STATE OF THE ART Today, there are two different roller system types in existence. The first type consists of a mounting, i. e. a handle with a shaft onto which the paint roller is to be fitted, and of the roller itself. The roller has an insert that slides onto the mounting.

The insert provides the journalling between the roller and the mounting and is fixed on the roller.

With the other type, the insert is fixedly arranged on the mounting and cannot be removed. In this case, a roller solely consisting of a tube with a paint-absorbing material is used, which is pushed onto the insert. An example of this technique is shown in NO 161 245.

With the first type, rollers without an insert cannot be used, whereas with the other system type, rollers having an insert cannot be used.

The present invention solves this problem by providing a detachable insert, i. e. a sleeve that is slid onto the mounting. With the insert fitted on the mounting, the roller mounting is adapted for rollers without an insert, and if there are only rollers with an insert available, the inventive insert is simply removed from the mounting and the available type is used. This has economical an environmental advantages. In order for the detachable insert to be convenient in use, the friction force between the mounting and the insert must be higher than the friction force between the insert and the roller, so as to allow the roller to be pulled off without pulling off the insert, when the roller is to be replaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention thus provides a roller system comprising a mounting with a handle and a transversal section supporting an insert, which in turn supports a paint roller.

According to the invention, the insert is slidingly fitted on said transversal section and is held in place on the transversal section by friction at its inner circum- ference, whilst at the same time being easily rotatable around the transversal section.

The paint roller is in turn held by friction onto the external circumference of the insert.

The detachable insert preferably consists of a sleeve having an internal clamping ring having a high friction force against the mounting but a low friction force against the sleeve, so as to allow the sleeve to rotate easily. The friction force between the sleeve and the inside of the roller is also lower than the friction force between the clamping ring and the mounting.

The invention is defined by the accompanying claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are shown in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in detail below, with reference to the accom- panying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a partly cross-sectional side view of the roller system according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of an insert according to the invention, with hidden contours shown as dashed lines; Fig. 3 is a cross section through the insert of Fig. 2, taken at the line III-III; Fig. 4 is a cross section, similar to Fig. 3, through an alternative embodiment of the insert ; and Fig. 5 is a side view of a further alternative embodiment of the insert according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. The roller system com- prises a mounting 1 having a transversal section 2 and a handle 3. The transversal section 2 supports an insert 4, which in turn supports a paint roller 5, indicated by the dashed lines. The paint roller is provided with a paint-absorbing material and the roller system is used in the manner well known in the trade.

As previously discussed, paint rollers may have different designs. The paint roller 5 shown here is of the type only consisting of a cylindrical tube with a paint- absorbing material The other type (not shown) furthermore has a built-in insert, pro- viding the joumalling function between the paint roller and the transversal section of the mounting, so as to allow the paint roller to roll easily during painting.

The purpose of the present invention is mainly to allow the same mounting to be used together with both different types of paint roller. For that, a separate insert, which can be pulled off and pushed onto the mounting, is required.

The mounting may also be of the disposable type, made of plastic or metal.

The insert is also shown in a longitudinal side view in Fig. 2, and in a cross section in Fig. 3. The insert 4 consists of a sleeve 10 and a clamping ring 6. The insert is held in place on the transversal section 2 of the mounting by means of the clamping ring 6, as shown in Fig. 1. The clamping ring 6 is located inside an internal space 7 in the sleeve 10. The clamping ring 6 has a slot 8 so as to be able to resil- iently clamp the mounting. Th clamping ring can be displaced along the transversal section 2 by overcoming the friction force between the clamping ring and the mounting. For this, a relatively high force is required, but generally no tool.

The sleeve 10 cannot move longitudinally in relation to the clamping ring 6, except for the small clearance provided between the clamping ring 6 and the space 7.

On the other hand, the sleeve 10 can easily rotate around the clamping ring 6, as the external surface of the clamping ring 6, as well as the internal surface of the sleeve 10, are smooth and there is a small radial clearance between them.

When the insert 4, consisting of the sleeve 10 and the clamping ring 6, has been pushed onto the mounting, said mounting is ready for receiving a paint roller 5 without an insert. The paint roller 5 is then simply pushed onto the insert by over- coming the friction force between the interior surface of the paint roller and the exte- rior surface of the insert.

In order to obtain appropriate friction between the paint roller and the insert, and also to allow the paint roller 5 to resiliently encircle the insert, said insert is pro- vided with a number of strips 9 on its exterior surface. The strips 9 are most clearly shown in Fig. 3. The strips may have varying height along the length of the insert to provide a suitable frictional grip.

Fig. 4 shows a further improved embodiment. In order to ensure that friction is obtained between the insert and the paint roller, the insert may also be provided with wings 11, extending from the strips in a circumferential direction. These wings will ensure that the required friction force is achieved even if some variations occur in the internal diameter of the paint rollers. The number and length of the wings 11 may be varied in accordance with the application in order to obtain the required friction force.

Fig. 5 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention. Instead of lon- gitudinal strips, the insert has thin, circumferential ribs or scales 12. When fitting the insert into the paint roller, the ribs 12 will fold due to the friction against the roller.

When removing the insert, the ribs 12 will fold in the reverse direction. This provides for creation of the required friction force.

It is required that you must be able to pull off the paint roller 5 from the mounting 1 without removing the insert 4 with it. Therefore, the friction force between the sleeve 10 and the inside of the paint roller is lower than the friction force between the clamping ring 6 and the transversal section 2 of the mounting.

When the paint roller 5 has been removed, the insert 4 may subsequently be pulled off, as a separate unit, if the use of the roller mounting together with a paint roller with a built-in insert is required.

Various alternatives and modifications of the invention are evident to the person skilled in the art and are considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

The protected scope of the invention is solely limited by the accompanying claims.