Back to results
US 2003/0119437 A1Published application
Sanding disc
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsLarry D. Rich, Galen A. Fitzel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sanding disc particularly useful for smoothing drywall. The sanding disc includes a circular abrasive disc having an abrasive surface, and a circular foam disc smaller in diameter than the abrasive disc which is co-axially adhered to the surface of the abrasive disc opposite its abrasive surface. The abrasive disc has a circular central portion along which the surface defined by the abrasive is generally planar, and has an annular peripheral portion extending from its central portion to its peripheral surface along which its surface defined by the abrasive is generally cylindrically convex to position the peripheral surface of the abrasive disc in a plane passing through the foam disc.
Claims15
A sanding disc comprising:
- a polymeric foam disc of resiliently compressible foam, said foam disc having an axis, opposite axially spaced major surfaces, a predetermined diameter, and a peripheral surface about said axis extending between said major surfaces;
- an abrasive disc having an axis, opposite first and second axially spaced major surfaces, a peripheral surface about said axis between said major surfaces, and a diameter larger than the diameter of said foam disc, the second major surface of said abrasive disc being adhered to one major surface of said foam disc with said discs being coaxial, and said abrasive disc comprising a layer of backing material having opposite major surfaces, a layer of abrasive material, and a layer of resin adhering said layer of abrasive material along the major surface of said layer of backing material opposite said foam disc with said layer of abrasive material defining the first major surface of said abrasive disc,
- said abrasive disc including a circular central portion having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of said foam disc, with a portion of said major surface along said central portion being generally planar, and said abrasive disc including an annular peripheral portion extending from said central portion to said peripheral surface of said abrasive disc, with a portion of said first major surface along said annular peripheral portion being generally cylindrically convex with the portion of the first major surface along the planer circular central portion being generally tangent to the adjacent part of the portion of the first major surface along the annular peripheral portion so that the curvature of the annular peripheral portion positions said peripheral surface of said abrasive disc in a plane passing through said foam disc.
A method for forming a sanding disc, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a polymeric foam disc of resiliently compressible foam, the foam disc having an axis opposite axially spaced major surfaces, a predetermined diameter, and a peripheral surface about the axis extending between the major surfaces;
- providing an abrasive disc having an axis, opposite first and second axially spaced generally planar major surfaces, a peripheral surface about the axis between the major surfaces, and a diameter larger than the diameter of the foam disc, the abrasive disc comprising a layer of backing material having opposite major surfaces, a layer of abrasive material, and a layer of resin adhering the layer of abrasive material along one of the major surface of the layer of cloth with the layer of abrasive material defining the first major surface of the abrasive disc;
- providing a sheet of hot melt adhesive;
- positioning the sheet of hot melt adhesive between the second major surface of the abrasive disc and one major surface of the foam disc with the discs being coaxial;
- heating and pressing together the positioned abrasive disc, sheet of hot melt adhesive and foam disc to soften and cause the sheet of hot melt adhesive to adhere the abrasive and foam discs together when the sanding disc cools;
- heating an annular peripheral portion of the abrasive disc extending from a planar central portion of the abrasive disc to the peripheral surface of the abrasive disc;
- and
- reshaping the heated annular peripheral portion of the abrasive disc so that when the abrasive disc cools the portion of the first major surface defined by the layer of abrasive along that annular peripheral portion of the abrasive disc is generally cylindrically convex with the portion of the first major surface along the circular planar central portion being generally tangent to the adjacent part of the first major surface along the annular peripheral portion.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.