US2246773A

US2246773A - Paint brush structure

Info

Publication number: US2246773A
Application number: US213973A
Authority: US
Inventors: Arthur T Adams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-06-16
Filing date: 1938-06-16
Publication date: 1941-06-24
Anticipated expiration: 1958-06-24

Description

,rune 24, 1941. A, T, 'ADAMS 2,246,773

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT RE E, I v? "PI-M III: i; ZZ U j@ V l TIT mm J f 2h y|1411 y) 1 j jg I l /l l) r JZ lli Patented June 24, 1941 tJiTED STATES 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a paint brush and has particular reference to a paint brush that is easily cleaned and more durable than those hereto-fore in use.

. In the use of paint brushes today, on commercial work especially, it is customary to use a brush steadily throughout a day and to clean it at night with benzine, gasoline or other similar agent. The bristles of the birushare packed `compactly together at their upper extremity Where they are normally bound together in rubber. The usual :cleaning does not permit these agents to penetrate the bristles for some distance below the binding and even a careful cleaning and the use of the iingers in an attempt to spread the bristles apart and admit these agents is not entirely satisfactory. Consequently, from day to day paint accumulates at the upper end of the brush adjacent the binding, the bristles harden. together in this portion and this hardening gradually extends down the brush until it is no longer pliable and cannot be used for good work. It must then be thrown away or used for painting metal or concrete.

As a result, the life of `a paint brush today in commercial work is less than one month. Attempts have been made to use paint or varnish remover to clean brushes in this condition but this has been found to have an injuriousv eiect upon the bristles. This rapid turnover brushes is especially noticeable in those cornmunities where it is customary for the decorator to supply all brushes for his employees as the expense is large and the men are possibly not as careful in cleaning the brushes as they would be of their own brushes.

Attempts have been made to make multi-part brushes so that they may be disassembled, cleaned, and the separate parts reassembled for use. This is not satisfactory on commercial work because the loss of one part destroys the usefulness of the brush and` it must be thrown away or the part replaced with necessary delays.

Cne object of the present invention is to provide a paint brush that is inexpensive to manufacture and easily cleaned.

Another object of this invention is to provide a paint brush that will maintain its original pliability over a long duration of time.

A further object of this invention is to provide a paint brush icapable of a longer life of service than those now in known use.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a paint brush capable of being renewed in wearable portions.

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Yet another object or" this invention is to pro.- vide a paint brush capable of disassembly `and reassembly without loss of parts.

For aiding in an understanding of the invention, I show in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, certain arrangements o parts by reference to which the improved paint lorush is described. This den scription and drawings are presented for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed so as to limit the scope of the appended claims unnecessarily.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a paint brush showing one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end View of the paint brush of Fig.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the paint brush of Fig. 1 showing the same in unassembled position ready for cleaning;

Fig. is a View in side elevation of a paint brush showing another modification oi the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a View in side elevation of the paint brush o-f Fig. 4 showing the same in unassembled position ready for cleaning.

In the usual commercial paint brushthou-` sands of bristles arel mounted together cempactly at their upper end and this group ci bristles preferably tapers toward a point at the lower end for accurate painting purposes. To accomplish the objects: of this invention this group of compactly mounted bristles is broken up into smaller groups of bristles and so mounted adjacent each other that the use of the brush for painting purposes is the same as before. However, the individual groups may be separated or spaced from one another for ,cleaning purposes, or a worn group of bristles may be removed after long use and replaced by a new group.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing there is shown` a paint brush having a body portion lll, a handle I l and' downwardly depending bristles, indicated as at l2, mounted tothe body portion.

As shown in Figs. l to 3 inclusive, the bristles l2 are divided into groups of bristles lll, l5 and l longitudinally of the brush, each group being mounted in rubber or in any Usual manner in a holding element l'l. The holding elements are attached to the body portion for movement relatively to the body portion and to each other so that each group of bristles may be cleaned individually. As each group, as shown, is only one-third the thickness of the usual brush bristle group, the bristles may be thoroughly cleaned up to the holding element I1 and all paint thoroughly removed. The holding elements il of bristle groups I4 and I5 may be attached to the body portion I by hinges I8 while bristle group I5 may be mounted rigidly thereto if desired. In this mounting the groups Ill and IS will swing away from the central group on either side.

Locking means is provided for holding the bristle groups in operative position relative to each other during painting operations. In the present embodiment this locking means consists of a sleeve which is slidably mounted to the body portion I0 and the holding elements Id and I6 adjacent their hinged attachment. lIn operative position the sleeve 29 is positioned over the hinges and adjacent the holding elements and body portion, as shown in Fig. l, preventing the bristle groups I l and I5 from swinging away from each other. When cleaning is desired, the sleeve 2D is slid upwardly over the body portion II), clearing the hinges I8 so that the louter bristle groups may swing freely during Vthe cleaning operation. Preferably guide slots 22 are provided in the sleeve 2!) for cooperation with studs 23 which are so arranged as to limit upward and downward movement of the sleeve 20 to lock and unlock the hinges I6 conveniently.

Sometimes through carelessness paint may harden beneath the sleeve ZI] sealing the sleeve to the body p-ortion or holding elements I1. In these instances some diiculty may be encountered in sliding the sleeve 2B to unlock the bristle groups. To remedy this the sleeve 2i! may be broken or split, as indicated at 24, and a positive sealing and unsealing element 25 may be used which will break the sleeve loose from the hardened paint. As an example of such an. unsealing element there is shown the cam hook arrangement pivoted at 28 and having the hook portion 29 and the cam portion 39. Disposed oppositely the pivoted hook 29 isl mounted an eye 3| and a cam stud 32 so that upon unhooking the arrangement, the cam portion 30 will engage the stud 32 causing relative movement in opposite directions of the ends of the sleeve 20. Other arrangements, such as an eccentrically mounted disc, hook or a suitcase fastener, may also be used.

Where this unsealing means is used, preferably the slots 22 are of a substantial width com-- pared to the shank of the guide studs 23 and the stud heads must be correspondingly wider to hold the sleeve 29 to the brush. This widening of the slots will permit; an unsealing movement of the sleeve upon all sides of the brush.

In order to permit the bristle groups to form a solid brush tapering properly to a point, the hinges IB may be positioned at a slight angle to the normal plane of the mounting of the central bristle group to tend to guide the bristles inwardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In this mounting it may be found desirable to cut away portions of the holding elements Il of the bristle groups I5, as at 33, in order to allow free swinging movement of the groups I4 and I5.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown a paint brush having the body portion lila, a handle I la and downwardly depending bristles, indicated as at IZa, mounted to the body portion. The bristle groups 4i), 4I and 42 are divided longitudinally of the brush and are mounted in holding elements 133 and 4-4. The outer holding elements 43 are attached to the body portion Ilia by the hinge members :I5 for swinging movement toward and away from holding element Il which may be rigidly attached to the body portion in any suitable manner or form a part of it.

To lock this assembly together, a locking member, slotted at 47 may be mounted on the side of 'the brush for sliding movement relative to the stud 138. This member may extend across the holding elements and intert with stud members t9 in the holding members 133. Other similar means may be used for this purpose. For ease in opening and closing the members 43 the inner upper edges of the same may be beveled or rounded so there will be no interference with the central holding member 4G when swinging on their hinges.

Variations of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art and such modifications as come within the spirit of the invention are intended to be included in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pain't brush, a body portion, an easily cleanable assembly for said brush including a plurality of bristle groups mounted to said body portion and extending in axial alignment therewith in operative position, one of said bristle groups being hingedly mounted to said body portion for swinging movement toward and away from an adjacent group for cleaning purposes, the hinged mounting of the one bristle group being at an angle to the mounting of the adjacent group to taper the hinged group toward said adjacent group to form a single bristle portion, and means for locking said bristle groups into a single bristle portion.

2. A structure as defined in claim l wherein the hinged mounting is formed at an angle by providing cut-away portions in the body portion near said adjacent bristle group for a seat for the hinge.

3. In a paint brush, a body portion, an easily cleanable assembly for said brush, including a plurality of bristle groups mounted to said body portion and extending in axial alignment therewith, said groups of bristles being separable one from the other for cleaning purposes while mounted to said body portion, the plane of mounting of certain bristle groups positioned at an angle to the mounting plane of another bristle group to taper the bristles toward each other, and means for locking said bristle groups into a single bristle portion.

ARTHUR T. ADAMS.