US3419931A - Angularly adjustable handle for paint rollers and the like - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 7, 1969 F. w. WILLIG 3,419,931

- ANGULARLY ADJUSTABLE HANDLE FOR PAINT ROLLERS AND THE LIKE I Filed March a, 1967 United States Patent 3,419,931 ANGULARLY ADJUSTABLE HANDLE FOR PAINT RQLLERS AND THE LIKE Frederick W. Willig, 815 Elliott Ave., Santa Rosa, Calif. 95401 Filed Mar. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 621,574 US. Cl. 15144 Int. Cl. A46b 5/02; B05c 1/00; B25g 3/38 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A paint roller mechanism in which the handle of the paint roller is pivotal with respect to the roller. The pivotal connection between the roller and the handle comprises a fiat washer of a frictional material interposed between two plate members, one of which is secured to the handle and the other of which is secured to a bracket on which a roller is mounted. A pivot bolt extends through the plate members and washer and holds them in compression. Because of this joint, the handle is pivotal through a range of angles with respect to the roller and yet the provision of the frictional material assures that the handle will remain at any angle to which it is adjusted.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a paint roller mechanism for supporting a paint applying roller at various angles relative to a handle and, more particularly, to such a paint roller mechanism in which the angular relationship of the handle to the paint roller can be easily varied over a continuous range of angles and yet rigidly maintained at any particular angular relationship.

Paint applying rollers are finding increasing use as a means for applying paint to walls or the like because of the speed and ease by which paint can be applied with them. There are, however, many instances in which painters still prefer using conventional paint brushes. For example, brushes are generally used in painting a wall adjacent a ceiling, or around door and window casings. This is so because to paint with a paint roller wall areas immediately below a ceiling and above casings, it is necessary to pass the roller horizontally across the wall. Conventional rollers, though, are designed such that when the roller is moved horizontally, the handle thereof projects perpendicularly straight out from the roller. With such an arrangement, a painter cannot move a roller horizontally across a wall above shoulder height with any case and effectiveness. With rollers, therefore, it would be necessary for ladders or scaffolding to be used to reach areas above shoulder height such as close to the ceiling and above doors. For this reason, they have not been generally accepted for use in such areas and other hard-to-reach places.

In an attempt to circumvent this problem, paint roller mechanisms have been designed in which the handle can be adjusted to various angles with respect to the paint roller. However, none of these designs have been acceptable for one or more reasons. Some of such designs have permitted adjustment of the handle angle to only certain predetermined angles. Because of the various heights of walls and different placement of casings therein the use for rollers with this type of adjustable handle is limited. While several paint roller mechanisms have been provided in which a continuous angular adjustment of the handle can be obtained, these have not been so designed that the handle will remain rigidly at any angle to which it is adjusted with the result that the roller will always tend to pivot so that it will be fiat against a wall. This precludes use of the edge of the roller for applying paint to missed spots, etc. Other designs have required a time consuming and Sometimes difficult manipulation to make an angular change.

Summary of the invention The instant invention provides a paint roller mechanism which includes a pivotal joint by which the angular relationship of the handle to the roller can be varied over a continuous range of angles and yet will rigidly maintain the handle at any particular chosen angle. Moreover, no complex manipulation is required to change the handle angle. In its basic aspects, the structural embodiment of the invention is a pivotal joint interconnecting the paint roller handle with a bracket secured to the axle for the roller. The joint includes two plate members, one of which is secured to the bracket, the other which is secured to the handle. These plate members are pivotally secured together and at least one of them has a surface which is adapted to frictionally engage a friction means during pivotal movement therebetween.

From the above, and as will become more apparent hereinafter, it will be seen that the pivot joint of the instant paint roller mechanism allows adjustment against the friction force provided by the friction means of the handle angle over a continuous range of angles. Moreover, the friction means holds the handle substantially rigid with respect to the roller at any angle to which it is adjusted. It accomplishes the foregoing while yet the manipulation required to make the adjustment is simple in that it can be made by just exerting a pivoting force on the handle which is sufficient to overcome the friction provided by the friction means.

Brief description of the drawing tion can be used to paint a wall closely adjacent to a ceiling.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to FIGURES l and 2, a paint roller mechanism of the invention is generally referred to by the reference numeral 11. Such mechanism includes an axle 12 which is suitably adapted in any conventional manner to have a cylindrical paint applying roller 13 rotatably mounted thereon. Such mounting can include a nut 14 at the free end of the axle and a suitable spacer (not shown) at the other end for normally preventing any substantial axial movement of the roller on axle 12 while allowing rotational movement thereof. A bracket 15 is secured to axle 12 at the end thereof opposite nut 14 and includes an end rod 16 extending radially of the roller from the axle. An arm 17 is right angularly secured to end rod 16 and extends parallel in spaced relation to axle 12. The space between axle 12 and arm 17 is sufficient to permit free rotation of roller 13 on the axle and arm 17 extends for approximately half the length of axle 12. Such arm 17 terminates in a stem 18 which extends radially of roller 13 outwardly and parallel to end rod 16. Stem 18 is for the purpose of connecting the handle 19 to bracket 15 and, hence, to the axle and roller. Axle 12, end rod 16, arm 17 and stem 18 are desirably all one rod which is 3 appropriately bent to define these parts and which, in toto, is generally a U-shaped support for the roller.

Handle 19 includes a hand grip portion 21 which is suitably adapted for securance thereto of an extension rod or the like such as by means of the threaded bore 22 at the free end thereof. A shaft 23 projects from the other end of grip 21 to provide means for securing the handle to the above described U-shaped support arrangement for the paint roller.

In accordance with the invention, the connection between handle 23 and bracket is by means of a pivot joint 24 which in its basic aspects comprises two plate members 26 and 27 respectively connected to shaft 23 and stem 18. Each plate member 26 and 27 has a planar surface 28 and 29, respectively, in opposed confronting relation to that of the other. A friction means such as the flat washer 31 is interposed between the planar surfaces of the plate members. The material of washer 31 can be of any type which will present a somewhat resilient frictional surface to the planar surfaces. For example it can be of rubber, neoprene, or other synthetic material. Clamping means such as bolt 32 and nut 33 pivotally connect together plate 26, washer 31, and plate 27.

It is because of this structure just described that the pivotal joint of the invention will permit adjustment of the angular relationship between the handle and the roller over a continuous range of angles and yet maintain the handle rigidly at any particular chosen angle. Because the sliding surfaces between the plate members and the washer are planar, the plate members and washer can be at any relative pivotal relationship to one another. Thus the handle can be adjusted to any angle with respect to the roller except for those in which the handle and roller structure will interfere. The resistance of the plate members to pivotal movement will depend upon the axial compression force provided on the plate members and washer 31 by bolt 32 and nut 33. It will thus be seen that bringing the nut 33 to a proper amount of tightness, an optimum condition will be reached where the angular relationship between the two plate members, and hence between the handle and the roller, will stay at a selected position during painting but yet the angle can be adjusted by providing a pivoting force on the handle which is greater than that usually provided during painting and suflicient to overcome the friction opposing such pivoting. Since the amount of force necessary to provide this optimum condition is going to depend upon the particular friction washer and the wishes of each user, the nut 33 is desirably of a self-locking type which can be loosened if desired. Each user can then either intentionally tighten or loosen the same to obtain the force he desires, but once a particular position is chosen for the nut it will tend to remain there even after repeated pivoting of the joint. Thus, once the desired optimum condition is achieved it is not necessary to make further adjustment.

FIGURE 4 shows use of a paint roller of the invention in painting a wall closely adjacent to the joint between it and a ceiling. Because of the provision of the joint, the painter is able to reach and paint this portion of the wall without a ladder. More particularly, an extension 37 is secured to the handle 19 so that the painter can hold the roller at ceiling height. The joint permits the roller to be moved horizontaly with respect to the wall at such height by the extension. It will be recognized that without the joint, the handle 19 would be extending out from the roller parallel to the ceiling and the painter would have to be on a ladder or scaffolding to paint the area in the manner shown.

While in the preferred embodiment being described, both plate member 26 and plate member 27 have planar surfaces adapted to frictionally engage with planar surfaces of washer 31, it is only necessary that one have a surface which is adapted to frictionally engage a friction means during pivotal movement. For example, the washer 31 could be suitably adhered to one of the plate members so that it would always move with the same. Then the frictional engagement during pivoting would be between the washer and the surface of the other plate member.

Considering now the pivotal joint of the invention in more detail, it is seen that each of the plate members 26 and 27 includes a generally disc shaped portion 35 which defines the respective planar surfaces 28 and 29. A square bolt receiving aperture 34 extends through each plate member centrally of the disc shaped portion. Bolt 32 is a square neck carriage bolt and the aperture 34 of the plate member 27 receives the square neck thereof. The threaded poriton of such bolt extends through the central apertures 36 of washer 31 and through aperture 34 of plate member 26. While it will be recognized that it is not necessary that both bolt receiving apertures 34 be square, they are so in order that plates 26 and 27 are identical for the sake of expediency in manufacturing and assembly. Nut 33 is threadably received on the end of bolt 32, and, as stated before, is desirably of the selflocking type which can be intentionally loosened. An example of such a nut is one in which one end thereof has a deformable plastic collar insert which will be threaded by the bolt to which the nut is applied.

The manner by which the pivot joint of the embodiment shown in FIGURES l and 2 is secured to bracket stem 18 and handle shaft 23 will now be described. Since the connection between plate 26 and handle shaft 23 is identical to the connection between plate 27 and roller bracket stem 18, only the former will be described and like parts in each connection are referred to by like reference numerals. Plate member 26 includes a shank 39 which extends from its disc portion 35 and connects it to a bracket portion 41. Bracket portion 41 includes a semi-cylindrical rod receiving channel 42 and a separate bracket member 43 includes a complementary semi-circular channel 44. Bracket member 43 is adapted for securance to the plate member 43 with such channels in Clamping relation to handle shaft 23. More particularly, bolt holes 46 on each side of the channel portion of bracket 44 register with similar bolt holes 47 on each side of the channel portion 42 of plate member 26. Bolts 48 extend through such registered bolt holes and nuts 51 are threadably received on their free ends to provide clamping of such plate member to shaft 23. Stem 18 is similarly clamped to plate 27 by a clamping portion 41 and a separate clamping member 43.

The above described connection of the pivot joint to bracket item 18 and handle shaft 23 permits incorporation of the invention into existing paint rollers. In most existing rollers, stem 18 and shaft 23 are one integral rod. To effect the modification, this rod need only be cut in two and the resulting ends thereof clamped to the plates 26 and 27 of the joint by the clamping member 43.

FIGURE 3 depicts a factory assembled embodiment of the invention in which the pivotal joint is integrally connected to a stem 18' and a handle shaft 23'. More particularly, this embodiment does not include the bracket arrangement securing the stern and shaft to the joint connection, but rather, each of the plate members 52 and 53 includes and outwardly extending shank 54 to which stem 18 and shaft 23 are respectively suitably welded. Insofar as the pivotal joint itself is concerned, this embodiment of the invention is identical to that shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 and like parts are referred to by like numerals which are primed.

What is claimed is:

1. A paint roller mechanism for supporting a paint roller at various angles relative to a handle, comprising an axle adapted to have a cylindrical paint applying roller mounted thereon for rotation about its cylindrical axis, a bracket secured to an end of said axle and including a stem disposed generally normal to said axis, a handle for said roller including a shaft, a pair of plate members each having opposed confronting surfaces, a resilient washer interposed between said confronting surfaces, clamping means securing said plate members together with said washer positioned therebetween and permitting relative pivotal movement of said palte members with said washer providing a frictional resistance to such movement, said plate members each having a portion extending in diametrically opposite directions from said pivotal clamping means, a pair of generally coplanar clamping brackets attached to the respective portions of said plate members with said stem and said shaft interposed and clamped between the plate members and clamping brackets whereby upon relative pivotal movement of said plate members the angular relationship between said shaft and said stem will be varied.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1893 Richardson 28714 XR 5/1949 Mygas 15146 XR 5/1951 Draughn 15-144 12/1957 Zellinger 15-230.11 9/1959 Huhtala 15-23011 9/1966 Mazzella 15144 FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1897 Great Britain. 11/ 1965 Great Britain.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

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