A DEVICE FOR PRODUCING A MORTAR FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND ART.

The present invention relates to a device for producing a mortar for construction work.

In the construction industry, i.e. in the field of construction and repair, for example of walls, ample use is made of construction mortars. A construction mortar, also called lime mortar, is constituted by a construction product in powder form mixed with water. Said construction product in powder form is generally constituted by a premixed compound, comprising for example cement or gypsum powder, possibly together with sand and other additives. Thus, mortar is a viscous mixture, suitable for multiple applications, such as levelling walls, filling cracks and, in general, all small scale masonry operations. Moreover, mortar is also useful for maintenance or repair operations, such as restoring a wall portion on which a track was opened.

It should be noted that, for operations on a particularly reduced scale, i.e. for interventions limited to very small volumes, stucco is often used. Since stucco is retailed in ready-to-use form, it is certainly available for everyone. However, stucco is an advantageous solution only if the required intervention is in fact very limited in scope. Otherwise, for interventions that require larger volumes of material (such as in the aforementioned case of filling a track made on a wall) use of stucco is

disadvantageous, if not altogether impossible, because of its cost, if for no other reason.

On the other hand, use of construction mortar in turn presents some drawbacks, essentially due to the production of the mortar itself. To produce the mortar for construction it is necessary to mix said construction material in powder form (premixed) with an appropriate portion of water, which depends on the quantity and on the type of the material used. This operation requires considerable experience, and in fact, typically, construction mortar is made exclusively by operators within the construction industry, i.e. by masons.

In fact, persons who are not in the construction industry and hence are not experience, in practice never use construction mortar autonomously, because they are discouraged by the difficulty in producing the mortar or by the need to purchase the construction materials necessary for its production in a quantity that is generally out of proportion with respect to their needs. Said construction material in powder form (premixed) is typically sold in bags whose minimum size is 25 kg. Therefore, a person without experience in the field of masonry, who wants to perform an intervention of the type described on his/her own, in his/her own house or on others' behalf (as in the case, for example, of an electrician or a plumber who, to complete an intervention performed by him/her, also has to execute a masonry repair or restructuring intervention), encounters considerable problems and disadvantages, associated with the use of construction mortar.

A disadvantage is that the inexperienced person has to ask an expert, i.e. a mason, to do the work, this entailing organisational costs and difficulties.

Another drawback is given by waste materials, which require disposal (and have to be paid for). The presence of waste is caused by the fact that, as recalled above, the construction material in powdered form (pre- mixed) necessary for the production of the mortar is typically sold in overabundant dosages, with respect to the needs of many users. An additional problem associated with techniques in use for the production of construction mortar is that masons, having to produce said mortar in large quantities, have the need to transport the mortar, in the quantity necessary for a single interventions, from a production site (typically at ground level) to a utilisation site (which is often in a raised position), this being tiresome and dangerous. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks and to make available a device for producing a construction mortar that is usable in a simple and practical manner by anyone, hence also by persons without experience in the construction industry. Another object of the present invention is to avoid the production of waste material, if the production of the mortar is for a relatively small intervention.

An additional object of the present invention is to avoid the difficulties associated with the transport of the construction mortar.

Said objects are fully achieved by the device of the present invention, which is characterised by the content of the appended claims and in particular in that it comprises, in combination:

- a container; - a construction product in powdered form, introduced into the container in a predetermined quantity;

- a vessel positioned inside the container and containing a predetermined quantity of water, necessary to obtain a construction mortar by mixing with said quantity of product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.

This and other characteristics shall become more readily apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, illustrated purely by way of non limiting example in the accompanying drawing tables, in which: - figure 1 shows a sectioned view of a device according to the present invention;

- figure 2 shows a sectioned view of a detail of the device of figure 1 ;

- figure 3 shows a sectioned view of a lid of the device of figure 1;

- figure 4 shows a top view of the detail of figure 3; - figure 5 shows a perspective view of a tool which is a part of the device of figure 1;

- figure 6 shows a perspective view of another detail of the device of figure 1.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION.

In the figures, the reference number 1 designates a device for producing a construction mortar, according to the present invention. The device 1 originally comprises a container 2 (shown in figures 1 and 2) inside which is introduced a construction product 3 in powdered or granular form, in a predetermined quantity, constituting a solute. In particular, said quantity preferably has a value of about 5 kg, or in any case between 3 and 10 kg.

The container 2 can be constituted, for example, by a plastic bucket. It should be noted in any case that the container 2 can be made of any material and in any form suitable to contain the product 3.

The product 3 can be constituted by a pre-mixed construction product

(comprising for example cement or gypsum, and possibly sand or other additives).

The device 1 also comprises a vessel 4 (illustrated in figures 1 and 6) positioned within the container 2 and containing a predetermined quantity of water or solvent, necessary to obtain a construction mortar, for mixing with said quantity of product 3. The vessel 4 is made for example of plastic in the form of a bag, which may be with facilitated opening. Said quantity of water is predetermined, as a function of the quantity and type of the product 3, in such a way as to assure the production of an effective mortar, provided with an optimal value of viscosity (which assures its grip on the surface and does not form cracks when drying). In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the container 2 has a lateral wall

with substantially cone frustum shape, to facilitate mixing, in the container 2 itself, the product 3 with the water contained in the vessel 4. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the device 1 also comprises a tool 5 (illustrated in figures 1 and 5), positioned within the container 2, able to mix said quantity of product 3 and said quantity of water within the container 2 itself.

In particular, the tool 5 defines a blunt portion able to lacerate the vessel 4 to extract its content. Moreover, the tool 5 is shaped in such a way that it can be gripped to collect a construction mortar and spread it on a surface. In particular, the tool 5 comprises a spatula 6, i.e. a substantially flat, preferably metallic portion, integral with a handle 7. In this way, the tool 5 substantially constitutes a trowel.

The device also comprises a lid 8 (illustrated in figures 1, 3 and 4) removably associated with the container 2 to close hermetically. Said hermetic closure advantageously assures that the product contained within the container 2 does not undergo sizeable humidity variations, which could compromise a correct production of the mortar. The lid 8 is originally shaped in such a way as to define a substantially flat surface 9, able to receive a construction mortar. Moreover, the lid 8 is originally shaped in such a way that it can be gripped, to constitute substantially a float. In particular, the lid 8 defines a handle 10.

Note that, according to embodiments not illustrated herein, said quantity of water is contained in a vessel 4 defined by the lid 8 or by container 2

in a recess and closed by a rip-out film.

The device 1 also comprises grip means, for a manual transport of the device. For example, said grip means can be constituted by the handle 10 itself, or by projections 11 defined by the container 2. It should be noted that the device 1 is a single-use, disposable device. The following invention presents the following advantages. The device 1 enables anyone, hence also persons without experience in the construction industry, to produce a construction mortar that is usable in simple and practical fashion by anyone, thanks to the fact that it comprises, originally, the necessary components for the production of the mortar, already proportioned correctly.

Moreover, the device 1 is particularly functional and convenient to use, because it comprises all that is necessary to produce and use the mortar (a container to mix the pre-mixed product with water; a trowel to collect and spread the mortar and a float to store the mortar temporarily, to collect it and proportion it more easily), without forcing the person who uses the device 1 to buy or otherwise obtain the various tools needed to produce and use the mortar. Moreover, the device 1 enables to avoid the production of waste material, because the quantity of mortar produced with the predetermined quantities of product 3 and of water is limited to applications that are small in scope. In particular, the device 1 can be a single-use device, hence particularly suitable for those who need to use construction mortar in a wholly occasional manner.

Lastly, the device 1 enables to avoid the difficulties associated with the transport of the construction mortar, because it enables the person who uses it easily to transport the device (since it is substantially light and provided with grip means) to the site where the mortar is to be used, and then to produce the mortar directly in that site.