US2794265A - Paint brush and roller cleaning appliance - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1957 M. M. KRUGER PAINT BRUSH AND ROLLER CLEANING APPLIANCE Filed April 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MANDELL M. KRUGER ATTOR N EY PAINT BRUSH AND ROLLER CLEANING APPLIANCE Filed April 21, 1954 June 4, 1957 M. M. KRUGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \dn l ll l H R E we mm MM L l- E D N A .M

ATTOR NEY PAINT BRUSH AND ROLLER CLEANING APPLIANCE Mandell M. Kruger, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Lew Kruger, Detroit, Mich.

Application April 21, 1954, Serial No. 424,587 Claims. (Cl. 34-58) This invention relates to a paint brush and roller cleaning appliance, and more particularly to an appliance which cleans the brush or roller by rapid rotation 01' swirling of the painting element, thus removing the paint by centrifugal force.

The appliance comprises a housing within which is a hollow rotatable shaft having a paint brush or roller atttaching means at one end and rotating driw'ng means at the other end. The housing contains spaced apart bearings for the rotatable shaft, and in one form, it is capped at both ends. The driving means comprises a spirally twisted blade having a freely movable driving disc with cam engaging arms arranged to engage with a notched toothed cam member fixed to the driving end of the rotatable shaft. The paint brush or roller attaching means comprises, in one form, a cap having parallel extension projecting arms supporting coiled springs in sets fixed between the arms, within which the handle of the paint brush is forced and held, or over which the paint roller is forced and held.

The appliance operates by reciprocatingly sliding the driving blade up and down through the hollow rotatable shaft causing the driving disc to engage the cam member on the down stroke and to slip freely over the cam member on the up stroke, so that the paint brush or roller is rotated in a single direction. This operation is performed both when the brush is immersed in paint solvent and when it is removed from the solvent, causing the dissolved dilute paint to spray forth from the brush bristles by centrifugal force.

Cleaning paint brushes by dipping them in solvent and then swinging them in sweeping staccato strokes is very inefiicient, time consuming and messy. Some appliances are known which rotate the brush, but only at very slow speeds, so that the beneficial effect of centrifugal force is not obtained. These appliances are cumbersome, expensive, and hard to operate.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a paint brush or roller cleaning appliance that rotates the brush at high speed with ease and facility.

Another object is the provision of reciprocating driving means in the appliance.

A further object is the provision of an attachment in the appliance that serves to hold either a paint brush or a paint roller without change or modification of the attachment.

Still another object is the provision of means to rotate the brush or roller, at high speeds, so that centrifugal force will aid in cleaning the brush or roller of paint. 7 Additional objects of the invention will become more apparent from the [description given below. For a visual understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, made an integral part hereof and in which Fig. 1 is a vertical elevational view of the paint brush and roller cleaning appliance.

Fig. 2 is a slightly enlarged the appliance of Fig. 1.

vertical sectional view of States Patent 0 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional Fig.

means portion of the appliance of view of the driving Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the driving means substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical elevational view, partially in section, of the brush and roller attachment portion supporting a paint roller.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical elevational view, partially in section, of the brush and roller attachment portion supporting a paint brush.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical e'levtational view, partially in section, of a modified form of the brush and roller attachment portion.

Figs. 9 and 10 are horizontal sectional views on the lines 9-9 and 10-10, respectively, of Fig. 8.

Figs. 11 and 12 are fragmentary vertical elevational views of other modified forms of the brush and roller attachment portion.

Figs. 13 and 14 are horizontal sectional views on the lines 13-13 of Fig. 11, and 14-14 of Fig. 12, respectively.

Fig. 13A is a view similar to Fig. 13, of a slightly modified form of the attachment portion of the appliance.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the brush and roller cleaning appliance 10 comprises a knurled housing 12, an upper end cap 14 and a lower end cap 16, a driving. rod 18, a swivelling driving disc 19, a driven rotatable tubular shaft 20, and brush and roller attachment 22 fixed to shaft 20.

Within knurled housing 12 and between end caps 14 and 16 are located bearings 24 in bearing mounts 26. The bearings 24 are spaced apart and nearby the ends of the housing in order to give proper support to the rotatable tubular shaft 20.

Driving rod 18 is formed from flat strip stock with a handle portion 28, having stop flange 30 at its lowermost point, arranged to stop downward travel at the upper end cap 14, and spirally twisted blade portion 32 terminating with fixedly mounted ferrule 34. Ferrule 34 serves as a bearing guide in tubular shaft 20 and for centering the blade 32 therein.

Upper end cap 14 is .provided with a blade passageway 36, through which blade portion 32 passes freely up and down. Lower end cap 16 is provided with an opening 38, in which shaft 20 rotates freely.

Fixedly mounted on the upper end of rotatable tubular shaft 20 is a notched cam driven member 40, which, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is provided with peripheral spaced saw-cut teeth 42. The swivelling driving disc 19 is arranged with arms 44 that engage the teeth 42 of member 40, causing shaft 20 to rotate in its bearings 24. Driven member 40 is substantially dished or cup shaped in section so that a greater diameter is obtained for engagement with driving disc arms 44, thus reducing the force required to rotate shaft 20 and increasing the efficiency of the appliance. The shape of cam member 40, as shown inthe drawings, is a preferred form. However, other disc shaped, notched and toothed forms may also be employed, as the particular circumstances require. The swivelling driving disc 19 is provided with a centrally located substantially rectangular slot 46 just slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the blade portion 32, so that the spirally twisted driving blade 32 will pass freely through the disc 19.

When the driving rod 18 is pushed downward, the arms 44 of disc 19 are caused to engage the teeth 42 of driven member 40, turning the same. When driving rod 18 is pulled upward, disc arms 44 slip freely over; the

cam driving member saw-cut teeth 42 and out of engagement therewith.

The attachment portion 22, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 6, comprises a cap portion 60, a pair of spaced parallel extension arms 62 fixed to and projecting from cap 60, and sets of helical coiled springs 64 arranged in parallel and at right angles about a longitudinal central axis coincident with the axis of rotation of the tubular shaft 20. The cap 60 is held in place on shaft 21) by a threaded section 66. A paint brush 68 having fiat handle portions 70 and a bristle section 72 is one of the painting devices which can be cleaned by means of the inventive appliance here described.

The extension arms 62 are bent or tapered from the cap 60 into closer parallel relation in order to make the tension of the forward sets of springs 64 more effective. Also, the arms 62 are so bent and formed as to provide a compressive gripping effect upon the inside diameter of the cylindrical paint roller 96, whereby the roller is held firmly during rotation. Near to and directly below the cap 60, the tensioning springs 64 are arranged in sets of two at right angles to provide a closely gripping force upon the end of the paint brush handle 70. The forward spring sets also effect a good grip upon the brush handle, which becomes firmly grasped by and Within the attachment 22.

A modification of the invention is shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. In this form, the lower end cap 16 is eliminated, and the attachment 80 is threaded and held on shaft by a nut 82. The attachment cap 84 is disposed within the lower end of housing 12, and its extension arms 86 project beyond the housing in parallel relation. One pair of coiled helical tensioning springs 88 are fixed to and between the arms 86 near the lower end of cap 84, and a second set of such springs 83 are fixed to and between the arms 86 near their outermost ends. As a further support for the brush handle 70, the tip ends 90 of the arms 86 are bent or curled inwardly. When brush handle 70 is forced between the springs of the curled arm ends 90, these ends ride upon the handle to hold it straight and to prevent twisting within the attachment 80. The brush handle 7 0 is generally shoved through the attachment up to the lowermost end of tubular shaft 20.

Both attachment portions 22 and 80 will also support the commonly used cylindrical paint roller 96 which comprises a hollow cylinder 98 of paper or other suitable supporting material, and an outer sheath 100 of fibrous wool, nylon, hair, or similar suitable paint rolling material. As shown in Fig. 5, the roller 96 is slipped over the extension arms 62 until it fits snugly and is held firmly upon them. The same is true for the attachment 80 shown in Fig. 8.

The spring sets 64 and 88 are so arranged concentrically about the longitudinal axes of attachments 22 and 81?, respectively, that a brush handle 70 is automatically centered therewithin to obtain substantially vibration-less swirling of the brush 68 in the cleaning operation.

Another modification of the attachment means is shown in Figs. 11 and 13, where the attachment 110 is formed of wire into a spirally wound portion 112 that threads upon and is firmly anchored to the lowermost end of rotatable tubular shaft 20. The wire attach ment has a flat grid portion 114 arranged substantially parallel to and spaced apart from a curved portion 116, to provide a tensioning gripping clasp upon the brush handle 70, which lies between the two attachment portions. The substantially parallel arms 118 of the grip portion 114 are spaced apart from each other a distance sufficient to provide a compressive gripping effect upon the cylindrical paint roller 96, into which they are designed to slip and hold.

A further modification of that shown in Figs. comprises a pair of the attachment means is 12 and 14. The attachment 130 wire forms 132, 133 having spirally wound elements 134 adapted to be mounted upon the lowermost end of tubular shaft 20. The spiral element 134 of form 132 is arranged above the spiral element 134 of form 133, and in close touching contact therewith to provide substantially in-line tubular form over the shaft 20. Form 132 is provided with parallel extension projecting arms 136, and form 133 has arms 138 which lie in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane in which arms 136 lie. A web 146 of a flexible, rubber or plastic material is intimately formed on or about the wire arms 136 and 138, providing a hollow, tubular space opening 142 within the web section 140, into which the brush handle 70 can be slipped and by which it is held. The outer dimensional limits of the web form 140 are such as to provide a firm tensioning grip upon the cylindrical roller 96, which would be slipped over the web form.

Fig. 13A shows a section of paint brush handle 70 clasped between wire grip portions 114 and 116 having flat sections substantially complementing the flat sides of the handle, so as to develop more land contact and grip with the handle than is present in the configuration shown in Fig. 13.

It will be noted from the above description that the principal modification lies in the attachment means by which the paint cleaning appliance grips and holds the brush or roller. However, slight modifications of the drive mechanism may also be made, in such components as the handle of the driving rod 18, the driving disc 19, or the notched saw-cut toothed driven member 40, without departing from the inventive concept here disclosed.

In operation, the appliance 10 functions as follows for cleaning paint brushes 68, or rollers 96. The flat handle portion 70 is shoved or slipped between the gripping spring sets 64 (Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7), or spring sets 88 (Figs. 8, 9 and 10), until the tip end of the handle is up against the rotatable tubular shaft 20. The tensioning gripping spring sets firmly hold the brush handle in their grasp. Or, the roller 96 is slipped over the attachment arms 62 or 86 so that it is firmly and compressively held by them.

Appliance housing 12 is then held in one hand by the operator and the handle 28 of the driving rod 18 is gripped by the other hand. The handle 28 and rod 18 are pulled upward, causing the driving disc 19 to swivel about the twisted blade 32 and the disc arms 44 to slip over the notched cam member teeth 42, until the ferrule 34 meets the disc 19. Because the cap passageway 36 is smaller than the disc 19, the blade 32 comes to a halt in its upward travel.

Blade 32 is then plunged downward within tubular shaft 20. Since the blade does not turn, the driving disc 19 is caused to rotate or swivel upon the twisted blade portion 32, and its arms 44 to swirl into engage ment with the teeth 42 of the member 40. The latter member, being fixed upon the upper end of tubular shaft 20, causes the shaft to rotate and the attachment 22 to rotate. The rotation of the brush attachment spine brush 68 or roller 96 about, so that the bristles 72 or fibers fly outward under centrifugal force at high speed.

A satisfactory and preferred method of cleaning a paint brush 68 after use is to swirl the brush in a container of paint solvent a few times to dilute and loosen the paint from the bristles or fibers, and then swirl it out of the solvent and in an empty container, causing the dissolved paint to fly oh the bristles or fibers. The high speed swirling action of the brush in the inventive appliance 10 is very effective in cleaning paint brushes and paint rollers of the type here described.

In the use of attachment 110, the brush handle 70 is forced between the compressive gripping wire grid 114 and the curved wire portion 116, the tip end of the handle entering the mouth of the spiral portion 112. And in attachment 130, the brush handle 70 is shoved into the flexible gripping web 140, wherein it is firmly grasped. The rotation and swirling of the brush bristles proceed as in the case of the attachment. forms above described. The latter two attachments also provide in their forms, as shown, the gripping means to hold the tubular cylindrical rollers 96 for rotation in and out of paint solvent.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel and inventive appliance here described can also be fitted with an attachment portion that stirs or mixes paint or other fluid or semi-fluid materials. Such a means could be a paddle (not shown), or even the wire attachment form 110, or a modification of such form.

Having described my invention in its simplest terms, it is to be understood that the details of construction of the foregoing specification may be changed or varied in greater or lesser degree without departing from the essence of my invention.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising a tubular housing, a tubular shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, a saw-cut toothed cam member afiixed to one end of said shaft within said housing, and paint brush and roller attachment means afliXed to the other end of said shaft, a driving rod having a handle portion outside said housing and a helically twisted blade portion extending into said tubular shaft, and a driving disc freely swivelling on said blade portion having projecting arms adapted to engage said saw-cut toothed cam member, said disc arms engageable with said cam member upon downward travel of said blade portion through said driving disc and out of engagement with said cam member upon upward travel of said blade portion through said driving disc, in which said attachment means comprises a cap affixed to said tubular shaft, parallel extension arms projecting from said cap concentric with said tubular shaft, and coiled helical springs conjoining said arms in pairs defining an opening therebetween parallel and concentric with said arms.

2. In a device of the class described, an attachment apparatus associated with and mountable on a manual rotary drive means for cleaning paint applicators, including brush-type applicators having a handle and rollertype cylindrical applicators having a bore therethrough, comprising a fitting mountable upon said drive means, applicator holding means aflixed to and projecting from said fitting, said applicator holding means having a pair of spaced apart parallel fingers conjoined by resilient means urging said fingers toward each other, said resilient means disposed within the periphery of said holding means, said fingers being normally spaced apart for insertion of said brush-type applicator handle and having handle holding and gripping means at their extremities, said fingers further being normally spaced apart for insertion thereof into said cylindrical applicator bore in a close fitting grip thereon.

3. In a device of the class described, an attachment apparatus mountable on :a manual rotary drive means for cleaning paint applicators in and with a paint solvent, including paint brushes having handles and paint rollers having bores therethrough, comprising a fitting mountable upon said drive means, paint applicator holding means affixed to said fitting and having a pair of spaced apart parallel projecting fingers, said fingers being conjoined by resilient coil springs disposed within the periphery of said holding means and urging said fingers toward each other, said fingers being normally spaced apart for insertion of said paint brush handle and having handle holding and gripping means at their extremities being urged closely upon said handle by said coil springs, said fingers further being of a size and shape and normally spaced apart for insertion thereof into said paint roller bore in close fitting gripping and holding relation thereto.

4. In a manually operated paint brush and roller cleaning mechanism designed to free said brush and said roller of paint by centrifugal spinning, in combination, means to compressively hold a paint applicator for centrifugal spinning on a rotatably driven shaft of said mechanism which comprises an attachment cap arranged for mounting on said shaft, a pair of substantially straight, substantially parallel, spaced apart, opposed arms fixedly mounted at one end to said cap and depending therefrom, a pair of coiled helical springs conjoining said arms adjacent the upper portion thereof and defining an opening therewith therebetween, and a second pair of coiled helical springs arranged transversely of and parallel to said first pair of springs conjoining said arms adjacent the lower portion thereof and defining an opening therewith therebetween, said arms being arranged in coaxial alignment with said driven shaft to provide a compressive grip on said paint applicator and to hold the same firmly in coaxial alignment with said shaft during centrifugal spinning.

5. In a manually operated paint brush and roller cleaning appliance designed to free said brush and said roller of paint by centrifugal spinning, in combination, means to compressively hold a paint applicator for centrifugal spinning on a rotatably driven shaft of said appliance which comprises an attachment cap arranged for mounting on said shaft, a pair of substantially straight, substantially parallel, spaced apart, opposed arms fixedly mounted at one end to said cap and depending therefrom, a pair of resilient elements conjoining said arms adjacent the upper portion thereof and defining an opening therewith therebetween, and a second pair of resilient elements conjoining said arms adjacent the lower portion thereof and defining an opening therewith therebetween, said arms being arranged in coaxial alignment with said driven shaft to provide a compressive grip on said paint applicator and to hold the same firmly in coaxial alignment with said shaft during centrifugal spinning.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 181, article entitled Dual Purpose Tool.

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