Multi-colored paintbrush handle and process and apparatus for manufacturing said handle

Abstract: The invention involves a multi-colored paintbrush handle having an axis (8), a first and a second extremity crossed by the axis (8), and an external grip surface (9) placed between said extremities, the handle including: a core (13) parallel to the axis (8), at least one colored raised part (14) emerging from the core (13) and externally defining at least one shaped section of the grip surface (9), and at least a first layer (16) of colored plastic material molded onto the core (13), the first layer (16) externally defining a main section (11) of the grip surface (9) and having a different color than that of the raised part (14).

Description: The invention refers to a multi-colored paintbursh handle, of the type defined in the preamble of claim 1, and to a process and apparatus for manufacturing handles of said type. As it is known, paintbrush handles used in normal painting operations are manufactured with two or more colors. Higher quality paintbrushes have three-colored handles: one color for the tip of the handle, where there usually is a hole that is used to hang the brush; a second color for the body or main part of the handle, which extends to the operative part of the brush or to the band that holds the brush bristles; and a third color for a ring or similar part that separates the handle tip from the handle body. The colors (which include also black and white) have a decorative function, to attract potential buyers when the brushes are hanging on display in a store, as well as an important identification role. That is, they enable someone to identify one paintbrush from another at a glance, and, above all, to distinguish between different types of paintbrushes: which could have different manufacturer, size, bristle type, and type of paint the brushes are best suited for. Thus, brushes produced by the same manufacturer and having the same size, for instance, could have tips of special colors according to the type of bristle or most suitable paint to be used. As well, the aforementioned body or main part of the paintbrush handle often contains writing or symbols, such as trademarks, information on the manufacturer, paintbrush features, and quality certification. All of these features, colors and writings or symbols are the source of a variety of technical problems. The colors and writings must retain their brightness and legibility over time; they must remain like new, without undergoing fading or damage, notwithstanding intense use of the paintbrush and despite the fact the brushes come into contact with solvents and a variety of chemical substances. Furthermore, the quality of the materials and surface finish used must be satisfactory, if a number of important ergonomic requirements are to be met. A paintbrush is often used for considerable amounts of time, meaning that it will often remain in contact with the hand holding it for Long periods. If the materials used to make the handle and to finish its surface are not of the highest quality, they could cause localized skin irritation, which could impact negatively on both the work in progress and the future purchase of similar paintbrushes. From an ergonomic point of view, it is important that the colored surfaces not be slippery. Otherwise, one will be forced to expend more physical and mental energy to handle the brush, so as to avoid dropping it accidentally. Finally, long-lasting brush colors, as well as good ergonomic quality levels, relative to the type of finish used on surfaces that come into contact with human hands, must be obtained at relatively low cost, both for obvious reasons of market competitiveness and to fairly balance the costs of the paintbrush's separate parts. In other words, the handle is only one part of the paintbrush, and significant costs must already be incurred to produce the operative portion of the brush with bristles. Up until now, multi-colored paintbrush handles have primarily been manufactured using special paint techniques, which involve applying a base coat to specially shaped holders and then painting the different parts by means of a graduated dipping of the handle in different paints. The disadvantages of this process are. that it is slow, expensive, inaccurate, limited in the styling or design options available, and potentially polluting because of the use of paint. Furthermore, the paints used often fade or get damaged (chipped, for example). These drawbacks can, in part, be overcome by using molding techniques to make handles of colored plastic material. However, in order to produce multi-colored handles, it has been necessary to make each piece separately with its own color and then assemble the pieces in order along an assembly line. All of which involves considerable overall costs. Furthermore, assembly must be completely reliable and stable, in order to ensure the solidity of the handle and avoid the risk over time that it breaks or separates into its individual pieces. DE-A-196 32 313, upon which the preamble of the independent claims is based, discloses a paintbrush handle made of an elongated core of colored plastic material, injection molded in a first mold together with a plurality of projections in one piece with the core. A covering layer of colored plastic material is injection molded onto the core around the projections in a second mold, to form the grip of the handle. The projections serve as locking means for the covering layer, which extends flush with the outer surface of the projections and has suitable characteristics of flexibility, compressibility and slip resistance so as to provide optimal comfort for the user. A paintbrush handle made according to this document, however, has a limited versatility as to decorative and identification characteristics, because it can be made at most of two different colors, namely one for the core and projections and one for the covering layer. DE-A-36 22 596 discloses a handle of thermoplastic material, particularly for knives, spoons, forks or the like, also made of an inner core of colored plastic material provided with projections and of an outer covering layer of colored plastic material, wherein the color of this layer is different from that of the projections. The handle of this document, too, has the limitation that it can be made of two different colors only. The technical aim underlying the present invention is to provide a multi-colored paintbrush handle, and a process and apparatus to manufacture said handle, able to substantially overcome the cited drawbacks. This technical aim is substantially achieved by a multi-colored paintbrush handle as claimed in claim 1, and by a process and apparatus as claimed in claims 6 and 8, respectively. Further particularities and the advantages will be more clearly understood from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, shown in the enclosed drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective and exploded view of a paintbrush having a three-colored handle; Fig. 2 shows a perspective and look-through sectional view of the parts forming the handle in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a phase in the production of the handle in Fig. 2, in a single mold shown in sectional view; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of a gang half-die to simultaneously produce numerous handles as per the invention. The multi-colored paintbrush handle, according to the invention, is illustrated in detail in enclosed Fig. 1 and 2, and is referred to as number 1 . Said handle consists of a tip 2 and a body 3 . The tip 2 includes an first extremity of the handle 1 and contains a hole 4 to be used to hand the paintbrush to a wall. The body 3 extends to a second extremity of the handle 1, at the opposite end from the first extremity, and sustains a working part 5 of the brush, including a metal band or ferrule 6 and bristles 7 enclosed by the ferrule 6 . In particular, the body 3 includes an end-piece 3a that is tightly enclosed by the ferrule 6. The tip 2 and body 3 are aligned along a handle axis 8 , which coincides with the main development direction of the paintbrush. Externally, the handle 1 features a grip surface 9 and the tip 2 and the body 3 have exterior surfaces that are, respectively, a tip section 10 and a main section 11 of the grip surface 9. Fig. 2 shows that the handle 1 of the paintbrush -the latter in its entirety indicated as number 12- has an internal elongated core 13 extending substantially parallel to the handle axis 8. In terms of width, that is in relation to cross-sections of the axis 8, the core 13 is narrower than the handle 1. The core 13 has raised parts 14 integral therewith, that provide shaped features to the grip surface 9. The core 13 and raised parts 14 are thus made of a single piece of colored plastic material. A single raised part can be used to make an intermediate annular element. The intermediate annular element separates the tip 2 from the body 3. It is preferable to provide a number of raised parts 14: for instance, an annular raised part 14a developing around the core 13 to create said intermediate element, and a further raised part 14b to create a distinctive element which can be a trademark, writing, or other. On the core 13 two molded layers of colored plastic material are provided. A first layer 16 forms an exterior surface that extends between the end-piece 3a and the annular part 14a at one side thereof, and leaves both tip 2 and raised parts 14 in view. In short, the first Layer 16 makes the core 13 thicker in correspondence to the body 3; this in turn determines the final thickness of the body 3, and creates the main section 11 of the grip surface 9. The first layer 16 is given a different color than the raised parts 14 and the core 13. A second layer 17 of colored plastic material is then applied by molding onto the core 13 near the tip 2 at the side of the annular part 14a opposite to that facing the first layer 16. This makes the core 13 thicker and determines the final size of the tip 2, and creates the tip section 10 of the grip surface 9. The second layer 17 has a different color than the core 13, the raised parts 14 and the first layer 16, so as to create a three-colored handle. The colors may be chosen at will, including also black and white. Application of the first and second layers 16 and 17 to the core 13 at opposite side of the annular raised part 14a is shown in Fig. 3, which illustrates an example of a single mold 15 formed by a lower part 18a and an upper part 18b , which tightly enclose the core 13 between them. At least the first layer 16 is made of soft thermoplastic rubber. An example of soft thermoplastic rubber is polypropylene mixed with vulcanized rubber, which contains between 15% and 25% polypropylene by weight, and between 75% and 85% vulcanized rubber by weight. Therefore, even though it can be treated Like any common plastic, the first layer 16 is soft to the touch and provides a good level of friction, so as to reduce the risk of accidental slips to a minimum. The process for manufacturing the handle 1 of the paintbrush 12 is as follows. The first operation consists of producing the aforementioned elongated core 13 having the aforementioned raised parts 14, which expand to the grip surface 9. Apart from the raised parts 14, the core 13 is made thinner than the handle 1 in progress. The core 13 and raised parts 14 are made in a single piece, by injection molding a colored plastic material, as shown, for example, at a first section of the gang half-die in Fig. 4, as described in greater detail below.. In the second phase, as shown in Fig. 3, at a second section of the gang half-die in Fig. 4, at least the first layer 16 of colored plastic material is applied by injection molding to the core 13, at one side of the annular raised part 14a and laterally surrounding the edges of the raised part 14b. The first layer 16 is formed so as to ensure that it has an exterior surface which substantially coincides with the surface of the body 3 to be made. Furthermore, the first layer 16 is given a different color than that of the raised parts 14. However, since the intermediate annular raised part 14a divides the grip surface 9 in two, both the first layer 16 and the second layer 17 of colored plastic material can be molded simultaneously onto the core 13, so as to define the outer surfaces of, respectively, the body 3 and the tip 2. The intermediate annular part 14a is advantageously used in the molding process: it is enclosed tight between the lower part 18a and upper part 18b of the mold (Fig. 3), so as not only to separate the first layer 16 and the second layer 17, but also to sustain the core 13, which substantially must be suspended in the mold in order to leave room for layers 16 and 17. Fig. 3 shows that, during molding of the first and second layers 16 and 17, the core 13 is sustained also by the end-piece 3a, which terminates the handle 1. This ensures the stability of the core 13, even despite the strong pressure applied during injection of the plastic material to make the two layers 16, 17. The fact that the colored plastic material of the first layer 16 does not cover the end-piece 3a has no practical importance, given that the end-piece 3a is fully inserted into the ferrule 6. In order to produce the handle 1 as per the invention, an injection molding apparatus is used, including a special gang die that is able to carry out all the aforementioned phases in forming the handles 1 and to simultaneously form numerous handles in a fast, simple, efficient manner. In regards to this gang die, Fig. 4 shows a gang half-die 22 in the situation immediately following molding, when the die is still engaged with the cores 13 and handles 1. In greater detail, the gang half-die 22 includes primary and secondary molding devices, formed by two of its main portions: a first mold portion 22a is used to produce a plurality of elongated cores 13 together with raised parts 14a and 14b in corresponding molding cavities, while a second mold portion 22b is used to produce the layers 16 and 17 on the cores 13 in respective molding cavities. The two portions 22a, 22b forming the primary and secondary molding devices are used simultaneously. The advantage of this is that the cores 13 can be carried from the first portion 22a to the second portion 22b using plastic residue or "feedheads" 19a that are formed by solidification of the plastic material injected to form the cores 13 in first feed channels 19. The feedheads 19a use the end-pieces 13a and temporarily hold together all the cores 13 produced in every molding operation of the first mold portion 22a. After each molding operation, it is possible to extract the cores 13 getting the feedheads 19a, and then carrying everything together to the cores 13 in the second mold portion 22b, where layers 16 and 17 are formed. Here, the second portion 22b of the gang half-die 22 is structured - by means of appropriate notches - so as to operate even in the presence of the feedheads 19a which have not yet been removed. There are also pairs of separate secondary feed channels 20 and 21 , which do not interfere with the feedheads 19a, because they are buried within the gang half-die 22, and which end at opposite sides of the annular raised part 14a. As shown in Fig. 4, the feedheads 19a are developed length-wise so that, when they are placed in the second portion 22b of the gang half-die 22, they jut from the gang die, in order to make it easier to move first the cores 13 and then the completed handles. The invention provides a number of important advantages. All painting operations are eliminated, thereby avoiding all the painting-associated drawbacks described in the introduction; and the handle 1, though it is still produced from multiple colored plastic material parts, requires no assembly operations. All parts can be easily molded, owing to the aforementioned raised parts on the core. These raised parts, as they bring a part of said core to the surface, allow to easily produce the handle's three colors and to put stable, extremely varied types of writings or symbols on the handle. Furthermore, said Layers can be made of higher quality material without substantially increasing costs, given that these layers can be made thin. The use of thermoplastic rubber, the preferred case, enables to achieve high levels of ergonomics, given the attractive feel of the grip, the reduced risk of accidental slippage, and the reduced fatigue involved in holding the brushes. The colored plastic material ensure bright, long-lasting colors that optimize the overall look and styling of the paint brush.

Claims: A multi-colored paintbrush handle, having an axis (8), a first and a second extremity crossed by said axis (8), an external grip surface (9) placed between said extremities, an elongated core (13) of colored plastic material extending substantially parallel to said axis (8), at least one colored raised part (14) emerging from said core (13) and integral therewith and defining at least one shaped section of said grip surface (9), and a layer (16) of colored plastic material molded onto said core (13) adjacent said at least one raised part (14) and defining a main section (11) of said grip surface (9), characterised in that said at least one raised part (14) comprises an annular part (14a) provided at an intermediate portion of said core (13) and developing around said core (13), and in that said annular part (14a) separates said layer (16) from a further layer (17) of colored plastic material molded onto said core (13) and defining a tip section (10) of said grip surface (9), said layers (16, 17) having a color different from the color of said annular portion (14a). A handle as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a further raised part (14b) emerges from said core (13) spaced from said annular part (14a) and laterally surrounded by either one of said layers (16, 17). A handle as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said layers (16, 17) have colors different from one another. A handle as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that at least said layer (16) is made of a thermoplastic rubber consisting of a mixture of polypropylene and vulcanised rubber. A handle as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that said layer (16) contains between 15% and 25% polypropylene by weight, and between 75% and 85% vulcanised rubber. A process for manufacturing a multi-colored paintbrush handle of the type 'claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of: injection molding in a first mold an elongated core (13) of colored plastic material having at least one raised part (14) emerging from said core (13) and integral therewith; inserting said elongated core (13) in a second mold and holding said core (13) in position in said second mold by means of said at least one raised part (14) and by an end-piece (3a) of said core (13); injection molding a layer (16) of colored plastic material onto said core (13) in said second mold to form a grip surface (9) of said handle; characterised in that in said first mold an annular raised part (14a) is injection molded onto said core (13) at an intermediate portion thereof, and in that in said second mold said layer (16) of colored plastic material is injection molded at one side of said annular part (14a) and a further layer (17) of colored plastic material is injection molded at the opposite side of said annular part (14a), said layers (16,17) having a color different from the color of the plastic material of said annular part (14a). A process as claimed in claim 6, characterised in that said layers (16, 17) are injected simultaneously. An injection molding apparatus for manufacturing multi-colored paintbrush handles of the type claimed in one or more of claims 1 to 5, comprising: a first mold portion (22a) having molding cavities for molding elongated cores (13) each having at least one raised part (14) emerging from the core (13) and integral therewith; a second mold portion (22b) having molding cavities for molding plastic material layers (16, 17) onto said cores (13) held in position by means of said at least one raised part (14) and by an end-piece (3a) of said cores (13); and plastic material feed channels (19, 20,21) in said first and second mold portions (22a, 22b) for feeding plastic material into the molding cavities; characterised in that each of the molding cavities of said first mold portion (22a) defines an annular recess for molding an annular raised part (14a) onto said cores (13) at an intermediate portion thereof; in that said second mold portion (22b) comprises notches for receiving feedheads (19a) of molded plastic material formed in said feed channels (19) of said first mold portion (22a) and holding together said plurality of cores (13); and in that said feed channels (20, 21) of said second mold portion (22b) comprise pairs of separate channels (20,21) which do not interfere with said feedheads (19a) and which end in portions of said molding cavities of said second mold portion (22b) lying at opposite sides of said annular raised part (14a) of said cores (13).

Inventors: BRUSCHI MARIO, BRUSCHI, MARIO
Applicants: JOHN PALMER CORP, JOHN PALMER CORP.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B29C45
IPC codes: B29C45, B25G1