AU684125B2 - Paint roller cleaning device and method of use - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant: David Russell McLAUGHLIN a a Invention Title: PAINT ROLLER CLEANING DEVICE AND METHOD OF USE a a The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:

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PAINT ROLLER CLEANING DEVICE AND METHOD OF USE The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for cleaning a paint roller which has been used to apply paint The invention is particularly useful for cleaning paint rollers which have been used to apply acrylic or other water based paints. The invention is also particularly useful for cleaning paint rollers using a hand-held electric drill.

However, the invention is not restricted to these particular uses.

As is well known, a typical paint roller comprises a tubular body which has its outer surface covered by a nap. It is the nap which picks up and absorbs paint from a supply usually contained in a paint tray and from which the paint is applied to a surface to be painted. The paint roller is used in conjunction with an applicator comprising a handle connected to a rotatable paint roller mounting means disposed at right angles to the handle. The paint roller is slid onto the mounting means where it is fixedly but releasably held by frictional forces existing between the mounting means and the inner surface of the :ii: tubular body of the paint roller. The paint roller is therefore rotatable with the mounting means.

Paint rollers are widely used by both commercial painters and home handymen, particularly for applying paint to large flat surface areas. This is because such areas can usually have paint applied to them more quickly and uniformly by means of a paint roller than by means of a paint brush.

20 However, one of the disadvantages of using paint rollers is the difficulty in cleaning them. It is usually easier to clean paint brushes than to clean paint rollers. For example, :o paint brushes that have been used to apply acrylic or other water based paints can usually be cleaned by being held and shaken or massaged in still or preferably running water. In contrast, it is usually more difficult to clean a paint roller adequately. This is partly because a paint roller has a fairly tight nap as opposed to the relatively loose array of bristles in a paint brush. The difficulty in cleaning a paint roller is also partly due to its shape and the fact that following its use it is still mounted on an awkwardly shaped applicator. These factors make the cleaning of a paint roller difficult and time consuming.

R 0 Furthermore, the cleaning of a paint roller often requires the use of a large volume of 0 water or other paint cleaning agent.

-2- In the past, attempts have been made to overcome these problems and provide apparatuses and methods for cleaning paint rollers quickly and easily. For example, New Zealand Patent Specification No. 135806 discloses an apparatus where a paint roller which is still mounted to an applicator is placed in a sleeve with the handle of the applicator remaining outside the sleeve. The inner diameter of the sleeve is a little larger than the outer diameter of the paint roller which, because it is still mounted on the rotatable paint roller mounting means of the applicator, can rotate within the sleeve. A manifold extends along the sleeve and receives water from a pressurised external source.

The manifold has small holes along its length from which jets of water are sprayed substantially tangentially onto the paint roller. This causes the paint roller to spin within the sleeve and it is said that centrifugal force assists in throwing off the paint from the paint roller as it is washed. In use of the apparatus it is preferably held with an open end of the sleeve facing downwardly so that the used cleaning water can drain from that open end. However, this apparatus may cause unwanted splashing, and it requires a 15 continuously running supply of water so that a large volume of water is used to clean each i" paint roller. This means that it is not very practicable to use other, more expensive, paint S"cleaning agents with the apparatus. Furthermore, the rate at which the paint roller is made to spin by the jets of water impinging on it is unlikely to be very high so that the S: centrifugal force produced is unlikely to contribute greatly in lifting the paint from the nap 20 of the paint roller.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for cleaning a paint roller which, at least to some extent, addresses the difficulties outlined *above and/or which provides the public with a useful choice. Compared with the apparatus and method of New Zealand Patent Specification No. 135806, the present invention enables a paint roller to be cleaned in a container of water or other paint cleaning agent, with high centrifugal forces being applied to the paint roller to facilitate its effective cleaning. The invention also optionally provides a method of removing excess paint cleaning agent from the paint roller after cleaning.

The present invention broadly consists in a paint roller cleaning device comprising 9- 3 a single shaft having first and second ends, said first end of said single shaft being k9 a single shaft having first and second ends, said first end of said single shaft being

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-3engagable by a rotary drive device and said second end of said shaft being formed to define a paint roller mount for fixedly but releasably holding a paint roller having an interior of predetermined inner diameter and a longitudinal axis which is substantially aligned with said first end of said shaft when said paint roller is held by said paint roller mount to substantially expose nap of said paint roller, said paint roller mount comprising at least two elongated loops having longitudinal side portions which grip said interior of said paint roller when said paint roller is held by said paint roller mount with said at least two elongated loops being formed by bending said second end of said shaft back longitudinally on itself at least twice to define at least three longitudinal side portions for said paint roller mount, and wherein said longitudinal side portions are approximately equiangularly spaced relative to one another about said first end of said shaft.

The above broadly defines the present invention, which will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the paint roller cleaning device.

"The paint roller cleaning device 10 of the present invention has a shaft 12 having one end 14 engaged or engagable by a rotary drive means (not shown) and a paint roller mounting means 16 fixed at the other end 18 of the shaft. The paint roller mounting means 16 is adapted to fixedly but releasably hold a paint roller of conventional 20 tubular shape so that the longitudinal axis of the paint roller is substantially aligned with that of the shaft 12. The paint roller mounting means 16 is particularly adapted to slidably receive thereon a paint roller of a predetermined inner diameter with the mounting means *gripping the interior of the paint roller to hold it fixedly but releasably on the mounting means.

After a paint roller has been used, its nap contains paint residue which must be removed before the paint roller can be stored or used with a different paint. In order to clean the used paint roller in accordance with the method of the present invention, the paint roller is removed from the applicator by which painting was effected. The method 7^ R comprises mounting that paint roller on the paint roller mounting means 16 of the device -T 30 10 so that it is fixedly but releasably held with its longitudinal axis substantially aligned -4with that of the shaft 12 and its nap substantially exposed. The mounted paint roller is then immersed in a liquid paint cleaning agent and the device is rotated about the longitudinal axis of its shaft 12 so that the mounted paint roller is rotated in the cleaning agent.

In the preferred paint roller cleaning device, the shaft 12 has a length of from 300 millimetres to 500 millimetres.

The shaft 10 can be made of any suitable material and have any suitable crosssectional shape. However, the preferred shaft is a metal rod and preferably a steel rod.

Suitable steels include mild steel, slightly hardened steel, and stainless steel for its durability. A shaft made from steel rod may typically have a diameter of from six to eight millimetres.

In the preferred paint roller cleaning device the end 14 of the shaft 12 is engagable by a rotary drive means which means it is also disengagable from the rotary drive means.

The preferred rotary drive means is the chuck of a drill which may be either a mounted 15 drill or a hand-held drill. In either case, the preferred drill is an electric drill in order to obtain a higher sustained rate of rotation of the device than is possible by use of a manually operated drill. Furthermore, use of a two-speed or variable speed drill gives the advantage of providing for different rates of rotation of the device. The electric drill may be a mains powered drill or a battery powered drill. As an alternative, air powered drills 20 can be used. When the drill is an electric drill it is desirable that the length of the shaft 12 be sufficiently long to minimise splashing of the drill by paint cleaning agent when a i paint roller is being cleaned.

The end 14 of the shaft may be shaped to prevent it slipping in the rotary drive means when engaged therewith. For example, when the shaft 12 is in the form of a rod, the end 14 may have a flat ground in it which can be gripped by the drill chuck or other rotary drive means with which the end 14 of the shaft is engaged in use.

In another embodiment of the invention, the end 14 of the shaft 12 may be permanently engaged by a rotary drive means. However, that has some disadvantages.

RFor example, it does not allow replacement of just the paint roller cleaning device itself p if that should be damaged. Furthermore, a purpose-built tool would be much more if that should be damaged. Furthermore, a purpose-built tool would be much more expensive than the paint roller cleaning device itself which can be used to increase the versatility of the already versatile hand-held electric drill.

The most commonly used paint rollers have an inner diameter of about 38 millimetres and a length of about 175 millimetres or about 225 millimetres. However, paint rollers do come in other sizes, particularly larger sizes, in terms of both inner diameter and length, for use by commercial painters. In the following description of the paint roller mounting means the dimensions given relate to the most commonly used rollers but it will be appreciated that the mounting means can be made to suit any size of paint roller.

The preferred paint roller mounting means 16 has a length of from 150 millimetres to 225 millimetres. Within this range, the preferred length is about 175 millimetres or about 225 millimetres, depending on the length of the paint roller for which the device is particularly designed to be used. However, a longer paint roller may be mounted on a shorter mounting means or vice versa and because of this a mounting means having a 15 length of about 175 millimetres is satisfactory for most commonly used paint rollers.

The diameter, or other transverse dimension, of the paint roller mounting means 16 is substantially commensurate with the inner diameter of the paint roller. This is so that when the paint roller is slid onto the mounting means there is a frictional gripping of the mounting means on the interior of the paint roller to hold the paint roller fixedly but 20 releasably on the mounting means. The frictional grip should be sufficient to prevent the paint roller from slipping on the mounting means as the device is rotated in use, whether or not the mounted paint roller is immersed in the liquid paint cleaning agent. However, the grip must be such as to permit the paint roller to be pulled off the mounting means after it has been cleaned.

In one embodiment of the invention, the paint roller mounting means 16 comprises the end 18 of the shaft being bent back on itself at least twice substantially to form at least two elongated loops defining at least three longitudinal sides which grip the interior of a paint roller when mounted on the mounting means. In Figure 1, the end 18 of the shaft 7 is bent back on itself twice to form two elongated loops 22 defining three longitudinal AO sides 24. These longitudinal sides are approximately equiangularly spaced relative to one -6another about the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The dimensions of the loops 22 are sulch that the elongated sides 24 will adequately grip the interior of a paint roller fitted onto the mounting means. The resilience of the elongated sides of the loops mean that these may be made slightly larger than the inner diameter of the paint roller so that they are compressed together slightly when the paint roller is slid onto the mounting means, this thereby ensuring a satisfactory grip between the mounting means and the paint roller. At the distal end 26 of the mounting means, the loops 22 and their elongated sides are preferably rounded or tapered to facilitate the fitting of the paint roller onto the mounting means.

The paint roller cleaning device of the present invention achieves the best results when cleaning paint rollers which have been used to apply acrylic or other water based paints. After a used paint roller has been removed from its applicator, it is mounted on the paint roller mounting means 16 of the device 10. The end 14 of the shaft 12 is engaged with a rotary drive means. As already indicated, the preferred rotary drive means is the chuck of a hand-held electric drill of the type which most painters, tradesmen, and handymen will own or have access to. It is desirable that the drill be a multi-speed drill, S"for example, a two-speed drill or a variable speed drill.

When the paint to be cleaned from the paint roller is a water based paint, the liquid paint cleaning agent used is preferably water but it could be some other paint solvent. To 20 prevent wastage and undue splashing, the water or other liquid is preferably contained in an appropriate container, which may be a bucket. Alternatively, the paint roller can be cleaned under running water or other liquid provided that wastage of the liquid is not a concern. The paint roller mounting means 16 and thus the mounted paint roller are preferably immersed in the cleaning liquid and the drill is activated. The rotation of the device 10 and hence of the paint roller results in a considerable centrifugal force which forces paint in the nap of the roller to move to the outer surface of the nap where it is washed off by the liquid in which the paint roller is being rotated. The rate of rotation of the device should be at least about 600 rpm with a maximum rate of rotation being about 3000 rpm. For optimum cleaning, the paint roller mounted on the device should first be 1 30 rotated at a lower speed, for example, between 600 and 1200 rpm, preferably about 1200 -7rpm, which may be the lower speed of a two-speed drill, and after a period of time the rate of rotation should be increased to between about 2000 and 3000 rpm, preferably about 3000 rpm, which may be the higher speed of a two-speed drill. During the cleaning process, the cleaning agent may be periodically or continuously replaced or refreshed.

1f for example, the cleaning agent is wate.r a running hose could be placed in the bucket or container to refresh the water therein.

To further improve the cleaning, the operator of the drill could impart to the device attached to it, a translational or stirring motion while it is being rotated in the cleaning agent. This will further enhance the cleaning of the paint roller.

Once the paint roller is substantially cleaned, it can be removed from the cleaning agent and after some excess liquid has been allowed to drain off can have further excess liquid thrown off by being spun in the air. When the wet paint roller is spun in the air to remove excess liquid, it could be placed within a tubular housing or even an empty bucket to catch the liquid being sprayed off.

is that a used paint roller can be cleaned and substantially dried and made ready for reuse with a different colour or type of paint within a few minutes. This is a time saving feature which is an advantage, particularly for commercialpainters. Furthermore, because of the relative simplicity of the preferred embodiment of the device, it can be made relatively 20 cheaply and, as already stated, can be used with the types of hand-held electric drill which are readily available.

The above describes some preferred forms of the invention and indicates a number of possible modifications but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that various other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

If a paint roller has been used to apply an oil-based paint, then the paint cleaning agent will be an organic solvent In this case particular care will need to be taken to avoid undue splashing or spraying of the solvent, especially if it is it flammable or toxic. A R A4 specially designed container having a substantially closed top, except for an opening to T "A 30 allow the mounted paint roller to pass through, could be used.

-8- The device of the present invention can also be used as a paint stirrer. The motive power for the stirring could be supplied by any of the means previously mentioned.

However, the device could even be used to stir paint by hand. This paint-stirring feature adds to the versatility of the device and increases its usefulness. Of course the device could be used to stir substances other than paint.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that paint rollers can and are used for the application of substances other than paint. The device of the present invention can be used to remove such substances provided an appropriate cleaning agent is used.

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Claims (3)

1. A paint roller cleaning device comprising a single shaft having first and second ends, said first end of said single shaft being engagable by a rotary drive device and said second end of said shaft being formed to define a paint roller mount for fixedly but releasably holding a paint roller having an interior of predetermined inner diameter and a longitudinal axis which is substantially aligned with said first end of said shaft when said paint roller is held by said paint roller mount to substantially expose nap of said paint roller, said paint roller mount comprising at least two elongated loops having longitudinal side portions which grip said interior of said paint roller when said paint roller is held by said paint roller mount with said at least two elongated loops being formed by bending said second end of said shaft back longitudinally on itself at least twice to define at least three longitudinal side portions for said paint roller mount, and wherein said longitudinal side portions are approximately equiangularly spaced relative to one another about said 15 first end of said shaft.

2. A paint roller cleaning device as claimed in claim 1 wherein each said elongated loop is substantially closed. *0* S. 20

3. A paint roller cleaning device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a distal end of said paint roller mount is sized smaller than a predetermined inner diameter of a paint roller to be mounted thereon to facilitate mounting said paint roller on said paint roller mount. Dated this 28th day of August 1997 DAVID RUSSELL MCLAUGHLIN By their Patent Attorneys S GRIFFITH HACK -i0 Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia ABSTRACT The paint roller cleaning device comprises a shaft having one end engaged or engagable by a rotary drive means, such as an electric drill. A paint roller mounting means is fixed at the other end of the shaft, the mounting means being adapted to fixedly but releasably hold a paint roller with its longitudinal axis aligned with that of the shaft and with its nap substantially exposed. The device allows a mounted roller to be immersed in a paint cleaning agent and rotated about its longitudinal axis to facilitate cleaning of the roller. S o* S. M