Patent Publication Number: US-9427769-B2

Title: Modular wall painting and printing systems and devices

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application, Ser. No. 61/767,635, filed on Feb. 21, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to painting and printing systems and devices for a wall. In particular, devices for decorative printing and/or painting of surfaces and more particularly, modular wall print roller systems and devices are described. 
     Known wall painting and/or relief printing devices are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. For example, existing paint rollers and wall printing devices are expensive, complicated to use, and lack in versatility of use. Further, in another example, existing wall painting and/or relief printing devices are difficult to use or incapable of use when painting and/or printing in corners and along edges. In this example, a user is required to hand paint the blank areas, hand stamp the blank areas, and/or cover the blank areas with wood trim. 
     In even another example, conventional wall painting devices do not enable users to conveniently exchange rollers for a roller with a different pattern. Further, the paint applying surface area of painting/relief printing devices is not readily adjustable. Moreover, conventional painting/relief printing devices have messy and cumbersome mechanism to deliver paint to patterned paint rollers mounted in the devices. 
     Thus, there exists a need for paint roller devices that improve upon and advance the design of known paint rollers, and provide for a versatile device for decorative painting or printing on walls or other surfaces with multiple prints or patterns and in multiple colors. Examples of new and useful modular wall printing devices relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is directed to a modular painting device for painting and/or printing a surface. In some examples, the modular painting device includes a paint cartridge and a handle attached to a roller assembly. The roller assembly includes a housing and one or more rollers rotatably attached to the housing. The one or more rollers are configured to receive paint from the paint cartridge and transfer paint to the surface. In some further examples, the one or more rollers includes an inner roller and an outer roller. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first example of a modular painting device. 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are top plan and bottom plan views, respectively, of the modular painting device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are front plan and rear plan views, respectively, of the modular painting device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are first lateral side plan and second lateral side plan views, respectively, of the modular painting device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the modular painting device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the modular painting device of  FIG. 1  coupled to two additional modular painting devices having an identical configuration. 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are top plan views of the three modular painting devices of  FIG. 6  in an uncoupled position and a coupled position, respectively. 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are example wall printing patterns that can be made using the modular painting device of  FIG. 1  and/or the three coupled modular painting devices of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of an example outer roller having an at least partially detachable relief pattern that may be used with the modular painting devices of  FIGS. 1-7B . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disclosed modular wall printing and/or painting devices and systems will become better understood through review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the figures. The detailed description and figures provide merely examples of the various inventions described herein. Those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed examples may be varied, modified, and altered without departing from the scope of the inventions described herein. Many variations are contemplated for different applications and design considerations; however, for the sake of brevity, each and every contemplated variation is not individually described in the following detailed description. 
     Throughout the following detailed description, examples of various modular wall printing and/or painting devices and systems are provided. Related features in the examples may be identical, similar, or dissimilar in different examples. For the sake of brevity, related features will not be redundantly explained in each example. Instead, the use of related feature names will cue the reader that the feature with a related feature name may be similar to the related feature in an example explained previously. Features specific to a given example will be described in that particular example. The reader should understand that a given feature need not be the same or similar to the specific portrayal of a related feature in any given figure or example. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-5 , a first example of a modular painting device, modular painting device  100 , will now be described. Modular painting device  100  includes a handle  102 , a paint cartridge  104 , and a roller assembly  106 . Roller assembly  106  includes a housing  108 , an outer roller  110 , and an inner roller  112 . Outer roller  110  and inner roller  112  are rotatably attached to housing  108 . Inner roller  112  is configured to receive paint from paint cartridge  104  and transfer paint to outer roller  110 . Outer roller  110  is configured to receive paint from inner roller  112  and transfer paint to a desired surface, such as a wall. Thus, the modular painting device can be used to continuously paint the desired surface without stopping to dip/submerge the rollers in paint. 
     In some examples, outer roller  110  can include a relief pattern (i.e., a raised pattern). In this example, outer roller  110  is configured to receive paint from inner roller  112  onto the relief pattern and transfer paint from the relief pattern onto the desired surface. Thus, the modular painting device can be used to paint a relief print on the desired surface. An example relief print that can be created using modular painting device  100  is shown in  FIG. 8A . In some examples, outer roller  112  is releasably attached to housing  108  and thus the outer roller can be exchanged for a different outer roller (e.g., a smooth roller can be exchanged for a roller with a relief pattern). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6-7B , modular painting device  100  can be coupled to and used in combination with one or more other modular painting devices, such as modular painting devices  200  and  300 , forming a modular painting device assembly  400 . In this example, the painting transferring surface area is easily increased by a user, greatly reducing the time required to cover a surface with paint. In some examples, the outer rollers can be attached via a roller attachment mechanism so that the outer rollers are cooperatively rotatable. 
     In additional or alternative examples, outer rollers  110 ,  210 , and  310  can each include a relief pattern. In these examples, the outer rollers can be attached via a roller attachment mechanism so that the outer rollers are cooperatively rotatable. In order to create a desired pattern, the outer rollers can be locked into or attached into an offset position. In some specific examples, the outer rollers are attached in a position where each of the outer rollers is offset by 120° relative to an adjacent roller.  FIG. 8A  shows an example relief print  800  on surface.  FIG. 8B  shows an example single rotation relief print  802  created by three outer rollers offset by 120° relative to an adjacent roller.  FIGS. 9 and 10  include an example outer roller with a detachable relief that may be used with the modular painting devices of  FIGS. 1-7B . 
     Thus, the presently described modular wall painting and/or printing devices and systems can be used to paint and/or relief print a surface, and address many of the above identified limitations of conventional painting/printing devices. The modular painting devices can be easily coupled and used in combination with one or more other modular painting devices (i.e., modular painting device assembly). In these examples, the painting/printing applying surface area is increased and therefore the time required for covering a surface is reduced. Alternatively or additionally, a single device can be used to paint/print smaller areas (e.g., corners, edges, etc.). 
     Further, the presently described modular wall painting and/or printing devices and systems allow for paint to be consistently fed to the roller while painting and/or printing, making the painting and/or printing process easier and faster for a user. Furthermore, different colored paints (i.e., adjacent paint cartridges having different colors of paint) and/or relief patterns can be used in a coupled roller assembly (i.e., two or more modular painting devices used in combination). 
     Further still, the presently described modular wall painting and/or printing devices and systems are dynamic and versatile, having the ability to be alternately used with different rollers (e.g., smooth, textured, various relief patterns, etc.), different colors (e.g., red paint cartridge, yellow paint cartridge, green paint cartridge, etc.), and different painting/printing surface areas (e.g., one device, two coupled devices, three coupled devices, etc.). 
     As described above and shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , modular painting device  100  includes handle  102 , paint cartridge  104 , and roller assembly  106 . Roller assembly  106  includes housing  108 , outer roller  110 , and inner roller  112 . Housing  108  includes a rear wall  114 , a pair of opposing side walls  116 , a paint cartridge attachment port  118 , a rearward casing  120 , a forward casing  122 , lateral fastening members  124 , and longitudinal fastening members  126 . 
     In the present example, rear wall  114 , attachment port  118 , and rearward casing  120  are one piece. In alternate examples, the rear wall, attachment port, and rearward casing may be separate pieces that are attached via an attachment mechanism (e.g., fastening members, adhesive, etc.). Forward casing  122  is attached to rearward casing  120  via attachment members  126  inserted through holes  128 . Holes  128  are extended through rearward casing  120  and forward casing  122 . In this example, attachment members  126  are shorter threaded attachment members. It will be appreciated that in other examples, one or more of attachment members  126  can be substituted with any suitable attachment mechanism, such as a snap-fit mechanism, slide-fit mechanism, etc. 
     Side walls  116  are attached to rear wall  114 , rearward casing  120 , and forward casing  122  via attachment members  124  inserted through holes  130 . Holes  130  are each extended through side walls  116  and one of rear wall  114 , rearward casing  120 , and forward casing  122 . In this example, attachment members  124  are longer threaded attachment members. It will be appreciated that in other examples, one or more of attachment members  126  can be substituted with any suitable attachment mechanism, such as a snap-fit mechanism, slide-fit mechanism, etc. 
     As depicted in  FIGS. 1-5 , handle  102  has a generally straight and tapered shape, being narrower at an end proximal to rear wall  114  and wider at an opposing end and extending straight behind roller assembly  106 . Handle  102  further includes longitudinal facets  138  that provide a gripping surface on the handle. It will be appreciated that the handle may have some other desired configuration. For example, the handle may include a finger-shaped gripping surface and/or a gripping surface with circular-shaped depressions or protrusions. Further, in other example, the handle can have a different length and/or inclination (i.e., the handle may be disposed at an angle relative to the roller assembly). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , rearward wall  114  is configured to attach to/retain handle  102 . More specifically, handle  102  includes an end plate  132  that is slide fit through rearward extending flanges  134  of rear wall  114 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , end plate  132  is attached to handle  102  via a threaded attachment member  162  inserted through an end plate hole  164  and fitted into complimentarily configured hole  166 . In alternate examples, the end plate may be integrally formed with the handle. 
     End plate  132  is secured to rearward wall  114  by fastening members  136 . In the present example, fastening members  136  are threaded fastening members that fit into complimentarily configured holes  168  in rearward wall  114  (shown in  FIG. 5 ). In other examples, fastening members  136  can be any suitable fastening members, such as spring-biased pins, snap-fit fastening members, etc. 
     Further, in additional alternate examples, the handle can be attached to the roller assembly by a different attachment mechanism. For example, the handle may include a threaded end and the roller assembly housing may include a complimentarily configured hole for receiving the threaded end of the handle. It will be appreciated that in the above described examples, the handle is releasably attached to the roller assembly. 
     In these examples, the handle may be removed and/or changed out for a different handle (e.g., a handle having one or more of a different inclination, shape, grip, length, etc.). Further, in some examples, a specialized handle can be used (e.g., a handle including bubble or laser level). In other examples, the handle may not be releasable and may be permanently attached to the roller assembly. For example, the handle may be integral to the rear wall. 
     Paint cartridge  104  is attached to roller assembly  106  via attachment port  118 . In the present example, paint cartridge  104  is attached to a top of roller assembly  106 . Paint cartridge  104  holds a paint supply (now specifically shown). As the paint cartridge is directly attached to the device to provide a continuous paint supply, the modular painting device can be used to continuously paint the desired surface without stopping to dip/submerge the rollers in paint. 
     The paint cartridge can be self-contained and supply paint into roller assembly  106  via a control feed system. The control feed system may be any system that is suitable for supplying only enough paint to prime and/or re-prime the outer roller as it moves over a surface (i.e., paints and/or prints a surface). Further, the control feed system allows for modular painting device  100  to be used in various desired positions without leaking, while providing a consistent painted/relief print application. 
     In one example for a control feed system, the paint cartridge is snap-fitted into the attachment port to create a seal with the port and the casing for the inner roller. Depending on the viscosity of the paint in the paint supply, the inner roller clearance can be adjusted to create a sufficient seal and flow of paint. In one specific example, gravity is used to generate a flow of paint. In other examples, a pressurized system and a microswitch can be used to generate the flow of paint. 
     In the present example, paint cartridge  104  is releasably and sealably attached to attachment port  118 . Paint cartridge  104  can be attached to attachment port  118  via a suitable releasable attachment mechanism, such as a snap-fit attachment mechanism or threaded attachment mechanism. In an alternative example, the housing and paint cartridge are integrally formed and the paint cartridge can be filled via a sealable-opening. In one example, a paint cartridge is permanently fixed to the housing and includes a threaded top that may be opened to fill the paint cartridge. 
     The paint cartridge can be reusable, or a single-use disposable paint cartridge. Paint cartridges may be a clear transparent container to enable a user to see the pre-mixed shades of color for direct color matching of decor. In addition, paint cartridges can be leak-proof and vented as to not create a vacuum. 
     In the present example, paint cartridge  104  has a generally cylindrical shape. It will be appreciated that the paint cartridge may be of any suitable shape. For example, the paint cartridge may have an irregular shape. In other examples, the paint cartridge may have a cuboid or rectangular cuboidal shape. Further, the paint cartridge may be may be collapsible as the paint supply is emptied through use. Furthermore, the paint cartridge may include an insertable collapsible bladder in which a paint supply is provided. 
     In any of the above examples, a color of the paint supply is selectable by a user. Further, the paint supply may be selectively changed by a user to change the color and/or re-fill the paint supply. In some examples, the modular painting device may incorporate a controlled feed system which injects paint from multiple paint cartridges through a rotary valve in the side of the roller into a plurality of closed canals. 
     In these examples, multiple colors are fed through to the rollers to precise locations on the prints, printing multiple colors simultaneously. For example, when a flowered print with interlaced vines and leaves is provided, the flowers will print red, the vines beige, and the leaves green. The multicolor system can use standard paint cartridges each attached to one of multiple attachment ports, or a handheld backpack paint supply feed system fluidly coupled to the housing via tubes. 
     The multicolor system may also use a static feed paint head to apply paint to a pattern. The example, the static feed paint head, or multiple paint heads, may apply red paint to a flower portion of a pattern, a beige color for a vine portion of the pattern, and a green color to a leaf portion of the pattern. Any currently known or later developed static feed paint head may be used. 
     Paint cartridge  104  and attachment port  118  are configured to provide paint to inner roller  112  that is housed in rearward casing  120  and forward casing  122 . Inner roller  112  is configured to receive paint from paint cartridge  104  and transfer paint to outer roller  110 . Outer roller  110  is configured to receive paint from inner roller  112  and transfer paint to a desired painting surface. 
     As state above, inner roller  112  is rotatably attached to housing  108 . In the present example, inner roller  112  is rotatably attached to housing  108  via an axel  170  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) within rearward casing  120  and forward casing  122 . The inner roller is provided within the rearward and forward casings so that the paint supply flowing from the paint cartridge is contained within the casing during operation of the modular paint roller. In alternate examples, the inner roller can be free within the casings (i.e., not attached to an axle) and be of a slightly smaller size than the casing (i.e., the combined rearward and forward casings). In these examples, the inner roller is rotatably attached to the housing by being contained within casing. 
     Also stated above, outer roller  110  is rotatably attached to housing  108 . In the present example, outer roller  110  is attached to housing  108  via an axel  140 . Axel  140  is attached to opposing side walls  116  via attachment members  142 . In the present example, attachment members  142  are threaded attachment members fitted through wheel holes  172 , side wall holes  174 , and complimentarily configured axel holes  176 . It will be appreciated that in other examples, the outer roller axel may be attached via attachment members having any of the above described configurations for attachment members. 
     In the present example, outer roller  110  is rotatably and releasably attached to the housing so that a desired outer roller can be used (e.g., an outer roller having a desired texture and/or relief pattern). In alternative examples, the outer roller can be substantially non-releasable and an outer layer relief pattern or textured surface can be releasably attached to the outer roller (as depicted in  FIG. 9 ). Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the outer roller can further incorporate an embedded gripping system which will be integral in the relief surface to provide positive traction on slick or glossy painted background surface. 
     Each of opposing side walls  116  includes a curved projection  144  that partially extends around opposing ends of outer roller  110 . Each of a pair of wheels  146  are rotatably attached to axel  140  on opposing outer surfaces of side walls  116 . Wheels  146  are configured to provide traction and consistent contact with the surface that is being painted and/or relief printed. In alternate examples, the wheels may be excluded from the device so that the outer roller is the only portion of the modular painting device that makes contact with the surface. In other alternate examples, the curved projections may be excluded from the device. 
     A slotted opening  148  is disposed in forward casing  122  so that inner roller  112  is exposed. The exposed region of inner roller  112  (i.e., a portion of inner roller  112  that protrudes through slotted opening  148 ) contacts outer roller  110 . As outer roller  112  moves over a surface, rotation of the outer roller drives rotation of inner roller  112 . Thus, operation/rotation of the outer roller during use of the modular painting device facilitates transfer of paint from the paint cartridge to the inner roller and from the inner roller to the outer roller. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2A-7B , modular painting device  100  can include a mechanism for attachment of other modular painting devices, such as modular painting devices  200  and  300 . Accordingly, an outer surface  150  of housing  108  is a first coupling side  152  (e.g., a first coupling partner). In the present example, first coupling side  152  can include a male coupling partner. More specifically, fastening members  124  can be replaced with longer fastening members, such as fastening  424 , that are extended past side wall  116  when inserted through holes  130 , and the longer fastening members can be a male coupling partner. An outer surface  156  is a second coupling side  158 . In the present example, second coupling side  158  can include a female coupling partner. More specifically, the female coupling partner can be holes  130  for receiving the longer attachment member. 
     The coupling partners are provided for attachment of additional modular painting devices, such as modular painting devices  200  and  300  (shown in  FIGS. 6-7B ). In the example of  FIGS. 1-5 , fastening members  124  have a sufficient length to fit/extend through one housing (such as housing  108 ). In the example of  FIGS. 6-7B , fastening members  124  are replaced with other longer fastening members  424  having a sufficient length to be fitted through one or two additional housings, such as housings  212  and  312 . The coupling partners are configured to allow two or more modular painting devices to be used in combination, thereby increasing the painting/printing surface area (i.e., multiple outer rollers used in combination). 
     It will be appreciated that the outer surfaces of the housing may include any suitably configured coupling partners for releasable attachment of modular painting devices. In some examples, the outer surfaces of the housing may include a snap-fit attachment mechanism (i.e., snap-fit male and female coupling partners) that can be coupled to a snap-fit attachment mechanism on an adjacent modular painting device. In other examples, the outer surfaces of the housing may include a twist-fit interlocking mechanism (i.e., twist-fit interlocking male and female coupling partners) that can be couple to a twist-fit interlocking mechanism on an adjacent modular painting device. In yet other examples, the outer surfaces of the housing may include a slide-fit attachment mechanism (i.e., slide-fit male and female coupling partners) that can be coupled to a slide-fit attachment mechanism on an adjacent modular painting device. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 6-7B , modular painting device assembly  400  will now be described in greater detail. As stated above, modular painting device  100  can be coupled to and used in combination with one or more other modular painting devices, such as modular painting devices  200  and  300 , forming modular painting device assembly  400 . Specifically, attachment members  424  have a sufficient length to be extended/fitted through three adjacent housings (i.e., housings  108 ,  208 ,  308 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 7A , in order to create modular painting device assembly  400 , modular painting devices  100 ,  200 ,  300  are aligned. Further, attachment members  424  are aligned with and inserted through holes  130 ,  230 , and  330 . As shown in  FIG. 7B , after insertion of attachment members  424 , modular painting device assembly can be operated as a single device. 
     It will be appreciated that in alternate examples, a modular painting device assembly can include two modular painting devices (e.g., modular painting devices  100  and  200 ). In these examples, the attachment members have a length sufficient to extend through two housings (e.g., housings  108  and  208 ). It will be further appreciated that in other examples, a modular painting device assembly can include four or more modular painting devices. In these examples, the attachment members will have sufficient length to fit through four or more housings. 
     In the present example, two of the handles (i.e., handles of modular painting devices  100  and  300 ) have been removed prior to operation so that only one handle remains attached to a center of modular painting device assembly  400 . In this example, handle  202  is gripped by a user for one-handed operation of modular painting device assembly  400 . In other examples, handle  202  can be removed and handles of modular painting devices  100  and  300  can remain attached, or all three handles can remain attached. In these examples, the modular painting assembly two of the handles can be gripped by a user for two handed operation. 
     It will be appreciated that in other examples where only two modular painting devices assembled into a modular painting device assembly (e.g., modular painting devices  100  and  200  only), one of the handles can be removed and the remaining handle can be positioned and fixed in a center of the modular painting device assembly. In this example, the handle is fixed so that the end plate of the handle is partially extended through flanges of adjacent rear walls. 
     Each of modular painting devices  100 ,  200 , and  300  includes a paint cartridge, paint cartridges  104 ,  204 , and  304 , respectively. In some examples, the paint cartridges include the same colored paints in their respective paint supplies. In other examples, the paint cartridges include different colored paints in their respective paint supplies. It will be appreciated that a user can select any desired combination of colors for the paint supplies in each of the paint cartridges. 
     Using modular painting device assembly  400  the painting transferring surface area is easily increased by a user, greatly reducing the time required to cover and/or relief print a surface with paint. In one specific example, one outer roller has a length 6″, and therefore three outer rollers together have a length 18″. Additionally, outer rollers with a greater diameter can be used to increase the paint transferring surface area and further reduce the time required to cover and/or relief print a surface with paint. In one specific example, outer rollers with a diameter of 3″can be used instead of outer rollers with a diameter of 2″. 
     In some examples, the outer rollers can be attached via a roller attachment mechanism, such as roller attachment mechanism  402 , so that the outer rollers are cooperatively rotatable. In additional or alternative examples, one or more of outer rollers  110 ,  210 , and  310  can include a relief pattern. In these examples, the outer rollers can be attached via roller attachment mechanism  402  so that the outer rollers are cooperatively rotatable and the outer rollers can be selectively locked into or attached into an offset position in order to create a desired pattern. 
     In the present example, roller attachment mechanism  402  includes roller attachment keys  404 . Each of roller keys  404  has three interlock tabs  406  disposed on opposing lateral sides (i.e., two on a first lateral side and one on a second lateral side) that insert into receiving spaces  160 ,  260 , and  360  that are an integral key pattern on an end of the axel  140 ,  240 , and  340 , respectively. 
     Each outer roller can have multiple receiving spaces dispersed at various intervals, for example at 120° and 180° intervals, so that the outer rollers can be attached in an offset position relative to adjacent outer rollers. It will be appreciated that in additional or alternate examples, the roller keys and receiving spaces can have any desired configuration for interlocking and/or offsetting the outer rollers (e.g., interlocking teeth patterns, interlocking curve patterns, etc.). 
     In this example, the wheels that are proximal to an adjacent modular printing device (i.e., one of the wheels of modular painting device  100  and  300 , and both of wheels of modular painting device  200 ) are removed to allow for attachment of the roller keys. It will be appreciated that the outermost wheels (i.e., one of wheels  148  and  348 ) remain attached to modular painting device assembly  400  in order to provide traction and consistent contact with the surface that is being painted and/or relief printed. 
     Offsetting the rollers from one another creates an offset of prints and a uniform diagonal flow across the surface being printed. In some specific examples, the outer rollers are attached in a position where each of the outer rollers is offset by 120° relative to an adjacent roller.  FIG. 8B  shows an example single rotation relief print  802  created by three outer rollers rotated cooperatively and offset by 120° relative to an adjacent roller. 
     Specifically, relief print  810  is a single rotation of outer roller  110 , relief print  820  is a single rotation of outer roller  210 , and relief print  830  is a single rotation of outer roller  310 . In this example, the outer rollers are offset so that the pattern is evenly apportioned as the rollers are cooxperatively rotated. Further, modular painting device assembly  400  can be used to create a relief print over a larger surface, such as wall relief print  800  shown in  FIG. 8A . 
     In some examples, a relief pattern can include an individual detachable stamp for creating an individual relief print, such as a stamp relief print  804 . In these examples, the individual detachable stamp can be attached to the outer roller via a stamp attachment mechanism. In one example, the stamp attachment mechanism is a snap-fit mechanism. In other examples, the stamp attachment mechanism can be magnetic mechanism, slide-fit mechanism, or any other suitable attachment mechanism. 
     The detachable stamp can be removed from the roller for relief-printing by hand in areas of the surface that are difficult to reach with the modular painting device. In one specific example, the detachable stamp can be used to relief print a top portion of a wall that is proximal to an intersection between the wall and a ceiling. Further, in some examples, the outer roller including a stamp will be recessed (i.e., have a smaller diameter than outer rollers  110 ,  210 , and  310 ) to accommodate for a thickness of the detachable stamp and the stamp attachment mechanism. 
     Additionally, an indexing system may be used to rotate the modular painting device to the starting position for each vertical run, keeping the prints uniform as the surface is printed. When starting a first vertical row, the tops of the paint cartridges and the modular painting device create an offset from a perpendicular surface above to restrict or prevent paint from the roller from touching any surface not intended to be painted and/or relief painted. 
     In one specific example, shown in  FIG. 9 , an outer roller  900  having a detachable relief pattern layer  902  can include a seam  904  that allows detaching of the relief pattern from the roller. In one example, the seam is a location of a starting index. Outer roller  900  can be used for relief patterns and/or textures that are continuous patterns and/or textures (i.e., covering a total surface of the outer roller). 
     In some examples for use of multiple outer rollers  900  in a modular painting device assembly (e.g., modular painting device  400 ), relief patterns will alternate starting positions for each adjacent outer roller. When the outer roller is indexed in the starting position there will be a ratcheting system (e.g., a cam system) to fold out detachable relief pattern  902  from a quadrant of a roller base  906 . The detachable relief pattern can then contact the surface to relief print on a region of the surface above the device. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , this may be particularly advantageous to relief print a small area that is in the top corner of a surface. Specifically, detachable relief pattern  902  can be at least partially released from roller base  906  and a top portion  908  of a wall  910  that is proximal to an intersection between the wall and a ceiling  912  can be relief printed. In other examples, the detachable relief pattern can be wholly removed from the roller base and used to print the surface by hand. 
     In another general aspect of the modular painting device, a method for painting and/or printing walls or other surfaces is described. The method comprises the steps of: (a) providing a modular painting device or modular painting device assembly in accordance with the present invention (of any type described herein) with a desired outer roller rotatably attached thereto (e.g., an outer roller having a desired texture and/or relief print); (b) aligning the device on a wall or other surface to be painted and/or printed; (c) rolling the modular painting device or modular painting device assembly along the wall or other surface to be painted and/or printed; (d) realigning the modular painting device or modular painting device assembly adjacent to the prior rolling run and rolling outer roller along the wall or other surface to be printed, and (e) repeating step “(d)” until printing of the wall or surface to be to be printed is completed. 
     In a further embodiment wherein the modular painting device includes an outer roller with a detachable relief pattern, the method may include the additional steps of (t) partially or wholly removing the design print from the modular painting device; (g) identifying one or more areas of the wall or other surface which are too small or narrow for the device to relief print; and (h) in a case where the relief print is wholly removed, applying the pattern on the design print to the identified one or more areas of the wall or other surface by hand. 
     The disclosure above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in a particular form, the specific embodiments disclosed and illustrated above are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed above and inherent to those skilled in the art pertaining to such inventions. Where the disclosure or subsequently filed claims recite “a” element, “a first” element, or any such equivalent term, the disclosure or claims should be understood to incorporate one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. 
     Applicant(s) reserves the right to submit claims directed to combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed inventions that are believed to be novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodied in other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of those claims or presentation of new claims in the present application or in a related application. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to the same invention or a different invention and whether they are different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are to be considered within the subject matter of the inventions described herein.