US 4,901,846 A · Artist's paint carrier system

Abstract

A lightweight paint carrier system for use with artist's acrylic paint containers or bottles of a fixed size and cylindrical shape. A number of generally circular trays are provided with a central post. The trays nest together with one tray nesting atop another to form either a single layer assembly or two or three layer assembly. The trays of the second and higher layers mount onto the post of the tray below and are supported therefrom in a cantilever fashion. The trays are of two types--a base which includes an artist's water basin surrounded by twelve wells for receiving the bottom of the bottles and an intermediate layer tray which has wells uniformly distributed on its upper surface for receiving eighteen of the paint containers. A top is provided for either the one base tray or the stack of nested trays and a handle having a rod of a length sized to accommodate a single tray stack or a multiple stack array is provided. The handle's rod has spring biased means for being manually and easily releasably latched to the base tray and is sized so as to secure together for transport and storage the top and the base tray together with any intermediate stacked trays. The system when stacked and latched holds paint containers seated in the wells by "sandwiching" them between adjacent trays or between a tray and the top.

Claims9

Dependent claims

An artist's paint carrier system for carrying a plurality of paint bottles of a predetermined shape, size and height comprising:

at least one tray defining a plurality of shallow depressions sized and shaped to loosely receive the base of the paint containers or bottles;
a removable top sized and shaped to conform to said one tray and having a bottom surface and an upper side;
means for removably mounting said top above and aligned with said one tray at a displacement above said one tray wherein the bottom surface of said top is approximately that of the predetermined height of the paint bottles when the same are placed in said shallow wells or depressions of said tray;
a handle;
means for manually latching said top, said handle and said one tray in an assembled configuration with said top above and aligned with said tray and said handle at the upper side of said top such that said handle, said top and said one tray may be picked up and carried together by said handle with any paint containers in said wells or depressions of said one tray releasably captivated between said tray and said top, said means for manually latching also allowing for manual unlatching of said one tray and said top so that they can be disassembled and any paint containers or bottles captivated therein released for easy removal therefrom for use.

2 more elements

An artist's paint carrier system for carrying at least a dozen different bottles of paint, each of which bottles is of a standard predetermined generally cylindrical shape and size and has a predetermined height, an approximately flat top and approximately flat bottom, comprising:

a bottom tray of a generally circular configuration, which tray defines on its upper surface a plurality of shallow wells, each of which is sized to accept in a loose fit the bottom of one of the standard paint bottles, which bottles when so received have their flat tops at a fixed height, said tray also defining a waterproof basin for receiving a quantity of water, said tray including a central pillar which extends above said fixed height;
a second tray of the same general circular overall configuration and size as said bottom tray, which intermediate tray has a bottom surface which is substantially flat and which intermediate tray receives said pillar of said base tray to overlay it with its bottom surface at approximately said fixed height, said intermediate tray also having an upper surface which defines a plurality of shallow wells, each of which is sized to accept in a loose fit the bottom of one of the standard paint bottles, which bottles when so received have their flat tops at a set height, said tray defining a central pillar which rises above said set height and a central cavity extending from its bottom surface so as to receive in a loose pillar in sleeve fit said pillar of said bottom tray;
a top of the same general circular configuration of said second tray sized to overlay that and having a central sleeve opening sized to receive the upper part of said pillar of said second tray in a loose pillar in sleeve fit, said top having a bottom surface which when so receiving said pillar of said second tray is at said set height;
a handle unit comprising a grasp section and a rod extending downward therefrom, said rod having releasable latch means;
and
said top, and the pillars of said trays, all defining a passageway for receiving said rod of said handle and a releasable detent means for latching the handle to said bottom tray, said detent means including spring bias means for urging the handle in said latching arrangement.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Artist's paint carrier system

Life of this patent

Artist's paint carrier system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims9