FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to mud application assemblies.

More particularly, the present invention relates to mud application assemblies including mud guns and associated mud hoppers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mud guns, which are used to apply "mud" or joint compound to walls, ceilings, etc. are well known in the art. In this disclosure, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the term "mud" as used in conjunction with the various apparatus includes any material that can be dispensed by the disclosed structures. Also, hoppers for temporarily storing the mud and allowing the mud to flow into the gun as the mud is applied are well known. However, several problems are prevalent in these prior art devices that can cause problems during usage.

The mud guns generally extrude the mud through a nozzle at the front of the gun. Different sized and shaped nozzles are used in different work related applications. Each time the nozzle is changed the gun must be emptied so that mud does not flow out as one nozzle is removed and another nozzle is attached. Even with the emptying of the mud gun the task of changing the nozzle can be a relatively messy task. Further, the spare nozzles must be stored in a relatively accessible place.

Another problem that is prevalent in the mud gun and hopper apparatus is that mud generally must flow under the force of gravity from the hopper into the gun. In many applications and gun orientations the mud does not flow evenly and continuously. Further, the hopper must be substantially full to achieve an even and continuous flow. As the mud in the hopper becomes depleted, there is a tendency for it to hang-up in the corners so that much time and effort is required to get all of the mud to flow out of the hopper or the operator must refill the hopper more often without actually using all of the mud in the hopper.

It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior 13 art.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved mud gun for use in applying joint compound to drywall joints and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved mud gun that is easier to use.

And another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved mud hopper for use with a mud gun.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved mud hopper for use with mud guns which is easier to use and more efficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, to achieve the desired objects of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment, provided is a mud application assembly including a mud hopper having an outlet orifice attachable to a mud gun and through which mud will flow into an attached mud gun, a cover attached to the mud hopper and rotatable between an open position for filling the hopper with mud and a closed position substantially covering a mud-receiving opening of the hopper during operation, and a releasable biasing structure coupled to the hopper for applying a bias to force mud contained in the hopper toward the outlet orifice.

To further achieve the desired objects of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment, provided is a mud application assembly including a mud gun having a hollow body with a mud inlet orifice and a mud outlet orifice. The body further includes an air inlet constructed to have a source of pressurized air attached so that when air under pressure is introduced into the air inlet of the mud gun, mud entering through the inlet orifice is forced out through the outlet orifice. A nozzle chassis is affixed to the mud gun with a plurality of nozzles movably attached thereto. Each nozzle of the plurality of nozzles is movable between a stored position and a position aligned with the outlet orifice of the mud gun so that only one nozzle of the plurality of nozzles is aligned with the outlet orifice at a time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and further and more specific objects and advantages of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded isometric view of a mud gun and hopper in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the hopper similar to FIG. 1 with the mud gun and hopper fully assembled;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the hopper illustrated in FIG. 1, showing various components in better detail;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, partially exploded isometric view of the hopper illustrated in FIG. 1, showing various components in more detail;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view illustrating the assembled gun and hopper in combination with hopper filling apparatus;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the assembled gun and hopper in combination with hopper filling apparatus;

FIG. 7 is an isometric rear view of the mud gun of FIG. 1 with the hopper detached;

FIG. 8 is an exploded isometric front view of the mud gun of FIG. 1 with the hopper detached;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a nozzle chassis for the mud gun of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a view in top plan of the nozzle chassis of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the nozzle chassis of FIG. 9 as seen from the line 11--11;

FIG. 12 is an end view of the nozzle chassis as seen from the right side of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a view of the nozzle chassis as seen from the line 13--13 in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a front isometric view of the nozzle chassis of FIG. 9;

FIG. 15 is a rear isometric view of the nozzle chassis of FIG. 9;

FIG. 16 is a view in top plan of a nozzle bar for use with the nozzle chassis;

FIG. 17 is a front plan view of the nozzle bar of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of the nozzle bar as seen from the line 18--18 in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a front isometric view of the nozzle bar of FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is an end view of the nozzle bar of FIG. 16, as seen from the right end in FIG. 19; and

FIG. 21 is a rear isometric view of the nozzle bar of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is first directed to FIG. 1, which illustrates a mud hopper 10 and mud gun 12 in accordance with the present invention. Mud hopper 10, which refers to the entire assembly, includes a wedge shaped box 14 with a bottom surface or wall having an outlet orifice 15 through which joint compound or the like flows into mud gun 12. The joint compound is then ejected or extruded by mud gun 12, as mud gun 12 is moved along a joint or wallboard surface. Hopper 10 further includes a left side 16, a rear side or end 17, and a right side 18. A handle 20 (illustrated disassembled in FIG. 1) is conveniently attached to rear side 17 to provide additional handling and balancing capabilities. As can be best seen in FIG. 4, handle 20 is formed in two parts which can be conveniently assembled over spaced apart buttons 21 on the outer surface of rear end 17 to fixedly engage handle 20 with rear end 17.

Referring additionally to FIG. 2, it can be seen that outlet orifice 15 of hopper 10 can be conveniently engaged over an inlet orifice 25 of mud gun 12 and held firmly in place by means of a clamp 26 or the like. In this preferred embodiment, wedge shaped box 14 of hopper 10 is constructed so that sides 16 and 18 taper gradually into the bottom surface so as to define a front edge 28, best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. Sides 16 and 18 are further formed to define cover mounting openings 29 at opposite ends of front edge 28. A generally rectangularly shaped cover 30, which is best seen in FIG. 4, is designed to fit within wedge shaped box 14 of hopper 10 so as to force mud contained in box 14 out through outlet orifice 15.

A front edge of cover 30 is designed to be pivotally mounted adjacent front edge 28 of box 14 between openings 29. The pivotal mounting of cover 30 is accomplished by inserting hinge bearings 31 into openings 29 on opposite sides of front edge 28. Hinge bearings 31 are generally cup-shaped with an opening through the bottom. With the front edge of cover 30 properly positioned between openings 29, screws 32 are inserted through hinge bearings 31 and threadedly engaged into the sides of the front edge of cover 30. Hinge bearings 31 are thereby fixedly attached to opposite sides of the front edge of cover 30 and are rotatably mounted in openings 29 to pivotally fix cover 30 relative to box 14. Cover 30 has an open position for filling box 14 with mud and a closed position substantially covering the upper opening of box 14 in a use or operational position. A rubber seal 33 is affixed over the side and rear edges of cover 30 to ensure that mud contained in box 14 does not exit around cover 30 during operation.

A spring mast 35 is attached to the upper surface of cover 30 by means of a mounting block 36. Mast 35 is constructed with a mounting foot 37 and a perpendicular portion 38. Mounting foot 37 is affixed to the upper surface of mounting block 36 so that perpendicular portion 38 extends upwardly from the upper surface of cover 30. Also, mounting block 36 is tapered slightly, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, so that the upper end of mast 35 is directed slightly toward the front of box 14. A spring 40 has one end engaged in a hole in the upper end of mast 35 with a spring clip 41 affixed to the other end. A catch 42 protrudes outwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge of rear end 17 of box 14. With box 14 full of mud, spring 40 is stretched until spring clip 41 can be engaged over catch 42. In this position, mast 35 and mounting block 36 are designed so that pressure is applied to cover 30 by spring 40, tending to force mud out of box 14 and through outlet orifice 15. Rubber seal 33 is provided to ensure that the mud is forced through orifice 15 and cannot ooze around cover 30.

Turning to FIGS. 5 and 6, a wire refill stand 45 is designed to be engaged over the upper edge of a bucket 46 to provide a convenient stand for refilling hopper 10 with mud. Refill stand 45 is constructed so that hopper 10 is cradled therein with mud gun 12 still in the attached position. As can be seen, mud gun 12 is positioned below hopper 10 in bucket 46, with or without an air hose attached, so that hopper 10 can be conveniently filled without the need to remove or detach gun 12. Further, hopper 10 is positioned with the upper opening generally horizontal for maximum filling convenience. The filling operation is performed by simply disengaging spring clip 41 from catch 42 and pivoting cover 30 into the open position. Once hopper 10 is properly filled, spring 40 is stretched until spring clip 41 can be engaged over catch 42 and the hopper and gun assembly is again ready for use.

Turning now to FIGS. 7 and 8, mud gun 12 is illustrated in an assembled and an exploded view, respectively. Mud gun 12 is a standard commercially available air pressure operated mud gun with a pistol grip type of handle 50 and a pivotally attached trigger 51. Air under pressure is introduced into mud gun 12 at the lower end of handle 50 and mud enters through inlet orifice 25. As previously explained, outlet orifice 15 of hopper 10 is engaged over inlet orifice 25 to provide a steady flow of mud, to mud gun 12. Each time trigger 51 is depressed, air is allowed to enter mud gun 12 and force mud from inlet orifice 25 through an outlet orifice 52 in the front of mud gun 12.

In this embodiment, outlet orifice 52 of mud gun 12 has threads 54 formed around the outer perimeter, as best seen in FIG. 8. A nozzle chassis 60 is formed with a mud inlet opening 61 having threads 62 formed in the inner periphery. Nozzle chassis 60 is mounted on mud gun 12 by simply engaging threads 62 over threads 54 of mud gun 12. Nozzle chassis 60 can best be seen by referring to FIGS. 9 through 15.

Nozzle chassis 60 includes a flat base portion 63 with inlet opening 61 positioned approximately centrally therethrough. The upper and lower edges 64 and 65, respectively; of portion 63 are each turned to form opposed U-shaped portions of a track. Base portion 63 has a flat bearing surface 66 positioned adjacent the track and between upper and lower edges 64 and 65. A splatter hood 67 is optionally provided as an integral portion (or a removable portion if desired) of nozzle chassis 60. Splatter hood 67 is positioned in overlying relationship to nozzles (to be described presently) mounted by nozzle chassis 60. Here it will be understood that nozzle chassis 60 can be formed as a single integral piece, with or without splatter hood 67, or it can be fabricated using a variety of components. The single integral piece is preferred because of its lightness and strength.

Referring additionally to FIGS. 16 through 21, a nozzle bar 70 is illustrated. Nozzle bar 70 is designed specifically for use with nozzle chassis 60 and includes an elongated base portion 71. Base portion 71 has a bearing surface 72 designed to but against bearing surface 66 of nozzle chassis 60. The upper and lower edges of base portion 71 are designed to be engaged in upper and lower U-shaped edges 64 and 65 of nozzle chassis 60 so as to hold bearing surface 72 of nozzle bar 70 tightly against bearing surface 66 of nozzle chassis 60. Three nozzles are formed in nozzle bar 70 with different nozzle orifice sizes, designated 75, 76, and 77. The three nozzles are spaced apart along nozzle bar 70 so that only one nozzle is aligned with inlet opening 61 in nozzle chassis 60 at any time. Each nozzle includes an inlet opening in bearing surface 72 that has a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of inlet opening 61. The inlet opening is then tapered to nozzle orifices 75, 76, and 77. Because bearing surface 72 of nozzle bar 70 is held tightly against bearing surface 66 of nozzle chassis 60, mud cannot escape between the two and must exit only through one of orifices 75, 76, or 77. While three nozzles are illustrated for convenience it will be understood that more or less nozzles can be conveniently incorporated.

Thus, a new and improved mud hopper is disclosed which is constructed to be easily filled without the need to disengage the mud gun. Further, the hopper includes a spring loaded cover that provides a force on mud contained in the hopper to provide a smooth even flow and to ensure complete evacuation of the hopper so that it does not need to be filled as often. Also, a new and improved mud gun has been disclosed which has a plurality of different nozzles conveniently attached. The nozzles can be readily exchanged without the need to empty the mud gun.

Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims.