U.S. patent application number 11/037872 was filed with the patent office on 2006-02-09 for shower curtain liner assembly.
Invention is credited to Raymond Prabhakar.
Application Number | 20060026747 11/037872 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35755919 |
Filed Date | 2006-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060026747 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Prabhakar; Raymond |
February 9, 2006 |
Shower curtain liner assembly
Abstract
A shower curtain liner assembly with an easy to detach liner
comprising a liner header, which attaches to a bar in a shower
enclosure, a liner body which is easily attachable and detachable
to the liner header, and attachment means to attach the liner body
to the liner header and a plurality of shower curtain hooks which
attach the liner header to the bar within the shower enclosure.
Inventors: |
Prabhakar; Raymond;
(Greensboro, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Raymond Prabhakar
4226 Pleasant Garden Road
Greensboro
NC
27406
US
|
Family ID: |
35755919 |
Appl. No.: |
11/037872 |
Filed: |
January 18, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60599250 |
Aug 6, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
4/558 ;
160/123 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 3/38 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
004/558 |
International
Class: |
A47K 3/08 20060101
A47K003/08; A47K 3/14 20060101 A47K003/14 |
Claims
1. A shower curtain liner assembly with an easy to detach liner
comprising: a liner header which attaches to a bar in a shower
enclosure; a plurality of shower curtain hooks to attach said liner
header to the bar in said shower enclosure; a liner body; and an
attachment means to attach said liner body to said liner
header.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner header is
made of a plastic liner material with a fabric layer on each
side.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said plastic layers
and fabric layers may be sewn together.
4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said plastic layers
and fabric layers may be bonded together
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said bonding
comprises placing glue between the plastic and fabric layers and
applying heat to said layers.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner header
further includes holes to receive shower hooks.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said holes are
equally spaced apart for the width of said liner header.
8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein grommets are mounted
in the holes of said liner header.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said grommets are
mounted through both sides of said liner header.
10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said grommets may
be made of metal.
11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said grommets may
be made of plastic.
12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner header
has a height of not greater than three inches.
13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner header
further includes an attachment means on the bottom of said liner
header.
14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner header
further includes fabric flaps extending below the bottom of said
liner header.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said fabric flaps
are on both sides of said liner header.
16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said fabric flaps
may be of a height not greater than 2 inches and extend for the
width of said liner header.
17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said attachment
means may be selected from the group consisting of zippers, snaps,
hooks and Velcro strips.
18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner body is
made of plastic liner material.
19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said liner body
further includes an attachment means on the top of said liner
body.
20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said attachments
may be selected from the group consisting of zippers, snaps, hooks
and Velcro straps.
21. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said plastic liner
body may have an exterior fabric layer.
22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said fabric layer
may be sewn to said plastic liner body.
23. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said fabric layer
may be bonded to said plastic liner.
24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said bonding
comprises placing glue between the plastic an fabric layers and
applying heat to said layers.
25. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said shower curtain
liner assembly is made in a plurality of different lengths and
widths to fit within different sized shower enclosures.
26. A method to install a shower curtain liner assembly with an
easy to detach liner comprising: procure a shower curtain liner
assembly with an easy to detach liner; attach shower curtain hooks
through grommets of a liner header; attach shower curtain hooks
with liner header to a bar in a shower enclosure; and attach a
liner body to the liner header utilizing an attachment means.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the attachment means is
selected from the group consisting of zippers, snaps, hooks and
Velcro strips.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (1) Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a shower curtain liner assembly
which includes a liner body which is easily detachable.
[0003] (2) Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Devices to prevent the escape of water from a shower
enclosure when a person takes a shower are well known in the art.
Shower curtains are the most common of these devices and are
usually hung on a shower enclosure rod within a shower stall. Hooks
are normally used to hang shower curtains to the enclosure rod. The
hooks tend to be cumbersome to install as they must be inserted in
each hole of the shower curtain liner and around the rod. This
process, in addition to being cumbersome, takes a good deal of
time. A sanitation issue is present with use of shower curtains.
Shower curtains are usually made of plastic and may accumulate
mold, dirt and soap deposits with normal use. Because standard
shower curtains are cumbersome to remove, cleaning and/or
replacement can be a time consuming chore.
[0005] Disposable shower curtains are also well known in the art.
Disposable shower curtains tend to be simple in design and material
and do not have the aesthetic appeal of the standard shower
curtains made in varied designs, colors, and in combination of
fabrics.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a shower curtain
assembly with a liner body, which is easy to attach or detach for
cleaning or replacement purposes. There is also a need in the art
for a shower curtain assembly with an easily detachable liner body,
which can be aesthetically appealing with choices of design, color
and use of fabric.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is directed to a shower curtain
assembly with an easy to detach liner. The assembly comprises a
liner header which attaches to a bar within the shower enclosure, a
plurality of shower curtain hooks to attach the liner header to the
bar, a liner body and attachment means to attach the liner body to
the liner header. The shower curtain liner assembly is made in a
plurality of different lengths and widths to fit within different
sized shower enclosures.
[0008] The liner header is made of plastic liner material with a
fabric layer on each side. The fabric layers and plastic layer may
be sewn or bonded together. Bonding comprises the application of
heat to the combined layers after glue has been placed between the
layers. The liner header further includes holes to receive shower
hooks and the holes are equally spaced apart for the width of the
liner header. Grommets are mounted through both sides of the holes.
The grommets may be made of metal or plastic. The liner header has
a height of not greater than three inches and includes an
attachment means on the bottom of the liner header. The liner
header further includes fabric flaps, which are on both sides of
the liner header. The fabric flaps extend below the attachment
means, are a height of not greater than two inches and extend for
the width of the liner header. The attachment means may be selected
from the group consisting of zippers, snaps, hooks, and Velcro
strips.
[0009] The liner body is made of plastic liner material and
includes an attachment means on the top of the liner body. The
attachment means may be selected from the group consisting of
zippers, snaps, hooks and Velcro strips. The liner body may include
an exterior fabric layer which may be sewn or bonded to the plastic
liner body. Bonding comprises placing glue between the plastic and
fabric layer and applying heat to the layers.
[0010] Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to
provide a shower curtain liner assembly with an easily detachable
and attachable liner body for cleaning purposes without removing
the entire assembly from the shower enclosure.
[0011] Another aspect of the invention is to permit the assembly
user to easily changer liner bodies to change colors, or design of
the liner body for aesthetic purposes.
[0012] These and other aspects of the present invention will become
apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the
following description of the preferred embodiment when considered
with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a frontal view of the preferred embodiment
according to the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a frontal view depicting the liner header and
liner body partially attached; and
[0015] FIG. 3 is a front view of the liner assembly indicating the
placement of the header flaps according to the preferred embodiment
of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] In the following description, like reference characters
designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such
terms as "forward," "rearward," "left," "right," "upwardly,"
"downwardly," and the like are words of convenience and are not to
be construed as limiting terms.
[0017] Referring now to the drawings in general and FIGS. 1-3, it
will be understood that the illustrations are for the purpose of
describing a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not
intended to limit the invention thereto.
[0018] As seen in FIGS. 1-3, the shower curtain linter assembly 12
fits within a shower enclosure 10. The shower curtain liner
assembly 12 includes a liner header 16 and a liner body 34, which
are easily attached and detached by attachment means 28/36. The
shower curtain liner assembly 12 further includes a plurality of
shower hooks 18 utilized to attach the shower curtain liner
assembly 12 to a shower enclosure bar 14 within the shower
enclosure 10. The shower hooks 18 may be made of plastic or metal
and may be constructed in various shapes, sizes and colors. Shower
hooks 18 are well known in the art and are readily available in the
marketplace.
[0019] Again referring to FIGS. 1-3, the liner header 16 is made of
plastic liner material with a fabric layer affixed to either side.
The plastic layer and fabric layers may be sewn together. These
layers may also be bonded together by placing glue between the
layers and applying heat to bond the layers together. The liner
header 16 has holes 24 which are spaced equally across the width of
the liner header 16. Grommets 26 are mounted in the holes 24
through both sides of the liner header 16. The grommets 26 may be
made of plastic or metal and be of a variety of colors. The shower
curtain hooks 18 are placed in the holes 24 in the liner header 16
and are attached to the shower enclosure bar 14, thereby keeping
the shower curtain assembly 12 in place within the shower enclosure
10. The grommets 26 are used to reinforce the holes 24 to prevent
the shower curtain hooks 18 from tearing the material when the
shower curtain liner assembly 12 is in place. The liner header 16
has a height of not greater than three inches. The liner header 16
has fabric flaps 32 on either side of the header liner 16. The
fabric flaps 32 are of a height of not greater than two inches and
extend for the entire width of the header liner 16. The fabric
flaps 32 cover the attachment means 28/36 on the header liner 16
and liner body 34 to provide a more aesthetically pleasing shower
curtain liner assembly 12.
[0020] Again referring to FIGS. 1-3, the liner body 34 is made of a
thin layer of plastic liner material and includes an attachment
means 36 at the top of the liner body 34. The liner body 36 may
also have an exterior fabric layer. The fabric layer and plastic
layer may be sewn or bonded together. The liner body 34 may be of
varying lengths and widths to fit within different sized shower
enclosures.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 2, the attachment means 28/36 is depicted
in a partially closed position. Attachment means 28/36 are located
at the bottom of the liner header 16 and the top of the liner body
34. The attachment means 28/36 may be selected from the group
consisting of zippers, snaps, hooks and Velcro straps. A zipper is
used as the attachment means in the preferred embodiment. The
zipper of the preferred embodiment provides the user with the
ability to easily remove or attach the liner body 34 to the liner
header 16. Because the liner body 34 is easy to remove, it can be
cleaned regularly and easily re-attached to the liner header 16.
The liner body 34 may be easily replaced to change colors or
designs for aesthetic purposes or to simply and easily replace a
worn liner body 34.
[0022] It should be understood that all such modifications and
improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness
and readability but are properly within the scope of the following
claims.
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