US2982982A - Container support including associated tray element - Google Patents

Description

y 9, 1961 F. A. SWIFT, SR 2,982,982

CONTAINER SUPPORT INCLUDING ASSOCIATED TRAY ELEMENT Filed Oct. 51, 1958 "illlllpplppnnrlllilul INVENTOR.

' Fen/w: A. Stu/FT, 5e,

HTTOE/VEYS.

United States Patent() J 1. "CONTAINER SUPPORT INCLUDINGASSO- i 'C E -TRAE EL MENI 1 A. Swift, st, 18912. 7th St, Chico, Califi, as- 7 Signor or one-half to Frank A; Swift, In, San Anselmo,

.Filed Oct. 31,1958, Sen-No. 171,122

-3Clai rns (Cl.1 5--257.06)'

This invention is directed to article supports generally, and more specifica ly to an articlesupport susceptible of ttil za' sns' s s a the s a of Paint containers, or the liker 1 O1 :1Q i Q vepf..th9 presentin en i u is t provid an article support having means for the, accommodation Q rq nt i w s 9f assorted. nd shap i Amth ra ject is th pr supp e n i .QQHLh. .W th. a or th ke Th l fi a x iq 9 the ins an conta n upp rt in he. f e in en f Qnmeut has h entoun resultin hea-fp lgw neadye a eqi sr 1. iAurQ g hersnthese JQ J-l Q cidentally or inadvertently fall from the ladder; the ladder may be readily moved from place-to-place without removal of the support and paint can therefrom; the painter has no need to hold the paint can and therefore has both hands free for use in painting and in holding the ladder, thereby lessening the danger of falls; and lastly, floors and carpets are protected from the spillage of paint thereon which often occurs when paint cans are accidentally displaced from ladders.

An object and advantage of the present construction is the provision of an accessory part therefor which may be operably connected thereto in order to adapt the support for reception of a paint roller tray or the like, or for the reception of paint directly therein for subsequent roller application.

An additional object and advantage of the present invention resides in theprovision of an article support of the class described supra, the support being noncomplex in construction and assembly, inexpensive to manufacture, durable in use, and easily installed and removed.

Numerous other and further objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from a considera tion of the following specification when read in conjunction with the annexed drawing, in which:

, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the article support of the present invention illustrating a portion -of a ladder and a paint can in phantom lines;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the holder, having means for adjusting the size of its article holding capacity included therein;

Figure 3 is a detail cross-sectional view of the holder taken substantially along the vertical plane of the section line 3-3 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the article support; and

of paint are .re r e edles e yite ac- 3 l atentecl May 2 body member 12 formed of an inherently resilient ma-'' terial; such as plastic (or metal, and includes a bight' or Web portion 14 with spaced apart, confronting, substan tially rectangular'parallel arm plates 16 and '18 extendirig therefrom. As seen in Figurel, "the plates 18 are spaceda sufiicient'distance apart to receive .th e4.

between, a ladder step,,or thelike, and have releasable locking means 20, positionedadjacent the free outer ends he spt- Y Thejlocking means 20 include a block 22, secured to the outer free end of the .arm plate a transverse bore 24 being formed therein, and a coaxial borebeing formed in the aforesaid end of the. plate outer free end of the plate 18 also has a transverse bore 28 for-med therein, and a nut 30 of conventional jc Qnfiguration is embedded in the plate'and has its threaded 7 op'er'iing in" co-aligninent with 'the bore 28 thereon A cylindrical screw 32 is passed through the bores '24 and 26 -forthreaded engagement in -the-nut30 and has --a win'g" madt a e stqm on type actuating element 34 securedor formed at the outer endtheredf. Lj'. "j I? A-;c.ylindrical .outer=l 1older'36 is integrally formed, .or' fixedlyisecured, to the, armplate 16 andxextends" up:- wardly therefrom. As seen ,in :Figure 1, the outer holder may. e 1 pe itie l slv fqrmedcf proper fslzefltq accent: ,ll n jcyli a qq nta n re or a so, fine 9 anrpthe s ren s ze QRxih'P"! number of adaptor rings 38 may be additionally pro-. vided in order that the device 10 may be utilized with containers of varying sizes and shapes. The adaptors 38 shown here each have cylindrical bodies 40 and a plurality of substantially rectangular spacer ribs 42 of substantially equal size extending radially therefrom, the purpose of the ribs 42 being to place the bodies 40 in substantially concentric relationship relative to the holder 36. a

In use, the screw 32 is manually removed from the lock assembly 20 and the arm plates 16 and 18 receive a chosen step 46 of a ladder 48 therebetween, the bight 14 bearing against the leading end of the step 46.- The screw 32 is then reinserted through the bores 24 and 26 and into threaded engagement with the nut 30 where upon it is tightened until the element 34 bears against the block 22 thus drawing the outer ends of the plates 16 and 18, which are, as stated above, formed of a resilient material, toward one another and securing the device 10 firmly in place on the ladder 48. A can of paint 50 or the like, is fitted into the holder 36 and is frictionally held thereinagainst accidental or inadvertent displacement therefrom.

When cans or containers of smaller circumference are to be used, the device 10 is equipped with the adaptor ring or rings 38 appropriate thereto. For example, if the container 50 is taken as representing the customary one gallon container, then the next smallest one of the rings 38 might be of proper size and scope to accommodate a one quart container, and the following one of the rings 38 might be fitted to a one pint can. It is obviously within the scope of this invention to vary the foregoing sizes in accordance with the needs of the users of this device.

The accessory part referred to supra is concerned with the utilization of the holding device 10 when it is desired to apply paint, or the like, with a roller apparatus. To this end the accessory, identified here as 52, is provided. The accessory 52 includes a hollow cylindrical base 54 which is of proper size to be removably press-fitted into the holder 36 of the device 10. A substantially rectangular tray 56 is secured to the base 54, as at 58, on

one side of the upper rim thereof, and includes a substantially rectangular tray base 60 having an end wall 62, side walls 64, 66, and a'depressed container 68 at the opposed end thereof. A substantially triangular block 70 is also secured to the base 60 and to the opposed side of the rim of the base 54 in order to incline the tray 60 in the direction of the end container 68.

In using the accessory 52, the base 54 is substantially press-fitted into the holder 36 of the device 10. Paint, or the like, may be placed directly into the tray 56 if desired, or a conventional paint roller tray (not shown) may simply be placed in the aforesaid tray 56, and will be held therein. I

The foregoing description and illustration of an exemplary embodiment of this invention in use as a paint container support has been chosen as merely illustrative of the wide range of applicability of this device. There fore, this description should not, in any way, be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention, and such invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. I

What is claimed is: 3

1. An article support adapted for releasable engagement with a generally rectangular member, said article support comprising a main body portion which includes a bight portion and a pair of spaced apart, substantially parallel arm plates, said arm plates being of a length such that they project outwardly of said rectangular member; a substantially cylindrical, hollow holder secured to one of said arm plates and projecting outwardly thereof; adjustable means adjacent the outer free ends of said arm plates for moving said ends toward one another whereby said arm plates clampingly engage said member; and at least one annular adapter ring having a plurality of substantially rectangular spacer ribs extending radially therefrom, said ribs being of a length such that the adapter ring is uniformly spaced interiorly of the holder.

2. An article support as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said adapter rings are provided, each of said rings being of a reduced diameter whereby the holder is selectively usable to support containers of varying sizes.

3. An article supportas defined in claim 1, and a tray support assembly adapted for releasable engagementin said holder, said tray support assembly comprising a substantially cylindrical base which is adapted to be substantially press-fitted into said holder; a generally rectangular tray secured to one end of said base, said tray being inclined from end to end with respect to the base and having a depressed portion extending the full width of its downwardly inclined end. i

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