SOAP KEEPER

Abstract

A portable device for soap is disclosed. The portable device comprises a box for housing an inner aluminum grill where a bar of soap may be placed on the aluminum grill located within a few inches above a waste collection tray that collects water and soap residue. The waste collection tray is removable from the box for emptying and reuse. The aluminum grill keeps the soap dry and bacteria free. The portable device's box additionally has a top which when closed keeps away dust. It is envisioned that the portable device will enable a user to travel anywhere with their own soap.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to portable soap dishes and more particularly to an aluminum grill housed within a box for placement of a bar of soap having a built in waste collection tray which may be slidably removed for cleaning waste residue.

BACKGROUND ART

It is well known that a great number of people either require or desire the use of a specific soap when cleaning their faces. For example, acne medicated soap is one such type of soap wherein this type of soap currently is very expensive such that if the person is traveling they may want to take their particular soap with them in a portable soapbox.

Typically, soapboxes are designed to have raised ridges, dowels, grills or racks to support the wet bar soaps above the floor of the soap box/dish. In almost all the cases, the bars which support the bar soaps are flat, rectangular or circular in cross-section and they are not efficient to drain the water away from the wet soap surface. Water sticks to the bottom surface of the soap between the bars and slowly soaks the outer layer of the soap surface.

Currently, in the prior art there are a number of portable soapboxes. One such portable soapbox is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,471 issued Jun. 1, 2010 to Srungaran, which teaches a soap rack housed within a soapbox. In use, the soap rack is placed at an inclined angle to keep the soap surface inclined so that the water drains quickly and efficiently due to gravity and will not have enough time to be absorbed by the soap. Although, this invention allows for an opening at the bottom of the soapbox for the excess soap residue to escape, it does not provide an easy or simple way to clean out the remaining interior left behind residue.

Accordingly, there exists a need for a portable soapbox or soap keeper for use with luxurious and expensive soaps that will keep the soap dry and dust and bacteria free adding to the soaps longevity for travelers and for use at home. The present invention solves this problem and more in a unique and novel fashion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A portable device for soap is disclosed. The portable device comprises a box for housing an inner aluminum grill where a bar of soap may be placed on the aluminum grill located within a few inches above a waste collection tray that collects water and soap residue. The waste collection tray is removable from the box for emptying and reuse. The aluminum grill will assist in the prevention of bacteria and will assist in keeping moisture away from soap. The portable device's box additionally has a top which when closed keeps away dust. It is envisioned that the portable device will enable a user to travel anywhere with their own soap.

In accordance with these and other objects, which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the soap keeper in its closed position for travel use in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the interior of the soap keeper of FIG. 1 illustrating the location of hinges used for a deployed configuration;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the soap keeper of FIG. 1 in its opened and deployed configuration; and

FIGS. 4 is an exploded view of FIG. 3 illustrating the different component parts of the soap keeper of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a perspective view of the soap keeper 10 in its closed position for travel use in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the soap keeper 10 is a housing portion 14 having an oblong or rounded rectangular box like configuration with a matching top lid 12. However, it may be envisioned to be any shape such as square, circular, elliptical and the like. The soap keeper 10 housing 14 and lid 12 may be made from plastic or metal materials wherein the interior of the soap keeper 10 is capable of draining wet bar soaps very quickly and efficiently and keeps water away from the surface of the bar soap as will be more fully described below.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, there are shown perspective views of the interior of the soap keeper 10 of FIG. 1 illustrating the interior location of front and back hinges 16, 18, respectively within the housing 14 and are used for configuring the soap keeper 10 from the closed position shown in FIG. 1 to an open or deployed configuration as shown in FIG. 3, as will be more fully described below. In use, when the soap keeper 10 arrives at its final destination, an interior compartment or soap rack 20 is telescopically expanded into a desired upright position as shown in FIG. 3 through the use of the front and back hinge mechanism's 16 and 18, as will be more fully described below. The interior compartment or soap rack 20 is in one preferred embodiment and as shown a generally rectangular grill or mesh for the placement of a bar of soap (not shown) after use. However, it should be understood that the outer shape of the soap rack 20 conforms for cooperative engagement with the inner shape of housing 14. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, this grill or rack 20 is fabricated from aluminum which will assist in the prevention of bacteria and will assist in keeping moisture away from soap.

Turning once again to FIG. 3, the operation of the front and back hinges 16 and 18 is illustrated. More specifically, a pair of back hinges 18 are connected at a first back end 24 located on each side of the back of soap rack 20 and connected at its distal back end 26 on each side of lid 12 of soap keeper 20. Similarly, a pair of front hinges 16 are connected at a first front end 24 located on each side of the front of soap rack 20 and connected at their distal front ends 26 on each side of the housing 11 of soap keeper 20. In operation, the front and back hinges 16 and 18 work simultaneously and cooperatively to lift out the soap rack 20 when the lid 12 of soap keeper 10 is tilted back or placed into an open position. When lid 12 is closed the front and back hinges 16 and 18 lower the soap rack back into housing 14 of soap keeper 10 for storage.

Turning once again to FIG. 2, the length of the front and back hinges 16 and 18 place the soap rack 20 above the bottom of housing 14. Located directly underneath and below soap rack 20 within housing 14 is a waste collection tray 22 used for collecting the soap residue and water after use. It should be understood that the outer shape of the waste collection tray 22 conforms for cooperative engagement with the inner bottom shape of housing 14. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, waste collection tray 22 may be fabricated from plastic or aluminum wherein its main purpose is to keep the bar of soap (not shown) dry and bacteria free. Additionally, housing 14 and lid 12 when placed in a closed position may similarly be fabricated from plastic or aluminum wherein their main purpose is also to keep the bar of soap (not shown) dry by protecting the bar of soap from the surrounding environment and bacteria free.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 through 4 there are shown perspective and exploded views of the soap keeper 10 in accordance with the present invention illustrating the use and functionality of the waste collection tray 22. As shown in the figures, housing 14 defines an opening, slot or aperture 32 located at the bottom on the front side of housing 14. The waste collection tray 22 completely slides out from housing 14 through this bottom slot 32 thereby being completely removed from housing 14. When the waste collection tray 22 is separated from the soap keeper 10 it may washed and cleaned of all the collected water and soap residue. Once, emptied and cleaned out, the soap waste collection tray is reinserted into the housing 14 through bottom slot 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the removal and reinsertion of waste collection tray 22 is accomplished by a user's fingers (not shown) by the use of an outer protrusion or tab 34 located approximately on the front center of waste collection tray 22. A similar outer protrusion or tab 13 is located approximately on the front center of lid 12 and is used to open and closed the soap keeper 10 and allows a user to exert the required force to operatively engage the use of front and back hinges 16 and 18 respectively.

In summary, the described and shown invention is a portable device for the handling and care of a bar of soap. The portable device comprises a box for housing an inner aluminum grill where the bar of soap may be placed after use. The aluminum grill is located within a few inches above a waste collection tray that is used for collecting water and soap residue. The waste collection tray is removable from the box for emptying and reuse. The aluminum grill will assist in the prevention of bacteria and will assist in keeping moisture away from soap. The portable device's box additionally has a top which when closed keeps away dust. It is envisioned that the portable device will enable a user to travel anywhere with their own personalized bar of soap.

It is contemplated for embodiments of the invention to extend to individual elements and concepts described herein, independently of other concepts, ideas or system, as well as for embodiments to include combinations of elements recited anywhere in this application. Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments. As such, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a particular feature described either individually or as part of an embodiment can be combined with other individually described features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the other features and embodiments make no mention of the particular feature. Therefore, the absence of describing combinations should not preclude the inventor from claiming rights to such combinations.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will be evident that the various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than in a restrictive sense.

Claims

1. A soap keeper comprising: a housing portion having a matching top lid;a soap rack disposed within said housing which moves up and out of said housing when said lid is opened; anda waste collection tray located at a bottom of said housing wherein when said lid is closed said soap rack is moved back into said housing located a distance above said waste collection tray.

2. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said housing defines a bottom slot used for removing and cleaning said waste collection tray.

3. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said soap rack is an aluminum grill.

4. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said soap rack is moved up and out of said housing by the use of a plurality of back hinges.

5. The soap keeper according to claim 4, wherein said plurality of back hinges are connected at a first back end located on each side of said soap rack and connected at its distal back end on each side of said top lid; wherein said back hinges work simultaneously and cooperatively to lift out said soap rack when said lid is tilted back into an open position, wherein when said lid is closed said back hinges lower said soap rack back into said housing for storage.

6. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said soap rack is moved up and out of said housing by the use of a plurality of front hinges.

7. The soap keeper according to claim 6, wherein said plurality of front hinges are connected at a first front end located on each side of said soap rack and connected at their distal front ends on each side of said housing; wherein said front hinges work simultaneously and cooperatively to lift out said soap rack when said lid is tilted back into an open position, wherein when said lid is closed said front hinges lower said soap rack back into said housing for storage.

8. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said housing, lid and waste collection tray may be fabricated from plastic.

9. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said housing, lid and waste collection tray may be fabricated from aluminum.

10. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said housing, lid and waste collection tray may be generally oblong in shape.

11. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said top lid defines a center located outer tab for opening and closing said lid with said housing.

12. The soap keeper according to claim 1, wherein said waste collection tray defines a center located outer tab for removing and replacing said waste collection tray with said housing.