Swivel top paint roller with adjustable handle

Abstract

A paint roller intended for use in the painting of walls and ceilings and including an axle adapted to have a paint roller rotatably supported thereon with the ends of the axle secured by brackets to the end of a handle, the point of securement between the handle and the bracket being a swivel joint to permit rocking movement of the roller in opposite directions of the axis of the handle in a plane defined by the handle axis and the axle axis, the length of the handle being adjustable to accommodate the painting of ceilings of various heights without the use of a ladder.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to painting devices and more particularly to a novel paint roller swivelly attached to a handle with the handle being adjustable in length to accomodate various heights of ceilings and the like without requiring the use of a ladder.

2. Description of the Prior Art

One of the major problems encountered by those doing painting and using paint rollers is the difficulty of painting ceilings or the upper portions of a wall in that the same normally require the use of a ladder to elevate the individual doing the painting so as to be able to engage the paint roller with the surface to be painted. The use of a ladder is time consuming and provides for only a limited work area within the reach of the individual on the ladder before the ladder has to be moved to a new location.

A further difficulty encountered when painting ceilings and the like is the need for constantly having to change the position at which the individual is holding the paint roller such that the roller always has a line of contact along its circumference with the surface being painted in order to evenly apply paint thereto. Thus, when an individual is reaching outwardly from a ladder or when standing on the floor and using a long handle for the paint roller, it is necessary that the individual always be in substantial alignment with the strip of surface being coated by the paint from the roller as should the individual reach too far out of such alignment then the axis of the roller will be disposed at an angle to the surface of the ceiling such that there will be no complete line of contact between the roller and the ceiling and thus a poor application of paint to the ceiling surface will result.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention recognizes the difficulty in the painting of ceilings and upper portions of walls and the like and provides a novel solution thereto for the painting of the same without use of a ladder and which greatly expands the area which an individual may paint without having to move or change his location and while always maintaining a complete line of contact between the paint roller and the surface being painted. This is provided by the roller being pivotally mounted to the handle for rocking movement about the axis of the handle in a direction along the axis of the roller and in the plane defined by the roller axis and the handle axis such that the handle may be disposed at an angle to the roller such that an individual may stand to either side of the roller while painting a surface of the ceiling or the like with the roller always being in complete contact with the surface being painted.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a paint roller having an extension handle associated therewith for readily changing the length of the extension for the painting of ceilings and upper wall portions of different heights above the level of the individual doing the painting.

A further feature of the present invention provides a paint roller which is pivotable relative to the handle so as to permit an individual to cover a larger area of surface to be painted with the roller always maintaining full contact with such surface and without the individual having to change his position or stance on the floor such that the handle may be disposed at various angles to the axis of the roller during the painting process.

The provision of a swivel top paint roller having an adjustable handle, such as briefly outlined above, and possessing the stated features and advantages constitutes the principal features and advantages of the present invention. The provision of a swivel top paint roller having an adjustable handle which is relatively simple in its construction and which therefore may be readily manufactured at a relatively low cost and by simple manufacturing methods; one which is possessed of few parts and which therefore is unlikely to get out of order; one which is rugged and durable and which therefore may be guaranteed by the manufacturer to withstand many years of intended usage; one which is easy to use and reliable and efficient in operation; one which may be readily cleaned by an individual after the painting has been completed so as to be ready for further usage; and one which, otherwise, is well adapted to perform the services required of it, are among the desirable features and advantages which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference characters are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paint roller with the handle being of an elongated adjusted length;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the ball and socket connection between the paint roller and the handle with the axis of the roller disposed normal to the axis of the handle;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with the axis of the roller disposed at an angle to the axis of the handle;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the telescoping handle partially broken away to illustrate interior details thereof; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the retaining member associated with each handle section for retaining the same in an extended position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings in detail there is illustrated a preferred form of a paint roller device constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and designated generally in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and which is comprised of an elongated roller 11 secured by a bracket 12 to a socket 13 which is rotatably secured to a ball joint 14 on the top end of the uppermost section of a handle 15.

The roller 11 is of a conventional elongated hollow cylindrical shape manufactured of any suitable material and having any desired surface composition adapted for applying paint to a surface to be painted. The bracket 12 includes an axle 21 extending axially through the roller 11 and about which the roller is mounted for rotation, the axle extending from opposite ends of the roller and formed with a generally U-shaped bend 22 at each end thereof and with a pair of free ends 23 extending therefrom and terminating adjacent each other in the form of juxtapositioned stems 24 which are secured together in the socket 13.

The socket 13 is of a cylindrical configuration having a top surface 31, cylindrical side walls 32, and a bottom surface 33. Formed in bottom surface 33 is a diametrically extending rectangular recess 34 which is disposed in the plane defined by bracket 12, there being disposed centrally of slot 34 and opening inwardly of bottom surface 35 of the slot a semi-spherical recess 36 of a diameter greater than the width of the slot 34. Stems 24 are secured in socket 13 and project outwardly of top surface 31.

The ball joint 14 is comprised of an axial elongated rectangularly shaped shank 41 having opposed parallel side surfaces 42 of a width adapted to engage the side surfaces of slot 34 to guide the socket 13 in a manner as will be later described. The shank 42 is disposed concentrically on the top surface 51 of the handle 15 and extends outwardly therefrom to terminate in an integrally formed spherical member 43 of a diameter to be received in recess 36 in socket 31 in a captive manner to provide for rocking type rotation of socket 13 thereabout.

It is seen from FIGS. 1-3 inclusive that socket 31 is tiltable in opposite directions about ball 43 along a plane defined by the axis of the handle 15 and the axis of the recess 34 as the side members 42 of shank 41 only permit such tilting type movement. It is thus seen that the roller 11 is swivelly connected to handle 15 for rocking or tilting type movement thereabout in the plane defined by the bracket 12 and handle axis 15 such that the handle may be disposed at an angle to the axis of the roller with the circumference of the roller still providing a complete line of contact between the roller and the surface being painted. In this way an individual may stand to either side of the roller to use the same in a manner to increase the area of surface to be painted without the individual having to move his location or change his stance of position.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 there is shown the details of the telescoping handle 15 which is formed of a series of tubular telescopic sections 52, 53 and 54, each of the sections being of a hollow tubular elongated configuration. Section 52 includes top end 51 and has a bottom end 55 which is inserted into the top end 56 of larger diameter tubing section 53 which likewise has a bottom end which is inserted into the top end portion 57 of yet larger diameter tubing section 54 having a bottom end 58 which is closed.

Disposed adjacent the top ends of sections 53 and 54 and formed in a side wall thereof is an elongated inverted L-shaped slot 60 having a base 61 and a leg 62. Disposed adjacent each bottom end of each of the tube sections 52 and 53 is a spring loaded retaining member 64 disposed inwardly of the tubing and having an actuating member 65 projecting outwardly through an aperture 66 provided in the side wall of the tubing, the actuating member being connected to one end of an operating lever 67 having the opposite end 68 thereof secured to the interior wall surface of the tubing such that the actuating member is resiliently mounted in the aperture 66 and is movable from an operative position projecting outwardly of said tubing to an inward inoperative position designated by phantom configuration in FIG. 5 and identified by reference numeral 70 wherein the actuating member has been pressed radially inwardly of the tubing.

In operation of the telescoping handle 15, the desired number of sections are telescoped relative to each other to arrive at the desired overall length for the handle, each section actuating member 65 being engaged in slot 60 in a manner to slide through base slot 61 after which a slight turning of the section results in the actuating member being retained in leg portion 62 of the slot to thus retain the telescopic position of the handle. For collapsing the handle, actuating member 65 is depressed inwardly of the sections to free the same from the associated slot 60 after which the sections are telescopically movable relative to each other to a collapsed position.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that this invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction as to shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of the novel concepts thereof, or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

Claims

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A paint roller mechanism for supporting a paint roller at various angles relative to the axis of the handle and at various elevations relative to the level of the surface on which an individual using the same is standing such that ceilings and upper portions of walls may be readily painted without requiring the use of a ladder or the like, the mechanism comprising:

an axle adapted to have a cylindrical paint applying roller mounted thereon for rotation about its cylindrical axis, the ends of the axle projecting from opposite ends of the roller;

a pair of U-shaped bracket members each associated with one end of said axle and disposed in confronting relationship with each other and each having one end secured to an associated end of said axle with the opposite end defining a free end extending in spaced relation to the side of the roller, said free end terminating in stem portions disposed adjacent to each other and extending generally normal to the axis of said axle and approximately centrally thereof;

a socket member having a top surface, side wall surfaces, and a bottom surface with said stem members mounted in said top surface and projecting substantially axially outwardly therefrom;

a recess including a spherical portion formed inwardly of said socket member and opening at said bottom surface thereof;

a spherical ball member rotatably retained in said spherical portion for rotation relative thereto;

a shank member having one end formed integrally with said ball member and projecting radially outwardly therefrom;

a telescoping handle member having a top end connected to said projecting end of said shank member and having a bottom end spaced longitudinally from said top end; and

said recess including means cooperative with said ball and shank members for guiding a rocking swiveling movement of said roller relative to said handle axis in a plane defined by said handle axis and said axle axis whereby said roller is swivelable in opposite directions about said ball member within said plane of movement such that the handle member may be disposed at an angle to the roller axis with the roller surface still maintaining a continuous line of contact from end-to-end thereof with a surface being painted thereby.

2. The paint roller mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means guiding movement of said socket relative to said ball and shank members comprises a diametrically disposed rectangularly shaped recess portion formed in said socket bottom surface and extending out of the bottom surface thereof, said rectangular recess portion having its longitudinal axis disposed in the plane defined by said axle, said bracket and said stem portions, said rectangular recess portion provided with parallel spaced apart side walls, and said shank having a pair of flattened side surfaces being spaced apart a distance slightly less than the width of said rectangular recess portion and adapted to be disposed in adjacent juxtapositioned with associated side walls thereof so as to guide said socket as it is rocked about said ball member.

3. The paint roller mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said telescoping handle member is comprised of at least three elongated hollow tubular section members defining a first section, a second section, and a third section, said first section including said top end connected to said shank and having a bottom end portion of said second section which is of a larger diameter than said first section, said second section having a bottom end portion which is telescopically received in a top end portion of said third section which is of a larger diameter than said second section, each of said second and third sections provided with an inverted longitudinally extending L-shaped slot having a longitudinally extending base portion and a circumferally extending leg portion which is disposed adjacent to and parallel to said respective top ends of said sections, said first and second sections provided adjacent said bottom ends thereof with a retaining member projecting radially through an opening in said section side wall surfaces and adapted to engage a respective one of said slots when said sections are in extended telescopic relationship relative to each other.