Ergonomic paint brush

Abstract

An ergonomic paintbrush where the handle of the paintbrush is offset from the brush head and the bristles. In one embodiment, the brush handle has a curved shape to better fit a person's hand and to be perpendicular to the surface being painted without any significant angling of the wrist. The offset handle results in less hand fatigue for the painter, which permits the painter to paint a larger surface in a day. The advantage of the bristles being perpendicular to the surface being painted is a more uniform application of paint and less paint dripping from the brush. This allows for a faster application of the paint with less paint wasted.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a ergonomic paintbrush. More particularly, this invention relates to a handle that is shaped so that the paintbrush handle is offset from the center of the brush head, which allows it to be used with decreased hand and wrist fatigue.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Prior art paintbrushes have handles where are coaxial and coplanar with the brush head, which contains the bristles. That is, the handle and the brush head in their major dimensions are in susbtantialy the same plane. In essence, the handle extends rearward from the center of the brush head without any deviation from the coaxial and coplanar orientation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The handle of the present paintbrush is offset from the center of the brush head, so as to better fit into a person's hand. The handle of the paintbrush is preferably substantially coplanar with the brush head and the bristles, but it is not coaxial. In one embodiment, the brush handle has a curved shape to better fit a person's hand and to be perpendicular to the surface being painted without any significant angling of the wrist. The offset handle results in less hand fatigue for the painter, which permits the painter to paint a larger surface in a day. The advantage of the bristles being perpendicular to the surface being painted is a more uniform application of paint and less paint dripping from the brush. This allows for a faster application of the paint with less paint wasted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a prior art paintbrush.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the present ergonomic paintbrush.

[0006] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the present ergonomic paint brush.

[0007] FIG. 4 is a view of the prior art paintbrush gripped in a hand during use.

[0008] FIG. 5 is a view of an embodiment of the present ergonomic paintbrush gripped in a hand during use.

[0009] FIG. 6 is a view of the embodiment of the present ergonomic paintbrush illustrated in FIG. 3 gripped in a hand during use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present ergonomic paintbrush will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. This description is of a preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, but which can be modified, e.g., as shown in FIG. 3, yet be within the ambit of the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows a prior art paintbrush. Handle 10 is coaxial and coplanar with brush head 14 and bristles 12. That is, a plane through the side of the brush is substantially through brush head 14, bristle 12 and handle 10. Handle 10 also is on the same axis as brush head 14 and bristles 12. That is, a line bisecting bristles 12 and brush head 14 would also bisect handle 10. Optional aperture 16 is for hanging the brush on a hook for storage.

[0012] Brush head 24 and bristles 23 may collectively be referred to as the brush section.

[0013] In contrast, the ergonomic paintbrushes of FIGS. 2 and 3 have handle 20, brush head 24 and bristles 22 in a substantially coplanar orientation, but handle 20 is not coaxial with brush head 24 and bristles 22. That is, handle 20 is offset from the center of brush head 24. By “offset,” we mean that the central axis of handle 20 is not aligned with the central axis of the brush head 24. Specifically, handle 20 has an upper portion 40 adjacent to brush head 20, and a lower portion 41. Upper portion 40 is offset from brush head 24.

[0014] In the embodiment of FIG. 2, handle 20 has a hyperbolic arc to fit a person's hand, so that lower portion 41 is not offset, while first end 40 is offset. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, side surface 26 of brush head 24 is shown as being in an alignment with the outer curved handle surface 28. Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 2, the hyperbolic arc can be of varying shapes. Preferably it will be of a shape to provide a more perpendicular contact of the bristles with the surface being painted. Desirably, optional aperture 26 is coaxial with brush head 24 so that the brush will hang vertically from a peg holder.

[0015] In the embodiment of FIG. 3, both upper portion 40 and lower portion 41 are offset from the center line of brush head 24.

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates the holding of the prior art paintbrush of FIG. 1 during use. Here there ate shown four fingers of a hand 30 contacting brush head 14 and handle 10 with the thumb (not shown) contacting the opposite side of handle 10. Wrist 32 is angled to get a better alignment with the surface being painted. However, even with wrist 32 being angled, brush head 14 will contact the surface at an angle.

[0017] In contrast, as shown in FIG. 5, the paintbrush of FIG. 2 is shown with a more linear contact with the surface that is being painted, wrist 32 of hand 30 is not angled and thumb 34 is gripping part of the side and part of the tear surface of the handle. Handle 20 fits between the thumb and the adjacent finger and follows the curvature of the hand.

[0018] There is a better alignment with the wall with the present ergonomic brush than with the prior art brushes because the user's hand and wrist are in a more perpendicular orientation to the surface being painted. Further, the user's hand and wrist are in a more axial alignment with the brush bristles. This alll results in ease in painting with less paint wastage and less hand fatigue.

[0019] The present ergonomic paintbrush can be constructed using the materials used for prior art paintbrushes. The bristles can be of natural or synthetic fibers; the handle can be constructed of wood or plastic. The bristles will be attached to the brush head in any commonly used manner. Brush head 24 will typically be made of metal, though other materials, such as plastic, may be used. The amount of offest of the handle to the brushhead is not critical. Similarly, as noted above, if the offset handles is curved, the degree of arc in the curve of the handle may vary. The degree of arc shown in the drawings is solely for illustrative purposes.

[0020] It will be understood that variations can be made from the foregoing description without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed below.

Claims

1. A paintbrush comprising a brush section and a handle, the handle being offset from the brush section.

2. The paintbrush of claim 1, wherein the handle is coplanar with the brush section.

3. The paintbrush of claim 2, wherein the handle has a curved shape.

4. The paintbrush of claim 3, wherein the curved shape is a hyperbolic shape.

5. A paintbrush comprising a brush section and a handle, the brush section comprising a brush head and bristles, the handle having a first end and a second end, the first end being adjacent to the brush head, the first end of the handle being offset from the brush head.

6. The paintbrush of claim 5, wherein the handle is coplanar with the brush section.

7. The paintbrush of claim 6, wherein the handle has a curved shape.

8. The paintbrush of claim 7, wherein the curved shape is a hyperbolic shape.