GB2377687A

GB2377687A - A collar for a paint tin

Info

Publication number: GB2377687A
Application number: GB0117452A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Christopher Lunt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-07-18
Filing date: 2001-07-18
Publication date: 2003-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2021-07-18
Also published as: GB2377687B; GB0117452D0

Abstract

A collar 16 is disclosed for fitting to the rim of a paint tin 10. The collar is shaped to cover the rim and has means 24 for engaging with the tin's outer surface thereby to locate the collar upon the tin. A painter's brush can be wiped upon the collar rather than the rim of the tin. A brush may be rested on circumferential ledge 18 and cross member 40.

Description

DESCRIPTION A COLLAR FOR A PAINT TIN The present invention is addressed to problems concerned with painting and specifically concerns a collar for fitting to the rim of a paint tin.

Paint is of course very commonly sold in tins, traditionally of metal but increasingly being made in plastics in recent years. It is a very common practice to apply paint straight from the tin, dipping a brush in the paint and then wiping surplus paint off the brush by dragging its bristles across the tin's rim. Problems associated with this practice are familiar to any painter. Paint wiped onto the rim of the tin can harden thereupon, preventing the tin lid from subsequently forming a seal to close the tin. The paint tends to run off the rim and down the tin's internal walls, but by hardening on the walls causes lumps which are mixed into the remainder of the paint by subsequent shaking or stirring of the tin contents, potentially degrading the finish obtained. The paint may also run down the exterior of the tin and so make the tin awkward to handle, since picking it up transfers paint to the hands, or even allow the paint to reach the surface on which the tin stands, creating mess.

An object of the present invention is to overcome or at least alleviate such problems.

A further difficulty for the painter is that there is no convenient way for him to put the paintbrush down. Standing the brush with its bristles in the paint typically means immersing it to above the ferrule, which is not acceptable, while balancing it across the paint tin's rim creates further unwanted drips.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is a collar for fitting to the rim of a paint tin, the collar being shaped to cover the rim and having means for engaging with the tin's outer surface to thereby locate the collar upon the tin.

The brush can thus be wiped upon the collar rather than the rim of the tin.

The engagement parts of the collar, being for engaging with the tin's outer surface, can be kept from contact with paint in the tin to minimise mess.

Preferably, the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface comprises a depending flange.

It is especially preferred that the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface comprises a set of depending fingers circumferentially spaced about the collar.

The fingers may be formed by a flange which is broken at circumferentially spaced locations.

Preferably, the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface is such as to conveniently clip over the rim of the tin to thereby secure the collar to the tin. In this way the collar can be secured to the tin conveniently while allowing for its subsequent removal.

It is especially preferred that the collar further comprises a shroud lying over the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface. Again this helps to minimise mess caused by eg drips of paint.

Preferably, the collar further comprises an inner depending flange which is

arranged to lie within the paint tin in use and upon which the paint brush can be wiped. Paint can run off this flange and fall back into the main body of paint in the tin without running down the tin walls.

In an especially preferred embodiment the collar is shaped to provide a circumferential ledge upon which a brush can be rested in use. Hence this embodiment of the invention addresses the above mentioned problem that the painter ordinarily has nowhere to put the brush.

Preferably the ledge is surrounded by an upstanding wall. Thus paint running onto the ledge from the brush can be constrained to run back into the tin, not down its exterior.

The collar according to the present invention may further comprise a cross member upon which a brush can be rested.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the single accompanying drawing, which is a perspective and partly cut-away illustration of a collar constructed according to the present invention mounted on a paint tin.

In the drawing, a paint tin of conventional type is seen at 10. It has a generally cylindrical wall 12 terminating at its upper extremity in a rim 14 defining an open mouth which can of course be closed by engaging a tin lid (not shown) with the rim 14 in the drawing. The rim 14 is covered by a collar 16 constructed according to the present invention and formed as a unitary plastics moulding.

The collar 16 is generally annular. From a ring shaped shelf 18 depend three

annular flanges 20,22, 24. The first of these flanges 20 depends from the inner rim of the shelf 18, its radially inwardly directed face 26 thus being accessible for a user to draw a paint brush thereacross, to wipe surplus paint off the brush. Because this flange is inwardly radially separated from the wall 12 of the paint tin, paint thereby deposited on the first flange 20 has no tendency to run onto the wall 12. Instead whatever paint runs off the flange 20 can be expected to fall back into the main volume of paint in the tin.

The second of the collar's flanges 24 depends from the outer rim of the shelf 18 and serves to clip the collar 16 onto the paint tin 10. The drawing shows in phantom how this flange is broken at several circumferentially spaced localities 28 to form a set of resilient projections or fingers 30. The drawing also shows a radially inwardly projecting lip 32 formed around the lower edge of the flange. This part is a clip fit over the rim 14 of the paint tin. When the collar 16 is pressed onto the paint tin 10, a ramped surface 34 of the lip 32 first contacts the rim 14, forcing the fingers 30 outwards until a shoulder 36 of the lip 32 snaps over the rim, allowing the fingers 30 to move radially inwardly and to retain the collar in position. The collar can subsequently removed eg by a sharp tug or by placing a fingertip under the ramped surface 34 to pry successive fingers 30 of the collar away from engagement with the tin's rim.

Because the projecting fingers 30 engage with the outer surface of the paint tin 10, they need not come into contact with paint inside the tin. To further assist in keeping these parts, which could be relatively awkward to clean, free of paint, the

collar comprises an annular shroud 37 depending from a wall 38 which stands up from the upper surface of the shelf 18. The shroud covers the fingers 30 against exposure to drips of paint from above.

A convenient surface for supporting the paint brush while not in use is provided by the upper surface of the shelf 18, radially inboard of the upstanding wall 38. The wall 28 prevents any paint running off the brush, when thus supported, from reaching the outside of the tin.

However an additional means for supporting the brush is provided in the illustrated embodiment by a pair of cross beams 40 extending across the open mouth of the collar and integrally formed therewith.

The third flange 24 of the collar depends from a mid region of the shelf 18.

As the drawing shows, this flange lies within the mouth of the paint tin. It serves to more positively locate the collar.

It will be apparent to the skilled person that various modifications could be made to the illustrated collar without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example while the present embodiment has a broken, circumferential flange for locating the collar upon the tin, an alternative could be to use say three depending fingers at circumferentially spaced locations for this purpose.

Claims

1. A collar for fitting to the rim of a paint tin, the collar being shaped to cover the rim and having means for engaging with the tin's outer surface to thereby locate the collar upon the tin.

2. A collar as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface comprises a depending flange.

3. A collar as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface comprises a set of depending fingers circumferentially spaced about the collar.

4. A collar as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface is such as to resiliently clip over the rim of the tin to thereby secure the collar to the tin.

5. A collar as claimed in claim 4, wherein the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface comprises a set of depending fingers circumferentially spaced about the collar and having respective ramped surfaces whereby the flanges are first forced outwardly as the collar is pressed onto the rim of the tin, and shoulders which then snap onto the rim of the tin to secure the collar.

6. A collar as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a shroud lying over the means for engaging with the tin's outer surface.

7. A collar as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising an inner depending flange which is arranged to lie within the paint tin in use and upon which the paint brush can be wiped.

8. A collar as claimed in claim 7 wherein the inner flange is arranged to be inwardly separated from the paint tin's inner surface in use.

9. A collar as claimed in claim 8 wherein the inner flange is separated from the paint tin's inner wall by a further flange in use.

10. A collar as claimed in any preceding claim which is shaped to provide a circumferential ledge upon which a brush can be rested in use.

11. A collar as claimed in claim 10 wherein the ledge is surrounded by an upstanding wall.

12. A collar as claimed in any preceding claim having a cross member upon which a brush can be rested.

13. A collar as claimed in any preceding claim comprising formed by a unitary plastics moulding.

14. A collar for fitting over the rim of a paint tin, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.