Patent Publication Number: US-7913964-B1

Title: Painting pail system

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of devices for suspending paint containers from ladders and the like for the ease of use of a painter. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the painting pail system according to the present invention is to provide a stable mounting system to securely mount a paint bucket to a vertically spaced apart pair of rungs, for example on a ladder, so that the bucket, when heavy due to it carrying a paint load, remains stably supported and stably mounted to the rungs until the painter desires to re-fill the bucket or remove the entire pail system from the rungs. The present invention provides for ease of removing of the bucket from its suspension on its supports and for ease of re-securing the bucket back on its supports. The present invention also provides for ease of securing a bracing frame on which the bucket supports are mounted onto the rungs while also providing an easily releasable latching arrangement to provide for ease of removal of the bracing frame from the rungs. 
     In the prior art, applicant is aware of the following United States patents directed to devices which have attempted to address the problem of temporarily suspending a paint bucket from a ladder or the like: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 1,545,740 which issued Jul. 14, 1925, to Cowell for a Pot and Bucket Holder, provides an arm having a hook at one end for hooking over a ladder rung, and spur at its opposite end for suspending a pot by its bail. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,986, which issued Jul. 13, 1948, to Gebhardt for a Holder for Paint Buckets and the Like, discloses a hook for engaging a rung of a ladder where lower portion of the hook is twisted to extend flatly along the inside of a rail of the ladder. A U-shaped member is attached at one side of the lower portion of the hook. The U-shape member straddles the rail. A bar having a hook is mounted to the U-shape member. The hook engages the bail of a bucket. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,519,732 which issued Aug. 22, 1950, to Bartolat for a Bucket Holder, provides a hanger plate having a hook to engage the bail of a bucket. Another plate is slidably mounted on the hanger plate so that the plate may be slid to engage the bail in the hook. A hanger hook mounted above the hanger plate suspends the hanger plate from a rung or other object. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,390 which issued Feb. 13, 1951, to Weigand for a Receptacle Holder, provides for supporting a paint can upon a rung and rail of a ladder by the use of a heavy wire bent intermediate its ends to provide a horizontal handle. An upright brace depends from the handle. A socket member embraces a side rail of the ladder. A rest on the socket member engages a rung. A stabilizer on the brace embraces the side wall of the paint can. A hanger on the upright brace hooks the annular interior channel around the rim of the paint can. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,694 which issued Jun. 19, 1951, to Sagen for a Paint Bucket and Brush Holder, discloses a bar which engages the periphery of a bucket or pail vertically and clamps thereon. The bar extends upwardly and has bent portions forming open loops to engage the rung of a ladder. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,674,427 which issued Apr. 6, 1954, to Woodward et al. for a Paint Can Support for Ladders, discloses a hanger wherein each leg of the hanger has a downwardly opening slot for hooking over the rung of a ladder. A re-entrant tongue locks behind and beneath the rung. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,541, which issued Oct. 6, 1959, to Haislip for a Paint Pail and Brush Holder Attachment for Step Ladders, teaches a foldable support member in the form of an auxiliary extension type rail hingedly mounted on the upper portion of one of the rails of the ladder. Holders are slidably mounted on the extension rail. The extension rail is swung up to its useful position and pinned into place, or swung down into an out-of-the-way folded position. The hangers have hooks for engaging the bail or handle of a bucket or pail. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,304, which issued Jun. 18, 1963, to Linder for a Ladder Bracket with Paint Bucket Holder, teaches an elongated j-shaped bolt having a hook at its lower end to releasably engage over the bead on a paint bucket. An arm or limb is mounted to the bolt and has a hook at its upper end for engaging over the rung of a ladder. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,486, which issued Jan. 7, 1969, to Baker for a Ladder Bracket, discloses a horizontal arm cantilevered to either side of a ladder, and supported on the ladder by engagement of the arm with both a rung and a rail of the ladder. A ring is mounted on the arm to hold a bucket. The ring swivels to keep the bucket vertical. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,746, which issued May 12, 1981, to Klaiber for a Paint Brush, Pad and Roller Holder and Can Carrier, discloses an inclined support having a transverse shelf projecting from the lower end. The support is hooked onto a rung of the ladder. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,034, which issued Feb. 10, 1998, to Unkefer for an Apparatus for Hanging a Bucket on a Ladder, teaches a hanger for suspending paint bucket from the rung of a ladder wherein the hanger has a hook at its upper end to suspend the hanger from the rung. A lower, upwardly turned hook is also provided from which the handle of a bucket is suspended. A support below the upwardly turned hook supports the side of the paint bucket. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,844 which issued Oct. 27, 1998, to Purdy for Bucket Brackets, discloses a U-shaped bracket shape to hold onto a rail of a ladder. A band may be attached to the bracket. The band may be adjustable in circumference. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In summary the painting pail system according to the present invention may be characterized in one aspect as including a bucket, a bucket support, and a brace for the support. The bucket has an open top. The open top has a rod mounted thereacross. The support may be a U-shaped support having a pair of arms extending from a base, where the base is mounted to the substantially vertical brace so as to extend the arms substantially horizontally from the brace. The rod is mounted at its ends to distal ends of the arms, that is, distal from the base. The upper end of the brace includes a pair of mounting hooks spaced apart laterally so as to hook over an upper rung. The brace is elongate and its lower end is adapted to engage against a lower rung. 
     A third hook is mounted adjacent the pair of mounting hooks. The third hook is movable relative the pair of mounting hooks so as to be selectively engageable and dis-engageable against the upper rung when the pair of mounting hooks are engaged over the upper rung. The third hook is movable so as to be oppositely disposed relative to the pair of hooks when the third hook and the pair of hooks are engaged over the upper rung. In a preferred embodiment the pair of mounting hooks curve away from the bucket and the base of the support. In that embodiment, the third hook is curved towards the bucket and the base of the support when in its rung-engaging position mountable over the upper rung, and is curved away from the bucket when in a dis-engaged position moved away from the upper rung. 
     Advantageously the third hook is mounted atop a substantially vertical shaft. The shaft may be mounted to the base of the support for rotation and sliding translation relative thereto so as to move the third hook firstly between its rung-engaging position and its dis-engaged position, and, secondly, between its dis-engaged position and a lowered position. When its dis-engaged position, the third hook is first elevated relative to the pair of hooks, and then rotated on the shaft relative the base of the support so as to be selectively rotated away from the upper rung when the pair of hooks are mounted over the upper rung. The third hook and shaft may then be lowered to the lowered position below the pair of hooks to allow the pair of hooks to be removed from the upper rung. 
     A spring may be mounted on the shaft, on a lower end thereof, to resiliently bias the shaft downwardly by the engagement of the top of the spring against a mounting post extending from the base of the support. The shaft is substantially linear and the shaft may be slidably mounted to the post for vertical sliding relative thereto. 
     The brace may be a vertical U-shape and the support may be a horizontal U-shape extending orthogonally from the vertical U-shape of the brace. The vertical U-shape may have a substantially parallel pair of legs. The base of the support may be mounted to the pair of legs so as to allow for vertical adjustment of the position of the base along the legs of the brace. Selectively engageable position locks may be provided which cooperate with the pair of posts for selectively locking the position of the supports along the pair of legs of the brace. 
     A pair of posts may be mounted to the base, and the pair of legs may be journalled through a corresponding pair of bores formed in the pair of posts. The post supporting the third hook may be a center post mounted between the pair of posts. The spring engages against the center post as the third hook and the shaft are translated upwards so as to slide the shaft through a bore formed in the center post. 
     A selectively releasable latch may be mounted at one of the distal ends of the pair of arms. The latch selectively engages a corresponding end of the rod so as to selectively retain the bucket on the support. 
     A fourth hook may be mounted on, so as to extend outwardly of, one arm of the pair of arms. The fourth hook is adapted for hanging paint brushes therefrom. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is, in perspective view, the painting pail system according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is, in side elevation view, the painting pail system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the painting pail system of  FIG. 2 , with the bucket latch dis-engaged and with the rung latch dis-engaged. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     As seen in the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts in each view, the painting pail system  10  according to the present invention, includes a paint bucket  12 , a support bracket  14 , and a brace  16 . 
     The upper end of brace  16  includes a laterally spaced apart pair of hooks  18  sized to somewhat snugly fit over the upper rung  20  of a pair of rungs  20  and  22 . Brace  16  extends generally vertically when in use so that when the upper end  16   a  of the brace is engaged over upper rung  20 , the lower end  16   b  of the brace is engaged against lower rung  22  so as to brace support bracket  14  in a generally horizontal orientation extending cantilevered orthogonally outwardly from the elongate portion  16   c  of brace  16  extending between its upper and lower ends  16   a  and  16   b  respectively. In particular, legs  16   c  extend generally parallel between the U-shaped bottom of the brace at lower end  16   b  and the pair of hooks  18  at the upper end  16   a  of the brace. 
     Support bracket  14  may also be substantially U-shaped, having a parallel pair of arms  14   a  extending outwardly from base  14   b  to distal ends  14   c . Base  14   b  is rigidly mounted to brace  16  by a pair of posts  24 . Posts  24  are mounted to, so as to extend away from, base  14   b . Posts  24  have a corresponding pair of vertically opening bores or apertures formed therein, through which legs  16   c  are journalled. Threaded members  26   a  extend through corresponding apertures in base  14   b  into threaded engagement within corresponding threaded bores in posts  24  so as to engage the ends of members  26   a  in frictional engagement against legs  16   c  within the apertures in post  24 . Members  26   a  may be loosened so that the position of support bracket  14  may be adjusted along the length brace  16 . Once the desired position of bracket  14  along brace  16  is achieved, members  26   a  are tightened so as to engage against legs  16   c  thereby releasably locking the position of bracket  14  along brace  16 . Threaded nuts  26  are threaded onto members  26   a  so as to snug nuts  26  against base  14   b  to thereby rigidly mount base  14   b  to posts  24 . 
     A rigid member or rod  28  is mounted laterally across the open top of bucket  12  so as to extend the opposite ends  28   a  and  28   b  of rod  28  from and between corresponding apertures formed in the upper rim  12   a  of bucket  12 . Rigid washers  30  are mounted onto the ends of rod  28  on resilient gaskets  32  and snugged against rim  12   a  so as to retain rod  28  in position relative to bucket  12 . End  28   a  of rod  28  is mounted through an aperture formed in the corresponding distal end  14   c  of the corresponding arm  14   a  of bracket  14 . The opposite end  28   b  of rod  28  rests in a notch formed in the corresponding distal end  14   c . In particular, a bar-bell shaped lug  34  is mounted onto end  28   b  of rod  28 , and the narrow waisted portion  34   a  of lug  34  mates into the notch in the distal end of  14   c . A latch bar  36 , which is pivotally mounted on the shank  38   a  of hook  38 , hooks notch  36   b  down onto the waisted portion  34   a  of lug  34  closely along side the corresponding distal end  14   c . Threaded wing-nut  40  is threadably mounted onto the threaded end of shank  38   a . Wing-nut  40  may be loosened so that latch bar  36  may be elevated when it is desired to remove bucket  12  from bracket  14 . Bucket  12  is removed by the raising of end  28   b  of rod  28  from the corresponding notch formed in distal end  14   c . When it is desired to retain rod  28  in bracket  14 , latch bar  36  is lowered so as to engage its notch  36   b  of end  36   a  down onto the waisted portion  34   a  of lug  34 . Wing-nut  40  is then tightened along the threaded portion of shank  38   a  so as to lock latch bar  36  in place. 
     With bucket  12  so mounted to bracket  14 , and with bracket  14  locked into position on brace  16 , and with hooks  18  hooked over rung  20  and the lower end  16   b  of brace  16  engaged resting against rung  22 , the center hook  42  may be engaged to latch the brace to rung  20  by hooking hook  42  over rung  20  in a direction reverse to hooks  18 . This releasably locks brace  16  onto rung  20 . 
     Center hook  42  thus operates as a rung latch. The shank  42   a  of center hook  42  is journalled vertically through a corresponding vertically opening bore or aperture formed in the free end of post  44 . The opposite end post  44  is bolted or otherwise rigidly mounted to the center of base  14   b . With shank  42   a  slidably journalled in the bore in post  44 , center hook  42  may be raised and lowered in direction A so that, as seen in  FIG. 3 , with the center hook  42  raised against the resilient return biasing force of the compression of spring  46 , center hook  42  may be rotated in direction B about its axis of rotation C so as to rotate center hook  42  into an orientation reverse to the orientation of hooks  18 , that is, into the rung engaging position of hook  42 . Center hook  42  may also be rotated 180 degrees away from its rung engaging positions into its rung dis-engaging position. With center hook  42  in its rung dis-engaging position of  FIG. 3 , center hook  42  may be lowered in direction A relative to post  44 . Center hook  42  is lowered below rung  20  sufficiently so as to allow hooks  18  to be raised relative to rung  20  and thereby unhooked and removed in direction D. This removes the painting pail system according to the present invention from the rungs. 
     In use, once the painting pail system according to the present invention has been installed onto rungs  20  and  22 , paint for use by the painter may be stored within bucket  12  and a paint brush suspended from hook  38  until needed. Once the paint brush is in use, the painter dips the brush bristles into the paint within bucket  12  and as the brush is being removed from the bucket the bristles may be brushed against rod  28  so as to remove excess paint from the bristles. 
     As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.