Patent Application
20100065527
The present invention relates to a wall mountable liquid container and especially to a wall mountable bottle having an integrally formed suction cup for mounting a container on the wall.
In the past, a wide variety of liquid containers have been provided made out of a polymer material and which were used for holding and dispensing liquids, such as shampoos, liquid soaps, and the like. It is common for a household to keep a number of such liquid bottles of different types in the shower or the bathroom for shampoo, hair conditioners, soaps and the like. These bottles are typically too large to fit on built-in shelves and are typically left on the floor of a shower or on after-market shelves added to the shower or on ledges adjacent to the shower. Bottles of this type are commonly made of polymer materials, such as polyvinylchloride or PVC and may be manufactured by blow molding, injection molding or various automated molding processes.
There have been a variety of prior art containers designed to be attached to a wall. These can be seen in the Pedersen U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,090 for a container and container support. In this patent, a suction disk is mounted to the wall and has a stem protruding therefrom for attaching a bottle. In the Washut U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,517, a portable personal liquid storage and dispenser unit has three compartments for liquid soap, shampoo and conditioner rinse in a resilient bottle. The container in the Washut patent is configured to fit snugly inside an open-faced case which in turn is mounted to a wall with a suction cup. In the Fraterrigo U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,553, a disposable dispensing-proportioning container for semi-fluid pasty products and cosmetics is provided which has a cylindrical cavity for attaching to a cylindrical appendix which is part of a plate which is easily attached to a wall.
The Frankel U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,945 is a dispenser for shampoo and liquid soap which is a wall mounted liquid dispenser having ornamental features that are visually pleasing. A suction cup has a shaft portion which is inserted into an indentation in the container for attaching the dispenser to the wall of a shower or the like. The Miller U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,680 is a shampoo bottle support device which uses suction cups to mount a socket on the wall for holding a squeeze bottle. The Brewster U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,046 is a bottle holder rack which can be attached to a wall for holding a bottle and the rack. The Waskonig et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,017 is a suction cup mounted hanger for suspending a tube. The Yemini U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,884 is a suction cup mounted holding device having a socket therein for receiving a hook mounted on a container.
Other suction cup holders for toilet articles and the like may be seen in the Rosemark U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,062 and in the Emery et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,954. The Barnes et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,391 is for a suction cup made of two materials in order to enhance the operation of the suction cup.
In contrast to this prior art, the present invention is for a disposable bottle having an integrally molded-in suction cup so that a material, such as shampoo, may be attached to a shower wall or the like. A suction cup is formed as part of the bottle as one integral unit ready to be used as purchased.
A wall mountable liquid container has an elongated polymer bottle having an elongated body formed with an internal cavity and having two end portions and a side wall portion. The bottle body has a neck forming an opening on one end portion and has an elongated depression formed into the side thereof. The elongated depression in the side of the bottle is shaped to form a suction cup having a flexible surrounding edge protruding from the bottle side wall portion so that a liquid bottle can be rapidly attached to a wall surface with an integral suction cup. The body of the bottle is formed of a first polymer with the suction cup flexible surrounding edge formed as part of the bottle body with a second polymer, which second polymer may use the same polymer resin used in forming the bottle but with a plasticizer to increase its flexibility. The bottle neck can have a screw cap removably attached thereto. The body bottle may be formed of a first polymer with the bottle body suction cup flexibly surrounding edge formed of a second polymer and fixedly attached to the bottle body one side portion, such as by adhesively attaching the flexible surrounding edge to the bottle body. The bottle body may have indicia printed thereon.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:
Referring to
The bottle body portion 11 may be made of a polymer material, such as a polyvinylchloride or PVC or any other material desired. The suction cup portion or at least the flexible surrounding edge 18 is made of a more flexible or compliant material so that it can act as a suction cup when placed against a wall 23. The more compliant material can be of the same resin as a bottle body 11 but having additional plasticizer therein to make it more flexible. Alternatively, the surrounding edge 18 can be made of a different material which is sufficiently flexible and compliant for acting as a suction cup, such as a silicone material, which can be made to specifications to act as the walls of a suction cup. Other polymers for a suction cup sides include a polyurethane polymer, neoprene, or nitrile.
The bottle 10 may be made as one integral unit in which the body portion 11 can be preformed in a mold using a thermoplastic material having characteristics for forming a bottle and then molding the flexible protruding edge 18 simultaneously or after the bottle body 11 has partially cooled with a second material or with the same resin having a different formulation and more of a plasticizer therein.
The integral bottle may also be manufactured, such as shown in
Another method of manufacturing the wall mountable bottle of the present invention is illustrated in
It should be clear at this time that a wall mountable liquid container has been provided which has a bottle with a formed-in suction cup readily attaching to a shower wall or the like. However, the present invention is not to be construed as limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
