Curtain Support

Abstract

A shower curtain support comprises an inverted U-shaped mounting member intended to be disposed over an existing shower curtain rail between an appropriate pair of curtain rings. Four arms are pivotally mounted on one leg of the mounting member for movement between an open position and a closed position in which they hang downwardly generally alongside each other and in which they can be concealed behind the shower curtain when not in use. Aligned openings are provided in the mounting member and the curtain rail to receive a pin so in turn to hold the arms angularly outwardly relative to the vertical and against the curtain. The arms can then be pivoted into an open fan-like orientation to prevent blowing of the curtain against a person taking a shower, the curtain also serving to hold the arms in such fan-like orientation.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to curtain supports particularly suited for use in association with shower curtains for preventing such curtains from blowing inwardly against a person taking a shower. The present invention also relates to a curtain-supporting structure comprising in combination such a curtain support and an existing generally horizontal and non-rotatable curtain rail.

The inconvenience and nuisance of a shower curtain blowing against a person taking a shower are well known. It is believed that such movement of the curtain is caused by air currents created in turn by the water flow from the shower head. The actual cause of such curtain movement is, however, irrelevant to this invention which has for its principal object the provision of a simple and inexpensive curtain support which can be mounted on an existing shower curtain rail so as to limit inward movement of the shower curtain hanging therefrom.

Another object of this invention is to provide a curtain support particularly suited for the aforesaid purpose and which support, when not in use, is inconspicuously concealed behind the shower curtain and possibly even within the folds of that curtain.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a curtain support which has a compact closed position permitting it to be easily packaged for convenience in storage and marketing.

A further object of this invention is to provide a curtain support which is easy to install on a shower curtain rail with the use of readily available household hand tools and which is additionally exceedingly simple in its use.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description herein proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Broadly, a curtain support in accordance with this invention can be defined as comprising a mounting member intended for supported non-rotatable disposition over a curtain rail and a plurality of elongated arms movably mounted on said mounting member so as to extend therefrom and to be movable between a closed position in which said arms are disposed essentially alongside each other and an open position in which said arms mutually diverge in fan-like orientation from said mounting member so that, when said mounting member is in such supported non-rotatable disposition over a curtain rail having a curtain hanging therefrom, said arms in said open position thereof engage the curtain to limit movement thereof.

The present invention also embraces a curtain supporting structure which comprises in combination a generally horizontal and non-rotatable rail and a curtain support which in turn comprises a mounting member in supported non-rotatable disposition over said rail and a plurality of elongated arms movably mounted on said mounting member so as to extend therefrom and to be movable between a closed position in which said arms are disposed essentially alongside each other and an open position in which said arms mutually diverge in fan-like orientation from said mounting member whereby, when said arms are in said open position thereof, said arms engage a curtain hanging from said rail to limit movement of such a curtain.

Other features of the invention and the advantages resulting therefrom will become apparent as the description herein proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described merely by way of illustration with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one embodiment of a curtain support in accordance with this invention and showing the manner in which such a support is used on the rail of a shower curtain, the curtain being omitted for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section when taken as indicated by the arrows 2--2 of FIG. 1 and showing the manner in which the curtain support functions to limit movement of a curtain;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the curtain support shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view on a smaller scale showing the arms of the curtain support shown in the previous figures when moved in their closed position when the support is not in use; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view showing means required in some circumstances for preventing rotation of the curtain rail shown in the preceding figures .

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIG. 1, it will be seen that there is shown therein generally at 10 a conventional bathtub provided with a shower head 12. A shower curtain bar or rail 13 is mounted as indicated generally at 14 for supporting a curtain 16 (not shown in FIG. 1).

The curtain 16 is hung from the rail 13 using rings 18. When a person is taking a shower, air currents in the bathroom will frequently cause the curtain to blow inwardly as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 2 against the body of the person. The curtain support provided in accordance with this invention and indicated generally at 20 serves to prevent or at least limit such inward movement or blowing of the curtain.

The curtain support 20 comprises an inverted generally U-shaped mounting member generally indicated at 22 (FIG. 3) and having generally planar first and second legs 24 and 26. The mounting member 22 is dimensioned so that it can be disposed over the rail 13 between a pair of the curtain rings 18.

The second leg 26 of the mounting member 22 has a row of four holes therethrough for receiving upper end portions 30 of respective ones of arms 31, 32, 33 and 34 which project generally downwardly from the leg 26 as will readily be understood by reference to FIG. 2. The upper end portion 30 of each arm is terminally enlarged as indicated at 36 (FIG. 3) to retain the arm on the mounting member 22 and to provide a pivotal mounting for the respective arm. It will now be readily understood that the arms 31, 32, 33, and 34 are easily moved between their open position as shown in FIG. 1 and in which they diverge in a fan-like orientation from the mounting member 22 and a closed position as shown in FIG. 4 in which those arms extend essentially alongside each other.

The curtain support 20 also comprises a tapered pin 40 carried by a chain 42 which is in turn anchored by a ring 44 passing through an opening in the first leg 24 of the mounting member 22. An opening 46 is provided in the mounting member 22 and an opening 48 is provided in the rail 13 so that, when the pin 40 is inserted into the openings 46 and 48, rotation of the mounting member 22 relative to the rail 13 is prevented. The hole 48 in the rail 13 is provided at a suitable position along that rail, for example, midway between its ends, and at a peripheral position such that, when the pin 40 is inserted in the openings 46 and 48, the arms 31, 32, 33 and 34 project downwardly and outwardly so that their lower ends are disposed a small distance outwardly of the bathtub 10. With the arms so positioned inwardly of the shower curtain 16, those arms support that curtain and prevent it blowing inwardly as indicated by the arrow A while the curtain in turn serves to hold the arms in their open positions as shown in FIG. 1.

It will also be understood that the rail 13 must not be free to rotate; otherwise, the arms 31, 32, 33 and 34 would not stay in the desired open position. Many existing shower curtain rails are, however, mounted in such a way that they are free to rotate. For example, rail 13 is shown in FIG. 5 as being terminally supported in a wall bracket generally indicated at 50 and having a sleeve 52 which normally freely receives the end of the rail 13. When a curtain support in accordance with this invention is to be mounted on a rail which is itself mounted in such a rotatable manner, it will be desirable to eliminate such rotatability, for example, by drilling a hole through both the sleeve 52 of such a wall bracket 50 and the end of the rail 13 within that sleeve so that a self-tapping screw 54 which functions as a key, can be inserted to prevent rotation of the rail.

Having described the construction of the curtain support 20, the manner in which it is installed and used will now be briefly reviewed.

For installation, the mounting member 22 is first placed over the existing shower rail 13 between an appropriate pair of the curtain rings 18. The mounting member 22 is then moved along the rail 13 until it is at the desired longitudinal position. A generally horizontal hole 48 is then drilled in the rail 13 in alignment with the hole 46 in the mounting member 22. The pin 40 is then inserted into the holes 46 and 48. The rail 13 is then rotated in the sleeve 52 of the wall bracket 50 until the arms 31, 32, 33 and 34 are positioned essentially as shown in FIG. 2. While holding the rail in that position, a hole is next drilled in the sleeve 52 of the wall mounting bracket 50 and the end of the rail 13 to receive the screw 54. It will be understood that, if the rail 13 is not rotatably mounted, it will then of course be necessary to move the arms into the desired angular position before drilling the hole 48.

When the curtain support 20 is not being used, the pin 40 is removed so that the support 20 can be moved along the rail together with the curtain 16. It will be understood that, when the pin 20 is so removed, the mounting member 22 will rotate relative to the rail 13 so that the arms 31, 32, 33 and 34 are hanging freely as shown in FIG. 5. Since, at such time, the curtain 16 will not be pressing against those arms, they will then pivot to their closed position and will be concealed inconspicuously behind the curtain 16 and possible even within the folds of that curtain.

When it is desired to use the support, the curtain 16 is moved along the rail together with the support 20. When the latter is in the correct axial position, it is rotated relative to the rail 13 and against the curtain so that the pin 40 can be inserted into the holes 46 and 48. The arms 31, 32, 33 and 34 are then pivoted by hand into their fan-like open configuration and are retained in that position by the weight of the curtain 16.

Although the invention has been particularly described with particular reference to the specific embodiments thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that numerous variations and modifications in the described structure are possible. It is, for example, possible to use more or less than four arms. Other structures for movably mounting the arms on the mounting member and for supporting the mounting member on the shower curtain rail are also possible.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. A curtain support for use in conjunction with a generally horizontal rail non-rotatably supported and having a curtain hanging therefrom and which support comprises:

a mounting member intended for supported nonrotatable disposition over such a rail; and a plurality of elongated arms movably mounted on said mounting member so as to extend therefrom and to be movable between a closed position in which said arms are disposed essentially alongside each other and an open position in which said arms mutually diverge in fan-like orientation from said mounting member,

whereby, when said mounting member is in such supported nonrotatable disposition over a said rail having a curtain hanging therefrom, said arms in said open position thereof engage such a curtain to limit movement of such curtain.

2. A curtain support as claimed in claim 1 and in which said arms are pivotably mounted on said mounting member.

3. A curtain support as claimed in claim 1, in which said mounting member comprises a generally U-shaped member having first and second legs and in which said arms are mounted on one of said legs.

4. A curtain support as claimed in claim 3 and in which said arms are pivotably mounted on said one of said legs of said generally U-shaped member.

5. A curtain support as claimed in claim 3 and which additionally comprises a releasable locking means adapted to prevent relative rotation of said generally U-shaped member and a said rail on which said curtain support is disposed.

6. A curtain support as claimed in claim 5 and in which said releasable locking member comprises a pin adapted to extend through an opening in one of said legs of said generally U-shaped member and an aligned opening in a said rail.

7. A curtain support as claimed in claim 6 and in which said pin is secured to a chain anchored to said mounting member.

8. A curtain support as claimed in claim 6 and in which each said arm has an upper end portion extending freely through a respective opening in one of said legs of said generally U-shaped member and in which each said upper end portion is enlarged to prevent movement of said upper end portion out of said respective opening.

9. A curtain-supporting structure which comprises in combination:

a generally horizontal and non-rotatable rail; and

a curtain support which in turn comprises:

a mounting member in supported non-rotatable disposition over said rail; and a plurality of elongated arms movably mounted on said mounting member so as to extend therefrom and to be movable between a closed position in which said arms are disposed essentially alongside each other and an open position in which said arms mutually diverge in fan-like orientation from said mounting member,

whereby, when said arms are in said open position thereof, said arms engage a curtain hanging from said rail to limit movement of such a curtain.

10. A curtain-supporting structure as claimed in claim 9, in which said mounting member comprises a generally U-shaped member having first and second legs and in which said arms are pivotally mounted on one of said legs.

11. A curtain-supporting structure as claimed in claim 10 and which additionally comprises a pin adapted removably to extend through both an opening in said generally U-shaped member and an aligned opening in said rail thereby to prevent relative rotation of said generally U-shaped member and said rail.

12. A curtain-supporting structure as claimed in claim 11 and in which said openings in said generally U-shaped member and said rail are positioned so that, when said pin is positioned in said openings, said arms are disposed angularly relative to the vertical.

13. A curtain-supporting structure as claimed in claim 10 and in which said rail is terminally rotatably mounted but which additionally comprises a key to prevent rotation of said rail.