Children's Easel for Advanced Color-Mixing

Abstract

A children's painting easel, for use with tempera (poster) paint, the function of which is to present black, blue, red, yellow, white and sometimes turquoise tempera paint in individual shallow paint wells with additional wells for mixing colors while providing a securely fitted water container next to which is located a sponge. These components are presented using a shelf located at the bottom of the body of the easel and which combine to enable the easy mixing of a wide variety of paint colors while also allowing for easy cleaning.

Claims

1. I claim an easel configured to facilitate the mixing of tempera paint comprising: an easel capable of being situated upright; a shelf or tray attached or attachable to the easel to house components that provide a way to present a plurality of tempera paint colors in amounts of no more than 2.5 fluid ounces each; a water container with the capacity to hold at least 8 fluid ounces of water; means for securing said water container to the easel where said water container hangs lower in its majority than said shelf or tray; and a space next to said water container for placing absorbent material.

Description

DRAWING FIGURES

[0068] FIG. 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the easel with paint tray, sponge and water container tray, holes for fastening the easel to a vertical surface, and clips to hold paper to the easel.

[0069] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the easel, to show how the trays fit on the shelf of the easel.

[0070] FIG. 3 shows the ¾ side view of an easel with spacers/studs attached. It also shows the bend in the body of the easel which creates the shelf.

[0071] FIG. 4 shows the easel without the trays to illustrate how the easel is formed from a single piece of bendable material.

[0072] FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the easel for use indoors or outdoors easel with silicone paint cups and a shallow acrylic tray that is held in place by the water container.

[0073] FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the easel for use outdoors.

[0074] FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of the easel in free-standing, rather than wall-hanging, form.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0075] 20: body of easel [0076] 22: paint tray with mixing wells [0077] 24: shelf [0078] 26: sponge tray with hole for water container [0079] 28: grommet surrounding hole for hanging [0080] 30: clips to hold paper to the top of the easel [0081] 32: paper [0082] 34: water container [0083] 36: sponge [0084] 38: paint brush [0085] 40: spacer/stud [0086] 42: magnet [0087] 44: bend in easel material [0088] 46: hole for water container [0089] 48: paint well [0090] 50: hole [0091] 52: end of hook [0092] 54: mixing compartment [0093] 56: hole in tray 26 [0094] 58: lip of water container [0095] 60: point of contact between 22 and 26 [0096] 62: back of easel [0097] 64: front of easel where 22 and 26 abut [0098] 66: shallow paint tray w/mixing wells [0099] 68: clips for outdoor use [0100] 70: acrylic tray [0101] 72: spacer/stud (at back of easel) [0102] 74: paint cups [0103] 76: bracket hooks [0104] 78: metal or wood support structure

Description—FIGS. 1-4

[0105] The preferred embodiment of the easel is shown in FIG. 1 (front/side view). The main body of easel 20 is a rectangular piece of plexiglass 0.125 inches thick with one of the long ends bent at 90 degrees to form an approximately 4 inch wide shelf 24 with rounded corners and an approximately 3 inch diameter hole to fit water container 34 on right side (see FIG. 2 or FIG. 4). On left side of shelf 24 sits paint tray 22 made of molded silicone with mixing compartments 46 and five paint wells 47. On the right side of the shelf another tray 26 of molded silicone has an approximately 3 inch diameter hole (see FIG. 2) for water cup 34 and space for sponge 36. Water container 34 is held in place by its outer lip 58 resting on edge of hole 56 (see FIG. 2) in tray 26. At the top of easel 20 are two small holes 50 to use with hooks 52. Grommets 28 surround holes 50. Clips 30 attach paper 32 to top of the easel 20.

[0106] FIG. 2 of the preferred embodiment shows how trays 22, 26 fit onto shelf 24. Hole 54 in shelf 24 aligns with hole 56 in tray 22 to allow a water container 34 to fit through holes 54, 56. Silicone trays 22, 26 fit snuggly together at point 60 and against face of easel 20.

[0107] FIG. 3 shows an angled view of back of easel 62 with a small part of left side of shelf 24 visible to show bend 64 which forms shelf 24. FIG. 3 also shows mounted cylindrical spacers/studs 40. These spacers/studs have flat acrylic caps 42 upon which can be stuck disk magnets (for hanging on refrigerators and other metal surfaces), rounds of double sided tape or felt circles (when hanging on walls).

[0108] FIG. 4 shows the front of the easel without the trays to emphasize and clarify the easel's basic structure.

Description—FIGS. 5-7

[0109] FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the easel. FIG. 5 shows an easel 20 for use indoors with a shallow plastic or acrylic tray which forms a ‘lip’ following the edge of the shelf 24 to catch paint dips. Inside the tray 70 are silicone or rubber cups 74 to hold the paint. These cups can be replaced with a mixing tray 66 if preferred.

[0110] FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the easel. FIG. 6 shows an easel 20 for use outdoors with a silicone tray 66 which has wells for paint and for mixing paint. This tray 66 grips to the shelf and does not need any attachments. The sides on this tray are level with the paint wells as they do not need to catch drips. The sponge 36 sits directly on the shelf 24. Water container 34 is secured though a hole in shelf 24. Strong clips 68 hold paper 32 tightly on windy days.

[0111] FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of the easel in the form of a free-standing easel. All parts are the same as FIG. 1 except for structure 78 which supports the body of easel 20.

Operation—FIGS. 1-4

[0112] In the preferred embodiment easel 20 is made of bendable, lightweight, shatter resistant plastic such as Polymethyl methacrylate (also known by the trade names Plexiglass, Lucite, Perspex among several others) however it can be made of any material which can be bent without fracturing or on which a shelf can be attached and the surface of which is completely smooth. In this preferred embodiment the trays 22, 26 are made of molded silicone which by the nature of the material grip to the easel, resisting sideways sliding motion and making them easy to lift off for cleaning. The water container 34 sits lower than the shelf 24 to make it convenient to wash brush 38 without having to lift brush 38 and so that water container 34 does not obstruct the painting in any way. Placing the water container into a hole and securing by the lip of the container also makes it convenient to remove easily. Sponge 36 is placed directly to the side of water container 34 so that any excess water left on brush 38 after washing can be patted off. On the back of easel 62 are studs/spacers 40 which hold the easel away from the surface on which it is hanging. When hanging easel 20 on a refrigerator magnets 42 are placed on the ends of studs/spacers 40 and, in conjunction with strong adhesive hooks, magnets 42 hold easel 20 to the surface of the refrigerator.

Operation—FIGS. 5-7

[0113] FIG. 5, this additional embodiment operates in the same way as the preferred embodiment with two differences: a plastic or acrylic tray 70 with an approximately half inch lip (80) and circular silicone paint cups 74. Tray 70 is held in place by water container 34 and can be easily removed for cleaning. It also serves to catch drips and spillage from paint cups 74 and water from sponge 36 or water container 34. As with the preferred embodiment easel 20 in FIG. 5 can be hung by hooks 76 which hold it approximately an inch and a half away from the wall at the top of easel 20 and by same-length studs/spacers 72 at the bottom of easel 20.

[0114] FIG. 6 shows easel 20 as it can be used in outdoor settings. Silicone tray 66 differs from tray 22 in the preferred embodiment in that it has lower sides as it does not need to contain paint drips or spillage. Likewise there is no need for a tray such as tray 26 to contain sponge 36 or to surround water container 34.

[0115] FIG. 7 shows how easel 20 could be attached to metal or wood support structure 78 to create a free-standing easel. All parts of easel body in FIG. 7 operate in the same way as FIG. 1.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, SCOPE

[0116] The reader can see that these easels are designed to give children a high-quality, educational painting experience by providing them with an assemblage containing the colors they need (black, white and the primary colors) to mix a wide range of new colors. At the same time these easels provide a teacher/parent with a way to easily remove, clean and replace the paint trays or cups so that they can be filled with fresh paint after each use. The easel also provides many additional advantages which contribute to a quality painting experience, including the benefits of an upright painting surface and it's versatile design which allows it to stand or be hung in a variety of environments.

[0117] The materials such as the silicone trays and the plexiglass body of the easel which are used in the preferred embodiment are not the only materials that can be used to create this easel. For example, hard plastic trays rather than silicone could be used if attached by clips or other such methods to secure them to the shelf or tray. Adjustments can be made easily such as attaching small silicone studs on the bottom of the tray to fit into holes in the shelf if extra protection against sliding is needed for very young children. The body of the easel could be made with various thickness' of material. The body of the easel could be made out of wood or plastic and the shelf could instead be replaced with a detachable tray. Paint trays do not necessarily need additional mixing wells, especially for very young children. Paint trays could have a covering or ‘lid’ to prevent paint from drying out when not in use. Clips to hold and store extra paper could be added to the back or underside of the easel. Thus the scope should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.