Receptacles – Container attachment or adjunct – With tool or implement holder
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-13
2001-03-13
Pollard, Steven (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Container attachment or adjunct
With tool or implement holder
C220S570000, C220S695000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199718
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to painting tools and, more specifically, to grates for removing excess paint from a roller.
2. Description of the Related Art
A painter often uses a roller brush to apply paint. Typically, the paint is purchased in one-gallon cans or, for larger commercial jobs, two or five-gallon plastic buckets. A painter can apply paint to a roller either by rolling the roller brush in a shallow tray that has been filled with paint or by dipping it into a bucket. The painter then rolls the roller against a grate or similar flat surface, which may either be integrally formed in a tray bottom or may be a separate screen or grate. Such a grate is typically made of metal screening. When applying paint from a bucket, the painter inserts the grate into the bucket and props it against the wall of the bucket. The upper edge of the grate may have a hook that can be hung over the bucket rim to stabilize it. The painter dips the roller into the paint in the bucket and then rolls it against the grate in the bucket to remove the excess paint and more evenly distribute the paint throughout the roller.
Using a grate and bucket as described above is often annoying because grates tend to slip off the bucket rims and slide into the buckets. Furthermore, painters rarely reuse the grates after completing a job.; the grates are typically discarded along with the paint buckets. Consequently, the cost of the grates cannot be discounted as part of the cost of a painting job. And, like anything that is not reused or recycled, the discarded metal grates can impact the environment. It would therefore be desirable to provide a roller painting device that is economical, convenient to use, and reusable or at least readily recyclable. These problems and deficiencies are clearly felt in the art and are solved by the present invention in the manner described below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plastic bucket or pail having a receptacle portion unitarily formed with a grate portion. A painter can dip a roller into the bucket to apply paint or other suitable material to the roller and then squeeze excess paint from the roller by rolling it over the grate.
The receptacle portion is defined by a closed bottom, one or more sidewalls, and an open top. It may be cylindrical like a conventional plastic paint bucket or may have any other suitable shape, such as square. It is sufficiently deep to be hold several gallons of paint and to be considered a bucket or pail rather than a tray. Preferably, it has a depth greater than or equal to its width, which, in a cylindrical bucket, is its diameter. The grate portion is generally planar but may have surface features to enhance paint removal. The grate portion is oriented such that it is vertical or slightly angled from vertical when the bottom of the bucket is resting on a horizontal surface. The ends of the grate portion may be at the top and bottom of the receptacle portion such that it extends the complete depth, or the ends may be disposed at positions intermediate the top and bottom such that the grate does not extend the complete depth.
In certain embodiments of the present invention the bucket may be provided in combination with paint or other material suitable for application with a roller as an integral product. A painter need only open the bucket and begin using it.
The bucket of the present invention is convenient to use because a painter need not purchase separate grates and buckets and because the grate cannot slip from the bucket. Also, while it is rarely seen as worthwhile to clean conventional buckets and a conventional metal grates in preparation for reusing them, the present invention encourages a painter to reuse it because he can clean the bucket and grate together and store them together in preparation for another job. If a painter does not wish to reuse the bucket, it can be recycled. Because, but for a metal handle in certain embodiments of the invention, it is made entirely of one type of plastic, recycling services will readily accept it.
The foregoing, together with other features and advantages of the present invention, will become more apparent when referring to the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2723410 (1955-11-01), Sprung et al.
patent: 4700830 (1987-10-01), O'Brien
patent: 5033704 (1991-07-01), Kerr
patent: 5489051 (1996-02-01), Robinson
patent: 5549216 (1996-08-01), Scholl
patent: 5727708 (1998-03-01), Erickson
patent: 5749486 (1998-05-01), Porter
patent: 6065633 (2000-05-01), Abbey
patent: 462243 (1928-06-01), None
patent: 1138479 (1957-06-01), None
Brown Martin Haller & McClain LLP
Pollard Steven
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