GB2373992A

GB2373992A - Suction mounted container support

Info

Publication number: GB2373992A
Application number: GB0105829A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Susan Elizabeth Boxhall; Alexander Lemont Langley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-03-09
Filing date: 2001-03-09
Publication date: 2002-10-09
Also published as: GB0105829D0

Abstract

A support 10 for a container 12 has a support base 14 joined by a connecting rod 16 to a ring 18 which in use surrounds the container. The support is mounted on a vertical surface by a suction pad 20.

Description

CONTAINER SUPPORTING APPARATUS The present invention relates to a container supporting apparatus and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to an apparatus for supporting a container, such as a shampoo bottle, adjacent a substantially vertical surface, such as a tiled bathroom wall.

Many modern personal cleaning products, such as shampoos, conditioners and shower gels, are supplied in liquid form in bottles. In many showers, where the normal position for washing is standing, the only location where such bottles can be placed is on the floor of the shower tray, or on the edge of the bath in which the shower is located. In order to reach to these bottles the person using the shower must bend down. Such movements can be dangerous in the slippery environment of a wet bath or shower since the likelihood of falling, particularly for the infirm, is significantly increased.

In order to overcome this problem, many bathrooms are fitted with devices which are fixed to the wall and will hold one or more bottles. However, such supporting devices suffer from the disadvantage that their location is fixed. Therefore, persons using the shower who are of different height, for example adults and children, must reach to the same location in order to access the bottle. Such reaching can again present problems of personal stability. Furthermore, if the bottle is taken to another location, such as a swimming pool or sports centre, the supporting device cannot be used, and in the absence of another such device at the alternative location, the problem of bottles placed on the floor again exists.

In fixing a device of the type described above in a bathroom, it is often necessary to drill into a tiled surface, which is extremely difficult to successfully do without causing the tile to crack or split.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome the above described disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for supporting a container adjacent a substantially vertical surface, the apparatus comprising :a body having at least one weight bearing member for supporting a container, the or each weight bearing member being joined by connection means to retaining means which in use at least partially encircles said container so as to retain said container on the or each said weight bearing member; and at least one repositionable attachment means for at least temporarily retaining the body at a location adjacent the substantially vertical surface.

By providing a container supporting apparatus having a body to hold said container and an attachment means which can be repositioned, the advantage is provided that the height, and location generally (for example positioning to the left or the right depending upon whether a user is left or right handed) can be adjusted to suit a person using a shower. As a result, the contents of the container can be accessed without unnecessary bending, stretching or turning which can unbalance a person taking a shower. There is therefore a decrease in the likelihood of falls and resulting injuries when taking a shower. Furthermore, the apparatus is transferable to any other shower, thereby increasing the safety available to a person taking a shower wherever they take the above described apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment said at least one weight bearing member extends in use from said connecting means at an angle substantially perpendicular to said substantially vertical surface.

In another preferred embodiment said connecting means comprises an elongate member extending from said retaining means to the or each said weight bearing member.

In a preferred embodiment said retaining means comprises at least two retaining arms each at least partially extending around said container.

In another preferred embodiment said retaining means comprises one retaining arm extending in use entirely around said container.

In a preferred embodiment said retaining means is adapted to obscure a visual element of said container and said visual element is reproduced on said retaining means.

By providing a reproduction of a visual element on the retaining means provides the advantage that the retaining means does not detract from the logo or branding of a product which is sold in conjunction with the apparatus. This in turn reinforces the branding of the product and encourages the purchaser to choose the same product again so as to use it with the apparatus, thus reinforcing customer loyalty.

In a further preferred embodiment said attachment means comprises a suction device adapted to attach said body to said substantially vertical surface, wherein said surface is substantially smooth.

By providing an attachment means which attaches to a smooth surface, such as a tiled surface, by means of a suction application the advantage is provided that the apparatus can be easily moved from one tiled surface to another, tiled surfaces and the like being those most commonly found adjacent showers and baths.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 is a side view of an apparatus embodying the present invention and including a container thereon; and Figure 2 is a front view of the apparatus of Figure 1 without a container.

Referring to figures 1 and 2 an apparatus 10 for supporting a container 12 adjacent to a vertical surface (not shown) has a weight bearing member or base 14 which is joined by a connecting member 16 to a retaining means 18. These parts of apparatus 10 are attached to the vertical surface (not shown) by a suction pad 20.

In use suction pad 20 is pressed against a vertical surface such as a wall having a substantially smooth coating such as tiles and the apparatus is attached to the surface by the action of the suction pad. Clearly the suction pad must be the type which can apply a sufficiently strong force to the tiles to maintain the apparatus at the required location and to withstand the weight of the container within the device as well as other normal forces applied to it.

The shape of both the base 14 and collar 18 can be formed so as to fit closely and/or neatly to the shape of the container. Thus the apparatus is able to hold the container securely without being an unsightly addition to the bottle which are often designed to be aesthetically pleasing.

With many bottles an important part of the branding, such as the name or a logo is located approximately two thirds of the way up the length of the container. This distance is also an ideal location for collar 18 and it is therefore likely that the collar would obscure an important part of the bottle. In order to prevent the apparatus 10 from detracting from the branding of the container, the collar 18 can be located specifically over an important branding area and be sized such that it is obscured. This branding can then be reproduced on collar 18 thereby reinforcing the branding image and in no way detracting from the brand. Similarly the apparatus 10 can be formed from a plastic which matches that used to form the container.

In order to adjust the position of the apparatus 10 on a wall or to move the apparatus 10 to a different showering area, the suction pad is simply peeled away from the wall and then reapplied to a different part of the wall or another wall.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. An apparatus for supporting a container adjacent a substantially vertical surface, the apparatus comprising :a body having at least one weight bearing member for supporting a container, the or each weight bearing member being joined by connection means to retaining means which in use at least partially encircles said container so as to retain said container on the or each said weight bearing member; and at least one repositionable attachment means for at least temporarily retaining the body at a location adjacent the substantially vertical surface.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one said weight bearing member extends in use from said connecting means at an angle substantially perpendicular to said substantially vertical surface.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said connecting means comprises an elongate member extending from said retaining means to the or each said weight bearing member.
4. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding clams, wherein said retaining means comprises at least two retaining arms, each at least partially extending around said container.
5. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said retaining means comprises one retaining arm extending in use entirely around said container.
6. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said retaining means is adapted to obscure a visual element of said container and said visual element is reproduced on said retaining means.
7. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said attachment means comprises a suction device adapted to attach said body to said substantially vertical surface, wherein said surface is substantially smooth.
8. An apparatus for supporting a container adjacent a substantially vertical surface, the apparatus substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.