Patent Application
20240368867
The present invention relates to a shower head attachment and in particular to a shower head attachment that can be used for dispensing a water-soluble product such as soap or scents or oils or the like.
The invention has been developed primarily for use with shower heads, whether they are fixed bathroom overhead shower heads, or manually movable shower heads attached to flexible piping and will be described hereinafter with reference to these applications. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use.
A shower head generally comprises a planar extending structure with an upper and lower surface forming an internal volume. The upper surface can be a rounded or flat surface connecting to a water feeding tube extending from bathroom roof or wall and connected to the bathroom plumbing. The lower surface is spaced from the upper surface and has perforations. Water fed from the bathroom plumbing through the narrow water feeding tube enters the internal volume and is dispersed to allow to be dispensed across the large diameter of the shower head through perforations of its lower surface. The shaping or sizing of the shower head could be circular or square or other shape and have various circumferential dimensions.
Generally, the rate of water flow is a function of water pressure and thereby water inlet speed, together with the sizing of the perforations of the perforated lower surface. There can be many choices of shower head. A first having a large head but small perforations could deliver the same water flow as a smaller head with larger perforations.
It is known in baths to have a water-soluble product in order to enhance cleanliness, enhance mood, enhance experiences of senses whether through touch, smell or otherwise. One form of bath bomb can comprise bicarbonate of soda, citric acid and essential oils together with coloring and scents. The primary element is to be water soluble but over a time period rather than instant solubility or effervescence. It is considered a need to provide users of showers to have the same benefits. However the plumbing of baths is significantly different to showers.
It can be seen that known prior art shower head attachments have the problems of:
The present invention seeks to provide a shower head attachment, which will overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one or more of the deficiencies of the prior art, or to at least provide an alternative.
It is to be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a shower head attachment for use with a shower head including a perforated cage having a body with a rim, an open top, a base having perforations wherein in use the perforated cage is for substantially underlying a substantial portion of the shower head perforations of the shower head, one or more resilient retainers detachably attached to the rim of the shower head attachment and extendible at least partially around the shower head for resiliently retaining the shower head attachment to the shower head, and the retainer being adapted to be detachably securable to the shower head. The perforated cage can underly the shower head and is adapted to contain one or more water-soluble products such as soap or scents or the like to allow dispending when water flows through the perforated cage.
Preferably the size and quantity of the perforations of the perforated cage are less than the size and quantity of the perforations of the showerhead so as to avoid back pressure.
The shower head attachment can have a body of the perforated cage including a circumferential rim surrounding an open top of the perforated cage, wherein the circumferential rim and the retainer allow for ready detachable positioning on the shower head, with said perforated cage at its open top being adapted to abut and underlie a substantial portion of the shower head perforations.
One or more retainers can be included with at least one extending from the circumferential rim to overlay a rear of the shower head in use when the perforated cage underlies the shower head. Preferably the one or more retainers extend from spaced opposing positions on the circumferential rim. This includes three or four retainers spaced evenly around the circumferential rim and extending axially or just offset axially so as to avoid engaging the water inlet pipe of the shower head.
The one or more retainers can be resilient towards the perforated cage to provide a resilient clamping of the shower head attachment to the shower head in use.
In one form the one or more retainers are fixed to the circumferential rim.
However, in another and more inventive form the one or more retainers are detachably attached to the circumferential rim. This detachable attached to the circumferential rim by the retainer can be by having a shaped attachment means that matches a shaping of the circumferential rim.
The resilience of the one or more retainers can include a resilient hinge between the attachment means and the resilient arm. However separately or in combination the resilience of the one or more retainers can include the resilient arm having a flexibility tending to return a deformation back to the original position so as to provide a clamping tension.
The shaped attachment means of the detachable retainer can include a two-pronged attachment means forming an internal shaping the matches and clips over the shaping of the circumferential rim.
It can be seen that the features of the shower head attachment can be used in various combinations to provide substantial improvements and the features act synergistically to combine the benefits and provide an unexpected, improved result.
The invention also provides a novel and inventive method of dispensing a water-soluble product such as soap or scents or the like from a shower head including the steps of:
The size and quantity of the perforations of the perforated cage are less than the size and quantity of the perforations of the showerhead so as to avoid back pressure.
It can be seen that the invention provides a shower head attachment and method of dispensing a water-soluble product such as soap or scents or the like from a shower head with substantial improvements including any one or more of the following:
Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed.
Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
It should be noted in the following description that like or the same reference numerals in different embodiments denote the same or similar features.
Referring to the drawings and particularly
The perforated cage 12 that underlies the shower head is adapted to contain one or more water-soluble products (not shown) such as soap or scents or the like to allow dispensing when water flows through the perforated cage.
The container does not need to “fit” or connect with the shower head but to be held against the lower surface of the shower head to receive the majority if not all of the fluid expelled from the shower head. The body of the perforated cage includes a circumferential rim 14 surrounding an open top of the perforated cage, wherein the circumferential rim and the retainer allow for ready detachable positioning on the shower head, with said perforated cage at its open top being adapted to abut and underlie a substantial portion of the shower head perforations.
This is particularly beneficial in therefore not requiring each shower head attachment to be exactly matching the shower head profile. Instead, a single shower head attachment can apply to a range of showerheads that are of similar sizing.
Additionally, since the container is not closely fitted to the shower head and the circumferential rim 14 creates a considerable height difference from the lower surface of the shower head to the perforated cage 12, a variety of sizes of water-soluble products may be placed on top of the perforated cage 12.
A shower head attachment is not a pressure resisting trap but instead allows ready flow of the liquid from the shower head to readily pass through the perforated cage 12. This is achieved by the size and quantity of the perforations of the perforated cage 12 are less than the size and quantity of the area size of the perforations of the showerhead so as to avoid back pressure.
That is the sizing, number and area of the perforations provide a particular flow rate from the shower head at standard mains pressure water supply. The perforations of the perforated cage 12 are sized shaped and area size to be in total substantially equal to or greater than the flow rate provided by the shower head so that there is no build-up of back pressure liquid in the perforated cage but a steady flow. In this way there is no detrimental use of the shower head but instead an active performance improvement in allowing water-soluble products such as soap or scents or the like to allow dispensing when water flows through the perforated cage.
Referring to
As most shower heads have a central piping inlet at the back of the shower head the resilient arm 32 is fixedly attached 31 to the circumferential rim 14 and extends inwards to extend over part of the rear of the shower head and urge it in a clamping manner towards the perforated cage so that it is held in adjacent position to the shower head.
The fixed connection can be by plastic weld or adhesive or other fixed connection.
The shower head attachment can have a plurality of retainers being a plurality of resilient arms 32 extending from angularly spaced positions on the circumferential rim 14 and extending inwardly from the circumferential rim to overlay a rear of the shower head in use when the perforated cage underlies the shower head. As shown in
In another form the one or more retainers extend from spaced opposing positions on the circumferential rim. As can be seen various arrangements of arms can be used while providing the one or more retainers are resilient towards the perforated cage to provide a resilient clamping of the shower head attachment to the shower head in use. However, the one or more retainers in this form 31 are fixed to the circumferential rim.
In another form 31 as shown in
The one or more retainers are detachably attached to the circumferential rim by the retainer having a shaped attachment means 35 being a bifurcated structure that has a central opening 36 that matches a shaping 14 of the circumferential rim. In this way the detachable resilient arm 23, 24, 25 can readily “click” around the matching shaped circumferential rim 14.
The shaped attachment means of the detachable retainer includes a two-pronged attachment means forming an internal shaping the matches and clips over the shaping of the circumferential rim. However, it is possible for partially matching shapes to be clicked to each other.
A benefit of this arrangement is again the versatility of the attachment such that it can be sold in a easy to assemble manner and the user can locate the detachable resilient arm at a location on the circumferential rim so as to maximise the clamping effect and to avoid hitting the piping on the back of the shower head. This allows the one structure to be fitted to a range of showerheads.
The one or more retainers has a spacing joint 33 which is the connection point of the resilient arm 32 and the attachment means 31.
In the forms as shown in
In other forms as shown in
The spacing joint allows the shower head attachment to be versatile by not creating a close fitting with the shower head. This then benefits the shower head attachment as it can be attached adaptively to different types of shower heads. The space created by the spacing joint likewise avoids damages and scratches between the lower surface of the shower head and the circumferential rim of the perforated cage. The spacing joint 33 also strengthens the clamping tension between the resilient arm 32 and the shower head 16 as the spacing joint acts like a platform for the shower head and the perforated cage to be stabilized in the same horizontal axis.
A shower head attachment has resilient arms in most preferential forms so as to provide the resilient clamping of the attachment to the shower head.
The resilience of the one or more retainers can include a resilient hinge between the attachment means 31 and the resilient arm 32, 23, 24, 25.
However, another element of the resilience of the one or more retainers can includes the shaping of the resilient arm 32 so that the shaping, material, hinging or tension provides a flexibility tending to return a deformation back to the original position so as to provide a clamping tension. As shown in
In the form as shown in
In another form as shown in
When the retainers 20, 25, 29 are used to attach the perforated cage to the shower head, the serpentine resilient arm is placed on top of the upper surface of the shower head 16 and the spacing joint 33 is attached on the lower surface of the shower head, providing the resting arm a clamping effect on the upper surface of the shower head 16.
Retainers with this resilient arm allow the perforated cage to be adaptively connected to a wide variety of shower heads such as, but not limited to, flat backed shower heads or bell-shaped central piping backed shower heads.
In another form as shown in
One or more retainers with these resilient arms allow the perforated cage to be adaptively connected to wide variety of shower heads such as, but not limited to, bell-shaped central piping backed shower heads or any shower heads with tall and bulky backends.
In another form as shown in
One or more retainers with these resilient arms allow the perforated cage to be adaptively connected to a wide variety of shower heads such as, but not limited to, narrow bell-shaped central piping backend shower heads or any shower heads with a tall but narrow backends.
In another form as shown in
A retainer with this resilient arm allows the perforated cage to either adaptively connect or hang on a variety of shower heads such as, but not limited to, bell-shaped central piping backed shower heads, flat backed shower heads, or show heads with short backends.
In the form as shown in
A retainer with this resilient arm allows the perforated cage to adaptively connect on a variety of shower heads such as, but not limited to, flat backed shower heads or any short straight-edged backed shower heads.
In another form, the internal side and external side of the circumferential rim 14 is shaped in such a way that the attachment means 31 of the one or more retainers 20, 22, 23, 24 and 25 creates a locking effect with the circumferential rim 14.
As shown in
In another form, only one side of the circumferential rim 14, either the internal side and external side, is shaped in such a way that the attachment means 31 of the one or more retainers 20, 22, 23, 24 and 25 creates a locking effect with the circumferential rim 14.
As shown in
This is beneficial in a way that different combinations of the body of the perforated cage 12 can be compatible with the differently shaped one or more retainers.
As shown in
In a second step 112 there is provided a shower head attachment having a perforated cage with an open top defined by a circumferential rim, and providing at least one resilient arm extending from the circumferential rim.
In a third step 113 the attachment is provided with a resilience of the one or more retainers including the resilient arm having a flexibility tending to return a deformation back to the original position so as to provide a clamping tension.
With the particular shower head attachment having the properties provided by steps 111, 112 and 113 the shower head attachment can in step 114 be resiliently fitted by clamping or resiliently pressing the perforated cage to a shower head by use of the resilient adaptation of the resilient arm to the perforated cage.
In step 115, the user is able to providing and install one or more water soluble products such as soap or scents into the perforated cage for being in water flow path when shower head attachment is mounted to the shower head.
Other methods of use are incorporated within the invention.
Thie first step is selecting an appropriate retainer with a resilient arm that fits with the shower head. The user may opt to pick a specific kind of shower head attachment with a specific retainer and resilient arm. Alternatively, the user may opt to pick a package which comprises a variety of retainers and resilient arms. The users may likewise decide to pick a fixed version of the resilient arm or a detachable version of the resilient arm.
The second step is the assembly of the shower head attachment. The step includes: a) identifying a position on the circumferential rim 14 of the perforated cage 12 where the attachment means 31 of the one or more retainers will be attached; b) inserting the upper edge of the circumferential rim in the shaped opening 36 made by the attachments means 31 of the one or more retainers; c) adjusting the attachment means 31 until a locking or stabilizing effect occurs between the attachments means and the circumferential rim.
The third step is the mounting of the shower head attachment on the shower head. The step includes: a) determining the type of resilient arm of the one or more retainers; b) attaching the resilient arm in such a way that it overlays the upper surface of the shower head; c) adjusting the spacing joint of the retainer so that it rests under the lower surface of the shower head; and d) adjusting the perforated cage with respect to the shower head in order to create a stabilized position.
More specifically in the third step, various steps of mounting the different kinds of retainers are as follows.
For horizontal serpentine resilient arms, the step includes a) attaching the serpentine resilient arm on the upper surface of the shower head; b) resting the lower surface of the shower head on the spacing joint; c) adjusting of the perforated cage to underlie the lower surface of the shower head and to create a clamping effect with the shower head through the serpentine resilient arm.
For vertical serpentine resilient arms, the step includes: a) attaching the vertical serpentine resilient arms are attached on the exterior rim of the shower head in at least two different positions; b) resting of the lower surface of the shower head on the spacing joint; c) adjusting of the perforated cage to underlie the lower surface of the shower head and to create a grabbing effect with the shower head through the vertical serpentine resilient arms.
For convex resilient arm, the step includes a) attaching the convex resilient arm on the upper surface of the shower head; b) resting the lower surface of the shower head on the spacing joint; c) adjusting the perforated cage to underlie the lower surface of the shower head and to create a clamping effect or hanging effect through the convex resilient arm.
For concave resilient arm, the step includes a) attaching the concave resilient arm on the upper surface of the shower head; b) resting the lower surface of the shower head on the spacing joint; c) adjusting the perforated cage to underlie the lower surface of the shower head and to create a clamping effect through the concave resilient arm.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.
Similarly it should be appreciated that in the above description of example embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.
Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.
As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.
In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.
In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as “forward”, “rearward”, “radially”, “peripherally”, “upwardly”, “downwardly”, and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” are used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.
Any one of the terms: including or which includes or that includes as used herein is also an open term that also means including at least the elements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus, including is synonymous with and means comprising.
Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention. For example, any formulas given above are merely representative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present invention.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.
It is apparent from the above, that the arrangements described are applicable to the bathroom and shower industries.
4861-7674-8669. v. 1
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023901290 | May 2023 | AU | national |
