US5244123A — Apparatus and method for applying sealing material

Claim 1

Independent Claim 178 words

A method of applying sealing material to, into, onto or between building components or materials comprising the steps of: temporarily holding a supply of sealing material in a container; providing an auger positioned beneath a bottom opening in the container, an auger housing in which the auger is substantially enclosed along at least part of its length, and a nozzle coupled to the outlet end of the auger housing in which the auger is enclosed along a portion of its length; temporarily rotatably securing an auger extension to the end of the auger, the auger extension and the end of the auger being connected outside of the nozzle and the auger extension extending beyond the nozzle to allow the auger extension to be inserted into a hole in building components or materials and disconnected from the end of the auger; positioning the auger extension in the hole in building components or materials; and conveying the sealing material from a bottom opening in the container along the auger and the auger extension into the hole to fill the hole.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 178 words

A method of applying sealing material to, into, onto or between building components or materials comprising the steps of: temporarily holding a supply of sealing material in a container; providing an auger positioned beneath a bottom opening in the container, an auger housing in which the auger is substantially enclosed along at least part of its length, and a nozzle coupled to the outlet end of the auger housing in which the auger is enclosed along a portion of its length; temporarily rotatably securing an auger extension to the end of the auger, the auger extension and the end of the auger being connected outside of the nozzle and the auger extension extending beyond the nozzle to allow the auger extension to be inserted into a hole in building components or materials and disconnected from the end of the auger; positioning the auger extension in the hole in building components or materials; and conveying the sealing material from a bottom opening in the container along the auger and the auger extension into the hole to fill the hole.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 16 words

The method of claim 1 comprising the further steps of periodically replacing the auger and container.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 17 words

The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of mixing the sealant material in the container.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 18 words

The method of claim 3 comprising the further step of mixing the sealant material in the auger housing.

Claim 6

Independent Claim 150 words

A method of applying sealing material to, into, onto or between building components or materials comprising the steps of: temporarily holding a supply of sealing material in a container; providing an auger positioned beneath a bottom opening in the container, an auger housing in which the auger is substantially enclosed along at least part of its length, and a nozzle coupled to the outlet end of the auger housing; temporarily rotatably securing an auger extension to the end of the auger, the auger extension extending beyond the nozzle whereby the extension is exposed; positioning the auger extension in a hole in building components or materials; conveying the sealing material from a bottom opening in the container along the auger and the auger extension into the hole to fill the hole; disconnecting the auger extension; and leaving the auger extension in the hole within the sealing material as a central anchor.

Claim 7

Independent Claim 150 words

A method of applying sealing material to, into, onto or between building components or materials comprising the steps of: temporarily holding a supply of sealing material in a container; providing an auger positioned beneath a bottom opening in the container, an auger housing in which the auger is substantially enclosed along at least part of its length, and a nozzle coupled to the outlet end of the auger housing; temporarily rotatably securing an auger extension to the end of the auger, the auger extension extending beyond the nozzle whereby the extension is exposed; positioning the auger extension in a hole in building components or materials; conveying the sealing material from a bottom opening in the container along the auger and the auger extension into the hole to fill the hole; disconnecting the auger extension; and leaving the auger extension in the hole within the sealing material as a central anchor.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 37 words

The method of claim 5 comprising the further steps of: drilling a plurality of holes in a predetermined pattern relative to one another, and thereafter filling each of those holes with sealing material and a central anchor.

Claim 9

Independent Claim 195 words

An apparatus to apply sealing material comprising: a power tool; a container carried by said power tool temporarily holding a supply of sealing material; an auger positioned beneath a bottom opening in said container and selectively rotated by said power tool to convey sealing material received from the container along the auger to, into, onto or between building components or materials; an auger housing in which said auger is substantially enclosed along at least part of its length in order to contain the sealing material during conveyance along said auger; a nozzle coupled to the outlet end of said auger housing in which said auger is enclosed along a portion of its length, said nozzle being operative to direct the sealing material from the end of said auger to a point of application; and an auger extension which is releasably coupled to the end of said auger, wherein said auger extension and the end of said auger are coupled outside of said nozzle and said auger extension extends beyond said nozzle to allow said auger extension to be inserted into a hole in building components or materials and uncoupled from the end of said auger.

Claim 10

Independent Claim 195 words

An apparatus to apply sealing material comprising: a power tool; a container carried by said power tool temporarily holding a supply of sealing material; an auger positioned beneath a bottom opening in said container and selectively rotated by said power tool to convey sealing material received from the container along the auger to, into, onto or between building components or materials; an auger housing in which said auger is substantially enclosed along at least part of its length in order to contain the sealing material during conveyance along said auger; a nozzle coupled to the outlet end of said auger housing in which said auger is enclosed along a portion of its length, said nozzle being operative to direct the sealing material from the end of said auger to a point of application; and an auger extension which is releasably coupled to the end of said auger, wherein said auger extension and the end of said auger are coupled outside of said nozzle and said auger extension extends beyond said nozzle to allow said auger extension to be inserted into a hole in building components or materials and uncoupled from the end of said auger.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 23 words

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the container is a hopper and the auger is at least partially received within the power tool.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 28 words

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the container is mounted on said auger housing and the auger is coupled to a rotary drive output on the power tool.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 62 words

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the auger extension is adapted to form a central reinforcement member in the hole in building components or materials after said auger extension is inserted into the hole, the hole is filled with sealing material, and said auger extension is uncoupled from the end of said auger and remains within the sealing material in the hole.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 21 words

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the auger is made from plastic and can be periodically replaced by another plastic auger.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 23 words

The apparatus of claim 11 or 7 wherein the container is removable from said auger housing and can be replaced by another container.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 20 words

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the container, auger housing and auger are removably added onto a handheld power tool.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 29 words

The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the container is a hopper and a scraper is removably positioned in the hopper to assist in mixing and feeding the sealant material.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 47 words

The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the auger has an impeller thereon to rotatably urge the sealant material from the container to the auger, said impeller including a plurality of circumferentially spaced, generally radially extending vanes having respective lengths greater than the radius of the auger flight.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 21 words

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the auger housing further comprises an air manifold which fluidizes the sealant material for spraying.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1996-09-13	1997-03-15	1997-09-14	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2000-09-13	2001-03-15	2001-09-14	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2004-09-13	2005-03-15	2005-09-14	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Apparatus and method for applying sealing material

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