GB2591985A

GB2591985A - Improvements in paint stirrers

Info

Publication number: GB2591985A
Application number: GB1918182.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Howen David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-12-11
Filing date: 2019-12-11
Publication date: 2021-08-18
Also published as: GB201918182D0

Abstract

A non-stick paint stirrer 1 comprises a main body 3 with a non-stick coating 16, an opening 4 with two opposed side sections 5 and 7. One of the side sections has a cut-away 6. The stirrer may comprise a hanging hole 2. The main body may be made of a thin steel or metal and the whole surface may be coated in a non-stick coating (e.g. a fluoropolymer such as Teflon (RTM), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)). The opening may be an elongated rectangle and paint tinters or dyes may pass through it. The cut away section may aid in scrapping paint on the paint container (e.g. paint tin or paint can) (figure 3). The paint stirrer may be portable and hand held (figure 4).

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No G131918182.5 RTM Date:24 May 2021 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Teflon Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo

PATENT APPLICATION

OF

DAVID HOWEN

FOR

IMPROVEMENTS IN PAINT STIRRERS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to items which are used to stir paint during the mixing of colours in the motor industry but not exclusively.

Background

The use of stirrers for paint is common and they are represented by many varying types and styles of 'stick' or 'paddle' which can be derived from handmade or purchased products available to industry. These stirrers are used in water based paints, oil based and cellulose paints and tend to be simply inserted into a container and stirred by hand or sometimes by fast rotation using a device such as a drill or rotator, where the stirrer is inserted into the drill or rotator chuck to mix the paint.

However, when mixing cellulose based paints for motor industry or similar applications the stirrer is required to mix tinters which are colour gradients that are used to create a certain tone or colour. This mixing process usually involves issues surrounding the first tinter to make contact with the stirrer becoming dominant in the mixing process and staying on the stirrer, resulting in an inaccurate colour on completion, as further explained in this document summary.

Some examples of stirrers are therefore found in the patent archives with some examples as follows.

This is shown in patent US4884895 (RODGERS) here is disclosed an improved paint stirrer especially adapted for stirring paints of the type having pigments normally held in colloidal suspension, which pigments settle out of colloidal suspension with time, formed by an elongate body portion having an upper end and a lower end, the upper end provided with a hand grip section formed integrally with the elongate body portion, the lower end of the elongate body portion provided with flexible stirring means fixedly secured thereto and formed by a plurality of flexible and pliable members thereby to contact paint pigments which have settled out of colloidal suspension and to replace the pigments into colloidal suspension prior to the use of the paint.

Patent U52774580 (O'BRIEN) discloses a shaped device which has a series of angled fins extending from a central point which are placed as a single item into a paint pot. When the paint pot is rotated by hand from side to side, the device rotates within the paint and mixes it together.

Patent US1732714 (COPES) discloses a paddle shaped stirrer with vertical slits to the bottom which provide through flow and increased agitation of the paint as it is stirred through.

Patent U51655447 (WAIT) discloses a stirring device which has a configuration of the rotating mixing element with discs or disc like elements essentially perpendicular to the stirrer shaft axis, e.g. with stirring elements other than discs fixed thereon or with grooves on the sides of the discs. The discs are rotated to mix the paint by means of a hand winded mechanical mechanism on a long shaft.

The prior art therefore shows that there is a need for a more effective paint stirrer that has a non-stick coating to its surface to ensure the paint is repelled from its surface when mixing tinters for colour matching or production.

The present invention aims to provide an improved paint stirrer which has a non-stick coating but is also shaped to ensure the paint is stirred correctly and to aid clearance of excess paint when scraping the stirrer on the side of the paint container.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a non-stick paint stirrer for use with motor industry or related paints but not exclusively. When mixing paint for the motor industry or related subjects the user will mix different tints or colours together very carefully to create an accurate colour match. There are many tinters involved in this process to achieve one colour, these may range to up to fourteen. This is judged on weight in grams as there may be as little as 0.4 grams of a certain tinter in a mix.

The combination of a number of tinters is often referred to as a recipe and once this is complete the user then stirs the separate tinter amounts in a paint container to combine all the tinters to achieve said colour. When a standard stirrer is placed into the paint, the majority of the first tinter to make contact with the stirrer stays on the stirrer's surface throughout the process, this could be the 0.4 grams of Black tinter, for example. Therefore, as the user then drags the stirrer on the edge of the paint container that Black part of the mix is still on the stirrers surface, reducing the colour accuracy.

The embodiment of this invention provides a solution to this with a stirrer which has an elongated flat body, being a narrow rectangle in form with rounded corners and edges to each shape point for safety. The body is of a metal variant such as steel or any suitable type onto which a non-stick coating can successfully be applied. To the upper centre is a hole which is provided to enable the stirrer to be hung up when not in use, by passing the hole over a wall pin hanger or by looping a wire through the hole for hanging thereto.

The whole of the stirrer surface is planar and the thickness of the body is no less than 2mm or more. To the lower portion of the stirrer body is a vertical opening through which the paint flows when being stirred. The vertical opening is a long narrow rectangle 'slit' which is shown in the accompanying Figures. This opening is of sufficient width and length to have a significant enough effect in agitating the paint mixture during the mixing process. To one side of this opening is a cut-away section to the bottom vertical edge of the stirrer. This provides a narrowing of the stirrer body to one side of the opening and is used to scrape the paint from the stirrer on to the lip edge of a paint container; this can be turned in the hand to use either side. The length of the cut-away section is equivalent to the length of said vertical opening but set slightly higher in relation to it.

During use all of the parts of the recipe; being the different paint tinters; remain in the pot and not on the stirrer due to the non-stick coating. A suitable nonstick coating would be Teflon (Trademark). This is a well-known brand name for Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which is a developed synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications.

PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any solid and therefore an increase of resistance to paint staying on the stirrer is provided as well as an increase in paint flow while mixing. This combined flow and resistance of paint action increases colour accuracy when mixing. The stirrer can be made in different sizes and used in any industry where its use is an advantage to include said motor paint industry, painting and decorating, spraying surfaces and commercial painting. The stirrer and the previously described mixing of different tinters works well with known paint kits or preparation systems, for example the 3M Paint Preparation System (Trademark) which uses just one liner-cup for both mixing and spraying, having no external contamination as the closed system has a built-in filter. Gun cleaning is therefore easier because there is no traditional cup to clean. Unused paint can be stored for future use simply by capping the liner. This system has the ability to reduce solvents by up to 70% from traditional gravity cups and up to 90%. A dramatic increase in paint shop efficiency is possible due to this disposable mixing system. This was developed with the idea of a disposable paint mixing system to do away with traditional spray gun mixing pots and paper filters.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved non-stick paint stirrer which has all the advantages of the prior art paint stirrers and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new non-stick paint stirrer which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved nonstick paint stirrer which is of durable and reliable construction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved non-stick paint stirrer which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved non-stick paint stirrer which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of fioures

Figure 1 shows a frontal view of the non-stick paint stirrer Figure 2 shows a dimensional view of the non-stick paint stirrer.

Figure 3 shows a dimensional view of the non-stick paint stirrer mixing different tinters in a container.

Figure 4 shows a view of the non-stick paint stirrer being held in the hand.

Detailed description of ficiures

A typical embodiment of the non-stick paint stirrer is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the stirrer 1, which has a main body 3 being a thin elongated rectangle in shape with a planar surface to all areas. To the top centre is a hanging hole 2 to attach the stirrer 1 onto a hook or similar member for storage.

A non-stick coating 16 covers the whole surface of the stirrer 1 including all edges.

To the lower centre area is a vertical opening 4 through which paint flows during mixing, this said opening creates two opposed side sections 5 and 7. The side section 5 is narrowed in comparison with 7 by way of a cut-away section 6 which is vertical as shown. The bottom 8 of the stirrer is below the vertical opening 4 and the aforementioned two side sections 5 and 7 and the cut-away section 6.

Figure 2 shows the stirrer 1A with the paint flow 9 and 10 passing through the vertical opening 4A as it would when the stirrer is being used. The non-stick coating throughout the stirrer 1A is shown as 16A.

The direction of the stirring motion is indicated as one example of such a direction by the black arrows.

The stirrer 1B is shown in Figure 3 being used to mix tinters 12, 13, 14 and 15 in a paint container 11. Said non-stick coating 16B is shown.

Figure 4 shows the stirrer 1C being held in the hand and shows the relation of size. This is just a single example of the size of the stirrer which may be made in different lengths and widths.

Claims

Claims 1) A non-stick paint stirrer comprising; a stirrer main body which has a non-stick coating with a vertical opening with two opposed side sections and a cut-away section to one side, together defining the invention.
2) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 further comprising a hanging hole.
3) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein said stirrer main body is an elongated rectangle.
4) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein said stirrer main body has all corners and edges rounded.
5) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein said stirrer main body is made of a thin steel or metal.
6) A non--stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein the whole surface of said stirrer is coated in a non-stick coating.
7) A non--stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein said vertical opening is a small elongated rectangle.
8) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein tinters pass through said vertical opening during the mixing together of paint tinters.
9) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein said two opposed side sections are located either side of the vertical opening.
10) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein one side section is narrowed by way of a cut-away section.
11) A non-stick paint stirrer according to claim 1 wherein said cut-away section aids in the scraping of excess paint on paint container edge.
12) A non-stick paint stirrer as substantially herein described with reference to the figures.