US2768470A - Soap holder - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 30, 1956 w. N. RAClNE SOAP HOLDER Filed March 24, 1955 INVENTOR. Wa llaceNRczc'lne BY @@@@W United States Patent SOAP HOLDER Wallace N. Racine, Portland, Oreg.

Application March 24, 1955, Serial No. 496,493

4 Claims. or. 45-28) This invention pertains to soap holders, and relates particularly to a novel holder for supporting a bar of soap in suspended position outwardly from the holder to permit drying of the entire surface of the bar.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a holder by which a bar of soap may be supported in a stable elevated position which permits drying of the entire surface of the bar, and by which holder the bar of soap may be removed from or secured to the support with maximum facility.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a soap holder which is of simplified and therefore economical construction, and which is eflicient and effective in use. i

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a soap holder embodying the features of the present invention, the same being shown in position supporting a bar of soap, said bar being illustrated in dashed lines; and

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the soap clip element forming a part of the soap holder of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawing, the soap holder of the present invention includes a bracket section which comprises an elongated base member 10. This member is adapted to be secured to a wall or other support by any conventional means, such as by the screws 11. Secured to the base adjacent the ends thereof are a plurality of arcuate Wires 12, 13, 14 which curve outwardly from the base member and are arranged in vertically spaced, parallel relation. The wires may be secured to the base member in various ways. In the embodiment illustrated, the ends of each wire are inserted in holes formed obliquely in the base member 10, the holes being of sufficient length to stabilize the wires and prevent their displacement relative to each other.

The soap holder of the present invention also includes a clip member which is adapted to be secured in a bar of soap. In Figure 1 the clip member is shown to be constructed from a single length of wire, as follows: The wire is bent intermediate its ends to U-shaped form, thereby providing an intermediate section 15, a pair of spaced clip elements 16, 17 and a pair of spaced prongs 1% and 19 extending rearwardly of the section 15. Both of these prongs are offset downwardly from the clip elements 16, 17 by the intermediate stop sections 29.

Forwardly of the offset section 20, prong 19 is bent laterally into a loop 21 which encircles prong 18 and then extends forwardly in parallel relation to prong 18. The prongs 18 and 19 are adapted to be inserted in a bar of soap 22, preferably at one end of the latter, and are secured therein by the friction between the soap and the prongs. The bar of soap is brought into abutment with the loop 21, whereby the latter functions to prevent the 2,768,470 Patented Oct. 30, 1956 bar of soap from being brought into contact with the off set sections 20, as explained more fully hereinafter.

In the modification shown in Figure 2, the loop 21 of Figure 1 is not provided. Rather, the prongs 18, 19 are offset laterally outward a spaced distance forwardly from the offset sections 20, and a stop member 23 having spaced openings therein corresponding to the spacing between prongs 18 and 19, is mounted on said prongs. Movement of the stop member 23 toward the offset sections 20 is restricted at the point where the distance between the prongs enlarged.

In use, the prongs 18 and 19 are inserted into a bar of soap to a distance at which the stop member 23 abuts against the bar, in the same manner and for the same purpose as the loop 21 previously described.

In both modifications the spaced loops 18, 19 function to prevent rotation of the bar of soap relative to the soap clip, and the latter is retained by the frictional engagement of the prongs with the soap. In use, the soap clip is inserted in the end of a bar, as previously explained, with the outer portion of the clip, i'. e. the portions from the loop 21 or stop member 23 projecting outwardly from the bar. The soap may be manipulated in the hands in conventional manner without disadvantage, since the clip projects from an end which normally is faced away from the hand.

-When it is desired to store the bar. of soap, the section offthe clip-including the intermediate section 15 and the clip elements 16, 17 is inserted between two of the rods 12, 13,. or 13, 14 projecting from the base member 10. The offset section 29 abuts against the lower rod of the pair and the clip elements 16, 17 rest against the upper rod of the pair. Thus, the weight of the bar of soap provides suflicient frictional engagement between the clip elements and the spaced rods to support the bar of soap in an extended position, projecting outwardly from the base member.

The bar of soap is thus supported .in an elevated position, completely surrounded by air, whereby to facilitate and expedite drying of the soap. Furthermore, the loop 21 or stop 23 prevents the soap from extending to the offset sections 18, thereby preventing soap from becoming accumulated on the rods 12, 13, 14.

It will be understood from the foregoing that each of the pair of rods 12, 13 or 13, 14 functions to provide a slot for receiving the clip elements 16, 17. The slot may be of limited width, as compared with the elongated slots provided as illustrated. To this end, the spaced rods may be substituted by an arcuate sheet of metal or plastic in which is provided one or more slots adapted to receive the clip section 15, 16, 17. Moreover, a plurality of slots of limited width may be provided. The construction illustrated is preferred, however, since the elongated slots facilitate insertion of the clip.

In the event that the holder is to be used with certain soaps characterized by extreme density, which chip or break when attempts are made to insert the prongs 18, 19, it is necessary merely to heat the prongs sufiiciently to melt the soap adjacent the prongs as they are inserted in the bar.

The use of the holder of the present invention maintains the soap in tidy appearance, since it effect rapid drying of the soap and thereby avoids development of the jelly-like mass which usually is accumulated in the conventional soap tray. There also results a considerable savings in soap cost, since no soap is lost. Thus, the effective use of a bar of soap is extended, even if the last portion thereof is discarded when the prong break through the surface.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the details of construction described hereinbefore without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. For example, the clip section from the end 15 to the loop 21 or stop 23 may be of solid material rather than wire, it being required only that spaced prongs 18, 19 be provided in order to prevent rotation of the bar of soap relative to the clip. The construction illustrated is preferred, however, for use with the arcuate rods 12, 13, 14, since the spaced offset sections 20 function to abut said rods at spaced points whereby to stabilize the bar of soap relative to the support. As another example, the base 10 may be supported by a secondary base member adapted to rest freely upon a counter or other horizontal support. As a further example, the bracket section may include horizontally spaced rods or other means which provide a slot disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, and the prong end of the soap clip member bent accordingly to support the soap in a direction outward from the bracket section. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is primarily illustrative of the invention and is not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A soap bar holder comprising, in combination, a soap clip member including a pair of spaced prongs adapted to be inserted in a bar of soap, a clip section forming a rigid extension of the prongs and being offset from said prongs by an interconnecting stop section, a soap stop member interposed between and positioned a spaced distance from the terminal ends of the prongs and the stop 30 section, respectively, the soap stop member functioning to limit the penetrating of the prongs into a bar of soap and to space said bar of soap from the stop section, and a clip supporting base member having a clip receiving slot adapted to receive the clip section substantially horizontally therein to the limit of the stop section, whereby to support the prongs laterally outward from the base memher in a substantially horizontal plane.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the soap clip member comprises a single length of wire bent to form the spaced prongs, the clip section, the interconnecting stop section and the soap stop member.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the soap clip member comprises a single length of wire bent to form the spaced prongs, the clip section and the interconnecting stop section.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the clip supporting base member comprises a base plate and a plurality of vertically spaced parallel rods projecting arcuately outward from the base plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 133,755 Carrier Dec. 10, 1872 149,275 Wilson Mar. 31, 1874 230,851 Anthony Aug. 10, 1880 833,697 Riefsnyder (Jet. 16, 1906 2,240,225 Place Apr. 29, 1941 2,307,752 Anderson Jan. 12, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 743,048 Germany Dec. 17, 1953

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