PAINTER'S EQUIPMENT

Abstract

 An item of painter's equipment comprises a multi-purpose holder for painter's tools and materials. The holder comprises a first compartment (10) and a second compartment (20) which are separated from each other by a standing dividing wall (30). The dividing wall comprises a distal part (30B) between the compartments and a proximal part (30A) located outside at least one of the compartments. The proximal part of the dividing wall comprises a handle (35) by which the holder can be picked up. The distal part (30B) of the dividing wall provides wiper means (33) which also extend over at least a part of the proximal part (30A) of the dividing wall.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to painter's equipment, comprising a multi-purpose holder for painter's tools and materials with at least a first compartment and at least a second compartment which are separated from each other by a standing dividing wall.

[0002] When paintwork is to be carried out, it is desirable to keep together in practical manner a flat brush, paint roller or other paint applicator and a holder for the paint to be applied as well as optional additional auxiliary means. The additional auxiliary means consist for instance of one or more of a group comprising additional flat brushes or the like of varying sizes or shapes, masking tape, brushes, sponges, paint scrapers, cutting knives and the like. The holder moreover preferably has to be provided with a wiper option with which an excess of paint on the brush or roller can be removed and the paint can be distributed homogeneously in the brush or roller.

[0003] Such holder is known from an international patent application made available for public inspection under number WO 2010/036606. The holder described herein comprises an integrally formed plastic body with a first reservoir for a paint product to be applied and a second reservoir separated therefrom spatially and from the liquid for one or more of the above stated auxiliary means. Between the two reservoirs the known holder comprises a cavity so that the holder can be placed and fixed at the position thereof on a rung of a ladder or the like. The painter then has both hands free for work. The known holder also provides a wide range of insert parts with which an interior of each of the two reservoirs can be modified and adapted as required.

[0004] A drawback of the known holder is that it lacks a handle with which the holder can also be manipulated when no ladder with a suitable rung is available or when work is being done without a ladder, for instance on a scaffold or at ground level. In such a case the known device can only be used with difficulty. The wiper means, which are provided only by a rear wall of the liquid reservoir, are moreover insufficient in practice for a correct dosage of the lacquer on the roller since at each attempt at wiping the roller will almost inevitably always be dipped into the lacquer and thereby repeatedly take up an excess of paint/lacquer.

[0005] The present invention has for its object, among others, to provide a multi-purpose holder for a paint product to be applied and for auxiliary means to be used therewith while maintaining simplicity and obviating the above stated and other drawbacks without any loss of advantages.

[0006] In order to achieve the stated object painter's equipment of the type described in the preamble has the feature according to the invention that the dividing wall between the compartments comprises a distal part which separates the compartments from each other and a proximal part located outside at least one of the compartments, that the proximal part of the dividing wall comprises a handle by which the holder can be picked up and that the distal part of the dividing wall is provided on at least a side facing toward a compartment with wiper means which also extend at least partially over the proximal part of the dividing wall.

[0007] The painter's equipment according to the invention thus provides, similarly to the above cited known holder, a multi-purpose holder with at least two compartments in which on the one hand a paint or lacquer for applying can be accommodated and which on the other provide space for optional auxiliary means for the painter or a differing colour or composition of a paint product likewise to be applied. According to the invention the intermediate wall separating the compartments from each other also comprises, in addition to a distal part, a proximal part which extends outside at least one of the compartments and thus creates a space here for a handle and an extension of the wiper means. The holder according to the invention hereby meets all the requirements someone can have when carrying out painting work with such a holder, varying from a professional painter to a more or less accomplished do-it-yourselfer. This essentially without detracting from the simplicity and/or the manufacturing cost of such a holder, as will become apparent below. For the purpose of a compact storage of a supply of such holders a preferred embodiment of the painter's equipment according to the invention has the feature that the dividing wall is double-walled, with a first wall and a second wall which extend from the proximal part at an angle relative to each other and mutually enclose a cavity which is accessible on a distal side and open on both sides and in which the proximal part of a dividing wall of a corresponding further holder can be for at least the greater part received. Owing to such an embodiment of the dividing wall the holder is thus nestable with other corresponding holders, so that a limited storage volume suffices therefor when the holders are being held in stock. The cavity thus provided in the intermediate wall moreover provides the option of placing the holder stably on a rung or the like of a ladder as well as by the handle, wherein the user again has both hands free for the actual work and, in the case of work on a ladder, for his/her own balance.

[0008] A particular embodiment of the painter's equipment has the feature according to the invention that the handle comprises a grip opening in the proximal part of the dividing wall. The invention hereby provides for an exceptionally simple, though no less practical implementation of a handle or handgrip for the holder. In equally simple, though no less effective manner a further particular embodiment of the painter's equipment according to the invention provides wiper means, wherein this embodiment is characterized in that the wiper means comprise a relief in a surface of the distal part and also of at least a part of the proximal part of the dividing wall on at least the side of the dividing wall facing toward the compartment.

[0009] With a particular view to the use of a paint roller, a further preferred embodiment of the painter's equipment according to the invention has the feature that the compartments each comprise an at least substantially rectangular bottom in a common bottom plane and are otherwise bounded all around by the dividing wall on a first side, an end wall surface on an opposite side and by opposite side walls between the end wall and the dividing wall. Use is made here of a roller with a width of a maximum of the width of the rectangular bottom of at least one of the compartments. The relevant compartment can thus be utilized wholly for the roller.

[0010] A particularly practical embodiment of the painter's equipment is characterized according to the invention in that the compartments have substantially the same width between the opposite side walls and have a differing length between the dividing wall and the opposite end wall surface, more particularly a length differing by at least a factor of two from each other. The one compartment thus has comparatively more bottom area and is thereby highly suitable as reservoir for paint in combination with the use of a roller, while the other compartment has comparatively more depth to enable associated auxiliary means to be received therein in more upright position.

[0011] A common bottom plane for the bottoms of the compartments provides for a stable placing on a flat surface. When the holder is picked up by the handle there is however a danger that a certain tilting will occur as a result of a differing centre of gravity of the compartments relative to the handle. In order to avoid a liquid product flowing out of the compartment partially filled therewith over the edge thereof, a further preferred embodiment of the painter's equipment according to the invention has the feature that the side walls in at least one of the compartments rises at an angle relative to the bottom plane from the dividing wall to the end wall, in particular at an angle β of at least 5 degrees, more particularly at an angle of about 5 to 15 degrees. The rising side walls thus provide a raised end wall which hereby forms an extra-high barrier to the paint or lacquer which could otherwise flow over the edge on this side in the case of a certain tilting of the holder when it is picked up by the handle.

[0012] For practical manufacture of the holder which is particularly advantageous from a cost viewpoint a further particular preferred embodiment of the painter's equipment according to the invention has the feature that the holder comprises a unitary body, in particular a thermally formed plastic body, more particularly a body moulded from a plastic taken from a group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

[0013] The invention will now be further elucidated on the basis of an exemplary embodiment and an associated drawing. In the drawing:

figure 1

shows a perspective view of a holder of an embodiment of the painter's equipment according to the invention; and

figure 2

shows a cross-section of the holder of figure 1.

The figures are otherwise purely schematic and not drawn to scale. For the sake of clarity some dimensions in particular may be exaggerated to a greater or lesser extent. Corresponding parts are generally provided with the same reference numerals.

[0014] The holder of the painter's equipment according to the invention shown in figure 1 comprises a unitary body wholly manufactured from plastic in which diverse functions are integrated in exceptionally practical and ingenious manner. The body is advantageously manufactured substantially in a single process, for instance by thermo-(de)forming, such as in particular injection moulding, from a plastic from a group of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). In the present invention use is made in this respect of polyethylene to which, if desired, a colouring agent is added for the purpose of the appearance of the product.

[0015] The holder comprises a first compartment 10 and a second compartment 20 which are separated from each other spatially and for liquid, in particular a lacquer or paint product to be used, by an intermediate wall 30. Both compartments 10,20 have a substantially rectangular bottom 11, 21 respectively which lie in a common ground plane. The holder can hereby be placed in stable manner on a flat surface. Although a width b of about 140-150 millimetres is the same for both compartments, the two compartments with a respective length ℓ1 of 100-120 millimetres and a length ℓ2 of about 40-50 millimetres have a clearly differing dimension in this direction. These lengths ℓ1, ℓ2 are thus in a ratio of at least 2:1. First compartment 10 of the holder of the present embodiment is hereby highly suitable and intended for receiving therein the lacquer or paint to be used, while second compartment 20 provides an excellent space for further painter's tools and materials such as additional flat brushes or the like of differing sizes or shapes, masking tape, brushes, sponges, paint scrapers, cutting knives and the like.

[0016] An end wall 22 of the second compartment with a height h2 of about 60-80 millimetres is considerably less high than an end wall 12 of the first compartment which has a height h1 in the order of about 120-150 millimetres. The longitudinal walls, or flanks 13,24, of compartments 10,20 rise gradually from the end wall of the second compartment to the end wall of the first compartment at an angle β of typically 5 to 15 degrees, in this example about 8 degrees. The higher end wall 12 of the first compartment thus guards against the paint or lacquer present in this compartment flowing over the end wall when the holder is picked up by a handle 35 provided for this purpose in intermediate wall 30 and will take on a tilted position to a certain extent as a result of differing centres of gravity of the two wholly or partially filled compartments 10,20 relative to the intermediate wall.

[0017] The intermediate wall protrudes with a considerable proximal part 30A with a height h3 in the order of about 200-250 millimetres above the two compartments. A distal part 30B of the intermediate wall is situated between the two compartments. Intermediate wall 30 is double-walled and comprises a first wall 31 facing toward the first compartment and a second wall 32 facing toward the second compartment. From the proximal part 30A of the intermediate wall the two walls 31,32 extend at an angle α relative to each other and thus enclose a cavity 40. This cavity is open on an underside and thereby accessible by a proximal part of the intermediate wall of a corresponding further holder, whereby the holders are nestable. In distal part 30B the cavity 40 is open on both sides so that the holder can be arranged in stable manner over a rung of a ladder or similar attachment base. Cavity 40 has for this purpose a length 13 at the base in the order of 40 millimetres which, owing to the inclination of walls 31, 32, decreases gradually in height direction so as to be eventually always received fittingly round a rung of a ladder or the like.

[0018] In contrast to distal part 30B, where cavity 40 is open to the sides, cavity 40 advantageously has closed flanks 45 in proximal part 30A of intermediate wall 30. These flanks 45 impart more strength and stability to the whole holder. A protruding edge 50 formed around the holder contributes further toward this strength and stability. Edge 50 typically has a width w in the order of 5 to 10 millimetres and preferably comprises at least in the first compartment an edge part with a certain inclination φ relative to the horizontal. This inclination φ and width w enhance flow of lacquer or paint back into compartment 10 after a brush or the like (over)saturated therewith has been wiped off on the associated edge 50.

[0019] In addition to providing a handle in the form of a grip opening 35 in proximal part 30A, intermediate wall 30 also provides wiper means 33 which, as well as extending over distal part 30B thereof, moreover extend over at least a part of the proximal part. The wiper means comprise in this embodiment a relief formed on the surface of intermediate wall 30,31 facing toward first compartment 10. In this embodiment this is a regular pattern of ribs which have been provided in the surface simultaneously with moulding of the holder. Any other suitable relief, which may or may not be regular, can also be created instead in a zone which extends not only in distal part 30B but also over at least a part of proximal part 30A in order to thus provide a broad wiper option.

[0020] The holder can if desired be provided with a cover 78,85 for one or both compartments, see figure 2. Such a cover can be manufactured in simple manner as plastic injection-moulded part from the same plastic as the holder itself. Each cover engages with a bent edge part fitting on three sides round edge 50 of the holder and can thus be pushed easily over and off the associated compartment. First compartment 10 can for instance thus be closed absolutely airtightly with cover 75 in order to increase the shelf life of a paint or lacquer received therein. Second compartment 20 can optionally also be provided in similar manner with a cover 85 in order to secure separate auxiliary means therein.

[0021] Although the invention has been described and elucidated above solely on the basis of this single embodiment, it will be apparent that the invention is by no means limited thereto. On the contrary, many variations and embodiments are still possible within the scope of the invention for a person with ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. Painter's equipment, comprising a multi-purpose holder for painter's tools and materials with at least a first compartment and at least a second compartment which are separated from each other by a standing dividing wall, characterized in that the dividing wall between the compartments comprises a distal part which separates the compartments from each other and a proximal part located outside at least one of the compartments, that the proximal part of the dividing wall comprises a handle by which the holder can be picked up and that the distal part of the dividing wall is provided on at least a side facing toward a compartment with wiper means which also extend at least partially over the proximal part of the dividing wall.

2. Painter's equipment as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the dividing wall is double-walled, with a first wall and a second wall which extend from the proximal part at an angle relative to each other and mutually enclose a cavity which is accessible on a distal side and open on both sides and in which the proximal part of a dividing wall of a corresponding further holder can be for at least the greater part received.

3. Painter's equipment as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the handle comprises a grip opening in the proximal part of the dividing wall.

4. Painter's equipment as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the wiper means comprise a relief in a surface of the distal part and also of at least a part of the proximal part of the dividing wall on at least the side of the dividing wall facing toward the compartment.

5. Painter's equipment as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the compartments each comprise an at least substantially rectangular bottom in a common bottom plane and are otherwise bounded all around by the dividing wall on a first side, an end wall surface on an opposite side and by opposite side walls between the end wall and the dividing wall.

6. Painter's equipment as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that both compartments have substantially the same width between the opposite side walls and have a differing length between the dividing wall and the opposite end wall surface, more particularly a length differing by at least a factor of two from each other.

7. Painter's equipment as claimed in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the side walls in at least one of the compartments rises at an angle relative to the bottom plane from the dividing wall to the end wall, in particular at an angle of at least 5 degrees, more particularly at an angle of about 5 to 15 degrees.

8. Painter's equipment as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that at least one of the compartments is provided with a cover with which the compartment is closable.

9. Painter's equipment as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the holder comprises a unitary body, in particular a thermally formed plastic body, more particularly a body moulded from a plastic taken from a group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

Drawing