FIELD

The invention relates to a aint roller and to an assembly of such paint roller and a paint frame. The invention also relates to a method for cutting-in a paint line or paint stripe in an internal corner and then painting a surface bounding the corner. Cutting-in is understood to mean the act by which a sharp line of paint is applied in an internal corner which extends over a certain length and which forms the transition of two surfaces oriented at an angle with respect to each other. Hereinafter such a connective internal corner will also be simply referred to as corner.

BACKGROUND

US 5 210 899 discloses a conventional assembly of a paint roller and a paint frame and describes the manner in which the paint roller is connected with the paint frame. This paint roller is not provided with an adjustable stop.

US 2009/0089952 describes an assembly of a paint roller and a paint frame with another coupling mechanism between paint roller and paint frame, the coupling mechanism being provided with a pivotable handle with which the paint roller can be displaced over the paint frame in axial direction. The coupling mechanism is relatively complicated and, due to this, costly. The coupling mechanism only provides an axial fixation between paint roller and paint frame.

US 2005/0278885 describes a paint roller with yet another coupling mechanism between the paint frame and the paint roller. This coupling mechanism is one that is rotatably mounted on the paint frame rod and that consists of an inner member and an outer member. The outer member is substantially cylindrical and engages by an outer surface thereof an inner surface of the substantially cyhndrical paint roller. The outer member has a variable outer diameter and can therefore be regarded as an expansion element. The expansion of the diameter of the outer member of the coupling mechanism can be brought about by relative rotation of the inner member relative to the outer member. This publication also relates exclusively to an axial fixation of the paint roller with respect to the paint frame.

US 2010/0307407 describes yet another variant of a coupling mechanism between a paint roller and a paint frame where the coupling mechanism exclusively provides an axial coupling between the paint roller and the paint frame.

All above-discussed publications relate to a particular type of axial coupling mechanism between the paint roller and paint frame.

However, none of the publications concerns a paint roller provided with an adjustable stop. A paint roller with an adjustable stop is already described in NL- 1040686. Also known from that publication is a paint frame with a threaded adjustable stop.

SUMMARY

A problem of the known paint roller with adjustable stop is that upon adjustment of the stop, the outer surface of the roller itself has to be held to be able to adjust the threaded stop. When the paint roller has not been used yet, this is not a problem, but once the paint roller has been put into use, adjusting the stop is particularly cumbersome because the hands get stained with paint.

The invention provides a solution to this problem and to that end provides a paint roller which is intended for mounting on a paint frame rod of a paint frame. The paint roller comprises:

a clamping bush provided with a central opening in which a paint frame rod is clampingly receivable; a paint roller shaft which has an outer surface of a substantially cylindrical configuration and a first end and a second end located opposite thereto, wherein the outer surface extends around a central axis, wherein the paint roller shaft is provided with a central passage which is collinear with the central axis;

a paint receiving layer which is arranged on an outer surface of the paint roller shaft, wherein the paint receiving layer has a roller outer diameter;

an end part which is nonrotatably connected with the second end of the paint roller shaft; and

a stop which is provided with thread and which is included in the end part and which is arranged concentrically with the axis and is adjustable in the direction of the axis through rotation.

The paint roller is characterized by:

a handle end plug which is received by a first handle end plug part in the first end of the paint roller shaft and is nonrotatably connected with the paint roller shaft, wherein a second handle end plug part forms a handle which is concentric with said axis and which extends outside the roller shaft, wherein the handle has maximum outer dimensions that lie within an imaginary cylinder whose outer diameter is smaller than the roller outer diameter, wherein in the first handle end plug part there is further provided a clamping bush chamber in which the clamping bush is received rotatably around the axis which is collinear with the substantially cylindrical outer surface, wherein the axial length of the clamping bush chamber is tuned to the length of the clamping bush such that the latter is received in it with slight axial play, wherein the handle end plug is provided with a central passage via which a paint frame rod can be inserted in the central passage of the paint roller shaft for clamping connection of the paint frame rod with the clamping bush and hence for mounting of the paint roller shaft on the paint frame rod.

When the stop is to be adjusted, the user holds the paint roller by the handle of the paint roller. Since the handle is nonrotatably connected with the paint roller shaft, the stop can be adjusted, for example with a screwdriver, without effort. The user will not get dirty hands because the handle of the paint roller remains clean. This is because the outer dimensions of the handle are smaller than the roller outer diameter. When paint is brought on the paint receiving layer, the handle is therefore not soiled with paint and the handle remains clean. Adjusting the stop is rendered particularly simple by the presence of the handle nonrotatably connected with the paint roller shaft.

The invention also provides an assembly of a paint roller according to the invention and a paint frame, where the paint frame is provided with a paint frame handle and with a paint frame rod which is received in the central passage of the paint roller and is fixed therein by the clamping bush by clamping force.

Such an assembly also has the advantages described above in the discussion of the paint roller according to the invention. With such an assembly, rapidly and very accurately, paint can be applied onto and next to cut-in paint lines, while it is ensured by the stop that a neighboring surface which, for instance, bounds a corner, is not stained with paint. This neighboring surface can be used to press the stop against during the application of the paint. When in the corner a paint line has been provided by cutting-in - for instance with the painting tool described by applicants in a patent application filed on the same day and whose contents are incorporated herein by reference - windows, doors, frames, wainscoting and like cornered parts can be painted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an example of the paint roller according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a similar perspective view of the example represented in Fig. 1, in exploded view;

Fig. 3 shows a top plan view of the example represented in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a cross -sectional view along line IV- IV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of an example of a painting tool for applying a paint line in an internal corner between two mutually bounding surfaces by cutting-in;

Fig. 6 shows the painting tool of Fig. 5 during cutting-in of a paint line in an internal corner;

Fig. 7 shows the detail VII of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 shows the painting of a surface bounding a corner, using the example of the paint roller represented in Figs. 1-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the most general terms, the invention provides a paint roller 100 intended for mounting on a paint frame rod 202 of a paint frame 200. The paint roller 100 is provided with a clamping bush 102 with a central opening 104 in which a paint frame rod 202 is clampingly receivable.

Further, the paint roller 100 has a paint roller shaft 106 which has an outer surface 108 of a substantially cylindrical configuration, a first end 110 and an opposite second end 112. The outer surface extends around a central axis A. The paint roller shaft 106 is provided with a central passage 114 which is collinear with the central axis A. Provided on the outer surface 108 is a paint receiving layer 116. The paint receiving layer 116 has a roller outer diameter D. Further, the paint roller 100 is provided with an end part 118 which is nonrotatably connected to the second end 112 of the paint roller shaft 106. The end part 118 may be an integral part of the paint roller shaft 106. In an alternative implementation, of which an example is shown in the figures, the end part 118 may be implemented as an end plug which is nonrotatably connected to the paint roller shaft. Included in the end part 118 is a stop 120 which is provided with thread 122. The stop 120 is arranged in the end part 118 concentrically with the axis A and is

adjustable in the direction of the axis A through rotation. The paint roller 100 is characterized by a handle end plug 124 which by a first handle end plug part 124a is received in the first end 112 of the paint roller shaft 106 and is nonrotatably connected to the paint roller shaft 106. A second handle end plug part 124b forms a handle 126 which is concentric with the axis A and which extends outside the roller shaft. The handle 126 has maximum outer dimensions that lie within an imaginary cylinder whose outer diameter d is smaller than the roller outer diameter D. In the first handle end plug part 124a there is further provided a clamping bush chamber 130 in which the clamping bush 102 is received rotatably around the axis A which is collinear with the substantially cylindrical outer surface 108. The axial length of the clamping bush chamber 130 is tailored to the length of the clamping bush 102 such that the latter is received in it with slight axial play. The handle end plug 124 is provided with a central passage 132 via which a paint frame rod 200 can be inserted in the central passage 114 of the paint roller shaft 106 for clamping connection of the paint frame rod 200 with the clamping bush 102 and hence for mounting the paint roller shaft 106 on the paint frame rod 200.

The advantages of such a paint roller 100 have already been discussed above in the summary of the invention.

In an embodiment, of which an example is shown in the figures, the outer diameter d of the imaginary cylinder can be smaller than 0.7 times the roller outer diameter D, more particularly, smaller than 0.5 times the roller outer diameter. With such differences between on the one hand the outer

diameter d of the imaginary cylinder surrounding the handle 126 and on the other hand the roller outer diameter, the chances of the handle 126 getting stained with paint while the paint receiving layer 116 is being provided with paint are minimal.

In an embodiment, of which an example is shown in the figures, the paint receiving layer 116 may be provided with a first part 116a which extends from the first end 110 in the direction of the second end 112 up to some distance from the second end 112. The paint receiving layer 116 may then be provided with a second part 116b which extends from the second end 112 in the direction of the first end 110 up against the first part 116a. The diameter D of the first part 116a then substantially corresponds to the diameter of the second part 116b. The first part 116a in this embodiment is made from felt and the second part 116b from foam rubber.

With such an embodiment, paint can be applied particularly sharply along or partly on a paint line. Such a paint line may for instance have been provided with the painting tool 10 which is described in a patent application of the same applicants filed on the same day and whose contents are incorporated herein by reference. With the painting tool described in that application, a paint line can be very accurately cut-in in a corner between two surfaces of which at least one is to be painted.

In a further elaboration of this embodiment, of which an example is shown in the figures, the second part 116b of the paint receiving layer 116 can have a cylindrical outer surface 116c and a planar end 116d. The transition between the cylindrical outer surface 116c and the planar end 116d is formed by a sharp circular edge 116e. Such a sharp edge 116e between the planar end 116d and the cylindrical outer surface contributes still further to the possibility of applying paint very sharply along or on a cut-in paint line also with the paint roller 100. Also, edgel l6e provides that the paint roller itself can be used as a cutting-in tool (for example, cutting-in along a non- overpaintable sealant seam). The stop 120 makes such accurate neat application of paint much easier still. The stop 120 ensures that, when painting one surface bounding the corner, the other surface bounding the corner is not unintentionally covered as well by paint coming from the paint roller 100.

In an embodiment, of which an example is shown in the figures, a free end of the stop 120 may be provided with a relatively small diameter, more particularly, a diameter of less than 10 mm and preferably a diameter of around 8 mm or less.

Such an embodiment has as an advantage that a paint line already provided by cutting-in on the adjacent surface that serves as a guide is not touched by the stop 120 and therefore is not spread or otherwise damaged by the stop 120.

In an embodiment, of which an example is shown in the figures, the end part 118 and the stop 120 may be implemented such that the stop 120 can be completely countersunk in the end part 118 by turning, so that a free end of the stop 120 does not extend beyond an end 116d of the paint receiving layer and is therefore situated wholly within the circumferential contours of the paint receiving layer 116. In this countersunk condition of the stop, the paint roller 100 can reach practically into the corner between two surfaces, which may be precisely what is desired in some cases.

The invention further relates to an assembly of a paint roller according to the invention and a paint frame 200. The paint frame 200 is then provided with a paint frame handle 204 and with a paint frame rod 202 which is received in the central passage 114 of the paint roller 100 and is fixed therein by the clamping bush 102 by clamping force.

Such an assembly has the advantages which have been described with reference to the paint roller 100. It allows paint to be applied rapidly and very accurately on and next to cut-in paint lines, while it is ensured by the stop 120 that the adjacent surface bounding the corner is not stained with paint.

The invention further provides a method which comprises:

providing a paint roller 100 according to the invention;

providing a painting tool 10 intended for cutting-in a paint line or paint stripe in an internal corner 80 between two surfaces 82, 84, the painting tool 10 comprising:

o a paint reservoir 12;

o a brush 14 provided with brush hairs which jointly define a brush surface which in unloaded condition extends

substantially concentrically around a brush axis and from a proximal end having a substantially circular cross section extends to a distal end forming a sharp brush point, wherein the brush surface from the proximal end to the distal end has a substantially conically tapering configuration;

o a paint supply tube extending along a paint supply tube axis, wherein the paint supply tube axis extends parallel to the brush axis, wherein the paint supply tube is provided with an inlet opening at a proximal end and an outlet opening at a distal end, wherein the inlet opening is in fluid communication with the paint reservoir 12;

o a nozzle 20 provided with a supply channel which defines a supply channel axis, wherein in a distal end of the supply channel the brush is secured by the proximal end thereof, wherein the proximal end of the paint supply tube terminates in the supply channel at a point proximal with respect to the proximal end of the brush;

o a brush channel 18 which is formed in the brush and is

bounded by brush hairs, wherein a brush channel axis of the brush channel extends parallel to the brush axis and a distal end of which forms an opening in the brush surface, wherein the paint supply tube extends in a proximal part of the brush channel and wherein the brush channel distally of the distal end 16d of the paint supply tube extends further in that the brush hairs bounding the brush channel 18 extend beyond the distal end 16d of the paint supply tube;

wherein the method further comprises:

applying a paint line in an internal corner 80 between two surfaces

82, 84 using the painting tool 10;

setting the stop 120 by turning in axial direction with respect to the paint roller shaft 106 while the paint roller 100 is held by the painter by the handle 126; and

- using the paint roller 100 with stop 120, covering at least one of the surfaces 82, 84 bounding the internal corner 80.

An example of the painting tool 10 is shown in Figs. 5-7 and is described in detail in a patent application in the name of the same applicants filed concurrently with the present application. The contents of that patent application are understood to be incorporated herein by reference. With the aid of such a method, of which a few steps are shown in Figs. 6-8, very rapidly and accurately, corners 80 can be cut-in and either or both of the surfaces 82, 84 bounding the corner can be painted. In practice, it appears that a job chiefly consisting of painting frames can be carried out no less than two to five times faster than with the aid of conventional painting methods while the end result is even sharper than can be realized with the conventional painting methods. While the method is being carried out, the painter can, without getting dirty hands, position the stop 120 correctly while holding the paint roller 100 by the handle 126, so that in painting the surface 82 and/or 84 the side edge of the cut-in paint line is neatly covered by the paint applied with the paint roller 100. In a further elaboration of the method, the painting tool 10 which has been provided may further include a guiding element 24 which is provided with a substantially tubular wall 26 which defines a central passage. In that embodiment, the guiding element 24 is adjustably mounted on the nozzle 20 in that the nozzle 20 extends in the central passage 28 of the guiding element 24. A distal edge of the tubular wall 26 of the guiding element 24 can form at least one guiding point 30, 32, 34 which in use of the painting tool 10 can be pressed against a guiding surface 82, 84. By adjustment of the guiding element 24 on the nozzle 20, the position of the at least one guiding point 30, 32, 34 can be set with respect to the position of the brush tip. With such an implementation of the painting tool 10, the method in the embodiment concerned can further comprise:

prior to cutting-in, setting the guiding element 24 with respect to the nozzle 20 and hence with respect to the brush tip 14d.

What can thus be realized is that the width and the position of the cut-in paint line during the practice of the method can be accurately tuned to the particulars of the corner 80 concerned, such as, for example, the execution of the sealant applied in the corner 80 or the mutual angle between the two surfaces 82, 84.

While the above-described embodiments have all been used in the example represented in the figures, it is important that is be clear that the embodiments described above can be used independently of each other in other examples of the paint roller and the assembly. Reference numerals used in the detailed description are for clarification only and do not limit the invention. The detailed description can also be read without reference numerals and therefore also constitutes a description of the various embodiments without relation to the example of the figures. Also the reference numerals that are included in the claims are for clarification only and do not limit the claims in any way.