Paint Tray And Handle Unit

Abstract

A generally upstanding handle is coupled to a paint tray for use in carrying and supporting the paint tray. The handle, constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, is an open wire framework having its top portion bent to constitute hooks by which the paint tray can be suspended for storage purposes or during periods of usage by a painter. The framework has plural resilient tongues and plural adjustable resilient loops for engaging portions of the paint tray in order to assist in stabilizing a chosen position of the tray.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to paint tray accessories and more specifically two handles specially constructed for use in connection with paint roller trays.

Conventional paint trays or pans of the type used with paint roller applicators are difficult to hold still in a desired position and very awkward and inconvenient to carry from place to place.

It is annoying when a painter is required to support the paint tray with one hand while using the other hand to manipulate the paint roller applicator. To move the paint tray to a new location the painter must stoop over to lift the tray and this can make the painter very weary and fatigued.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated this invention comprehends a simple, inexpensive and handy type of handle for use in carrying, hanging up and stabilizing paint trays of the type customarily used with paint roller applicators.

The paint tray has a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, a relatively short front wall and a relatively tall rear wall. The handle is coupled to the paint tray and aligned generally erect so it may be grasped by a person.

In one embodiment the handle includes a pair of side members, an upper cross piece interconnecting the top portions of the side members, a lower cross piece interconnecting the bottom portions of the side members and a central member attached by its opposing ends to the upper and lower cross pieces for directly supporting the paint tray. The central member has a lower strut segment attached to and extending generally perpendicular from the midpoint of the lower cross piece and an upper strut segment attached to the midpoint of the upper cross piece. Joining the lower and upper strut segments is an intermediate segment formed with a retaining tongue for making resilient engagement over the edge of the paint tray rear wall. Preferably the intermediate segment is sloped upwardly from the lower strut segment to the upper strut segment and is formed with a plurality of retaining tongues positioned at different heights to accommodate paint trays with rear walls of different heights.

The top portions of the side members and the upper segment of the central member are bent to constitute hooks that may be used to assist in hanging purposes. The members are preferably constructed from wire and the overall height of the handle is between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 feet.

The lower portions of the side members are formed with mutually inwardly bent retaining loops that make resilient engagement with the edges of corresponding paint trays side walls. An adjustable means constituted by a tubular friction joint can be used in accepting split sections of the lower cross piece in order to allow the width between the side members to be varied.

In a second embodiment of this invention the paint tray side walls are formed with a pair of mounting openings and a pair of locking notches positioned above the openings. The handle has opposing ends pivotally mounted within corresponding locking openings allowing the handle to be swung between an erect position with the handle opposing ends snap fitted into the locking notches and a swung-down position where the handle ends are released from the notches.

In a third embodiment of this invention a pair of mounting brackets is fixed to the paint tray side walls and the handle has opposing ends that are bent perpendicularly and removably inserted into corresponding brackets so that the entire handle can be physically detached from the paint tray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous benefits and unique aspects of the present invention will be fully understood when the following detailed description is studied in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, fragmentary view showing a paint tray handle constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational and exploded view showing side members constructed of wire and a tubular friction joint that can be used to adjustably hold the lower portions of the side members;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second paint tray handle constructed in accordance with this invention; and,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of a paint tray handle constructed in accordance with this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1 an open framework handle 10 is shown coupled to a paint pan or tray 11 of the type ordinarily used in connection with a paint roller. The various members of handle 10 are constructed of spring metal rods or wire.

Tray 11 has a relatively flat bottom wall 12, a pair of generally parallel side walls 13 and 14, a relatively tall rear wall 15 near the deeper end of tray 11 and a relatively short front wall 16 near the shallow end of tray 11. A series of parallel ribs 17, aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of tray 11, are formed in bottom wall 12 for removing excess paint from a roller. One or more feet 18 depend from the forward portion of bottom wall 12 to support the tray 11 so that a pool of paint will be kept near the deep end of tray 11.

The handle 10 has a pair of generally symmetrical side members 20 and 21. Side member 20 has a bottom portion 22, an intermediate portion 23 and a top portion 24. Similarly side member 21 has a bottom portion 25, an intermediate portion 26 and a top portion 27. Extending horizontally across the lower part of handle 10 is a bottom cross piece 28 that interconnects side members 20 and 21 by way of a pair of split sections 29 and 30 respectively.

A horizontally disposed top cross piece 31 interconnects the top portions 24 and 27 of side members 20 and 21 respectively and has a pair of split sections 32 and 33 which terminate inwardly in a pair of tips 34 and 35 which can be tightly coupled together in a manner to be described.

A central member 36 has a lower strut segment 37 which is directly or indirectly connected to bottom cross piece 28 and extends generally perpendicular from the midpoint of bottom cross piece 28 to contact and directly support bottom wall 12 of paint tray 11. A generally vertically aligned upper strut 38 of central member 36 is connected approximately to the midpoint of top cross piece 31. Joining lower strut segment 37 and upper strut segment 38 is an intermediate segment 39 which is generally sloped so as to be inclined from lower strut segment 37 towards upper strut segment 38. The intermediate segment 39 is bent into a sinuous or undulating configuration aligned in a vertical plane so as to constitute a plurality of resilient retaining tongues 40, 41 and 42. The retaining tongues are positioned at different elevations in order to accommodate a multitude of paint trays having rear walls of varying heights. The middle retaining tongue 41, for purposes of illustration, is shown making snap fitting engagement over the edge of rear wall 15.

The top portion 24 of side member 20, the top portion 27 of side member 21, and the upper strut segment 38 of central member 36 are all bent or bowed forwardly to constitute hooks 43, 44, and 45 respectively which may be used in hanging the handle 10 on various objects. One object for purposes of example may be the rung 46 of a painter's ladder 47. The tip 48 of upper strut segment 38 is shown wound tightly around the tips 34 and 35 of side members 20 and 21 in order to constitute a secure knot or coupling. The tips 34 and 35 could be bent back, welded to tip 48 or otherwise permanently or adjustably secured to tip 48.

The split sections 29 and 30 of bottom cross piece 28 are shown releasably secured to an adjustable means that is constituted by a tubular friction joint 49 into which split sections 29 and 30 are inserted. The lateral distance between the bottom portions of side members 20 and 21 can be varied within certain limits by adjusting the depth of penetration of the split sections 29 and 30 into tubular friction joint 49. The tube can be constructed of any suitable material such as rubber, plastic or aluminum so long as the split sections 29 and 30 can be held with wedging action in the tube. The tip 50 of lower strut segment 37 can be wound around tube 49 and tightly secured to it.

The bottom portions 22 and 25 of the side members are bent to form a pair of mutually inwardly extending retaining loops 22a and 25a respectively. The loops are preferably inclined downwardly towards paint tray 11 so that they can make snap fitting engagement over the edges of side walls 14 and 13 respectively. The adjustable means 49 can be manipulated to increase or decrease the distance between the side member bottom portions 22 and 25 in order to facilitate the resilient holding engagement between the loops 22a and 25a with their corresponding paint tray side walls 14 and 13 respectively.

Referring now to FIG. 2 the side members 51 and 52 of a handle are shown converging upwardly with inwardly directed shoulders 53 and 54 shaped to engage opposing sides of a paint tray. The bottom cross piece 55 has a pair of split sections 56 and 57 that can be adjustably inserted into a friction tube 58. Preferably the overall height D of the handle is between 1 1/2 feet and 2 1/2 feet so that a painter is not required to stoop over very much for grasping the handle to lift the paint tray and carry it elsewhere. In addition the height of the handle serves as a visual safety feature since the painter will more than likely see the large handle and avoid tripping over it.

Referring now to FIG. 3, which shows another embodiment of this invention, a handle 60 is shown pivotally coupled to a paint roller tray 61 whose side walls are formed with mounting openings 62 and 63 above which are formed locking notches 64 and 65. The opposing ends 66 and 67 of handle 60 are bent inwardly and pivotally mounted within corresponding holes 62 and 63. The handle 60 can therefore be easily moved from a relatively flat and horizontal alignment, as indicated by the solid lines, by swinging it upwardly as indicated by arrow R to an erect orientation as indicated by the dot dash lines. In this latter position the lower segments of handle ends 66 and 67 make snap fitting engagement within the locking notches 64 and 65.

Referring to FIG. 4 the handle 70 is shown removably secured to a paint roller tray 71 that has a pair of brackets 72 and 73 mounted to its side walls. The free ends of handle 70 are bent perpendicularly and are removably inserted into brackets 72 and 73 so that the entire handle 70 can be physically detached from the paint tray as indicated by the dot dash line 76.

OPERATION

Keeping the above constructions in mind it can be understood how previously described disadvantages of conventional techniques for handling paint roller trays are overcome or substantially eliminated by this invention.

In order to firmly couple paint tray 11 within handle 10, as shown in FIG. 1, the tray 11 is shown across bottom cross piece 28 and against intermediate segment 39 until the paint tray rear wall 15 makes the best possible snap fitting engagement underneath a retaining tongue. Since standard paint tray sides vary any one of a plurality of retaining tongues 40, 41 or 42 may be found to be the most suitable for a particular paint tray. In order to further stabilize the paint tray 11 in place within handle 10 the adjustable means 49 is manipulated until the retaining loops 22a and 25a make resilient holding engagement with the side walls 14 and 13 of the paint tray 11.

Thereafter the painter may grasp top cross piece 31 in order to carry the paint tray 11 to different locations. The hooks 43, 44, and 45 can be used in suspending the handle 10 from the rung 46 of the ladder 47 for example or from other objects.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the present invention has provided a paint tray handle in which all of the various advantages are fully realized.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A paint tray combined with a handle, comprising:

a. a paint tray having a bottom wall, a pair of sidewalls, a front wall and a rear wall; and

b. a handle coupled to the paint tray and aligned generally erect for grasping by a person to carry the paint tray, the handle including;

b.sub.1. a pair of side members;

b.sub.2. an upper cross piece interconnecting top portions of the side members;

b.sub.3. a lower cross piece interconnecting bottom portions of the side members; and,

b.sub.4. a central member attached by its opposing ends to the upper and lower cross pieces for directly supporting the paint tray.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the central member includes:

a lower strut segment attached to and extending generally perpendicular from the mid point of the lower cross piece for supporting the bottom wall of the paint tray;

an upper strut segment attached to the mid point of the upper cross piece; and,

an intermediate segment formed with a retaining tongue for making resilient engagement with the paint tray over the edge of the paint tray rear wall.

3. The structure according to claim 2, wherein;

the intermediate segment is generally sloped upwardly from the lower strut segment to the upper strut segment, and, is generally formed with a plurality of retaining tongues at different heights to accommodate paint trays with rear walls of different heights.

4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the top portions of the side members and central member are bent to constitute hooks for use in hanging the handle.

5. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the side members, upper and lower cross pieces and central member are constructed from wire, and,

the handle is between 1 1/2 feet and 2 1/2 feet high.

6. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the upper cross piece is shorter than the lower cross piece and the side members generally converge upwardly.

7. The structure according to claim 1, wherein;

the lower portions of the side members are formed with mutually bent retaining loops making resilient engagement with the paint tray side walls.

8. The structure according to claim 7, wherein;

the retaining loops are inclined downwardly towards the paint tray and make snap fitting engagement over the edges of the side walls.

9. The structure according to claim 10, including:

adjustable means for varying the width between the side members.

10. The structure according to claim 9, wherein;

the lower cross piece is split into sections and the adjustable means includes a tubular friction joint into which the split sections can be inserted to varying depths in order to vary the distance between the side members.

11. A paint tray combined with a handle, comprising:

a. a paint tray having a bottom wall, a pair of sidewalls, a relatively short front wall and a relatively tall rear wall; and,

b. a handle coupled to the paint tray and aligned generally erect for grasping by a person to carry the paint tray, the handle including:

b.sub.1. a pair of side members;

b.sub.2. an upper cross piece interconnecting upper portions of the side members;

b.sub.3. a lower cross piece interconnecting bottom portions of the side members;

b.sub.4. a central member having a lower strut segment attached to and extending generally perpendicular from the mid point of the lower cross piece for supporting the bottom wall of the paint tray, an upper strut segment attached to the mid point of the upper cross piece, and, an intermediate segment formed with a retaining tongue making resilient engagement over the paint tray rear wall;

b.sub.5. hanging hooks constituted by bending the upper portions of the side members and central member ; and,

b.sub.6. retaining loops formed by lower portions of the side members that extend mutually inwardly and make resilient engagement with the edges of corresponding paint tray side walls.

12. The structure according to claim 11, wherein:

the intermediate segment of the central member is generally sloped upwardly from the lower strut segment to the upper strut segment and is formed with a plurality of retaining tongues at different heights to accomodate paint trays with rear wall different heights;

adjustable means is provided for varying the width between the lower portions of the side members; and,

the side members, upper and lower cross pieces and central member are constructed from wire and the handle stands between 1 1/2 feet and 2 1/2 feet high.