GB2220840A - Paint-roller cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

A paint -roller cleaner comprises a container defining a chamber; support 10 for holding the handle 13 of a paint-roller such that roller part 12 can be accommodated within the chamber and be free to rotate; an inlet 3 for cleaning fluid, the inlet having apertures through which the cleaning fluid can be discharged into the chamber at a location such that, in use, with a paint-roller held with the roller part 12 in the chamber, at least part of the cleaning fluid leaves the apertures in a manner such as to impart rotation to the roller part 12; and an outlet 4 whereby cleaning fluid with any paint entrained therein can leave the chamber. <IMAGE>

Description

PAINT-ROlLER CLEANER This invention relates to a paint-roller cleaner.

Paint rollers have a handle which includes a grip and an intermediate portion which leads to an axle about which a paint-dispensing barrel can rotate.

According to the present invention, there is provided a paint-roller cleaner comprising: a container defining a chamber; holding means for holding the handle of a paintroller such that the barrel can be accommodated within the chamber and be free to rotate; an inlet for cleaning fluid, the inlet having apertures through which the cleaning fluid can be discharged into the chamber at a location such that, in use, with a paint-roller held with the roller in the chamber, at least part of the cleaning fluid leaves the apertures in a manner such as to impart rotation to the barrel; and an outlet whereby cleaning fluid with any paint entrained therein can leave the chamber.

The chamber is generally elongate so that the axis of the barrel is parallel to the chamber. The elongate container and chamber can have any desired crosssection, for example part of a circle, or polygonal.

Usually the container has a main housing portion which is open at its upper part and which can be closed by a removable lid, which allows the barrel of the paintroller to be introduced into the chamber, the majority of the handle projecting above the lid. The crosssection of the container is not critical.

The actual position in which the barrel is held within the chamber is also not critical nor is the location of the inlet, the only criterion being that the barrel and the inlet are so positioned with respect to each other that the cleaning fluid issuing from the apertures of the inlet will strike the barrel in such a way as to impart the necessary rotation to the barrel.

The inlet could be mounted in an upper portion of the container, even under the lid, although for convenience it is usually in a lower region of the chamber.

The outlet is also usually in the lowermost region of the container so that the outgoing stream of cleaning fluid, with any removed paint entrained therein, falls to the outlet and is then removed.

When the paint which has been used is an emulsion the cleaning fluid can be water, but obviously an organic solvent based cleaning fluid could be used if necessary, although it would need to be compatible with the material from which the paint-roller cleaner is constructed.

With regard to the inlet, preferably this takes the form of a pipe which runs along the length of the chamber and is provided, at intervals therealong, with the necessary apertures, not all of which need direct the issuing stream of cleaning fluid at precisely the same angle. Thus, for example, some of the apertures could direct the cleaning fluid tangentially onto the barrel to impart the rotation, whereas others could strike the roller normally so as to have a more penetrating effect into the porous surface region of the barrel to flush out any paint remaining.

The apertures of the inlet can be of constant cross-sectional area, or they can be conical in the divergent sense in that water passing from a tubular inlet pipe is allowed to spray out on leaving the pipe as it passes through the apertures.

With regard to the holding means, as the handles of paint-rollers tend to have a grip which leads to an angled stem which, in turn, leads to the axle about which the barrel rotates, it is possible to secure the paint-roller by the grip or by the stem, which can be regarded as an extension of the grip portion of the handle. One possibility is for part of the stem, near to the rotatable roller, to be held by Terry clips to an end wall of the container. Usually some support of another portion of the handle is necessary.

The Terry clips, mentioned above, can work well but an alternative, which has the probability of greater life, is the use of a hook of which part can grip part of the stem of the roller, another portion of the hook defining a threaded stem which passes through an end wall of the container, the threaded stem bearing a wing nut so that, with the first hook portion around part of the stem of the roller, the wing nut can be tightened and the whole roller secured in position with the barrel of the roller free to rotate.

With regard to the outlet, as the barrel of the paint-roller does not normally extend the whole length of the chamber, the outlet could be shorter than the chamber. Preferably the outlet takes the form of a slot in the lowermost region of the container.

When the cleaning fluid is water, the inlet can be connected by a flexible hose to a domestic cold water tap, as a source of supply for the cleaning fluid. The whole cleaner can stand on a domestic draining board and cleaning fluid, and any paint entrained therein, can flow down the draining board into the drain; alternatively, a flexible duct can be attached to the outlet to direct the effluent cleaning fluid and any entrained paint to a specific disposal point.

The paint-roller cleaner can be made of any convenient material, such as a metal (which should not be liable to rusting) or a plastics material (preferably one which can withstand commonly employed organic solvent-based cleaning fluids).

In use of the paint-roller cleaner it is generally sufficient if only the lower portion of the chamber contains fluid. Obviously, in view of the rotation of the barrel and in view of the spray generated, there will be fluid in other regions of the chamber but the majority will be in the lower region. To avoid any accumulation of cleaning fluid in the chamber, the paint-roller cleaner is preferably so designed that the total cross-sectional area of all of the apertures is considerably less the cross-sectional area of the outlet so that, even when cleaning fluid is introduced under pressure through the apertures, there is still plenty of capacity in the outlet to allow the full discharge of the cleaning fluid and any entrained paint.

There follow certain pages of description which consider various aspects of the invention, and there are also drawings which are referred to in the following pages of the description.

PAINT-ROLLER CLEANER The aim of this project was to construct a device which would facilitate the cleaning of paint rollers.

It was decided there was a need for this project artifact, because the usual hand cleaning methods are time consuming, messy, unsatisfactory at the end of a day's work. (See appendix headed 'Market Viability').

INTRODUCTION The aim is to produce a non-electrical device to facilitate the cleaning of paint rollers.

The device is to be easy to use, cheap to make, and attractive to D.I.Y. enthusiasts.

The artifact had, it was felt, to fulfill the following functions; 1. Simplicity of operation and use.

2. Reduction in time taken cleaning.

3. No mess.

4. Low cost.

It was also borne in mind the D.I.Y. enthusiasts greatly relish news gadgets of this kind.

Clearly there was for me a link to my family and future career ambitions in building. I spent a good deal of time on home decorating, and three generations of my family work in the construction industry.

This report describes the development of the design of the artifact. It looks at two possible solutions, I weighed advantages and disadvantages and then detailed the construction. It indicates the new kind of construction difficulty I had with unfamiliar materials and the solutions I found.

In the latter part of this account are details of the testing of the artifact and my personal assessment of its functionability and degree to which it met the aims I intended for it.

The writer had to look into the conventional ways of cleaning a roller, and they were: 1. By removing the roller from its handle and then leaving it to soak.

2. Traversing the roller under a tap, causing it to rotate and therefore cleaning its Surface Area.

The writer decided to expand on the second conventional method.

It was thought that it was possible to design a simple device, where'a number of tiny water jets hit the roller at a tangent, causing it to rotate, and thus cleaning it.

Expanding on this line of thought, led the writer to develop a basic construction, with two possible lid designs.

Which were: DESIGN 1:- Terry Clip & Runner Method.

DESIGN 2:- Hinge & Bracket Method.

How the writer actually evaluated each of the designs will be explained at the start of 'Design Options'.

(FIG. 1) KEY (1) Acrylic Casing (2) Sides of Casing (3) Inlet Tube (4) Outlet Hole (5) Lid Runners (6) Stanchions (7) Terry Clips (8) Elbow Support (9) Lid (10) Handle Support (11) Lid Catch (12) Roller Barrel (13) Handle of Roller METHOD CHOSEN Design Criteria; Simplicity in setting up, reduction in cleaning time (Relative to the time taken to clean by hand), and as little or no mess as possible.

Bearing in mind the design criteria the writer chose Terry Clip and Runner Method, as it satisfied the design requirements to a fuller extent.

OPERATION PROCEDURES

No. D E S C R I P T I O N Tool/Machine Plates/ Used Di la Cutting the tube to the correct length Hcrk tal- 400mm long. Ban-Saw ib Cutting the tube to the correct shape Horizontal See Milling Machine Fig.3.1 Problems; Clamping the tube to the milling bed, as too much force would crack the tube. The writer solved this by applying pressure until the sides 'gave' slightly.

When milling the acrylic, it started to melt due to heat caused by friction between the milling tool and the acrylic. It was found that this could be overcome by increasing the lubrication, and the sharpness of the tool-bit 2b Cutting the sides of the acrylic; Coping Saw See Fig.3.2 The arc of the outline was drawn using a compass scriber set at 75rnrn. Drilling holes Drilling holes for Inlet Tube; Radial Drilling Machine After cutting and filing the sides to shape they were placed together one on top of the other. Then using a 16mm drill bit a hole was drilled down through them.

These were finally glued to the ends of the See Fig.3.3 acrylic casing.

NB One end was doubled in thickness as this was to hold the Terry Clips.

OPERATION PROCEDURES

No D E S C R I P T I O N Tool/Machine Plates/ Used Diagram 3 Inlet Tube; To cut the tube to the correct Hack-Saw length of 450mm a Hack-Saw was used.

Drilling the water jet holes; The holes were Bench Top See Drilling Machine Fig.3.4 drilled using a sharpened # 1.5mm drill bit.

4 Outlet Hole; The tool bit used was # 18mm.

Radial Drilling See The hole was drilled in three, 6mm stages.

Machine Fig.3.5 NB This was found not to be sufficient for th outlet hole (See Tests and Calculations).

Therefore the writer milled an # 18mm slot Horizontal See along the bottom of the acrylic case. Milling Machine Fig.3.6' 5 Lid Runners; These were formica 'U' shaped Hack-Saw boarder strips for kitchen units. Two strips were needed 400mm long.

They were fixed to the acrylic case using a See Fig.3.7' well-known adhesive and water sealant.

6 Stanchions; The arc of the outline was inscribed onto the acrylic sheet using a compass scriber set at 75mm. Ban-Saw See Fig.3.8 After being cut out they were stuck to the casing 25mm from either end. See Fig.3.9 OPERATION PROCEDURES

No. D E S C R I P T I O N S Tool/Machine Plates / Used Diagram 7 Terry Clips; These were bolted to the casing Hand dnD See Fig.4 using g 2.5mm screws. The screw holes were drilled out using a 2.5mm drill bit.

8 Elbow Support; This was an offcut of the Nack Saw See Fig.4.1 inlet tube, 15mm long, which was then cut K along its length to make two troughs. This was then stuck in place using adhesive.

9 Lid; This was 430mm long X 150mm wide Ban Saw See Fig.4.2 Problems: Cutting a straight line. This was solved by attaching a straight line guiding device to the Ban Saw.

To cut the slot in the lid for the handle to slide in to, the writer placed roller inside casing and slid the lid up against the roller handle. He then marked the lid where the Bench Top handle touched. This was to be the centre of Thg Machine See /Hack Saw Fig.4.3 the slot which was 8mm wide and 25mm long.

OPERATION PROCEDURES

No. D E S C R I P T I O N Tool/Machine Plates / Used Diagram 10 Handle Support; An acrylic offcut was used Ban Saw See Fig.4.4 for this, with dimensions 45mm X 13mm X .Smm.

It was bolted to the lid using d 0 1.5mm Hand Drill See Fig.4.5 screws passed up through the lid and the (a) (b1) support. (The nuts on the underside of the (bii) (c) lid were countersunk).

6 11 Lid Catch; This was made of aluminium.

The dimensions were 15mm X 5mm. A hole was drilled, using a P 1.5mm @@@ Saw / File drill bit, at the centre of one end.

A 1.5mm holw was also drilled into the end of the acrylic case. (The nut on the inside of the casing was countersunk). See Fig.4.6 Improving Water Tightness: 3b Grommetts; These were fixed, using a rubber sealant, into the holes drilled for the inlet See tube. One gromnett was open end the other Fig.4.7 was closed.

CONCLUSION 1: It was discovered after inspection that there were small traces of paint still left on the roller. These traces were due to tiny isolated areas which the water jets had not covered. This problem could be easily overcome by drilling the water jet holes with a conicle drill bit. (See fig. 4.9a,b).

This minor fault did not mean that the 'Paint roller cleaner' didn't satisfy the requirement stated in the synopsis, because it was not basic design at fault, but the availability of machine tools and the skill of the constructor.

CONCLUSION 3; DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS: The writer observed that there was one improvement needed in the design of the 'Paint Roller Cleaner'.

An improvement was needed in the way the cleaner held the roller because, with the present method, the 'Terry Clips' will, eventually, become very weakened due to metal fatigue. The new design consists of a hook and wing nut. A hole is bored through the end of the tube where the Terry Clips are. Through this hole is passed the threaded stem of the hook to which the wing nut is attached. If the roller handle is placed in the hook and the wing nut tightened, this draws them both tight against the sides of the casing, thus holding the handle of the roller in a firm position (See Fig. 5).

Claims (15)

CLAIHS

1. A paint-roller cleaner comprising: a container defining a chamber; holding means for holding the handle of a paintroller such that the barrel can be accommodated within the chamber and be free to rotate; an inlet for cleaning fluid, the inlet having apertures through which the cleaning fluid can be discharged into the chamber at a location such that, in use, with a paint-roller held with the roller in the chamber, at least part of the cleaning fluid leaves the apertures in a manner such as to impart rotation to the barrel; and an outlet whereby cleaning fluid with any paint entrained therein can leave the chamber.

2. A cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is generally elongate such that, in use, the axis of the barrel can be parallel to that of the chamber.

3. A cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container or the chamber has a circular or polygonal cross-section.

4. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the container has a main housing portion which is open at its upper part and which can be closed by a removable lid, which allows the barrel of the paintroller to be introduced into the chamber.

5. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the inlet is mounted in an upper portion of the container or in a lower region of the chamber.

6. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the outlet is in a lowermost region of the container so that the outgoing stream of cleaning fluid, with any removed paint entrained therein, falls to the outlet and is then removed.

7. A cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the outlet takes the form of a slot in the lowermost region of the container.

8. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the inlet is in the form of a pipe which runs along the length of the chamber and is provided, at intervals therealong, with the necessary apertures.

9. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein some of the apertures are capable of directing the cleaning fluid tangentially onto the barrel to impart the necessary rotation, whereas others are capable of directing the fluid so as to strike the roller normally so as to have a more penetrating effect into the porous surface region of the barrel.

10. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the apertures of the inlet can be a uniform cross-sectional area or they may be conical in the divergent sense.

11. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the holding means is in the form of clips in an end wall region of the container.

12. A cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the holding means includes a hook of which a first portion can grip part of the stem of the roller with another portion of the hook defining a threaded stem which passes through an end wall of a container, the threaded stem bearing a wing nut so that, with the first hook portion around part of the stem of the roller, the wing nut can be tightened and the whole roller secured in position with the barrel of the roller free to rotate.

13. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the outlet does not extend the whole length of the chamber.

14. A cleaner according to any preceding claim, which is formed of a metal or a plastics material.

15. A cleaner according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.