Drywall Patch Kit

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a drywall repair system designed to repair damage, such as holes from nails or picture hooks remaining in a wall once a picture has been removed. The system contains a handle, at least one drywall reamer configured to couple with the handle, and at least one drywall plug sized to fit within a hole created by the reamer bit. The drywall repair system provides a quick and easy system for repairing walls without the requirement of air curing and use of spackle.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

In accordance with 37 C.F.R. 1.76, a claim of priority is included in an Application Data Sheet filed concurrently herewith. Accordingly, the present invention claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/800,250, entitled “DRYWALL PATCH KIT”, filed Mar. 15, 2013. The contents of which the above referenced application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to the field of home and business improvement, and more particularly to a device and kit for use in repairing walls that were decorated with hanging objects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most homes and businesses have walls adorned with clocks, pictures, paintings, diplomas, advertisements, or the like objects that are secured to a wall. To ensure that the objects remain on the wall, most objects are anchored to the wall using nails, screws, plastic expansion mollys, threaded drywall anchors, drywall toggles, molly bolts, or the like anchoring devices. One of the problems encountered with the use of an anchoring device is that they damage the wall and the wall will need to be repaired once the objects are removed or not replaced.

For instance, a child's room may be filled with baby pictures which are quickly outgrown. Unless a removed picture is replaced with another picture, the wall is left with an unsightly anchor. If the anchor is removed, the wall is left with an unsightly hole. Another example is an office where an employee may cover their personal office walls with calendars, diplomas, photographs, and so forth. Should the employee change their office, the employer is tasked with repairing the walls before a new employee takes over the office space.

Whether a homeowner or a business owner, when a hanging object is removed from the wall, the typical remedy is to apply a filler material, such as spackle, to the hole. Once the filler material has dried, the filler is sanded and typically a second application is required due to shrinkage to ensure the material can be sanded flush to match the drywall surface. Once dry the user can then re-paint the repaired area to match the original coloring of the wall. While this is effective, it is time consuming (need to wait for air curing) and can be costly depending on the amount and size of the holes. Further, spackle or the like prepared filler will dry out if not properly sealed. Even if sealed, once the container is open and exposed to air it has a limited shelf life.

Therefore, what is needed is a system and device for repairing holes or defects in drywall quickly and has an infinite shelf life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a drywall repair system. The drywall repair system is designed to repair damage, such as holes from anchoring devices that previously secured objects to the wall. The system 10 consists of a handle 12, a drywall reamer 14 securable to the handle, and at least one drywall plug sized to fit within a hole created by the reamer bit. The drywall repair system provides a quick and easy system for repairing walls without the requirement of air curing and use of spackle. In the preferred embodiment different sized reamers can be attached to the handle, the sized reamers may be used for different size holes to be patched.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a device and method for quickly repairing holes or defects in drywall.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a device and method for repairing holes or defects in drywall which eliminates the need for application of a liquefied patch and curing.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a device and method for repairing holes or defects in drywall which eliminated curing time and the need for sanding.

Still another objective of the invention is to provide a patch that fits within an exact dimension created by a reamed hole.

Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reamer handle and reamer bit of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is FIG. 1 with a cutaway to illustrate a storage receptacle;

FIG. 3 is FIG. 1 with the reamer bit separated from the reamer handle;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reamer bit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a drywall plug;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial view of the reamer bit forming a sized hole in drywall;

FIG. 7 is a pictorial view of the sized hole in drywall formed by the reamer bit;

FIG. 8 is a pictorial view of a drywall plug upon insertion into the sized hole;

FIG. 9 is a pictorial view of drywall patched; and

FIG. 10 is a kit containing one or more components of the system for repairing drywall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred, albeit not limiting, embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

Referring in general to FIGS. 1-5, an illustrative example of the components of a drywall repair system, referred to generally as 10, is shown. The drywall repair system 10 is designed to repair damage, such as holes from nails or picture hooks remaining in a wall once the picture has been removed. The system 10 contains a handle 12, at least one reamer bit 14 constructed and arranged to cooperate with the handle 12, and at least one plug 16 for insertion into a sized hole formed by the reamer bit 14. The handle 12 contains a first end 18, a second end 20, and a main body 22. The main body 22 is preferably ergonomically designed to provide maximum comfort when gripped by a user's hand. As shown, the main body 22 has a generally cylindrical shape. Such shape, however, is not intended to be limiting, as the handle 12 can assume various configurations. The first end 18 may be closed. Alternatively, the first end 18 may include a removable cap 24 which once removed exposes a hollowed compartment 15 sized and shaped to hold at least one reamer bit 14. It should be noted that the handle 12 may also be enlarged wherein the compartment 15 may be sized and shaped to hold one or more drywall plug 16 in addition to the reamer bits, or in place of the reamer bits. Further, the removable cap 24 can be made of a material that allows taping of a drywall plug, as will be explain in more detail later in this specification, to properly lodge the drywall plug into a sized drywall hole. Preferably the removable cap is of a non-marring material to allow taping without damage to the drywall plug of the drywall around the drywall sized hole. The second end 20 is configured to be coupleable with the reamer bits 14. As such, the second end 20 may contain a configuration, illustrated herein as a tri-lobe pocket 26 for receiving a portion of the reamer bit 14.

Referring to FIG. 4, an illustrative example of a reamer bit 14 is illustrated. The reamer bit 14 contains a first end 28, a second end 30, and reamer bit body 32. A first end 28 portion of the reamer bit body 32 contains three sides to form a triangular configuration. This tri-lobe configuration is designed to allow the first end 28 to fit into and couple with the tri-lobe drive pocket 26 of the handle 12. At the opposite end of the tri-lobe configuration, the reamer bit 14 contains a plurality or set of cutting edges such as reaming flutes 34. The flutes may be sized and shaped (straight, helical, angled) in a variable manner to create variably sized and shaped holes. Located at the distal end (second end 30) is a pointed tip 36. The reamer bit body 32 includes a depth stop 38.

Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrative example of a dry wall plug 16 is shown. The dry wall plug 16 contains a first end 40, a second end 42, and a drywall plug main body 44. The drywall plug main body 44 preferably contains a tapered surface and is sized to fit into a hole created by a reamer bit so that the surface 46 sits flush with the dry wall. The surface 46 may contain a finished or unfinished surface. While the drywall plug 16 can be made of any material, preferably the drywall plug 16, or at least the surface 46 is made of a material that can be painted. Alternatively, the drywall plug could be made of a pre-colored material so that the user would have to match the color of the plug to the wall. The drywall plug 16 is preferably constructed from an elastomeric material that will not shrink or degrade over time. However, the drywall plug 16 is also made of the same drywall material having a coating to prevent crumbling of the plug during storage or installation.

Referring to FIGS. 6-9, a user would select the appropriate reamer bit 14 relative to the wall defect, and attached it to the handle 12. Various reamer bit sizes can be used to minimize the plug size. For instance, the repairing of a nail hole may use a small reamer while the repairing of a molly toggle bolt would require a larger sized hole to effectuate the repair. Once an anchor is removed from the illustrated drywall 100, the user applies a rotational force to the reamer handle 12 causing the reamer bit 14 as illustrated in FIG. 6 to form a tapered hole which has a size corresponding to drywall plug 16 as shown in FIG. 7. The taper on the reamer bit 14 matches the taper on the drywall plug 16 and provides a press or locking fit upon insertion as illustrated in FIG. 8. Once inserted, the drywall plug 16 can be immediately finished to a smooth surface and painted as illustrated in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 10, the components of the drywall repair system can be packaged in a kit 48. In an illustrative embodiment, the kit 48 includes a housing unit 50 having one or more handles 12, a plurality of different types of reamer bits 14A-14B, each having a different flute style or size, and a plurality of drywall plugs 16A-16L, where plugs 16A-16C could be small sized, unpainted plugs, plugs 16D-16F could be small sized, painted plugs, plugs 16G-16I could be medium sized plugs, and plugs 165J-16L could be large sized plugs.

The method of patching the drywall using the instant invention would take the steps of: attaching a reamer bit to a handle; inserting said reamer bit into a used anchor hole; rotating said handle to form a uniform hole from said reamer bit; removing said reamer bit from said uniform hole; inserting a tapered drywall plug into said uniform hole; taping said drywall plug until an outer end surface of said drywall plug is flush with the drywall, and painting said drywall plug.

It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A drywall patch kit comprising:

a handle formed from a main body having a first end and a second end;

at least one reamer bit releasably securable to the second end of said handle, said reamer bit constructed and arranged to form a sized hole in drywall; and

at least one drywall plug having a tapered body dimensioned for frictional engagement in the sized hole and a flat surface to be positioned flush with a drywall surface.

2. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said main body has a generally cylindrical shape.

3. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said main body includes a compartment accessed by a removable cap releasably securable to the first end, said compartment sized and shaped to hold at least one reamer bit therein.

4. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said second end of said main body includes a tri-lobe pocket for receiving a reciprocal end of said reamer bit.

5. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein each said reamer bit has a plurality of reaming flutes forming a cutting edge extending from a pointed tip to a depth stop, said reaming flutes arranged to cut a hole in drywall of a predetermined size upon rotation of said reamer bit.

6. The drywall patch kit according to claim 5 wherein said flutes are straight.

7. The drywall patch kit according to claim 5 wherein said flutes are angled.

8. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said drywall plug is constructed from an unfinished paintable material.

9. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein said flat surface on said drywall plug is finished with a colored surface.

10. The drywall patch kit according to claim 1 wherein first end of said handle includes a surface that can be used for taping a drywall plug into the sized hole.

11. The drywall patch kit according to claim 3 wherein said compartment is sized to hold a plurality of reamer bits.

12. The drywall patch kit according to claim 3 wherein said compartment is sized to hold a plurality of drywall plugs.

13. A method of patching drywall comprising the steps of:

attaching a reamer bit to a handle;

inserting said reamer bit into a used anchor hole;

rotating said handle to form a uniform hole from said reamer bit;

removing said reamer bit from said uniform hole;

inserted a tapered drywall plug into said uniform hole;

taping said drywall plug until an outer end surface of said drywall plug is flush with the drywall.

14. The method of patching drywall according to claim 13. including the step of painting said drywall plug.