Paint roller cleaning apparatus

Claim 1

A paint roller cleaning arrangement comprising, in combination, a housing; bearing means within said housing for supporting rotatably a paint roller to be cleaned; cleaning fluid inlet means on said housing for admitting a stream of fluid into the interior of said housing to impinge on the surface of a roller; means for directing said stream onto said roller so that the force applied to the surface of the roller by the stream rotates the roller about said bearing means for exposing the full roller surface to said stream; said stream of cleaning fluid being directed along the full length of said roller simultaneously; centrally-located drain fluid drain means on said housing and communicating centrally with the interior of said housing for draining fluid therefrom after passing over the surface of said roller, fluid to be drained being collected centrally within the interior of said housing and being directed through said drain means; elongated rectangular -- shaped orifice means on said inlet means and extending along the length of said roller when supported in said bearing means, said fluid passing through said orifice means prior to impinging on said roller; said bearing means including an axially slidable conically-shaped bearing member urged against one end of said roller by spring means; a threaded end cap supporting said bearing member and held within a threaded opening in one end of said housing; cover means on said housing for admitting said roller in the interior thereof and closing said housing prior to applying cleaning fluid to said roller; slot means in said threaded cap for admitting a handle attached to said paint roller; and closure means for sealingly covering said slot means for admitting said handle; said orifice means being mounted above the axis of rotation of said roller means on said bearing means and extending along substantially the full length of said roller.