U.S. patent application number 11/091189 was filed with the patent office on 2005-08-25 for paint can mounted brush holder.
Invention is credited to Martinson, Bryan A..
Application Number | 20050184077 11/091189 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46304223 |
Filed Date | 2005-08-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050184077 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Martinson, Bryan A. |
August 25, 2005 |
Paint can mounted brush holder
Abstract
A paint brush holder mounts on the rim of an open paint can and
holds a paint brush between intervals of use. When the handle of a
paint brush is received in the brush holder, the bristles of the
brush are held over the opening in the paint can, and any paint
dripping from the brush falls back into the paint can. The brush
holder is made of two main members: a mount member for engaging the
rim and outer wall of a paint can, and a brush holder head fixed to
the top of the mount member. The head member is made of a
compressible and resilient material and has a notch disposed in its
upper portion to tightly receive and retain the handle of a paint
brush. A magnetic strip or an adhesive pad can be used with the
brush holder to further secure it in place.
Inventors: |
Martinson, Bryan A.;
(Parker, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Sherman D. Pernia
Sherman D. Pernia, Esq., PC
Suite 450
1110 NASA Parkway
Houston
TX
77058-3346
US
|
Family ID: |
46304223 |
Appl. No.: |
11/091189 |
Filed: |
March 28, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11091189 |
Mar 28, 2005 |
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10915268 |
Aug 10, 2004 |
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60494144 |
Aug 11, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/736 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B44D 3/123 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/736 |
International
Class: |
B65D 025/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A paint brush holder, the brush holder mountable on a paint can
and comprising: a holder head having a U-shaped configuration with
two upright arms and a base section, the upright arms spaced apart
and constructed of a material disposed to receive and releaseably
retain a portion of a paint brush handle between them; a mount
member joined to a lower surface of the base section of the holder
head, the mount member having an arcuate configuration and an
inverted L-shaped cross-section with a first long extending leg and
a second short extending leg, and the arcuate mount member disposed
to engage the curved rim of a paint can.
2. The paint brush holder of claim 1, further comprising a magnetic
strip disposed on an interior surface of the long extending leg of
the mount member.
3. The paint brush holder of claim 1, wherein the long extending
leg of the mount member has a long distal end and an edge of which
a thumb hold is disposed projecting from an exterior surface of the
long extending leg.
4. The brush holder device of claim 1, wherein the base section of
the U-shaped holder has a top surface that is angled downward.
5. The brush holder device of claim 1, wherein the holder head
conforms to the arcuate configuration of the mount member.
6. A paint brush holder mountable on the rim of a paint can, the
brush holder comprising: a can mount member for engaging the rim of
a paint can, the can mount member having an arcuate configuration
and an L-shaped cross-section, with a long leg of the L-shaped
cross-section complimenting an external surface of the wall of the
paint can, and the short leg of the L-shaped cross-section
conforming to the rim of the paint can and providing a top surface
on the can mount member; and a brush holder affixed to the top
surface of the mount member, the brush holder being made of a
compressible and resilient material, and having a notch in an upper
portion for receiving and retaining a portion of a paint brush
handle.
7. The brush holder device of claim 6, wherein the short leg of the
can mount member has an end distal from the long leg, which distal
end has a rim engagement means for releasably engaging the inside
rim edge of the rim of a paint can.
8. The brush holder device of claim 7, wherein the rim lip at the
distal end of the short leg has a detent for releasably engaging
the inside rim edge of the paint can.
9. A paint brush holder, the brush holder mountable on a paint can
and comprising: a holder head having two upright arms and a base
section, the upright arms spaced apart and each having a first end
fixed to the base section and constructed to receive and
releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush between them; a mount
member joined to the holder head proximate a lower surface of the
base section, the mount member having an inverted L-shape
cross-section with a long leg of the L-shape and a short leg of the
L-shape, and an arcuate detent member projecting from the short leg
and the arcuate detent member disposed to engage the curved inner
rim of a paint can.
10. The paint brush holder of claim 9, wherein the spaced apart,
upright arms each has a gripper face, the gripper face of the
upright arms disposed in opposition to each other.
11. The paint brush holder of claim 9, wherein the spaced apart,
upright arms are constructed of a pliant material.
12. The paint brush holder of claim 10, wherein gripper face of the
spaced apart, upright arms comprises a pattern of pliant ribs.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Periodically while painting with a brush, the painter must
stop and put the brush down momentarily. When the painter is
painting directly out of a paint can, this can be inconvenient and
messy, as the brush may hold excess paint which can run or drip
from the brush during the time. Often, the brush must be placed
either back in the paint can or cleaned and put down on a surface.
These options may be inconvenient (i.e., the paint level in the can
is too high) or wasteful of both paint and time (to clean the
brush)
[0002] In many of these situations, a paint brush holder which
allows for wiping excess paint from the brush and then holding the
brush would be preferable. It would be beneficial to reduce the
frequency of scrubbing the paint brush with water or solvents. An
object of the present invention is to provide an easy means of
resting the brush while excess paint is allowed to drip back into
the can during a break from painting. This is particularly useful
in situations where a person might not have time to clean a brush
before putting it down, or it is inconvenient, such as when
painting from a ladder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention is a paint brush holder which is
installable on the rim of an open paint can, for holding a paint
brush between intervals of use. When the brush holder is installed
on an open paint can, the handle of a paint brush received in the
brush holder extends radially away from the top rim of the paint
can opening. The bristles of the brush are held over the opening in
the paint can, and any paint dripping from the brush falls back
into the interior of the paint can.
[0004] The present paint brush holder has a head member and a can
mount member. The head member has a U-shaped configuration with two
upright arms and a base section. The combination of the upright
arms and base section form a notch into which a portion of a paint
brush handle to be held is pressed. The upright arms are spaced
apart and constructed of a material disposed to receive and
releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush handle between them.
The paint brush handle is retained in the head member by the
upright arms gripping or squeezing against the handle portion of
the brush when it is inserted between the arms. Preferably, the
base section of the U-shaped holder has a top surface that is
angled downward. The downward angle of the top surface between the
upright arms of the head member facilitates the part of the brush
received in the brush holder that extends over the interior of the
paint can to hang lower into the can than the can's rim.
Preferably, the head member fixed to the top surface of the mount
member is made of a compressible and resilient material appropriate
to accomplish its purpose. Such materials are known in the art and
selectable by the ordinary skilled artisan for practice in the
present invention.
[0005] A mount member is provided as the attachment means for
mounting the brush holder to the paint can. An upper surface of the
mount member is joined to a lower surface of the base section of
the holder head. The mount member has an configuration conforming
to the wall of the container on which it is mounted. For a typical
paint can, the mount member has an arcuate configuration. In a
preferred embodiment, the present brush mount had an inverted
L-shaped cross-section with a first long extending leg and a second
short extending leg, and had an arcuate configuration to enable the
mount member to engage the curved rim of a paint can with the first
long leg disposed adjacent the outside wall of the can and the
second short leg disposed on top of the rim of the can.
[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the brush holder, the head
member conformed to the arcuate configuration of the mount member,
however, this is not necessary. One of ordinary skill in the art,
in view of the teachings an figures contained herein, knows how and
when to make the head member larger (for example) than its
interface with the upper surface of the mount member. Such
enlargement can provide a larger contact area between the head
member and the paint brush being held, and hence, increased grip
force against the brush handle. The short leg of the can mount
member has an edge distal from the long leg. In a preferred
embodiment, the short leg distal edge has a rim engagement means
for releaseably engaging the inside rim edge of the rim of a paint
can. The rim engagement means can be a simple downward projecting
lip, or can include a lip with a detent for releaseably engaging
the inside rim edge of the paint can.
[0007] Optionally, the present paint brush holder includes a
magnetic strip disposed on an interior surface of the long
extending leg of the mount member. The optional magnetic strip is
particularly useful when mounting the brush holder to the typical
(ferrous) metal paint can. In this application, the brush mount's
magnet helps to secure the brush holder in place on a metal paint
can. Alternatively, the magnetic strip can be replaced by an
adhesive pad to stick the long extending leg of the brush mount to
the outside wall of the paint can. In a preferred embodiment, the
long extending leg of the mount member has a long leg distal edge,
along the outer edge of which there is a thumb hold projection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the paint brush holder
of the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the present
brush holder.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the paint brush
holder of the present invention showing a paint brush engaged in
the holder.
[0011] FIG. 4A is a side cross-sectional view of the paint brush
holder of the present invention engaged on the rim of a paint
can.
[0012] FIG. 4B is a side cross-sectional view of the paint brush
holder of the present invention as in FIG. 4A, but without being
engaged on the rim of a paint can.
[0013] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the two primary sections of
the present can mounted paint brush holder.
[0014] FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively are back and front perspective
views of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the present paint
brush holder showing the ribbed configuration of the gripper face
on an upright arm.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] Referring now to the drawings, the details of preferred
embodiments of the present invention are graphically and
schematically illustrated. Like elements in the drawings are
represented by like numbers, and any similar elements are
represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter
suffix.
[0017] As shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, the paint brush holder 10 of
the present invention comprises a U-shaped brush mount head 12 with
spaced apart, upright arms 20 defining a notch 28 between them and
a base section 22. The upright arms 20 are disposed to squeeze and
frictionally hold a portion of a handle 26 of a paint brush
inserted in the notch 28 between the upright arms 20. The mount
head 12 is made of a resilient material, like rubber, high density
foam, or similar material capable of imparting a force against the
brush handle 26 to retain it in the brush holder 10. The crotch of
the U-shaped brush mount head 12 defines the base section top
surface 25. In the preferred embodiment exemplified in FIG. 3, the
base section top surface 25 was sloped at an angle sufficient to
allow paint dripping from a paint brush retained in the brush mount
head 12 to fall back into the paint can 18, rather than to run back
up the brush.
[0018] The base section 22 of the brush mount head 12 has a bottom
surface 24 which is attached to the top surface 50 of the rim
engagement member 14. The attachment of the base section bottom
surface 24 to the top surface 50 of the rim engagement member 14
may be accomplished by any of a variety of means known to and
selectable by one of ordinary skill in the art, such as an adhesive
disposed between the two surfaces.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the rim engagement member 14 of the
paint brush holder 10 in a preferred embodiment has an arcuate
configuration and an inverted L-shaped cross-section. The arcuate
long leg 30 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14 compliments
the arcuate external surface of the wall of a paint can, i.e., the
long leg 30 of the rim engagement member 14 is curved to interface
with the curvature of the outside wall of the paint can. As
exemplified in FIG. 4, the short leg 48 of the L-shaped rim
engagement member 14 conforms to the rim 60 of the paint can, i.e.,
the short leg 48 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14 is
disposed to rest on the top of the rim 60 and to engage either or
both of the outer rim edge 61 and/or the inner rim edge 62 of the
rim 60. The short leg 48 of the rim engagement member 14 has a top
surface 50 to which the bottom surface 24 of the base section 22 is
attached.
[0020] The short leg 48 of the L-shaped rim engagement member 14
may be disposed to engage the inner rim edge or lip 62 of the rim
60 by any of a variety of means known to and selectable by one of
ordinary skill in the art. In a preferred embodiment the short leg
48 of the rim engagement member 14 has a short leg distal end 52
disposed away from the long leg 30, which distal end 52 has a rim
engagement means 56 for releasably engaging a rim edge 61 & 62
of the rim 60 of a paint can 18. In a preferred embodiment shown in
FIG. 4, the rim engagement means 56 included the short leg 48
having a downwardly projecting rim lip 64 at its distal end 52. As
a further feature of this embodiment, rim lip 64 had a detent as a
rim engagement means 56 for releasably engaging the inside rim edge
62 of the paint can rim 60. In this embodiment, the rim lip 64 was
spaced apart from the long leg 30 by a distance D (see FIG. 1)
sufficient to allow the rim engagement member 14 to pass closely
over the rim 60 of an open paint can. In fact, the rim engagement
member 14 is configured to compliment the curvature of a paint can
18 to allow for its insertion over the rim 60 of the paint can
18.
[0021] The rim engagement member 14 of the paint brush holder 10
may be constructed of any of a variety of materials known to and
selectable by one of ordinary skill in the art, such as plastic,
sheet metal and the like. The rim engagement member 14 may even be
made of the same material as the brush mount head 12 and integrally
constructed therewith.
[0022] Optionally, the rim engagement member 14 of the paint brush
holder 10 has a magnetic strip 40 disposed on the interior surface
32 of the long extending leg 30. The size and placement of the
magnetic strip 40 on the interior surface 32 of the long extending
leg 30 is selectable by the ordinary skilled artisan. The magnetic
strip 40 may be practiced with the present invention when the brush
holder 10 is used on a metallic paint can as alternative or
additional engagement means for securing the brush holder 10 to the
paint can 18. A further optional feature is a thumb hold 42
disposed at the bottom edge 34 of the exterior surface 31 of the
long extending leg 30. The thumb hold 42 is useful in certain
embodiments to facilitate installation and/or removal of the brush
holder 10 onto and off of a paint can 18.
[0023] In using the present the paint brush holder 10, the rim
engagement member 14 is placed with its long leg 30 against the
outside surface of a paint can and with its short leg 48 against
the top of the rim 60 of the paint can. An optional thumb hold 42
at the bottom edge 34 of the exterior surface 31 of the long leg 30
provides a point of purchase for installing and removing the brush
holder. A portion of a paint brush handle 26 may be pressed into
and held in the notch 28 of the brush holder head 12 and any excess
paint on the brush allowed to drip back into the paint can; this
allows a painter using paint from a can to conveniently put a paint
brush down without causing a mess or waste of paint.
[0024] FIGS. 5 and 6A & 6B illustrate a preferred embodiment of
the present paint brush holder 10a. The paint brush holder 10 a was
mountable on a paint can and comprised a holder head 12a and a
mount or rim engagement member 14a. The holder head 12a had two
upright arms 20a, spaced apart and each having a first end 21 fixed
to a base section 22a. The upright arms 20a were constructed to
receive and releaseably retain a portion of a paint brush between
them. In this embodiment, upright arms 20a each has a gripper face
70. The gripper faces 70 of the upright arms 20a were disposed in
opposition to each other as illustrated in the figures. The holder
head 12a was constructed of a pliant material, and the gripper
faces 70 of the upright arms 20a comprises a pattern of pliant ribs
74 as shown in FIG. 7.
[0025] The top surface 50a of the mount member 14a was joined to
the holder head 12a proximate the lower surface 24a of the base
section22a. The mount member had an inverted L-shape cross-section
(see FIG. 7) with a long leg 30a and a short leg 48a of the
L-shaped mount member 14a. The short leg end 78 of the L-shaped
mount member 14a had an arcuate detent member 64a projecting from
the short leg 48a. The arcuate detent member 64a was disposed to
releaseably engage the curved inner rim of a paint can.
[0026] In this embodiment, the mount member was constructed of a
relatively rigid and strong material. This allowed the long leg end
76 of the L-shaped mount member 14a to be configured as a pry 80
useful for removing the lid from a closed paint can.
[0027] While the above description contains many specifics, these
should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the
invention, but rather as exemplifications of one or another
preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible,
which would be obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the
scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the
appended claims and their equivalents, and not just by the
embodiments.
* * * * *