This U.S. patent application relates, in general, to the art of curved shower curtain mounting systems and more particularly, to a curved shower rod having a flexible ball socket mounting system.
In general, a shower curtain mounting system is preferred to have a beautiful appearance and to be easy to assemble and mount. In addition, houses in highly populated areas often do not offer shower areas in uniform sizes or dimensions. Occasionally the opposing walls, where the shower rods are to be mounted, are not necessarily parallel to each other. It is important to design a shower rod that can fit various sizes of shower spaces and still meet all the other requirements.
Recently curved shower rods have become widely used because they direct the shower curtains away from the shower space, effectively increasing the space of the shower area.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,069,508 discloses a movable curved shower rod, having the rod extendable in length. But the mounting system taught by U.S. Pat. No. 8,069,508 is rather complicated, involving more than a dozen parts.
A simpler, yet, versatile shower rod system, which can fit in various shower areas is needed.
In view of the foregoing, disclosed herein is a novel curved shower rod system, having a pair of flexible mounting bases. The flexible mount allows for varying degrees of angles created by size differences and configurations in shower areas.
Said flexible mounting base includes a mounting bracket and a mounting adapter. The mounting brackets have a plurality of through holes so as to be mounted on a surface by multiple screws. The mounting adapter includes a supporting cover coaxially secured to the mounting bracket through a lock mechanism, and a flexible joint, consisting of a female joint cover and male joint insert, having the male joint insert substantially spherically shaped and the joint cover, having a spherical central opening and a circular opening, encapsulate the joint insert partially in appearance but completely contain the joint insert in the joint cover mechanically; and an insertion post, projecting from the joint insert, having an outer thread on an outer surface thereof capable of being inserted into one end of the curved curtain rod; wherein the joint insert can move to allow the moveable insertion post change positions pivotally, from a position parallel to the surface to a position having an increasing angle to the surface, or from a position perpendicular to the surface to a position having a decreasing angle to the surface, while the joint insert still smoothly fits in the joint cover.
In one aspect of the present invention, the curved shower rod can offer stable horizontal swivel angles up to 180 degrees.
In another aspect of the present invention, the insertion post has thread on an outer surface thereof and two flat sides so that the curved shower rod stays parallel to the ground.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
a is a perspective view of the shower rod mounting base, wherein the mounting bracket and flexible mounting adapter are attached, and the insertion post is in the upright position with respect to the mounting bracket;
b is a perspective view of the shower rod mounting base, wherein the mounting bracket and flexible mounting adapter is attached, and the insertion post is in the horizontal position with respective to the mounting bracket;
Hereinafter, selected examples of shower rods, mounting brackets and flexible joints will be discussed in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the following discussion is for demonstration purposes, and should not be interpreted as a limitation. Other variances within the scope of this disclosure are also applicable.
Aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following description and related figures directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.
As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the term “embodiments of the invention” does not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.
The present invention provides a curved shower rod assembly having flexible mounting bases. The flexible mounting bases include a mounting base, covered by a decorative cover. Said flexible mounting bases offer the shower rod, attached therefrom, a stable horizontal angle up to 180 degrees, Said mounting base and the shower assembly are very easy to install on walls to match other bath hardware and traditional bath hardware fixtures.
In the figures, the following reference numerals are utilized with the respective elements:
98, flexible mounting base
100, mounting bracket
102, mounting adapter
104, supporting cover (or supporting cap)
106, flexible joint
108, insertion post
300, curved shower rod
500, through hole on the mounting bracket
600, concave slot on the side of the mounting bracket
700, through hole in the concave slot on the side of the mounting bracket
1000, through hole in the convex slot on the inner side of the supporting cover
1002, female joint cover of the flexible joint in the mounting base
1004, spherical central opening of the female joint cover of the flexible joint
1500, male portion of the flexible joint
1502, flat side of the insertion post
1504, round side of the insertion post, having thread on the outer surface thereof
1506, a slot
1600, a trench on the surface for users to easily screw the flexible joint into the tube(s) of the shower rod
The present invention includes a flexible mounting base for curved shower rods. The flexible mounting base 98 is illustrated in
The flexible joint includes a female joint cover and female joint insert. The joint insert is further connected to an insertion post 108, projecting therefrom. Referring to
Further, customer shower application requires mounting systems have aesthetic values. Shown in
It will be appreciated by those of skilled in the art that a new and useful shower rod mounting system has been described herein. In view of the many possible embodiments, however, it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of what is claimed. Those of skill in the art will recognize that the illustrated embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail. Therefore, the systems as described herein contemplate all such embodiments as may come within the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof. In the claims, only elements denoted by the words “means for” are intended to be interpreted as means plus function claims under 35 U.S.C. §112, the sixth paragraph.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20150034581 A1 | Feb 2015 | US |