GB2395702A

GB2395702A - Paint container rim protection

Info

Publication number: GB2395702A
Application number: GB0227575A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Mark Mclellan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-11-27
Filing date: 2002-11-27
Publication date: 2004-06-02
Also published as: GB0227575D0

Abstract

A device (20) for protecting the rim (12) of a paint container (1) from paint (10), particularly a cylindrically shaped container, either when painting directly from the container or when pouring paint (10) from the container (1), comprises an arcuate strip of resilient material, the strip having a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis, and two interconnected and spaced apart flanges (24,25) which present a channel (28) with an opening (29) that faces away from said longitudinal axis, wherein the flanges (24,25) diverge from one another towards the opening (29) of the channel (28).

Description

- 1 - Paint Container Rim Protection The present invention relates to a

device for protecting the 5 rim of a paint container from paint, particularly a cylindrically shaped container, either when painting directly from the container or when pouring paint from the container.

Paint is often supplied in cylindrically shaped containers.

10 Such containers may be made from plastic or metal, and have a removable circular lid which when opened provides access to the paint through a circular aperture in a top surface of the container. 15 A person using the paint container may then pour the paint directly into a painting tray or other receptacle, or paint directly from the paint container. In doing so, the rim of the paint container will become covered in paint, for example when the painter squeezes a paint brush against the rim to r 20 remove excess paint.

Paint on the rim of a paint container is inconvenient in several ways. The paint can run down the outside of the container, thus causing a mess. Paint can also clog up the 25 join between the rim and the lid, making it difficult or impossible to replace the lid.

it Is an object of the present invention to provide a device for protecting the rim of a paint container which addresses 30 these problems.

À 2 According to the invention, there is provided a device for protecting the rim of a paint container, comprising an arcuate strip of resilient material, the strip having a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis, and two 5 interconnected and spaced apart flanges which present a channel with an opening that faces away from said longitudinal axis, wherein the flanges diverge from one another towards the opening of the channel.

10 Also according to the invention, there is provided a paint container protection system comprising a paint container in combination with a device for protecting the rim of the paint container, wherein the device comprises an arcuate strip of resilient material, the strip having a radius of curvature 15 about a longitudinal axis, and two interconnected and spaced apart flanges which present a channel with an opening that faces away from said longitudinal axis, wherein the flanges diverge from one another towards the opening of the channel.

20 The invention further provides a method of using a paint container protection system, the system comprising a paint container in combination with a device for protecting the rim of the paint container, wherein the device comprises an arcuate strip of resilient material, the strip having a 25 radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis, and two interconnected and spaced apart flanges which present a channel with an opening that faces away from said longitudinal axis, wherein the flanges diverge from one another towards the opening of the channel, the method 30 comprising the step of: i) seating the rim inside the channel so that one of the

- 3 flanges protects an external surface of the rim from coming into contact with paint.

The channel may have along the length of the strip a 5 substantially constant U-shape cross-section in planes that encompass the longitudinal axis. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device has an essentially constant cross-section, and may therefore be formed from an extrusion that is bent into an arcuate shape.

The channel may have a base with, for example, a flat or a curved internal floor. Such a flat or curved base then extends transversely between the two flanges. The channel may also be fully enclosed on three adjacent sides, and open at 15 the ends of the arcuate strip.

Preferably, the separation between the flanges is greatest at the opening to the channel. The device may therefore be able to accommodate rims of a range of thicknesses. Wide rims when 20 inserted inside the channel may engage with opposite internal surface of the flanges, while thin rims may come into contact with and engage with the base to the channel. The diverging shape will also make it easier to remove the device from a paint container rim, as there is nothing to unhook. This is 25 particularly the case if the flanges increasingly diverge towards the opening of the channel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the arcuate shape of the strip is a circular shape. The arcuate shape may, 30 however, be non- circular, for example elliptical.

One way in which the device can be engage securely with the

- 4 rim is if the arcuate shape extends in use around at least 180 of the circumference of the aperture.

It is particularly advantageous if the strip is formed from a 5 resilient material which can be elastically deformed to decrease the radius of curvature of the arcuate shape. For example, the paint container aperture may have a radius of curvature less than that of the strip when the strip is in its natural shape. The strip can then be flexed to decrease 10 the radius of curvature of the device. After the strip is brought up against the rim, the strip can then be allowed to flex outwards to spring bias the channel against the rim.

In one embodiment of the invention, the device comprises an 15 arcuate handle affixed to the paint container. The device prior to use may then be frangibly connected to the handle.

The paint container will normally have a removable lid, which when removed provides access through an aperture in the 20 container. When the container has such a sealable aperture allowing access to paint within the container, and the aperture is bounded by an undercut rim, the device may in use have the rim removably seated within the channel so that one flange protects an external surface of the rim from coming 25 into contact with paint.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional metal paint container, showing a lid removed from the

- 5 - container to expose an aperture that surrounded by a rim; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a device according to 5 the invention for protecting the rim of the paint container of Figure 1, the device being formed as an arcuate strip that has an outwardly-directed channel; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the device 10 taken along lines IIIIII of Figure 2, showing that the channel has a U-shaped cross-section formed by diverging upper and lower flanges and a connecting flat base Figure 4 is a cross-section view of a paint container 15 protection system according to the invention, showing the device of Figure 2 when used to protect the rim of the paint container of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a paint container 20 protection system according to a further embodiment of the invention, in which a device similar to that shown in Figure 2 is prior to use frangibly connected a paint container handle; 25 Figure 6 is a perspective view of the paint container system showing how the strip of Figure 2 may be flexed inwardly when used to protect a rim having a smaller radius of curvature; and 30 Figure 7 is a perspective view of the paint container system showing the rim engaged within the channel by a residual radial biasing force exerted by the flexed

strip. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a conventional metal paint container 1 having a cylindrical metal body 2 which has 5 at one end a circular aperture 3 which may be sealed with a matching circular lid 4. A flexible semi-circular handle 5 is connected to a cylindrical side wall 6 of the container 1 at two studs 7,8 on opposite sides of the cylindrical wall 6. In the present example, the paint container is about 200 mm tall 10 and about 150 mm in diameter. The handle is a semi-rigid plastic strip about 15 mm wide and 2 mm thick.

The aperture 3 is surrounded by an annular rim 12 that extends transversely inwards from an upper edge 11 of the 15 side wall 6. The lid 4 has a circular ridge 15 that engages with a matching circular groove 14 in an external surface 13 of the rim 12 when the lid is used to seal the aperture 3.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the paint container 1 is nearly 20 full with paint 10. A user of the paint container 1 may tip some of the paint 10 out into a tray, for example for painting with a roller brush (not shown) or may paint directly from the container using a conventional brush (not shown). When pouring from the container 1 the paint 10 will 25 flow over the rim 12 and the upper edge 11 of the container body 2. When painting with a brush, excess paint may be wiped from the brush against the rim 12. In both such situations, paint 10 can enter the groove 14 making it difficult to replace the lid 4, particularly if paint has dried in the 30 groove 14.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a device 20 according to

- 7 the invention protecting the rim 14 of the paint container 1.

The device 20 is formed as an arcuate strip in a resilient plastic material, for example polypropylene. The device 20 has a radius of curvature (r) 21 about a longitudinal axis 5 22. In the present example the device 20 has a circular radius of curvature of about 100 mm which subtends an angle of more than 180 , and preferably between 180 and 200 . The device 20 may, however, have other curved shapes, particularly an elliptical shape.

Reference is now made also to Figure 3, which shows the device 20 in a cross-section through lines III-III of Figure 2.The device 20 has two interconnected and spaced apart flanges 24,25 that extend generally in the radial direction 15 21 away from the longitudinal axis 22. The flanges are interconnected at a flat base 26 that extends between the flanges 24,25 in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis, and terminate along smoothly curved free edges 34,35.

The flanges 24,25 and base 26 together form a U-shape 20 cross-section which is constant along the length of the arcuate strip.

The flanges 24,25 present a channel 28 with an opening 29 that faces away from the longitudinal axis 22. As can be seen 25 most clearly in Figure 3, the flanges 24,25 diverge from one another towards the opening 29 of the channel 28. In this example, the flanges 24,25 are outwardly bowed from the base 26 so that the width of the channel 28 is progressively increased towards the opening 29. In addition, one flange 24 30 is wider in the transverse direction than the other flange 25.

- 8 - The use of the device 20 to help protect the rim 12 of the paint container 1 will now be explained with reference to Figure 4, which shows in cross-section the device 20 with the paint can rim 12 seated in the channel 28. The rim 12 becomes 5 seated in the channel 28 when parts of the rim 12 come into contact with the flanges 24,25 and/or the base 26. Because the flanges 24,25 are outwardly diverging, the device 20 is able to accommodate rims 12 having a variety of widths. In the present example, the width of the rim 12 is determined 10 mainly by the depth of the groove 14.

The outwardly bowed shape of the flanges 24, 25 also provides benefits in helping to prevent paint 10 from covering the rim 12 and particularly entering the groove 14. Any paint 10 15 which dose come into contact with the flange 24 will tend to flow back into the aperture 3 under gravity. Similarly, any paint 10 which comes into contact with the flange 25 will tend to flow under gravity radially outwards from an inner lower edge 30 of the device 20. This is particularly useful 20 when the lower inner edge 30 of the device 20 is used to scrape excess paint from the paint brush. To aid such scraping the inner lower edge 30, and also the inner upper edge 31 are right angled edges.

25 In the present example, the wider of the flanges 24 is sufficiently wide to cover the groove 14. Optionally, the flange 24 may be wide enough to extend over an outer rim 32 of the paint container 1. The different width of the flanges 24, 25 gives the choice of situating one or the other of the 30 flanges 24, 25 in the upper position, in order to provide the most appropriate degree of coverage of the rim 12 and groove 14. The device 20 may therefore more readily be used with

- 9 different types of paint container 1 having rims of various widths. Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of a paint container 101, 5 in which features corresponding with those of the first embodiment 1 are indicated by reference numerals incremented by 100. The second embodiment 101 differs from the first embodiment 1 in that the device 120 for protecting the rim 112 of the paint container 101 is initially connected to the 10 handle 105. The device 120 is connected to a central portion of the handle 105 having the same radius of curvature as the device 120 along a pair of frangible joins 40 made to the free edges of each of the flanges. The handle 105 therefore spans the channel and opening between the flanges, and forms 15 the upper part of an approximately square cross- section handle which forms a comfortable tubular strip by which a user can lift and carry the container 101.

The frangible join 40 can be broken by hand when the user 20 wishes to use the device 120 to protect the rim 112 of the paint container 101.

Figure 6 and 7 show how the device 20 according to the first embodiment 1 is inserted and seated against the rim 12. The 25 second embodiment of the device 120 is used in exactly the same way, and so will not be separately described. The device 20 in its natural state of curvature, has a radius of curvature greater than that (R) 48 of the rim 12. The device 20 therefore has to be flexed inwardly, as indicated by 30 arrows 42 prior to insertion in the aperture 3. A central portion of the channel 28 may then be engaged with a part of the rim 12 as shown in Figure 6. The user can then release

- 10 the device 20 which will then flex outwardly so that the channel 28 engages fully with the rim 12, as shown in Figure 7. When the device 20 is seated on the rim 12, the device 20 subtends an angle 44 of about 190 about a central axis 46 of 5 the cylindrical body 2 of the paint container 1.

Because the device 20 has a natural radius of curvature greater than the radius (R) 48 of the paint container body 2, and because the device 20 when seated against the rim 12 10 subtends an angle greater than 180 the resilient nature of the device 20 results in outwardly directed forces indicated by arrows 51-54 against the rim 12. These forces will be greatest towards the ends of the arcuate strip, and this results in a net force which tends to seat the device 20 15 against the rim 12 around the full extent of the strip 20.

The channel 28 therefore remains securely seated with the rim 12. One advantage of this arrangement is that there is no need 20 for any type of clip arrangement, for example flanges that taper together towards the channel entrance 29, or features that engage with the outer rim 32 of the paint container body 2. This simplifies both the construction and the use of the device 20. The device may also be manufactured using 25 relatively inexpensive production techniques, for example extrusion moulding.

The device for protecting the rim of a paint container as described above therefore provides a convenient solution to 30 the problem of protecting the rim of a paint container from paint spills whilst painting.

Claims

- 11 Claims:

1. A device for protecting the rim of a paint container, comprising an arcuate strip of resilient material, the strip 5 having a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis, and two interconnected and spaced apart flanges which present a channel with an opening that faces away from said longitudinal axis, wherein the flanges diverge from one another towards the opening of the channel.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1, in which the channel has along the length of the strip a substantially constant U-shape cross-section in planes that encompass the longitudinal axis.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the channel has a base which extends transversely between the two flanges. 20

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the separation between the flanges is greatest at the opening to the channel.

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the 25 flanges increasingly diverge towards the opening of the channel.

6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which one flange is wider in the transverse direction than the other 30 flange.

7. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the

- 12 strip has a circular radius of curvature.

8. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the arcuate shape of the strip subtends more than 180 .

9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the strip is formed from a resilient material which can be elastically deformed to decrease the radius of curvature of the arcuate shape.

10. A paint container protection system comprising a paint container in combination with a device for protecting the rim of the paint container, wherein the device is as claimed in any preceding claim.

11. A paint container protection system as claimed in Claim 10, comprising an arcuate handle affixed to the paint container, in which the device prior to use is frangibly connected to the handle.

12. A paint container protection system as claimed in Claim 10 or Claim 11, in which the container has a sealable aperture allowing access to paint within the container, wherein the aperture is bounded by an undercut rim and the 25 device in use has the rim removably seated within the channel so that one flange protects an external surface of the rim from coming into contact with paint.

13. A paint container protection system as claimed in 12, in 30 which the rim has a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis passing through the aperture and the device has a natural radius of curvature greater than the radius of

curvature of the rim.

14. A paint container protection system as claimed in Claim 13, in which the device when used to protect the external 5 surface of rim extends around at least 180 or the circumference of the aperture.

15. A paint container protection system as claimed in Claim 14, in which the device is inwardly flexed when seated on the 10 rim, and is held to the rim by a resultant outward bias exerted by the channel on the rim.

16. A method of using a paint container protection system, the system being as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 15, the 15 method comprising the step of: i) seating the rim inside the channel so that one of the flanges protects an external surface of the rim from coming into contact with paint.

17. A method as claimed in Claim 16, in which the rim has a radius of curvature about a longitudinal axis passing through the aperture and the device has a natural radius of curvature greater than the radius of curvature of the rim, the method 25 comprising the step of: ii) prior to step i), flexing the device to decrease the radius of curvature of the device; and 30 iii) allowing the device to flex outwards to spring bias the channel against the rim.

- 14

18. A device for protecting the rim of a paint container, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.

5

19. A paint container protection system, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.

20. A method of using a paint container protection system, 10 substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.