Abstract:
A combined painter knife and putty storage container. A pair of shells are movably mounted together enclosing a putty storage container. The container opens along the length of the shells forming a handle to which is fixedly mounted a painter&#39;s knife.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/742,385, filed Dec. 5, 2005 which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to the field of knives used by painters and more specifically, those knives having storage containers therein.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     Knives used by painters include a sharp straight edge mounted to a handle. The straight edge is used to scrape paint off of various items, such as glass, trim, etc. Frequently, when painting a wall or trim, the painter will encounter nail holes or other imperfections. It is the practice to apply putty or other flowable plastic material to the hole or recess thereby providing an even surface when painted. The various types of flowable materials including caulking and sealing compounds.  
         [0006]     Typically, the flowable material is contained in a squeezable container separate from the painter knife. In order to facilitate ease of painting and reducing the time required to paint a surface, it is desirable to combine the flowable material container with the painter knife. Such a combination is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,144 issued to Glenn et al. wherein an applicator-container is disclosed that has an interior cavity to receive the flowable material. A threaded cap at one end is used to open and close the internal cavity whereas the opposite end of the container is tapered to form a blade straight edge. When it is desired to insert or remove the putty or other material from within the container, the threaded cap is removed. The user&#39;s finger or tools, such as, a screw driver tip, knife blade or stick is inserted into the cavity to dispense a portion of the flowable material.  
         [0007]     It can be appreciated when removing putty from an elongated cavity from one end of the cavity; it becomes difficult to easily remove all of the putty. Disclosed herein is a combination painter knife and a putty storage container formed in the knife handle with the container opening along the entire length of the cavity allowing complete access to the putty. Thus, they putty or other flowable material may be easily inserted and removed from the cavity.  
         [0008]     I have further improved the combination knife and storage container by providing an easily opened lid that extends the length of the cavity. The lid enclosing the cavity may be lifted relative to the handle thereby opening the cavity. As a result, the painter when grasping the handle may simply use his or her thumb to remove the lid without requiring a second hand to remove the lid. In many cases, the second hand may already be busy holding a paint brush.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     A combination painter knife and putty storage container including a rigid frame having a distal end forming a straight knife edge and further having a proximal end. An elongated handle forms a putty storage container with a longitudinally extending axis, a first end portion, and an opposite second end portion and the axis extending therethrough. The handle is fixedly connected to the proximal end of the rigid frame. The handle further has a first shell with spaced apart opposite first edges extending in the direction of the axis, and a second shell with spaced apart opposite second edges that also extend in the direction of the axis. The first edges are in contact with the second edges when the first shell is closed on the second shell. The first shell and the second shell cooperatively form a cavity located between the first edges and the second edges and between the first end portion and the second end portion. A locking means on the first shell and the second shell is operable to releasably hold the first edges against the second edges enclosing the cavity but yieldable to allow at least some of the first edges and the second edges to move apart to allow access to the cavity for insertion and removal of putty.  
         [0010]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved painter knife.  
         [0011]     A further object of the present invention is to provide a combined painter knife and flowable material storage container.  
         [0012]     Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a painter knife having putty stored therein which may be removed without requiring two hands.  
         [0013]     Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of the painter knife incorporating my present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is the same view as  FIG. 1  only showing the container in the open position.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a side view looking in the direction of arrows  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to described the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.  
         [0018]     Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown a combination painter knife and putty storage container  10  having a rigid metal frame  11  fixedly mounted to a plastic handle  12 . Rigid frame  11  is formed in accordance with the commercially available painter knife having an elongated shape with a sharp scraping straight edge  13  formed at the distal end thereof. The proximal end  14  is fixedly mounted to handle  12  by being embedded within the plastic handle and secured thereto by rivets or other conventional fastening devices  15 .  
         [0019]     The elongated handle  12  has an interior storage container  16  formed cooperatively by a pair of shells  17  and  18  hingedly connected together by a conventional living hinge  19 . Other means may be used to secure shells  17  and  18  together. For example, the shells can be secured together by any standard means, such as, conventional fastening devices.  
         [0020]     Longitudinal axis  20  extends centrally along the length of the blade as well as handle  12 . The handle has a first end portion  21  and a second end portion  22  with axis  20  extending centrally therethrough.  
         [0021]     In the embodiment shown in the drawings, shells  17  and  18  are a mirror image of each other with the exception that shell  18  includes an outwardly located ridge  23  that is releasably held by a latch  24  mounted to shell  17 . The external geometry of both shells as well as the internal cavity of each are a mirror image of each other. Thus, the peripheral edge of shell  17  makes with the peripheral edge of shell  18  when the two shells are closed atop each other as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . The end portion  22  of each shell has a reduced or necked down portion  25  to form a gripping area for the thumb of the painter when the painter grasp the handle. A plurality of friction ridges  26  are provided on the outside surface of each shell surrounding the reduced portion  25  to facilitate the gripping thereof.  
         [0022]     Cavity  16  is used to store flowable material, such as, putty and caulking compound. Cavity  16  is composed of two identically shaped cavities  27  and  28  provided respectively in shells  17  and  18 . Cavities  27  and  28  extend from end portion  21  to an intermediate location  30 , in turn, located between the opposite end portions  21  and  22  of each shell. Each shell is recessed forming the cavities to cooperatively form cavity  16  for holding the putty or other flowable material. Cavities  27  and  28  each have length  33  that extends in the direction of axis  20  and likewise have width  34  extending perpendicularly across each shell with respect to axis  20 . Likewise, hinge  19  extends in the direction of axis  20 . By moving shell  17  relative to shell  18  from the closed position depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 3  to the open position depicted in  FIG. 2 , the painter has complete access to the putty or other flowable material located with the cavity along the entire length and width of the cavity. Thus, it is unnecessary to extend a knife or other object into the cavity in order to pull out or force the material from the opposite end of the cavity. In the putty container shown in the drawings, complete access to the cavity is accomplished since shall  17  is moved so that cavities  27  and  28  are separated.  
         [0023]     Rigid frame  11  extends, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, into shell  18  and may be positioned therein when the shell is initially formed. Alternatively, a rectangular recess may be formed in shell  18  with a complementary shaped proximal end of the rigid frame inserted therein and held thereto by fastening devices  15 . The proximal end  14  of the rigid frame does not extend into cavity  16  and terminates at the intermediate location  30 . In the event rigid frame  11  is embedded into shell  18  so that shell  18  extends completely around proximal end  14 , then ends  22  of shells  17  and  18  are in contact across the entire width of the handle from intermediate location  30  to end  22  as well as along the length of the same portion from end  22  to intermediate location  30 .  
         [0024]     A locking means is provided on the pair of shells and may include an outwardly projecting ridge  23  that is releasably held by an elastic cantileverly mounted arm  24  having a recess  35  complementary in shape to ridge  23 . Thus, when closing the shells together, latch  24  elastically moves over ridge  23  until the ridge is within recess  35  thereby holding the shells together. In order to open the shells and expose the complete cavity, latch  24  is pried away from ridge  23  and the shells are moved apart.  
         [0025]     Surrounding each cavity  27  and  28  is a circumferentially extending edge portion for each shell. That is, shell  17  includes portions  40 ,  41 ,  42  and  43  forming edge portions surrounding cavity  27  that mate with similar edge portions respectively  44 - 47  of shell  18  when the shells are in the closed position and latch  24  is releasably engaged with ridge  23 . Peripheral edge portions  40  and  41  of shell  17  as well as peripheral edge portions  44  and  45  of shell  18  extend generally in the direction of axis  20  when the shells are closed. The peripheral edge portions of one shell are in contact with the peripheral edge portions of the second shell when closed preventing the material within the cavity from flowing outward.  
         [0026]     Shell  18  ( FIG. 3 ) has a first side  50  that is closed at all times whereas the opposite side  51  ( FIG. 2 ) has cavity  28  extending therethrough. Thus, side  51  is open when shell  17  forming the lid is closed on shell  18 . Cavity  28  is formed between the opposite sides  50  and  51  of shell  18 .  
         [0027]     The painter knife disclosed herein enables the painter to always have putty on his or her person at all times. Experience in the painting field shows that when painting trim work in homes or businesses, the painter always runs across several nail holes that have been overlooked, and the painter either does not have putty at the particular time or has left the putty in another room or place where they were previously utilized. With the device disclosed herein, the painter will always have a five-way painter knife but will also have putty readily available at the same time saving money as well as increasing productively and eliminating the aggravation of looking for putty. The storage container will ensure long lasting storage of the putty until it is needed to be refilled or replaced.  
         [0028]     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.