Patent Application
20240197098
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The disclosure relates to restraint devices and more particularly pertains to a new restraint device for inhibiting a shower curtain from blowing into a shower stall. The device includes a pair of hooks that are each attached to a respective opposing wall of the shower stall. The device includes a pair of cords that is each suspended from a respective one of the hooks. The device includes a pair of mating members that is each attachable together to facilitate the cords to extend across the shower curtain thereby inhibiting the shower curtain from blowing into the shower stall.
The prior art relates to restraint devices including a curtain holder that includes a pair of hooks, a pair of rings being positioned around a respective hook and a cord being looped through each of the rings to the cord to wrap around a curtain. The prior art discloses a curtain restraint that includes a cord and a pair of couplers attached to respective ends of the cord thereby facilitating the couplers to be attached to respective surfaces of a shower stall having the cord extending across a shower curtain. The prior art discloses a shower curtain cord that includes a turnbuckle and a biasing member each attached to a respective opposing wall of a shower stall. The prior art discloses a shower expander that includes a cord attached to a wall of a shower stall and which is extendable through a shower curtain for pulling the shower curtain away from a person bathing. The prior art discloses a retractor attached to a wall of a shower stall and a cord that can be pulled outwardly from the retractor. The prior art discloses a shower curtain restraint that includes a plurality of curved members that are vertically oriented between a curtain rod and a tub surround.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a shower stall that has a pair of opposing walls and a shower curtain suspended in an entry of the shower stall. A pair of hooks is each attachable to a respective one of the opposing walls of the shower stall. A pair of cords includes a key ring which can be hooked on a respective one of the hooks for movably retaining the pair of cords on the respective hooks. Each of pair of cords is extendable across the shower curtain thereby inhibiting the shower curtain from blowing into the shower stall. A pair of mating units is each attached to a respective one of the pair of cords. The pair of mating units is releasably matable to each other to attach the cords to each other.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A pair of hooks 20 is provided and each of the hooks 20 is attachable to a respective one of the opposing walls 14 of the shower stall 12. Each of the hooks 20 comprises a panel 22 and a member 24 curving upwardly from a front side 26 of the panel 22. A substantial length of the member 24 is spaced from and is oriented parallel to the front side 26. Each of the hooks 20 includes a mating element 28 that is applied to a back side 30 of the panel 22 thereby facilitating the mating element 28 to engage the respective opposing wall 14 for retaining the panel 22 on the respective opposing wall 14. The mating element 28 associated with each of the hooks 20 may comprise an adhesive pad, a liquid glue applied to the back side of the panel 22 or any other type of mating element that is capable of engaging a vertical surface in manner that is unaffected by water.
A pair of cords 32 is provided and each of the cords 32 has a key ring 34 which can be hooked on a respective one of the hooks 20 for movably retaining the pair of cords 32 on the respective hooks 20. Each of pair of cords 32 is positionable in a deployed position having the pair of cords 32 extending across the shower curtain 16. In this way the shower curtain 16 is inhibited from blowing into the shower stall 12. Thus, the pair of cords 32 inhibits the shower curtain 16 from touching a person bathing in the shower stall 12. Each of the cords 32 is positionable in a stored position having the cords 32 hanging from the respective hook 20.
Each of the cords 32 has a first end 36 and a second end 38 and the key ring 34 on each of the cords 32 extends through an outer wall 40 of a respective cord 32 at a point located adjacent to the first end 36 of the respective cord 32. Furthermore, the key ring 34 on each of the cords 32 extends around the member 24 associated with the respective hook 20 for suspending the cords 32 on the hooks 20. Each of the pair of cords 32 is comprised of a flexible and fluid impermeable material, including but not being limited to rubber or silicone, thereby inhibiting the pair of cords 32 from is affected by water. The key ring 34 on each of the cords 32 may be comprised of a corrosion resistant material, including but not being limited to stainless steel or plastic, thereby inhibiting the ring from rusting.
A pair of mating units 42 is provided and each of the mating units 42 is attached to a respective one of the pair of cords 32. The pair of mating units 42 is releasably matable to each other thereby facilitating the cords 32 to be attached each other for retaining the cords 32 in the deployed position. Each of the pair of mating units 42 comprises a cup 44 that has a rear end 46 and a front end 48. The rear end 46 of each of the pair of cups 44 is attached to the second end 38 of a respective one of the cords 32 and the front end 48 of each of the cups 44 is open. Additionally, each of the cups 44 has an outside diameter that is greater than a diameter of the respective cord 32 such that an outer surface 50 of the pair of cups 44 is displaced outwardly from the outer wall 40 of the respective cord 32.
Each of the mating units 42 includes a magnet 52 that is positioned within the cup 44. The magnet 52 has a forward surface 54 which is aligned with the front end 48 of the respective cup 44. Furthermore, the forward surface 54 of the magnet 52 in the cup 44 associated with each of the mating units 42 is magnetically matable to each other. In this way the mating units 42 facilitate the pair of cords 32 to be mated together. Additionally, the magnet 52 associated with each of the mating units 42 may comprise a natural earth magnet that is corrosion resistant.
In use, the mating element 28 associated with each of the hooks 20 is mated to the respective opposing wall 14 of the shower stall 12 such that each of the hooks 20 is aligned with the shower curtain 16. The key ring 34 on each of the cords 32 is placed around the member 24 of the respective hook 20 for suspending the cords 32 on the respective hooks 20. As is most clearly shown in
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
