CA2080514C

CA2080514C - Shower curtain snubber

Info

Publication number: CA2080514C
Application number: CA 2080514
Authority: CA
Inventors: John Dutka
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-10-14
Filing date: 1992-10-14
Publication date: 1997-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2012-10-14
Also published as: CA2080514A1

Abstract

A shower curtain is retained against the side of the tub to prevent blowing of the curtain into the tub against an occupant. The retainer or snubber is an elongate line extending from one end of the tub to the other. The line is anchored to the tub enclosure at one end of the tub and may be detachably engaged with a retainer at the opposite end. An additional anchor may be mounted on the wall at the fixed end of the line for storing the line when it is not in use.

Description

SHOWER CURTAIN SNUBBER
The present invention relates to bathtub shower accessories and more particularly to a shower curtain retainer or snubber and a method of ret~ining or snubbing a shower curtain.
Conventional shower equipped bathtub enclosures have a curtain rod across an open side of the enclosure to support a shower curtain. Often, when the shower is turned on, a convection current is generated in the room air. This may draw the bottom of the curtain into the tub against the occ~lp~nt of the shower. The present invention is concerned with the provision of a method and appal~lus for plt;ve~ g this.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a shower curtain retainer compri~ing first and second anchor means mountable on opposite walls of a bathtub enclosure; and an elongate, flexible line having one end secured to the first anchor means and the other end det~çll~bly ~ge~ble with the second anchor means.
Accolding to another aspect of the present invention there is provided, in a bathtub enclosure having a tub, an enclosure with an open side and end walls at opposite ends of the tub, a shower curtain rod ~Yt~n~ling between the end walls above the tub at the open side of the enclosure and a shower curtain suspended on the rod, a curtain retainer comprising first and second anchors mounted on the respect*e end walls at the open side of the tub and slightly above the tub, and an elongate, flexible line having one end secured to the first anchor and the other end det~ bly engageable with the second anchor.
In the accolllp~,~ing drawings which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:
Figure l is an elevation showing the in~pll~tion of a relaillel or a snubber according to the present invention;
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Figure 2 is a view along line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a detail of fixed end anchor; and Figure 4 is a detail of a hook anchor.
Rere"i,lg to the acco~l,pallyil1g drawings, especially to Figures 1 and 2, there is illustrated a bathtub 10 mounted in a coll~enlional bathtub enclosure 12 with two end walls 14 and 16 and a back wall 18. The enclosure has an open side 20 between the two end walls 14 and 16. The open side is sp~nned by a curtain rod 22 c&llying a shower curtain 24 by means of rings 26. The curtain coll~t;nlionally hangs within the side 28 of the tub 10 when it is being used. If a convection current is set up in the room by reason of the warm air in the tub 1 0 endosure rising, cool room air will enter the tub at the bottom, blowing the shower curtain into the tub against the occup~nt To avoid this, the illustrated tub enclosure is equipped with a shower curtain snubber or retainer 30.
The snubber or retainer 30 includes an anchor 32 mounted on the end wall 14, a second anchor 34 mounted on the opposite end wall 16 and a third anchor 36 mounted on 1 5 the end wall 14 above the first anchor 32. A flexible line 38 in the form of an elongate, waterproof, synthetic plastic tube is used as the snubbing element for ret~inin,~ the curtain.
Because it is waterproof, water retention and the potential for mold growth are ~ ed The tube has bright colour so as to be highly visible.
As illustrated most particularly in Figure 3, the anchor 32 has a base plate 40 with a recess 42 on the back side and an apcllule 44 eYten~ing from the recess to the front side. In use, the line 38 is passed through the aperture 44 into the recess 42 and formed into a ret~inin~ knot 46 that will not pass through the aperture. The base plate 40 is then mounted on the wall 14 using an adhesive backing 47. The anchor 32 is mounted on the wall 14 at a position spaced only slightly above the tub side 28.
The anchor 34 is similarly positioned at the opposite end of the tub enclosure, B

on end wall 16. Anchors 34 and 36 are similar in construction. Each in~ des a base plate 48 carrying hook 50 on which an eye 52 at the end of the line 38 opposite the knot 46 may be engaged. The anchor 36 is mounted on the wall 14 above the anchor 32 to serve for storage ofthe line 38 when the shower is not being used. When the eye 52 is engaged on the anchor 5 36, the line 38 will be suspended at the end ofthe tub.
When a shower is to be taken, the shower curtain 24 is spread out along the curtain rod 22, on the inside of the tub side wall 28. The line 38 is then stretched along the inside of the shower curtain and engaged on the anchor 34 to hold the line in place as illustrated most particularly in Figure 2, While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the folegoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus for ~ "pl~, fasteners other than adhesive may be used for mounting the ancho,~. The flexible line may be other than a synthetic plastic tube. The invention is therefore to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A shower curtain retainer comprising:
first and second anchor means mountable on opposite walls of a bathtub enclosure; and an elongate, flexible line having one end secured to the first anchor means and the other end detachably engageable with the second anchor means.

2. A retainer according to claim 1 wherein the elongate flexible line is waterproof.

3. A retainer according to claim 2 wherein the elongate flexible line is a synthetic plastic tube.

4. A retainer according to claim 1, 2 or 3 including a third anchor means mountable on the same wall as the first anchor means and engageable with the other end of the flexible line.

5. In a bathtub enclosure having a tub, an enclosure with an open side and end walls at opposite ends of the tub, a shower curtain rod extending between the end walls above the tub at the open side of the enclosure and a shower curtain suspended on the rod, a curtain retainer comprising first and second anchors mounted on the respective end walls at the open side of the tub and slightly above the tub, and an elongate, flexible line having one end secured to the first anchor and the other end detachably engageable with the second anchor.

6. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the elongate flexible line is waterproof.

7. The invention according to claim 6 wherein the elongate flexible line is a synthetic plastic tube.

8. The invention according to claim 5, 6 or 7 including a third anchor mounted on the wall above the first anchor and engageable with the second end of the elongate flexible line.