Patent Application
20220055400
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The disclosure relates to paint tray devices and more particularly pertains to a new paint tray device for storing paint and a paint roller.
The prior art relates to paint tray devices including a pair of paint trays that are attachable together to form an enclosure for storing paint. The prior art discloses a variety of paint trays that include lids that form a fluid impermeable seal for storing fluid paint. The prior art disclose a paint tray that includes a hinged lid and a groove for accommodating a handle of a paint roller when the hinged lid is closed. The prior art discloses a modular paint tray system for storing fluid paint without drying. The prior art discloses a paint tray lid that has formed features for accommodating a paint roller. The prior art discloses a paint tray that has a groove therein for accommodating a handle of a paint roller.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a pan that has a sloped floor for containing a fluid paint. The pan has a first groove therein to accommodate a rod of a paint roller. A lid is provided and the lid can be positioned on the pan. The lid releasably engages the pan when the lid is positioned thereon to inhibit the fluid paint from spilling out of the pan. The lid has a second groove therein to accommodate the rod of the paint roller.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The perimeter wall 16 has a front side 30 and a back side 32, and the sloped floor 13 has a sloped portion 34 forming an angle with a flat portion 36. The sloped portion 34 slopes downwardly between the front side 30 of the perimeter wall 16 and the flat portion 36. Additionally, the flat portion 36 extends between the back side 32 of the perimeter wall 16 and the sloped portion 34. The front side 30 of the perimeter wall 16 has a first groove 38 extending downwardly from the distal edge 22 to receive a rod 40 of a paint roller 42. A first gasket 44 is positioned in the first groove 38 and the first gasket 44 has a concavely arcuate surface 46 to conform to the curvature of the rod 40 of the paint roller 42. Additionally, the first gasket 44 is comprised of a resiliently deformable material to form a fluid impermeable seal with the rod 40.
A lid 48 is provided and the lid 48 is positionable on the pan 12. The lid 48 releasably engages the pan 12 when the lid 48 is positioned thereon to inhibit the fluid paint 14 from spilling out of the pan 12. The lid 48 has a top wall 50 and an outer wall 52 extending downwardly therefrom, and the outer wall 52 has an inwardly facing surface 54. The inwardly facing surface 54 has a channel 56 extending therein and the channel 56 extends around an entire perimeter of the outer wall 52. Moreover, the channel 56 engages the lip 28 on the perimeter wall 16 of the pan 12 when the lid 48 is positioned on the pan 12. In this way the lid 48 forms a fluid impermeable seal with the pan 12 to inhibit the fluid paint 14 from spilling.
The outer wall 52 has a rear side 58 and the rear side 58 has a second groove 60 therein to accommodate the rod 40 of the paint roller 42. The second groove 60 is aligned with the first groove 38 when the lid 48 is positioned on the pan 12. A second gasket 62 is positioned in the second groove 60 and the second gasket 62 has a concavely arcuate surface 64 to conform to the curvature of the rod 40 of the paint roller 42. The second gasket 62 is comprised of a resiliently deformable material to form a fluid impermeable seal with the rod 40.
In use, the fluid paint 14 is poured into the pan 12 and the paint roller 42 is dipped into the fluid paint 14. The lid 48 can be placed on the pan 12 while the paint roller 42 is in the pan 12. In this way the paint roller 42 can be stored in the pan 12 without drying out. Thus, the paint roller 42 does not have to be immediately cleaned in order to facilitate the paint roller 42 to be used at a later time. In this way a painter can employ the pan 12 and the paint roller 42 for several consecutive days without the need to clean or replace the paint roller 42. Additionally, the lid 48 inhibits the fluid paint 14 from being spilled out of the pan 12.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
