Finger painting apparatus

• US 5,466,080 A
• Filed: 09/22/1994
• Issued: 11/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Inventors: Lee, Sean S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bratlie, Steven A.
• Application Number:
  US08/310,543
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: 401/7, 401/8, 401/203, 401/204, 401/44, 401/46
• US Class Current: 401/7
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 17/002 with feed system for supplying material from an external source; Supply controls therefor B05C17/02 takes precedence

Abstract

A finger painting apparatus includes a housing secured to the backhand portion of a user'"'"'s hand by a flexible attachment strap. The housing supports a plurality of inverted paint bottles coupled to a corresponding plurality of flexible tubes at one end thereof. The remaining ends of the flexible tubes are coupled to a plurality of pad housings secured to the user'"'"'s finger tips and supporting a corresponding plurality of porous painting pads on the undersurfaces thereof. The liquid paint material or the like within the inverted paint bottles is caused to flow from the paint bottles through the tubes to the pad housings and thereafter to the porous pads to provide finger painting operation.

Claims

1. A finger painting apparatus comprising:

a housing having a plurality of paint bottle receptacles formed thereon;

attachment means for securing said housing to a user'"'"'s hand;

a plurality of pad housings each having finger tip attachment means, coupling means, and an undersurface;

a plurality of porous pads supported upon said undersurfaces;

a plurality of paint bottles each having interior cavities for receiving a liquid and each having an open end;

a plurality of nozzles each coupled to said open ends of said paint bottles; and

a plurality of flexible tubes each having one end coupled to one of said nozzles and another end coupled to one of said coupling means of said pad housings.

2. A finger painting apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said paint bottles are formed of a resilient plastic material.

3. A finger painting apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said housing supports said paint bottles in a generally perpendicular relationship to a user'"'"'s backhand when said apparatus is secured to a user'"'"'s hand.

4. A finger painting apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said attachment means includes a flexible strap secured to said housing and having flexible ends each supporting a fabric attachment pad.

5. A finger painting apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of said pad housings define a passage forming the smallest area portion of liquid flow from said bottles to said pads for communicating liquid to said pads at a limited flow rate.

6. A finger painting apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said coupling means extend forwardly and upwardly from said pad housings and wherein said finger tip attachment means include finger caps having finger tip receiving recesses extending upwardly and rearwardly from said pad housings.