NZ314820A - Footing receptacle made of rubber to support a bucket on an inclined surface - Google Patents

Description

PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $260.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION After Provisional No: 314820 Dated: 14 May 1997 James & Wells Ref: 23416/1 WP A FOOTING FOR ATTACHMENT TO A CONTAINER I Robert Comelis Willem Riedstra, a New Zealand citizen of 1 Cherrie Road, Beachlands, Auckland, New Zealand hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: . Received Intellectual Property Office 2 y .t/»N j.qqg of New Zealand 1 4 8 A FOOTING FOR ATTACHMENT TO A CONTAINER Technical Field This invention relates to attachments for containers.

Background Art There is always difficulty for tradespeople when working with materials of a semi-liquid or liquid form on a sloping surface such as the roof of a building.

Containers in which paints and other forms of material are usually plastic or lightweight metal and there is difficulty in securing these on a sloping surface as generally the contents of the container are heavier than the container itself and the 10 surfaces of the container are such that they are unstable on a sloping surface. One way of overcoming this problem is to transfer the product from the container into a rubber bucket. Rubber buckets however are relatively expensive and take up storage room and as a result not everyone uses them.

It is important to hold buckets on a building's roof in one position. In the case of tin 15 roofs, a sliding bucket may damage the roofs surface, degrading its appearance and making the roof more susceptible to corrosion.

The rubber used in these buckets also does not mix well with certain compounds they are used to contain. Some roofing compounds have been found to react with the rubber walls of a bucket, making the bucket difficult to clean as well as degrading the 20 compound used and weakening the walls of the bucket.

Containers which are to hold semi-liquid or liquid materials also cause difficulties in situations other than use on the roof of a building. For example, buckets on the deck of a boat tend to slide around as the boat moves with the water, causing damage to the deck and spilling the contents of the container. Buckets are also difficult to hold in 2 3148^0 place when they are used to mix two compounds. In some instances a mechanical agitator may be used to spin the contents of a bucket, which then imparts momentum to the bucket, making it spin and sometimes slop out its contents.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for a container which 5 will assist to provide stability when it is rested on a sloping surface.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Disclosure of Invention According to the present invention there is provided a footing for attachment to a 10 container said footing comprising a bottom wall and a substantially circular peripheral side wall extending from the bottom wall said footing being moulded in a resilient natural and/or synthetic rubber and the distance between inner faces of the side walls being predetermined to grip the base of a container to which it is intended to be fitted.

The bottom wall can have a central aperture.

The central aperture can be approximately half of the diameter of the bottom wall.

The height of the side wall can be substantially less than the diameter of the footing.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided the combination of a container and a footing as aforesaid.

The mass of the footing can be predetermined to be approximately one third of the 20 mass of a container and its contents (when full) to which the footing is intended to be fitted.

The upper or lower surfaces of the bottom wall of the footing can be sloped to compensate for a pitched surface. The bottom of the bucket can be sloped in such a 3 314820 manner to allow the liquid contained within the bucket still to stay substantially level, with one end of the bucket's bottom surface being higher than its opposite end. This places the underside of the bucket at an angle to the inner bottom surface of the bucket, allowing the bucket's underside to sit on an angled roof without substantially tilting 5 the contents of the bucket.

Brief Description of Drawings Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a footing according to the present invention and Figure 2 is a side view of the footing of figure 1.

Best Modes for Carrying out the Invention With respect to the drawings a footing according to the present invention can comprise a bottom wall 1 and a substantially circular side wall 2 extending from the bottom 15 wall 1.

The footing is moulded in natural or synthetic rubber or a material of similar characteristics. Rubber is a dense and flexible material and has frictional surface characteristics which are ideal for the purpose of the present invention.

The distance between the inner surfaces 3 of the side walls is predetermined to be 20 slightly less than the general diameter (or rim) of a container to which the footing is intended to be fitted. For example if a container is 800 millimetres diameter the distance between the inner surfaces can be 800 millimetres less say .5 millimetres. This means that the footing is a push fit on the container. To assist the placement on and removal of the footing from a container a central aperture 4 which is 4 314,8 2 0 approximately half the diameter of the bottom wall 2 may be provided. This allows the footing to be readily twisted and assists the application and removal of the fitting on a container.

The thickness of the side walls and bottom wall can be varied to suit a projected use and the mass of the footing predetermined to be approximately one third of the mass when full of a container to which it is intended to be fitted. This ratio will be sufficient to cater for most use situations, on average or below average roof pitches.

The upper or lower surfaces 5 of the bottom wall 1 may be sloped to further assist to stabilise a container on a pitched surface. The underside of the bucket may be sloped with respect to the bottom surface of the bucket, to hold the contents of the bucket substantially level when the bucket is placed on a sloping surface.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (10)

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A footing for attachment to a container said footing comprising a bottom wall and a substantially circular peripheral side wall extending from the bottom wall said footing being moulded in a resilient natural and/or synthetic rubber and the distance between inner faces of the side walls being predetermined to grip the base of a container to which it is intended to be fitted wherein the bottom wall has a central aperture.

2. A footing as claimed in claim 1 wherein the central aperture is approximately half of the diameter of the bottom wall.

3. A footing as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2 wherein the height of the sidewall is substantially less than the diameter of the footing.

4. A footing as claimed in any previous claim wherein the upper or lower surfaces of the bottom wall of the footing are sloped to compensate for a pitched surface.

5. The combination of a container and a footing as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the mass of the footing is predetermined to be approximately one third of the mass of a container and its contents (when full) to which the footing is intended to be fitted.

7. The combination of claim 5 or claim 6 wherein upper or lower surfaces of the bottom wall of the footing are sloped to compensate for a pitched surface.

8. A footing substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings and/or examples.

9. A footing and container substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and/or examples. 314820 RECEIVED lntellpf.kiRl Property Office 2 ' PPB TS98 of New Zealand • 3148

10. A method of operating a footing substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings and/or examples. Robert Cornelis Willem Riedstra By his Attorneys JAMES & WELLS END OF CLAIMS , RECEIVED Intelloctual Property Office 2 7 FFR J998 of New Zealand