Paint cup for paint sprayer

Abstract

A paint cup has a base wall, a side wall, and a plurality of indentations positioned around the lower end of the side wall. The side wall extends upwardly from the base wall and has an upper end and a lower end. The indentations extend from an intermediate point between the upper and lower ends of the side wall to and through the base wall. Each indentation has a length, a cross-section, and a profile and at least one of the cross-section and profile varies along the length. The paint cup may be formed in two parts, with the upper part being the body member and the lower part being the base member. In addition, the paint cup can have an upper frustoconical part, a middle cylindrical part, and a lower frustoconical part.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A reservoir for use with an airless paint sprayer comprising: 
 a base wall;    a side wall extending upwardly from the base wall and having an upper end and a lower end, with an opening positioned at the upper end for the introduction of a material into the reservoir through the opening; and    a plurality of indentations positioned around the lower end of the side wall, said indentations extending from an intermediate point between the upper and lower ends of the side wall to and through the base wall, wherein each of the plurality of indentations has a length, a cross-section, and a profile and at least one of the cross-section and profile varies along the length.    
     
     
         2 . The reservoir of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of indentations fade from a larger cross-section at the base wall to the intermediate point.  
     
     
         3 . The reservoir of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of indentations fade from a larger profile at the base wall to the intermediate point.  
     
     
         4 . The reservoir of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of indentations fade from a larger cross-section at the base wall to the intermediate point.  
     
     
         5 . The reservoir of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of indentations have a V-shaped profile and a V-shaped cross-section.  
     
     
         6 . The reservoir of  claim 1 , wherein the side wall comprises: 
 an upper frustoconical part with an upper end and a lower end and having a diameter at the lower end that is larger than the diameter at the upper end, wherein the upper end includes the opening and is for coupling to a paint sprayer;    a middle cylindrical part connected to the lower end of the upper part, the middle part having an upper end and a lower end;    a lower frustoconical part with an upper end and a lower end and having a diameter at the lower end that is smaller than a diameter at the upper end, with the upper end of the lower frustoconical part connected to the lower end of the middle cylindrical part and the lower end of the lower frustoconical part connected to the base wall,    wherein the plurality of indentations are positioned in the lower frustoconical part.    
     
     
         7 . The reservoir of  claim 1 , wherein the reservoir comprises a body member and a base member that are connected to form the reservoir, with the base wall being positioned on the base member and the side wall being positioned on the body member and the base member.  
     
     
         8 . A reservoir for attaching to a handheld paint sprayer comprising: 
 a body member including a first base wall and a first side wall that together define a container for the storage of a fluid, with the first side wall extending upwardly from the first base wall, and the first side wall having an upper end and a lower end and defining an opening at the upper end through which a fluid is introduced into the body member, with the upper end being configured to attach to a paint sprayer; and    a base member having a second side wall and a second base wall, with the second side wall and second base wall being coupled to the lower end of the first side wall over the first base wall, the base member having an open upper end for receiving the lower end of the body member and a closed lower end.    
     
     
         9 . The reservoir of  claim 8 , wherein the base member further comprises a plurality of indentations, each of which extends from the second side wall to and through the second base wall.  
     
     
         10 . The reservoir of  claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of indentations has a length, a cross-section and a profile, and at least one of the cross-section and profile varies along the length.  
     
     
         11 . The reservoir of  claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of indentations has a V-shaped cross-section and a V-shaped profile, and the indentations are evenly spaced around the base and comprise at least four indentations.  
     
     
         12 . The reservoir of  claim 8 , further comprising a coupling mechanism for coupling the body member to the base member.  
     
     
         13 . The reservoir of  claim 12 , further comprising a coupling mechanism for coupling the body member to the base member, the coupling mechanism comprising a first attachment member positioned at the lower end of the body member and a second attachment member positioned inside the body member.  
     
     
         14 . The reservoir of  claim 13 , wherein the first attachment member includes at least two fins that extend outwardly at the lower end of the body member and the second attachment member includes at least two slots positioned on the base member, said fins and slots being configured so that the fins fixedly engage the slots to attach the body member to the base member.  
     
     
         15 . The reservoir of  claim 8 , wherein the body member comprises an upper part at the upper end coupled to a frustoconical part at the lower end, the lower part having a frustoconical shape with a smaller diameter at the lower end, with the first base wall connected to the lower end of the lower part, and the plurality of indentations are positioned in the lower frustoconical part.  
     
     
         16 . The reservoir of  claim 15 , wherein the upper part includes an upper frustoconical part at the upper end and a central cylindrical part below the upper frustoconical part, with the lower frustoconical part connected to the central cylindrical part.  
     
     
         17 . The reservoir of  claim 8 , wherein the first base wall has a first shape and the second base wall has a second shape, with the first shape being different from the second shape, and the second base wall has a size that is larger than a size of the first base wall.  
     
     
         18 . The reservoir of  claim 8 , wherein the body member comprises a first material and the base member comprises a second material, and the first material has a first color and the second material has a second color.  
     
     
         19 . The reservoir of  claim 18 , wherein the first color is different from the second color and the first material is the same as the second material.  
     
     
         20 . A reservoir for use with a handheld paint sprayer having a lid for coupling to the reservoir, the reservoir comprising: 
 a base wall having a generally circular shape;    a side wall extending upwardly from the base wall; and    a rim extending upwardly from the side wall, the rim defining an opening through which a material is introduced into the reservoir and being configured to couple to a lid of a paint sprayer;    the side wall comprising: 
 an upper frustoconical part with an upper end and a lower end and having a diameter at the lower end that is larger than the diameter at the upper end, with the rim extending upwardly from the upper frustoconical part;  
 a middle cylindrical part connected to the lower end of the upper frustoconical part;  
 a lower frustoconical part with an upper end and a lower end and having a diameter at the lower end that is smaller than the diameter at the upper end, with the upper end of the lower frustoconical part being connected to the middle cylindrical part and the lower end of the lower frustoconical part being connected to the base wall.  
   
     
     
         21 . The reservoir of  claim 20 , further comprising a plurality of indentations positioned around the lower frustoconical part of the side wall, said indentations extending from an intermediate point in the vicinity of the upper end of the lower frustoconical part to and through the base wall, with the indentations providing a gripping area on the reservoir.  
     
     
         22 . The reservoir of  claim 21 , wherein the indentations have a cross-section that varies from the base wall to the intermediate point.  
     
     
         23 . The reservoir of  claim 22 , wherein the cross-section of the indentations has a larger dimension at the base wall than at the intermediate point.  
     
     
         24 . The reservoir of  claim 21 , wherein each of the plurality of indentations has a V-shaped cross-section and a V-shaped profile.  
     
     
         25 . The reservoir of  claim 21 , wherein the plurality of indentations are evenly spaced around the lower frustoconical part and comprise at least four indentations.  
     
     
         26 . The reservoir of  claim 21 , wherein the lower frustoconical part has an upper portion and a lower portion, with the upper portion having an angle relative to the base wall and the lower portion having an angle relative to the base wall, with the upper portion angle being different from the lower portion angle, and with the indentations being formed in the lower portion.  
     
     
         27 . The reservoir of  claim 21 , wherein the intermediate point is positioned at the upper end of the lower frustoconical part.