AU608074B2 - Improved paint roller bearing - Google Patents

Description

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 19 60 Q74 COMPLETE SPECIFICATI N

(ORIGINAL)

Application Number Lodged S PI 4902 15 October 1987 Complete Specification Lodged Accepted Published #4 A i 4 o o A t* G f 0 O I aO 0 0 It 4 i t a It SIt Priority Related Art Name of Applicant Address of Applicant Actual Inventor/s Address for Service ROTA COTA PTY. LIMITED 14 Tennyson Road, Gladesville, New South Wales, Commonwealth of Australia This document contains the amendments made under Section-49 and is correct for printing F.B. RICE CO.

4 t Patent Attorneys 28A Montague Street, Balmain N.S.W. 2041 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: IMPROVED PAINT ROLLER BEARING The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us&nek:- LODO,| AT SuAOFFICE cas~ r ise?'1 The present invention relates to a bearing assembly and more particularly a bearing assembly for use in a paint roller of the kind consisting of a handle, a rod projecting from the handle and having on it means for rotatably supporting a rolling element, che axis of which is at right angles to the axis of said handle.

Paint rollers of the kind set forth are well known and constructed in a variety of different forms, generally consisting of a handle from which a suitably shaped rod extends having an axis at one end thereof at right angles to the axis of said handle and forming a rod axle on to which is mounted the roller element via suitable bearings. The roller element is constrained from moving r' axially on the rod axle at its inner end by a suitably restrained thrust washer and at its outer end by a o suitable end stop washer fixed to the end of said rod t axle. Small paint rollers having a rolling element of a.out 38 mm diameter by 60 or 80 mm length are generally constructed with a one piece roller element that incorporates the paint carrying medium as distinct from large paint rollers that are constructed with a 'fi, constrained roller element and separate tubular cover that incorporates the paint carrying medium and which may be slid on to or off the said constrained roller element.

In past designs for small paint rollers a number of methods have been used to provide the end stop on a rod 4415 axle for example:- 1. providing a male screw thread on the outer end of the 4 rod and attaching a nut and washer; 2. providing a female screw thread at the outer end of the rod and attaching a screw and washer; 3. providing a variety of types of push nut fixes in which spring steel teeth engage the metal rod; 4. providing a friction grip washer which is pushed on to the end of the rod after assembly of the roller.

SigndDIRECTOR Statu sW MONTGOMERY D eclara n t s N n e E B. RICE CO PATENT ATTORNEYS This form Is sulntabl for any typo of Patont Appllcation. No logllsontlon requirod, 3 Difficulties are encountered with all these designs.

The difficulties are exacerbated in the case of small paint rollers which usually have rod axles of only 5 mm diameter because the small screwed fittings are costly to make and assemble. Furthermore, although friction grip push-on end stops (so-called "push nuts") provide a means which adequately prevent the rolling element from coming off the rod axle, even these are deficient in that push nuts are small and easily lost. The loss of the end stop for a paint roller, although representing an extremely small cost in terms of replacement parts is, in practice, *off a great nuisance. This is recognised by some I manufacturers who provide a number of spare end stops with each roller sold.

Manufacturers can partially overcome loss of end 3 o stops by pre-assembly of the roller instead of selling 4 same in kit form. However, such pre-assembly incurs a further cost which ultimately results in a more expensive product. Also, should the end stop unintentionally come 0 20 off the end of the rod axle during use, it is very likely to be lost and so cause considerable inconvenience.

So a The present invention therefore seeks to provide a bearing which allows a rolling element to be retained on S the rod axle of a paint roller in conjunction with a conventional push on friction grip end stop "hereinafter referred to as and end stop" with a reduced risk of losing I r t said friction grip end stop.

According to one form of the present invention there is provided a bearing for a paint roller comprising an axially extending body, a bore extending axially through said body, an axially located cavity proximal one end of said body, said cavity being shaped to rotatably house therein a friction grip end stop or push nut, said one end of said body further comprising a radially expandable flexible annular flange having an unexpanded internal dimension smaller than the widest dimension of said cavity wherein radial expansion of said flange allows said friction grip end stop to be forceably inserted into said body and retained within said cavity.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a paint roller incorporating a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the paint roller of Fig. 1 including a partial sectional view on Section II-II of 00Fig. 1; o oFig. 3 is an enlargement of the bearing assembly end of the paint roller of Figs. 1 and 2; 0O 00 15 Fig. 4 is an end view of the bearing illustrated in 0 Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the bearing assembly end of the paint roller of Figs. 1 and 2; S2Fig. 6 is a sectional view VI-VI of Fig. 7 of the .o 20 bearing of a second embodiment; Fig. 7 is an end view of the bearing illustrated in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sectional view VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the bearing of a third embodiment.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it can be seen that a conventional paint roller 10, comprises a handle 11, a rod 12 projecting axially from the handle, said rod being bent at right angles 3 times so that the outer end part of said rod 12 forms a rod axle 40 disposed in the plane of said handle 11 and at right angles to the axis of said handle. Said rod axle 40 has at least one dimple 14 at the inner end of its length so that the axis of said handle projects to the mid point of the rod axle measured from said dimples 14 to the end of the axle A washer 15 bears against the said dimples 14. A rolling element 18 comprises a plastic tube 17 to which is affixed a hollow, cylindrically shaped, paint carrying material 18 such as plastic foam, which is located on said axle with press fitted bearings 19, 45 at opposite ends. The inner of said two bearings 19 is a conventional plastic bearing that also bears against said thrust washer The outer bearing 45 is an embodiment of the present invention.

bearing 45 comprises an axially extending body 50 with a Referring to Fig. 3, it can be seen that the centrally located bore 51. Proximal to one end of the it bore 51 there is an axially located cavity 52 which is shaped to loosely house a conventional frictionally

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engaging end stop or push nut 60. At one end of the bearing body 50, to which the cavity 52 is proximal, there *o is a radially flexible, resilient annular flange 53. In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-5 the end of the bearing body includes slots 55 to allow radial expansion and contraction of the annular flange 53. The bearing of this embodiment also includes a plurality of ribs 22 on the outside surface thereof.

In use, one end of the friction grip end stop 60 is introduced into the cavity 52. Further urging of said end stop 60 causes the underside of an annular flange 61 at the other end of the end stop 60 to bear against a L countersunk outer surface 54 of the annular bearing flange 53, radially expanding the annular bearing flange 53 until the end stop "snaps through" into said cavity 52. The annular bearing flange returns to its original position and the end stop is loosely and rotatably retained within said cavity 52 while gripping axle During assembly of a paint roller incorporating this embodiment, the bearing 45 with a frictional end stop 1 I- r r i i -6retained therein may be pushed onto the rod axle 40 as the final assembly step. The ribs 22 on the outer surface of the bearing frictionally grip the roller tube 17 thus ensuring a non-rotational force fit connection between the bearing 45 and the roller tube 17. As the smallest internal dimension of the axially extending bore 51 is slightly larger than the diameter of the rod axle 41, the roller element and the bearing 45 can rotate thereon. The bearing of the preferred embodiment includes an annular collar 56 which abuts against the end of the roller tube 17 when the bearing 45 is properly engaged in the roller tube 17.

As the outer ribs 22 grip the roller tube 17 so also Of does the loosely retained end stop 60 frictionally engage 0# 15 the rod axle 40. Because the end stop is loosely retained 00 00 0 within the bearing 45, the bearing 45 can also rotate about the end stop after assembly just as though the end S oo stop 60 formed part of the rod axle In the second embodiment of Figs. 6-8 the slots in o 20 the expandable flange 53 are not coterminus with said external ribs 22. In this embodiment the external ribs 22 extend along the body 50 of the bearing, partially between the slots 55, up to the collar 56. When this second embodiment is installed in a paint roller, said ribs 22 coact with the roller tube 17 to exert a closing force on said resilient flange 53 between said slots 55, thus contracting the resilient flange 53, to further ensure that the frictional end stop 60 does not push back out of the bearing during assembly.

Referring to Fig. 9, which shows a third embodiment of the bearing assembly, wherein the bearing comprises an axially extending body 50 with a centrally located bore 51, said bore having an internal diameter such that it frictionally grips, in a longitudinal direction, the rod axle 40 thus ensuring a non-rotational force fit connection between the axially extending body 50 and the L, i_ i p.il-- i rod axle 40. Proximal one end of the bore 51 there is an axially located cavity 52 which is shaped to loosely house the bearing component 60. The axially located bearing component 60 includes a plurality of longitudinal ribs 22 located on its outside surface which ensure a non-rotational force fit connection between the bearing component 60 and the roller tube 17. The bearing component comprises an annular radial flange 61 which is shaped to allow the roller tube 17 to abut the annular collar 56 of flange 61.

9"R The roller tube 17 is frictionally attached to the bearing 45 by the external longitudinal ribs 22 which O comprise part of the bearing component 60 which is atl Lretained in cavity 52 of the bearing body 50 which S 15 frictionally grips rod axle 40 along its axial bore 51.

o In use, component 60 is introduced into cavity 52.

Urging of the bearing component 60 causes it to bear ~:against a countersunk outer surface 54 of the bearing Surface 54 radially expands until the bearing component o' 20 "snaps" through into the housing cavity 52, and component is loosely and rotatably retained within cavity 52.

o A bearing assembly in accordance with the embodiments

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o of Figs 1 and 2 allows the friction end stop 60 to be inserted into the bearing 45 where it is retained until 25 the paint roller 10 is to be assembled. Or, in the o alternate construction, bearing component 60 is inserted into bearing component 50 as shown in Fig. 9. As the end bearings are considerably larger than the end stops, they are not as easily lost as a push nut and so the loss of end stops is also reduced. Should the end stop come off the end of the rod axle during use, it will still be retained within the end bearing 45 which is much easier to locate than the conventional friction grip end stop. Thus on-site loss of end stops will also be reduced.

Although insertion of the end stop within a bearing j W I A ~4.t t~ tk4~*Lz rwill incur a cost, it will be recognised by those skilled in the art that such cost is minimal relative to the cost involved in fully assembling a paint roller. Thus paint rollers incorporating a bearing assemblies of this invention may be sold in kit form if desired with little risk of the end stops being lost.

It will also be realised by those skilled in the art that the embodiments hereinbefore described are non-limiting and the present invention is capable of numerous modifications without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described.

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Claims (11)

1. A bearing for a paint roller comprising an axially extending body, a bore extending axially through said body, an axially located cavity proximal one end of said body, said cavity being shaped to rotatably house therein a bored friction grip end stop or push nut, said one end of said body further comprising a radially expandable flexible annular flange having an unexpanded internal dimension smaller than the widest dimension of said hueg,--s4.wherein radial expansion of said flange allows said friction grip end stop to be fbrcibly inserted into said body and retained within said cavity.

2. A bearing as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one end °o °of the bearing body comprises at least one longitudinal o slot that facilitates radial expansion and contraction of said annular flange.

3. A bearing as claimed in claim 1 or 2 comprising a plurality of longitudinal ribs on the outer surface of said body.

4. A bearing as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, o wherein said cavity comprises a countersunk outer surface to facilitate ease of push fitment of the push nut into said cavity. S

5. A bearing as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said bearing containing said friction grip end stop is adapted to be pushed, during assembly of a paint roller, onto a rod axle of said paint roller.

6. A bearing as claimed in claim 3 or either of claims 4 and 5 when appended to claim 3, wherein the longitudinal ribs are adapted to frictionally grip a roller tube thus ensuring a rotationally resistant friction fit between the outer surface of the bearing and said roller tube.

7. A bearing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the minimum internal dimension of the axially extending bore of the bearing body is greater than L, 10 the bore of the push nut.

8. A bearing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the minimum internal dimension of the axially extending bore of the bearing body is smaller than the bore of the push nut.

9. A bearing as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the annular flange comprises an annular collar.

A bearing as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one longitudinal slot is not coterminous with the longitudinal ribs.

11. A bearing for a paint roller substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to Figs. 1-5, 6-8 or Fig. 9 of the accompanying drawings. ,DATED this 14 day of October 1988. «ROTA COTA PTY. LIMITED Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: F.B. RICE CO. t 4