GB2629771A

GB2629771A - Muli-functional scraper

Info

Publication number: GB2629771A
Application number: GB2306754.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Macdonald Heavenor Glen
Original assignee: Heavenor Tools Ltd
Current assignee: Heavenor Tools Ltd
Priority date: 2023-05-08
Filing date: 2023-05-08
Publication date: 2024-11-13
Also published as: WO2024231651A1; GB202306754D0

Abstract

A multi-functional scraper 100 for removing material from a substrate (160, Fig.4). The scraper comprising a tubular body 110, wherein at least portions of a circumferential edge of the tubular body are sharp in order to provide a sharp edge 130 toward each diametrically opposed side of the scraper. The sharp edges toward each diametrically opposed side of the scraper define a scraping plane P therebetween. The whole circumference of the circumferential edge of the tubular body may be sharp. The tubular body may be substantially closed off to provide a substantially cup shaped body and handle which a user may securely grasp with at least a hand. The tubular body comprises tubular side walls which project substantially perpendicularly to the scraping plane. A gripping surface may be provided to facilitate gripping of the scraper by a user’s hand during use. An additional handle member may be provided in engagement with the scraper to facilitate gripping of the scraper by a user’s hand during use.

Description

Multi-Functional Scraper

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a multi-functional scraper, particularly, but not exclusively, a multi-functional scraper for levelling, hollowing, cleaning and smoothing surfaces such as wooden boards, plaster walls, stone, resin, and the like.

Background

Many interior or exterior surfaces require levelling off, hollowing out or smoothing at times during the lifetime of the surface. This may be desired or required during initial installation in order to provide a smooth and flush finish to joined or layered surfaces or could be during renovation in order to improve the aesthetic appearance and / or tactile qualities of the surface. This may also facilitate the application of a new layer of paint on the surface to provide a desirable finish.

One example of such a surface includes wooden floorboards or doors. Such surfaces typically have undulations or imperfections in them and / or between adjacent boards and it is often desirable for decorators to smooth off these surfaces.

Alternatively, it may be desirable to retain certain undulations in some materials after restoration -an example being antique pine where the hollows can be considered part of the charm and overall desirable aesthetic appearance.

Other examples of such surfaces include plaster walls or ceilings and interior or exterior stonework which requires smoothing or hollowing; however, the reader will appreciate that the general principle applies to a multitude of surfaces.

Known devices for levelling, hollowing out and smoothing surfaces include chisels and manual / machine sanding equipment. These devices allow the user to remove layers from the surface and can provide a degree of levelling / removal of imperfections; however, they each have their disadvantages and operational limitations. For example, chisels can be used to scrape material from such surfaces; however, it can be difficult to control chisels when attempting to utilise them in this way since they are not truly designed for such use. The ergonomics and geometry of known chisels, and the fact they are designed to be "chipped forward" in a relatively narrow range of directions means that chisel blades have a tendency to "catch" the material and hence dig too deeply into the surface of the material. A discussion as to why chisels dig into wood is best found in the description of "rake angle" in the field of gouges which describes the angle of various types of sharpened edges. Chisel edges may be described as having a positive rake angle where on driven impact the blade will tend to dig deeper into the material such as wood. On the other hand, negative rake angle facilitates the leaving of the edge from substrate on driven impact. At best this can result in a poor finished effect and, at worst, can cause irreversible material loss and / or damage to the surface being treated. There is also a risk of injury to the user in attempting to use a chisel in this manner. Furthermore, if a large surface area requires treatment, use of a chisel in this way would take a very long time.

Manual sanding equipment may be used instead; however, this requires a lot of sandpaper and is very time-consuming and physically tiring if a large area requires treatment. Sanding machines are therefore most commonly used where a large surface area requires treatment. However, this can use up a lot of heavy-duty sanding belt which can become expensive and wasteful. Furthermore, such machines are indiscriminate in what material is removed from the surface. This often therefore means that the entire top surface of the material is removed. This can result in an undesirable resultant visual / tactile effect on the treated surface because it can look overly new and / or can create unwanted visual / tactile discontinuities between new and old material (at the joins between the boards for

example).

Such surfaces will typically often be secured in position by metal nails / screws etc. Another problem with such sanding machines (or hand-based sander / chisel methods) is therefore that they are ill equipped to deal with encounters with such metal objects. Indeed, this can break the sanding belt and / or machine and can also increase the risk of injury.

Statements of Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a mufti-functional scraper for removing material from a substrate, the scraper comprising a tubular body, wherein at least portions of a circumferential edge of the tubular body are sharp in order to provide a sharp edge toward each diametrically opposed side of the scraper, and wherein the sharp edges toward each diametrically opposed side of the scraper define a scraping plane the reb etwe en.

This has the benefit of providing an ergonomic device which can be used to treat surfaces with accurate control.

The sharp edges may be provided at either side of the scraper and may each reside at a midpoint of the circumferential edge.

Optionally, the whole circumference of the circumferential edge of the tubular body is sharp.

Optionally, at least an edge of the tubular body may be substantially closed off to provide a substantially cup-shaped body and handle which a user may securely grasp with at least a hand.

Optionally, at least a portion of the tubular body comprises tubular side walls which project substantially perpendicularly to the scraping plane.

Optionally at least a portion of the tubular body comprises tubular side walls which project at a tangential angle relatively to the scraping plane to provide an inwardly or outwardly directed profile to the scraper side walls.

Optionally, a gripping surface may be provided to facilitate gripping of the scraper by a user's hand during use.

Optionally, an additional handle member may be provided in engagement with the scraper to facilitate gripping of the scraper by a user's hand during use.

Optionally, the sharp edge may comprise a bevelled edge and corresponding sharp scraping point.

Optionally, said bevelled edge may be angled inwardly from a relatively high point on the outer edge of the tubular body to a relatively low point on the inner edge of the tubular body to form the sharp scraping point toward the inward edge of the tubular body.

Alternatively, the bevelled edge may be angled outwardly from a relatively high point on the inner edge of the tubular body to a relatively low point on the outer edge of the tubular body to form the sharp scraping point toward the outward edge of the tubular body.

Alternatively, the bevelled edge may comprise a first bevelled edge which is angled inwardly from a relatively high point on the outer edge of the tubular body to a relatively low point below a centre point of the tubular wall and a second bevelled edge which is angled outwardly from a relatively high point on the inner edge of the tubular body to the said relatively low point below the centre point of the tubular wall to form a sharp scraping point toward the centre point of the tubular wall.

Optionally, the ratio between the diameter of the tubular body and the height of the tubular body may be between 4:1 and 1:1.

Optionally, the ratio between the diameter of the tubular body and the height of the tubular body may be between 3:1 and 1.5:1.

A method of removing material from a substrate is also provided, the method comprising: resting the sharp edge of the scraper on a substrate; applying downward pressure onto the closed end of the tubular body of the device; moving the device in a reciprocal motion on the substrate; and varying the location of the downward pressure around the circumference of the device when moving the device in a reciprocal motion on the substrate, or tilting the device when moving the device in a reciprocal motion on the substrate, wherein varying the location of the downward pressure or tilting the device permits the sharp edge at the open end of the device to engage with uneven sections of the substrate such that material is selectively removed from the substrate.

A kit of devices for removing material from a substrate is also provided, the kit comprising: a first multi-functional scraper according to the invention and a second device according to the invention; the first device having a first diameter and a first height; and the second device having a second diameter and a second height; wherein the first diameter and second diameter and / or the first height and second height are non-equal.

This has the benefit of providing the user with a range of scrapers to allow for e.g. small or larger spaces, small or larger hands etc. Further features and advantages of the various aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the claims and the following description.

Brief Description of Drawings

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the following figures, in which:-Figure 1 is a perspective illustration of a multi-functional scraper according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the multi-functional scraper of Figure 1 illustrating a defined scraping plane P-P; Figure 3a is an enlarged view of the portion A of Figure 2 showing a sharpened edge of the multi-functional scraper; Figures 3b to 3e show different variations of a sharpened edge of the multi-functional scraper; Figure 4 is a further schematic cross-sectional view of the scraper of Figure 2 resting on a surface to be treated; and Figures 5a-d show different alternatively dimensioned multi-functional scrapers according to different embodiments of the invention.

Detailed Description

To help place embodiments of the presently described invention into a suitable context, brief reference will firstly be made to Figure 1 which shows a perspective illustration of a multi-functional scraper (hereinafter referred to as 'scraper') 100 according to the invention.

The scraper 100 is shaped such that a user's hand (not shown) can grip onto a closed end of a tubular side wall 110 and scrape a substrate (not shown) with a sharpened end 130 of the scraper by applying the appropriate amount of downward and / or lateral pressure onto the scraper 100. The shape and dimensions of the scraper 100 permit a user to securely grasp the scraper 100 such that they can apply sufficient downward and sideways pressure at the preferred "angle of tilt" when using the tool.

Turning now to Figure 2, the scraper 100 comprises a tubular side wall 110 which provides structural strength to the scraper 100 and forms a circular / tubular outer gripping surface. The tubular side wall 110 comprises a substantially tubular wall that extends between two opposing ends 120, 145 of the scraper 100. The upper end 145 of the tubular side wall 110 is enclosed by a circular planar surface 140 connecting the entire circumference of the upper end 145 of the tubular side wall 110 such that the upper end 145 of the tubular side wall 110 is closed off and thereby creates a cup-shaped profile to the scraper 100. The tubular side wall 110 has a relatively small height H and the circular planar surface 140 has a relatively large diameter D. The other end of the tubular side wall 110 opposite the closed end is open at 120. The end of the tubular side wall 110 adjacent the open end 120 of the scraper 100 comprises a scraping edge generally designated 125 in Figure 2 as will be described in more detail subsequently.

The cross section of the side wall 110 at the scraping edge 125 of the open end 120 reduces as it approaches the open end to form a sharpened scraping point 130 at the open end 120 of the scraper 100. As will be appreciated by the reader, the sharpened scraping point 130 extends around the circumference of the scraper 100 at either side of the open end 120 of the scraper 100 to form diametrically opposed scraping points 130 at either edge of the scraper 100 and which together define a scraping plane P-P of the scraper 100 extending therebetween.

As best illustrated in Figure 3a, the sharpened surface of the sharp edge 130 may have a degree of bevel in the region of 20 -45 degrees; however, this can be selected during manufacture and / or sharpening operations to whatever desired bevel the user requires for the task at hand and / or the surface to be treated.

The intersection at the closed end of the tubular body 110 between the upper end 145 of the tubular body 110 and the circular planar surface 140 is filleted at 150. The fillet 150 at the upper end of the tubular body 110 has a radius of diameter. The radius of diameter of the fillets 150 may be any suitable radius of diameter and may for example be between 1mm and 15mm.

The dimensions D, and H of the scraper 100 are such that an obtuse separation angle a is defined between the centre of the circular planar surface 140 and the vertices leading to the location of the diametrically opposed sharp edges 130 at either side of the scraper 100.

In the embodiment shown, since the tubular body 110 is circular and hence since the sharp edge 130 is circular and extends around the circumference of the scraper 100 it will be appreciated that there is hence only one circumferential sharp edge; however, for illustrative purposes these will be subsequently described as two separate sharpened arcs which are diametrically opposed from one another -and these will be referred to as a "front" sharp arc 130F and a "rear" sharp arc 130R. The arc length in contact with the substrate is determined by the radius of the scraper and the angle of tilt. This in turn determines the width of "scrape". The arc length is typically at its maximum for de-nibbing and finishing and at its minimum for planning and gouging. It will also be appreciated by the reader that, in the embodiment shown, the front sharp arc 130F and the rear sharp arc 13OR reside at the mid-point of the diametrically opposed arcs of the circumferential sharp edge at either side of the scraper; however, they could be alternatively positioned on the circumferential sharp edge.

Turning now to Figure 4, when a user wishes to scrape a substrate 160 the user first rests the scraper 100 onto the substrate such that sharp arcs 130F and 130R at either side of the scraper 100 are in contact with the upper surface of the substrate 160. The user then grasps the scraper 100 with their hand (not shown) around the upper portion of the scraper 100. The user may select how to best position their own hand depending on comfort / their own strength and desired finish for the surface etc.; however, they would typically rest a portion of their palm upon the circular planar surface 140 whilst clawing their fingers around and down the other surfaces of the tubular body 110. This arrangement ensures that the user's wrist (which for most users has many degrees of freedom and movement and which can normally be finely controlled) is immediately adjacent the scraper 100 and also its centre of gravity / mass.

In use, when the user wishes to scrape away material from the substrate 160 they tilt the front sharp arc 130F on the plane P-P of the scraper away from the substrate by an angle, typically 15 degrees, in such a manner which produces a convex working edge at the front of the scraper 100 and begin to reciprocate their hand (and hence the scraper 100) back and forth (and / or side to side) in the direction R shown in Figure 4. While doing that the user also applies a varying degree of downward force F as desired to the scraper 100 and hence the substrate 160.

As the user pulls the scraper 100 towards them on its front edge 130F the edge 130F removes material from the substrate in a scraping function. As the user then pushes the scraper 100 away from themselves, they may choose to weaken the force applied to the substrate 160 and most of the working pressure on the scraper 100 such that material is mainly removed during only the pulling action and not on the pushing action. This can reduce the physical stress on the user's hand and can also help to prolong the life of the rear sharp edge 130R. Alternatively, where desired, the user may also apply similar force during the pushing action when returning the scraper 100 in the opposite direction. Where this is desired, the rear sharp arc 130R also produces a convex working edge at the rear of the scraper 100 in a similar fashion.

Alternatively, depending at the user's preference, the user may tilt the scraper in the opposite direction during each reciprocation such that the opposite arc 130F/130R engages with the substrate at each pass. For example, if the user wishes to remove a greater amount of material from only certain locations on the substrate, and / or wishes a greater amount of material to be removed on one edge of the scraper 100 than on the other edge of the scraper 100 then they may do this by applying a resultant diagonal downward force F2 which thereby tends to tilt the scraper 100 in the direction T. This causes the "rear" sharp edge 130R to engage with the substrate with a greater force than the "front" sharp edge 130F which in turn causes the rear sharp edge 130R to remove more material than the front sharp edge 130F. The terms "rear" and front being defined by the direction in which the scraper 100 is being reciprocated in any given pass over the substrate 160 (i.e. the rear and front edges would typically swap over when the direction of movement is reversed).

In this way, regardless of which direction the scraper is reciprocated, the scraper creates several concave cuts in the substrate which blend into one another and the desired level of uniformity (or not) as required.

When the user wishes to de-nib or smooth a substrate the user applies only a very gentle downward force F and applies this substantially perpendicular to the substrate 160 and scraping plane P-P. This causes the front and rear sharp arcs 130F and 130R to ride over the upper surface of the substrate 160 thereby removing only a very fine layer of material therefrom on each reciprocation over the substrate 160. This reciprocal movement can be combined with circular movements over the substrate in order to provide a further degree of control to the desired effect.

When the user wishes to remove greater quantities of material at each pass in a planing or gouging function, they tilt the scraper by a greater angle, typically 35 degrees, with respect to the plane P-P and begin to reciprocate their hand (and hence the scraper 100) back and forth in a similar manner as previously described. The increased engagement between the arcs 130F, 130R and the substrate due to the greater tilt angle will result in a greater quantity of material being removed at each pass.

If the user wishes a greater amount of material to be removed from the substrate upon reciprocation over the substrate 160 during any of the previously described functions, the user simply needs to apply a greater downward force F on the scraper 130 on one, some or all reciprocations. A greater amount of material can also be removed by using the scraper in conjunction with solvents and heat as is the case with other known scrapers.

The location of the user's wrist relative to the scraper 100 centre of gravity / mass and the ergonomic shape of the scraper 100 allows the user to finely control the pressure applied by each sharp arc 130F and 13OR at each location around the circumference of the scraper 100. Indeed, since the user can flex their risk in many different degrees of freedom it is not only the front and rear sharp edges where the degree of force can be usefully altered. In addition, the user can alter the degree of force applied at the right and left hand sides of the scraper by altering the force applied by their hand / palm / wrist in 360 degrees in order to control the force with which the sharp edge 130 is in contact with the substrate 160 around 360 degrees of the scraper circumference. This also provides an effective tactical feedback loop whereby the user can feel the degree of engagement between the sharp edge 130 and any given part of the substrate 160 at any location around the scraper 100 and can instantaneously adjust the pressure applied at that location in order to actively and responsively adjust the amount of material being removed from the substrate on any given reciprocation over the substrate at any location around the scraper circumference.

It will also be appreciated that when the user applies downward or tangential pressure F or F2 onto the scraper 100, the scraper's wide tubular body 110 diameter D relative to its height fl means there is a large separation angle a between the centre of pressure (or force applied) on the circular planar surface 140 at the closed upper end 145 of the scraper 100 and the sharp edges 130 in contact with the substrate 160. The separation angle a in the specific embodiment shown is around 120°; however, this may be varied depending on the application, user preference and the substrate to be treated as will be described subsequently with reference to Figures. SA to 5D.

The large separation angle a means the scraper 100 has a firm and stable grounding on the substrate 160 as it rests upon and is reciprocated upon it -and also means the scraper 100 is less prone to rolling / flipping if the sharp edge 130 catches on a portion of the substrate 160 at any point. This in turn reduces the likelihood of the sharp edge 130 digging too deep into the substrate 160 and causing irreversible damage / other material loss. In the specific embodiment shown the diameter D to height H ratio of the scraper 100 is around 4:1; however, this may be varied depending on the application, user preference and the substrate to be treated as will be described subsequently with reference to Figures. SA to 5D.

The large angle between the centre of pressure / force on the circular closed end 140 of the scraper 100 and the sharp edge 130 in contact with the upper surface of the substrate 160 is a result of the large width to height ratio. The large width to height ratio reduces the moment of force applied to the sharp edges 130 when the scraper 100 is moved laterally along the substrate 160. When the scraper 100 makes contact with an excess of material on the substrate 160, the reduced moment of force decreases the likelihood of the scraper 100 rolling over and / or digging into the substrate 160. The reduced moment of force ensures the scraper 100 removes the excess of material without digging too deep into the substrate 160.

The scraper 100 of the invention therefore provides numerous benefits and advantages over known apparatus and methods. These include for example:-The nature of the circular sharp edge 130 which extends around the scraper 100 allows the user to occasionally rotate the scraper 100 during use when an edge is beginning to dull. This provides greater longevity to the scraper 100 during sharpening intervals and also provides yet another degree of control to the user over how much material is removed from a substrate on any given reciprocation of the scraper over the substrate.

The circular edge 130 of the scraper also helps to gradually transition between extant material and removed material since as the scraper 100 is tilted by any given angular degree a varying degree of the circular sharpened edge will dig into the substrate (it will dig in more towards the centre of a given gouge than it will towards the edges of that gouge) and the user can learn to make use of this feature in order to carefully control the degree of material removed -and hence the finished effect obtained.

The improved ergonomics and control of the scraper relative to known apparatus provides for more controlled removal of material from any given substrate. This allows the user to actively, and iteratively determine what finished aesthetic or tactile effect they wish to achieve and allows the user to retain a degree of character in the substrate being treated if this is desired -this can be especially useful when treating wooden floorboards for

example.

Unlike sanding belts and related machinery, if the user hits a nail or other obstacle with the scraper during treatment of the surface the scraper will typically not be damaged due to its ergonomics and structural properties. It's circular nature also helps to navigate around the obstacle with relative ease. The geometry and material of the scraper 100 may also cause it to resonate like a bell upon impact with such an object.

Since the scraper of the present invention removes material from the surface of a substrate by way of a combination of finishing, scraping, planing and gouging, rather than sanding action larger elements of material are typically removed on each reciprocation than with a sander (which removes fine dust particles). The invention therefore creates less mess during use and this can reduce the need for dust filters / extractors / masks etc. The scraper of the invention is multi-functional in that it can be used by applying gentle force as described above to shave or scrape off a very fine layer of material from a substrate or it can be used to remove a much greater amount of material by applying greater and / or more targeted force. This allows the scraper to be used in at least the following non- exhaustive list of operational modes:-De-nibbing -it can be used between coats of varnish or paint and / or after final coats of paint or varnish to improve the finish (produces fine particle waste) -Finishing/caulking -it can be used to smooth out joins or undulations in plaster and / or plasterboard or resin etc. (produces slightly coarser particle waste) - Scraping -it can be used to remove uneven/unsightly surfaces from wooden board (such as floorboard), wallpaper etc. (produces pieces and layers of paint, varnish and substrate top layer) Planing -it can be used to reduce or remove raised surfaces/joins on for example, adjoining floor boards, or for reshaping sandstone etc. (produces fine to coarse shavings dependent on the angle of tilt) Gouging -it can be used to create hollows in wood or plaster etc. and can be used to clean indentations in uneven surfaces, remove sticky substances or stains from substrates, carpets, fabric etc. (produces chippings and breaks deeply ingrained dirt into fragments.) The scraper can also be used to produce a hollow on a flat plane and / or produce a planar surface from a mound or hollow.

The reader will appreciate that the scraper of the invention allows control in three dimensions during use. In other words, it can be controlled and manipulated in back-andforth reciprocations, side-to-side reciprocations, can be tilted by varying angles to change its function / the resultant scraping effect and can also be pushed with more or less force downwardly into the substrate by applying varying degrees of pressure. All of these variables allow the user to control the resultant effect more effectively than with prior art arrangements.

Although particular embodiments of the disclosure have been disclosed herein in detail, this has been done by way of example and for the purposes of illustration only. The aforementioned embodiments are not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of

the statements of invention / appended claims.

It is contemplated by the inventor that various substitutions, alterations, and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the statements of invention / claims. Examples of these include the following:-Though described as tubular in the previous embodiments, it will be appreciated that this does not necessarily mean completely circular in cross section. Indeed, the tubular may be non-circular in parts in alternative embodiments. Likewise, the circular planar surface 140 may not be a complete disc shaped plate but could instead be a partial disc with a hole therein. Indeed, the circular planar surface may not be required at all.

The apparatus may be provided with removable and disposable "blades" to provide the sharp edges 130 instead of the tool requiring a sharpening process.

Turning now to Figures 3b to 3d, there are shown different variations of the sharpened edge 130 of the scraper 100 of Figure 1. Figure 3a shows the previously described variation whereby the sharpened edge 130 is angled inwardly towards a central axis of the tubular body 110 of the scraper 100. Figure 3b shows a variation whereby the sharpened edge 130 arcs outwardly away from the central axis of the tubular body 110 of the scraper 100.

Figure 3c shows a variation whereby the sharpened edge 130 is chamfered such that the tip of the sharpened edge 130 is on an inwardly facing surface of the tubular body 110. Figure 3d shows a variation whereby the sharpened edge 130 is chamfered equally on both sides such that the tip of the sharpened edge 130 is directly below a central axis of the wall of the tubular body 110.

The different possible variations of the sharpened edge 130 of the scraper 100 permit the user to use the scraper 100 in different manners and may allow for a different degree of cutting / smoothing of the substrate 160. An inward angled sharp edge 130 (as shown in Figure 3b) may would result in deeper cutting on cutting edge of the scraper 100 when in use. Alternatively, an outward arcing sharp edge 130 (as shown in Figure 3c) may result in deeper cutting on the cutting edge of the scraper 100 when in use. Likewise, a chamfered sharpened edge 130 as shown in Figure 3d may result in deeper cutting on the cutting edge of the scraper 100 when in use. In contrast to the sharpened edges of Figure 3a-d, the sharpened edge 130 shown in Figure 3e would result in equally deep cutting on both the edges of the device 100 when in use.

Turning now to Figures 5a -5d, there are shown different embodiments of the scraper 100 with different heights and widths. Embodiments with different heights and widths may make it easier for a user of the device to grip onto the device and use it as intended. Different embodiments may be used to access different areas of substrate 160. For example, a smaller embodiment (such as the embodiment shown in Figure 5a) may be used to remove material from a narrow area that is challenging to access. Different embodiments may be sold together in a kit of parts thereby allowing the user to pick and choose between versions for different surfaces / applications etc. The diameter of the tubular body 110 may be between 30 mm and 200 mm, but preferably 20 between 45 mm and 135 mm. The lateral distance between the end of the sharpened 130 outwardly facing edge 125 and the outwardly facing surface of the planar surface 140 may be between 10 mm and 100 mm, but preferably between 15 mm and 45 mm.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.A multi-functional scraper for removing material from a substrate, the scraper comprising a tubular body, wherein at least portions of a circumferential edge of the tubular body are sharp in order to provide a sharp edge toward each diametrically opposed side of the scraper, and wherein the sharp edges toward each diametrically opposed side of the scraper define a scraping plane therebetween.
A multi-functional scraper according to claim 1, wherein the sharp edges at either side of the scraper each reside at a mid-point of the circumferential edge.
A multi-functional scraper according to claim 1, wherein the whole circumference of the circumferential edge of the tubular body is sharp.
A multi-functional scraper according to any preceding claim, wherein at least an edge of the tubular body is substantially closed off to provide a substantially cup-shaped body and handle which a user may securely grasp with at least a hand.
A multi-functional scraper according to any preceding claim, wherein at least a portion of the tubular body comprises tubular side walls which project substantially perpendicularly to the scraping plane.
A multi-functional scraper according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least a portion of the tubular body comprises tubular side walls which project at a tangential angle relatively to the scraping plane to provide an inwardly or outwardly directed profile to the scraper side walls.
A multi-functional scraper according to any preceding claim, wherein a gripping surface is provided to facilitate gripping of the scraper by a user's hand during use.
8. A multi-functional scraper according to any preceding claim, wherein an additional handle member is provided in engagement with the scraper to facilitate gripping of the scraper by a user's hand during use.
9. A multi-functional scraper according to any preceding claim wherein the sharp edge is sharpened to provide a bevelled edge and corresponding sharp scraping point.
10. A multi-functional scraper according to claim 9, wherein the bevelled edge is angled inwardly from a relatively high point on the outer edge of the tubular body to a relatively low point on the inner edge of the tubular body to form the sharp scraping point toward the inward edge of the tubular body.
11. A multi-functional scraper according to claim 9, wherein the bevelled edge is angled outwardly from a relatively high point on the inner edge of the tubular body to a relatively low point on the outer edge of the tubular body to form the sharp scraping point toward the outward edge of the tubular body.
12. A multi-functional scraper according to claim 9, wherein the bevelled edge comprises a first bevelled edge which is angled inwardly from a relatively high point on the outer edge of the tubular body to a relatively low point below a centre point of the tubular wall and a second bevelled edge which is angled outwardly from a relatively high point on the inner edge of the tubular body to the said relatively low point below the centre point of the tubular wall to form a sharp scraping point toward the centre point of the tubular wall.
13. The multi-functional scraper of any preceding claim, wherein the ratio between the diameter of the tubular body and the height of the tubular body is between 4:1 and 1:1.
14. The multi-functional scraper of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the ratio between the diameter of the tubular body and the height of the tubular body is between 3:1 and 1.5:1.
15. A method of removing material from a substrate, the method comprising: resting the sharp edge at the open end of the multi-functional scraper of any of claims 1 to 14 on a substrate; applying downward pressure onto the closed end of the tubular body of the device; moving the device in a reciprocal motion on the substrate; and varying the location of the downward pressure around the circumference of the device when moving the device in a reciprocal motion on the substrate, or tilting the device when moving the device in a reciprocal motion on the substrate, wherein varying the location of the downward pressure or tilting the device permits the sharp edge at the open end of the device to engage with uneven sections of the substrate such that material is selectively removed from the substrate.
16. A kit of devices for removing material from a substrate, the kit comprising: a first multi-functional scraper according to any one of claims 1 to 14, and a second device according to any one of claims 1 to 14; the first device having a first diameter and a first height; and the second device having a second diameter and a second height; wherein the first diameter and second diameter and / or the first height and second height are non-equal.