US3335450A

US3335450A - Self-feeding paint brush

Info

Publication number: US3335450A
Application number: US407141A
Authority: US
Inventors: Crompton George Stephen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-12-17
Filing date: 1964-10-28
Publication date: 1967-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 1984-08-15
Also published as: GB1082000A

Description

g- 1967 G. s. CROMPTON 3,335,450

SELF-FEEDING PAINT BRUSH Filed 001,- 28, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1 I 1 72 72 1 5? 7a 1 a, z 74 Q 5 4 Z 0 2 0% E g 70" i ii 12.] g,

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INVEH To R: GEORGE S. CROMPTON ArroRNEYJ 1967 G. s. CROMPTON 3,335,450

SELF-FEEDING PAINT BRUSH Filed Oct. 28, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 N V E N T C R RGE 5. CRonPTon A rrrrrr YS g- 1967 G. s. CROMPTON 3,335,450

SELF-FEEDING PAINT BRUSH Filed Oct. 28, 1964 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lIIFIII/i INVE N To #8: GEORGE C icmP'rooa RWE VS United States Patent 3,335,450 SELF-FEEDING PAINT BRUSH George Stephen Crornpton, Liverpool, England, assignor of one-half to Rowland Ellis Jones, Liverpool, England Filed Get. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 407,141 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Dec. 17, 1963, 49,872/63 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-581) The present invention relates to a device for feeding paint or the like to a paint brush head intermittently in dependence upon the application of pressure by the brush head against a surface to be painted. The invention also relates to a paint brush head which is suitable for use with this device.

The object of the present invention is to provide a paint brush comprising a handle and brush head wherein paint is supplied through duct means to the head which is angularly displaceable relatively to the handle and the flow of paint through said duct means is arrested when the brush head is in a given normal position relatively to the handle and is released when the head is angularly displaced from said normal position on application of pressure to the head in the course of painting.

In a preferred mode of carrying the invention into effect a flexible tube for the supply of paint to the brush head passes through a bore in the handle and is connected to a bore in the head and is squeezable from opposite sides thereof to arrest the flow of paint therethrough by squeezing elements mounted on the handle, which squeezing elements are withdrawable in turn from the tube to release the flow of paint on angular displacement of the head relatively to the handle in one direction and then in the other direction as pressure is applied to one side of the brush head and then to the other side during the course of painting. Said squeezing elements may be spring loaded towards one another for squeezing engagement with the tube, such squeezing engagement being limited by their engagement against an abutment or abutments on the handle from which abutment or abutments each is withdrawable in turn on relative angular displacement of the head and handle in one direction and then in the other.

According to another feature of the present invention, a paint brush head has at least one paint supply duct which extends within the bristles from the stock of the brush head towards the tip of the bristles of the brush head. By this means paint which is supplied to the brush head is fed through the supply duct to the tip of the brush head.

For an average size of brush head it is preferable to have a transverse or widthwise row of at least three ducts to ensure a sufliciently even distribution of paint over the tip of the brush. Furthermore, it is desirable that the flexibility of the duct or ducts should be at least equal to that of the brush head bristles and preferably significantly greater. If the duct is not sufficiently flexible then after pressure has been applied to it during a painting stroke of the brush head it is likely to remain bent when the bristles straighten'with the result that the bristles Will be bifurcated and the end of the duct will be uncovered by the bristles. It is essential that the end or ends of the duct or ducts be enveloped by the bristles. Moreover, undue stiffness of the duct will interfere with the painting function of the brush head since its overall flexibility at the tip of the brush head will be impaired.

More specifically, the second feature of the invention provides a paint brush head having a flexible multiple duct block of oblong cross-section divided into a number of ducts by a plurality of partitions, said duct block extending from the stock of the brush head towards the tip Patented Aug. 15, 196'? thereof and having a flexibility at least equal to that of the bristles which enclose it.

The spacing between the tip of the paint brush head and the end of the duct or duct block is an important feature. If the duct or duct block approaches the tip of the bristles too closely there will be a tendency for paint to be fed only to those bristles in the immediate vicinity of the end of the duct or duct block. If the end of the duct or duct block is too greatly spaced from the tip of the bristles then paint supplied by the duct or duct block will tend to issue from the brush head at some locality spaced from the painting tip and will thus not be readily applied to the surface to be painted. The spacing between the end of the duct or duct block and the painting tip of the brush head will vary according to the size and construction of the brush head but with reasonable trial and error it should be possible to achieve the correct spacing for a particular size of brush head. For an average two inch brush head, the end of the duct block should be about inch to 12 inch from the tip of the bristles. To allow for shortening of the bristles due to wear it may often be advisable for the duct or duct block to terminate at or a little beyond the middle of the free bristle length.

With a widthwise duct block or row of ducts it is desirable that it should be flexible in the transverse direction as well as in the longitudinal direction to enable curved surfaces to be satisfactorily painted.

The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a paint brush head according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the brush head;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a paint brush and handle according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken at right angles to FIG. 4 and illustrating only part of what is shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line VI-VI of FIG. 4 looking upwardly; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view corresponding to a portion of FIG. 4 with certain parts spaced away from their normal positions in order more fully to reveal others.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a paint brush according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention incorporates a duct block, generally indicated as '70, of oblong cross section divided into a number of ducts 72 by a plurality of partitions 74. The brush comprises a conventional vulcanised stock 76 in which the ends of bristles 78 are embedded. The stock 76 is reinforced by a ferrule 86. The stock 76 has a slot 82 extending therethrough and the central portion of the bristles 78 is removed to accommodate the duct block 70 which extends from the stock 76 towards the tip 34 of the bristles 78. The duct block 70 has a flanged portion 86 which lies on the surface 88 of the stock 76, when the block 70 is positioned within the brush head.

The duct block 70 is made of a material such that it has a flexibility at least equal to that of the bristles 78 collectively and preferably is made of a material which gives it a flexibility significantly greater than that of the bristles 78. This ensures that the duct block does not interfere with the painting function of the brush.

The longitudinal side edges of the ferrule 89 are flanged at 90 to afford connection of the brush head to a connector through which paint is supplied to the duct block 79 and hence to the bristles 78.

The spacing between the tip 84 of the bristles 78 of the brush head and the end of the duct block is an important feature which will vary according to the size of the brush. An appropriate spacing for a two inch brush is approximately to /2" but to allow for shortening of the bristles due to wear it may often be advisable for the duct block to terminate at or a little beyond the middle of the tree bristle length i.e. at or a little beyond the midposition between the upper edge of the ferrule 80 and the tip 84. It will be appreciated that for very small paint brushes only a single duct may be necessary to feed paint to the brush bristles.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 7 a flexible tube 100 for the supply of paint to a brush head passes through a longitudinal bore 102 in a brush handle 104. A brush head 106 substantially as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is pivotally mounted on the handle 104 by means of a pair of arms 108 which are pivotally secured to the handle by screws 110 and interconnected at their free ends by a yoke 112. A rectangular connecting plate 114 is secured to the yoke 112 by screws 116 and at its centre it is formed with a bore in which is received a short rigid tube 118 which permits the supply of paint through connecting plate 114-. The tube 118 protrudes downwardly through the plate 114 into an opening 120 in the yoke 112. The opening 120 and the protruding part of the tube 118 are tapered and receive therebetween the end of the tube 100.

A pair of abutment posts 122 extend forwardly from the forward end of the handle 104.

Squeezing elements

124, 125 are disposed at opposite sides of the posts 122 and are supported by bolts 126 which extend through aligned openings in the posts and squeezing elements and support springs 128 which are compressed against squeezing elements 124 by nuts 130.

Between the posts 122 the

squeezing elements

124, 125 are formed with opposed angular noses 132 which when the

squeezing eelments

124, 125 are in engagement with opposite sides of the posts 122 squeeze the tube 100 to an extent sufficient to close it as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The arms 108 support inwardly directed projections 134, the inner ends of which are received between the ends of the

squeezing elements

124, 125 so that when the brush head 106 and the arms are angularly displaced as a result of painting the projections 134

push squeezing element

124 or 125 away from the abutment posts 122 to at least partly withdraw one of the noses 132 from the tube 100 to permit flow of paint along the tube. Thus as the brush head 106 is angularly displaced in one direction and then in the other direction as painting proceeds first one and then the other of the

squeezing elements

124, 125 is withdrawn from the tube 100 to enable paint to be supplied intermittently to the brush head 106 through the duct block 70.

The rate of supply of paint can be adjusted by adjusting of the nuts 130 to alter the compression of the springs 128.

The stock of the brush head is embraced by a ferrule 136 formed with opposed inturned flanges 138 to provide opposed inwardly directed channels to receive connecting plate 114. The ferrule 136 with its flanges 138 thus provides a mounting means for attachment of the brush head to the handle.

I claim:

1. A paint brush comprising two pivotally connected members each having a bore therein to allow the passage of paint therethrough, one of said members being formed for attachment to a brush head and the other of said members serving as a handle and being adapted for connection to a source of paint; biasing means tending to maintain said members in a given normal alignment; and valve means actuable by relative angular movement of said members to arrest the passage of paint through said members when the members are normally aligned and to allow the passage of paint therethrough when one of the members is pivoted relative to the other, said valve means comprising a flexible tube passing through the bore of the other of said members and connected to the bore of said one member and squeezing elements mounted on said other member at opposite sides of said tube, said squeezing elements being separately withdrawable in turn from the tube to release the flow of paint therethrough on angular displacement of said one member relatively to the other in one direction and then in the other direction as pressure is applied to one side of the brush head and then to the other side in the course of painting.

2. A device according to claim 1 comprising at least one abutment on said other member, said squeezing elements being located at opposite sides of said abutment and spring means for drawing said squeezing elements towards and into engagement with said abutment so as to interrupt flow of paint through the tube when both are in engagement with the abutment.

3. A device according to claim 1 comprising a pair of arms connecting said one member to said other member, said one member incorporating a brush head support, a pair of abutment posts extending from said other member towards said one member, said squeezing elements being located at opposite sides of said abutment posts, spring means urging said squeezing elements towards and into abutment with said abutment posts whereby to squeeze the tube to arrest the flow of paint therethrough and inward projections on said arms located between said squeezing elements adapted to withdraw one or other of said squeezing elements from engagement with said abutment posts on angular displacement of said arms in one direction or the other.

4. A device according to claim 3 comprising aligned openings through said posts and through said squeezing elements and bolts passing through said aligned openings for supporting said squeezing elements from said posts.

5. A device according to claim 4 comprising adjustably loaded springs mounted on said bolts for urging the squeezing elements towards the abutment posts.

6. A paint brush comprising two interhinged members namely a brush head and a handle, passage means in said handle and brush head respectively, a flexible tube extending through the passage means of the handle and engaging the passage means of the head to enable paint to be supplied through said tube to the head, supporting means extending from one of said interhinged members towards the other, at least one squeezing element displaceably supported by said supporting means so as to be capable of moving in a direction substantially perpendicular to the handle towards and away from the tube to close and open the same, spring means urging said squeezing element towards the tube to close the same and means carried by the other of said interhinged members for engaging said squeezing element to move it in a direction away from the tube on angular displacement of the brush head relatively to the handle in a given direction during a painting stroke.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,041,173 5/1936 Fairchild 15-603 2,206,208 7/ 1940 Thomas 15-579 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,006,772 1/ 1952 France.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

S. E. BECK, E. L. ROBERTS, Assistant Examiners.

Claims

6. A PAINT BRUSH COMPRISING TWO INTERHINGED MEMBERS NAMELY A BRUSH HEAD AND A HANDLE, PASSAGE MEANS IN SAID HANDLE AND BRUSH HEAD RESPECTIVELY, A FLEXIBLE TUBE EXTENDING THROUGH THE PASSAGE MEANS OF THE HANDLE AND ENGAGING TH PASSAGE MEANS OF THE HEAD TO ENABLE PAINT TO BE SUPPLIED THROUGH SAID TUBE TO THE HEAD, SUPPORTING MEANS EXTENDING FROM ONE OF SAID INTERHINGED MEMBERS TOWARS THE OTHER, AT LEAST ONE SQUEEZING ELEMENT DISPLACEABLY SUPPORTED BY SAID SUPPORTING MEANS SO AS TO BE CAPABLE OF MOVING IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE HANDLE TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM THE TUBE TO CLOSE AND OPEN THE SAME, SPRING MEANS URGING SAID SQUEEZING ELEMENT TOWARDS THE TUBE TO CLOSE THE SAME AND MEANS CARRIED BY THE OTHER OF SAID INTERHINGED MEMBERS FOR ENGAGING SAID SQUEEZING ELEMENT TO MOVE IT IN A DIRECTION