US20040178310A1

US20040178310A1 - Self adhesive shower rod and support

Info

Publication number: US20040178310A1
Application number: US10/383,279
Authority: US
Inventors: Roger Marion
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-10
Filing date: 2003-03-10
Publication date: 2004-09-16

Abstract

The shower rod and support (10) having a shower rod (12) with a support (14) which has a first support (14A) having a U-Shaped first support cradle (14AA) extending inwardly therefrom. The support (14) has a second support (14B) having a U-Shaped second support cradle (14BA) extending inwardly therefrom. The U-Shaped first support cradle (14AA) and the U-Shaped second support cradle (14BA) have complimentary configurations to the shower rod (12) first end and second end. The first support (14A) is attachable to a shower left wall (16L) and the second support (14B) is attachable to the shower right wall (16R). The shower rod (12) has a shower rod first member (12A) extendably connected to a shower rod second member (12B). The shower rod (12) preferably has a shower rod first member (12A) telescopically connected to a shower rod second member (12B).

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Shower curtain rods mounted in bathrooms are presently available in two forms. The first form is rods which rest in brackets which are held against gravity by screws or other devices which perforate or gouge the surface they are mounted upon. These presently available brackets are generally fastened through the wall above or adjacent to the bathtub areas which are tiled but not on the tile themselves. Such brackets are unfit for use on tile because tile cannot be easily drilled or otherwise perforated without breaking the tile causing permanent damage thereto. The second type of shower curtain rod mounts by telescoping to span the length of the shower area and is held against the pull of gravity by exherting pressure against the opposite walls. These rods fall when the weight exerted on the rod exceeds the weight the friction can hold such as when a child pulls on the curtain.

Numerous innovations for a shower rod and support have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted.

In U.S. Pat. No., 5,170,974, invented by, Ruggiero, titled, Shower curtain supports, a shower curtain corner support which can be slidably attached to a standard shower curtain rod in order to support and extend a shower curtain around the side corner of a shower stall or bathtub is disclosed. This apparatus is used to seal the shower area to prevent water and spray from escaping around the edges of a standard shower curtain. This shower curtain corner support, which is attached to a standard shower curtain rod near a side wall, consists of a short narrow beam directed into the shower area from which is suspended a shower curtain or curtain liner which will form an approximately right angle corner barrier about the open side corner of the shower area. A counterweight is attached to an outward beam of the corner support apparatus to maintain it in a parallel relation to the floor when the curtain is attached.

In U.S. Pat. No., 5,146,648, invented by, Hudson, titled, Mounting bracket, a bracket for mounting a curtain rail having a channel defined by flanges has a body for securement to a wall for example and parallel mounting fingers for insertion into the channel and clamping engagement with the channel flanges. This clamping engagement is effected by a rotatable cam being carried by the body and which serves to splay the fingers apart.

In U.S. Pat. No., 5,022,104, invented by, Miller, titled, Shower curtain support, a shower curtain support has a shower curtain rod mounted by opposing wall brackets on parallel end walls of a shower stall. The rod slidably suspends a conventional shower curtain across the front opening of the shower stall. Spiders on the terminal ends of the rod are indexably received by spider plates of the wall brackets to dispose the rod in a number of radial orientations relative to the wall brackets. In another embodiment for infinite radial orientations of the rod within the full range of 360.degree., outturned flanges on the rod ends, sandwiched between inturned flanges of compression nuts and closed ends of threaded studs projecting from wall brackets, allow such infinite radial orientations of the rod relative to the wall brackets.

In U.S. Pat. No., 4,978,094, invented by, Ford, titled, Bracket for curtain rods, disclosed is a base bracket able to hold multiple curtain rods or the like which generally requires only two screws to securely mount it to a wall or a solid support. The position of the base bracket is designed to be adjustable over a limited distance after mounting. The preferred base bracket includes multiple screw ports which run lengthwise along the base bracket. The screw slots preferably have a slit extending to the outer side of the bracket, to receive a mounted screw, or have an expanded portion which is large enough so that the head of a mounted screw can pass therethrough. The base bracket also includes a groove, preferably formed by a member extending from the upper surface of the base bracket. The groove can accommodate flanges attached to brackets on the curtain rods in order to hold them in place.

In U.S. Pat. No., 4,961,296, invented by, Morehouse, titled, Curtain rod hanger, a curtain rod hanger for mounting between a wall and the frame of a window or door associated with the wall utilizes an elongate portion adapted to be snuggly received endwise and thereby secured between opposing surfaces of the wall and the frame. The elongate portion is plate-like in shape with two opposite flat side surfaces so that when operatively positioned between opposing surfaces of the wall and frame, the opposite side surfaces of the elongate portion engage the opposing wall and edgepiece surfaces. The hanger further includes a rod-supporting portion attached to the elongate portion and of size and shape that when the elongate portion is securely positioned between the opposing surfaces of the wall and frame edgepiece, the rod-supporting portion is in condition for supporting a curtain rod operatively placed thereupon. The rod-supporting means is of such configuration that the hanger can be operatively utilized on either the right-hand or left-hand side of the frame.

In U.S. Pat. No., 4,772,519, invented by, Irvine, titled, Distance piece, distance piece for mounting an object at a distance from a wall, the piece being formed by a block-shaped body with a flat rear side, and a front side extending substantially parallel to the rear side. The front side is provided with a protruding part and with at least one pair of bore holes extending perpendicularly to the rear side and through the body.

In U.S. Pat. No., 4,361,914, invented by, Oliver, titled, Shower curtain holder, a device for preventing the movement of a flexible material disposed over an open area, such as a shower or a window, includes a rigid elongated rod which is held in a substantially horizontal plane intermediate the top and bottom of the flexible material. In one preferred embodiment the rigid elongated rod is maintained in a static horizontal operative position by a pivot means at one end and an attachment means at the other extremity. A holding means, such as a U-shaped hook or bracket, is attached to a wall above and in a substantially vertical plane with the pivot means to hold the elongated bar in a substantially vertical inoperative position when the bathing facility is not in use.

In U.S. Pat. No., 3,967,805, invented by, Hoffman, titled, Curtain rod support assembly, a curtain rod support assembly is used to support a cylindrical curtain rod in a horizontal plane, wherein a curtain is suspended vertically downward from the curtain rod. A support assembly communicates with each end of the curtain rod. The support assembly broadly consists of a support bracket affixed onto a vertical wall, wherein the end of the curtain rod communicates with the support bracket. An anchoring device communicates with the support bracket as well as ceiling and the vertical wall.

The above patented inventions differ from the present invention because they fail to describe or claim at least one combination of the following features depicted in the present invention: shower rod first member with a shower rod first member end and shower rod second member with a shower rod second member end in conjunction with a first support having a first support cradle and a second support having a second support cradle.

Numerous innovations for a shower rod and support have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shower rod and support. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shower rod and support having a pair of supports with cradles which are attachable to shower walls by adhesive

The types of problems encountered in the prior art are shower rods are generally affixed to shower walls by fasteners such as screws which compromise the integrity of the walls.

In the prior art, unsuccessful attempts to solve this problem were attempted namely: extendable shower rods which hold onto the walls by pressure but often slips down during use. However, the problem was solved by the present invention because it incorporates an extendable rod as well as wall attachable supports having cradles to prevent the rod from slipping.

Innovations within the prior art are rapidly being exploited in the field of home improvements.

The present invention went contrary to the teaching of the art which describes and claims extendable shower or curtain rods.

The present invention solved a long felt need for a strong shower rod which attaches to the shower walls without compromising their integrity.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shower rod and support having a shower rod mountable onto a pair of supports.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide the shower rod having a shower rod first member extendably mounted onto a shower rod second member.

In keeping with these objects, and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in the shower rod first member having a shower rod first member end and the shower rod second member having a shower rod second member end.

When the supports are designed in accordance with the present invention, the first support has a first support cradle attachable to a shower wall by first support adhesive and the second support has a second support cradle attachable to a shower wall by second support adhesive.

The novel features which are considered characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawings.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWINGS

10—shower rod and support (10)

12—shower rod (12)

12A—shower rod first member (12A)

12AA—shower rod first member end (12AA)

12B—shower rod second member (12B)

12BA—shower rod second member end (12BA)

14—support (14)

14A—first support (14A)

14AA—first support cradle (14AA)

14AB—first support adhesive (14AB)

14B—second support (14B)

14BA—second support cradle (14BA)

14BB—second support adhesive (not shown)

16L—shower left wall (16L)

16R—shower right wall (16R)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a shower exhibiting a shower rod and support ([0039] 10) mounted thereon.
FIG. 2 is a top right front perspective view of a first support ([0040] 14A).
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view along line [0041] 3-3 of FIG. 2 of a first support (14A).
FIG. 4 is a side view of a shower rod first member end ([0042] 12AA) supported in a first support cradle (14AA) of a first support (14A) which is attached to a shower left wall (16L) with a first support adhesive (14AB).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Firstly, referring to FIG. 1 which is a front view of a shower exhibiting a shower rod and support ([0043] 10) mounted thereon and FIG. 2 which is a top right front perspective view of a first support (14A). The shower rod and support (10) comprises a shower rod (12) which comprises a first end and second end. The shower rod and support (10) further comprises a shower rod (12) having a support (14) which comprises a first support (14A) having a U-Shaped first support cradle (14AA) extending inwardly therefrom. The support (14) further comprises a second support (14B) having a U-Shaped second support cradle (14BA) extending inwardly therefrom. The U-Shaped first support cradle (14AA) and the U-Shaped second support cradle (14BA) have complimentary configurations to the shower rod (12) first end and second end. The first support (14A) is attachable to a shower left wall (16L) and the second support (14B) is attachable to the shower right wall (16R). The shower rod (12) comprises a shower rod first member (12A) extendably connected to a shower rod second member (12B). The shower rod (12) preferably comprises a shower rod first member (12A) telescopically connected to a shower rod second member (12B).
Lastly, referring to FIG. 3 which is a cross sectional view along line [0044] 3-3 of FIG. 2 of a first support (14A) and FIG. 4 which is a side view of a shower rod first member end (12AA) supported in a first support cradle (14AA) of a first support (14A) which is attached to a shower left wall (16L) with a first support adhesive (14AB). The shower rod (12) comprises a shower rod first member end (12AA) having a complimentary configuration to the first support cradle (14AA) and a shower rod second member end (12BA) having a complimentary configuration to the second support cradle (14BA). The first support (14A) comprises a first support adhesive (14AB) positioned on a back surface thereof functioning as an attachment means to the shower left wall (16L) and a second support (14B) comprises a second support adhesive (not shown) positioned on a back surface thereof functioning as an attachment means to the shower right wall (16R).
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the type described above. [0045]
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a shower rod and support, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. [0046]
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. [0047]
What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims. [0048]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A shower rod and support (10) comprising:

A) a shower rod (12) which comprises a first end and second end and

B) a support (14) which comprises a first support (14A) having a U-Shaped first support cradle (14AA) extending inwardly therefrom, the support (14) further comprises a second support (14B) having a U-Shaped second support cradle (14BA) extending inwardly therefrom, the U-Shaped first support cradle (14AA) and the U-Shaped second support cradle (14BA) have complimentary configurations to the shower rod (12) first end and second end, the first support (14A) is attachable to a shower left wall (16L) and the second support (14B) is attachable to the shower right wall (16R).

2. The shower rod and support (10) as described in claim 1, wherein the shower rod (12) comprises a shower rod first member (12A) extendably connected to a shower rod second member (12B).

3. The shower rod and support (10) as described in claim 2, wherein the shower rod (12) comprises a shower rod first member (12A) telescopically connected to a shower rod second member (12B).

4. The shower rod and support (10) as described in claim 1, wherein the shower rod (12) comprises a shower rod first member end (12AA) having a complimentary configuration to the first support cradle (14AA) and a shower rod second member end (12BA) having a complimentary configuration to the second support cradle (14BA).

5. The shower rod and support (10) as described in claim 1, wherein the first support (14A) comprises a first support adhesive (14AB) positioned on a back surface thereof functioning as an attachment means to the shower left wall (16L) and a second support (14B) comprises a second support adhesive (not shown) positioned on a back surface thereof functioning as an attachment means to the shower right wall (16R).