Receptacle for storing liquids, more particularly paint, glue or the like.
The present invention relates to a receptacle for storing liquids, more particularly paint, glue or the like.
Receptacles which are intended for storing paint or the like essentially consisting of a plastic box which is designed to be closed by means of a lid which can be snap-fastened onto the aforementioned box are known.
One drawback of known receptacles of this type is that paint residues can very easily stick to the walls, as a result of which such receptacles cannot be reused for storing paint without first having to be thoroughly cleaned, as paint residues which are still present in the receptacle can discolour the new paint.
Another drawback of known receptacles of this type is that when these are used a number of times for storing new paint, flakes of dried paint can end up in this new paint, rendering it unusable.
As a result, such known receptacles have to be
cleaned very thoroughly prior to reuse, which is a difficult task which takes up a lot of time.
It is also known that a used paint or glue brush is placed in the aforementioned receptacle for temporary storage, as a result of which the lid of the receptacle cannot be closed because the handle of such brushes and paint rollers usually extends to beyond the top edge of the receptacle. This has the disadvantage that the paint or glue dries out relatively quickly, possibly also resulting in flakes .
It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to one or more of the abovementioned and other disadvantages.
To this end, the present invention provides a receptacle for storing liquids, more particularly paint, glue of the like, which essentially comprises an outer bucket with a bottom wall and adjoining side walls, a removable inner bucket being disposed in the aforementioned outer bucket, said inner bucket also comprising a bottom wall and adjoining side walls and being of a more lightweight design than the aforementioned outer bucket.
One advantage of such a receptacle according to the invention is that the lightweight inner bucket fits tightly into the outer bucket so that the two together form a solid entity.
Another advantage of such a receptacle according to the invention is that it does not have to be cleaned at all before it is filled with new paint or glue, as the aforementioned inner bucket can be removed and replaced in its entirety by a new and clean inner
bucket.
According to a preferred feature of the invention, both the aforementioned inner bucket and the aforementioned outer bucket are provided with one or more projecting portions on the sides of the receptacle, which projecting portions are arranged near the respective top edges of the inner bucket and of the outer bucket.
One advantage thereof is that by means of these parts, the inner bucket can very easily be removed from the aforementioned outer bucket.
Preferably, such a receptacle according to the invention is also provided with a lid having one or more openings therein, which lid can be fitted on the top edge of the aforementioned inner bucket, and also with closing means provided for these openings.
One advantage thereof is that a paint or glue brush can be fitted through the aforementioned openings, while the lid is nevertheless fastened to the receptacle, as a result of which quick drying out of the paint or glue is prevented and thus the formation of dried flakes is avoided.
In order to show the features of the invention in more detail, some preferred embodiments of a receptacle for storing liquids, more particularly paint, glue or the like, are described below by way of example and without being limited thereto, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 diagrammatically shows a perspective view of a receptacle according to the invention for storing paint, glue or the like;
Figure 2 shows a cross section according to line II-II in Fig. 1;
Figure 3 shows the part which is denoted in Figure 1 by F3 on a larger scale; Figure 4 shows a section along line IV-IV in
Figure 3;
Figure 5 shows a view similar to that of Figure 3 but in another position of use;
Figure 6 shows a section along line VI-VI in Figure 5;
Figure 7 shows a view along arrow F7 in Figure 5;
Figure 8 shows a variant of Figure 7;
Figure 9 shows a variant of a receptacle according to Figure 1.
Figures 1 and 2 show a receptacle 1 according to the invention for storing paint, glue or the like which essentially comprises an outer bucket 2 having a bottom 3 and adjoining side walls 4 which enclose a space 5.
According to the invention, a removable inner bucket 6 is arranged in the aforementioned space 5 of the outer bucket 2, which inner bucket also comprises a bottom 7 with adjoining side walls 8 and is of a more lightweight design than the aforementioned outer bucket 2.
In this case, the top edge of the aforementioned inner bucket 6 is formed by one or more outwardly folded portions 9 of the aforementioned side walls 8, all this in such a manner that these portions 9 at least partially extend over the top edge of the
aforementioned outer bucket 2.
Preferably, a receptacle 1 according to the invention is also provided with a lid 10 which can be arranged on the top edge of the aforementioned inner bucket 6 in such a manner that it can be removed, for example by means of a known snap connection.
Two openings 11 are provided in the aforementioned lid 10, in this case on two opposite side edges, which openings are designed so that they can each be closed separately by means of closing means 12 which consist of a cover plate 13 which is hingedly attached to the aforementioned lid 10 on one side, for example by means of a weakened section in the material, and which also forms a single entity with the aforementioned lid, as is shown in more detail in Figures 3 and 4.
The aforementioned cover plate 13 is provided at its free end with a downwardly bent lip 14 which cooperates with the top edge of the inner bucket 6 when the cover plate 13 is closed, so that a good closing of the aforementioned corresponding opening 11 is obtained.
Preferably, but not necessarily, a raised portion or raised lip 15 is provided on the free end of the aforementioned folded lip 14.
It will be clear that it is also possible to provide only one or more than two of such openings 11 and that these openings 11 do not have be arranged on the side edge of the lid 10 but that they can be provided anywhere in the lid.
It will also be clear that the aforementioned closing means 12 do not have to be attached to the aforementioned lid 10, but can also be designed to be
separate.
As Figures 5 to 7 show, one or more of the aforementioned openings 11 are provided with means 16 for holding a paint or glue brush or the like, which means 16 in this case consist of a flexible plate 17 which can be fitted in the aforementioned opening 11 and in which a hole 18 is provided.
Preferably, the aforementioned flexible plate 17 is made from an elastic material, such as for example rubber.
The aforementioned hole 18 in the flexible plate 17 in this case consists of a virtually central opening 19 which adjoins a groove 20 which ends in the side edge of the aforementioned flexible plate 17. The use of such a receptacle 1 according to the invention is very simple and as follows.
Initially, the receptacle 1, more specifically the inner bucket 6 of the receptacle 1, is filled with paint, glue or the like. When the paint or the like in the receptacle 1 is not used, the lid 10 is snapped onto the top edge of the aforementioned inner bucket 6, so that the paint is prevented from drying out.
For painting or gluing, the aforementioned lid 10 can be removed from the receptacle 1, so that a paint roller, a brush or the like can easily be dipped into the paint or glue.
When painting or gluing is interrupted for a short time, the lid 10 can be placed on the receptacle 1 and the aforementioned closing means 12 can be opened using the aforementioned raised section 15.
Then, the aforementioned means 16 for retaining a paint or glue brush can be fitted in the opening 11, for example by means of a tongue and groove connection or the like. The paint or glue brush can then be placed in these means 16 by sliding the handle of this brush through the aforementioned groove 20 into the central opening 19.
Thus, the lid can remain on the receptacle, preventing quick drying out of the paint or glue.
When the paint and/or glue in the receptacle 1 is used up or is not used anymore, the aforementioned inner bucket 6 can be removed from the outer bucket 2 and replaced by a new inner bucket 6. Figure 8 shows another embodiment of a cover plate 13.
In this case, several grooves 20 are arranged around the aforementioned central opening 19, which grooves 20 all run into this opening 19, all this in such a manner that lips 21 are formed which can each be folded upwards and downwards separately.
The use of a receptacle 1 with such a cover plate 13 as shown in Figure 8 is analogous to that of the previous embodiment, but with such a variant, paint or glue brushes with a thicker handle can be introduced as the lips 21 can be pushed far apart.
Figure 9 shows a variant of a receptacle according to the invention in which the aforementioned inner bucket 6 and the aforementioned outer bucket 2 are provided with projecting portions 22 and 23 in the form of lips or the like on the sides of the receptacle 1,
which portions 22 and 23 are arranged near the respective top edges of the inner bucket 6 and the outer bucket 2.
The outer bucket 2 is also provided with a handle 24 which may for example be made of metal and which enables the receptacle 1 to be transported in a simple manner.
Such an embodiment of a receptacle 1 according to the invention offers the advantage that the aforementioned inner bucket 6 can be taken out of the aforementioned outer bucket 2 in a simple manner by using the aforementioned lips 22 and 23.
The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described by way of example and illustrated in the figures, but a receptacle for storing liquids, more particularly paint, glue or the like according to the invention can be realised in many forms and dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention.