Patent Publication Number: US-6213667-B1

Title: Self cleaning paint brush

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a self cleaning paint brush. More specifically, the invention relates to a paint brush that has a hollow handle for attaching to a water source, and a hollow head that contains water diverting bars therein to control the flow of water through the bristles. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     When cleaning dirty paint brushes they are usually placed inside a cup or tray of water to soak, or held under a faucet. This method is not desirable since the brush is not thoroughly cleaned, and the bristles tend to get bent and therefore, the brush is discarded. 
     This invention alleviates these problems by providing an easy to clean paint brush. This paint brush consists of a hollow handle that contains a tube that extends throughout to provide a passage for water. A water source is connected to the first end of the paint brush. At the second end of the paint brush, a hollow brush head is attached. This hollow brush head contains at least one diverting bar which controls the flow of water. In addition, a bristle bar or bristle plate containing a plurality of orifices is attached to the hollow head. A plurality of bristles are attached to the bristle bar so that they surround the orifices. These bristles can be fixed to the bristle bar as known in the art either individually or in groups using an adhesive. Therefore, the water flowing through the orifices have contact with all the bristles. The water source is attached to the first end of the hollow handle, and the water flows through the tube, through the hollow head, through the orifices and over the bristles for easy cleaning. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention. 
     In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views: 
     FIG. 1 shows a side view of the paint brush according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a cut away view of the inside of the paint brush shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 shows a cross sectional view of the paint brush rotated 90° from FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 shows the orifices in the bristle bar of the paint brush; and 
     FIG. 5 shows a view of a second embodiment bars looking down into the head of the paint brush; 
     FIG. 6 shows a side view of another embodiment of the paint brush according to the invention; and 
     FIG. 7 shows a cross sectional view of the paint brush rotated 90° from FIG.  6 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now in detail to the drawings and, in particular FIG. 1 there is shown a paint brush  10  with a hollow handle  12  having a first end  12   a  and a second end  12   b . A water source connector  16  is attached to first end  12   a , and a hollow brush head  20  is connected to second end  12   b . Water source  6  attaches to water source connector  16  for cleaning bristles  32 . Water source connector  16  can be a threaded section that screws onto a water hose or it can snap onto a faucet. 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 show the inside of paint brush  10 . FIG. 3 is a view of FIG. 2 rotated 90 degrees. Water source  6  connects to water source connector  16  and water flows through tube  14 . Tube  14  extends throughout hollow handle  12 , and is preferably made of plastic so that the weight of paint brush  10  is minimal. Support bars  18  stabilize tube  14  within hollow handle  12 . Support bars  18  prevent tube  14  from moving around inside hollow handle  12  during use. Water flowing through tube  14  enters hollow head  20 . Inside hollow head  20  are diverting bars  22  which control the flow of the water. Diverting bars  22  preferably have a triangular cross section. This shape aids in evenly directing the water flow down to bristle bar  30 . In a preferred embodiment, there are ten diverting bars that are aligned in rows creating a pyramid shape. Four diverting bars are in the first row, three in the second, two in the third, and one in the top row. Diverting bars  22  extend across the inside of hollow brush head  20 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. When the water reaches bristle bar  30  it flows through orifices  34  which are evenly spaced throughout bristle bar  30 . Orifices  34  are evenly spaced about bristle bar  30 , this arrangement provides the most thorough cleaning of bristles  32 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a view of orifices  34  looking down into bristle bar  30  through bristles  32 . Orifices  34  are preferably round in shape and allow the water to flow evenly over each bristle  32 , even the inner bristles. These bristles can be adhered to orifices  34  either individually or in groups using an adhesive. 
     FIG. 5 shows a view of diverting bars  22  looking down into hollow brush head  20 . Hollow brush head  20  is comprised of two opposing walls  20   a  and  20   b  which are curved at their ends for connecting to each other. Diverting bars  22  are transeverly disposed between walls  20   a  and  20   b . The first two rows of diverting bars  22  are seen from this view. The pyramid shape provides for an even flow of water throughout the entire brush head since the water cascades over diverting bars  22  to completely reach the entire surface area of bristle bar  30 . 
     When the paint brush needs cleaning, the handle is attached to a water source, such as a garden hose or sink faucet by screwing or snapping on to the source. Next, water flows through a tube into the hollow brush head. The diverting bars inside the brush head control the flow of water so that it evenly flows through the orifices in the bristle bar. As water flows through the orifices it glides through and around the bristles for a thorough cleaning. It is difficult to thoroughly clean the inside bristles of a paint brush. Having orifices disposed throughout the bristle bar allows the water to reach all the bristles, even the inside bristles. 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the invention which includes water source connector  16  and tube  14  extending throughout hollow handle  12 . Support bars  18  stabilize tube  14  within hollow handle  12 . Water flowing through tube  14  enters hollow head  20 . Inside hollow head  20  are diverting bars  22  which control the flow of the water. When the water reaches bristle bar  30  it flows directly through bristle bar  30  onto bristles  32 . This arrangement provides another method of effectively cleaning bristles  32 . With this second embodiment, bristle bar  30  as shown in FIG. 6, is thinner than bristle bar  30  shown in FIG.  2 . 
     Accordingly, while only two embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.