GB2245481A - Paint roller cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

The device includes a cylindrical housing (2) and an end cap (3) which contains a motor driven shaft (6). A drive head (8) has a number of projecting fins (12) for engagement with the free end of a paint roller (R). The opposite end of the housing has a two-part closure member (20) which contains a generally T-shaped opening (25) formed in the two parts of the closure for receiving the handle (F) of the paint roller. Drain passages (29 and 30) allow the housing to be filled with liquid and drained via the opening (25).

Description

PAINT ROLLER CLEANING DEVICE TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the cleaning of paint applicators of the kind comprising a roller rotatably mounted on a frame which carries a handle.

For convenience, such paint applicators will be referred to below as an applicator "of the kind set forth".

BACKGROUND It is known to clean paint from roller-type applicators after use by repeatedly wetting the roller with a suitable solvent and then rotating the roller at high speed.

United States Patent Specification No. 4 130 443 discloses a device which can be used for cleaning a paint applicator of the kind set forth, which comprises a cylindrical housing having a side door through which the roller is placed into the housing. A notch in the edge of the door opening receives the frame of the applicator, and supports permanently mounted inside the housing engage opposite ends of the roller, one of which is rotatably driven by an external motor. It is considered however that the production costs associated with this earlier proposal would be very high.

An aim of the present invention is to produce a device for use in cleaning a paint applicator of the kind set forth, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes a device for cleaning a paint applicator of the kind set forth, comprising an elongate housing for receiving the roller, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in one end of the housing and carrying a drive head for driving engagement with one end of the roller, and the opposite end of the housing being provided with closure means containing an opening for receiving the frame of the roller.

The drive shaft could be coupled to a drive motor which may conveniently be in the form of an electric pistol drill.

The closure means preferably includes a drain passage for conducting fluid out of the housing. The closure means is preferably longitudinally divided into two halves, each including a portion of the opening. The closure means may be in the form of a closure member which engages the main body of the housing or it may be formed integrally with the housing, in which case the housing too would be longitudinally divided. The opening may include an axial inlet portion which leads from the interior of the housing to the mid region of a radial portion which opens at opposite sides of the closure member. There may conveniently be two drain passages disposed on opposite sides of the inlet portion and leading from the interior of the housing to a respective radial portion of the opening, each half of the closure member including a portion of each drain passage.

The drive head preferably includes a plurality of projections for engagement with the free end of the roller and which, in use, allow fluid within the housing to pass between the projections into the free end of the roller. The housing preferably comprises a substantially cylindrical inner surface, and the drive head has an outer bearing surface which engages the said inner surface of the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a device of the invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a closure member of the device, incorporating a modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The device to be described by way of example is intended for cleaning paint rollers of the kind comprising a roller rotatably mounted on a frame which projects from one end of the roller and which carries a handle. For convenience, the end of the roller from which the frame extends will be referred to below as "the handle end" and the opposite end of the roller will be referred to as "the free end".

The device includes an elongate housing 1 which may be formed inexpensively of plastics. The housing 1 comprises a hollow cylinder 2, one end of which is closed by an end cap 3. . The cylinder 2 may be formed by turning a length of extruded plastics tube, thus avoiding the need for an expensive injection moulding tool. The cap 3 is formed of Nylon or other suitable bearing material and contains an axial bore 5 which rotatably receives a drive shaft 6. (The cap could also be of other material and have a tubular insert to act as a bearing for the shaft 6.) The cap 3 includes a cylindrical spigot 4 which is engaged as a push fit into the respective end of the cylinder 1. The cap 3 and cylinder 2 may also be formed by injection moulding either in one piece or in two identical, longitudinally divided halves which are joined together by a collar or other retaining means.The cylinder 2 could be formed in one piece by forming a flat plastics sheet around a mandrel and the end cap 3 secured thereto by staples, contact adhesive, hot melt adhesive, ultrasonic welding or any other suitable method. The shaft 6 is a fairly close fit in the bore 5 whilst permitting axial movement of the shaft within the bore. One end of the drive shaft 6 projects from the housing and terminates in a portion 7 of triangular section for reception in the chuck of a pistol drill (not shown). The opposite end of the shaft 6 is integrally formed with a moulded plastics drive head 8, or the shaft may be of metal and knurled or otherwise keyed to a plastics drive head.

The drive head 8 comprises an axially projecting frusto-conical portion 9 and a generally cylindrical portion 10. The radially outermost surface of the cylindrical portion 10 provides a cylindrical bearing surface 11 which contacts the inner surface of the cylinder 2 to radially locate the drive head 8 whilst still allowing free rotation and axial movement of the drive head. The frusto-conical portion 9 carries a series of circumferentially spaced radially projecting fins 12 to drivably engage the free end of a paint roller (see below). The drive head 8 includes an internal boss 13 which is engaged with the shaft 6 and which has an annular end face 14 to act as a stop and bearing surface for contact with the end cap 3 when the drive shaft 6 is pulled to its outermost position.

The device could be manufactured to accommodate rollers of different lengths by suitably varying the length of the cylinder 2 and of the drive shaft 6.

The opposite end of the cylinder 2 to the cap 3 is provided with a closure member 20 which is longitudinally divided into two equal halves 20a and 20b (See Fig. 2). The closure member 20 includes a spigot 21 having a number of external circumferentially extending ribs or flanges 22 which enable the spigot to be a tight fluid-tight push fit into the cylinder 2.

The spigot 21 leads into an intermediate portion 23 of greater diameter and having a smooth cylindrical external surface. This intermediate portion 23 in turn leads into a shorter cylindrical hand grip portion 24 of still greater diameter having a textured external surface for gripping purposes. The closure member contains a generally T-shaped internal opening, indicated generally at 25, which includes two substantially identical conjoined portions formed in the two halves 20a and 20b of the closure member. The opening 25 includes an axial inlet portion 26 formed in the spigot 21 and which opens into the interior of the cylinder 2. The inlet portion leads via a divergent portion 27 into the centre of a radial outlet portion 28 which extends completely through the intermediate portion 23 of the closure member.In addition, a pair of drain passages 29 and 30 extend axially through the spigot 21 on opposite sides of the inlet portion 26, to meet the outlet portion 28. Each drain passage is again formed in two conjoined halves provided in the respective halves of the closure member 20. The drain passages may be formed inset from the outer surface of the spigot 21 as shown in Fig. 1 or they may merge into the outer surface of the spigot, as in the modified arrangement of Fig. 2. Drain passages may also be provided in the wall of the cylinder 2 instead of, or in addition to, the drain passages 29 and 30.

The device just described is particularly intended for cleaning a paint applicator of the kind which comprises a roller R rotatably mounted on a frame F which extends from one end only of the roller. The frame F caries a handle (not shown) and includes a first part F' which extends axially from the roller R and which leads into a second part F" disposed at 900 to the first part F'.

In a typical cleaning operation the closure member 20 is removed from the cylinder 2 and the two halves 20a and 20b are placed around the frame F of an applicator having a paint-soiled roller such that the first part F' of the shaft is received in the inlet portion 26 of the opening 25 and the second part F" projects from one end of the outlet portion 28. (See Fig. 1.) The divergent portion 27 accommodates frames with different radii of curvature between the two parts F' and F".

The roller R is now inserted through the open end of the cylinder 2 and the spigot 21 of the closure member is manually pushed into the end of the cylinder so that the two halves 20a and 20b are held firmly together. A small quantity of a suitable solvent is now trickled into the housing 1 direc.tly onto the roller R via the open portion of the outlet portion 28 and the adjacent drain passage 29 or 30. The housing can now be gently shaken to distribute the solvent about the roller R.

With the triangular portion 7 of the drive shaft firmly held in the chuck of a pistol drill, the hand grip portion 24 of the closure member is held in one hand whilst the other hand grips the pistol drill. By holding the device thus the shaft 6 can be urged into the housing so that the fins 12 of the drive head engage in the free end of the roller. The frustoconical portion of the drive head tends to centre the roller in the housing, and also readily accommodates rollers of different diameters. The housing is normally held with the free end of the roller uppermost, and the drill is actuated to rotatably drive the shaft 6 and hence spin the roller at a sufficient speed to centrifugally discharge the solvent and any dissolved paint from the roller.It is important to note that the internal diameter of the cylinder 2 should be such that the paint-absorbing coat of the roller should not touch the cylinder even when it becomes fully extended during high speeds of rotation, to ensure that the solvent can be optimally discharged from the roller. The fins 12 of the drive head drivably engage the roller whilst permitting fluid to pass freely between them into the free end of the roller. Highly effective fluid seals are not required in the region of the end cap 3 since the fluid does not in practice travel past the drive head 8. Since the pressure applied by the hands acts between the ends of the roller the roller cannot inadvertently be pushed out of the housing during the cleaning process. The paint/solvent solution can drain from the housing via the drain passage 29/30 and the outlet portion 28.

Trickling a small quantity of solvent directly onto the roller R uses only a small quantity of solvent and is therefore highly economical. The first washings are very high in paint content and can be re-added to the paint so that the solvent is not wasted.

If required, further solvent can be trickled into the housing and the procedure repeated until all traces of paint have been removed from the roller. Instead of trickling paint through the closure member 20 the roller and closure member can be removed from the cylinder and a minimum quantity of solvent trickled directly onto the roller, or the roller can be immersed in a suitable container of solvent, but the abovedescribed procedure has the advantage that a minimum quantity of solvent is required. In fact, apart from the initial washings as noted above, all the solvent could be used for thinning the paint if required so that there need be no wastage of solvent.

Since the two halves of the closure member 20a, 20b are identical they can be similar components produced with a single cavity mould tool. In fact, the device could be formed more cheaply still if the two halves of the closure member are integral with a longitudinally divided cylinder 2 which, better still, is also integral with two halves of the end cap 3, as mentioned above. Indeed, the latter arrangement could be used with rollers of the kind having a frame which projects from both ends. The two halves of the housing could be joined by an integral plastics hinge, or they could be formed with parts of a hinge which are joined by a hinge pin inserted therethrough.Alternatively, the two halves could be joined by moulded collars which can be slid over tapering regions at each end of the housing, or they could have a snap engagement with the housing which can be disengaged by depressing part of the collars. Metal clips formed from round wire could also be used in place of the collars. These could be made on the circlip principle, but with round portions formed at each end which, when squeezed between the fingers, increase the diameter of the clip enabling it to be fitted into and similarly removed from a recess in the outside of the housing. Other methods of securing the two halves include plastics self-locking straps or elongate mouldings which, when rotated through 900 engage in recesses in the outside of the housing to lock the two halves together. As an alternative to injection moulding the two halves they could be made by vacuum forming or as metal pressings.

Since the device is used in the hands it is under the direct control of the user. Additional advantages of the device are that the housing is easy to clean and inexpensive to manufacture. The housing also takes up a small amount of space, and in fact provides an ideal storage space for the paint applicator where it will remain clean.

The closure member 20 could be engaged with the cylinder in other ways, for example by engaging over the end of the cylinder or by means of a separate moulding which engages both the closure member and the cylinder. The closure member could also be provided with a peg which locates in an open-ended slot in the side wall of the cylinder to prevent relative rotation of the closure member and the cylinder. The drive head 8 could also be of other shapes, but the important thing is that it should carry the fins or other projections to engage the end of the roller whilst permitting fluid to pass between them. The shaft 6 could be rotated by other means such as a permanently attached motor.

Claims (7)

1. A device for cleaning a paint applicator of the kind set forth, comprising an elongate housing for receiving the roller, a drive shaft rotatably mounted in one end of the housing and carrying a drive head for driving engagement with one end of the roller, and the opposite end of the housing being provided with closure means containing an opening for receiving the frame of the roller.

2. A device according to Claim 1, in which the closure means includes a drain passage for conducting fluid out of the housing.

3. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the closure means is longitudinally divided into two halves, each including a portion of the opening.

4. A device according to Claim 3, in which the opening includes an axial inlet portion which leads from the interior of the housing to the mid region of a radial portion which opens at opposite sides of the closure member.

5. A device according to Claim 4, including two drain passages disposed on opposite sides of the inlet portion and leading from the interior of the housing to a respective radial portion of the opening, each half of the closure member including a portion of each drain passage.

6. A device according to any preceding claim, in which the drive head includes a plurality of projections for engagement with the free end of the roller and which, in use, allow fluid within the housing to pass between the projections into the free end of the roller.

7. A device for cleaning a paint applicator of the kind set forth, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

7. A device according to any preceding claim, in which the housing comprises a substantially cylindrical inner surface, and the drive head has an outer bearing surface which engages the said inner surface of the housing.