Paint brush with pocketed adhesive ferrule attachment and/or flexible grip with rigid handle spine

Abstract

A paint brush having an adhesive attachment that includes an engagement of a mass of adhesive within one or more pockets in a lower portion of the handle and an engagement of the mass of adhesive with an internal surface of the ferrule to form a permanent assembly. At least one flow passage fluidly connects with the pocket(s) to facilitate and/or permit flow of the adhesive into the pocket(s) during manufacturing of the paint brush. In addition, the paint brush may include an elongated upper portion having a rigid internal spine that is overlayed and surrounded with a more flexible grip.

1 . A paint brush comprising:
 an elongated handle having an upper portion and a lower portion;   bristles operatively attached to the lower portion of the handle with a ferrule; and   an adhesive attachment of the ferrule to the lower portion of the handle, wherein the adhesive attachment includes an engagement of a mass of adhesive within one or more pockets in the lower portion of the handle, and an engagement of the mass of adhesive with an internal surface of the ferrule,   wherein the lower portion of the handle includes one or more flow passages that provide a fluid connection to each of the one or more pockets to facilitate and/or permit flow of the adhesive into the one or more pockets when manufacturing the paint brush.   
     
     
         2 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the engagement of the mass of adhesive with the handle and/or the ferrule includes a mechanical engagement. 
     
     
         3 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the engagement of the mass of adhesive with the handle and/or the ferrule includes a chemical bonding engagement. 
     
     
         4 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one flow passage is associated with each pocket, and each of the at least one flow passages is formed as a channel in a bottom surface of the lower portion of the handle. 
     
     
         5 . The paint brush according to  claim 4 , wherein each of the respective channels opens toward the side of the lower portion of the handle. 
     
     
         6 . The paint brush according to  claim 4 , wherein one or more vent passages are associated with each of the one or more pockets, the one or more vent passages being configured to fluidly connect the respective one or more pockets with an external atmosphere. 
     
     
         7 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein opposite sides of the lower portion of the handle each includes two pockets laterally offset and spaced apart from each other by a wall. 
     
     
         8 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more pockets are formed as a recess in a side of the lower portion of the handle, and form a ledge and/or overhang that cooperate with the mass of adhesive to secure the adhesive relative to the handle. 
     
     
         9 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more pockets includes two pockets on one side of the lower portion of the paint brush handle corresponding with a front face of the handle, which are a mirror image of two additional pockets on an opposite side of the lower portion of the handle corresponding with a rear face of the handle. 
     
     
         10 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the mass of adhesive is formed by a curable adhesive that is flowable in liquid form prior to cure, and then can cure into a hardened solid to form the mass of adhesive. 
     
     
         11 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the internal surface of the ferrule includes one or more laterally protruding structures that engage with the mass of adhesive. 
     
     
         12 . The paint brush according to  claim 11 , wherein the one or more laterally protruding structures include one or more outwardly protruding grooves that receive portions of the mass of adhesive. 
     
     
         13 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive includes an epoxy, thermoset rubber, urethanes, hot melt adhesives, polyester resins, silicone rubber, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the mass of adhesive also operatively attaches upper ends of the filaments to the internal surface of the ferrule. 
     
     
         15 . The paint brush according to  claim 1 , wherein the ferrule is attached to the handle without crimping or without fasteners. 
     
     
         16 . A method of manufacturing a paint brush comprising:
 providing an elongated handle having an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the lower portion includes one or more pockets, and one or more flow passages that provide fluid flow into the one or more pockets;   depositing an adhesive in liquid form into an internal cavity of a ferrule;   inserting the lower portion of the handle into the ferrule such that the liquid adhesive flows through the one or more flow passages and into the one or more pockets; and   solidifying the adhesive to provide a mechanical and/or chemical bond of the adhesive within the pocket and with an internal surface of the ferrule.   
     
     
         17 . A paint brush comprising:
 an elongated handle having an upper portion and a lower portion; and   bristles operatively attached to the lower portion of the handle;   wherein the upper portion of the handle includes an internal spine and a grip surrounding the internal spine;   wherein the internal spine is made with a first material, and the grip is made with a second material, the first material having greater rigidity than the second material.   
     
     
         18 . The paint brush according to  claim 16 , wherein the internal spine and the grip are respectively configured to cooperate with each other such that the upper portion of the paint brush handle is flexible in a range from 0.5 inches to 2-inches in response to one pound of force applied to the handle. 
     
     
         19 . The paint brush according to  claim 16 , wherein the grip is made with one or more of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material, including thermoplastic rubber (TPR), thermoplastic olefin (TPO), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), or combinations of such materials. 
     
     
         20 . The paint brush according to  claim 16 , wherein the internal spine is unitary with the lower portion of the handle, in which the lower portion of the handle includes one or more pockets at least partially filled with a mass of adhesive, in which the mass of adhesive engages an internal surface of a ferrule to provide an adhesive attachment that permanently fixes the ferrule to the handle and thereby operatively attaches the filaments to the handle. 
     
     
         21 . The paint brush according to  claim 16 , wherein the internal spine has a cruciform shape, X-shape, asterisk-shape, hexagonal, trapezoidal, or triangular shape. 
     
     
         22 . The paint brush according to  claim 16 , wherein the internal spine  50  is made with one or more of a thermoset or thermoplastic polymer, such as polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyoxymethylene (POM), or polycarbonate (PC), or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         23 . The paint brush according to  claim 16 , wherein a hanging ring is unitary with the internal spine. 
     
     
         24 . A method of manufacturing a paint brush comprising:
 forming an internal portion of an upper part of a handle with a first material, including an internal spine; and   overlaying and surrounding the internal portion of the upper part with a second material that forms a grip;   wherein the first material has a greater rigidity than the second material.   
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the forming the internal portion includes injection molding in a first shot in a mold, and wherein the overlaying and surrounding includes injection molding as a second shot in the mold.