Wall patch

Abstract

A wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall includes two thin sheets. One of the sheets is a lower sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw. The other sheet is an upper sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that it covers the lower sheet. The lower sheet is smaller in area and stronger than the upper sheet. The upper sheet has an irregularly corrugated edge and an upper surface rough in texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to wall patches in particular for repairing holes, dents, cavities or other flaws in wall surfaces.

[0003] 2. Description the Related Art

[0004] Wall surfaces in a building are usually finished beautifully with paint or wallpaper. In case such a wall surface sustains damage due to holes or cracks, it would be more economically restored if the flaws could be repaired selectively instead of reworking the entire wall face.

[0005] With respect to prior arts of wall repair commercially available, there is a patching compound or putty disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 6-83862, for example. This mending putty is used to restore the original wall plane by filling the putty of a color similar to the wall color into the holes or dents in the wall face.

[0006] Other types of means for wall repair include mending sheets cut out into suitable sizes. These sheets are supplied in colors similar to the walls to which they are attached in order to close the surface wounds and restore the original appearance of the wall faces.

[0007] However, it is not necessarily easy to handle the materials for the wall repair in the case of the mending putty, for instance, because it requires skill to produce a new plane flush with the wall including the unevenly dented portions; and besides, it would be a lot of trouble to knead the putty or to use a spatula to level the wall face.

[0008] Similarly in the conventional method of wall repair resorting to the mending sheets (patches), a satisfactory result may not be obtained all the time in reproducing and maintaining the original flat surface because the sheets can eventually become depressed in themselves due to the insufficiency of the rigidity of the single-plied thin sheets which are commonly used to cover up the holes or dents in a wall. If, on the other hand, a plurality of sheets is used in order to reinforce the stiffness, a conspicuously “terraced” surface will result.

[0009] Moreover, the material for the mending sheets could be restricted to the one which will enable the coloring and/or patterning processes, or allow the surface texturing to reproduce the original wall face without difficulty, in addition to the requirements for stiffness and/or thickness mentioned above.

[0010] Recently, wall faces with a matte finish (satin, crape, rough, stained, as appropriate) having surface roughness/unevenness have become increasingly used. Such matte-finished textures tend to be smoothed out if treated with paint or the like after repaired, only making the portion standing out conspicuously rather than concealing neatly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] One object of the present invention is to provide a wall patch capable of repairing a damaged wall surface instantly by a simple and easy process without requiring any special skill, and of furnishing a satisfactory and stable result.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a wall patch capable of sufficiently concealing the boundary between its patching sheet and the surrounding surface of a wall.

[0013] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a wall patch capable of almost or nearly concealing the boundary between its patching sheet and the surrounding surface of a wall having a matted or (satin-)embossed rough surface texture.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall. The wall patch includes a lower thin sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw. The wall patch also includes an upper thin sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that this sheet covers the lower sheet. The lower sheet is smaller in area and stronger than the upper sheet. The upper sheet has an irregularly corrugated edge.

[0015] This wall patch makes it possible to repair the flaw with the two sheets simply and quickly without skill. The double-ply patch is thinner as a whole and makes it possible to repair the wall more strongly than the single-ply patch. The single-ply patch must be thicker to be stronger, thereby displaying a conspicuous terrace along the boundary between the patch and the surrounding wall surface. By contrast, the double-ply patch makes the lower sheet smaller in area and can consequently reduce the height of the terrace formed along the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface (the thickness of the lower sheet is not substantially added). This makes the boundary less prominent. The irregularly corrugated edge of the upper sheet makes the boundary between this sheet and the surrounding wall surface even less prominent. The combination of the separate sheets makes it possible to form the lower sheet of sufficiently strong material and the upper sheet of suitable material. As a result, it is possible to repair the wall surface with sufficient strength in sufficiently desirable condition.

[0016] Preferably, the wall patch should further include a boundary-erasing agent for erasing the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface by being applied to an area along the boundary.

[0017] The application of the erasing agent eliminates the difference in level along the boundary to make the repaired area inconspicuous.

[0018] The upper surface of the upper sheet may have a rough texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall.

[0019] This makes it possible to inconspicuously repair a wall having a rough surface texture with a matted or embossed pattern recently in fashion. In this case, the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface can be repaired with a boundary-erasing agent that can foam to provide a similarly rough texture having a matted or embossed pattern. This makes it possible to repair the wall almost inconspicuously.

[0020] In particular, the wall patch may include a boundary-erasing agent for application to an area along the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface, and for foaming with heat to provide a rough texture having a matted or embossed pattern.

[0021] This makes it possible to repair a linear or small flaw in the wall almost inconspicuously with the upper sheet and the boundary erasing agent by providing a rough texture having a matted or embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided another wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall. This wall patch includes an upper sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw. The upper sheet has an irregularly corrugated edge and an upper surface rough in texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall. The wall patch also includes a boundary-erasing agent for application to an area along the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface, and for foaming with heat to provide a rough texture having a matted or embossed pattern.

[0023] According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided still another wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall. This wall patch has a first sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw. The wall patch also has a second sheet that can have a rough texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall.

[0024] The first sheet may be a lower sheet that is a strong sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw. The second sheet may be an upper sheet that is larger in area than the lower sheet, and that has an irregularly corrugated edge.

[0025] The second sheet may have a color or a pattern similar to that of the surrounding wall surface. The second sheet may be made of paper or plastic with suitable surface roughness that allows this sheet to be colored or have a pattern. The lower sheet may be an acrylic sheet, a resin sheet, a glass fiber sheet, a metal sheet, or a strong sheet of paper.

[0026] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided yet another wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall. This wall patch includes a lower sheet that is a strong sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw. The wall patch also includes an upper sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that this sheet covers the lower sheet. The upper sheet is larger in area than the lower sheet.

[0027] This lower sheet may have an irregularly corrugated edge. This wall patch may further include a boundary-erasing agent for erasing the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface by being applied to an area along the boundary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] FIG. 1 is a plan view of the lower sheet of a wall patch according to the embodiment;

[0030] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section of the lower sheet;

[0031] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper sheet of the wall patch;

[0032] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section of the upper sheet;

[0033] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a tube from which a boundary-erasing agent can be squeezed out for application to the wall patch;

[0034] FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the wall patch patching a hole in a wall;

[0035] FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross section along the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall area.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and 7, a wall patch according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention consists of a lower sheet 10, an upper sheet 20 and a boundary-erasing agent 30.

[0037] The lower sheet 10 can be supplied in a state stuck on a mounting cardboard 40. In use, the lower sheet 10 is peeled off the cardboard 40 and put over a flaw or wound 1, such as a hole or a dent, in a wall S.

[0038] The lower sheet 10 may be circular, polygonal or relatively round, but could alternatively be square or triangular.

[0039] The edge 11 of the lower sheet 10 is notched. The notched edge 11 facilitates the adhesion of the lower sheet 10 to the wall S. With the upper sheet 20 stuck over the lower sheet 10, the notched edge 11 makes the terraced surface of the wall 40 inconspicuous. Alternatively, the edge 11 of the lower sheet 10 might not be notched.

[0040] The lower sheet 10 is a reinforcement sheet directly stuck to the wall S to cover up the flaw I such as a hole or a dent in the wall S. That is to say, before the upper sheet 20 is finally spread over the flaw I, the lower sheet 10 covers up the flaw I to reinforce the insufficiency of stiffness given by the upper sheet 20. The lower sheet 10 is smaller in area than the upper sheet 20 so as to be concealed completely under the upper sheet 20.

[0041] As motioned earlier, the lower sheet 10 serves for reinforcement by perfectly covering the flaw I. Therefore, the material for the body 10a of the lower sheet 10 has high strength. Specifically, the material is highly resistant to breakage or rupture and highly resistant to warpage so as not to be easily stretched or dented.

[0042] In this embodiment, the body 10a of the lower sheet 10 is an acrylic resin sheet, which is not easy to break or dent after it is affixed to the flaw I. Of course, the lower sheet 10 could be another high-strength resin (e.g., polypropylene or polyester) sheet, a glass fiber sheet, a thin metal sheet, or high-strength paper.

[0043] In this embodiment, the thickness of the lower sheet 10 is about 0.1 mm. The lower sheet 10 should preferably be as thin as possible, provided that it maintains high strength.

[0044] The underside of the body 10a of the lower sheet 10 is provided with an adhesive layer 10b for adhesion to the wall S. The material for the adhesive layer 10b is not restricted and may be an elastomeric adhesive.

[0045] With reference to FIGS. 3 and FIG. 4, the upper sheet 20 can be supplied as an affixture on a cardboard 50. In use, the upper sheet 20 is peeled off from the cardboard 50 and put over the flaw I in the wall S.

[0046] The upper sheet 20 is circular, but could alternatively be polygonal or relatively round, or square or triangular.

[0047] The edge 21 of the upper sheet 20 is irregularly corrugated. The corrugated edge 21 forms an inconspicuous boundary between this sheet 20 and the wall S. The irregularity of corrugation makes the boundary more inconspicuous. Alternatively, the sheet edge 21 might not be corrugated or could be rough.

[0048] The upper sheet 20 is stuck on the wall S in such a manner that it covers the lower sheet 10 over the flaw I in the wall S. The upper sheet 20 has a larger area than the lower sheet 10 so that the lower sheet 10 is perfectly hidden under the upper sheet 20.

[0049] The upper sheet 20 completely covers the flaw I in the wall S and makes the covered wall surface similar in appearance to the surrounding wall surface. The upper sheet 20 consists of a body 20a, an adhesive layer 20b and a surface texture layer 20c. The adhesive layer 20b and the texture layer 20c are formed on the lower and upper sides respectively of the sheet body 20a. The adhesive material for the adhesive layer 20b is not limited.

[0050] Preferably, the material of the body 20a of the upper sheet 20 should be highly resistant to breakage or rupture and facilitate the formation of the texture layer 20c on it. The body 20a of the upper sheet 20 may be made of woven cloth, paper, plastic or other material. The upper surface of the sheet body 20a should be suitably rough to facilitate the formation of the texture layer 20c on it.

[0051] The surface texture in the particular context of the texture layer 20c refers to the color, pattern, undulation, and their combinations. The texture layer 20c is formed on the upper surface of the sheet body 20a to make the wall patch similar to the surrounding wall surface. The texture layer 20c should be similar in color, design and texture to the surrounding wall surface.

[0052] In this embodiment, the surface texture of the texture layer 20c has a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern 22 because many walls have recently been matted in surface texture. The color of the texture layer 20c may be white.

[0053] With reference to FIG. 5, the boundary-erasing agent 30 is contained in a tube 31 and can be squeezed out from the nozzle of the tube. The boundary-erasing agent 30 may be paint or other viscous liquid. The erasing agent 30 can be applied to the area adjoining to the boundary between the upper sheet 20 and the surrounding wall surface to erase or hide the boundary. When the erasing agent 30 is applied, it shows a color, a pattern or a texture similar to those of the wall S and upper sheet 20, or a combination of the color, pattern and texture.

[0054] In this embodiment, the boundary-erasing agent 30 can form a surface texture layer having a matted pattern to match the matted pattern of the surface texture of many walls used in recent years. The erasing agent 30 may be composed of 86.0% urethane resin, 2.5% titanic oxide pigment, 3.0% thermo-inflating (thermal expansion) microcapsules and 8.5% water. The color of the erasing agent 30 is white, but could be identical with the color of the wall S by adding color pigments to the agent as appropriate.

[0055] When a hair drier or the like blows hot air against the applied boundary-erasing agent 30, the agent foams and develops a matted pattern in itself. This matted pattern is very similar to those of the texture layer 20c of the upper sheet 20 and the wall S. Therefore, the textures of the upper sheet 20 and the wall S are gradated smoothly by the matte pattern reproduced by the agent 30, and the boundary fades out.

[0056] Now, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, explanation will be given how to repair the flaw I in the wall S.

[0057] First, the lower sheet 10 is peeled off from the mounting cardboard 40 and stuck to the wall S in such a manner that it covers up the flaw I, with care taken so that air bubbles and so on may be left between the sheet and the wall.

[0058] Next, the upper sheet 20 is peeled off from the mounting cardboard 50 and stuck onto the wall S, covering the lower sheet 10.

[0059] Subsequently, the tube 31 is squeezed to apply the boundary erasing agent 30 along the boundary and its neighbor between the edge of the upper sheet 20 and the surrounding wall surface. Before the applied erasing agent 30 dries, it is heated by a heating means such as a hair drier. This will inflate the thermo-inflating microcapsules contained in the erasing agent 30, and the resulted foaming reaction will create a matted pattern similar to the pattern 22 of the upper sheet 20 and the surrounding wall surface.

[0060] The boundary erasing agent 30 need not necessarily foam and form a rough matte texture. In such a case, the area along the boundary between the upper sheet 20 and the surrounding wall surface may not have gradation resembling the rough matte texture even if the erasing agent 30 is applied along the boundary since the agent 30 does not foam, but the agent 30 is still effective in shading off the borderline.

[0061] Of course, if the wall S does not have a surface texture finished in rough matte touch, neither the upper sheet 20 nor the boundary erasing agent 30 is required to foam and form a matte pattern.

[0062] The wall patch according to the present invention may include a boundary-erasing agent 30 that does not foam to form a rough matte pattern.

[0063] Moreover, the boundary-erasing agent 30 need not necessarily be used. Although it is difficult to erase the borderline between the upper sheet 20 and the surrounding wall surface without using the erasing agent 30, it would not raise any serious problem because the borderline can be made indistinguishable or at least indistinct in appearance if the upper sheet 20 has an irregularly corrugated edge 21.

[0064] The wall patch according to the present invention may include the combination of only the lower sheet 10 and upper sheet 20, excluding the boundary-erasing agent.

[0065] If the wall S does not have a rough matte pattern, there is no need for the texture layer 20c of the upper sheet 20 to have a surface texture with a rough matte pattern 22.

[0066] The wall patch according to the present invention may include an upper sheet 20 that does not have a surface texture with a rough matte pattern 22.

[0067] If the flaw I in the wall S is a linear scar or is small in area, the lower sheet 10 need not necessarily be used because there is no fear that the flaw I becomes dented again. In such a case, the flaw I is repaired with the upper sheet 20 and the boundary erasing agent 30.

[0068] The wall patch according to the present invention may include the combination of the upper sheet 20 and the boundary-erasing agent 30.

Claims

1. A wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall, comprising:

a lower thin sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw; and

an upper thin sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the upper sheet covers the lower sheet;

the lower sheet being smaller in area and stronger than the upper sheet;

the upper sheet having an irregularly corrugated edge.

2. A wall patch according to claim 1, further comprising a boundary erasing agent for erasing the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface by being applied to an area along the boundary.

3. A wall patch according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the upper sheet has a rough texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall.

4. A wall patch according to claim 3, further comprising a boundary erasing agent for application to an area along the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface, and for foaming with heat to provide a rough texture having a matted or embossed pattern.

5. A wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall, comprising:

an upper sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw, the upper sheet having an irregularly corrugated edge and an upper surface rough in texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall; and

a boundary erasing agent for application to an area along the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface, and for foaming with heat to provide a rough texture having a matted or embossed pattern.

6. A wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall, comprising:

a first sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw; and

a second sheet that can have a rough texture with a matted or (satin-)embossed pattern, which is similar to the surface texture of the wall.

7. A wall patch according to claim 6, wherein the first sheet is a lower sheet that is a strong sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw, and wherein the second sheet is an upper sheet that is larger in area than the lower sheet and has an irregularly corrugated edge.

8. A wall patch according to claim 6, wherein the second sheet has a color or a pattern similar to the color or pattern of the surrounding wall surface.

9. A wall patch according to claim 6, wherein the second sheet is made of paper or plastic with suitable surface roughness that allows the second sheet to be colored or have a pattern.

10. A wall patch according to claim 7, wherein the lower sheet is an acrylic sheet, a resin sheet, a glass fiber sheet, a metal sheet, or a strong sheet of paper.

11. A wall patch for repairing a dent, a hole, a crack or another flaw in a wall, comprising:

a lower sheet that is a strong sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the sheet covers the flaw; and

an upper sheet for adhesion to the wall in such a manner that the upper sheet covers the lower sheet, the upper sheet being larger in area than the lower sheet.

12. A wall patch according to claim 11, wherein the lower sheet has an irregularly corrugated edge.

13. A wall patch according to claim 11, further comprising a boundary erasing agent for erasing the boundary between the upper sheet and the surrounding wall surface by being applied to an area along the boundary.