Painting accessory

United States Patent Application 20070018066

The present invention is a painting accessory which is adapted to hold a wet paintbrush, holds touch-up paint, attaches to a standard sized paint bucket, attaches to a standard sized roller tray, or may be hand-held. It includes an inner curved surface and an outer curved surface which straddle a side of a standard sized paint bucket, securely attaching to the paint bucket. It includes a lid which seals the wet paintbrush and touch-up paint so that one may stop painting for a short period of time, and resume without the necessity of cleaning the brushes and pouring the paint back into the paint bucket. It reduces the amount of drying that would otherwise occur.

Thiel, William (West Pittston, PA, US)

11/484376

01/25/2007

07/10/2006

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248/311.2

A47K1/08

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STERLING, AMY JO

Lawrence P. Zale (Scott Township, PA, US)

What is claimed is:

1. A painting accessory comprising: a) a bucket section which securely attaches to a standard sized paint bucket; b) a tray section for holding a wet paintbrush having a tray receiver having a depth designed to removably attach to a side of a standard sized roller tray having a bottom, thereby holding the paintbrush holder a distance above the tray bottom allowing the tray to hold paint which does not touch the brush holder.

2. The painting accessory of claim 1 wherein the bucket section comprises: a) an inner curved surface adapted to fit flush against an inside surface of a standard sized paint bucket; b) an outer curved surface adapted to fit flush against the outside surface of a standard sized paint bucket, thereby causing the paintbrush holder to be attached to the paint bucket in a secure fashion.

3. The painting accessory of claim 2 further comprising: a bucket rim surface adapted to fit on a rim of a standard sized paint bucket connecting the inner curved surface and the outer curved surface, functioning to deflect any paint landing on the bucket rim surface down the inner or outer curved surfaces and away from the rim of the paint bucket.

4. The painting accessory of claim 1 wherein the tray section further comprises: a first receptacle having a depth capable of holding a paintbrush in an upright position and narrow enough to prevent a brush from falling over sideways, the receptacle having a curved bottom for allowing paint to collect and pool, reducing drying.

5. The painting accessory of claim 1 wherein the tray section further comprises: a second receptacle isolated from the first receptacle capable of holding a fluid, the second receptacle having a depth capable of holding a paintbrush in an upright position and narrow enough to prevent a brush from falling over sideways, the receptacle having a curved bottom for allowing paint to collect and pool, reducing drying.

6. The painting accessory of claim 1 further comprising: a lid which attaches to the top of the paintbrush holder for sealing the paintbrush holder keeping paint inside the paintbrush holder from drying longer than it would without the lid.

7. The painting accessory of claim 6 wherein the lid further comprises: a recess adapted to allow a paintbrush handle to extend therethrough.

8. The painting accessory of claim 7 wherein the recess of the lid further comprises: a seal adapted to tightly receive and seal against a paintbrush handle.

9. The painting accessory of claim 4 wherein the first receptacle comprises: paint used in touching up.

10. The painting accessory of claim 5 wherein the second receptacle further comprises: a solvent used for thinning paint.

11. The painting accessory of claim 1 being removable from the paint bucket or roller tray and is adaptable to be hand-held.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled “Brush Saver” Ser. No. 60/698,987 filed Jul. 11, 2005 and incorporates this application by reference as if it were included in its entirely herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device to holding paint, a paintbrush, and reduce mess associated with painting.

2. Discussion of Related Art

When painting houses and other buildings, it is typical to use more than one device for applying paint. For example, it is common to use a paint roller and paint tray, and also to have a small paintbrush to paint areas, such as corners that cannot be reached by the roller. Also, it is common to use a large brush to cover large flat areas, and use a smaller brush to do fine detail in more cramped areas.

The paintbrush or other paint applicator which is not being used must be held. Many times these drip paint, or become dried out. Many times a painter will balance it on top of a paint can or bucket. These tend to fall into the bucket or drip down the sides.

Again, when one is using the paint roller, the small touch-up brush must be held so it does not drip or otherwise cause a mess. Typically, these are placed in the roller tray. As the tray is tipped, the brush tends to fall into the roller tray.

It is common for a painter to take a small container and a small brush to touch up areas that were omitted. Using the large paint bucket is very awkward. Typically, a painter will use a separate small container having a small amount of paint in it.

If one is painting and has to stop for a short period of time, it can be time consuming to clean all of the brushes, pour the paint back into the bucket and seal the bucket. This is done so that the paint does not dry and harden on the brush, destroying the brush.

There have been paintbrush holders which had hook-shaped structures which attached to a paint bucket. These however, were floppy and not secure. These do not store the brush and can allow the brush to harden.

There have also been prior art paintbrush holders which attached to various structures, such as a ladder or scaffolding. These also allow the brush to harden and also do not meet the needs above.

Currently, there is a need for a painting accessory which can hold paint, a brush and store these for a short period of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention may be embodied as a paintbrush holder comprising:

• • a) A bucket section which securely attaches to a standard sized paint bucket;
  • b) A tray section having a tray receiver having a depth designed to removably attach to a side of a standard sized roller tray having a bottom, thereby holding the paintbrush holder a distance above the tray bottom allowing the tray to hold paint which does not touch the brush holder.
    The bucket section of the paintbrush holder can also include:
  • a) an inner curved surface adapted to fit flush against an inside surface of a standard sized paint bucket;
  • b) an outer curved surface adapted to fit flush against the outside surface of a standard sized paint bucket, thereby causing the paintbrush holder to be attached to the paint bucket in a secure fashion.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a painting accessory which holds a wet paintbrush and securely attaches to a paint bucket.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a painting accessory which holds a wet paintbrush and securely attaches to a roller tray.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a painting accessory which can easily be moved between a paint bucket and a roller tray.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a painting accessory which can hold a small amount of paint used for touch-ups.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a painting accessory which can hold and store a wet paintbrush and paint for a short period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent detailed description, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a painting accessory according to one embodiment of the present invention showing it connected to a paint bucket and a roller tray.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the painting accessory of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevational view of the painting accessory of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention is a painting accessory which is adapted to hold a wet paintbrush, holds touch-up paint, attaches to a standard sized paint bucket, attaches to a standard sized roller tray, or may be hand-held. It includes a lid which seals the wet paintbrush and touch-up paint so that one may stop painting for a short period of time, and resume without the necessity of cleaning the brushes and pouring the paint back into the paint bucket. It reduces the amount of drying that would otherwise occur.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a painting accessory 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention showing it connected to a paint bucket 3 and a roller tray 5, both in phantom. In its common usage, painting accessory 100 will be attached to the paint bucket 3, the roller tray 5 or will be hand-held.

Painting accessory 100 has a bucket section 110 and a tray section 150. Bucket section 110 has an inner curved wall 109 and an outer curved wall 105 intended to fit on the inside and outside of paint bucket 3, respectively. In this embodiment, the radius of curvature of the inner curved surface 109 is 2.687 inches. The radius of curvature of the outer curved wall 105 is approximately 3.938 inches. This unique design securely holds painting accessory 100 to paint bucket 3. These dimensions may be altered to fit other standard sized paint bucket 3, such as a quart or pint.

The inner curved wall 109 and the outer curved wall 105 are connected by rim top surface 103. Rim top surface 103 causes paint which lands on it to flow into paint bucket 3 or into a first receptacle 153 of tray section 150. This reduces the amount of paint which collects in the rim 4 of paint bucket 3. This paint in rim 4 usually causes problems by drying and sticking to a bucket lid, making it difficult to open paint bucket 3 at a later time.

Tray section 150 also includes a second receptacle 159. This is designed to be separated from the first receptacle 153 by a tray receiver 155. Tray receiver 155 is shaped and sized to fit over a standard sized roller tray. The depth of tray receiver 155 in this embodiment is approximately 2 inches. This allows painting accessory 100 to attach to an outer lip 6 of roller tray 5 and to allow spacing below painting accessory 100 to allow paint to be in roller tray 5 without touching it.

There may be more than two receptacles. Each receptacle may hold a paintbrush; hold a specific color of paint, or several colors of paint allowing touch up of several colors. Each receptacle may also hold a thinner or solvent used to thin the paint being used.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the painting accessory 100 of FIG. 1. Here it is shown how inner curved wall 109 and outer curved wall 105 sandwich a wall of paint bucket 3. First receptacle 153 and second receptacle 159 are shown separated by tray receiver 155. An optional lid 170 is shown in phantom. Lid 170 has a lip 171 which snaps in place over the entire structure sealing the inside. Any paint inside will be preserved longer than if open to the air. This allows a painter to place the lid on to take a short break without the paint inside hardening. This is beneficial when one must stop painting to answer the telephone, take care of kids or other reasons.

Lid 170 may have one or more openings, such as openings 173 and 177. These allow the handle of a paintbrush to extend through lid 170 while the remainder of the brush is inside of one of the receptacles 153, 159. Openings 173, 177 may include a deformable foam or silicone opening seal 175, 179 which seal against the paintbrush handle.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevational view of the painting accessory 100 of FIG. 1. This side view again shows inner curved wall 109 and outer curved wall 105 sandwich a wall of paint bucket 3. First receptacle 153 and second receptacle 159 are shown separated by tray receiver 155. Lid 170 is shown in phantom from the side. Lip 171 of lid 170 snaps over the structure sealing the inside.

Lid 170 openings 173 and 177 are also shown from the side view. The deformable opening seals 175, 179 are also shown which seal against the paintbrush handle. Each of these may also have a cover 181, 183 which closes them when not in use.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.