Artist's grout float

Abstract

The artist's grout float of the present invention takes advantage of the small size, flexible, resilient blade of an artist's pallet knife, to form a small scale grout float for use in creating artistic and decorative mosaic works. The blade of the artist's pallet knife is covered on the underside with a layer of resilient material such as rubber, or polymeric elastomeric material. The layer of elastomeric material allows the grout to be forced into the crevices between the mosaic tiles while wiping the surface of the tiles to avoid buildup of grout material on the tile exposed surfaces. The blade may be in a triangular, table knife, or other convenient shape with at least a partial straight edge useful in spreading the grout.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to artistic and decorative mosaic tile works. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus useful in the introduction of grout between mosaic tiles.

2. Description of the Related Art

The use of a grout float for laying tile floors and the like is well known. The typical grout float is rectangular in shape, several inches wide and up to a foot in length and having a smooth, resilient, flat surface and a centrally located hand hold. This type of grout float is useful in spreading grout over spaced floor tiles such that the grout is introduced into the spaces between the tiles to fill them and make a relatively smooth floor surface.

The use of tiles of consistent or varying sizes and shapes to form mosaic decorative surfaces as works of art or on vases and other articles for artistic decoration is widespread. It is desired, in many instances to introduce grout between the tiles for the desired decorative effect. Such work often requires applying grout in confined spaces and crevices or on curved objects. The application of grout through use of the hands and fingers is messy, unpleasant, and can result in reactions with the skin resulting in peeling of the skin It would be desirable to provide a grout float for application of grout to mosaic work.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a mosaic grout float solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The artist's grout float of the present invention takes advantage of the small size, flexible, resilient blade of an artist's pallet knife, to form a small scale grout float for use in creating artistic and decorative mosaic works. The blade of the artist's pallet knife is covered on one side with a layer of resilient material such as rubber, or polymeric elastomeric material. The layer of elastomeric material allows the grout to be forced into the crevices between the mosaic tiles while wiping the surface of the tiles to avoid buildup of grout material on the tile exposed surfaces. The blade may be in a triangular, table knife, or other convenient shape with at least a partial straight edge useful in spreading the grout.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of an artist's grout float in use according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the artist's grout float of FIG. 1 with the layer of elastomeric material exploded away from the palled knife surface.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the artist's knife float of FIG. 1.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is grout float for use by artists in mosaic works. The grout float takes advantage of the size, shape, and flexibility of an artist's pallet knife blade to provide a grout float useful in creating mosaic artistic and decorative works to fill between the tiles thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a vase V to which decorative tiles T are applied to form mosaic M. A supply of grout G is being applied by an artist's grout float 10 according to the present invention to a mosaic M. Artist's grout float 10 is shown having a generally triangular, thin, metal blade 12 attached to a handle 14 being held by the hand H of an artist. The triangular blade 12 has a rounded front end.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown an exploded view and a side elevation view, respectively, of the grout float of FIG. 1. Float 10 has a handle 14 and a generally triangular blade 18 forming a pallet knife 16. The blade has an upper surface and a lower surface and forms a rounded front point. The float cushion 20 is made of elastomeric material and has a rounded point 22, tapered sides 24 forming straight edge segments, a back end 26, and a cushion face 30 for contacting and spreading grout on the mosaic of FIG. 1. The float cushion 20 is attached to the lower surface of at least the forward portion of the knife blade and corresponds to the shape of the surface of working blade 12 of pallet knife 16 with a glue or adhesive layer 28 of appropriate type and composition to firmly attach float cushion 20 to the underside of blade 18.

Although the pallet knife shown is of a triangular blade trowel type with a rounded point, other shapes such as a table knife shape pallet knife may be similarly covered with a float cushion corresponding to the knife shape. The grout cushion is attached to and extends over the underside of the pallet knife blade in the manner described above for the triangular blade.

In use, a quantity of grout is placed at a corner of the mosaic and spread over the mosaic with the inventive float, leaving the crevices and spaces between the tiles of the mosaic filled with grout. The elastomeric material wipes the outer surface of the tiles keeping grout from building up thereon. The inventive grout float is useful both on flat mosaics and mosaics on rounded and curved surfaces such as three-dimensional surfaces with precision. The user may easily load the grout float with precisely the amount of grout need at joints of two-dimensional and three dimensional mosaic pieces.

Although the inventive grout float may have a variety of blade sizes and shapes, a preferred artist's grout float has a flat blade length of about 2¼″ in length, about ⅝″ in width at the back end, and about ¼″ in width at the front end at the rounded portion.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An artist's grout float, comprising:

a pallet knife having a thin, flexible blade having an upper side and a lower side and at least one side edge said pallet knife having a handle; and

a float cushion attached to said lower side of said blade;

said float cushion coextending with said lower side of said blade at at least the forward portion of said blade and extending along said side edge.

2. The grout float of claim 1, wherein said float cushion is made of a flat piece of elastomeric material.

3. The grout float of claim 2, said blade being made of metal.

4. The grout float of claim 3, wherein said float cushion is attached to said blade by an adhesive material.

5. The grout float of claim 4, said blade and said float cushion are generally triangular, forming a rounded front point.

6. The grout float of claim 5, said pallet knife having the general shape of a triangular trowel.

7. The grout float of claim 5, wherein said blade is about 2¼″ in length, ⅝″ in width at the back, and ¼″ in width at the front rounded end.

8. An artist's float, comprising:

a knife having a thin, flexible metal blade and a handle, said blade having a forward portion and at least on side edge and having an upper surface and a lower surface; and

a float cushion attached to said forward portion of said knife blade at said lower surface and coextending therewith;

said float cushion being made of a flat piece of elastomeric material;

said float cushion being attached to said knife blade by an adhesive material.

9. The grout float of claim 4, said blade and said float cushion are generally triangular, forming a rounded front point.

10. The grout float of claim 4, said pallet knife having the general shape of a triangular trowel.

11. The grout float of claim 4, wherein said blade is about 2¼″ in length, ⅝″ in width at the back, and ¼″ in width at the front rounded end.