This disclosure relates generally to a bar soap holder and, more specifically, to a bar soap holder having self-cleaning characteristics.
The bar soap holders commonly used today are known as bar soap dishes. These dishes are made of various materials including plastic, metal, stone, synthetic, ceramic and glass, and support the bar soap on a generally flat or concave surface. A long existing problem associated with the bar soap dish is that it collects soap water every time a wet bar soap is placed back into the dish. When the bar soap is left to sit in the soap water, it becomes soft and messy, resulting in much wasted soap and requires time and effort for frequent cleaning of the soap dish.
Some soap dish designs have tried to solve the above mentioned problem by using a wire soap dish design. This involves supporting the bar soap on a wire grid. However, the wires tend to cut into the soft surface of the bar soap, removing soap from the bar, and these wires also require frequent cleaning, due to soap build up on the wire grid.
Other soap dish designs have also tried to solve the above mentioned problem by supporting the bar soap on a plastic or nylon bed of bristles. However, these bristles end up being pushed into the soft surface of the bar soap, removing soap from the bar, and these bristles also require frequent cleaning, due to soap build up on the bristles.
The novel bar soap holder disclosed herein provides a solution to these and other problems. In one aspect of the invention, a bar soap holder is provided that includes a support base to allow dislodgement of a soap bar without substantial movement of the bar soap holder. The bar soap holder further includes a soap holder body coupled to the support base. The soap holder body defines an upper central opening dimensioned for receiving the soap bar. The soap holder body includes a first support surface and an opposing second support surface disposed within an interior region of the soap holder body for supporting the soap bar. The first support surface and the second support surface are positioned at a tapered incline angle greater than 25° relative to a horizontal plane. The soap holder body further defines a drain path from the first and second support surfaces to the reservoir. The bar soap holder further includes a reservoir for collection of soap water. The reservoir is coupled to the first support surface and the opposing second support surface by the drain path.
In another aspect of the invention, a bar soap holder is provided that includes a reservoir for collection of soap water, a soap holder body coupled to the reservoir, and an attachment element adapted to mount the bar soap holder vertically to a wall. The soap holder body defines an upper central opening dimensioned for receiving a soap bar, and further defines a first access slot extending downwardly from the upper central opening. The first access slot is dimensioned to allow grasping the soap bar to aid in dislodgement. The soap holder body includes a first support surface and an opposing second support surface disposed within an interior region of the soap holder body for supporting the soap bar. The first support surface and the second support surface are positioned at a tapered incline angle greater than 25° relative to a horizontal plane. The soap holder body further defines a drain path from the first support surface to the reservoir.
In another aspect of the invention, a bar soap holder is provided that includes a support base adapted for securement to a countertop and a soap holder body coupled to the support base. The soap holder body defines an upper central opening dimensioned for receiving a soap bar. The soap holder body includes a first support surface and an opposing second support surface disposed within an interior region of the soap holder body for supporting the soap bar. The first support surface and the second support surface are positioned at a tapered incline angle greater than 25° relative to a horizontal plane. The soap holder body further defines a drain path from the first support surface.
The features described herein can be better understood with reference to the drawings described below. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout the various views.
Some prior art bar soap holders are ill-designed in that they are lightweight and fall over easily, and the soap bar is allowed to dry and get stuck to the holder between uses. When a user grasps the bar of soap, the soap sticks to the holder and either the holder is knocked over or the holder and soap are lifted up together and must be separated using both hands. Thus, the bar soap holder cannot be used with one hand as intended.
Referring to
The reservoir 14 provides a collection point for the soapy water that runs off the bar of soap, and keeps it away from the bar soap while it is drying between uses. As explained above, in many prior art designs, the bar of soap sits in soap water between uses, allowing it to become soft and messy, which results in wasted soap and requires time and effort for frequent cleaning of the soap dish. In contrast, the reservoir 14 of the present invention is situated well below the position of the bar soap. In the disclosed embodiment, the reservoir 14 is formed within the support base 12, thus providing additional anchoring as it fills with soap water.
Although not illustrated, the reservoir 14 may further include a drain feature to make cleaning easier. For example, the support base 12 may be formed with hole in the bottom, and a removable rubber plug may be inserted into the hole to prevent the soap water from leaking onto a countertop. When cleaning or emptying is desired, the reservoir 14 contents can be emptied into a sink, the plug can be removed, and running water can be rinsed through the reservoir 14.
The soap holder body 16 may be integral with the support base 12 and reservoir 14, and in the illustrated embodiment has a rectangular form factor rising vertically from the support base 12. Of course, other stylistic form factors are envisioned without departing from the scope of the invention. The top surface 20 of the soap holder body 16 defines an upper central opening 22 dimensioned for receiving the soap bar 18. In this respect, the opening 22 may be sized relatively large to accommodate as large a number of bar soap sizes as possible. On the other hand, the opening 22 may be sized to narrow specifications in order to market the bar soap holder 10 together with a specific type or brand of soap. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper central opening 22 is formed as a cavity within the soap holder body 16, but in other embodiments such as that illustrated in
One problem associated with prior art bar soap holders is that, over time, they tend to collect soap residue at the soap-holding surfaces. The soap residue may be from the soap water drying up, or left over from the soft, water-sogged portions of the bar soap. Because the soap-holding surfaces are essentially flat, the soap residue continues to build up over time, presenting an unsightly mess that is difficult to clean. As anyone who has cleaned a soap dish can attest, as cleaning water is added to the built-up soap residue, the residue breaks down into highly concentrated soapy water. Large amounts of water and repetitions are required to finally dilute the soap residue enough to wash away.
To overcome this noted problem, the inventor of the current invention has recognized the advantages of preventing the soap residue from building up in the first instance, and has thus devised a self-cleaning bar soap holder that enables the bar soap support surface to continually and automatically clean itself using the force of gravity to drain away the soap water. The soap holder body 16 includes a first support surface 24 and an opposing second support surface 26 disposed within an interior region 28 of the soap holder body 16. The support surfaces 24, 26 tandomly support the soap bar 18 and are thus positioned opposing or across from each other in a manner to accomplish the intended goal. Specifically, the first support surface 24 and the second support surface 26 are positioned at a tapered incline angle 30 relative to a horizontal plane 32 of the bar soap holder 10. The support surfaces 24, 26 may be planar or, as illustrated in
In some embodiments, such as when the incline angle 30 is not very steep (e.g., less than 45°), the self-cleaning characteristics of the bar soap holder 10 may be aided by the inclusion of at least one longitudinal groove 34 in the support surface to aid in draining soap water into the reservoir 14. The longitudinal groove 34 may extend the entire length of the support surface or, as shown, may extend only a portion of the length.
The soap holder body 16 further defines a drain path 36 from the first and second support surfaces 24, 26 to the reservoir 14. The drain path 36 channels the soap water coming off the first and second support surfaces 24, 26 in a controlled manner so as to prevent spilling or leakage onto a countertop, which is messy and undesirable. In the illustrated embodiment, the drain path 36 is formed in the area shared between the bottom ends of the first and second support surfaces 24, 26. The soap water flowing off the support surfaces 24, 26 drips through the drain path 36 aided by gravity and collects in the reservoir 14.
As can be appreciated with respect to the illustrated embodiments disclosed herein, the soap bar 18 is conveniently held in place by the first and second support surfaces 24, 26. As the size of the bar 18 decreases with usage, it is still held in place by surfaces 24, 26 but at physically lower locations. Even as the soap bar 18 decreases to a fraction of its original size, the support surfaces 24, 26 continue to provide self-cleaning characteristics. As the soap bar 18 decreases in size, it may be beneficial to provide a means to grasp the bar, especially when it has shrunk in size such that it lays below the top surface 20 of the soap holder body 16. Referring now to
Referring now to
The bar soap holder 110 includes a soap holder body 116 integral with the support base 112. The top surface 120 of the soap holder body 116 defines an upper central opening 122 dimensioned for receiving the soap bar 118. The soap holder body 116 further includes a first support surface 124 and an opposing second support surface 126 disposed within an interior region 128 of the soap holder body 116. As described with respect to the embodiment of
Similar to the embodiment described with respect to
The travel pack version of the bar soap holder 110 further includes a cover 142 to prevent the soap bar 118 from falling out of the soap holder body 116. The cover 142 may be sized to snugly fit over the soap holder body 116, and may include provisions such as detents and the like to secure the cover in place. In one embodiment (not shown), the cover 142 extends the full length of the soap holder body 116 so as to fully cover and enclose the first access slot 138.
Turning now to
The bar soap holder 210 includes a soap holder body 216 integral with the support base 212. As described hereinabove, the top surface 220 of the soap holder body 216 defines an upper central opening 222 that is simply the open-air environment around the top of the soap holder body 216. The soap holder body 216 further includes a first support surface 224 and an opposing second support surface 226 disposed within an interior region 228 of the soap holder body 216. As described with respect to the embodiment of
Similar to the embodiment described with respect to
Turning now to
The bar soap holder 310 includes a soap holder body 316 integral with the support base 312. As described hereinabove, the top surface 320 of the soap holder body 316 defines an upper central opening 322 that is simply the open-air environment around the top of the soap holder body 316. The soap holder body 316 further includes a first support surface 324 and an opposing second support surface 326 disposed within an interior region 328 of the soap holder body 316. As described with respect to the embodiment of
The soap holder body 316 defines a drain path 336 to the reservoir 314 that is transverse to the first and second support surfaces 324, 326. That is, the drain path 336 channels the soap water coming off the first and second support surfaces 324, 326 into the V-shaped groove formed at the juncture of their respective ends and spills the soap water sideways (e.g., into and out of the plane of the drawing) into the reservoir 314.
In another embodiment similar to that shown in
Turning to
The bar soap holder 410 further includes a soap holder body 416 integral with the support base 412, and in the illustrated embodiment has a decorative V-shaped form factor. The top surface 420 of the soap holder body 416 defines an upper central opening 422 dimensioned for receiving the soap bar (not shown). The soap holder body 416 further includes a first support surface 424 and an opposing second support surface 426 disposed within an interior region 428 of the soap holder body for supporting the soap bar. The first support surface 424 and the second support surface 426 are positioned at a tapered incline angle 430 greater than 25° relative to a horizontal plane 432 formed by, for example, the countertop 444. The soap holder body 416 further defines a first access slot 438 extending downwardly from the upper central opening 422. The first access slot 438 is dimensioned to allow grasping the soap bar to aid in removal. In the illustrated embodiment, the first access slot 438 includes a tapered portion 440. In some embodiments, the soap holder body 416 may further define a second access slot 450 opposing the first access slot 438. The second access slot 450 together with the first access slot 438 allows the soap to be grasped and removed from the holder 410 more easily.
The soap holder body 416 further defines a drain path 436 (shown in phantom) extending through the support base 412 of the bar soap holder 410. In the illustrated embodiment, the drain path 436 is a hole approximately 0.5 inches in diameter, and extends through the threaded rod of the attachment element 446. The corresponding access hole 448 in the countertop 444 joins the drain path 436 to a reservoir 414 located underneath the countertop 444 to collect the soap water. Illustrated for exemplary purposes is a rectangular drawer that may be pulled out and removed from the countertop 444 for periodic cleaning. Alternatively, the reservoir 414 may be a plastic bottle with internal threads in the neck that thread to the threaded rod of the attachment element 446. In another embodiment, the drain path 436 may be plumbed to a sink drain or the like (not shown), in which case the sink trap may serve as a temporary reservoir until running water from the sink faucet flushes out the soap water in the trap. The perimeter of the drain path 436 in the support base 412 may be sealed to the countertop 444 with sealant.
Turning to
The soap holder body 516 includes a first support surface 524 and an opposing second support surface 526 disposed within an interior region 528 of the soap holder body 516. The support surfaces 524, 526 tandomly support the bar of soap and are thus positioned opposing or across from each other. Specifically, the first support surface 524 and the second support surface 526 are positioned at a tapered incline angle 530 relative to a horizontal plane 532 of the bar soap holder 510. In the illustrated embodiment, the incline angle 530 is approximately 45° for each of the support surfaces 524, 526, but as described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in
The soap holder body 516 defines a first access slot 538 extending downwardly from the upper central opening 522 to allow grasping the soap bar to aid in removal or dislodgement from the bar soap holder 510. As illustrated, the first access slot 538 may include a tapered portion 540 for easier removal of the soap bar. The soap holder body 516 further defines a drain path 536 from the first and second support surfaces 524, 526 to the reservoir 514 to channel the soap water in a controlled fashion.
The bar soap holder 510 further includes an attachment element 546 to facilitate mounting the holder to a wall, such as a wall in proximity to a sink. In the illustrated embodiment, the attachment element 546 comprises two screws adapted for securement to a tile wall. The attachment element 546 may also comprise an adhesive.
While the present invention has been described with reference to a number of specific embodiments, it will be understood that the true spirit and scope of the invention should be determined only with respect to claims that can be supported by the present specification. Further, while in numerous cases herein wherein systems and apparatuses and methods are described as having a certain number of elements it will be understood that such systems, apparatuses and methods can be practiced with fewer than the mentioned certain number of elements. Also, while a number of particular embodiments have been described, it will be understood that features and aspects that have been described with reference to each particular embodiment can be used with each remaining particularly described embodiment.
Reference is made to and this application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/524,032, filed Aug. 16, 2011, entitled “BAR SOAP HOLDER HAVING SELF-CLEANING CHARACTERISTICS”, which application is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
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