Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~05~
Various splash shield assemblies have been devised for use with
paint rollers all of which lack some versatility in their use. Some of the
known splash shield designs are limited to a one position relationship to
the roller. That is, the shield may not be rotated with respect to the
roller whereby it could be on one side of the roller when painting along one
edge of a wall and then on the other side of the roller when painting the
other edge of the same wall. It is probably because of the inability of
certain of the known shield designs to be rotated with respect to the roller
that such shields are not to be found on the market.
Some shield designs are permanently arranged on the handle or
shaft parts of the roller assembly. Such pen~ency makes cleaning of the
shield difficult. Most shield designs require a complete disassembly of the
shield assembly from the roller for cleaning or replacement of the shield. ~-
In addition, most of the known shield assemblies are somewhat complex in
their arrangements.
The present invention overcomes the above noted problems and
drawbacks of existing splash shield designs and provides an assembly which
is simple in structure, allows for easy removal and installation of the
shield element for purposes of replacement and/or cleaning, and which allows
selective rotation of the shield from one side of the roller to the other
without the necessity of disassembling or completely replacing the shield
assembly. Thus, the present invention is attractive to the market since it
is versatile in its use and reasonably inexpensive to manufacture.
The present invention provides a splash shield assembly for a
paint roller having a shaft and a radial handle member rigidly extending
generally perpendicular to the shaft from one end thereof, comprising a
support means having a plurality of longitudinally extending generally
parallel shield receiving members; connecting means including a hub section
connected with the shield receiving members for removably securing said
support means to the paint roller such that said hub section is generally
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coaxial with the shaft of the paint roller and the receiving members
generally parallel with the shaft, said hub section constructed to be
selectively rotated about the axis of shaft of the paint roller; and a
semi-cylindrical shield member shaped and sized to extend over a substantial
length and periphery of the paint roller and removably received on said
shield receiving members.
In one form of the invention the support means for the shield and
the connecting means are formed from a single length of rod whereby the
connecting means is in the form of a spiral hub sized to snugly, yet
rotatably fit on the shaft of the paint roller. The shield receiving
members are a pair of parallel rods extending generally longitudinally over
the length of the roller axis. The shield has rolled side edges to fit
snugly on the rods. In that form of the invention the shield is simply
slid on or off of the rods. In another form of the invention the shield
receiving members are a plurality of tabs disposed alternately one above the
other in a semi-cylindrical pattern. The shield is secured to the support
by sticking one of its ends into the tab arrangement.
As to the securing means for holding the shield support in place,
in one embodiment of the invention it comprises a machine screw extending
through a tapped opening in the spiral hub while in another embodiment it
comprises a stub-shaft co-axial with the roller shaft and permanently fixed
to the handle section of the roller assembly. A wing-nut or the like would
hold the shield support to a threaded stub-shaft. In yet another embodiment,
the stub-shaft is secured to a spring clip which fits onto the handle section
such that the stub-shaft is coaxial with thff roller shaft. In either
securing means arrangement, the shield may be selectively positioned around
the roller merely by unloosening the wing-nut and rotating the shield support
means.
In still another form of the invention the securing means for
holding the shield support in place comprises a clip constructed and arranged.
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to fit on the roller shaft. The clip may be a single piece spring-type clip
or a two piece clip secured by machine screws.
Various other advantages, details and modifications of the present
invention will become apparent as the following description of certain
present preferred embodiments thereof proceed.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown certain present preferred
embodiments of the present invention in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present
invention showing the splash shield assembly with a spring clip arrangement ~ . -
for mounting onto a paint roller assembly;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the spring clip and part of the
shield support with a wing-nut all disassembled from each other;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present
invention sh~ng the stub-shaft forming part of the shield support member as
being permanently fixed to the handle section of the paint roller assembly;
Figure 3a is a perspective view of part of the handle section of
the embodiment of the invention of Figure 3, clearly showing the stub-shaft
as being permanently fixed to the handle section;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the
present invention showing a tab arrangement for holding the shield in place;
Figure 5 is a perspective of yet another embodiment of the present
invention showing the splash shield assembly with the shield receiving
members and the connecting means being integral with each other where the
connecting means is a spiral hub fitted on the roller shaft;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of
the present invention showing the connecting means of the splash shield
assembly as being a clip arrangement secured to the roller shaft.
Figure 7 is an exploded elevation view of the roller portion of
the embodiment of Figure 5 showing in addition to the elements illustrated,
a screw member extending radically through the spiral hub and engaging the
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roller shaft to lock the splash shield assembly in place with the roller
shaft.
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 one
embodiment of the splash shield assembly of the present invention in use
with a well-known type paint roller assembly comprising a paint roller 10
mounted for rotation on a shaft 12 which is integrally connected to a radial
handle portion 14 having a section 14a perpendicular to the roller shaft,
anothersect~ 14b extending downwardly at an acute angle to yet another
section 14c to which is attached a handle 16. The splash shield assembly
18 includes an elongated semi-cylindrical shield 20 formed from any suitable
material such as a plastic, metal, or paper, having its longitudinal edges
rolled to form slots or passageways 22 and 24 which snugly fit onto elongated,
generally parallel rods 26 and 28, one end of each being connected to a hub
section 30 formed, as clearly shown in Figure 2, of a central loop section
30a and radially extending legs 30b and 30c. The loop section 30a is formed
to be snugly yet selectively rotatably received onto a threaded stub-shaft 32
which is fixed to the upper section of an L-shaped spring clip 34 formed to
fit snugly onto section 14a of the handle portion 14 and an adjacent section
of the roller shaft 12 as shown in Figure 1. The stub-shaft 32 is arranged
on the spring clip 34 so that it is generally co-axial with roller shaft 12
when the spring clip is fixed to the roller assembly. A wing-nut 36 or the
like secures the loop section 30a to the stub-shaft 32.
As shown, the shield support means has the rods 26 and 28 and hub
section 30 formed such that the shield 20 is disposed in a spaced parallel
relationship to the paint roller 10 to thereby afford paint splash protection
to the user. Orienting the shield 20 on either side of the roller 10 merely
required unscrewing the wing-nut 36 to loosen the shield support and rotating
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the entire shield assembly around the stub-shaft 32 to position the shield
20. In addition, the shield 20 may be simply removed from or placed on
rods 26 and 28 by sliding it on and off the rods.
Figure 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention and
includes a splash shield 40 of the same construction as that of shield 20
of Figure 1 having rolled longitudinal edges forming slots 42 and 44 which
snugly fit onto parallel rods 46 and 48 the ends of which rods are connected
to a hub section 50 having a triangular central portion 52 connected with
legs 54 and 56 extending at acute angles from the ends of the rods. As
also shown in Figure 3, hub section 50 has rolled edges which serve to
connect the central portion 52 with legs 54 and 56. The central portion 52
of hub section 50, has a hole centrally thereof sized to snugly yet rotatably
fit onto a threaded stub-shaft 60 which is fixed to the upper portion of
section 14a' of handle portion 14' of the paint roller assembly of Figure
3. The stub-shaft 60 is generally co-axial with the roller shaft 12'. A
wing-nut 62 or the like secures the central portion 52 onto stub-shaft 60.
As in the first embodiment, the shield assembly may be rotated simply by
unscrewing back the wing-nut 62 to loosen the assembly.
Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the invention which includes
a shield support 70 that may be mounted on either stub-shaft 32 or 60
arrangements of Figure 1 or 3. The shield support 70 includes a semi-
circular main section 72 integrally formed with a hub portion 74 having an
opening sized to be snugly received on a threaded stub-shaft 76 shown
integrally connected with the upper portion 14a" of handle portion 14" of
the paint roller assembly of Figure 4. The stub-shaft 76 is generally
co-axial with roller shaft 12". A wing-nut 80 or the like secures the hub
portion 74 to the stub-shaft 76. A plurality of uniformly shaped, circum-
ferentially closely spaced tabs 82 are formed on the outer edge of the main
section 72 with alternate tabs being disposed one above the other. A semi-
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cylindrically shaped splash shield 84 is supported by inserting one of its
ends as shown in Figure 4 in between the arrangement of the alternately
higher and lower tabs 82. As in the other embodiment, the shield 84 is
easily inserted on and removed from the shield support and the entire shield
assembly is simply rotated into a desired position by unscrewing the wing-nut
80 to loosen the shield assembly.
Figure 5 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention and
includes a semi-cylindrical splash shield 100 having rolled slots 102 and
104 formed inwardly of the longitudinal edges, which slots snugly fit onto
parallel rods 106 and 108, the inner ends of the rods being integrally
connected to a hub section 110 formed of a central spiral loop section llOa
and radially outwardly extending arms llOb and c. The loop section llOa is
a spiral defining a generally cylindrical hub sized to be snugly yet selec-
tively rotatably received on the roller shaft 12. As with the previously
described embodiment, the shield 100 may be selectively oriented on either
side of the paint roller. In the embodiment of Figure 5, the shield
orientation is achieved simply by rotating the entire shield assembly around
the roller shaft 12.
Figure 7 shows the elements of Figure 5 with the addition of a
screw 112 extending through a suitably provided tapped opening on side of
the spiral loop section llOa. The screw 112 is shown having its end engaging
the roller shaft 12 to lock or secure the shield assembly in place with the
roller shaft.
Figure 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention
and includes parallel shield receiving rods 122 and 124 integrally connected
with a hub section 126 formed of a central clip 128 and radially extending
arms 130 and 132 connected with the rods 122 and 124. The central clip 128
is formed to be secured to the roller shaft 12 and includes a flattened inner
section 128a integrally connected with arms 130 and 132 and having a semi-
1051380
cylindrical central section conforming in shape to the roller shaft 12. m e
central clip 128 also has a removable flattened outer section 128b complemen-
tary in shape to the inner section 128a. The inner and outer sections 128a
and b are mated together to fit onto roller shaft 12 and are secured together
by machine screws 134 extending through aligned openings in the sections.
Loosening the screws 134 will permit selective rotation of the shield
assembly to orient the shield as discussed about the paint roller.
Various other forms of clips may be used in securing the shield
assembly to the paint roller. For example, spring clips of different designs
could be used to secure the shield assembly to the roller shaft as well as
to the handle portion. Similarly various designs are available for locking
or securing the shield assembly to the roller shaft or the handle portion
of the roller assembly.
The shields of the respective embodiments of the present invention
have been described as having semi-cylindrical shapes. It is to be noted
that the term "semi-cylindrical" includes any trough-like shape be it rec-
tangular, frustro, or the like in cross section.
It should now be clearly understood how the advantages of the pre-
sent invention as specified in the introductory portion of this specification
are achieved.
While I have shown and described certain embodiments of this
invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited
thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the
following claims.
