Hand-held sanding block dust catcher

Abstract

A dust collection device for a hand-held sanding block is disclosed. The dust collection device has an outer shell. The device also has a series of ribs and blocks to hold the sanding block in place along with a seal and baffles to contain the dust generated during the sanding process.

Description

PRIORITY

This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/832,665 filed Jul. 24, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to the field of tools used in drywall construction. In particular, small sanding blocks are used to manually sand sheetrock drywalls after spackling. Currently, these manual sanding blocks suffer from the defect that the blocks are used with no device to collect the dust that is generated as a result of the sanding process. Consequently, a large amount of dust falls to the floor and requires a substantial clean-up effort. The present invention is directed to providing a solution to this problem by providing a device that encloses the sanding block and collects the dust generated during sanding so that clean-up is much easier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A dust collection device adapted for use with a hand held sanding block comprising an outer hollow shell generally rectangular in shape comprising interior side walls, a bottom surface and a top periphery; a first plurality of ribs connected to the interior side walls of the outer shell for securing the sanding block in place; a second plurality of ribs connected to the interior side walls and the bottom surface of the outer shell for further securing the sanding block; a spacer block on the bottom surface of the outer shell for supporting the sanding block from below such that the top surface of the sanding block is generally level with the top periphery of the outer shell; a flexible sealing device connected to the top periphery of the outer shell and protruding upward therefrom; and a baffle connected to the interior walls of the outer shell below the top periphery of the outer shell and protruding inward therefrom such that any dust will be directed toward the bottom of the outer shell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a component of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a component of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a section view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a component of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-section of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention will now be described in connection with the presently preferred embodiment as illustrated in the drawings. However, many obvious modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, the embodiment described herein is illustrative and should not be construed to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.

The present invention is directed to a dust collection device 10. The dust collection device 10 is adapted for use with manual sanding blocks 12. The sanding blocks 12 are presently available from a variety of sources for use in sanding sheetrock walls after spackle is applied to the sheetrock.

The dust collection device 10 is illustrated in the drawings and will now be described in detail. The dust collection device 10 is generally rectangular in shape and adapted to be somewhat larger than the sanding block 12.

The dust collection device 10 comprises a generally hollow outer shell 14 that can be fabricated from plastic. Other appropriate materials may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. A top seal 16 is attached to the top periphery 15 of the outer shell 14 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The top seal 16 is installed at a slightly upward angle to the top periphery 15 of the outer shell 14. The top seal 16 is fabricated from a flexible material such as rubber or vinyl.

The dust collection device 10 further comprises a baffle 18. The baffle 18 is mounted internally to the outer shell 14 at a downward angle from the top periphery 15 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The baffle 18 extends around the interior periphery of the outer shell 14 and is fabricated from plastic or equivalent materials.

The dust collection device 10 further comprises a first plurality of relatively short, cylindrical ribs 20. The ribs 20 extend inward from the outer shell 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The ribs serve to secure the sanding block 12 in place. The dust collection device 10 further comprises a spacer block 22 mounted on the bottom surface of the outer shell 14. As explained below, the sanding block 12 rests on the top surface of the spacer block 22. In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the spacer block 22 may comprise a plurality of through holes 5A.

The dust collection device 10 further comprises a second plurality of ribs 26. The plurality of ribs 26 further acts to hold the sanding block 12 in its proper place.

The dust collection device 10 is adapted to be used with commercially available hand sanding blocks. Thus, the dimensions of the dust collection device 10 will be adapted to conform to the dimensions of such available sanding blocks.

As illustrated in the drawings, the sanding block 12 is inserted into the top open side of the dust collection device 10. The bottom of the sanding block 12 will rest on top of the spacer block 22. The relatively short ribs 20 and the plurality of ribs 26 will prevent the sanding block 12 from moving laterally within the dust collection device 10. In practice, the friction force of the plurality of ribs 20 and 26 against the sides of the sanding block 12 will hold the sanding block 12 in place during use but also allow insertion and removal of the sanding block 12 from the dust collection device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the sanding block 12 is inserted into the dust collection device 10 so that the top of the sanding block 12, indicated by line 24, is approximately level with the top periphery 15 of the outer shell 14.

After the sanding block 12 is inserted, the dust collection device 10 is ready to use. The dust collection device 10 is placed on the wall to be sanded. As the dust from the sanding process is generated, the dust will fall into the gap between the top seal 16 and the baffle 18. The top seal 16 will prevent the dust from falling outside the dust collection device 10. As the dust falls into the gap between the top seal 16 and the baffle 18, the baffle 18 will direct the dust downward into the gaps under and around the sanding block 12.

After the dust collection device 10 is used for a certain period of time, the sanding dust in the dust collection device 10 will need to be emptied. This process is accomplished by removing the sanding block 12 and emptying the dust into an appropriate container for disposal. The sanding block 12 is then reinserted into the dust collection device 10 and the process described herein is repeated until the sanding of the wall is complete.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the foregoing merely represents the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and that many obvious modifications may be made thereto without department from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1) A dust collection device adapted for use with a hand held sanding block comprising:

a) An outer hollow shell generally rectangular in shape comprising interior side walls, a bottom surface and a top periphery;

b) A first plurality of ribs connected to the interior side walls of the outer shell for securing the sanding block in place;

c) A second plurality of ribs connected to the interior side walls and the bottom surface of the outer shell for further securing the sanding block;

d) A spacer block on the bottom surface of the outer shell for supporting the sanding block from below such that the top surface of the sanding block is generally level with the top periphery of the outer shell;

e) A flexible sealing device connected to the top periphery of the outer shell and protruding upward therefrom; and

f) A baffle connected to the interior side walls of the outer shell below the top periphery of the outer shell and protruding inward therefrom such that any dust will be directed toward the bottom of the outer shell.

2) The dust collection device of claim 1 wherein the spacer block comprises a plurality of through holes.