Abstract:
An apparatus for cleaning paint roller skins is provided. A rotatable roller skin holder is provided. An elongated hollow housing is attached to and surrounds the roller skin holder and has an end wall at a first end and with an opening at a second end opposite the first end, wherein the opening has a width that is wider than a diameter of the roller skins. A spray mechanism is attached to the housing for providing a spray along the length of the roller skin. A trigger handle is connected to the housing and the spray mechanism supports the housing and controls the flow of fluid to the spray mechanism, wherein fluid drains through the opening in the elongated hollow housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning paint roller skins. 
     Paint roller skins are used on paint rollers for painting areas. To allow the paint roller skin to be reused, the paint roller skin should be cleaned. Various paint roller cleaning devices have been described in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,679 by Dolcater, which issued Mar. 29, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,722 by Pennise, which issued Mar. 7, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,066 by Shipman, which issued May 23, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,081 by Isaac, which issued Jun. 21, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,027 by Glunt, which issued Apr. 25, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,399 by Hannah, which issued Jan. 30, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,255 by Walter, which issued Sep. 12, 2000. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, an apparatus for cleaning paint roller skins is provided. A rotatable roller skin holder is provided. An elongated hollow housing is attached to and surrounds the roller skin holder and has an end wall at a first end and with an opening at a second end opposite the first end, wherein the opening has a width that is wider than a diameter of the roller skins. A spray mechanism is attached to the housing for providing a spray along the length of the roller skin. A trigger handle is connected to the housing and the spray mechanism supports the housing and controls the flow of fluid to the spray mechanism, wherein fluid drains through the opening in the elongated hollow housing. 
     In another manifestation of the invention, an apparatus for cleaning paint roller skins, wherein the paint roller skins have a length, is provided. A rotatable roller skin holder is provided. An elongated hollow housing is attached to and surrounds the roller skin holder with an end wall at a first end and with an opening at a second end opposite the first end, wherein the opening has a width that is wider than a diameter of the roller skins. A spray mechanism is attached to the housing for providing a spray along the length of the roller skin and comprises a plurality of nozzles where each nozzle provides a spray jet directed at the roller skin, wherein the spray jets provide a spray along the entire length of the roller skin, wherein the rotatable roller skin holder rotates around an axis of rotation, and wherein the spray jets are directed at the paint roller skins but away from the axis of rotation of the roller skin holder with a sufficient force to rotate the roller skin holder around the axis of rotation. A trigger handle comprises a fixed handle connected and providing support to the elongated housing and the spray mechanism for supporting the elongated housing and controlling the flow of fluid to the spray mechanism, a trigger movably connected to the fixed handle, and a fluid valve in fluid connection with the spray mechanism, wherein the fluid valve is controlled by the trigger and wherein fluid drains through the opening in the elongated hollow housing. 
     These and other features of the present invention will be described in more details below in the detailed description of the invention and in conjunction with the following figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  along cut lines II-II. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of a housing. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the housing. 
         FIG. 5  is a more detailed cross-sectional view of a hose receptor. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few preferred embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structures have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention. This embodiment accommodates different size paint roller skins. In this embodiment, a 9 inch long paint roller skin  104  with an internal diameter of about 1⅜ inches. The paint roller skin  104  is slideably mounted on a roller support  108  with a shaft  112 . The roller support  108  is able to freely rotate around the shaft  112 . A housing  116  is disposed around the roller skin  104 , the roller support  108  and the shaft  112 . In this embodiment, the housing is cylindrical with a central axis that is collinear with the axis of rotation of the roller support  108 , which is collinear with the shaft  112 . The housing  116  has a length of 11½ inches so that the housing extends past the end of the paint roller skin  104  and has a diameter of 6 inches. A first end of the cylindrical housing  116  is open and the second end of the cylindrical housing  116  has an end wall  120 . The shaft  112  is detachably mounted to the end wall  120  by a nut  124  that screws onto the shaft  112 . In this embodiment, the nut  124  is a wing nut to allow for easier removal of the shaft  112 . 
     Along the length of the wall of the housing  116  is a ½ inch diameter pipe  128 . Four 60° spray jet nozzles  132  are spaced apart over the length of the pipe  128 .  FIG. 2  is a top cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  along cut lines II-II, where  FIG. 1  is also a cross sectional view of  FIG. 2  along cut lines I-I. In this embodiment, then length of the nozzle  132  makes a 16° angle with a radius  136  that passes from the shaft  112  to the base of the nozzle  132 . The angle of the nozzle provides a jet  140  that tangentially contacts a layer  142  of the paint roller skin  104 . Such a jet  140  is not directed to the shaft  112 . A first end of the pipe  128  closest to first end of the housing  116  is closed. 
     A second end of the pipe  128  closest to the second end of the housing  116  and the end wall  120  is in fluid connection with a trigger handle  144 . In this example, the trigger handle  144  comprises a rubber plunger  148  at the end of a metal plunger pin  152  and a spring  154  for pressing the rubber plunger  148  against a passage  160  for providing fluid to the second end of the pipe  128 . A trigger  156  is connected to the metal plunger pin  152  and therefore controls the movement of the rubber plunger  148  and the flow of fluid into the pipe  128 . The trigger handle  144  also comprises a fixed handle  164 , which is connected to the housing  116 . In this embodiment, the fixed handle  164  is bolted to the housing with screws  166 , which provides sufficient mechanical strength so that the housing  116  may be completely supported by the fixed handle  164 . In this embodiment a pivot pin  168  movably connects the trigger  156  to the fixed handle  164 , so that the trigger  156  can move with respect to the fixed handle  164 . A hose receptor  172  is connected to a passage through the fixed handle  164  and allows a water hose to be screwed onto the fixed handle  164 . 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the housing  116 , showing how the fixed handle  164  is bolted to the housing  116  with screws  166 .  FIG. 4  is a top view of the housing  116 .  FIG. 5  is a more detailed cross-sectional view of the hose receptor  172  connected to the fixed handle  164 . 
     In operation, a water hose, such as a garden hose, is screwed into the hose receptor  172 . Water is flowed through the water hose. An unclean paint roller skin  104  is removed from a paint roller and slid onto the roller support  108  through the opening in the housing  116 . In this example, the unclean paint roller skin  104  is unclean because the paint roller skin  104  was used to apply a water base paint. The fixed handle  164  is used to hold the housing  116  suspended in air, where the open end of the housing is vertically lower than the end wall  120 . The trigger  156  is pressed, which removes the rubber plunger  148  from the passage  160  allowing water to flow from the hose through the fixed handle  164  into the pipe  128 . The water flows through the pipe  128  into the four 60° spray jet nozzles  132  forming jets  140  of water, along the length of the paint roller skin  104 . The jets  140  tangentially contacts a layer  142  of the paint roller skin  104 , providing a tangential force which causes the paint roller skin  104  to spin. The water jets  140  clean the paint roller skin and the spinning creates a centrifugal force which forces the water and paint out of the paint roller skin to the housing. The spray jet nozzles  132  also control the flow of water, allowing less water to be used to conserve water and provide less waste water. The trigger  156  is released, which allows the rubber plunger  148  to block the passage  160 , stopping the flow of water to the pipe  128 , which stops the jets  140 . Rotational momentum causes the paint roller skin  104  to continue to spin, which causes water and paint to continue to be forced from the paint roller skin  104  under centrifugal force. Eventually, the paint roller skin  104  stops spinning and the paint roller skin  104  is removed from the support  108  through the opening in the housing  116 . In this embodiment of the invention, the spinning of the paint roller skin  104  removes enough water to allow the paint roller skin  104  to be used without additional drying. Providing four separate nozzles instead of a single slit reduces the needed water flow, which conserves water. 
     This embodiment of the invention provides a quick cleaning and drying of paint roller skins to allow the roller skins to be reused quickly. This embodiment also allows the housing and spray mechanism to be held with one hand, where the one hand is able to completely control the flow of the spray with the one hand. The embodiments light weight design further helps provide one handed control. The embodiment of the invention also provides an inexpensive design. Since in this embodiment, the roller support  108  may be removed from the housing  116 , different roller supports may be used to accommodate different size paint roller skins. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the integration of a trigger handle to allow a quick shut off of the water flow, while supporting the housing, and the nozzles that provide narrowly defined jets that provide tangential spinning, while minimizing water flow improve the drying capabilities of the invention, over a device where water flow is not shut off quickly or where the water jets are not so defined and do not sufficiently reduce water flow. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, these different elements work in a synergistic manner to provide cleaning and drying device. 
     Preferably, the housing is made of plastic to make the housing lighter and easier to clean. Embodiments of the invention may be able to clean more than paint from the roller skins. For example, texturing material may be cleaned from the paint roller skins used to apply texturing material. 
     Because embodiments of the invention do not need additional drying, reuse of the paint roller skins may be provided much more quickly, without waiting for the paint roller skins to dry. In addition, extra work, such as squeezing the paint roller skins, is not needed. 
     For embodiments with different size diameter housing, the nozzle angle with a radius, the spray angle, and the number of jet nozzles may be different to provide jets along the length of the roller skin with sufficient tangential force to spin the roller skins at a speed to provide both cleaning and drying. For example, if the housing has a diameter of less than 6 inches, the jet nozzles are placed closer to the roller skin. In such a case, the angle that the length of the nozzle makes with the radius of the housing would be greater than 16°. Preferably, the angle that the length of the nozzle makes with the radius is between 6° to 25°. Preferably, the jet nozzles provide a spray angle between 45° and 75°. 
     While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and various substitute equivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, modifications, permutations, and various substitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.