PAINT BRUSHES

The invention relates to paint brushes.

A conventional paint brush comprises a handle and a set of bristles. The set of bristles are connected permanently to the handle and used for applying paint or other liquids to a surface.

It is a disadvantage of such a conventional paint brush that, when the bristles are no longer usable, the whole paint brush must be thrown away.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a paint brush comprising a handle and a set of bristles held by the handle, the set of bristles being separable from the handle.

It is also a disadvantage when using such a conventional paint brush that a separate device must be used to remove a lid of a can of paint or other liquids for use with the paint brush.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a paint brush comprising a handle and a set of bristles held by the handle, the handle carrying a projection for opening a lid of a can.

A further disadvantage of a conventional paint brush is that, unless the bristles are cleaned immediately after painting, the bristles will harden and make the paint brush unusable.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a paint brush comprising a handle, a set of bristles and a cover removably engageable with t thhpe h hflannHdllpe t too m covvfierr t thhfie h brriissttileess.

A yet further disadvantage of a conventional paint brush is that the handle is normally made from wood. This can make the handle difficult to grip.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a paint brush comprising a handle and a set of bristles held by the handle, the handle being formed from a plastics material and including at least one insert of a relatively softer plastics material providing a grip portion.

Of course, the features of the paint brush in the first aspect of the invention could be used with the features of the paint brush of the second aspect of the invention and/or the features of the third aspect of the invention and/or the features of the fourth aspect of the invention.

The following is a more detailed description of some embodiments of the invention, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation, from a first side, of a paint brush together with a cap and a tin opener,

Figure 2 is a side elevation, from a second side, of the paint brush of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an exploded isometric view of the paint brush of Figures 1 and 2 from a first end, and

Figure 4 is an exploded isometric view of the paint brush of Figures 1 to 3 from a second end, and showing an alternative connection between a set of bristles and a holder of the paint brush.

Referring to the drawings, the paint brush comprises a handle indicated generally at 10, a set of bristles indicated generally at 11 and a cover 12.

The handle 10 is formed from a plastics material such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). The handle may be formed, for example, by gas injection moulding. The handle 10 includes a holder portion 13 connected by a neck 14 to an elongate end portion 15.

The handle 10 carries first and second inserts 16, 17. The inserts 16, 17 are formed of a relatively softer plastics material to the plastics material of the rest of the handle 10. A suitable material is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) over moulded onto the material of the handle.

The first insert 16 extends in a band around the end portion 15 of the handle 10. The second insert 17 is saddle-shaped and extends over one side of the holder portion 13. As seen in Figure 1, the second insert 17 is provided with ribs 18. In addition, as also seen in Figure 1, the second insert 17 is recessed below the surface of the holder portion 13.

The holder portion 13 carries a holder 19 formed by a base 20 surrounded by a wall 21. The base 20 holds a disc shaped magnet 22. This magnet 22 is held in a hole in the handle 10 formed during moulding.

An angled hole 23 extends through the holder portion 13 from adjacent the neck 16 to emerge in the base 20. The purpose of this hole 23 will be explained below.

The set of bristles 11 comprises a mass of individual bristles 24 held in a cup

25. The cup 25 is formed from a magnetisable material such as stainless steel with added chromium and carbon. The amount of nickel may be nil or very low to improve the magnetisable properties. The cup 25 is designed to be a

close fit in the holder 19 with the depth of the cup 25 matching the depth of the holder 19 so that, when the cup 25 is inserted into the holder 19, the cup 25 is not visible.

When the cup 25 is inserted into the holder 19, the magnet 22 holds the cup 25, and thus the set of bristles 11, in place on the handle 10. The attractive force between the cup 25 and the holder 19 is preferably greater than 20 Newtons. For example, it may be 25 Newtons.

The cover 12 is also formed from a plastics material such as ABS. It may be formed by injection moulding. The cover 12 defines an enclosed space for receiving the set of bristles 11 and has an opening 26 through which the bristles are inserted into the cover 12. The opening 26 fits over the holder 19 on the handle 10 and these parts are provided with cooperating snap fit portions 32 (Figure 4). The cover 12 can thus be easily removed from the set of bristles 11 and replaced over the set of bristles 11.

The end portion 15 carries, at the end of the handle 10 remote from the set of bristles 11, a tin lid opener 27. The lid opener 27 is formed from a metallic material such as die cast stainless steel. The lid opener 27 has a base 28 from which extend two converging surfaces 29, 30 that meet at an edge 31. A peg (not shown) extends from the base 28 and is a tight fit into a hole (not shown) provided at the end of the end portion 15 to hold the lid opener 27 on the handle 10 so that the opener 27 projects from the handle 10.

In use, the edge 31 of the lid opener 27 is inserted between the lid of a tin of paint and the tin itself and the paint brush is used as a lever to lever off the lid. The cover 12 is then removed from the handle 10 to uncover the bristles 24. The bristles are then dipped in paint or other flowable substance that is applied to a surface. The magnetic attraction between the magnet 22 and the cup 25 is

sufficient to hold the set of bristles in place on the handle 10 during such painting.

The holder portion 13 of the handle 10 is, as seen in Figures 3 and 4, wider than the remainder of the handle 10 and the set of brushes 11. This allows the paint brush to be comfortably held in the position of rest in which the first insert 16 sits between the thumb and forefinger of a user with the thumb and forefinger gripping respective opposite sides of the second insert 17, which provides an indication for the location of the thumb and forefinger. The additional width of the holder portion 17 reduces the pressure required by the thumb and forefinger and so reduces strain and helps prevent repetitive strain injury. Of course, the paint brush can be gripped in any other way.

When painting is interrupted, the cover 12 can be replaced over the set of bristles 11 and snap fitted to the handle 10 as described above. This keeps the paint in the bristles 24 moist and so allows the paint brush 10 to be re-used for the same paint.

When painting is complete, the set of bristles 11 can be removed from the handle 11, thrown away and replaced by a new set of bristles 11. This can be done simply by gripping the set of bristles 11 and pulling them out of the holder 19 or by passing an elongate item such as a screwdriver through the hole 23 to push the set of bristles 11 out of the holder 19. Of course, the bristles 24 can, if required, simply be cleaned in the usual way.

There are a number of alterations that can be made to the arrangement described above with reference to the drawings. First, the feature of having a removable set of bristles 11, the feature of having a cover 12, the feature of having inserts 16, 17 and the feature of having the tin opener 27 could be used separately or any of the features could be used in combination. In addition, the magnetic attraction need not be provided by a single magnet 22. It could be

provided by a number of magnets. Although it would be more expensive, the magnet could be on the cup 25 and the magnetisable material on the handle 10.

The releasable connection between the set of bristles 11 and the handle 10 need not be by a non-mechanical arrangement such as the magnet 22. As seen in

Figure 4, it could be by use of a mechanical arrangement such as a latch formed by a latching member (33) on the handle 10 cooperating with a latching member (34) on the cup 25. The latching member on the handle 10 could be manually operable to release the set of bristles 11 from the holder 19. It could be by means of a snap fit between the parts.

The first and second inserts 16, 17 need not be as described. There could be just one insert or more than two inserts and they could be arranged differently than as shown in the drawings.