AU2006202235A1 - Paint Tray Assembly - Google Patents

Description

Cl, Cl 0O Cl 0 COMPLETE APPLICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT In the name of No Back Pain Pty Ltd ACN 118 131 472 Reference Paint Assembly17052006 Entitled A PAINT TRAY ASSEMBLY Prepared by: Kevin Ramage and Olaf Schubert Directors No Back Pain Pty Ltd 18 Balsam St Bushland Beach, Queensland, 4818 Australia Telephone: (07) 47092015 Mobile: 0400 699 257 A Paint Tray Assembly

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l Field of the Invention.

This invention is directed as to a sophisticated paint tray assembly that can hold paint and various painting tools and accessories for painting, and which can be conveniently held or supported by a painter or clipped to a ladder, scaffolding etc.

N Background Art.

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O In the field of painting, and in particularly house painting, it is often necessary to use various different painting tools. For instance, a painter could use a paint roller, various types of paint brushes, a scraper, and edge tool (this being a tool to prevent paint from spreading to an unwanted area), screwdrivers (it being occasionally necessary to remove hinges etc), sandpaper and the like.

It can be quite inconvenient and cumbersome to retrieve each tool when required and then return the tool afterwards.

Therefore, various types of tool belts are known. These tool belts typically sit around the person's waist and contain pouches and the like to support various tools. While these tool belts are quite useful they are unsuitable for holding liquid such as paint.

It is also know to provide paint trays. Typical paint trays comprise a plastic tray having a lowermost trough into which paint is placed, and a single inclined surface. A paint roller can be placed into the roller to pickup paints, then rolled on the inclined surface to evenly distribute the paint over the roller. The paint trays can also be used to hold paint for brushes. Examples of paint trays devised previously are US 3087190

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O 1963 a conventional roller paint tray without paint distribution corrugations with a C"l hand pull fast cleaning mechanism for cleaning paint rollers, and US 4010866 1977 a conventional roller paint tray with paint distribution corrugations, and US C 5 2001/0013518 a conventional roller tray that is capable of holding two rollers for drainage. These devices have only one roller surface for paint application, they do not ci have provision to hold tools and are unable to be hand carried or shoulder carried (by means of a shoulder strap) by the painter while in use filled with paint or able to be O used whilst mounted onto a ladder. Canada 2313956 2001 roller paint tray has S 10 provision for it to be hooked onto a ladder but has only one roller surface for paint application, no provision to hold tools (except for one paint brush) and is unable to be hand carried or shoulder carried (by means of a shoulder strap) by the painter while in use filled with paint. US 2004/0007578 prime function is to act as a draining container for bristle brushes so they may retain their shape. It can double as a conventional paint roller fitted with a shoulder strap but has only one roller surface for paint application, no provision to hold tools and is unable to be hand carried by the painter while in use filled with paint and unable to be hooked onto a ladder whilst in use.

In practice, a painter is required to have a tool belts to hold some of the equipment, and a paint tray to hold paint and possibly the roller. This makes it inconvenient (and sometimes dangerous) up a ladder to access the various tools. Thus many painters will simply leave many of the tools on the ground and will need to move up and down the ladder many times to pick up the required tools.

i Therefore, there would be an advantage if it were possible to provide some form of 0 O device or assembly which could hold paint and various tools and in a convenient manner and which could also be held comfortably by the painter or supported on the ladder or some other support.

Another disadvantage with conventional paint trays is that tray needs to be placed on the ground. Therefore, the painter will often need to move up and down the ladder to o load the paint roller with paint. Alternatively, the painter can hold the paint tray in one O hand. However, this can create instability issues and safety issues. Therefore, there 0 S 10 would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a paint tray that could be supported on a ladder or by the painter but in such a way that the painter's hands remain relatively free. With a paint tray able to be held or carried or attached to a ladder or other support it would be of benefit for comfort and safety to the painter to be able to apply paint onto a roller in both horizontal plane (when operating level to the paint tray) or Vertical plane (when operating above the paint tray).

It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this 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 the object of the invention to provide a paint tray assembly which may overcome at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages and provide a useful or commercial choice.

In one form, the invention resides in a paint tray assembly comprising a container for

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O holding paint, the container comprising a bottom wall and a back wall, the back wall t",l being angled relative to the bottom wall, and a pair of opposed sidewalls with a handle attached between and to each sidewall, the assembly further comprising at 5 least one tool holding compartment, and means to incline the bottom wall toward the back wall when the assembly is placed on a level surface.

o Suitably, the handle is a means to enable the assembly to be held by a person's hand.

O The handle means may extend between the opposed sidewalls. It is preferred that the 0 10 handle means is positioned at a "balance" point such that when the assembly is lifted by the handle means, any paint in the container does not slop from the container.

The paint tray assembly is extremely versatile and allows a painter ready access to paint, and a number of tools which are typically placed in the at least one tool holding 15 compartment.

The assembly can be made of any suitable material. It is envisaged that the assembly will be made of plastic, metal, composite materials and the like, although it is not envisaged that any limitation should be placed on the invention merely by the material from which the assembly is manufactured.

The size of the assembly can vary to suit. However, it is envisaged that the size of the assembly should be such that a painter can readily hold and support the assembly. It is also envisaged that the assembly will be sufficient to hold a reasonable amount of paint. Again, this can vary but it is expected that the assembly should be able to hold \O between 100 ml 4 L of paint and typically 1 L of paint. Again, it is not considered

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O that any particular limitation should be placed on the invention merely by providing a typical volume of paint.

l The term "paint" should not be interpreted in an unnecessarily narrow manner and is meant to include any liquid or flowable product that would be useful to the person Ig) using the assembly. Thus, the term can include water-based paints, oil-based paints, O Varnishes, stains, pre-painting liquids such as wall cleaning liquids, and the like. It is

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O envisaged that the assembly can also be used to hold plain water for the purposes of

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10 washing and scrubbing the surface, water with detergent, any other type of cleaning mixture and the like. It is envisaged that the assembly can also hold other materials such as powders, gels, pastes, putties and the like. It is also envisaged that the assembly may not hold any paint at all and can be used as a convenient container to hold tools or anything else.

The assembly comprises a container. The container can hold the paint or other material. Typically, the container will comprise a majority of the assembly. The container has a bottom wall. The bottom wall may be substantially rectangular when viewed in plan and will typically be sized to enable a paint roller along the bottom wall in a horizontal plane a manner that is known for conventional types of paint trays. Thus the bottom wall will typically have a width of between 20-40cm and the length of between 10-40cm although this can vary. The bottom wall may be profiled with corrugations (this being known) in order to facilitate paint adhesion to the roller etc.

\0The container has a back wall. The back wall will typically be angled relative to the

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O bottom wall and the angle will typically be about 90 degrees or sufficiently upright relative to the bottom wall to stop paint from slopping out and also provide a support for a brush etc.. The back wall may be formed integrally with the bottom wall. The l size of the back wall can vary and will typically vary depending on the size of the bottom wall. For ease of manufacture, it is considered that the width of the back wall Ig) ,1 will be the same as the width of the bottom wall. The height of the back wall can be O larger than a conventional paint tray in order to provide support for a brush and to O allow quite a large quantity of paint to be placed into the container. Thus, it is

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10 envisaged that the back wall will have a height of between 1-30 cm or sufficient to support a brush parallel to the back wall and with little likelihood of the brush simply flipping out of the container. The back wall may similarly as the front wall be profiled with corrugations (this being known) in order to facilitate paint adhesion to the roller in the typical manner but in a vertical plane.

The container will typically comprise a pair of opposed sidewalls. The sidewalls will typically extend from the bottom wall. Each sidewall will typically be formed integrally with the bottom wall. Each sidewall will also be formed integrally with the back wall to provide a substantial enclosure for the paint etc. Each sidewall will typically extend substantially at right angles relative to the bottom wall and relative to the back wall.

The shape of the side wall can be reasonably complex for reasons that will be described in greater detail below, but in the area where the paint will be, it is preferred that the side wall is reasonably high to contain the paint. It is envisaged that the height of the side wall will be between 5-20cm. Between the upper most point of the side

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O wall a handle will extend and will be mounted to the sidewall.The lower portion of the t",l A side wall can also accommodate the tool holding department if desired.

5 The assembly will contain at least one and preferably a plurality of tool holding compartments. The tool holding compartments may comprise a pocket and the like which may have a substantially open top into which various tools can be supported.

C',l O The tools may comprise brushes, screwdrivers, scrapers, sandpaper blocks, rags and C"l O the like. It is not considered that any unnecessary limitation should be placed on the

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10 invention by the type and number of tools that can be held in the or each compartment.

The tool compartment may be attached to the sidewall of the assembly.

The assembly may comprise means to incline the bottom wall of the container such that paint will naturally move toward the back wall. The means may comprise a leg or similar member or portion or part that extends from the remainder of the assembly.

Brief Description of the Drawings.

An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawing in which: Figure 1. Illustrates the front view of the paint tray assembly and also illustrating a shoulder strap and carry handle.

1 Figure 2. Illustrates a side view of the paint tray assembly and particularly illustrating

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O tools positioned in the tool holding compartments, and a ladder attachment to enable C",l Sthe paint tray assembly to be supported by a ladder rung.

S 5 Best Mode.

Referring to the illustrations there is described a paint tray assembly. The paint tray assembly comprises a main body portion that can be seen as a container (10) that is o designed to hold paint etc. The container (10) contains a bottom wall a back wall O a pair of opposed sidewalls and a tool holding compartment (14) on each

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sidewall As well, the assembly in the particular embodiment includes a handle and a forward leg portion (16) that defines the "means to incline the bottom wall (11) basically to provide an inclined bottom wall (11).

In the particular embodiment, there is also illustrated a shoulder strap and a ladder attachment member (18) which will be described in greater detail below.

The entire assembly is sized to enable it to be held or supported by a painter.

Therefore, it is considered that the container portion (10) should be large enough to hold a sufficient volume of paint or other material, and it is considered that a sufficient volume would be between 100 ml 4 L and typically about 1 L.

The assembly can be made of plastic if desired. The plastic may be reinforced with fibres etc.

The container has a bottom wall (11) which is substantially rectangular when viewed

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O in plan and has a length of approximately 40 cm and a width of approximately 20 cm t",l although this can vary to suit. The bottom wall has a relatively open front end (19) which is best illustrated in figure 2 and this enables a paint roller to be used in a manner not dissimilar to a conventional paint tray in a horizontal plane. The bottom wall (11) is profiled with corrugations (21) in order to facilitate paint adhesion to the paint roller. The open front end of (19) if formed with a small raised lip which is also O conventional.

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Back wall (12) is substantially at right angles to bottom wall The back wall has a width which is the same as the width of the bottom wall and has a height which is rather larger than that of a conventional paint tray. Thus, the height of the back wall can be between 20-40 cm and is typically sufficient to support a paint brush (20) in such a manner that the paint brush does not flip out of the container which is a problem with many conventional paint trays. Back wall (12) is profiled with corrugations (21) in order to facilitate paint adhesion to the paint roller.

Both the Bottom Wall (11) and the Back Wall (12) may be used by the painter to apply paint onto a paint roller.

Each sidewall (13) is at right angles to back wall (12) and also at right angles to bottom wall The top of each sidewall supports handle and the position is at "balance point" of the assembly such that when the assembly is held by handle it is relatively balanced and does not simply tip to far to spill paint.

\0Each sidewall (13) supports a tool holding compartment Compartment (14) has

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O an open top, and may contain either a continuous bottom wall, or a bottom wall formed with openings etc to enable a screwdriver blade to pass through the opening.

l A forward part of bottom wall (11) contains a leg (16) which functions to angle bottom wall (11) towards back wall (12) when the assembly is placed on the ground ,1 (see particularly figure 2) and which functions to keep paint in the lowermost portion O of the assembly.

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10 The assembly can be fitted with a shoulder strap The shoulder strap (17) can be fitted to one sidewall (13) as illustrated in figure 1. When attached to a person's shoulder, the assembly will be positioned on the person's side (typically hip area) and provides a very easy reach device for painting, and for positioning of tools. Of course, shoulder strap (17) can be made adjustable and may be provided with quick release buckles to enable the shoulder strap to be removed when not required. The strap can be attached to a side of the assembly and to the back, and each side can be chosen.

The assembly also contains an attachment member (18) which is best illustrated in figure 2. Attachment member (18) comprises a wire rod which has a substantially inverted U-shaped configuration and which functions to attach over a ladder step or ladder run. Moreover, the size of the back wall (12) is such that when member (18) is attached over an upper rung, the immediately below rung (the rungs typically being spaced 20-40cm apart), is against back wall (12) which functions to quite cleverly to support the entire assembly on the ladder.

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O In use, the assembly can be Held by the handle or supported by the strap C"l (hands free operation), or attached to a ladder step (hands free operation elevated position), and in such a manner that paint does not slop from the assembly, and a 0, number of painting tools are readily accessible.

Throughout the specification and the claims (if present), unless the context requires o otherwise, the term "comprise",or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", O will be understood to apply the inclusion of the stated integer or group of integers but 0 not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

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.

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.

Claims (8)

1. 2. The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the means to incline the bottom wall towards the back wall comprises a leg which is positioned adjacent a forward part of the bottom wall.
2. 3. The assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the leg comprises an elongated member having one end attached to one sidewall, and the other end attached to the other sidewall.
3. 4. The means to carry the container as claimed in Claim 1 is a handle fitted between and across the uppermost part of the sidewalls. C O 5. The bottom wall and the back wall of the assembly as claimed in claim 1 may both be profiled with corrugations providing two surfaces on the one container that can be used to apply paint to a paint roller.
4. 6. The assembly as claimed in anyone of the preceding claims, o wherein the at least one tool holding compartment extends from a O sidewall of the assembly. O
5. 7. The assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein a tool holding compartment extends from each sidewall of the assembly.
6. 8. The assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including a shoulder strap.
7. 9. The assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the shoulder strap is attached to one side wall and to a rear portion of the assembly. Th assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including attachment means to attach the assembly to a ladder rung or ladder step.
8. 11. The assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the attachment means extends from the upper part of the back wall. O O 12. The assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the attachment means comprises an inverted U-shaped configuration. C 13. An assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. en O (O