Abstract:
A one-piece stackable container restraining apparatus incorporates a flat surface and four legs. The restraining apparatus can be used on the crest of a roof or on other surfaces. The stackable feature is used to accommodate roofs of differing pitches and to create a more stable combination. In certain embodiments attachment holes are utilized for ease in transportation and movement. Additionally, the container restraining apparatus can be used on a flat surface to prevent overturning of the container during transportation, such as paint buckets transported in a truck or van. Mounting holes on each leg can be used to accommodate a variety of fixtures such as wheels or articulating pads.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a division of application Ser. No. 11/278,415, filed Apr. 1, 2006, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of construction and home improvement, and more specifically to equipment for restraining containers of paint, sealant, other materials or tools. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It is sometimes necessary to apply paint or sealant while on an inclined roof or other surface. In these situations it is preferable to have an apparatus to hold the container containing the material being applied. Furthermore, it is more convenient and productive to apply paint or sealant directly from a five gallon bucket, rather than from a pan. Alternately, it is sometimes necessary to provide a container for tools and/or materials while working on an inclined roof or other surface. This requires a method of restraining a heavy bucket and current mechanisms for holding containers on inclined surfaces are limited. 
     A number of mechanisms have been proposed to hold paint cans or buckets on sloped roofs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,906 discloses a paint can holder for supporting a can in an upright position on a sloped surface. This device can only accommodate a single can having a specific size of handle bosses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,193 also discloses a paint can holder for an inclined roof. This device requires manual adjustment for accommodating the slope of the roof. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,227 discloses an apparatus that attaches to a can and can be used to hold a can in an upright position if adjusted according to the slope of the roof. None of these three patents incorporate a flat level working surface. Such a surface is useful, for example, for striking a paint roller to reposition the roller on its handle (a frequent problem with paint rollers). 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,397 discloses a platform that can be used to create a flat surface by manually adjusting the legs to accommodate the slope of the roof. This device does not restrain a can or bucket, but only creates a flat surface if properly adjusted. U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,306 discloses a platform incorporating a paint can holder for use on a sloped roof. This device requires manual adjustment according to the slope of the roof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,773 also discloses a bucket holding apparatus incorporating a device that attaches to the crest of a roof and a cable attached platform for holding a paint can. This device is complex and cumbersome to operate. It also does not have a flat level surface. 
     None of the six patents discussed in the preceding two paragraphs position a container above the crest of a roof or provide the simplicity of a single piece construction. 
     Accordingly, the need exists for an improved container restraining system that doesn&#39;t have the limitations of the mechanisms described above. What is needed is a simple and inexpensive apparatus for holding containers at the crest of a roof and also that can easily accommodate roofs of differing pitches. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses the shortcomings described above by providing a simple stackable one-piece container restraining system incorporating a flat top surface and four legs. In one aspect of the present invention, a mechanism is provided to attach the container to the flat top surface of the apparatus. In another aspect of the present invention, mounting holes are provided on the legs to allow the attachment of various fixtures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of the present invention with a bucket inserted therein and situated on the crest of a roof. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates three instances of an embodiment of the present invention stacked with a bucket inserted therein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The restraining system of the present invention can be used on the crest of a roof and the apparatus can be stacked for stability and/or to accommodate roofs of differing pitches. This stacking feature can also elevate a large bucket of paint, tools, materials, etc to working height of one or more workers while standing on a flat level surface. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the present invention  10 , in which top surface  12  is connected to four legs  16 . Container restraining apparatus  10  has a hole  17  which is designed to accommodate a container of a specific size and shape. In a preferred embodiment hole  17  accommodates a standard size five gallon bucket, which has tapered sides and several exterior circumferential rings at the top. A standard five gallon bucket available in the United States measures approximately 10½ inches diameter at the bottom and approximately 11¾ inches diameter at the top. A hole of approximately 11 5/16 inches allows the tapered bucket to fit snugly in the restraining apparatus and the bucket will fit such that the flat surface  12  is at the level of the lowest ring  38 . Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be used with containers of other dimensions, and with either straight or tapered sides. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, each leg  16  of container restraining apparatus  10  has a notch  14  which forms an indentation such that one instance of apparatus  10  can be stacked on top of another instance of apparatus  10 . Those of skill in the art will appreciate that there are alternative designs having the stackable feature. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, container restraining apparatus  10  also incorporates holes  19  which can be used to attach a container to the top surface  12 . For example, a standard cable tie can be used through holes  19  and around the handle of the container. The attachment of the container to top surface  12  allows one to lift a container along with the container restraining apparatus  10  together by lifting only the container, for example by its handle. This permits easy movement of the container and restraining apparatus across the work surface. When several restraining apparatus  10  are stacked, alignment of holes  19  can be such that all apparatus in the stack are attached to the container to facilitate lifting the stack via the container handle. Alternately holes similar to  19  can be appropriately placed to accommodate attachment of quick-release locking devices to facilitate ease of attachment/detachment of apparatus  10  and bucket  24 . It will be appreciated to those of skill in the art that alternative methods of attaching the container to the flat top surface  12  can be employed and fall within the scope of the invention. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each leg  16  has a mounting hole  37  at the foot of the leg for mounting of wheels, soft plastic/rubber inserts, articulating flat pads, spikes, or other devices for the purpose of providing mobility and/or to better accommodate a variety of work surface conditions. The mounting hole  37  of each leg can also be used to secure container restraining apparatus  10  to a flat surface such as a truck bed, plywood platform, etc. using standard bolts or screws. 
     Container restraining apparatus is preferably built from one piece of material, for example injection molded plastic. This method of manufacture permits the restraining apparatus to be inexpensively produced with high quality and consistent results. The apparatus of the present invention can be built by cutting a hole in an existing injection molded table, or an injection mold can be built that incorporates the hole. An example of a table into which a hole can be cut to manufacture the apparatus is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. Design 335,980. 
     In a preferred embodiment the top surface  10  is substantially square, wherein the dimension between each pair of legs is substantially the same. In an alternative embodiment, restraining apparatus  10  is substantially rectangular in shape with one side longer than another. In this embodiment, the apparatus can be placed in two different orientations across the crest of a roof. Placing the apparatus such that the shorter dimension is across the crest of the roof allows for a greater clearance between the bottom of the container and the crest of the roof. This orientation may be necessary in highly pitched roofs. Alternatively, multiple apparatuses may be stacked to accommodate highly pitched roofs as discussed below. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of the present invention situated on the crest of a roof. Container restraining apparatus  10  is situated on roof  26  and is holding five gallon bucket  24 , which contains paint roller  22 .  FIG. 2  illustrates an attachment apparatus  28  that utilizes holes  19  to attach bucket  24  to the restraining apparatus if desired. In an alternative embodiment, restraining apparatus  10  can be fitted with either two or four wheels mounted under the legs. For example, two legs may have wheels and two legs may have articulating flat pads. The use of wheels permits the apparatus to be conveniently moved across the crest of the roof as work progresses. While  FIG. 2  is shown in reference to the application of liquid material using a paint roller, the present invention can also be used to hold tools and materials. For example, an embodiment of the present invention can be used by roofers as a secure container for holding roofing tools, nails, staples, etc. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the stackable feature of an embodiment of the present invention. Restraining apparatus  30  is stacked on top of apparatus  32  which is stacked on top of apparatus  34 . Bucket  36  is inserted into the collective apparatus consisting of  30 ,  32  and  34 . Stacking the restraining apparatuses  30 ,  32  and  34  accomplishes three important goals: first, it raises the height of the bottom of the container, allowing the combined apparatus to be used on a roof of high pitch, second, it creates a more stable combined apparatus due to the mutual reinforcement of the legs of each individual apparatus, and third, it provides for efficient storage of multiple restraining apparatuses. 
     An example of the use of the present invention involves a modification to a standard five gallon bucket to incorporate a valve at the bottom of the bucket. This modification may require the use of multiple stacked restraining apparatuses to elevate the height of the bucket to permit clearance of the valve. The valve and the position of the apparatus at the crest of a roof permits liquids contained in bucket  24  to be held at a position higher than the application surface. Thus, if bucket  24  is modified to accommodate such a valve, liquid materials to be distributed via application devices such as self loading paint rollers, brushes, mops, etc. can work more efficiently due to differential static pressure when the application device is operated closer to ground level than the level of fluid in bucket  24 . 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the flat top surface is substantially rectangular. In another embodiment of the present invention, the flat top surface is substantially circular. 
     Some embodiments of the present invention have a mounting hole at the bottom of each of the legs. In an embodiment of the present invention, two wheels are attached to two of the legs using two of the mounting holes. In another embodiment of the present invention, four wheels are attached to the four legs using the mounting holes. In another embodiment of the present invention, two articulating flat pads are attached to two of the legs using two of the mounting holes. In another embodiment of the present invention, four articulating flat pads are attached to the four legs using the mounting holes. In another embodiment of the present invention, two wheels are attached to two of the legs using two of the mounting holes, and two articulating flat pads are attached to two of the legs using two of the mounting holes. 
     The present invention has been described above in connection with several preferred embodiments. This has been done for purposes of illustration only, and variations of the inventions will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and also fall within the scope of the invention.