US3537942A

US3537942A - Masking tape applicator

Info

Publication number: US3537942A
Application number: US792908*A
Authority: US
Inventors: George J Kefalos
Original assignee: GEORGE J KEFALOS
Current assignee: GEORGE J KEFALOS
Priority date: 1969-01-17
Filing date: 1969-01-17
Publication date: 1970-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 1987-11-03

Description

Nov. 3, 1970 G. J. KEFALOS MASKING TAPE APPLICATOR 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. '17, 1969 T INVENTOR.

GEORGE J. KEFALOS BY Jamal 7 ATTORNEYS FIG.2

Nov. 3, 1970 G. J. KEFALOS MASKING TAPE APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jah. 17, 1969 lNVEN TOR. GEORGE J. KEFALOS BY V fmmvwvzrea/ FIG.6

ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,537,942 MASKING TAPE APPLICATOR George J. Kefalos, 645 E. Huston St., Barberton, Ohio 44203 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 631,324,

Apr. 17, 1967. This application Jan. 17, 1969, Ser.

Int. Cl. B32b 31/10 U.S. Cl. 156-577 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A masking tape applicator wherein variable widths of masking tape are provided in association with a relatively small diameter applicator roll with the structure being arranged so that one axial end of the applicator roll and the tape roll are aligned in coplanar relationship.

By this arrangement the edge of the applied tape is in alignment with the applicator roller so that the masking tape can be applied along an edge surface such as a molding strip. Pivotal mounting of the tape roll and the use of spacers with respect to the mounting arm are further improvements of the invention.

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants earlier application, entitled Masking Tape Applicator, filed Apr. 17, 1967 as Ser. No. 631,324, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention It has long been felt desirable to have some means of transferring masking tape from the usual roll onto the surface that is being masked 01f for painting purposes. Applications where such a use is desirable are situations where the masking tape is applied between wall and ceiling, between floor and wall and other areas where masking ofi is desired.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The following patents are believed representative of the earlier prior art: U.S. 2,500,157, F. A. Deutsch; US 2,732,964, C. A. Neer; U.S. 3,125,263, M. E. Harbour; U.S. 3,140,217, M. -E. Harbour.

It will be noted that the prior art above listed in every event shows portions of the applicator disposed outboard of the axial end surfaces of the tape rod so as to prevent close access to a juncture point in view of interference that would be caused by the support structure for the applicator. It will be also noted that the prior art above identified fails to make provision for varying diameter rolls being located in the same edge applying relationship and further fails to make provision for pivotally associating the axis of the roll and applicator with respect to eachother so as to apply continuous pressure notwithstanding the amount of masking tape remaining on the roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Applicant has first discovered that by associating the edges of the applicator roll and tape in coplanar relationship with each other and by further permitting these surfaces to be applied fiat against a wall for example that masking of a shoe mold or other structure can be readily accomplished by merely placing the roller against the point of juncture between wall and mold and then dispensing the tape by moving the applicator along the line of juncture. Similarly, this same concept can be used for masking the point of juncture between a wall and ceiling and in this instance if the ceiling were to be masked the edges of the tape and roller would merely be placed parallel to the ceiling so as to provide the tape at the exact point of juncture between the ceiling and the wall.

Applicant has further discovered that the use of spacer means permits varying widths of tape to be used with a common applicator roll.

Finally, applicant has found that if a pivotal relationship is presented between the axis of the tape roll and the applicator roll that then and in that event that uniform application pressure will be applied by the roll notwithstanding the amount of tape remaining thereon.

Production of an improved tape applicator having the above described advantages accordingly becomes the principal object of this invention, with other objects thereof becoming more apparent upon a reading of the following brief specification considered and interpreted in view of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved tape applicator showing tape being applied to a floor molding strip.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the tape being dispensed.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing the use of the spacers on the improved tape applicator.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the improved tape applicator showing tape being applied to a chrome strip on an automobile.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the applicator roll taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, the improved tape applicator, generally designated by the numeral 10 includes an elongate arm member 20 having a handle portion 21 and a projecting end portion 22 with the arrangement being such that the handle portion 21 is employed to grip the applicator while the end portion 22 is adapted to support certain roller components as will now be described.

In this regard and referring first to FIG. 2, it will be noted that an applicator roll 25 is shown rotatably supported as by bolt 26 which is threaded into an appropriate aperture near the projecting end 22 of the arm 20 with the roller 25 being provided with a bore 27 within which the bolt head 26a can be recessed as is clearly shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

Referring next then to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that a strap-like support arm 30 has one end pivotally secured to the arm 20 by bolt 31 at a point between the handle 21 and the point of support for applicator roll 25.

The opposed end of the arm 30 is also appropriately bored to receive bolt 32 which is retained in place by use of nut 33. In this regard, arm 30 is countersunk as at 30a and bolt 32 is complementally contoured so that the surface of arm 30 is uninterrupted when bolt 32 and nut 33 are assembled.

A tape support roll 40 is also provided with a central aperture and the bolt 32 is passed through this aperture and then the roll 40 is mounted on the outboard end of the arm 30 and secured in place by nut 33.

Since it is desired that the unit be adapted to accommodate various widths of tape rolls 50 the support roll 40 has a peripheral surface 41 that generally has an axial width that is in excess of the normal for usual tape rolls.

Roll 40 also has a peripheral shoulder or flange 42 on its inboard edge (See FIGS. 2 and 4). Thus when using narrower tape one or more spacers 34 would be used as shown in FIG. 4, while if a wider tape was desired it would be merely necessary to remove the spacer to accommodate the wider tape with spacer 34 slipping over roll 40 and abutting shoulder 42.

In all events, use of the spacers 34 permits the tape roll 50 to be located in such a fashion that it is completely supported by the support roll 40 but yet has its axial edge 50a maintained in coplanar relationship with the axial edge 25a of applicator roll 25 as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, the

edges

50a and 25a lie in a plane which represents the extreme outer limit of the applicator so that the tape may be applied with its edge flush with a wall surface for example.

In use or operation of the improved tape applicator the operator merely inserts a standard roll of tape into the tape support roll 40 and by use of a ruler or other straight edge insures that the edge surfaces 50a and 2501 are in coplanar relationship with each other. At this time the leading edge of the tape T may be pulled back off of the roll 50 and applied with its ungummed side extending for wardly and in contact with the applicator roll 25 so that the gummed or sticky side will be exposed for application purposes as shown in FIG. 1. At this time, the edge of the tape T will be in alignment with the face 25a of roll 25 and as shown in FIG. 2 the entire unit can then be placed flush against the wall W with the gummed portion of the tape resting on the top edge of the molding C while the

faces

50a and 25a abut the wall W as clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

At this time simple forward movement of the handle while retaining the above mentioned relationship will result in the tape being quickly and accurately applied with the edge portion thereof coming immediately into contact with the point of juncture I (FIG. 1) that exists between molding and wall as clearly shown in FIG. 1.

Of course, if the molding C were of a different width or if for any reason a different width tape were required or available, the

edge surfaces

50a and 25a could be maintained in a common plane by simply using the one or more spacers 34.

In using the applicator, it will also be noted that due to the fact that all of the mounting members such as the nut 32, and arm 30* for example are on the inboard side of the applicator, that the tape may be run flush with the wall W without encountering any obstructions.

It will be further noted that as tape is dispensed from the roll, the outer diameter of the roll 50* will of course diminish. However, due to the fact that this roll is supported pivotally by means of arm 30 to the handle 20, this diminishment of size will not affect the operation of the applicator. The applicator roll will retain its relative spacing to the tape no matter what the diameter of the roll of the tape is, since the application pressure itself on the tape will pull the roll of tape and its entire mounting assembly into adjacency with the applicator roll and will maintain it in that position.

Also due to the fact that nut 33 is countersunk in arm 30, the arm can be pivoted 180 degrees from the position of FIG. 1 without interference with handle 20 and can therefore be adapted for use by a left-handed person as well.

Turning next then to FIGS. 5 and 6 in which a modifield form of the invention is shown, it will be seen that a handle 120 with a gripping end 121' and an opposed end 122 is provided. The tape carrying roll 140 is mounted on this handle in the same fashion as the roll 40' is mounted on handle 20' as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The applicator roll 125 is similarin construction to the applicator roll 25 except that on its outboard end it has a radially extending flange 125a with this flange being adapted to ride along the edge of the strip being taped.

In this regard, when masking a chrome strip S for example, the flange a rides in the narrow gap between the strip S and vehicle A as shown in FIG. 6 This insures complete coverage of the strip S. This form of the invention has particular utility in use on vehicle bodies but, of course, would be usable in any situation in which the piece to be taped is spaced from its supporting member.

Operation of the device is similar to that of the device shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 except for the fact that the flange 125a does move along the edge of the strip S.

It will be seen from the foregoing how there has been provided a new and improved type of masking tape applicator that is characterized by the fact that the support members are provided exclusively on one side so that the edges. of the tape can be directly applied in exact parallel with the wall surface. It will further be shown how the use of spacer elements adapts this unit to be used with varying widths of tape depending upon the job requirement involved.

Finally, it has been shown how the pivotal supporting of the tape roll constantly insures that pressure will be applied through the applicator roll regardless of the amount of tape remaining on the supply roll, with the axis of rotation of the supply roll and applicator roll being parallel even though a pivotal relationship exists therebetween.

What is claimed is:

1. A masking tape applicator of the character described, comprising:

(A) an elongate handle;

(B) an applicator roll;

(1) mounted on one side of said handle when viewed in plan with the axial edges thereof lying in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of said handle and being rotatably supported about an axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said handle;

(C) a tape roll (1) mounted on the same side of said handle as said applicator roll when viewed in plan and being rotatably supported about an axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said handle and parallel to the axis of rotation of said applicator roll;

(D) means for rotating the projecting axial end surfaces of said applicator roll and said tape roll in a common plane that defines an extreme edge of said applicator when viewed in plan; and

(E) an elongate mounting arm (1) having one end pivotally connected to said handle at a point spaced inwardly from the mounting point of said applicator roll (2) with the opposed end thereof supporting said tape roll about its axis of rotation (3) and with said arm being pivotable about is point of support at least degrees.

2. The device of claim 1 further characterized by the fact that said means for rotating the axial ends of said tape roll and said applicator roll in a common plane include a support roll carried by said mounting arm and spacer elements on said support roll adapted to vary the axial location of said tape roll from said mounting arm.

3. A tape applicator of the character described, comprising:

(A) an elongate handle;

(B) an applicator roll (1) rotatably mounted on one side of said handle when viewed in plan with the axial edges thereof lying in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of said handle;

(C) a support arm (1) having one end freely pivotally mounted on the same side of said handle as said applicator roll at a point spaced inwardly from the mounting point of said applicator roll being pivotable about its point of support at least 180 degrees. (D) a tape support roll (1) rotatably mounted on the opposed end of said support arm (2) on the same side of said handle as said applicator r011; (E) a tape roll (1) mounted on said tape support roll for rotation in unison therewith; and (F) said applicator roll having a radially extending flange on its outboard edge projecting axially beyond the outboard edge of said tape support roll.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Coe 156577 Coe 156577 Gibson 156-577 Hetes 156577 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner 10 s. c. BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner