FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0001 This invention relates to the field of containers, and more particularly, to the field of containers for use in construction and related activities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 When painting the interior of houses or other buildings, there are two instruments that are typically used. The first is a paint roller, which is usually used for most of the surface area to be painted. The paint roller is particularly useful for painting the large open surface areas of walls and doors. However, rollers are not effective in painting areas adjacent to intersection points between walls, or between a wall and a ceiling. These edges and corner areas are typically painted with paint brushes. 0003 Similarly, painting on the exterior of houses or other buildings may require either rollers, for large flat surfaces, or paint brushes, where rollers are not suitable. For example, paint brushes would typically be used to paint small or jagged surfaces such as eaves troughs, trim, fences, deck edges and corners, window frames and other similar areas. 0004 Historically, painters have used ordinary paint cans to hold paint while painting with a paint brush. These paint cans are generally carried by a wire handle which, when the can is being carried, extends in a semicircle over the top of the can. 0005 However, this wire handle creates a number of problems. One problem is that it interferes with the easy insertion of the paint brush into the can when it is required to wet the brush with paint. In order to get the wire handle out of the way to allow insertion of the paint brush, the painter will typically adjust his grip on the wire handle so that the wire handle is displaced from above the opening of the can. However, because of gravity, the natural position of the can is directly below the wire handle. To displace the wire handle from above the can, it is necessary for the painter to hold the can in a manner that creates significant strain on the wrist of the painter. This strain is particularly large when the can is full, or mostly full of paint, and is therefore heavy. 0006 It is possible to reduce (though not eliminate) this wrist strain by keeping only a small amount of paint in the can at any one time. However, doing so would require the painter to reach to the bottom of the paint can to put paint on the brush. This would slow down the painting process significantly, and it would also be significantly messier. This is because the painter would likely be unable to avoid getting paint from around the rim of the can on his arm or sleeve when dipping the brush deep into the can. 0007 A second problem with the use of wire handles is that the wire handles can dig into the flesh of the painter's hand. This problem is particularly acute when the paint can is full, and therefore heavy. 0008 When painting with a paint brush, a painter will typically dip the end of the paint brush into the paint and then dab the excess paint off of the brush and on to the edge of the paint can. This is done in order to ensure that excess paint is not smeared onto the wall being painted. However, when traditional paint cans are being used, the wire handle and the hand of the painter that is holding the wire handle can interfere with the painter's ability to easily reach the paint can edge with a paint brush in order to dab off the excess paint. In order to obtain easier access to the paint can edge, the painter may need to hold the can so that the wire handle is not directly above the paint can. This can also lead to wrist strain for the painter. 0009 Furthermore, the use of the edge of the paint can as a surface for dabbing off excess paint can require significant effort for the painter. Specifically, the edge of the paint can provides quite a small surface area for the dabbing of the paint brush. As such, when dabbing off excess paint, the painter needs to carefully aim the paint brush to ensure that the edge of the paint brush hits the edge of the paint can. If the painter misses by even a slight amount, he will not succeed in dabbing the excess paint off the brush, and will have to try again. Because, in this scenario, the dabbing off of excess paint requires a precise movement by the painter, it generally cannot be done quickly, but must be done slowly and carefully. This adds to the time and effort that the painter must expend when painting with a paint brush. 0010 More recently, paint containers without wire handles have become available. These containers are cylindrical in shape like traditional paint containers, but do not have a semicircular handle which, when in use, extends over the opening of the paint can. This design requires that the paint container be held by the painter from the bottom, thus allowing easy access for the paint brush into the top of the paint can. 0011 However, this design creates problems. Specifically, in this design, the painter cannot put the paint can down with one hand, because he is holding it from the bottom. Thus, to pick up the can, he must put down his paint brush and use his painting hand to take the paint container off of his carrying hand and put it down. Similarly, this container cannot be easily picked up with one hand. Because it is held from the bottom, the painter must use his painting hand to pick up the paint can and place it in his carrying hand before starting to paint. It will be appreciated that work with paint brushes is often done on a step ladder, where it is important the painter's hands be as free as possible. Not only does having tree hands increase the safety of the painter, who can use them for balance, but it allows the painter to paint more quickly and efficiently. 0012 Another problem with both traditional paint cans and the containers without wire handles is that storing these containers is difficult. Generally, these containers are one-gallon-sized cylindrical container. Because of their shape, the only way they can be stored is to be piled one on top of another. This consumes substantial space, particularly at the facilities of retail outlets that sell these containers. 0013 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 401, 704 issued on Nov. 24, 1998 to Clark (Clark) discloses a painter dispenser with a brush wipe and rest. The container has a bar across the top of the opening which is used to wipe off excess paint. The container also has narrow indentations at the bottom edges of the container where the container is intended to be held. 0014 There are a number of problems with this design. First, this design is uncomfortable to hold because it is held right at the bottom of the container, and because the thumb of the user cannot fit properly into the indentations without part of the thumb bearing against an unindented portion of the container. Thus, because of the location and shape of the indentations, the container is difficult to grip comfortably. Furthermore, the bar across the top of the opening may interfere unnecessarily with the insertion of the paint brush into the container. A painter would likely need to be careful when inserting the paint brush into the container to obtain fresh paint, in order to avoid striking the bar across the top. This would entail additional effort on the part of the painter, and would slow down the painting process. 0015 U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,816 issued on Aug. 22, 2000 to Shea discloses a painter's aid for sealably holding paint and for holding a paint brush having a brush portion and a handle portion. The painter's aid is a container having a base, a wall extending upwardly from the base, the wall comprising of front interior portion, a rear interior portion and a pair of opposing side wall portions tapering outwardly from the base and connecting to the front interior portion and the rear interior portion. The painters aid includes a stepped wiping surface inside the painters aid to allow excess paint to be wiped off. 0016 The container shown in Shea has a number of problems. First, there is no clear means provided for firmly gripping the container. In the event that the painter's hands are somewhat slippery, or that there is some kind of slippery substance on the container, the container disclosed in Shea could easily slip from the hand of the painter. 0017 Second, the brush wiping surface disclosed in Shea is contained substantially within the body of the container. Thus, as with the traditional paint can, the painter must carefully aim the brush in order to cause the brush bristles to meet the wiping surface. This requires additional time and effort by the painter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0018 Therefore, what is desired is a container for holding paint, or similar liquid substances, which is preferably easy and comfortable to hold, and which can preferably be used efficiently and comfortably by a painter. The container will also preferably be easy and efficient to store. Finally, the container will preferably be simple and inexpensive to manufacture. 0019 Thus, there is provided a container for holding paint, stain, varnish or other similar substances, the container comprising: 0020 a base; 0021 a wall extending from the base in a generally upstanding direction, the wall being closed so as to define a contained area and an opening; 0022 a gripping means positioned on the wall, the gripping means comprising at least one recess in the wall; 0023 an excess-liquid-removal means comprising a tongue portion extending from the wall, the tongue portion being sized, shaped and positioned to permit a brush to be dabbed thereon for removing excess liquid. 0024 In another aspect of the invention, the wall tapers outward as the wall extends from the base, such that the cross-sectional area of the opening exceeds the cross-sectional area of the base, the wall and the at least one recess being sized, shaped and positioned to permit the container to be stacked within another said container. 0025 In another aspect of the invention, the tongue portion extends generally upwardly and outwardly from the wall. 0026 In another aspect of the invention, the gripping means comprises a first recess in the wall and a second recess in the wall, the first recess being spaced from the second recess so as to permit the container to be gripped by the placement of a thumb of a hand in the first recess and at least one finger of the hand in the second recess. 0027 In another aspect of the invention, the wall comprises a bottom portion extending from the base and a top portion extending from the bottom portion, the at least one recess being positioned on the bottom portion. 0028 In another aspect of the invention, the at least one recess extends to the base. 0029 In another aspect of the invention, the container is composed of molded plastic. 0030 In another aspect of the invention, the tongue portion is at least about 2.8 inches in width. 0031 In another aspect of the invention, the tongue portion is at least about 3.8 inches in width. 0032 In another aspect of the invention, the tongue portion is about 4.25 inches in width.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0033 Reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which: 0034 FIG. 1 is a side view of the container; 0035 FIG. 2 is a top view of the container; and 0036 FIG. 3 is a rear view of the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 0037 Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, a container 8 for holding paint, stain, varnish or other similar substances is disclosed. The container includes a base 10 and a wall 12. The wall 12 extends from the base 10 in a generally upstanding direction. The wall 12 is closed so as to define a contained area 14 and an opening 16. The paint, varnish, stain or similar substance can be held in the contained area 14 defined by the wall 12. 0038 In this specification, outward refers to a direction generally parallel to the base 10 and away from the contained area 14. Upward refers to a direction away from the base 10 and towards the opening 16. Cross-sectional area refers to the area of a cross-section of the container 8 taken substantially parallel to the base 10. 0039 Preferably, the wall 12 is shaped so as to permit the container 8 to be stackable within another container of the same size and shape as the container 8. Thus, preferably, the wall 12 tapers outward as the wall 12 extends upwards from the base, such that the cross-sectional area of the opening 16 exceeds the cross-sectional area of the base 10. 0040 It will be appreciated that, though the wall 12 preferably tapers outward as it extends from the base 10, it need not taper outward all the way to the opening 16. Rather, it need only taper outward sufficiently far to allow the container 8 to be stackable within another container 8. 0041 The container 8 further comprises a gripping means in the form of a first recess 18 and second recess 207 both positioned on the wall 12. Preferably, the first recess 18 and the second recess 20 will be spaced from one another so as to permit the container 8 to be gripped by a user placing his thumb in the first recess 18 and one or more fingers (fingers does not include thumb) in the second recess 20. 0042 It will be appreciated that the gripping means may comprise only one recess, as opposed to the two-recess configuration of the preferred embodiment. What is important is that at least one recess be present in the wall 12 to assist a user in gripping the container 8 by placing his fingers and/or his thumb into the at least one recess. 0043 Preferably, the recesses 18 will include one or more ridges 36 thereon. It will be appreciated that the ridges 36 increase the effectiveness of the recesses 18, 20 as gripping means by providing greater friction and increased gripping surface for the hand of a user. 0044 The wall 12 preferably comprises a bottom portion 22 and a top portion 24. The bottom portion 22 extends from the base 10, and the top portion 24 extends toward the opening from the bottom portion 22. Preferably, the first recess 18 and the second recess 20 are positioned on the bottom portion 22. It will be appreciated that by positioning the recess on the bottom portion 22, an upper gripping surface 26 is created in each of the first recess 18 and the second recess 20. This upper gripping surface 26 is formed as the upper portion of the recess extends generally outward to meet the wall 12. The upper gripping surface 26, because it has an outward direction, acts as a stop on the thumb and/or fingers of the user to prevent the container 8 from slipping downward out of the hand of the user. 0045 Preferably, the first recess 18 and the second recess 20 will extend downward to the base 10. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this extension of the recesses 18, 20 makes available to the user a greater area with which to grip the container 8. Also, extending the recesses 18, 20 to the base 10 facilitates the stackability of the container 8 Specifically, by extending the recesses 18, 20 to the base 10, the container 8 can be stacked more efficiently, because each container 8 will be shaped so to be insertable more deeply into another container 8 without being interfered with by the recesses 18, 20 of the other container 8 In this preferred configuration, when one container 8 is placed into another, the recesses 18,20 of the top container can fit over the recesses 18, 20 of the bottom container because the recesses 18, 20 of the top container extend to the bottom, or base 10, of the container 8. 0046 The container 8 preferably also includes an excess-liquid-removal means comprising a tongue portion 28. The tongue portion 28 extends from the wall 12 and is sized, shaped and positioned to permit a brush to be dabbed thereon for removing excess liquid. 0047 Preferably, the tongue portion 28 extends generally outwardly from the wall 12. Most preferably, the tongue portion 28 extends upwardly and outwardly from the wall. It will be appreciated, that when the tongue portion 28 extends upwardly and outwardly from the wall 12, liquid which is removed from a brush by being dabbed on the tongue portion 28 will flow along the tongue-portion 28 and into the contained area 14. 0048 It will further be appreciated that the dabbing of a brush to remove excess liquid is facilitated by the tongue portion 28. Specifically, by extending the tongue portion 28 away from the wall 12, greater surface area is provided to allow the brush to be quickly and easily dabbed for the removal of excess liquid. Furthermore, because of the preferred configuration of the tongue portion 28, such excess liquid is less likely to fall over the edge of the container 8, and instead is more likely to flow to the contained area 14. 0049 Most preferably, the tongue 14 includes 2 side edges 30, 32 and a leading edge 34. The leading edge 34 is most preferably about at least as wide as a conventional paint brush. It will appreciated that providing a leading edge 34 of this width has a number of benefits. First, the tongue 28 will have a greater surface area for dabbing the brush. By contrast, if the tongue 28 ends in a point or if the leading edge 34 is narrower, less surface area would be available. Second, this configuration permits the paint brush to be more easily dabbed for the removal of excess liquid, because the paint brush need not be turned side ways in order to fit on the tongue 28. Specifically, it will be appreciated that paintbrushes typically have a wide, flat shape. If the edge 34 is as wide as the brush, the brush can be effectively dabbed whether the width of the brush is parallel, diagonal or orthogonal to the edge 34 when the brush is dabbed. 0050 It will be appreciated that painting is often done with a three-inch brush. To accommodate this size of brush, the tongue portion 28 is preferably at least about 2.8 inches wide. This allows a three-inch brush to be easily and effectively dabbed on the tongue portion 28 to remove excess liquid. Sometimes, painting is done with a four-inch brush. Thus, more preferably, to accommodate a brush of this size, the tongue portion 28 is at least about 3.8 inches wide. This allows a four-inch brush to be easily and effectively dabbed on the tongue portion 28 to remove excess liquid. Most preferably, the tongue portion 28, and in particular the leading edge 34, will be about 4.25 inches wide. It has been found that this sizing allows for easy dabbing of excess paint, while still maintaining the container 8 at a small enough size to be easily manipulable. 0051 The container is preferably composed of moulded plastic. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the container 8 can be manufactured from moulded plastic simply, inexpensively, and in high volume. This is because the moulding process is specifically well-suited to producing one-piece containers such as the container 8 at high volume at a low per-unit cost. 0052 Preferably, the container 8 is composed of a translucent material. It will be appreciated that the use of a translucent material allows the user to see through the container from any angle to determine how much liquid remains, thus increasing convenience for the user. 0053 While the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purposes of disclosing the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the attached claims. Some of these variations have been discussed and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the container 8 (and in particular, the wall 12) may be generally rounded at the grip end of the container 8, and rectangular at the end of the container 8 adjacent to the tongue portion 28, as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the container 8 may be cylindrical or frusto-conical in shape, or may be some other shape. What is considered important is that the container 8 be convenient for use by a painter using a paintbrush.