Dust and debris catcher

Abstract

The present invention relates to a self-contained dust and debris catcher including a single piece of material capable of being folded into a pouch-like configuration to receive dust and debris. The single piece of material includes a front adhesive component on the lower edge of the front surface and a rear adhesive component on the back surface. The front adhesive component is folded to form two sections which adhere forming the pouch-like configuration bounded by the sections of the lower edge of the front surface and the front surface, and the rear adhesive component is pressed against a surface where work is occurring.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention relates to dust collection, particularly with regard to drilling or other operations on materials, which may produce significant quantities of dust, such as, for example, drywall or plaster.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Many improvement operations on both residential and commercial buildings including such materials as drywall or plaster, produce large quantities of dust and debris during the improvement operation. Operations, such as drilling holes in the drywall or plaster covered surface, cutting holes for patching, sanding drywall compound, or even removal of nails or embedded drywall anchors, can produce undesirable quantities of debris and dust which may become airborne contaminants or simply become embedded in carpeting or crevasses in the floor. In any scenario such dust and debris is undesirable and irritating.

[0005] Previous approaches to reducing or eliminating the amount of dust and debris resulting from such operations have generally been rather bulky or cumbersome. A very basic approach has been to vacuum any of the dust or debris after that dust or debris has settled, which may mean that not all of the dust and debris is removed during vacuuming or that damage to the vacuum results from the debris chunks. Other approaches have been to include bags on the power tools used to conduct the operations, i.e. a bag on a power sander or connection to a centralized dust collector. However, such approaches have failed to reduce or eliminate the dust and debris when a tool such as a hand-held drill or hand sander are used.

[0006] Other previous, mostly homemade approaches, have included the use of such common items as bathroom cups placed over drill bits to serve to catch dust and debris when drilling. However, such approaches generally only work when drilling vertically, for example into the ceiling, and not horizontally in which the dust may fall from the cup. In addition, such approaches may not work for all tools and operations, not all operations are a substantially vertical operation, such as sawing operations, in which the saw is moved both vertically and horizontally to achieve the proper action. Lastly, the bathroom cup may be crushed during the operation, for example, if one is drilling into drywall and a joist, the drill bit is inserted further and the cup could be crushed, thereby spilling the contents.

[0007] Other approaches have included the attachment of various bag structures to the surfaces. However, the attachment of bags to walls can potentially result in problems of the bag closing and not receiving or containing all of the dust and debris. Even if a wire stand or loop is included to keep the bag open, the additional structure may become problematic by being cumbersome or too weighty for the bag to be conveniently attached to the wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention is a self-contained dust and debris catcher including a single piece of material capable of being folded into a pouch-like configuration to receive dust and debris. The single piece of material includes a front adhesive component on the lower edge of the front surface and a rear adhesive component on the back surface. The front adhesive component is folded to form two halves, which adhere forming the pouch-like configuration, and the rear adhesive component is pressed against a surface where work is occurring.

[0009] An advantage of the structure of the present invention is the self-contained structure in that the only components required are the piece of material and adhesive components. The adhesive components may be integrated into the material so that the material may be quickly deployed and formed into its pouch-like configuration. No additional support structure is needed to keep the catcher open or against the work surface.

[0010] A further advantage is the adhesive may be releasable such that the catcher may be emptied, disassembled, returned to an unfolded position, and later reused.

[0011] The present invention provides a catcher for dirt and debris from performing work on a structural surface including a single piece of laminar material having an attachment strip on a lower edge on a front side of the piece of material and a second attachment strip on a reverse side of the piece of material. The piece of material is capable of being folded on itself such that the first attachment strip forms two halves which are attached to each other, thereby forming a pouch-like configuration and the second attachment strip is capable of securing the piece of material in the pouch-like configuration to the structural surface.

[0012] The present invention further provides a stand alone catcher for waste material resulting from the work on a structural surface, the stand alone catcher including a single piece of material having a front surface and a rear surface, a first attachment piece applied to a lower edge on the front surface, and a second attachment piece applied to the rear surface. The piece of material is folded such that the first attachment piece couples portions of the lower edge of the front surface such that the piece of material is formed into a pouch-like configuration bounded by the portions of the lower edge of the front surface and the front surface.

[0013] The present invention further provides a method of forming a catcher for debris and dirt resulting from work on a structural surface, including the steps of providing a single piece of material having at least two attachment strips with one located on a lower edge of the front of the piece of material and the second on the rear of the piece of material, folding the piece of material in approximately half to form two sections of the lower edge and the attachment strip, pressing the sections of the attachment strip together to form a pouch-like configuration, and moving the pouch-like configuration proximate the structural surface and pressing the second attachment strip against the structural surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a front view of a drywall dust and debris catcher according to the present invention, in an unfolded position;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the drywall dust and debris catcher in FIG. 1, also in an unfolded position;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a front view of the drywall dust and debris catcher of FIG. 1, in a partially folded position;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a front view of the drywall dust and debris catcher of FIG. 1 in a completely folded position; and

[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drywall dust and debris catcher of FIG. 4 attached to a wall in a working position.

[0020] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention, in several forms, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. The invention includes any alterations and further modifications in the illustrated devices and described methods and further applications of the principles of the invention which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

[0022] Dust and debris catcher 20 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in its unassembled, or unfolded, state. Dust and debris catcher 20 includes single piece of material 22 having front surface 24 and rear surface 32. At the lower edge of front surface 24 is attachment strip 26 having corners 28 and 30, which are substantially aligned with the corners of the lower edge of surface 24. On rear surface 32, specifically substantially aligned with an upper edge thereof, is attachment strip 34.

[0023] Single piece of material 22 may be of any material which is flexible enough to bend or fold into a pouch-like configuration as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, such as a plastic material, paper material, or a foil. In the embodiment shown in the figures, single piece of material 22 is a laminar plastic material having 0.002 inch or 2 mil thickness and dimensions of eight-and-a-half (8.5) inches wide by nine-and-one-eighth (9.125) inches tall; however, other thicknesses and dimensions as well as other materials may be used. The other requirement is that an attachment strip, or adhesive strip, is capable of being applied to the selected material for piece of material 22. By using a plastic, a paper, or a foil, no additional support structure is required to maintain the opening for receipt of the dust or debris.

[0024] Both attachment strips 26 and 34 may be of self-adhesive material or other such adhesive materials in which the piece of material is able to be applied to a wall surface or other non-adhesive surface as well as being applied to itself, or the adhesive material is stuck to itself. Additionally, both attachment strips 26 and 34 are applied to surfaces 24 and 32 prior to folding and manipulating of material 22 such that all elements of dust and debris catcher 20 are contained within a single unit. Both attachment strips 26 and 34 are shown as five-eighths (⅝) inches tall and extending the width of the single piece of material 22; however, as with the overall dimensions of piece of material 22, the dimensions of attachment strips 26 and 34 may be varied.

[0025] In FIG. 3, dust and debris catcher 20 is shown in a partially assembled state, or when an user of catcher 20 is in the process of folding and manipulating catcher 20 into the pouch-like configuration of FIGS. 4 and 5. To assemble dust and debris catcher 20, the lower edge of piece of material 22 is folded in approximately half such that corners 28 and 30 of adhesive strip 26 come together. By bringing corners 28 and 30 together, adhesive strip 26 is divided into two halves 26A and 26B with each half extending from one of the corners 28 or 30 to mid-point 36. Piece of material 22 is folded such that surface 24 is on the inside of what will become the pouch and surface 32 is on the outside.

[0026] FIGS. 4 and 5 show the completely assembled dust and debris catcher 20 and its utilization. Continuing with the action shown in FIG. 3, or from partial assembly to full assembly, in FIG. 4 corners 28 and 30 are brought into an abutting relationship with the respective corners adhering to each other through attachment strip 26. In addition, adhesive strip halves 26A and 26B are abutting and are adhering to each other. This results from adhesive strip halves 26A and 26B being pressed together during assembly to form the pouch-like configuration which then collects any dust and debris during the work.

[0027] In FIG. 5, dust and debris catcher 20 has been attached to wall surface 42, which may include drywall covered wall surfaces or other wall surfaces including a flat surface to which catcher 20 adheres. Attachment strip 34 on surface 32, or the rear, of dust and debris catcher 20 has been pressed against wall surface 42 from corner 38 to corner 40 of strip 34 to secure catcher 20 to the wall surface where the work is occurring. In general, dust and debris catcher 20 is disposed proximate hole 44 in wall surface 42 to collect dust and debris 46 which falls from hole 44 when hole 44 is created by such operations as drilling, sawing, or the like.

[0028] As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, dust and debris catcher 20 is self-supporting and self-opening in terms of no additional support structure is needed to maintain the open configuration to receive the dust and debris. By the folding of material 22 and the use of the attachment strips, no additional wire supports or closing mechanisms are required to hold the pouch-like configuration of catcher 20. In addition, catcher 20 is entirely self-contained and easily assembled, and by the locations of the attachment strips, even if the wrong attachment strip is brought together, catcher 20 is still usable since the attachment strip on front surface 24 is still available for adhering to wall surface 42.

[0029] Although attachment strip 26 has been described as an adhesive strip, other attachment structures or methods may be used to secure the lower edge of piece of material 22 together, such as, for example, double stick tape or other tape products, glue, or other related attachment methods and devices. In addition, the selected adhesive for strip 26 may be applied to only one half of the strip rather than across the entirety of the strip.

[0030] The selection of material for piece of material 22 may affect the selection of the attachment method or device used to create the pouch. For example, if a metal foil is selected as the material, then an adhesive may not be necessary to secure the pouch, rather the lower edge of the pouch may be folded on itself as described above and then folded over multiple times to form the pouch. Another example would be certain adhesives do not adhere to certain materials, thereby eliminating the use of those adhesives for strip 26.

[0031] Although catcher 20 is used individually to collect dust and debris, multiple catchers 20 may be packaged as a single unit for purchase by consumers or contractors. One such packaging method is to add a perforated strip to each catcher 20 and place a certain number, i.e. fifty, of the catchers with the perforated strip in a pad structure such that one may tear a catcher 20 from the pad at the perforation and form the catcher as described above. The disposable strip would then be left with the rest of catchers 20 in the pad until all catchers 20 are removed and then the disposable strips discarded. Alternatively, multiple catchers 20, in a disassembled state, may be placed in a container, such as a box or bag, and sold as a single unit for purchase.

[0032] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. It should be understood that only the preferred embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

Claims

1. A catcher for dirt and debris from performing work on a structural surface comprising:

a single piece of laminar material having an attachment strip on a lower edge on a front side of said piece of material and a second attachment strip on a reverse side of said piece of material; and

wherein said piece of material is capable of being folded on itself such that said first attachment strip forms two halves which are attached to each other, thereby forming a pouch-like configuration;

wherein said second attachment strip is capable of securing said piece of material in said pouch-like configuration to the structural surface.

2. The catcher of claim 1 wherein said single piece of material comprises a piece of plastic material.

3. The catcher of claim 1 wherein said single piece of material comprises a paper product.

4. The catcher of claim 1 wherein said first attachment strip is an adhesive strip.

5. The catcher of claim 1 wherein said second attachment strip is an adhesive strip.

6. The catcher of claim 1 wherein said lower edge of said piece of material includes two corners at either end of said lower edge, said first attachment strip extending between said two corners of said lower edge.

7. The catcher of claim 6 wherein said first attachment strip is folded approximately at said midpoint to form two sections, said two sections of said first attachment strip being pressed together to form said pouch-like configuration bounded by the joinder of said sections and said front side.

8. The catcher of claim 7 wherein said first attachment strip comprises an adhesive strip structured and arranged such that said two sections of said first attachment strip adhere together.

9. A stand alone catcher for waste material resulting from the work on a structural surface, said stand alone catcher comprising:

a single piece of material having a front surface and a rear surface, a first attachment piece applied to a lower edge on said front surface and a second attachment piece applied to said rear surface, said piece of material being folded such that said first attachment piece couples portions of said lower edge of said front surface such that said piece of material is formed into a pouch-like configuration bounded by said portions of said lower edge of said front surface and said front surface.

10. The stand alone catcher of claim 9 wherein said second attachment strip is applied to an upper edge of said rear surface.

11. The stand alone catcher of claim 10 wherein said second attachment piece is adapted to be pressed to the structural surface.

12. The stand alone catcher of claim 9 wherein said first and second attachment pieces comprise adhesive strips.

13. The stand alone catcher of claim 12 wherein said adhesive strips are capable of being released.

14. The stand alone catcher of claim 9 wherein said piece of material is one of a paper material, a plastic material, and a foil material.

15. The stand alone catcher of claim 9 wherein said second attachment piece is capable of supporting said piece of material in said pouch-like configuration without additional support.

16. The stand alone catcher of claim 9 wherein said first and second attachment pieces include adhesives capable of adhering to itself and other surfaces and capable of being released.

17. The stand alone catcher of claim 16 wherein said piece of material is capable of returning to an unfolded position from said folded position to be reused.

18. A method of forming a catcher for debris and dirt resulting from work on a structural surface, comprising:

providing a single piece of material having at least two attachment strips with one located on a lower edge of the front of the piece of material and the second on the rear of the piece of material;

folding the piece of material in approximately half to form two sections of the lower edge and the attachment strip;

pressing the sections of the attachment strip together to form a pouch-like configuration; and

moving the pouch-like configuration proximate the structural surface and pressing the second attachment strip against the structural surface.