Patent Abstract:
An open-topped paint tray includes an upwardly-opening paint-retaining cavity defined by a pair of sidewalls, a pair of end walls, and an imperforate bottom wall. The cavity includes a main cavity with an arcuate bottom wall and a secondary cavity having a straight, downwardly inclined bottom wall. A hollow stiffening rib having a gradual “S” shape is formed integrally with the paint tray bottom wall and enables a user to hold the paint tray in one hand. A roller cover wash shield releasably engages the paint tray and defines a downwardly-opening cavity that together with the upwardly-opening paint retaining cavity provides a primary cavity for cleaning a paint roller cover. A flap formed in the roller cover wash shield admits a wand having a nozzle that spins and cleans a paint roller cover, positioned within the primary cavity, with water under pressure.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/743,420, filed on May 5, 2007, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/796,747, filed on May 2, 2006. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/743,486, filed on May 5, 2007, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/797,007, filed on May 2, 2006. The entire content of each of the aforementioned patent applications is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. The Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    Implementations of the present invention relate to equipment that facilitates the application of paint to various surfaces. More particularly, it relates to a tray for holding paint that has a handle formed in its bottom wall that facilitates holding of the tray in one hand. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    Commercially available paint trays are sold in many different sizes. Some of them are too big, bulky, or heavy to easily hold in one hand. Some of them are too small and flimsy. Others have inadequate roller handles, and users can not substitute better roller handles sold separately to get the desired paint application and finish on surfaces that are being painted. A further problem is that conventional paint trays can only be used in tray function uses. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, there are a number of disadvantages in the art that can be addressed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Implementations of the invention provide a paint tray that incorporates ergonomic principles. 
         [0008]    Although there are many commercially available paint trays, few if any incorporate the art of ergonomics. The novel tray incorporates ergonomic principles and includes the following advantages. 
         [0009]    The novel paint tray includes a stiffening rib in the shape of an “S” curve that facilitates comfortable and easy holding of the tray by users having hand sizes that range from very small to very large. The paint tray further includes a curved bottom rake that enables a user to smoothly roll a paint roller cover through it. The “S” curve stiffening rib runs the length of the tray and channels paint in the tray to prevent paint from sloshing out of the tray as the roller cover passes through it. Moreover, finger location indents are formed in the sides of the tray to enhance the user&#39;s grip. A protrusion on opposite sides of the tray bottom provides an additional surface for users to hold the tray with their fingers. A smaller well on one end of the tray may hold a paint roller cover attached to a paint roller handle while the paint roller handle rests in the water and paint exit spout preventing the roller handle from falling into the paint, in the tray during use. 
         [0010]    More particularly, the novel paint tray has a leading end and a trailing end and includes an open-topped paint-retaining cavity defined by a pair of transversely opposed, longitudinally extending sidewalls, a pair of transversely disposed end walls, and an imperforate bottom wall. The transversely disposed end walls include a leading end wall having a first height and a trailing end wall having a second height. The open-topped paint-retaining cavity includes a main cavity that extends from the leading end of the paint tray to a preselected transverse line beyond the mid-point of the paint tray. The open-topped paint-retaining cavity also includes a secondary cavity that extends from the preselected transverse line to the trailing end wall. The bottom wall is arcuate along the extent of the main cavity so that the main cavity is deepest about mid-length of the main cavity. The bottom wall is straight and inclined downwardly along the extent of the secondary cavity from the preselected transverse line to a bottom edge of the trailing end wall. 
         [0011]    A hollow stiffening rib has a gradual “S” shape, a longitudinal extent substantially equal to a longitudinal extent of the paint-retaining cavity, is formed integrally with the paint tray bottom wall, and is positioned about mid-width of the paint tray. The stiffening rib has a bottom wall disposed in a substantially horizontal plane when the paint tray is in a substantially level, functional position and the stiffening rib bottom wall is substantially coplanar with a lower edge of the trailing end wall. A first plurality of finger-receiving indentations is formed in a first sidewall of the paint tray and a second plurality of finger-receiving indentations is formed in a second sidewall of the paint tray. A user may therefore hold the paint tray in one hand by placing fingers of a first hand in the first plurality of finger-receiving indentations and a thumb of the first hand against the stiffening rib. 
         [0012]    In the alternative, a user may hold the paint tray in one hand by placing a thumb of a first hand in a preselected finger-receiving indentation of the first plurality of fingerreceiving indentations and fingers of the first hand against the stiffening rib. Similarly, a user may hold the paint tray in one hand by placing fingers of a first hand in the second plurality of finger-receiving indentations and a thumb of the first hand against the stiffening rib or the user may hold the paint tray in one hand by placing a thumb of a first hand in a preselected finger-receiving indentation of the second plurality of finger-receiving indentations and fingers of the first hand against the stiffening rib. 
         [0013]    A paint applicator roller has a transverse extent slightly less than a width of the open-topped paint retaining cavity and is disposed transversely in the main cavity about mid-length thereof. A transversely disposed axle extends from opposite ends of the paint applicator roller. Each of the longitudinally-extending sidewalls of the paint tray is adapted to rotatably engage an axle extending from the paint applicator roller. 
         [0014]    A peripheral flange extends outwardly in a substantially horizontal plane from the longitudinally-extending sidewalls and the transversely disposed end walls. The peripheral flange is bent downwardly about ninety degrees at its outer edges to form longitudinally-extending and transversely disposed flange vertical walls. The flange vertical walls are bent at their respective lower edges about ninety degrees into a substantially horizontal plane. 
         [0015]    A roller cover wash shield is adapted to engage the paint tray in covering relation to the open-topped paint-retaining cavity. A roller cover cleaning space is defined between the paint tray and the roller cover wash shield. The roller cover wash shield is adapted to accommodate a handle of a paint roller when the roller cover wash shield is engaged to the paint tray. The roller cover wash shield includes a first downwardly-opening main cavity defined by an arcuate top wall. The greatest height of the downwardly-opening main cavity is about mid-length of the downwardly-opening cavity. The downwardly-opening main cavity is positioned in open communication with the open-topped main cavity of the paint tray. 
         [0016]    Accordingly, the two confronting cavities combine to form a single primary cavity, or roller cover cleaning space, that can accommodate a roller brush cover. The roller cover wash shield also includes a second downwardly-opening cavity defined by a tunnel-like section that accommodates a handle of a paint roller. The second downwardly-opening cavity is in open communication with the first downwardly-opening main cavity and hence with the primary cavity when the roller cover wash shield is in engagement with the paint tray. 
         [0017]    A wand has a discharge nozzle and is in fluid communication with a source of water under pressure. A slot is formed in the top wall of the roller cover wash shield to admit the wand into the roller cover cleaning space. A paint roller cover having a handle is positioned in the roller cover cleaning space, with the handle accommodated within the tunnel-like section of the roller cover wash shield. Opening the source of water under pressure causes the roller cover to spin as water flows from the nozzle onto the roller cover. This cleans the roller cover. The roller cover wash shield and paint tray together provide a shield that confines the water and paint spray generated by such spinning to the confines of the primary cavity. 
         [0018]    An important object of the invention is to provide a paint tray that can easily be held in one hand. 
         [0019]    Another important object is to provide a paint tray having a main paint-retaining cavity and a secondary paint-retaining cavity. 
         [0020]    Still another important object is to provide a roller cover wash shield that is releasably attachable to a paint tray so that a paint roller cover may be cleaned at the end of a job by using the paint tray and the roller cover wash shield as a unit. 
         [0021]    These and other important objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become clear as this description proceeds. 
         [0022]    The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the description set forth hereinafter and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0023]    For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0024]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of the novel “S” grip paint tray; 
           [0025]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the novel tray; 
           [0026]      FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the novel tray; 
           [0027]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the “S” grip tray with a wash shield attached; 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the parts depicted in  FIG. 4 ; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is an end view of the “S” grip tray with the wash shield attached. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0030]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1-3 , it will there be seen that an improved ergonomic paint tray that is comfortable and easy to hold with small or large hands is denoted as a whole by the reference numeral  10 . Paint tray  10  has a generally rectangular shape when viewed in plan and defines an open-top cavity for retaining paint therewithin. It includes longitudinally-extending upstanding sidewalls  12   a ,  12   b , transversely extending upstanding end walls  14   a ,  14   b  and an imperforate bottom wall  16  formed integrally with the respective bottom edges of said sidewalls and end walls. The term “upstanding” may be interpreted as “vertical,” it being understood that the sidewalls and end walls are generally vertical when paint tray  10  has paint contained therein and is in its generally horizontal, functional position. 
         [0031]    A thin, flat, horizontally disposed peripheral flange  18  is formed integrally with and extends outwardly from the respective upper edges of sidewalls  12  and end walls  14 . Peripheral flange  18  is bent downwardly by about ninety degrees (90°) at its outermost edge, thereby forming vertical flange sidewalls  18   a . Said vertical flange sidewalls  18   a  are bent about ninety degrees (90°) outwardly so that they are disposed in a horizontal plane, thereby forming horizontal flange walls  18   b.    
         [0032]    As best understood in connection with  FIG. 1 , paint-retaining cavity  20  does not have a uniform depth. Defining the left end of tray  10  as the leading end and the right end thereof as the trailing end, it will be observed that leading end wall  14   a  has a height extent less than that of trailing end wall  14   b . The leading end of bottom wall  16  begins at the lowermost end of leading trailing wall  14   a  and is curved downwardly as at  16   a  until it reaches a depth substantially equal to the height of trailing end wall  14   b , said maximum depth being denoted  16   b . Bottom wall  16  then curves gradually upwardly as at  16   c  as it extends toward the trailing end of the paint tray until it reaches a depth about equal to the height of leading end wall  14   a . A transverse line that corresponds with that depth is denoted  16   d  in  FIG. 2 . Bottom wall  16  then has a linear section  16   e  that extends downwardly at a roughly forty five degree (45°) angle to the lowermost edge of trailing end wall  14   b . Bottom wall  16  thus creates a main cavity  22  having a curved bottom wall and a trailing or secondary cavity  24  having an inclined bottom wall. 
         [0033]    Hollow stiffening rib  26  is formed integrally with bottom wall  16  of tray  10 . Stiffening rib  26  is “S”-shaped and substantially extends the entire length of paint tray  10  in this preferred embodiment. However, an “S-shaped stiffening rib that extends less than the entire length of the tray is also within the scope of this invention, as is a stiffening rib that is straight or that has varying degrees of curvature. In this embodiment, the stiffening rib is discontinuous in the region  22   a  where main paint-retaining cavity  22  is deepest. The longitudinal axis of symmetry of stiffening rib  26  is positioned substantially centrally of bottom wall  16 , equidistant from sidewalls  12   a ,  12   b.    
         [0034]    Stiffening rib  26  has a hollow structure and therefore creates an “S”-shaped secondary cavity  28 , depicted in the top plan view of  FIG. 2 , having a depth greater than the depth of main paint-retaining cavity  22  for most of the extent of the tray, with the exception being a short distance where the depth of main cavity  22  reaches its greatest depth, i.e., at region  22   a  where stiffening rib  26  is discontinuous. 
         [0035]    A plurality of indentations, collectively denoted  30 , is formed in sidewalls  12   a ,  12   b  of paint tray  10 . These indentations are adapted to accommodate the fingers or fingertips of a user when the tray is held in one hand. More particularly, a user places a thumb against a first side of stiffening rib  26  that faces away from the sidewall  12   a  or  12   b  to be grasped, and places one or more fingers of the same hand in indentations  30  formed in said sidewall. For example, as perhaps best understood in connection with the bottom plan view of  FIG. 3 , a user places a thumb on the lower side of stiffener rib  26  and the fingers in the indentations  30  formed in the sidewall at the top of said Fig. In the alternative, a user places a thumb on the top side of stiffener  26  and positions the fingers of the same hand in indentations  30  formed in the sidewall at the bottom of said figure. 
         [0036]    Peripheral flange  18  is discontinuous at the leading end of tray  10 , as is vertical flange sidewall  18   a . Horizontal flange wall  18   b  is not discontinuous but it is sloped downwardly at the discontinuity as at  18   c , as best depicted in  FIG. 6 , to form a cradle for the handle of a paint roller, not depicted. This cradle enables a user to position a roller cover attached to a paint roller handle into trailing paint cavity  24  and rest the roller handle in the cradle area atop horizontal flange wall  18   c  to keep the roller handle out of the paint in main paint-receiving cavity  22  when the user desires to set a paint roller down. 
         [0037]    A button-shaped protrusion  32   a ,  32   b  is formed in each sidewall  12   a ,  12   b , respectively, as best depicted in  FIG. 2-4 . Each protrusion forms a concavity when viewed from the inside of main paint-retaining cavity  22 . An axle protruding from opposite ends of rotatable paint applicator wheel  34  is snapped into said concavities so that a user can apply paint onto the pad of a typical paint pad. Each axle spins about its axis of rotation when the paint applicator is rotated. 
         [0038]    Roller cover wash shield  36 , depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , acts as a cover for paint tray  10  when said paint tray is converted into a washing housing that encloses a paint roller cover during cleaning Roller cover wash shield  36  includes thin, flat peripheral flange  38  that is horizontally disposed and adapted to overlie and abuttingly engage peripheral flange  18  of paint tray  10 . Peripheral flange  38  is bent downwardly about ninety degrees (90°) to form vertical flange sidewall  38   a  that abuttingly engages vertical flange sidewall  18   a  of paint tray  10  when peripheral flange  38  abuts peripheral flange  18 . Vertical flange sidewall  38   a  is bent about ninety degrees (90°) in a horizontal plane and in an outward direction to form horizontal flange  38   b  that overlies and abuttingly engages horizontal flange  18   b  when roller cover wash shield  36  is engaged to paint tray  10 . 
         [0039]    As best depicted in  FIG. 4 , roller cover wash shield  36  includes vertical sidewalls  40   a ,  40   b  and vertical end walls  42   a ,  42   b . The respective upper edges of vertical sidewalls  40   a ,  40   b  are curved as depicted and the peripheral edges of curved top wall  44  are formed integrally with the respective top edges of vertical sidewalls  40   a ,  40   b  and vertical end walls  42   a ,  42   b . The curvature is substantially a mirror image of the curvature formed in bottom wall  16  of main paint-retaining cavity  22 , i.e., top wall  44  reaches its zenith in diametrically opposed relation to the point where bottom wall  16  reaches its nadir as at  16   b . Sidewalls  40   a ,  40   b , end walls  42   a ,  42   b , and top wall  44  collectively form the main part of roller cover wash shield  36 . 
         [0040]    Horizontal flange  38  is also bent so that it forms a tunnel-shaped passageway  46  that is in open communication with the trailing end of roller cover wash shield  36 . Passageway  46  accommodates a paint roller handle. 
         [0041]    Slot  48  is formed in top wall  44  of shield  36  and has a transverse part  48   a  from opposite ends of which extend generally longitudinal slots  48   b ,  48   b . The slots collectively form a generally square “U”-shaped flap. A user snaps roller cover wash shield  36  onto tray  10  so that a paint roller handle  47  is in passageway  46  and a paint roller cover  49  is positioned in an open space bounded at its bottom by tray  10  and at its top by shield  36 . A suitable wand is inserted through the flexible flap which is momentarily displaced as the wand is inserted through it and which closes under its inherent bias when the wand is properly inserted into said open space. Water under pressure is then sprayed from the wand onto the edge of the paint roller cover. The force of the water spins the roller cover and paint is removed therefrom by centrifugal force, as more fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,410. 
         [0042]    Novel tray  10  can also be used with better roller handles and covers so that a user may substitute such roller handles and covers as may be required for various jobs. For example, the paint tray having a roller handle wash shield attachment, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,410 may be used as a second shield half for cleaning roller covers. Paint tray  10  may also be used for packaging quality roller handles and roller covers so said paint tray, handles, and covers can be sold together. 
         [0043]    It will be seen that the advantages set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
         [0044]    It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1