FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to bathroom accessories and more particularly to bathroom accessories including a holder for receiving bathroom items.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Like many other rooms in a home, a bathroom may contain functional items. Quite often, in addition to their operation, items also present aesthetic or appearance considerations. To enhance their aesthetic features, bathroom accessories are sold as ensembles with matching soap dishes, tumblers, toothbrush holders, and other matching components. However, appearance does not influence certain types or groups of people as much as others.
In particular, children are engaged by other elements of design beyond the appearance of an ensemble. While it is universally recognized that children could spend more time washing their hands or brushing their teeth when they are in the bathroom, getting them to do so is challenging. Thus, merely introducing a matching ensemble into a bathroom is not likely to markedly improve a child's personal hygiene.
Unlike children, adults tend to appreciate personal hygiene to a greater degree. While adults may be pleased with the aesthetic appearance of bathroom accessories, they may be entertained, much like children, by bathroom accessories that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but have novel and entertaining characteristics.
What is needed are bathroom accessories that provide entertainment and motivate children of all ages while fulfilling other operational functions and desired aesthetics.
These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated from the foregoing, and from the following written description and drawings, in which:
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a rotatable bathroom accessory for receiving a body or personal care product comprises a base, a carousel, and a holder. The carousel is rotatable on the base and is rotatable relative to the base around a central axis. The holder is fixed to the carousel. The holder is rotatable relative to the base, and the holder is adapted to removably receive the body or personal care product.
In another embodiment, the holder is fixed to the base. The carousel is mounted on the base or the holder, and the carousel is rotatable around the central axis relative to the base and the holder.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the carousel is mounted on the base. The holder is rotatable on the base, is rotatable around a central axis relative to the base, and is adapted to removably receive the body or personal care product.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the rotatable bathroom accessory having a holder and a carousel on a base;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of one embodiment of the holder showing a bearing associated with the bottom portion of the holder that permits rotation of the holder and the carousel while the base remains stationary;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a base positioned for assembly with a holder;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are plan views of one embodiment of a carousel prior to and following assembly, respectively;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment assembled with a post connecting the carousel to the holder;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention having a rotatable carousel with a stationary holder;
FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of one embodiment showing assembly of the carousel;
FIGS. 8A and 8B are perspective views of one embodiment of the carousel assembled with a base and having a bearing positioned therebetween to allow relative motion between the base and the carousel;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of assembly of the holder to the base;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the rotatable bathroom assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the rotatable bathroom assembly configured as a soap dish holder; and
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the rotatable bathroom assembly configured as a tumbler holder.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Turning to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1-5, it will be appreciated that the rotatable bathroom accessory 10, in one embodiment, comprises a base 12, a carousel 14 associated with or rotatable on the base 12, and a holder 16 fixed to the carousel 14. In one embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 1, the carousel 14 and the holder 16 rotate relative to the base 12 around a central axis 18. With reference to FIG. 1, the holder 16 is adapted to removably receive a body or personal care product 20. By way of example, the rotatable bathroom accessory 10 may be adapted to hold a toothbrush 20. The holder 16 has structure, for example depressions or an orifice, that retains the body or personal care product 20 on the accessory 10. The holder 16 and the carousel 14 rotate such that the toothbrush 20 also rotates but remains on the accessory 10. While a toothbrush 20 is depicted, one skilled in the art will appreciate the accessory 10 may be adapted to or have structure that retains or removably receives the body or person care products, such as a comb or a brush, on the accessory 10.
The rotatable bathroom accessory 10 is held in an upright position by the base 12 such that the carousel 14 and the holder 16 may rotate on the base 12. In one embodiment, the rotatable bathroom accessory 10 may be assembled with a bearing 22 that is secured to the carousel 14, as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 also illustrates the bottom portion of the carousel 14 and that the bearing 22 may be associated with, mounted on, fixed to, or otherwise assembled within the carousel 14. The base 12 may then be secured in the bearing 22, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. One skilled in the art will appreciate that rotation of the holder 16 and carousel 14 may be achieved by other means or may even result from a simple sliding connection between the base 12 and the holder 16 or carousel 14. In other words, the bearing 22 may not be needed. Each of the components 12, 14, 16, and 22 may be adhesively joined with glue, by press fitting, screwing or otherwise joining by other methods known in the art. In the exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 1, the carousel 14 and the holder 16 rotate relative to the base 12.
In the embodiment of the rotatable bathroom accessory 10 shown in FIGS. 1-5, the holder 16 is comprised of a number of spaceship sculptures 25 pinned or fixed with a plurality of rods 26 to an earth-like center 28 (best shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B). As with the attachment of the components described above, the rods 26 may be glued, press fit, screwed, or otherwise secured to the earth-like center 28 by methods known in the art. As shown in FIG. 5, the carousel 14 may then be secured to the holder 16 by inserting a post 23 into a recess 24 in the carousel 14 and into another recess (not shown) in the earth-like center 28. Also, as briefly described above, the spaceship sculptures 25 are adapted to removably receive a toothbrush 20, for example, by allowing the toothbrush 20 to pass through the sculpture via orifice 29 and into contact with the holder 16. In this manner, the holder 16 in cooperation with the carousel 14 holds the toothbrush 20 is held in an upright position on the accessory 10 while the carousel 14 and holder 16 are rotated around the base.
In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the carousel 14 has depressions 30 to passively secure one end of the toothbrush 20, thereby enabling the carousel 14 and the holder 16 to spin around the central axis 18 without loosing the toothbrush 20. The carousel 14 may, however, have additional or other structure and/or surface texture to receive one end of the toothbrush 20. This structure or surface texture may be designed to keep a personal care product positioned on the rotatable bathroom accessory 10 when the holder 16 and the carousel 14 are rotated about the central axis 18.
In this embodiment, the rotation of the carousel 14 and holder 16 around the central axis 18 provides entertainment to engage people while they are brushing their teeth, possibly prolonging the time spent brushing, or using the other functions of the rotatable bathroom accessory 10. While a spaceship sculpture 25 and earth-like center 28 of the holder 16 are shown in FIGS. 1, 4A, 4B and 5, one skilled in the art will observe that other designs or themes are possible. In addition, the holder 16 may, alternatively, be adapted removably receive other bathroom items. By way of example only, and not limitation, the holder 16 may hold a tumbler, a liquid dispenser, a shower curtain hook, a soap dish, a wastebasket, or a tissue dispenser.
With reference to FIGS. 6-9, in another embodiment, the rotatable bathroom accessory 10 comprises the base 12, the carousel 14, and the holder 16. In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the carousel 14 may rotate around the central axis 18 relative to both the base 12 and the holder 16. By way of example, the holder 16 may be a liquid dispenser 38. The liquid dispenser 38 comprises a liquid reservoir 40 and a pump 42. The liquid reservoir 40 is adapted to hold or retain any one of a number of liquids found in bathrooms in the liquid dispenser 38. For example, liquids may include shampoo, liquid soap, conditioner, lotion, or other personal hygiene materials. Therefore, while dispensing the liquid from the liquid dispenser 38, the person may be entertained by rotating the carousel 14.
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the carousel 14 may be formed as a holiday theme with a Santa Claus 32 and his accompanying reindeer 34. The Santa Claus 32 and reindeer 34 form a portion of the carousel 14. FIG. 7A illustrates one method of assembling the reindeer 34 to form a portion of the carousel 14. That is, the reindeer 34 is secured with a rod 36 inserted into a recess 35 in the carousel 14 and another recess (not shown) formed in the reindeer 34. The carousel 14, as shown in FIG. 7B, may then be secured to the bearing 22 shown in FIGS. 8 and 8A. The bearing 22 is then attached to the base 12. For example, the bearing 22 may be glued to the base 12 and the carousel 14 allowing relative rotation between the carousel 14 and the base 12. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the carousel 14 has a central recess 37 such that the holder 16, as illustrated in FIG. 9, is attached to the base 12 by a portion of the base (not shown) that protrudes through the central recess 37. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are other methods of attaching the holder 16 to the base 12.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, the holder 16 does not rotate relative to the base 12 but rather remains in a stationary position as the carousel 14 revolves around the base 12. In the exemplary embodiment, the exterior surface of the holder 16 depicts a winter landscape. Therefore, as the carousel 14 (i.e., the reindeer and the Santa Claus) rotates, the reindeer and Santa appear to travel across the winter landscape. Thus, the rotating motion of the carousel 14 may provide entertainment as well as decoration.
In another exemplary embodiment, shown in FIG. 10, the carousel 14 and holder 16 are integrated and rotate around the central axis 18 relative to the base 12, as indicated by the arrow. Furthermore, the carousel 14 and the holder 16 form a fairy princess liquid dispenser 44. While the integrated holder 16 and base 12 are illustrated as the fairy princess liquid dispenser 44, other configurations are possible.
In another exemplary embodiment, the carousel 14 may be integrated with the holder 16 in the configuration of a bar soap dish, as shown in FIG. 11. The holder 16, thus, may removably receive a bar of soap or a tumbler such as those often found in bathrooms. In this exemplary embodiment, the holder 16 and the carousel 14 are configured as a penguin, though other configurations are possible. As shown, the mid section of the penguin forms the holder 16 for removably receiving a bar of soap, for example. The rotatable bathroom accessory 10 may then be positioned in proximity to a sink or bathtub such that a person using the sink or bathtub would be able to remove soap from the holder 16 and rotate the carousel 14 and holder 16 before, during, after, or continuously while washing with the bar soap.
In yet another illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 12, as with the previous embodiment, the holder 16 is integrated with the carousel 14. Thus, the carousel 14 and the holder 16 rotate relative to the base 12. As shown in FIG. 12, the holder 16 is adapted for supporting the body or personal care product 20, for example, a tumbler. The holder 16 removably receives the tumbler 20 such that a person using the tumbler 20 may entertain themselves with the rotatable bathroom accessory 10. By way of additional example only, the holder 16 may hold a tumbler, a liquid dispenser, a shower curtain hook, a soap dish, a wastebasket, or a tissue dispenser.
By way of further example, one embodiment and with reference once again to FIG. 6, the holder 16, the carousel 14, and the base 12 are configured such that the holder 16 and the carousel 14 rotate around the central axis 18. However, in addition, the holder 16 and the carousel 14 rotate relative to each other. Thus, the carousel 14 may rotate in one direction with the holder 16 rotating in the other direction.
In addition, the rotatable bathroom accessory 10 may be made of any material satisfactory for bathroom environments that may be easily cleaned, does not degrade with water contact, or react in any manner with soaps or other liquids that may be in or around the rotatable bathroom accessory 10. These materials may include any one of a number of plastics, wood, metal, glass, ceramic, such as bone china or porcelain, resin, or papier-mâché that provides more detail for the base 12, the carousel 14, and the holder 16.
These and other advantages, embodiments and modifications will be readily apparent from the foregoing to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention and applicant intends to be bound only by the claims appended hereto.
Patent Application
20090014399
