Implement for supporting paint-roller sleeves

An implement (10) for supporting selectively each of at least two roller sleeves of different internal diameters for rotation about their axes comprises an elongate support (11) adapted to extend through each sleeve and carrying two supports (15, 21) for supporting the smaller-diameter sleeve (20) adjacent its ends, a mount (16) for supporting one end of the larger-diameter sleeve and adapter means (30) engageable with a support (21) for the smaller-diameter sleeve for supporting the opposite end of the larger-diameter sleeve, the adapter means and one support (21, 30) for the smaller sleeve being a resilient force fit in the respective sleeve to connect the sleeve for rotation with the elongate support (11).

The present invention relates to implements for supporting paint-roller 
sleeves for rotation, particularly but not exclusively for cleaning. 
It is known to clean paint-roller sleeves by soaking them in a suitable 
solvent and rotating them about their longitudinal axes to expel the paint 
and solvent therefrom centrifugally. Various implements are known for 
supporting such sleeves for rotation, either on or detached from their 
rollers, the rotation being effected either manually or by a motor, for 
example by the motor of an electric drill. Such implements are not, 
however, widely available. 
A complicating factor in the production of such implements lies in the fact 
that paint rollers are available in different sizes. The implements 
themselves must, therefore, either be made in different sizes to 
accommodate different rollers or roller sleeves, or they must be adaptable 
in some way to accommodate rollers or sleeves of different sizes. The 
provision of such different or adaptable implements adds to the 
manufacturing costs. 
The object of the present invention is to provide an implement which is 
convenient to use and adaptable to support different sized roller sleeves 
for rotation but which can be manufactured more cheaply than prior art 
such implements so that it may be made more widely available. 
Accordingly, the present invention provides an implement for supporting 
selectively each of at least two roller sleeves of different internal 
diameters for rotation about their axes, the implement comprising an 
elongate support adapted to extend through each sleeve and having support 
means for supporting the smaller-diameter sleeve at two 
longitudinally-spaced positions, the elongate support also being adapted 
or adaptable to support the larger-diameter sleeve at a first position and 
the implement further including adapter means engageable with the support 
means for the smaller-diameter sleeve and adapted, when so engaged, to 
support the larger-diameter sleeve at a second position spaced from the 
first position. 
The invention provides a very simple way of adapting a support to carry 
different sized sleeves and, in a preferred embodiment, the adaptor means 
and at least the part of the elongate support carrying the support means 
for the sleeves may be manufactured very cheaply by moulding from plastics 
material. Although the invention has been devised particularly with a view 
to providing an implement for facilitating the cleaning of paint-roller 
sleeves it could alternatively be used as part of a paint-roller body for 
supporting respective sleeves for use in painting and decorating. In this 
latter case the sleeve support means would support the respective sleeve 
for rotation relative to the elongate body, or a shaft extending 
therethrough, and the implement would, in most cases have, a handgrip at 
one end. This use could reduce manufacturing costs for manufacturers 
currently making different sized rollers for different markets or could 
enable a purchaser to buy a single roller body and equip it with different 
sleeves for different painting tasks. 
In the preferred form of the implement, however, to which reference will be 
made below and in which its intended use is for cleaning roller sleeves, 
the support means are adapted to connect a roller sleeve supported thereby 
to the elongate support for rotation therewith and the elongate support is 
adapted at one end for engagement with a drive for rotating it about its 
axis. 
The implement of the invention could readily be adapted to support more 
than two different-diameter paint-roller sleeves by the provision of 
additional support means but two particular sizes of rollers are most 
commonly available on the market and the implement is preferably arranged 
to support these two sleeve sizes. 
In practice the implement of the invention is adapted to support each 
sleeve to be carried thereby at or adjacent each end in order to minimise 
any wobbling of the sleeve on the support during rotation. The support 
means may be adapted to grip the sleeve ends but may simply comprise or 
include bodies which are a close fit at least in one end. 
The support for the two sleeves is preferably provided by respective mounts 
adjacent that end of the elongate support adapted to receive the rotary 
drive and a further mount at or adjacent the opposite end of the support 
for supporting the opposite end of the smaller-diameter sleeve or for 
receiving the adapter means for the larger-diameter sleeve, although it 
will be appreciated that these positions could be reversed. Alternatively 
both mounts for the smaller sleeve could be adaptable to receive the 
larger sleeve by means of adapters. Preferably both the smaller- and the 
larger-diameter sleeves can be fitted over the said further mount and slid 
axially along the support into engagement with their respective said 
mounts. 
A mount for one end of each sleeve may comprise a conic frustum engageable 
by the respective ends of the two sleeves in spaced positions but it is 
preferred to provide support over wider, generally cylindrical surfaces. 
Various ways of providing such support surfaces may be envisaged: they may, 
for example, by defined by the ends of radial fingers projecting from the 
support. Moreover the larger-diameter surface may comprise the outer 
surface of a sleeve which coaxially surrounds the smaller diameter 
surface, being spaced therefrom by a sufficient clearance to accommodate 
the end of the smaller-diameter roller sleeve. Conveniently, however, both 
surfaces are surfaces of coaxial cylindrical bodies carried by the 
elongate support. The two bodies are preferably joined at an annular 
shoulder which provides an abutment for the end of the smaller sleeve when 
it is fitted onto the support. The support is preferably also provided 
with a further annular shoulder for abutment by the larger-diameter 
sleeve. 
The other support for the smaller-diameter sleeve is preferably also a 
cooperating fit in the sleeve but is preferably radially compressible such 
as to exert a resilient force on the interior of the sleeve sufficient to 
connect it frictionally with the support for rotation therewith. The 
adapter is preferably a force fit on this support in a similar manner 
while the larger-diameter sleeve is preferably also a cooperating 
force-fit on the adapter so as to connect it for rotation with the adapter 
and, therethrough, with the support. The adapter is preferably resiliently 
snap-engageable with the support means to retain it thereon in use. It 
may, but need not necessarily be releasable from the support means since 
the purchaser will in most cases require it to support only one size of 
roller sleeve. 
Various ways of forming this other support for the smaller sleeve may be 
envisaged. It may, for example, be a body of foamed plastics material but 
in a preferred embodiment it comprises a substantially tubular body 
coaxially surrounding but spaced from the elongate support, the body 
preferably being constituted by a plurality of axially-extending tongues 
spaced apart by slots such that they can flex resiliently towards and away 
from the support itself. The adapter is preferably in the form of a cap 
which fits axially onto the said tubular body and may be releasably 
attachable thereto or substantially irreleasable once fitted. Clearly if 
an implement in accordance with the invention were required to support a 
further paint-roller sleeve having a different diameter, alternative 
adapters could be provided for attachment to the second support means or 
additional adapters could be fitted over the adapter mentioned above.

With reference to the drawings, an implement for supporting either of two 
paint-roller sleeves of two different diameters for cleaning is generally 
indicated 10. The implement 10 comprises an elongate, cylindrical steel 
rod 11 substantially entirely surrounded by a plastics sheath 12 but with 
one end portion 13 projecting therefrom for gripping by the chuck of an 
electric drill or the like (not shown) for rotating the implement about 
the axis of the rod 11. 
The sheath 12 is formed in an intermediate position along its length, but 
nearer the free end portion 13 of the rod 11, with a coaxial, 
circumferentially projecting sleeve-support body 14 with a cylindrically 
stepped surface. The sleeve supported body 14 thus has a first portion 15 
of least diameter furthest from the rod end 13 adjoining an 
intermediate-diameter portion 16 at a radial shoulder 17. The intermediate 
diameter portion 16 in turn adjoins the largest-diameter portion 18 at a 
radial shoulder 19. The smallest-diameter portion 15 is of such a size 
that it is a close fit inside a smaller-diameter paint-roller sleeve, 
shown in broken outline and indicated 20 in FIG. 1, whereas the 
intermediate-diameter portion 16 is a close fit in a slightly 
larger-diameter paint-roller sleeve not shown. 
The end of the sheath 12 remote from the rod end 13 is formed with a second 
sleeve support generally indicated 21 for supporting the opposite end of 
the smaller-diameter roller sleeve 20 from that supported by the first 
sleeve-support portion 15. The second sleeve support 21 comprises a 
circular end wall 22 coaxial with the rod 11 and a generally cylindrical, 
resiliently-flexible skirt constituted by arcuate tongues 23 projecting 
axially from the periphery of the end wall 22 towards the first sleeve 
support body 14 and separated by axially extending slits 24. The tongues 
23 terminate in lips 25 which are turned slightly outwardly. 
Each tongue 23, in addition to being supported at one end by the end wall 
22, is also supported by two internal radial struts 26 extending from the 
sheath 12 to the tongue itself. 
In use of the implement shown in the drawings with a smaller-diameter 
roller sleeve, the sleeve 20 may be force-fitted axially over the second 
support 21 until one end is fitted over the first sleeve-support portion 
15 and abuts the shoulder 17. The tongues 23 with their supporting struts 
26 have sufficient resilience to deform radially inwardly of the sleeve to 
allow this force-fitting while the frictional engagement of the portion 15 
and of the resilient tongues 23 with the interior of the roller sleeve is 
sufficient to connect the roller sleeve to the implement for rotation 
therewith when the rod 11 is rotated by a rotary drive. 
If the implement 10 is to be used with a roller sleeve of larger diameter 
than the sleeve 20 shown in FIG. 1, an end cap shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 at 
30 must be added. The end cap 30 is of similar construction to the support 
21 in that it has an end wall 31 and a generally cylindrical, 
resiliently-flexible skirt defined by arcuate tongues 32,33 separated by 
axially-extending slits 34. The cap 30 is, however, completely hollow not 
having any internal strengtheners like the struts 26 so that it can be 
force-fitted axially over the second sleeve support 21. Moreover the 
tongues 32, 33 of the cap 30 are slightly longer than the tongues of the 
second sleeve support 21 and alternate tongues 33 terminate in inwardly 
projecting lips 35 such that, when the cap 30 is fully fitted on to the 
second sleeve support 21, the lips 35 snap-engage over the flared lips 25 
of the tongues 23 to retain the cap 30 firmly in position. 
The external diameter of the cap 30 is substantially the same as that of 
the intermediate portion 16 of the first support body 14 so that a 
larger-diameter roller sleeve can be force fitted over the cap 30 and 
along the rod 11 until it engages the support portion 16 with its end 
abutting the shoulder 19. In this position the sleeve is supported for 
rotation with the implement 10 in the same manner as explained for the 
roller sleeve 20. 
The cap 30 may be releasable from the second sleeve support 21 but, in 
general, a purchaser is likely to have roller sleeves of one diameter only 
and will therefore fit the cap 30 to the support 21 substantially 
permanently if he wishes to use it with larger-diameter sleeves. 
In the drawings, the second end support 21 is shown with four skirt tongues 
23 separated by narrow slits 24 and supported by the end wall 22 and the 
struts 26. It will be understood, however, that the number and shape of 
the tongues, their separation and their mode of support may be varied 
widely. Likewise, the cap 30 is shown with four tongues 32 of larger 
arcuate extent alternated with four smaller tongues 33 provided with the 
snap-engaging, inwardly-projecting lips 35: it could however be formed 
with different numbers and shapes of tongues, all or only some with 
inwardly-turned lips. 
For convenience of manufacture, the sheath 12 with its sleeve supports is 
integrally moulded on the rod 11 while the cap 30 is also moulded as a 
separate unit.