Patent Application
20070045208
The present invention relates to the field of bathroom accessories. More specifically, the present invention relates to bath and shower accessories, particularly the area of caddies for showers.
With the innumerable shower products such as soaps, shampoos, and conditioners found on the market today, a large proportion of home shower units are often lined with several bottles and jars each containing one of several variations of the above products. This plethora of containers can lead to clutter and possibly cause a safety hazard if they fall onto the shower floor due to a lack of shelf space.
Although many devices designed to hold and store shower accessories and products are found in the prior art, they usually fail to overcome one or more of the problems created by the presence of numerous shower products and accessories. One problem is that although many of the prior art devices provide storage space for containers, the storage spaces, such as shelves, lack adequate guards so that the containers are easily knocked off the shelves to either break or cause a tripping hazard in the wet shower. Another problem is that these devices often lack stability in that they are easily moved or struck accidentally, knocking them ajar and spilling the containers. A third problem is that the shelves often take up an uncomfortable amount of space, especially in a smaller shower. The bather must take special care to not consistently hit them when maneuvering in the shower. Finally, the shower caddies found in the prior art often contain a number of parts with several corners, notches, slots, etc. that provide for the simple build up and difficult removal of soap residue.
The shower caddy disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,131 and Des. 286,599 to Sussman are typical of the caddies found in the prior art. Although the caddy includes an upper clamp for hanging onto a shower nozzle, the disclosed caddy has no device to prevent the lower end from swinging on the supporting nozzle. In addition, the shelves of the '131 device rotate and are suspended from slots that allow for containers to spill and for soap residue to build up. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 407,249 to Hampshire discloses a shower caddy with a curved notch for suspension from a shower nozzle and also discloses a pair of suction cups to prevent the lower end from swinging on the nozzle. However, the two shelves on the caddy have a low rail or bar with insufficient height to prevent containers from toppling from the shelf.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 415,916 to Hofman, et al. discloses a shower caddy with two shelves one of which has a protective rail to keep product containers from falling. Similar to the '131 patent, the '916 patent provides a notch for hanging from a shower nozzle, but it lacks any component for maintaining the stability of the lower end of the device. Similar to the '916 patent, U.S. Pat. No. D493,991 to Dretzka is a shower caddy shaped to suspend from a nozzle but it also lacks any lower end stabilizer. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 417,990 to Yemini is a design patent disclosing a multishelf shower caddy that does not provide for any spill protection from its shelves and also appears to lack a lower end stabilizer.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0121871 to Zadro discloses a height adjustable shower caddy designed to mount on different structures. Although it provides for lower end stability, the '871 application discloses only a shelf with no rail and two wire basket type holders for bottles. The holders are shaped from wire-like material and have large spaces through which the bottles can easily slip. Finally, Japanese publication 2005-42306 discloses a device with foldable shelves that are supported within a frame. However, the device appears to lack any lower end stabilizing device and also any mechanism to easily and quickly hang or suspend the device in a shower. Moreover, the device in the '306 disclosure has a slotted shelf support mechanism which allows for the build up of soap residue.
Therefore, there exists in the field a need for a shower caddy type device that provides for easy installation, stability of the lower (non suspended) end, protection from the spilling of containers, and a simple design that resists soap residue build up.
The present invention broadly comprises shower caddy including a frame having opposite first and second ends, at least one shelf assembly that spans or traverses the frame such that the shelf assembly includes a shelf support fixedly attached to the frame and a shelf member rotatably attached to the shelf support, and a first support means positioned within said frame at said first end and fixedly attached to said frame. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of shelf assemblies are attached to an oblong frame and fold or rotate into the space bound by the frame. In a more preferred embodiment, the present invention also includes a rail assembly and a second support means in the form of a suction cup positioned opposite the first support means.
The present invention also broadly comprises a shower caddy including a frame, a plurality of shelf assemblies in which each shelf assembly includes a shelf support spanning the frame and a rotatably attached shelf member, a rail assembly that spans the frame with a rotating rail member, a grip insert at one end of the frame that is sized to grip a shower nozzle or similar object, and a suction cup attached to a second end of the frame.
A general object of the invention is to provide a shower caddy with foldable shelves to provide for easy storage and, if needed, extra room in a shower.
A second object of the invention is to provide a shower caddy that is easily installed.
A third object of the invention is to provide a shower caddy with an element that prevents movement of the shower caddy's nonsuspended end.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a secure locking mechanism for holding the foldable shelves in an open or extended position.
The nature and mode of the operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawing Figures, in which:
a is a cross sectional view of the present invention taken along line 5-5 of
b is a cross sectional view showing the shelves and rail of the present invention as rotating toward the extended position seen in
a-c are a magnified views of circled area 6 of
At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical structural elements of the invention. It also should be appreciated that figure proportions and angles are not always to scale in order to clearly portray the attributes of the present invention.
While the present invention is described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Adverting to the drawings,
Shower caddy 10 includes one or more shelf assemblies 12. Shelf assemblies 12 each include shelf member 13 and shelf support 14. As will be explained below, shelf member 13 folds or rotates from the extended or open position shown in
Rail support 18 is shown attached to frame 11 and supports rail 19. Rail 19 is rotatably attached to rail support 18 and rotates from the extended position shown in
Accessory holder 23 is shown opposite insert 20 and is formed to hold accessories such as razor 30 or a toothbrush or other similar items. In the preferred embodiment shown, accessory holder 23 includes slots 23a to provide a convenient receiver for accessories.
Shown in shadow is suction cup 24 which is attached to the rear side of frame 11 and is used to secure the lower end of frame 11 to a shower wall or other suitable support. In alternate embodiments, suction cup 24 may be replaced by an adhesive pad or similar device that allows the bottom end of frame 11 to be secured to a support such as a shower wall.
a is a cross sectional view of shower caddy 10 in the closed position taken along line 5-5 of
a is a magnified cross section view of circled area 6 of
Thus it is seen that the objects of the invention are efficiently obtained, although changes and modifications to the invention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art, which changes would not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.
