spatula is

parallel to the wall.

  In another feature, the blade is flexible, its main part

  o being curved with an arrow between 0.1 and 2 mm.

  According to another particularity, the profile is U-shaped and positioned to form two horizontal portions and an intermediate vertical portion, the horizontal portion oriented towards the teas being away from the main part of the blade by a determined distance, so that ['folding angle between the part

  main blade and said folded end is changeable.

  According to another feature, the profile is L-shaped and positioned to form a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, the horizontal portion being oriented towards the teas and away from the main part of the blade by a determined distance, so that ['folding angle between the part

  main blade and said folded end is changeable.

  According to another particular feature, said folded end of the blade has oblong holes in the lengthwise direction of the blade, these oblong holes being positioned opposite substantially circular holes, with a surface slightly smaller than that of the oblong holes, practical in the vertical portion of the profile to allow second fastening means to tie the folded end of the blade in an adaptable manner to the vertical portion of the profile to absorb variations in expansion due to the materials used for the

profile and blade.

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  According to another particular feature, the joining piece has an L-shaped profile, with on the one hand a vertical perforce section to which the handle is attached by the first fixing means, and on the other hand a horizontal perforce section in contact with the horizontal external face of the profile which is oriented upwards, the holes of the said horizontal section being positioned opposite practical holes in the profile portion whose external face is oriented upwards to allow third means of fixing of

  fix the connecting piece to the profile.

  According to another particular feature, the junction piece is flat and connected to o said intermediate portion of the profile by said second fixing means

  which are also used to fix said folded end of the blade.

  According to another particular feature, the profile is rigid, made of aluminum or plastic. According to another particularity, the axis of the handle is shifted upwards from 33 to 50 mm relative to the plane formed by the underside of the main part.

of the blade.

  According to another particular feature, the blade is made of flexible stainless steel,

  The thickness of the blade being between 0.5 and 1 mm.

  According to another particular feature, the width of the main part of the

  o blade varies between 4 and 12 cm and its length varies between 4 and 100 cm.

  According to another particular feature, the handle fixing means comprise a first element such as a nut and a second element integral with the handle passing through a hole in a vertical portion of said junction piece or of the profile allowing screwing with said first element, the

  s handle being dismounted by unscrewing between these two elements.

  According to another particular feature, the second and third means

  for fastening the riveting elements.

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  The invention, with its characteristics and advantages, will emerge more

  clearly on reading the description made with reference to the accompanying drawings

  in which: FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of the spatula according to the invention, FIGS. 2A and 2B represent a side view of a variant of the invention in which the profile is respectively in U and in L, the FIG. 2C represents a perspective view of an example of a profile used in the invention, where FIGS. 3A and 3B represent a plan view of the spatula according to the invention, FIG. 4 represents a side view of a variant of the invention with a planar connecting piece, FIG. 5 represents in perspective a spatula of the prior art, FIG. 6 represents a side view of the spatula according to the invention. FIG. 7 represents the orifices of the blade in a mode of

realization of the invention.

  The invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 and 5. The spatula has a profile (3) which is for example U-shaped. The material constituting the profile (3) can be of alloy, light steel, aluminum, plastic or any other rigid material. The blade (2) of the spatula is flexible and can for example be deformable in torsion. This blade (2) can be made of steel

  stainless, its thickness being for example between 0.5 and 1 mm.

  The spatula according to the invention comprises a handle (1) or handle and a metal blade (2). The handle (1) is for example made of wood or plastic. The blade (2) of the spatula according to the invention comprises a folding angle between one of these ends, cited as the folded end (22) of the blade (2), and its main part s 2837228 (21) which is substantially flat, in a horizontal plane. Unlike the prior art spatula shown in Figure 5, the handle (1) of the spatula is not positioned in the extension of the blade (2). The structure of the space according to the invention is considerably modified if compared to the prior art. In one embodiment of the invention, the folded end (22) of the blade (2) has perforations and is assembled with the U-profile by riveting elements (33). The width of the folded end (22) of the blade (2) is between 2 and 5 cm. The axis () of the handle (1) of the spatula is horizontal and located above the folded end (22) of the blade (2), so that the height (h) between this axis (I \) and the plane formed from below the main part (21) of the blade is around 4 cm. This represents a sufficient distance, when smoothing a coating with the spatula, to be able to hold the handle horizontally without being hampered by contact with the hand

with the surface to be smoothed.

  s In one embodiment of the invention, the width of the main part (21) of the blade (2) varies between 4 and 12 cm. The length (L) of the blade (2) is the same for the main part (21) and the folded end (22), varying between 4 and 100 cm. The length of the profile (3) used in the spatula is substantially equal to the length (L) of the blade (2). A variant of the invention can be produced with a length of the profile (3) which is sufficient to ensure the rigidity of the flexible blade (2). The profile thus avoids the

warping of the blade.

  The invention will now be described with reference to Figures 2A, 2B and 2C. s In one embodiment of the invention, the profile (3) serves both as a support on which the handle (1) is mounted and as a part to stiffen the folded end (22) of the blade (2). As shown in Figure 2A, the profile (3) is U-shaped and therefore includes three straight portions. The handle (1) is mounted, in a horizontal position, on the base of the U formed by the intermediate portion (30) of the profile

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  (3), the U being rotated on the side opposite the handle (1). The folded end (22) of the blade (2) is fixed, by means of riveting elements (33) or other conventional fixing elements, to this intermediate portion (30), on the handle side (1 ). The folded end (22) of the blade (2) extends beyond the portion s of the teas or pass part (32) of the profile (3) so that there is no contact between said part bottom (32) of the profile (3) and the main part (21) of the blade (2). The spacing (e) between the profile (3) and the main part (21) of the blade (2) makes it possible to exert a constant pressure and to maintain a plane support for said main part (21) when smoothing a plaster. because the angle of folding (A) of the blade can be modified by deformation of the blade (2) if the handle is tilted. The deformation in the area of this angle (A), which is flexible, will therefore compensate for the deviations of the handle (1) relative to the horizontal and make it possible to avoid undulations during smoothing. The folding angle (A) of the blade (2) separating the folded end (22) and the main part (21) can just as easily be a curvature of the blade (2). In addition, the main part (21) of

  the blade (2) can be slightly curved.

  In the embodiment of Figure 2A, the width of the intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3) is greater than the width of the folded end (22) of the blade (2) so that the handle (1 ) can be positioned higher o on the intermediate portion (30), near the cited portion of the upper part (31) of the profile (3). The width of the intermediate portion (30) is at least 4 cm in such an embodiment so that the height (h) between the axis () of the horizontal handle (1) and the main part (21) of the blade (2) is sufficient to be able to keep the handle (1) horizontal when smoothing with the

s spatula.

  In one embodiment of the invention, the handle (1) is removable. This is for example integral with a threaded portion extending its axis (). This threaded part passes through an orifice situated above the center of the intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3) and is screwed in a nut so of the same nominal diameter during assembly to form means of

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  fixing (10) of the handle (1). The handle is thus mounted perpendicularly to the intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3) It is possible to dismantle the handle (1) by other fixing means involving unscrewing. The removal of the handle (1) facilitates the storage of the spatula and its

s cleaning.

  Another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 2B, differs from that presented in FIG. 2A by the use of an L-shaped profile. This amounts to removing the upper part (31) of the U-shaped profile (3) of the figure. 2A, both

  portions common (30, 32) to these two embodiments playing the same

  o role. To lighten the spatula, the vertical portion (30) of the profile (3) can be cut so as to form a tongue, as illustrated in FIG. 2C. This tongue is perforce to fix the handle (1). In this embodiment, the formed tongue is located above the level of said folded end (22)

of the blade (2).

  The invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1, 3A and 3B. In one embodiment of the invention, the spatula comprises a junction piece (4) with a vertical face (41) on which the handle is fixed, in a demountable manner. This vertical face is, for example, trapezoidal. The connecting piece (4) is made of rigid material, its stiffness preferably being at least equal to that of the profile (3). The method of fixing the handle (1) is the same as that mentioned above. The connecting piece (4) is fixed substantially in the middle of said upper part (31) of the profile (3) by fixing means such as domed head rivets (34) or other riveting elements. For example, the order of magnitude of the width of the connecting piece (4) is two to three times the diameter of the handle (1). The profile of the junction piece can be L-shaped, as shown in Figure 1, 3A and 3B, with at least one perforation on its vertical face (41) to allow the handle (1) to be fixed and at least one perforation on its horizontal face (42)

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  for fixing on the upper part (31) of the profile (3). The presence of a connecting piece (4) as presented in FIG. 1 makes it possible to increase the height of the handle (1) while keeping a profile (3) which is narrower than in the embodiment of FIG. 2. The spatula obtained is then lighter and more

s handy.

  The embodiment presented in FIG. 3B differs from that of FIG. 3A by the curvature of the blade (2), and in particular of the main part

  (21) which is curved with an arrow (f) between 0.1 and 2 mm.

  The front end of the blade (2) is therefore not horizontal, unlike the handle o (1). If the handle (1) is inclined during smoothing, then the folding angle (A) is deformed so that the flat support of the blade (2) is preserved and the curvature of the main part (21) allows '' avoid scratching the coating on the surface. The coating is thus smooth and compressed in a very homogeneous manner with the spatula.

  The invention will now be described with reference to Figures 4, 6 and 7.

  In a variant of the invention, the connecting piece (4) is flat and connected to said intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3) by riveting elements (33) which also serve to fix the folded end (22 ) of the blade (2), as shown in FIG. 4. Said folded end (22) is wedged between the intermediate part (30) of the profile (3) and the joining piece (4). This junction piece (4) has a trapezoidal shape in an embodiment of the invention. The U-shaped profile (3) maintains the main part (21) of the blade (2) in a substantially straight position to maintain a flat support. As illustrated in FIG. 6, beyond for example an inclination of the order of 10 to 15 of the handle (1), the lower part (32) of the profile (3) comes into contact with the main part (21) to prevent the blade (2) from being too curved in the region of the folding angle (A), which would induce an increase in pressure exerted on the coating during smoothing. The U-shaped profile (3) therefore allows

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  to keep a contact surface between the blade (2) and the coating which is as large as possible, favoring a homogeneous compression of the coating by the blade (2). In one embodiment of the invention, the end folded (22) of the blade (2) has oblong holes (220) in the lengthwise direction (L) of the blade (2). These oblong holes (220) are positioned opposite substantially circular holes (300), with a surface slightly smaller than that of the oblong holes (220), practical in the intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3). These different holes (220, 300) allow the folded end (22) to be fixed to the intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3) by means of riveting elements (33). The oblong holes (220) make it possible not to deform the blade (2) when the latter gradually expands. In this way the blade (2) is curled under the effect of prolonged handling, heat or humidity, the variations in expansion of the material used for the profile being different from

those of the blade.

  The spatula can include a profile (3) of a shape close to a U. of an L or of another shape ensuring the same rigidity to the blade (2) and allowing the

keep straight.

  One of the advantages of the spatula according to the invention is to provide a tool of simple structure, light and of easy handling which facilitates the homogeneous smoothing of a coating on a surface and which remedies the consequences of the movements.

  causing the inclination of the handle (1) of the spatula.

  It should be obvious to those skilled in the art that the

  present invention allows embodiments under many

  other specific forms without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered by way of illustration, but may be

  modified in the field defined by the scope of the appended claims, and

  The invention should not be limited to the details given above.

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Claims (11)

  1. spatula to smooth a coating comprising a blade (2) of determined length (L) and a handle (1), characterized in that it comprises a rigid profile (3) substantially the same length as the blade (2) for hold this blade (2) and fixing means (10) of the handle (1) in a direction perpendicular to a vertical face (30) of the profile (3) or to at least one connecting piece (4) fixed in particular to said profile (3), said blade (2) is flexible and comprises a main part (21) substantially planar and a folded end o (22) forming a perpendicular part of width less than that of the main part (21) to have a substantially profile L-shaped, the folded end (22) of the blade (2) being connected to a vertical face to said profile (3) by an adaptable connection, the handle (1) being substantially parallel to the blade (2) and offset upwards sufficient distance for fingers to pass   ts when the handle (1) of the spatula is parallel to the wall.   2. Spatula according to claim 1, characterized in that the blade (2) is flexible, its main part (21) being curved with an arrow (f) included between 0.1 and 2 mm.   3. Spatula according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that   o that the profile (3) is U-shaped and positioned to form two horizontal portions (31, 32) and a vertical portion (30) intermediate, the horizontal portion oriented towards the teas being away from the main part (21) of the blade (2) by a determined distance (e), so that the folding angle (A) between the main part (21) of the blade (2) and said folded end (22) is   s modifiable due to the flexibility of the blade (2).   4. Spatula according to any one of claims 1 to 2,   characterized in that the profile is L-shaped and positioned to form a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, the horizontal portion being oriented towards the teas and away from the main part of the blade by a distance [T 11 2837228   determined, so that the folding angle (A) between the main part (21) of the blade (2) and said folded end (22) can be modified   5. Spatula according to any one of claims 1 to 4,   characterized in that the folded extremity lad (22) of the core (2) has oblong holes (220) in the lengthwise direction of the blade (2), these oblong holes (220) being positioned opposite substantially circular holes (300), with a surface slightly smaller than that of the oblong holes (220), practical in the vertical portion (30) of the profile (3) to allow second fixing means (33) to fix the folded end (22) of the blade (2) to the vertical portion (30) of the profile (3) to absorb variations in expansion due to   materials used for the profile (3) and the blade (2).   6. Spatula according to any one of claims 1 to 5,   characterized in that the connecting piece (4) has an L-shaped profile, with on the one hand a vertical section (41) perforce to which the handle (1) is attached by the first fixing means (10), and d on the other hand a horizontal section (42) perforce in contact with the horizontal external face of the profile (3) which is oriented upwards, the holes of the said horizontal section being positioned in: face of practical holes in the portion (31 ) of profile whose external face is oriented upwards to allow third fixing means (34) o to fix the junction piece (4) to the profile (3) .: 7. Spatula according to claim 5, characterized in that the junction piece (4) is planar and connected to said intermediate portion (30) of the profile (3) by said second fixing means (33) which also serve to fix said   bent end (22) of the blade (2).   8. Spatula according to any one of claims 1 to 7,   characterized in that the profile (3) is rigid, made of aluminum or plastic.   9. Spatula according to any one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized in that the axis () of the handle (1) is offset upwards by 33 to mm relative to the plane formed by the underside of the main part (21) of o the blade (2). 1, 12 2837228   1 O.Spatule according to any one of claims 1 to 9,   characterized in that the blade (2) is made of flexible stainless steel, the thickness   of the blade (2) being between 0.5 and 1 mm.   11.Spatule according to any one of claims 1 to 1 0,   characterized in that the width of the main part (21) of the blade (2) varies   from 4 and 12 cm and its length varies from 4 to 100 cm.   12. Spatula according to any one of claims 1 to 11,   characterized in that the fixing means (10) of the handle (1) comprise a first element such as a nut and a second element integral with the handle o (1) passing through a hole in a vertical portion (41) of said connecting piece (4) or profile (3) allowing screwing with said first element,   the handle (1) being dismounted by unscrewing between these two elements.   13. Spatula according to any one of claims 6 to 12,   characterized in that the second and third attachment means (33,