Paint brush with co-injection molded handle and method of making same
AssigneeThe Wooster Brush Company
InventorRichard L. Barker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A paint brush handle has an outer layer of a comfortable, relatively soft elastomeric material that surrounds a rigid core of foamed polyolefin. The handle is made using a co-injection process in which a mold cavity is first coated by an initial partial shot of the elastomeric material and then filled by injecting more elastomeric material and polyolefin material containing a foaming agent simultaneously. The simultaneous shot of these materials is achieved by injecting the materials through a single inlet passage into the mold cavity in which the flows are concentric, with the elastomeric material surrounding the polyolefin material. The ferrule is attached to the handle using nails or other suitable fasteners which penetrate into the rigid inner core.
Claims19
A paint brush comprising bristles, a ferrule surrounding the bristles with the bristles secured to the ferrule, a handle having a grip portion and a head portion, the head portion fitting within the ferrule, the handle being formed with a core of a relatively rigid foamed polyolefin material and an outer coating of relatively soft elastomeric material completely surrounding the core, and fasteners extending through the ferrule and outer coating and into the core of the handle to secure the ferrule to the handle, the core having a width of at least approximately five-eights of the width of the head portion for penetration of the core by the fasteners over a substantial portion of the width of the head portion.
A paint brush comprising bristles, a ferrule surrounding the bristles with the bristles secured to the ferrule, a handle having a grip portion and a head portion, the head portion fitting within the ferrule, the handle being formed by co-injecting into a single mold a core of a relatively rigid foamed polyolefin material and an outer coating of relatively soft elastomeric material completely surrounding the core, and fasteners extending through the ferrule and outer coating and into the core of the handle to secure the ferrule to the handle, the head portion being defined by opposite major side surfaces and opposite end surfaces which form a generally rectangular solid shape that fits inside the ferrule and having an opening extending through the head portion between the major side surfaces orthogonal to a central axis of the grip portion concentric to the central axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.