Patent Application
20170136804
Embodiments of the invention are defined by the claims below, not this summary. A high-level overview of various aspects of the invention provides an overview of the disclosure and introduces a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter or to be used as an aid in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In brief and at a high level, this disclosure describes, among other things, a marking instrument designed to deliver paint, such as Crayola® Sidewalk Paint, to outdoor surfaces such as sidewalks. In one aspect, the roller-ball chalk marking instrument includes a compressible plastic body; a fibrous, spherical roller ball; and a plastic retaining ring to secure the roller ball to the body of the marking instrument. The roller ball may be configured to rotate freely in all directions within the retaining ring, allowing for complete freedom of movement while marking with liquid paint. Additionally, the compressible plastic body of the marking instrument may include a reservoir that holds a marking liquid, such as the liquid paint, in a free state. This reservoir may be refillable, in one embodiment, and may be used to gradually dispense a variety of marking fluids, such as hydrated chalk paint.
In some embodiments, when a user squeezes the body of the roller-ball marking instrument, the paint may be pressurized slightly and transferred from the reservoir, through an opening in the retaining ring, and onto the fibrous, spherical roller ball. Accordingly, as the user moves the marker across a surface, the fibrous, spherical roller ball rotates within a cavity of the retaining ring, transferring the paint from the reservoir out onto the marking surface. A one-way valve may be included on the body of the marking instrument to allow air to be drawn into the reservoir to prevent suction from building within the body as paint is emptied from the reservoir and dispensed via the fibrous roller ball onto the drawing surface. Embodiments of the invention also include a method for assembling a roller-ball marking instrument and a system for delivering paint using a compressible body with a reservoir storing paint; a fibrous, spherical roller ball for transferring the paint to a drawing surface; and a retaining ring for securing the roller ball to the compressible body.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, and wherein:
The subject matter of embodiments of the invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But the description itself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope of claims. Rather, the claimed subject matter might be embodied in other ways to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various disclosed steps unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.
Embodiments of the invention include, among other things, a roller-ball marking instrument for use with paint comprising: a body containing a first end and a second end; a reservoir enclosed by the body, said reservoir filled with a paint; a retaining ring coupled to the first end of the body; and a spherical roller ball configured to transfer the paint in the reservoir to a writing surface, wherein the spherical roller ball comprises a fibrous material and is freely rotatable within a hollow center of the retaining ring.
Embodiments of the invention also include a method for assembling a roller-ball marking instrument, wherein the method comprises: providing a housing with a first end and a second end, wherein at least a portion of the first end of the housing is open and wherein the housing comprises a reservoir; filling the reservoir of the housing with an amount of paint; coupling a first retaining ring with a body end and a roller-ball end to the housing at the first end of the housing and the body end of the first retaining ring, wherein the roller-ball end of the first retaining ring has a concave surface, forming an inverted dome-shaped center; positioning a fibrous, spherical roller ball in the inverted dome-shaped center of the first retaining ring; and coupling a second retaining ring to the first retaining ring at the roller-ball end of the first retaining ring, wherein the second retaining ring is configured to form an open-ended chamber with the first retaining ring and wherein at least a portion of the spherical roller ball protrudes through a hollow center of the second retaining ring.
Another embodiment includes a system for paint delivery. The paint-delivery system may comprise: a paint reservoir that includes a reservoir body for storing an amount of paint; a fibrous roller ball adjacent to the paint reservoir for applying the amount of paint to a writing surface; and a retaining ring for coupling the roller ball to the reservoir, the retaining ring comprising a first end, a second end, and a center cavity holding the roller ball, wherein the first end is adjacent to the paint reservoir; the second end contains an opening through which a portion of the roller ball protrudes; and the roller ball is freely rotatable within the center cavity of the retaining ring.
With reference now to the figures, apparatus, methods and systems for providing a roller-ball marking instrument for use with paint are described in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Various embodiments are described with respect to the figures in which like elements are depicted with like reference materials.
As depicted in
At the first end 14, the body 12 may be coupled, directly or indirectly, to a hollow retaining ring 18, such as a retaining ring 18 having an internal cavity with at least a portion of a concave feature for receiving a spherical object. In some embodiments, the body 12 may be removeably coupled to the retaining ring 18 such that different features may be coupled to the retaining ring 18 at different times. Additionally, a fibrous, spherical roller ball 22 may be positioned inside the hollow retaining ring 18, according to some embodiments. In further aspects, as shown in
In one embodiment, the roller ball 22 includes a textured, exterior surface, such as a covering on at least a portion of the roller ball 22. In some aspects, the covering on the exterior surface of the roller ball 22 includes at least one layer of applied flocking, such as an outer coating made from one or more fibrous materials. Such fibrous material may include a foamed plastic polymer material; a polyester sponge; a wool felt material; an acrylic felt material; a multi-component, fibrous material; or another fibrous material configured to transfer a paint solution from the reservoir of the body 12 to a writing surface adjacent the roller ball 22. Accordingly, various other fibrous materials with varying degrees of loft, absorbency, grain, texture, thickness, compressibility, and/or consistency may also be used. In one embodiment, the roller ball 22 is comprised of a single, fibrous material. But it is also contemplated that the roller ball 22 may be made by covering a non-fibrous spherical object, like a spherical-surface ball structure made of metal, rubber, or other non-absorbent material, with a fibrous material as an outer coating, such as felt.
Additionally, embodiments may include one or more surface features on the texturized and/or fibrous outer surface of the roller ball 22, such as one or more seamed features on the exterior surface of the roller ball 22. The seamed features may act as flow channels for transferring the paint solution, dispersing an amount of paint solution around the surface of the roller ball 22, maintaining movement of the roller ball 22 within the retaining ring 18, and/or maintaining fluid contact between the roller ball 22 and the retaining ring 18. As such, one or more features of an internal component or an external component of the spherical roller ball 22 may be optimized to provide sufficient flow of ink from the body 12 to a writing surface, via the roller-ball opening 20 of the retaining ring 18.
As depicted in
In one embodiment of the invention, the first retaining ring portion 26 may include a body end 28 opposite a roller-ball end 30. In one aspect, at least a portion of the first retaining ring portion 26 may include a concave surface configured to secure at least a portion of the roller ball 22. For example, as shown in
At its roller-ball end 30, the first retaining ring portion 26 may be coupled to a second retaining ring portion 34, according to embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments, the first retaining ring portion 26 may be coupled to the second retaining ring portion 34 via a screw mechanism, but other coupling mechanisms may be used. In one aspect, the second retaining ring portion 34 includes a hollow center 36. The hollow center 36 may include an internal surface corresponding to the concave surface 32 of the first retaining ring portion 26. In some embodiments, when the roller ball 22 is positioned on the concave surface 32 of the first retaining ring portion 26 and the second retaining ring portion 34 is coupled to the first retaining ring portion 26, at least a portion of the roller ball 22 protrudes through the hollow center 36 of the second retaining ring portion 34. In one aspect, based on positioning the roller ball 22 within the first retaining ring portion 26 and the second retaining ring portion 34, the fibrous surface 23 of the roller ball 22 is configured to transfer liquid paint, such as chalk paint, from the reservoir of the body 12, through the retaining ring 18, and onto a surface adjacent the roller ball 22.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the body 12 may be comprised of a compressible and/or deformable material, and paint may be forced to move toward the roller ball when a user squeezes the compressible body 12. Accordingly, the amount of paint that is moved onto the roller ball may be controlled by the amount of compression of the body 12. Embodiments of the body 12 may be constructed from one or more plastic materials, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or low-density polyethylene (LDPE). For example, in one embodiment, the body 12 may be comprised of approximately 50% HDPE and approximately 50% LDPE, and in another embodiment, the body 12 may be comprised of approximately 80% HDPE and approximately 20% LDPE. It is contemplated, however, that other suitable combinations or materials may be used to construct the compressible body 12. Additionally, as will be understood, other mechanisms, aside from a compressible body 12, may be used to cause the paint to move towards the roller ball 22 in the direction shown by the arrow 58. Further, in an exemplary embodiment, the body 12 may include a one-way valve to allow air to be drawn into the reservoir 40 to prevent suction from building within the reservoir 40 as paint is emptied from the reservoir 40. In one aspect, the valve may be located at the second end 16 of the body 12.
In some embodiments, the roller ball 22 may be freely rotatable within cavity 42, meaning that roller ball 22 can rotate along at least two axes within the cavity 42. For example, in
According to embodiments of the invention, the free rotation of the roller ball 22 allows at least a portion of the roller ball 22 to be saturated with paint at the opening 44 of the first retaining ring portion 26 and transfer the paint to a writing surface when the roller ball 22 rotates, with the saturated portion of the roller ball 22 protruding through the hollow center 36 of the second retaining ring portion 34. The free rotation may also create greater mobility of the roller ball 22 along a writing surface. As such, in some aspects, a user may paint in multiple directions with the roller ball 22 while holding the body 12 in a consistent position. In other words, the user need not rotate their grip with respect to the body 12, or angle the of the device with respect to a marking surface, in order to facilitate contact between the roller ball 22 and the marking surface in one or more directions.
After the paint has been used, a user may refill the reservoir 40 with the same or different type or color of paint according to one embodiment of the invention. In one aspect, the reservoir 40 may be refilled by removing the retaining ring 18 and filling the reservoir 40 from the opening 24 at the first end 14 of the body 12. In other embodiments, the reservoir 40 may be refilled from additional/alternative openings elsewhere on the body 12. Alternatively, additional or different paint may be used by replacing the body 12 with a new body having a reservoir filled with the same or different type or color of paint and coupling the new body to the retaining ring 18. In this way, the bodies are interchangeable in that different disposable paint-filled bodies may be used with the same retaining ring 18 and roller ball 22.
Turning to
Further shown in
In some embodiments, the steepness of the curvature forming the peak portions 74 and/or the valley portions 72 may vary than what is depicted in
Additionally, various textures may be provided on the retaining ring 18. For instance, in the embodiment provided in
Lastly, when not in use, it may be desirable to prevent paint from further saturating the roller ball 22 or from leaking from the roller-ball marking instrument 10. A variety of integrated closures may be used.
The interior collar 96 may include wall 100 that partially covers the opening 24 of the body 12 of the roller-ball marking instrument 10 when the interior collar 96 is coupled to the neck 98 of the body 12. The exterior collar 94 may have a locking projection 102 that frictionally engages with the wall 100 of the interior collar 96. It is contemplated, however, that the locking projection 102 and the wall 100 of the interior collar 96 may be rotatably coupled using other suitable mechanisms. The exterior collar 94 may include at least one exterior-collar paint opening 104 on an inferior portion of the concave surface 32.
The exterior-collar paint opening 104 may be configured to align with at least one interior-collar paint opening 106 on the wall 100 of the interior collar 96. The wall 100 of the interior collar 96 may include raised ribs extending around the perimeter of the interior-collar paint openings 106. The embodiment shown in
As shown in the cross-sectional, top view provided in
Similarly, the exterior collar 94 may have a raised snap bump 112 adjacent each of the stop ribs 110 and positioned to mate with a detent 109 on each locking lug 108 of the interior collar 96 when the twist collar mechanism 92 is in an open position. The snap bumps 112 on the exterior collar 94 may frictionally engage the detents 109 on the interior collar 96 to prevent the exterior collar 94 from rotating out of the open position too easily or inadvertently. When the snap bumps 112 engage and disengage with the detents 109, the user may feel a snap or other proprioceptive feedback to indicate that the twist collar mechanism 92 is moving in and out of the open position. In alternative embodiments not illustrated, the locking lugs 108 do not include detents, and the snap bumps 112 may be positioned on the exterior collar 94 so that an entire locking lug 108 may pass over a snap bump 112 before contacting a stop rib 110. When in the open position, each locking lug 108 on the interior collar 96 may be positioned between a snap bump 112 and a stop rib 110 on the exterior collar 94.
As shown in the embodiment in
Turning to
As seen in
To close the twist collar mechanism 92, a user may twist the exterior collar 94 with respect to the interior collar 96. In exemplary embodiments, the exterior collar 94 may be rotated clockwise and/or the interior collar 96 may be rotated counter-clockwise to move from the closed position shown in
In exemplary aspects, the exterior collar 94 may also include three close-position snap bumps 126. In the closed position, the tabs 118 of the interior collar 96 may be positioned between a close-position snap bump 126 and a stop rib 122. The close-position snap bump 126 may work similarly as the open-position snap bump 124 by providing frictional force to prevent the exterior collar 94 from being inadvertently rotated out of the closed position. To open the twist collar mechanism 92, the exterior collar 94 may be rotated in a counter-clockwise position with respect to the interior collar 96. The close-position snap bumps 126 may be first moved over the tabs 118 with a small amount of force, and the open-position snap bumps 124 may then be moved over the tabs 118 before the tabs 118 contact the stop ribs 122. Accordingly, both the open-position snap bumps 124 and the close-position snap bumps 126 prevent the twist collar mechanism 92 from rotating inadvertently while still allowing a user to easily move the twist collar mechanism 92 between an open and closed position. Additionally, as an open-position snap bump 124 or a close-position snap bump 126 is moved passed a tab 118, a user may feel a snap or similar proprioceptive feedback to indicate to the user that the twist collar mechanism 92 is securely in either an open or closed position.
While not shown, it is further contemplated that, in some embodiments, the retaining ring 18 may be configured to be coupled with a cap for covering the hollow center 36 and the portion of the roller ball 22 exposed through the hollow center 36 when the marking instrument is not in use. The cap may be coupled to the retaining ring 18 via a hinge or may be completely removable. In further embodiments, the cap may be coupled to either the first retaining ring portion 26 or the second retaining ring portion 34. In another embodiment, the cap may be a curved piece of material that slides between the retaining ring 18 and the roller ball 22. A cap may be used in conjunction with another integrated closure, such as the twist collar mechanism 92, or may be used by itself.
Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the technology have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after and because of reading it. Alternative means of implementing the aforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of the claims below. Certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/255,816, entitled “ROLLER-BALL PAINT MARKER,” filed on Nov. 16, 2015, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62255816 | Nov 2015 | US |
