PAINT TRAY COVER FOR USE WITH A PAINT TRAY

REVETEMENT DE BAC A PEINTURE DESTINE A UN BAC A PEINTURE

English Abstract

A tray cover for use with a paint tray is described which includes a door which may be moved or flipped up to 180 degrees along a hinge to provide access for storage of paint tools such as a roller brush and paint brush, with handles protruding, during breaks in painting. When the roller brush and/or the paint brush are resting in the paint tray, flexible sections of the door are pressed over the roller brush and paint brush handles to keep them in place and to create a seal. This prevents drying and deterioration of the paint and tools. Snap tabs are attached to the cover adjacent to the flexible sections. The snap tabs are bent backwards so that they are out of the way when the paint tool handles are protruding. When no roller brush and/or paint brush handles are protruding, the snap tabs are used to flatten the flexible sections and lock the door in the tray cover to create a seal and to flatten the cover to allow a plurality of trays to be stacked. A plurality of locking tabs is used to securely lock the tray cover to the paint tray. A seal is thereby formed so that any liquid paint does not leak out if the paint tray and tray cover is accidently tipped or dropped.

French Abstract

Il est décrit un revêtement de bac à utiliser avec un bac à peinture qui comprend une porte pouvant être déplacée ou renversée jusquà 180 degrés le long dune charnière pour fournir un accès au stockage doutils de peinture, comme un balai en rouleau et un pinceau, avec des poignées en saillie, pendant les pauses de peinture. Lorsque le balai en rouleau et/ou le pinceau est posé dans le bac à peinture, des sections flexibles de la porte sont appuyées sur les poignées de balai en rouleau et de pinceau afin de les garder en place et de créer un joint étanche. Cela empêche le séchage et la détérioration de la peinture et des outils. Des languettes d'encliquetage sont raccordées au revêtement adjacent aux sections flexibles. Les languettes dencliquetage sont pliées de sorte quelles sont hors dune position dobstruction lorsque les poignées doutil de peinture sont en saillie. Lorsquaucune poignée de balai en rouleau et/ou de pinceau nest en saillie, les languettes dencliquetage sont utilisées pour aplatir les sections flexibles et verrouiller la porte dans le revêtement de bac afin de créer un joint étanche et daplatir le revêtement dans le but de permettre à une pluralité de bacs dêtre empilés. Une pluralité de languettes de blocage sont utilisées pour verrouiller le revêtement de bac, de manière fixe, au bac à peinture. Par conséquent, un joint étanche est formé de sorte quaucune peinture liquide ne fuie si le bac à peintre et le revêtement de bac sont accidentellement renversés ou échappés.

Claims

CLAIMS
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are
defined as follows:
1. A tray cover for use with a paint tray comprising:
a tray cover;
the tray cover having a door which may be moved or flipped up to 180 degrees
along a
hinge to provide access for storage of paint tools such as a roller brush and
a paint brush
with handles protruding;
one or more flexible sections at an edge of the door which can be pressed over
the roller
brush and paint brush handles to keep them in place and to create a leak-proof
seal;
one or more door closing means on the tray cover adjacent to the flexible
sections on the
door;
a plurality of locking tabs at the periphery of the tray cover which can be
used to securely
lock the tray cover to the paint tray in such a manner that leak proof seal is
thereby
formed.
2. The tray cover for use with a paint tray according to claim 1 wherein the
flexible sections are
made of a rubberized material.

3. A tray cover for use with a paint tray according to claims 1 or 2 wherein
the door closing
means are snap tabs.
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Description

CA 02945232 2016-10-13
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PAINT TRAY COVER FOR USE WITH A PAINT TRAY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to paint tray covers for use with paint trays.
Specifically this invention
relates to removable covers that seal paint trays, with handles of painting
tools protruding, to
preserve the quality of the paint and prevent drying out of the tools during
breaks in use and to
prevent leakage
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional paint trays often come with a cover that may be closed by the
user. Paint trays may
also accommodate standard size painting tools, such as a paint brush and a
paint roller. Some
paint trays are also stackable in the closed position with paint and painting
tools within said tray.
It is common for users to leave paint in a paint tray over breaks or
overnight, together with
painting tools. In order to prevent the handles of the painting tools becoming
coated with paint,
the handles must be left protruding from the tray. Users typically cover the
paint tray with
plastic film or a damp cloth to prevent the paint from drying out. These
systems are not
completely effective with respect to deterioration of paint and are subject to
spillage.
It would be useful to have a robust system whereby the cover completely seals
around the
protruding tool handles to prevent paint deteriorating by drying out and
around the paint tray to
prevent spillage.
Conventional paint trays and covers do not, however, offer complete sealing of
the tray and the
accommodated tools in order to prevent spillage and deterioration of the
quality of the paint
when exposed to air.
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CA 02945232 2016-10-13
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a cover for a paint tray which can
be completely sealed
around the protruding handles of painting tools to preserve paint and painting
tools during breaks
in use while painting and to prevent paint spillage.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a cover for a paint tray
which can be completely
sealed over the paint tray to preserve paint and painting tools during breaks
in use while painting
and to prevent paint spillage.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a cover for a paint
tray which enables the
combined cover and paint tray to be readily stacked.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the paint tray cover with tray in the
closed position and with
a paint brush and a paint roller with handles in the storage position within
said tray and
protruding from said tray through a door in the paint tray;
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the paint tray cover with the door closing
snap tabs and
perimeter closing locking tabs in a locked position to form a seal;
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the paint tray cover with the door closing
snap tabs and
perimeter closing locking tabs in an unlocked position;
FIG. 4 shows a front end view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2;
FIG. 5 shows a back end view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2;
FIG. 6 shows a right side view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2;
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FIG. 7 shows a left side view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2;
FIG. 8 shows a top view of the paint tray cover of Figure2;
FIG. 9 shows a bottom view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2;
FIG. 10 shows a side view of a perimeter closing locking tab in locked
position;
FIG. 11 shows a side view of a perimeter closing locking tab in unlocked
position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figure 1, there is a shown a tray cover 2 for use with a paint
tray. The tray cover 2
includes a door 4 which may be moved or flipped approximately 180 degrees
along a hinge 5 to
provide access to store paint tools such as a roller brush and paint brush.
When the roller brush and/or the paint brush are resting in the paint tray
with handles protruding
between the door and the rest of the cover, flexible sections 11 of the tray
cover 2 are pressed
over the roller brush and paint brush handles to keep them in place and to
create a leak-proof
seal. Preferably the flexible sections 11 are made of a pliable rubberized
material or any other
suitable material.
Snap tabs 6 and 8 are connected to the tray cover adjacent to flexible
sections 11 and bent
backwards so that they are out of the way when not in use. Alternatively, snap
tabs 6 and 8
could be replaced by a slide-on clip, or similar securing means. When no
roller brush and/or
paint brush are present in the paint tray or they are being stored dry in the
tray, the snap tabs 6
and 8 are used to secure the door of the tray cover 2 and to create a leak-
proof seal.
A plurality of locking tabs, such as locking tabs 10 and 12 together with
other locking tabs 14,
16, 18, and 20 (shown in Figure 3), are used to securely lock the tray cover 2
to the paint tray. A
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CA 02945232 2016-10-13
leak-proof seal is thereby formed so that any liquid paint does not leak out
if the paint tray and
tray cover 2 is accidentally tipped or dropped.
Referring to Figure 2 there is shown the tray cover 2 without a roller brush
and paint brush. The
flexible sections 11 (not shown) are flush with the tray cover 2 and the snap
tabs 6 and 8 are bent
forwards so that they snap flat onto the door 4 and cover the flexible
sections 11.
Referring to Figure 3 the snap tabs 6 and 8 and the locking tabs 10, 12, 14,
16, 18 and 20 are
shown in the unlocked position. It will be understood that a varied number of
locking tabs could
be used without departing from the scope of the invention. It will also be
understood that other
ways could be used to secure the tray cover 2 to the paint tray.
Figures 4 to 9 show various views of the paint tray cover. Figure 4 shows a
front end view of the
paint tray cover of Figure 2. Figure 5 shows a back end view of the paint tray
cover of Figure 2.
Figure 6 shows a right side view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2. Figure 7
shows a left side
view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2. Figure 8 shows a top view of the
paint tray cover of
Figure 2. Figure 9 shows a bottom view of the paint tray cover of Figure 2.
Referring to Figure 10 there is shown a side view of a section of the tray
cover 2 in locked
position. One of the locking tabs 12 is rotated by a hinge 24 so that a finger
22 on the tab 12
engages the lip or edge of the paint tray.
Referring to Figure 11 there is a side view of the section of the tray cover 2
shown in Figure 10
in unlocked position. The tab 12 has been rotated by hinge 24 so that the
finger 22 on the tab 12
disengages the lip or edge of the paint tray.
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set
forth in the
examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the
description as a
whole.
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Representative Drawing