1 A Painting Accessory Having a Flexible Arm Field of the Invention. This invention is directed to a painting accessory such as a paintbrush or a paint roller 5 which has a handle, an arm and a head and where the arm is flexible to allow the head of the accessory to be bent at virtually any angle with respect to the handle of the accessory and where the shaft is of a "bend and stay" construction. The invention will be described with reference to a paintbrush, but it should be appreciated that the invention may also be applicable for a paint roller or any other type of accessory that 10 can use a variable angle arm to apply paint or other coating material to a surface or filling or dusting. Background Art. The two most common ways to apply house paint is to use a brush or a roller. Each 15 has its advantages and disadvantages. A brush will typically contain a handle and a head, the head containing the bristles. The handle is sufficiently long (typically between 10 to 30 centimetres). The handle is usually made of wood or plastic. A paint roller also comprises a handle and a roller head with the roller head being 20 configured to accept a hollow cylindrical roller brush. A difficulty in applying house paint especially to the outside of the house is the need to use scaffolding, a ladder, etc. It is quite well known to have an extension handle made of wood, metal, plastic for fibreglass that is attached to the handle (more 25 commonly with a paint roller) to enable a ceiling (for example) to be painted without the use of a ladder, scaffolding, etc. Even when scaffolding is required, an extension handle is still quite useful such that the scaffolding does not have to be as high off the ground as otherwise would be the case. 30 It is also well known to professional painters that painting the outside and the inside of a house requires paint to be applied at various angles such as "upside down" on the eves of a roof, and underneath the window jambs. Inside the house, the cornicing requires paint to be applied substantially at 900. There are also many other awkward 2 corners and parts of a house that are not easy to paint because of access difficulty, awkward angles and the like. Sometimes, the different angles can be compensated by holding the brush or roller at 5 an awkward angle in the person's hand but this is not considered to be particularly efficient. Therefore, there would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a painting accessory such as a paintbrush or paint roller where the brush/roller head could be 10 angled relative to the handle at various angles and could be held in the particular angle such that a surface could be painted without needing to overstretch, without needing to hold the brush/roller at an awkward angle and the like. It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this 15 reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country. Object of the Invention. It is an object of the invention to provide a painting accessory that may overcome at 20 least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice. In one form the invention resides in a painting accessory which comprises a hand grippable handle, a head, and an arm, the arm being between the handle and the head, 25 the arm being bendable and able to be maintained in a particular orientation as paint is applied to a surface. Thus, the arm of the painting accessory can be bent to a desired angle to angle the paintbrush/roller relative to the handle such that the handle can still be gripped in a 30 proper manner and paint can be applied in a proper manner to the surface to be painted. This type of painting accessory can enable paint to be applied to otherwise difficult angles (e.g. upside down).
3 It is envisaged that the painting accessory will find particular use as a paintbrush although it is also envisaged that the accessory may comprise a paint roller. There are other types of painting accessories which are available in the marketplace including accessories that contain a "fur" pad. This can also be provided with a flexible arm as 5 described above should there be an advantage in doing so. The hand grippable handle may comprise any suitable material such as plastic, wood, metal, fibreglass and the like. The handle may also have any suitable shape and size but it is envisaged that the shape and size will be such that the handle can be 10 comfortably gripped by a painter. The handle may have a length of between 5-25 centimetres although no particular limitation should be placed on the invention merely by the length of the handle, the shape and size of the handle and the material from which the handle is manufactured. 15 It is considered advantageous that the accessory can be attached to an extension pole or other type of extension member. In one way, this can be achieved by providing the handle with a recess in which one end of the extension pole can fit to attach the handle to the extension pole. It is envisaged that the recess may have an internal thread and the extension pole may have an external thread to allow the two members to be 20 connected together. However, it is also envisaged that the handle may be twist-locked to the extension pole (for instance via a bayonet-type mounting arrangement) or maybe press-locked to the extension pole (for instance by a friction fit or using a projection pressed into a recess arrangement). It is also envisaged that the handle may be attached in an "easy remove" manner and this can be achieved by having one end 25 of the extension pole formed with a depressible button and having the handle containing a recess into which the extension pole can pass, the recess also containing a small opening through which the button can extend to connect the handle and therefore the painting accessory to the pole. Again, it is not considered that any specific limitation should be made on the particular type of manner by which the 30 painting accessory can be attached to an extension member such as an extension pole. The painting accessory will typically contain a head which can contain bristles in the case of a paintbrush, or some form of rotatable framework to accommodate a hollow 4 cylindrical roller head in case of a paint roller. Again, the head may be of any manufacture such as wood, plastic, fibreglass, metal, composite materials and the like; can be of any suitable size and shape depending on the ultimate size and shape of the paintbrush or paint roller. 5 If the accessory comprises a paintbrush, the bristles may be attached to the head by any suitable method and may comprise a permanent attachment, or a removable attachment. 10 In one aspect of the invention, it is envisaged that the head can be removeably attached relative to the arm such that different sized head/bristles/rollers can be fitted to the same arm. Thus, it is envisaged that in respect of a paintbrush, the bristles can be mounted to some form of bristle holding member, and the holding member can be releasably attached to the head. Alternatively, the bristle holding member may 15 comprise the head and the head can be releasably attached to the arm. Any type of suitable releasable attachment means may be used and these may be a simple form of attachment such as a nut and bolt, a screw, a threading engagement, or a more complex form of attachment such as a twist lock, a press lock, a clamp, a band, a strap, a pin in slot arrangement and the like. 20 The accessory contains an arm which is between the handle and the head and which is bendable to enable the head to be angled relative to the handle. Of course, the lower part of the arm may comprise the handle, although it is envisaged that a separate better-shaped handle would be safer and more efficient to use. 25 The arm may have any suitable length and width. However, for the sake of practicality, it is considered that a suitable length of the arm will be between 10-50 centimetres and typically between 10-30 centimetres. If the arm is any longer, it may be more difficult to hold the arm in place especially if pressure is applied to the 30 accessory upon application of paint to the surface. The arm may be cylindrical and may have a width of between 10-14 millimetres and typically between 10-20 millimetres. Of course, the arm need not be cylindrical and 5 may have a cross-section which is square, oval, or other shapes. The arm may be made of any suitable material such as metal, plastic, rubber, composite materials and the like. 5 One manufacture of the arm may comprise a series of rings that are in linear alignment and attached to each other to enable the length of the rings to be bent. This type of arrangement is already known and some small desk lamps are provided with a similar arm to enable the lamp to be bent into a suitable position. 10 Another manufacture of the arm may comprise a spiral metal strap wound about a core to provide flexibility but also "staying" power to keep the arm in a particularly bent position. 15 Another manufacture of the arm may comprise a plurality of interlocking members which are rigid individually, but where the members can be adjusted angle wise relative to each other. Typically, some form of ratchet mechanism may be provided in this type of manufacture. The ratchet mechanism can be released and locked typically via a screw that can be loosened and fastened by the painter. 20 Brief Description of the Drawings. An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which: 25 Figure 1 illustrates the painting accessory in the form of a paintbrush being used in a conventional manner. Figure 2 illustrates the same painting accessory attached to an extension handle and bent into a substantially 900 orientation to enable a ceiling to be painted quite easily. 30 Figure 3 illustrates the same painting accessory attached to an extension handle and bent into an almost 1800 orientation to enable the top of a window to be painted quite easily.
6 Figure 4 illustrates the same painting accessory attached to an extension handle and being used to paint the outside fascia of a house. 5 Best Mode. Referring to the illustrations, and initially to figure 1, there is illustrated the painting accessory in the form of a paintbrush. The paintbrush has a handle 10 (which is not visible in figure 1 as it is being covered by the person's hand), a flexible arm 11, a head 12, and bristles 13 attached to the head. 10 The flexible arm 11 has the ability to be bent (with some effort) into a particular orientation and the arm will then stay in a particular orientation even when paint is applied to the bristles and the paintbrush is pushed against a surface to be painted. This type of arm can be called a "bend and stay" arm. In the particular embodiment, 15 the arm is made from cylindrical metal links that are attached together in such a manner that the arm can be bent virtually in any direction and will then stay in the bent position. The particular material (e.g. the cylindrical metal links) from which the arm is made is known in the marketplace and is in use on certain types of desk lamps. 20 In the particular embodiment, the arm has a length of about 20 centimetres although this can be longer or shorter as the case may be. The arm also has a diameter of approximately 20 millimetres but this can also vary if required. Typically, the lower end of the arm fits into a suitable recess in the handle and 25 adhesive or any other type of fixing means can be provided as it is not envisaged that this part of the arm will be removed from the handle at any time. The upper end of the arm can be fitted to head 12 by any suitable means and again the head may be provided with a hollow cylindrical housing 14 (see figure 1) that is 30 attached to the head, or forms part of the head and the upper end of the arm can fit into the housing 14. Of course, it is not considered that the invention should be limited to any particular manner by which the head (or handle) is attached to the arm.
7 An advantage of using a housing 14 (or something similar), is that it is possible to detach the head from the arm and to fit a larger or smaller head or to convert the accessory from a paintbrush to a roller brush while keeping the same arm and same handle. 5 Figures 2-4 show some advantages of the particular painting accessory of figure 1. In figure 2, the paintbrush has been attached to an extension pole 15. The extension pole 15 in the particular embodiment is of the type which has an outer tubular member and an inner tubular member to enable the length of the pole to be adjusted. The two 10 tubular members can be fixed together by a simple twist-lock action, or a keyway and lock button and these type of extension poles are known in the market. The handle 10 (which is visible in figure 2) contains a recess into which the end of the pole can be fitted. In the particular embodiment, the end of the pole contains a biased 15 button or pin that can be pushed into the pole as the end of the pole is slid or pushed into the handle. The handle is provided with a small opening and when the pole is pushed into the handle, the biased button or pin can push out through the opening to lock the paintbrush to the pole. This type of arrangement is known and is used to attach a variety of accessories to a swimming pool extension pole. 20 Figure 3 shows how convenient it now is to paint the top of a window by bending the arm 11 by almost 1800. The person can simply slide the brush in a to and fro motion or group in the extension pole. 25 Figure 4 shows how convenient it now is to paint a fascia board without needing to hold the brush at an awkward angle. The present invention presents a useful solution to the frustrations experienced by painters in the difficulty in getting to hard to reach places, the need to remove 30 furniture when repainting and the like. The painting accessory can come with a plate at one end to which various paintbrush heads can be fitted for instance by screwing the plate to the brush head. The accessory can be provided with a quick release handle at the other end that can fit to a painter's standard extension pole with a 8 locking device similar to that used on swimming pool accessory heads. The arm is strong enough to remain in a particularly desired orientation through the cycle of dipping in paint and brushing. The painter can now reach out of the way places where even scaffolds are difficult to erect such as over spaces or in atriums. 5 Throughout the specification and the claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to apply the inclusion of the stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. 10 Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "substantially" or "about" will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms. 15 It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.