IP Australia Paint Brush Holder SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: "PAINT BRUSH HOLDER" Applicant: Greg Kouzoumis The present invention relates to a holder for hand tools, and in particular, to an extension apparatus for holding a hand tool at an extended position in various orientations. The invention is suitable for use in applications relating to a paint brush holder, and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to the exemplary, non-limiting application. For a painter, whether amateur of professional, the most dangerous task is to paint high ceilings, or eaves, etc. The use of a ladder is the preferred method for facilitating painter access to difficult and possibly dangerous locations. The use of ladders presents and element of danger of injury to the painter, most often caused by a fall. Most injuries are caused by misuse of ladder, for example, by placing the ladder on an uneven ground, etc. To avoid such potential risk of injury, it is commonplace for painters to utilise extension rods, most often in conjunction with paint rollers, to paint high locations such as ceilings and eaves without having to climb a ladder. However, the drawback is that delicate or hard to reach places, such as edges, mouldings, trim, cannot be effectively painted by just using rollers. Thus, the painter must still make use of a ladder and paint brush to finish the painting job. It is therefore desirable to provide a holder for a paintbrush or hand tool which will avoid the need for ladders, when accessing high, hard to reach places. It is further desirable to provide a holder which can be oriented at various angles. It is also desirable to provide a holder which is simple in construction and inexpensive.
IP Australia Paint Brush Holder There is a product on the market which is a paint brush moulded to an extension for such a job, however the brush is moulded at one direction, thus not providing adequate angulation for this job. Further there is another product on the market for domestic use, providing angular movement but is limited to the use of painting pads, not brushes and/or other hand tools. According to the invention, there is provided a holder for a hand tool comprising: (i) a first section having a housing for receiving a rod or like member at one end; (ii) a second section having clamping means for receiving a first portion of said hand tool; and (iii) a pivotable securing means for pivotably attaching said second section to said first section and releasably securing said second section and said first section in fixed pivotal relation. By providing such a holder, the hand tool can be held in a holder at various orientations which allows ease of use, especially when used in high places and at odd angles. In a preferred form of the invention, the hand tool is a paint brush. The first section preferable includes attachment means for securing the rod in said housing. The attachment means may include a threaded aperture through said housing and a cooperating threaded member for projecting into the housing to engage said rod. The pivotable securing means preferably includes a shaft pivotably connected to said second section so that said second section is pivotable thereabout and a securement member. The shaft may include an aperture through which said securement may pass. The said housing and said securement member preferably includes cooperating threaded section for causing said second section to bear against and be maintained in position by said first section. The pivotable securing means may also include an annular member interposed between said second section and said first section. 2 IP Australia Paint Brush Holder The second section preferably includes a base and a clamping means which may include an arch, a threaded aperture formed through said arch and cooperating threaded member for projecting towards said base so as to retain said hand tool in place. The following description refers in more detail to the various features of the holder of the present invention. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made in the description to the accompanying drawings where the holder is illustrated in a preferred embodiment. It is to be understood that the holder of the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the drawings. * Figure 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a holder for hand tool in accordance with the present invention; " Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the holder for a hand tool shown in Figure 1; and * Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the holder of Figure 1 when used with a paint brush. Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown generally a holder I including a first section 2 and in second section 5. The first section 2 includes a housing 3 for receiving an extension rod (not shown) and an attachment means 4, for securing said rod. The second section 5 has a clamping means 6 for receiving a first portion of a hand rod. The first and second sections 2, 5 are pivotably attached by pivotable securing means 7. As seen in Figure 2, the attachment means 4 comprises a threaded aperture 8 through the housing 3 and a cooperating threaded member 9 for projecting into the housing 3 to engage a rod (not shows) within the housing. In the embodiment illustrated, the threaded member 9 is a bolt of the type that can be manually operated. Furthermore, a nut 10 is secured to the housing 3 and receives the bolt 9. In this example a bolt and a nut is provided, however, other suitable arrangements can be provided to effect securing of a rod. The pivotable securing means 7 comprises a shaft 11, which is pivotally connected to the second section 5, so that the second section can pivot thereabouts. A threaded securement members 12 passes through an aperture 13 of the shaft 11. 3 IP Australia Paint Brush Holder In the embodiment shown, the first section 2 also has a threaded aperture 14 for cooperating with the securement member 12. The second section 5 has two flanges, 15 extending from a base 16. The flanges 15 each include an aperture for receiving the shaft 11. The securement member 12, cooperates with the aperture 14 to releasably secure in the first and second sections. The shaft 11 and securement member 12 enable pivotable movement of the second section 5 with respect to the first section 2, and also enable the flanges 15 of the second section to bear against and be maintained in position by the first section 2 as to maintain the first and second sections in fixed pivotal relation. In this example, an annular member 18 is interposed between the second section 5 and the housing 3. This member may take the form of a disc as shown in Figure 2, with an aperture 19 to receive the securement member 12. The purpose of the annular member 18 is to provide protection for the housing 3 and ease of rotation and pivoting of the second section 5 with respect to the first section 2. The base 16 can be any suitable shape, for example a V shape to define a channel, to receive a hand tool or paint brush handle. The clamping means 6 includes an arch 20, a threaded aperture 21, and a cooperating threaded member 22 for projecting towards said base to retain a hand tool or paint brush in the claim means 6. The embodiment illustrated also shows a nut 23 which may be secured to the arch 20. The threaded member 22 may be a bolt. Other suitable means may be employed to secure a hand tool or paint brush in the second section 6. The operation of the holder I will now be described with reference to Figures 1 and 3. Referring to Figure 3, a rod 24 and paint brush 25 are shown. In this embodiment, the operation of the invention will be described in relation to a paint brush, but it should be noted that other hand tools may be used with the holder. The rod 24 provides a means for extending the hand tool to a remote location. In the event that a painter wishes to paint ceilings, eaves or high places, for example, then a rod can be inserted into housing 3 an secured in place with attachment means 4, thus facilitating an extension of the paint brush 25. In an alternative form, the rod 24 may be snug fitted into housing 3, therefore not requiring separate attachment means. Similarly, other securement fixtures can be employed. 4 IP Australia Paint Brush Holder The paint brush 25 with handle 26 is restrained in the clamp means 6 by the threaded member 22 engaging with the handle 26. In use, the housing 3 is initially rotated counter-clockwise to engage the securement member 12 in the operative 14 and then, upon further rotation, to bring the second section 5 to bear against the first section 2, at the pivotable securing means 7. To release, the housing 3 is simply rotated in the opposite direction that is clockwise. It should be noted that in the embodiment illustrated, the first section 2 can be completely disengaged from the second section 5 and this from the pivotable securing means 7 by rotating the housing 3 clockwise until securement member 12 disengages from the housing, as shown in Figure 2. To adjust the angle or orientation of a hand tool or the paint brush 25, the housing 3 is rotated counter-clockwise until the flanges 15 of the second section 5 no longer bear against the first section 2. In the present embodiment as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the flanges will need to clear the annular member 19. Once this is achieved, the second section 5 can pivot about the shaft 11 in the horizontal and vertical planes. Thus, may orientations are possible depending on the application. The second section 5 can thus be oriented at a plurality of desired orientations, and then simply locked into place by rotating the housing 3. Since modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may be readily effected by persons skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described, by way of example, hereinabove. 5