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Paint applicators including paint application element having non-stick coating

Paint applicators including paint application element having non-stick coating description/claims

This application is a divisional application of and claims priority to co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/281,259, filed on Nov. 17, 2005, entitled “PAINT APPLICATORS INCLUDING PAINT APPLICATION ELEMENT HAVING NON-STICK COATING” that claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 of Patent Cooperation Treaty International Application No. PCT/US2003/036626 filed on Nov. 13, 2003 entitled “PAINT APPLICATORS INCLUDING PAINT APPLICATION ELEMENT HAVING NON-STICK COATING”, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

The present invention generally relates to paint applicators and more particularly to paint applicators including a paint application element which has a non-stick coating.

The use of paint applicators such as paint brushes, paint rollers, and paint pads for the application of paint to walls and the like is well known. Brushes are useful in that they allow for accurate paint application and can be provided in a wide array of sizes. Paint rollers are often the tool of choice, especially for fast paint application to relatively large surfaces such as walls and ceilings. Foam pads absorb a relatively high volume of paint, and are suitable for applying paint to surfaces having intricate textures. Moreover, such pads often have a straight or angular edge enabling application of paint along a straight trim line or to a corner surface and the like.

In order to be successfully reused, however paint applicators such as paint brushes, paint rollers, and paint pads must be thoroughly cleaned. This is so because dried paint negatively affects the performance of the painting tool (e.g., the finish of the applied paint coating, the capacity of the painting tool to absorb and apply paint to a surface, etc.).

Cleaning a paint applicator is normally a messy and time-consuming operation. Typically, the paint applicator is thoroughly washed with water and/or organic solvents, depending on the type of paint. However, it is difficult to remove all of the paint from the paint applicator. Moreover, exposing paint applicators to organic solvents can deleteriously affect the performance of the paint applicator. For example, paint roller cover cores can comprise strips of a thermoplastic or paper material which are adhered to each other, and paint solvents such as turpentine, mineral spirits, etc. can dissolve many of the adhesive compounds which are used to adhere the strips to form the paint roller cover core.

Additionally, cleaning paint application elements such as paint roller covers normally requires users to remove the paint roller cover from the paint roller assembly by grasping the paint soaked paint roller cover and pulling it off of the frame of the paint roller assembly. Accordingly, the hands of the user contact paint and also must be thoroughly cleaned.

Various devices for cleaning painting applicators have been described.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,673 discloses an open ended tubular housing for receiving a painting applicator that needs to be cleaned which includes at least one series of water jets. When used to clean paint rollers, the water jets are directed slightly off center of the paint roller in order to impart a spin to the roller which throws off the diluted paint and wash water. When used to clean paint brushes, water jets that are directed upwardly parallel to the bristles of the paint brush are activated.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,626 describes a similar device which utilizes water pressure generated spin to clean painting applicators. Paint brush combs have also been used to clean the paint brush filaments or bristles.

Although facilitating the thorough cleaning of paint applicators, such devices have drawbacks. For example, many of these devices are elaborate and require the utilization (and potential monopolization) of a water source. Moreover, a considerable amount of time and effort has to be expended to clean a paint applicator, even when using such devices. Finally, such devices do not provide an integrated solution for cleaning paint applicators, in that they merely address the result (i.e., a paint soaked paint applicator).

Paint applicators including a paint application element which has a non-stick coating generally allow consumers to clean paint applicators quickly and thoroughly. Moreover, such paint applicators provide paint application elements capable of achieving increased paint loading and increased paint release, thereby allowing consumers to paint surfaces to be painted more quickly and efficiently.

According to one embodiment according to the disclosure, a paint applicator comprises a handle and a paint application element operatively connected to the handle, wherein at least a portion of the paint application element has a non-stick coating.

According to an additional embodiment according to the disclosure, a paint roller cover comprises a core and a pile fabric secured to the core, wherein at least a portion of the pile fabric has a non-stick coating.

According to another embodiment according to the disclosure, a paint brush comprises a handle, a ferrule secured to the handle, and a plurality of bristles having inner end portions received within the ferrule and outer end portions projecting from the ferrule, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of bristles has a non-stick coating.

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