Polishing pad assembly

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for polishing stone and synthetic substrates. The apparatus uses a leather polishing pad to apply a finish to a stone or synthetic substrate. The pad has a specially designed fluid channeling pattern which cools by maintaining a quantity of liquid polishing slurry centrally of the pad for cooling purposes. The grit and amount of the abrasive used with the slurry varies based on the mechanical properties of the substrate.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to polishing tools. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for polishing synthetic materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Polishing tools for finishing natural and man made surfaces such as counter tops and stone floors have made a few advances in recent years. This is due to the fact that while natural stone has been used for many years for both aesthetic and functional reasons, it has only been in recent years that a variety of synthetic stone products have been available.

Chief among these synthetic materials is quartz. While quartz is a strong and durable material, finishing, repairing, and polishing it remains a challenge. Standard methods for polishing quartz and other synthetic produce unacceptable results for various reasons. For example, sandpaper and other polishing methods will tend to leave fine swirl patterns which adversely affect the quality of the finish. Also, other polishing methods will tend to produce localized heating which can actually melt and destroy certain synthetics. The open cell rubber and foam polishing pads generally used for stone are known to create damaging hot spots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for polishing stone and synthetic substrates. The apparatus uses a leather polishing pad to apply a finish to a stone or synthetic substrate. The pad has a specially designed fluid channeling pattern which cools by maintaining a quantity of liquid polishing slurry centrally of the pad for cooling purposes. The grit and amount of the abrasive used with the slurry varies based on the mechanical properties of the substrate.

It is a major object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for polishing stone and synthetic stone materials.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for polishing synthetic stone materials.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for polishing stone and synthetic stone materials which dissipates heat.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for polishing stone and synthetic stone materials which has a novel foam backing pad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an exploded perspective view of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

FIG. 1B shows a perspective view of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a side sectional view of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a cooling component of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

FIG. 4A shows a perspective view of a buffing pad of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

FIG. 4B shows a detail of the buffing pad of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

FIG. 4C shows a side view of the buffing pad of the polishing pad assembly of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a polishing pad assembly. The assembly can be used with any rotating sanding/abrading apparatus but is particularly effective when used with an orbital sander. A key aspect of the invention is that the arrangement, structure, and materials used are effective for use with any substrate or material to be polished, but can also be used to polish synthetic materials.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4C the apparatus is shown. It can be seen that the polishing pad 10 is actually a composite of several components which are enclosed within an outer covering 20. In a preferred embodiment, the outer covering 20 is made of a natural animal hide such as pigskin, preferably garment quality. The use of leather for the outer covering 20 takes advantage of the fact that the natural porosity of leather in combination with the tendency of leather to soften when moist reduces swirl patterns and reduces heat build up. Outer covering 20 is formed of two separate circular pieces of leather 22, 24 which are attached at the periphery as by stitching 25 or other means.

A significant problem with finishing synthetic materials such as quartz is that they are actually formed of granular material, e.g., granular quartz, which is held together by a resinous material. This resinous material can melt, deform, or discolor from the heat of sanding using conventional finishing methods. The present invention reduces the risk of localized overheating by controlling or confining the liquid abrasive slurry used for finishing. This is accomplished by way of two intermediate polishing pad components. The first of these components is a spirally arranged, segmented water control component 30. This component 30 is segmented into a plurality of fluid controlling sections 32, the spaces 34 between the sections creating fluid flow channels. The component may be a one piece component but may preferably be formed as a series of controlling sections or “slices”. The channels 34 extend generally spirally from the center of the components 30, and widen gradually as can be seen in FIG. 3. For a six inch diameter pad 10, channels should start at about 0.16 inches in width and increase to about 0.42 inches at the periphery 36. These widths will increase or decrease with increasing or decreasing diameter of the pad 10. The relative spacing of sections 32 is maintained by affixing them, as by adhesive, to backing component 38. 3M® high strength 90 adhesive may be ideally used for this purpose.

Backing component 38 is made of a flexible but water impervious material, the water impervious capability helping to retain liquid within the pad during finishing. Component may be made of e.g., a flexible plastic such as polypropylene. Also, more fluid will flow through channels 34 with a water impervious layer positioned beneath them as this layer will not absorb any of the fluid to be channeled for cooling purposes.

It can be seen that both components 30 and 38 have axially aligned central apertures 40, 42 respectively, the apertures having a diameter of about 1.5 to 2 inches. The outer coverings 22, 24 are attached by adhesive or stitching 44 at the edge of the apertures 40, 42 so that both components 30 and 38 are completely enclosed within a circular sleeve between coverings. Apertures 40, 42 allow fluid from the substrate to pass therethrough, where it is then channeled away from the center in relatively wide swaths to help effect cooling.

FIGS. 4A-4C show a foam buffing pad 50. The buffing/polishing pad 50 is used to polish the binding polymer of any engineered/composite stone material. In a preferred embodiment, open cell rubber is used for buffing pad 50. A problem with prior art buffing pads is the tendency of the pad to “bridge” the surface of the substrate being polished, that is, the prior art pads could not directly contact the underlying polymer of the substrate, the polymer situated just below the surface formed by the granules of, e.g., quartz. It can be seen that the pad 50 has a series of perpendicular scoring marks 52 formed thereon forming a grid with an array of raised portions. This configuration allows the pad 50 to contact the underlying polymer directly by breaking the surface tension to produce an even luster during the buffing phase of the polishing method of the invention.

In use, once the user has attached polishing pad 10 to the sander (not shown) a liquid abrasive slurry is applied to the substrate, which again may be quartz. When the sander is operated and the pad 10 is on the substrate, some moisture from the substrate will be forced up through apertures 40 and 42 where it is forced through channels 34 creating a cooling effect. The pad 10 is effective from 3,000 grit powder up to 14,000 grit powder. In accordance with the inventive method, the pad 10 may be used with a relatively coarse grit to start and then succesively finer grit in successive steps until a desired finish is attained. After each use of the pad 10, the buffing pad 50 is used to polish.

Claims

1. A polishing pad assembly for use with a sanding machine comprising:

a first pad, said first pad having an outer covering, said outer covering formed of two sheets of material attached centrally and peripherally to create an inner sleeve;

a water channeling component having a series of channels formed therein;

a water impervious component attached to said water channeling component;

said water channeling component and said water impervious component enclosed within said inner sleeve.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said channels are spirally arranged and emanate from a central position of said assembly, said channels widening as they approach an edge region of said pad assembly.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said water channel component is formed of a series of fluid controlling sections.

4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein said fluid controlling sections are attached to said water impervious component by an adhesive.

5. The assembly of claim 1 including a buffing pad for use with said sanding machine, the buffing pad used interchangeably with said first pad, said buffing pad having a plurality of score marks formed therein.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said two sheets of material are made of leather.

7. The assembly of claim 5 wherein said buffing pad is made from open cell rubber.