Paint Applicator

Abstract

A paint applicator in which a paint-applying member in the nature of a pile fabric material is secured to one side of a thin flat resilient block. A rigid plate is secured to the top of the resilient block and has marginal flanges which grasp a painting guide therebetween. A handle member secured to the painting guide is provided with locking means so that the painting guide may be slid across the surface of the rigid plate and frictionally secured thereto.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Paint applicators employing pile fabric material as the paint applying member are well known in the painting art. Such devices generally employ a rigid element by means of which the applicator is controlled by the user. In order to adjust the paint applicator, particularly when painting up to a corner or an edge which is not to be painted, a guide is slideably carried by the rigid member and secured thereto following the adjustment. However, prior art devices secured the guide to the rigid member by means of holes in the rigid member or threaded bores into which screws were inserted. Such devices permitted paint to invade the openings to the eventual interference with the necessary sliding action of the guide within the rigid member. Once paint got into the marginal flanges of the rigid member and beneath the guide, and hardened, it was virtually impossible to separate the guide from the rigid member and adjust the painting tool as required.

The present invention provides a positive locking mechanism between the guide member and the rigid paint applicator support which is free of the shortcomings of prior art devices.

In the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, identical elements have been given the same reference numerals, in which drawings;

FIG. 1 is a somewhat exploded view showing a complete embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a paint applicator according to the present invention showing the manner in which the guide may be laterally displaced with respect to the paint applying portion of the tool.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, 10 indicates a paint applying member in the nature of a pile fabric material having short bristles 11 extending downwardly therefrom. The pile may be of nylon, natural bristles, or any other suitable material well known in the art. Alternately, the bristles may be glued directly to a resilient pad 12 by means well known in the art.

The resilient pad 12 is in the nature of a thin rectangular member made of foamed urethane, acetate, sponge rubber, or any other suitable material which will give resiliency to the paint applicator during use.

A thin rigid platelike member 13 is cemented to the resilient pad 12 and may be made of metal, plastic or the like. The rigid member 13 has inwardly turned flanged portions 14, 15 along its major parallel margins to provide spaced channels to receive the edges of the painting guide 16.

The painting guide 16 is substantially rectangular and formed with thin webs 17, 18 which are received within the flanges 14, 15 of the rigid member 13. The dimensions of the webs and flanges are such that the painting guide 16 can be freely slid laterally across the upper surface 19 of the rigid member 13.

The painting guide 16 is provided with a handle 20 which may be integral with the guide 16 and extends upwardly at an angle of approximately 45.degree. therefrom. The handle 20 is hollow as indicated at 21 in FIG. 2 and internally threaded as shown at 22 to receive a broom handle (not shown). The lower portion of the handle 20 is thickened as shown at 23 in FIG. 2 and internally bored and threaded to receive an adjusting screw 24. The adjusting screw 24 extends through the painting guide 16 and into frictional contact with the surface 19 of the rigid member 13. When it is desired to slide the painting guide 16 across the surface 19 as shown in FIG. 5, it is merely necessary to loosen screw 24 and free the two members for this purpose.

It will be noted that the rigid member 13 is unitary in structure and that there are no openings through which paint can enter the flanges 14, 15. However, if desired, a series of embossed recesses 25 may be stamped into the rigid member 13 to receive the end of the screw 24. The recesses 25 do not extend through the rigid member 13 but nevertheless provide positive locking positions for the painting guide 16.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown another embodiment of the present invention in which the screw member 24 is carried within a threaded bore 26 formed in the handle 20 and normal to the longitudinal axis of the said handle. The end of the screw 24 again bears against the surface of the rigid member as indicated at 27 to provide a lock for the painting guide during use. In this form of the invention, the threaded bore 26 is further removed from the paint applying surfaces and consequently there is even less danger of paint getting into the screw mechanism to interfere with its operation.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the screw 24 is shorter than the length of the bore 26. A wedged-shaped locking member 28 having a cylindrical stem 29 thereon is slipped between the painting guide 16 and the rigid plate surface 19. The cylindrical stem 29 is received within the lower portion of the bore 26 and the entire wedged-shaped member 28 is urged into locking engagement between the painting guide 16 and the rigid platelike member 13 as the screw 24 is tightened.

FIG. 5 illustrates the manner in which the painting guide 16 can be slid laterally within the flanges 14, 15 so as to project outwardly from the paint applying member 10. When the painting guide is moved to this position, it will be seen that a flangelike extension serves to keep the paint applying member 10 away from the adjacent structure which may be a wall, molding, etc.

From the foregoing there will be seen that there has been provided a simple, trouble free, quickly adjusted device for applying paint to a surface which includes readily accessible means for preventing paint from reaching an adjacent surface when such is not desired.

Claims

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patents of the United States, is:

1. A device applying paint to surfaces comprising a substantially rectangular resilient block, a paint-applying member having an upper and lower surface, a plurality of short bristles extending outwardly of the lower surface of the resilient block and secured thereto, a rigid elongated platelike member secured to the upper surface of the resilient block, an inwardly turned flange on each of the major margins of the rigid member, a painting guide slideably carried within the rigid member flanges, a handle on said painting guide extending outwardly thereof at an angle from the plane of said painting guide, a thickened portion on the handle adjacent the rigid member and guide securing means including a screw carried by the handle thickened portion for selectively holding the painting guide and rigid plate in a desired relationship, said rigid member being provided with a series of spaced recesses, underlying the screw to receive the end of the screw, whereby the guide and plate may be positively locked in place.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the bore is normal to the longitudinal axis of the handle and the handle is hollow and internally threaded to receive a handle extension.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which the screw is shorter than the threaded bore and a wedge-shaped locking member is interposed between the end of the screw, the rigid plate and the painting guide.