U.S. patent number 3,737,921 [Application Number 05/214,186] was granted by the patent office on 1973-06-12 for permanent or mobile splash-guard.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Larry Harold Kline. Invention is credited to Stephen J. Baumrind.
United States Patent |
3,737,921 |
Baumrind |
June 12, 1973 |
PERMANENT OR MOBILE SPLASH-GUARD
Abstract
A splash-guard is disclosed which may be either permanent or
mobile, which contains storage means and hanging means, and which
may be effectively used on any corner of a bathtub.
Inventors: |
Baumrind; Stephen J.
(Charleston, SC) |
Assignee: |
Kline; Larry Harold
(Charleston, SC)
|
Family
ID: |
22798109 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/214,186 |
Filed: |
December 30, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/609 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K
3/30 (20130101); A47K 3/302 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47K
3/28 (20060101); A47K 3/30 (20060101); A47k
003/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;4/145-149,151-155,1,185 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Artis; Henry K.
Claims
I claim:
1. A splash-guard for use in a room containing a shower bath
arrangement, that includes a bathtub and a shower attachment,
comprising water blocking means, resting on a corner of said
bathtub, and against a wall of said room adjacent to said bathtub
for prevention of water flow from said shower attachment onto the
floor of said room, said water blocking means comprising an oblong
structure having a plurality of spaced apart side walls, at least
one of said side walls being vertically inclined with respect to
the upper portion of said bathtub to aid in preventing said water
flow from said shower attachment onto the floor of said room, said
splash guard further comprising a plurality of article storage
means within the confines of said plurality of spaced side
walls.
2. A splash guard according to claim 1 in which said splash guard
is capable of being permanent or mobile in its attachment to the
wall.
3. A splash guard according to claim 2 in which said plurality of
storage means includes means for either wet or dry storage.
4. A splash guard according to claim 3 in which said splash guard
may be used on any corner of said bathtub.
5. A splash guard according to claim 4 further comprising a
plurality of storage means facing in varying directions.
6. A splash guard according to claim 1 in which said plurality of
storage means includes means for either wet or dry storage.
7. A splash guard according to claim 2 in which said plurality of
storage means comprises compartments for storage purposes, each
said compartment comprising a bottom layer sloped downward from the
back to the front of said compartments, thereby allowing any water
from said shower attachment which might enter said compartment to
leave said compartment and to flow down said bottom layer into said
bathtub.
8. A splash guard according to claim 7 in which said compartments
for storage purposes further comprises one or more flanges rising
from said front of said compartments thereby preventing any objects
stored in said compartments from escaping due to the slope of said
sloped bottom layer.
9. A splash guard according to claim 8 in which said one or more
flanges may also be used as hooks for the purpose of hanging
objects.
10. A splash guard according to claim 3 in which each of said
compartments for storage purposes comprises a top layer sloped
upward from the back to the front of said compartment whereby when
said splash guard is turned 180.degree. relative to said bathtub
said top layer becomes the new bottom layer and the water which
lands on said splash guard will flow to said new bottom layer and
into said bathtub, thereby allowing said splash guard to be used on
any corner of said bathtub.
11. A splash guard according to claim 2 in which one or more of
said plurality of storage means is a compartment for holding
tubes.
12. A splash guard according to claim 1 in which the bottom edge of
said splash guard slopes outward, thereby allowing any water from
said shower attachment which lands on said splash guard to be
deposited in said bathtub.
13. A splash guard according to claim 12 in which the top edge of
said splash guard slopes outward whereby when said splash guard is
turned 180.degree. relative to said bathtub and said top edge
becomes the new bottom edge, any water which lands on said device
will flow to said new bottom edge and into said bathtub, thereby
allowing said splash guard to be effective on any corner of the
bathtub.
14. A splash guard according to claim 1 further comprising a
plurality of hanging means.
15. A splash guard according to claim 2 further comprising a
plurality of hanging means.
16. A splash guard according to claim 1 in which said water
blocking means comprises:
a. a blocking edge on the outer side wall of said splash guard to
prevent water discharge past the side of said splash guard and onto
the floor of said room;
b. an upper edge on the upper side wall of said splash guard to
help prevent water from going over said splash guard into said room
and for use as a lower edge when said splash guard is rotated
180.degree. relative to said bathtub;
c. a lower edge on the lower side wall of said splash guard
allowing water that may land on said splash guard to be deposited
in said bathtub and for use as an upper edge when said splash guard
is rotated 180.degree. relative to said bathtub.
17. A splash guard according to claim 16 in which said upper edge
and said lower edge are curved edges.
18. A splash guard according to claim 1 wherein each of said
plurality of storage means comprises:
a. a bottom layer sloped downward from the back to the front of
each of said plurality of storage means thereby allowing any water
which might land therein to flow into the bathtub;
b. a top layer sloped upward from the back to the front of each of
said plurality of storage means for use as a bottom layer when said
splash guard is rotated 180.degree. relative to said bathtub.
19. A splash guard according to claim 18 further comprising a
plurality of bottom flanges emanating from said bottom layer and
preventing objects stored within said each of said plurality of
storage means from escaping due to the slope of said bottom
layer.
20. A splash guard according to claim 19 further comprising a
plurality of top flanges emanating from said top layer for use as a
plurality of bottom flanges when said splash guard is rotated
180.degree. relative to said bathtub.
21. A splash guard according to claim 2 in which said water
blocking means comprises:
a. a blocking edge on the outer side wall of said splash guard to
prevent water discharge past the side of said splash guard and onto
the floor of said room;
b. a blocking edge on the upper side wall of said splash guard to
help prevent water from going over said splash guard into said room
and for use as a lower edge when said splash guard is rotated
180.degree. relative to said bathtub;
c. a lower edge on the lower side wall of said splash guard
allowing water that may land on said splash guard to be deposited
in said bathtub and for use as an upper edge when said splash guard
is rotated 180.degree. relative to said bathtub.
22. A splash guard according to claim 21 in which said upper edge
and said lower edge are curved edges.
Description
This invention relates to a shower-bath construction and, more
particularly to a splash-guard, which can be either permanently or
temporarily attached and which contains compartments and which is
adaptable for use on any side of the bathtub.
In a bathroom where both a bathtub and a shower attachment are
present, a curtain or a bathtub door arrangement is usually
provided above the tub to prevent water discharge from the overhead
shower nozzle onto the floor of a room. The lower end of the
curtain, if used, extends downward into the tub in order to prevent
water from dripping from the curtain onto the floor. No provision
had been made to prevent water from striking the walls and
splashing past side edges of the curtain onto the floor until
Sternbergh in his Pat. No. 1,807,107, patented May 26, 1931, came
up with a combination splash-guard and tile for forming the same.
The splash-guard should effectively prevent water from splashing
past the side edges of the curtain.
Sternbergh's splash-guard is of a permanent type, being made of
tile, and also served as a hand-hold for help, in stepping in and
out of the tub. Sternbergh in no way teaches a portable
splash-guard; storage means combined with a splash-guard; a
removable, reversible splash-guard; hooks or clothes lines combined
with a splash-guard; or a dual purpose compartments and hangers.
These features are all contained in the present application.
An object of the present invention is to provide a splash-guard
which can perform the dual capability of being either permanently
or temporarily attached to the wall of a room containing a
shower-bath arrangement.
Another object of this invention is to provide a device including a
splash-guard which also comprises a multiplicity of compartments
for storage purposes.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a storage area
accessible from the bathtub, which can provide both wet and dry
storage.
Another object of this invention is to provide a portable
splash-guard which can be used on any side of the bathtub.
Another object of this invention is to provide hanging means
combined with a splash-guard.
Another object of this invention is to provide compartments for
storage that will allow any water which will land in said
compartments to flow into the bathtub.
Another object of this invention is to provide a special
compartment for holding tubes such as shampoo tubes.
These and other objects and features of the invention will be
apparent from the following description and appended claims.
Briefly, the invention is a device for use with a shower bath
arrangement, which contains a bathtub and shower attachment. A
splash-guard is provided to help prevent water from said shower
attachment from escaping from said bathtub. Said splash-guard has
the dual capability of being either permanently or temporarily
attached to the wall of the room containing the shower-bath
arrangement. A multiplicity of compartments for storage purposes
may be contained within the device. The compartments for storage
purposes include compartments for either wet or dry storage and
also include special compartments for holding shampoo. The device
also may be used on any corner of the bathtub.
The invention will be more fully understood from the following
detailed description and appended claims when taking with the
drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a trisometric view of the device as it would be placed
against the wall, seen between the bath side and wall side.
FIG. 2 is a view of the same device as in FIG. 1, the device having
been turned over and viewed from the room outside the bathtub.
FIG. 3 is a view of the compartment for storage purposes as viewed
from the bath side of the device.
FIG. 4 is a top view of a compartment for storage purposes, taken
at points D--D'.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the compartment for storage purposes taken
at points A--A' of FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a view from the bath side of the device of the tube
holding means.
FIG. 7 is a top view taken of the tube holding means at the points
B--B' of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a side view of the tube holding means taken at the points
C--C' of FIG. 6.
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a water blocking device
1. This water blocking device 1 has many purposes. Device 1
contains a wall side 2, a bath side 3, a blocking edge 4, upper and
lower edges 6 and 7, and top and bottom sides 5 and 11.
Voids 23 and 24 on wall side 2 provide a method for attaching
device 1 to the wall. A screwhead or nailhead may be used to be
placed into the wall. The larger area of voids 23 and 24 will fit
over this screwhead or nailhead, which will then be lowered down to
the smaller circumference of voids 23 and 24, thereby providing
support for water blocking device 1 onto the wall. The method for
attaching device 1 to the wall may also be made temporary. One
method for making it temporary would be attaching a two-sided
adhesive tape, with one side on wall side 2 and the other side
pressed firmly against the wall, thereby supporting water blocking
device 1. Water blocking device 1 is placed against the wall and
may be used along with a curtain or a bathtub door arrangement to
prevent water discharge from an overhead shower nozzle onto the
floor of a room. Water blocking device 1 prevents the water from
escaping past the ends of the curtain and also from the ends of a
bath tub door arrangement.
Due to the capability of being able to permanently attach the water
blocking device 1 to the wall by means herein described, or by
attaching water blocking device 1 to the wall by adhesive removable
means, this invention provides a splash-guard which performs the
dual capability of being either permanently or temporarily attached
to the room containing a shower bath arrangement.
FIG. 1 also shows compartment for storage purposes 8, holding means
for tubes 9, and another compartment for storage purposes 10, The
top side 5 of the device is also shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 shows the water blocking device 1, of FIG. 1 turned over and
viewed from the room outside the bathtub. Turned over means that
the device 1 is turned 180.degree., whereas top 5 would then become
the bottom side of water blocking device 1. Bottom side 11 would
then become the new top side.
The lower curved edge 7 in FIG. 1 slopes down, allowing any water
from the shower attachment which lands on water blocking device 1
to be deposited in the bathtub. The upper curved edge 6 is sloped
in a manner that when the water blocking device 1 is turned over
i.e., rotated 180.degree., the upper edge 6 then becomes the new
bottom edge and is sloped downward, and allows any water from the
shower attachment which might fall on the water blocking device 1
to flow into the bathtub.
The design of water blocking device 1 is such that when it is
turned over the wall side 2 will still be pressed against the wall,
but the bottom side 11 and the top side 5 will be reversed. The
beauty of this design is that only one water blocking device 1 need
be manufactured, and it will be effective for use on any outside
corner of the bathtub to prevent water from reaching the outside
floor. This device can also be used from the inner corners of the
bathtub if only the storage aspects, which will be discussed
herein, are desired.
Compartments 8 and 10 have been designed so that they will be
equally effective for storage purposes, if the device is rotated
180.degree..
FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 all show compartment 8 for storage
purposes in greater detail. FIG. 3 showing the compartment from the
bath side view. FIG. 4 from the top view, FIG. 5 from a sectional
view taken at points A--A' of FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows bottom flanges
14 and top flanges 15. A multiplicity of flanges 14 and 15 may be
used, the actual number depending on the desire of the
designer.
Compartment 8 for storage purposes comprises a top layer 19, sloped
upward from the back to the front of the compartment, so that when
the device is turned 180.degree. the top layer 19 becomes the new
bottom layer. Water which lands on device 1 will flow to the new
bottom layer and into the bathtub.
Compartment 8 has a bottom layer 20 sloped downward from the back
to the front of the compartment, thereby allowing any water from
the shower attachment which might enter compartment 8 to leave the
compartment 8 and flow down the bottom layer 20 into the bathtub.
Flanges 14 rise from the front of compartment 8 preventing any
objects stored in compartment 8 from escaping due to the slope of
bottom layer 20. Top flanges 15 emanate from the top of compartment
8. When device 1 is turned 180.degree., the top flanges 15 become
the new bottom flanges, and prevent any objects stored in
compartment 8 from escaping due to the slope of the new bottom
layer 19. Bottom flanges 14 can also be used as hooks for hanging
objects. Top flanges 15 when the device 1 is rotated 180.degree.,
also may in the same manner be used for hooks for hanging objects.
When two of the devices 1 are used on opposite ends of a bathtub, a
connecting means such as wire or string, or any other type of
connecting means may be connected to one or more hooks or flanges
14 and 15 on one device 1 and connected to one or more hooks or
flanges 14 or 15 on the other devic1e 1 so that articles may be
placed thereon. This may act as a clothesline. This is another
advantage and feature of this invention.
The compartments therefore have a dual purpose, and serve not only
to store goods, but to hang objects thereon and hang connecting
means thereon to form a clothesline.
FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show a compartment 9 for holding tubes.
This compartment 9 allows access for squeezing the tubes and access
for receiving the contents of the tubes when squeezed. The
compartment 9 for holding tube comprises a bottom molded support 16
and a top molded support 17. Bottom molded support 16 has an
opening 18. Top molded support 17 has an opening 23.
A tube may be placed in bottom molded support 16. The nozzle of the
tube rests in opening 18. The bather who wishes to shampoo simply
unscrews the cap of the tube and places it in Support 16. He then
has access to the shampoo and will know at all times where the
shampoo tube is located. He will be able to get as much shampoo as
required. A cap attachment could be added to the tube holder which
would simply be placed onto the end of the tube when it is being
held in the holding means 9. However, in most cases shampoo will
not run out of a tube without squeezing. The bather places his hand
below the bottom molded support 16 and presses the section of the
tube above the bottom support 16. The shampoo will be forced
through the nozzle and into the hand of the bather.
Compartment 9 is a holding means for tubes and has a sloped bottom
layer 22. Any water landing within compartment 9, will flow to
bottom layer 22 which is sloped, and will therefore flow into the
bathtub. When water blocking device 1 is rotated 180.degree., the
tube will be placed in upper molded support 17 which will be the
new lower molded support, the nozzle of the tube will then be in
opening 23. The bather will then procure his shampoo in the same
manner previously described. Top layer 21 of the tube holder will
then become the new bottom layer. It also is sloped so that any
water that lands within the holding tubes 9 will flow into the
bathtub.
Outer storage compartments 12 and 13 may be used to keep articles
stored and also dry. Since compartments 12 and 13 are on the
outside of the bathtub, they will not be sprayed by water from the
shower attachment.
The water blocking device 1 serves as water blocking means.
Compartments 8 and 10 serve as storage means which may be wet due
to the spray from the shower attachment. Compartments 12 and 13
serve as means for dry storage. These compartments 8, 10, 12 and 13
fulfill an object of the invention which was to provide both wet
and dry storage.
The water blocking device 1 can be made out of a molded plastic,
stainless steel, or any other type of material which might be
available. Molded plastic is recommended as inexpensive to produce
this device. Molded plastic also will make device 1 easily portable
and easily cleanable. A clear molded plastic also has the advantage
in that materials stored in outer compartments 12 and 13 would be
visible to the bather. One suggested use of compartments 12 and 13
would be storage of a clock, by which a bather could know the exact
time from within the bathtub.
Water blocking device 1 enables anything you need in the bathtub
area to be easily available to you. Items are stored between the
tub and the rest of the bathroom.
The invention can be permanently attached; however, it has the
advantage of also being temporary and removable. It is easily
removable for cleaning purposes and can also be moved from
apartment-to-apartment or bathroom-to-bathroom by the owner.
This device offers the advantage of easy installation by use of
two-sided tape, one side attached on wall side 2 and the other side
attached to the wall, to support device 1. Device 1 can also be
supported by screwheads or nailheads inbedded in voids 23 and 24 as
previously discussed. Device 1 acts as a splash-guard to prevent
water from reaching the floor of the bathroom, between either a
curtain or shower door and the wall. Device 1 offers utility space
for storing such items as soap, bubble bath, bath salts, shampoo,
shampoo massagers, razors, shaving soap and shaving mugs.
Toys for children may be stored in the compartments. A clock may be
kept in the dry compartments to keep the bather aware of the time.
This device offers hooks for wash cloths, wash brushes and shower
caps, or whatever else may be desired to be hung by the bather. A
mirror for shaving may also be hung. By connecting the hooks on one
device to hooks on another device, a clothes line or other hanging
means can be assembled for drying or any other purpose desired.
Device 1 is also extremely inexpensive and can fit inside of a
shower curtain or any kind of shower door. Device 1 can be made to
any height convenient to the maximum height of the room involved.
The compartments may be made to any specifications within the
physical limits of the device. Other types of specialized
compartments could be added to the device. Other methods such as
hooks and permanent glue could be used to attach the device to the
wall.
While the invention has been described with reference to specific
embodiments, the description is illustrative and is not to be
construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various
modifications and changes may occur to those skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as
defined by the appended claims.
* * * * *