US3834782A

US3834782A - Toilet article container

Info

Publication number: US3834782A
Application number: US00279006A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Pampinella
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-08-09
Filing date: 1972-08-09
Publication date: 1974-09-10
Anticipated expiration: 1991-09-10

Abstract

A rectangularly shaped container having a cover to permit access to its interior which, in turn, has partitions dividing the same into at least one section adapted to hold water, while the other sections thereof are adapted to store toilet articles and the like. A bracket support fixedly attached to a wall paralleling the longitudinal axis of a bathtub is provided with means for pivotally mounting a bracket adapted for movement between a first position wherein the bracket parallels the wall and a second position wherein the bracket extends outwardly from the wall and transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bathtub. The container is carried at the extended other end of the bracket in such a manner that the container is rotatable with respect to the bracket support so that the open face of the container may be rotated between a horizontal position permitting access therein and a vertical position permitting movement of the bracket member to a position parallel to the wall. Means are provided for selectively locking the container in a selected position.

Description

United States Patent [191 Pampinella 51 Sept. 10, 1974 TOILET ARTICLE CONTAINER [22] Filed: Aug. 9, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 279,006

[52] US. Cl 312/248, 312/226, 312/251,

312/302, 312/313 [51] Int. Cl A47b 67/02, A47f 5/08 [58] Field of Search 312/248, 251, 245, 351,

140; 4/185 R, 185 A, 185 B Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Attorney, Agent, or FirmWeiner, Basile and Weintraub [5 7] ABSTRACT A rectangularly shaped container having a cover to permit access to its interior which, in turn, has partitions dividing the same into at least one section adapted to hold water, while the other sections thereof are adapted to store toilet articles and the like. A bracket support fixedly attached to a wall paralleling the longitudinal axis of a bathtub is provided with means for pivotally mounting a bracket adapted for movement between a first position wherein the bracket parallels the wall and a second position wherein the bracket extends outwardly from the wall and transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bathtub. The container is carried at the extended other end of the bracket in such a manner that the container is rotatable with respect to the bracket support so that the open face of the container may be rotated between a horizontal position permitting access therein and a vertical position permitting movement of the bracket member to a position parallel to the wall. Means are provided for selectively locking the container in a selected position.

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures FATENTED SEP 1 0 I974 SHEET 1 BF 2 PAIENTEB SE 1 01974 3. $84782 sum 2 or 2 TOILET ARTICLE CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to toilet article container assemblies and, in particular, to a toilet article container adapted to be mounted adjacent a bathtub and swingable from a position paralleling the longitudinal axis of the bathtub to a position extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bathtub.

2. Description of the Prior Art Although numerous toilet article containers, dispensers and the like have heretofore been provided, to the knowledge of the inventor no such toilet article container has been provided which is adapted to be mounted adjacent a bathtub and so designed as to permit the user to utilize the container while bathing with the container being mounted so as to be swingable from a position extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bathtub to a position paralleling the wall adjacent the bathtub.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention which will be described subsequently in greater detail comprises a toilet article container mounted by means of bracket to a vertical wall which is adjacent to and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bathtub, the bracket being swingable to and from the wall from a position paralleling the lengthwise edges or longitudinal axis of the bathtub to a position transverse thereto. The article container is rotatable relative to the bracket between a first position wherein the opening to the interior thereof is disposed in a horizontal plane and a second position wherein the opening thereof is disposed in a vertical plane. Means are provided for releasably locking the container in selected planes.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a toilet article container adapted to be employed while the user thereof is bathing in the bathtub.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toilet article container adapted for the aforementioned use but which is so designed as to be removable from over the bathtub and stored in a fashion not interfering with the user of the tub.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a toilet article container which is of a simple and inexpensive design yet one which is durable and of a long-lasting construction.

Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art of toilet article containers when the accompanying description of one example of the best mode contemplated for practicing the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toilet article container assembly being employed in conjunction with a bathtub, the container assembly being constructed in accordance with the principles of the present inventron;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of FIG. 1 illustrating the container assembly disposed in a stored position;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the toilet article container assembly illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partially sectioned side elevational view of the container illustrated in FIG. 1, the container being illustrated in one of its operative positions;

FIG. Sis a side elevational view of the container illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the container in a second operative position;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a bracket support used in mounting the container assembly illustrated in FIG. 1 to a wall;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a locking means for selectively maintaining the container in the operative positions illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second example of a container assembly constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the container assembly illustrated in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the container assembly taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings and, in particular, to FIGS. 1 through 7 wherein there is illustrated'one example of the present invention in the form of a toilet article container assembly 10 mounted to a wall 12 which is adjacent to and parallel to the longitudinal axis of a bathtub 14. The toilet article container assembly 10 comprises a pair of bracket supports 16 which are adapted to be fastened to the wall 12 by any suitable fastening means such as screws 18. When fastened to the wall 12, the bracket supports 16 have aligned apertures 20 (FIG. 6) which receive the ends of L-shaped flanges 22 carried at one end of a bracket 24 such that the bracket 24 is freely pivotable with respect to the bracket supports 16 for a purpose which will be described hereinafter. The bracket 24 comprises two horizontally disposed and parallel support members 26 and 28 (FIG. 3) connected by

transverse bracket members

30, 32, 34 and 36. The bracket 24 is preferably of an integral construction and may be fabricated from any suitable material such as a plastic, polyurethane or polyethylene. The L-shaped flanges 22 as can best be seen in FIG. 6 are also integrally formed with the bracket member 30. The bracket member 36 has integrally formed therewith outwardly extending tabs 38 and 40 which are provided for a purpose to be described.

The bracket member 36 further carries a cylindrically shaped post 42 that extends outwardly from the outer surface thereof and is adapted to extend through a bore 44 formed in the sidewall of a container 46 with a snap ring 48 engaging the post 42 to securely fasten the container 46 to the post 42 while permitting free relative pivotable or rotational movement of the container 46 with respect to the bracket 24. The bracket member 36 further carries a container positional locking member or detent 50 (FIG. 7) for releasably locking the container against movement from out of one of the planes. The detent 50 will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The container 46, which can best be seen in FIG. 3, is generally rectangular in shape having four sidewalls connected by a bottom wall with the interior thereof being divided by partitiions 52 into a plurality of compartments or

sections

54 and 56 with the compartment 56 being adapted to hold water and having a plug 58 (FIG. 4) extending through the bottom wall of the container 46 and adapted to be removed to permit the removable of the water therefrom. The remainder of the compartments 54 are adapted to hold various toilet articles such as shaving cream, razor blades and the like. The container 46 is further provided with a cover 60 pivotally mounted along the edge of the container at 62 such that the same may be opened and closed to expose and permit access to the interior of the container 46. A suitable latching mechanism, such as the tab 64, is adapted to engage a snap 66 formed on a sidewall of the container 46 to permit a latching of the cover 60 when the container 46 is not in use and to prevent the removal of the articles being stored within the container 46. A mirror 68 is carried on the inside wall surface of the cover 60 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

The container 46 when pivotally attached to the bracket 24 is movable to a first position as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4 wherein the bottom side of the container 46 is abutting the lower tab 40 which, in addition to functioning to support the container, limits its rotational or pivotal movement to a 90 arc between the vertical and horizontal planes and maintains the container 46 in a generally horizontal plane. The container 46 is rotatable upwardly, that is, in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 and 5, to the position illustrated in FIG. wherein it is generally disposed in a vertical plane with the upper tab 38 limiting the rotational movement of the container beyond the vertical plane.

The positional locking mechanism 50, as can best be seen in FIG. 7, comprises an enlarged cavity 70 formed in the bracket member 36 and housing a detent 72 with an enlarged flange portion 74 that has one end of a coil spring 76 bearing there against while the other end of the spring 76 bears against the blind end of the cavity 70. The detent has a rod portion that extends outwardly through the blind end of the cavity 70 with a spherically shaped end 73 formed thereon to enable the user manually to grasp the rod and retract the same inwardly into the cavity. The detent end 72 of the locking mechanism 50 is adapted to engage an aperture 78 extending into the sidewall of the container on which the support post 42 is pivotally attached. As can best be seen in FIG. 4, when the container 46 is in the horizontal position, the detent 72 engages the aperture 78 and prevents any rotational movement of the container with respect to the bracket 24. As the container is rotated to the vertical position illustrated in FIG. 5, the detent biases the sidewall of the container 46 and the spring 76 causes the detent to exert a sufficient pressure against the sidewall to prevent the container from rotating clockwise. However, the container 46 may be provided with an aperture at that position to ensure a positive hold.

In a storage mode the container 46 is normally disposed in a vertical position as shown in FIG. 2 and the bracket is swung in a position adjacent to parallel to the wall 12. When use of the container 24 is desired. such as when an individual is bathing and desires to shave. the bracket 24 is rotated outwardly to the position illustrated in FIG. 1 where it extends outwardly from the wall 12 and transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bathtub 14. The bracket is of such a length that in this position the container lies between the lengthwise edges of the bathtub. The cover 60 is then open and the bracket is further rotated so that the compartment 56 is in a position under the water faucet 80 and the compartment may be filled with water. The bracket 24 is then rotated back to the transverse position illustrated in FIG. 1 and the individual may employ the container 24 to shave using the mirror 68 in a conventional manner while removing soap suds and the like from his razor blade by means of the water in the compartment 56. When the individual has finished bathing and has removed himself from the tab, the water in the compartment 56 may be removed by means of the plug 58. By pulling on the spherical end 73 the detent 72 may be disengaged from the aperture 78 and the container 46 may be rotated back to its vertical position with the bracket 24 being placed in a position parallel to the wall for storage as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 for an aid in the description of another example of the present invention in the form of a toilet article container assembly comprising a container 92 which is identical to the container 46 aforementioned, and thus a further detailed description of the same is not necessary. The container 92 is fixedly attached to a bracket which is in the form of an elongated rod 94 such that the container 92 is not pivotal with respect to the rod 94. The rod 94 as well as the container 92 may be fabricated from any suitable material such as plastic, polyurethane, polyethylene or the like. The opposite end of the rod 94 has an enlarged spherically shaped member 96 which is housed in a split wall bracket 98, the components of which when brought together define a spherical bore 100 adapted to receive the spherical end 96 such that the spherical end 96 is freely movable or pivotable therewithin. The mating ends of the wall bracket 98 are attached to one another by any suitable means such as a fastener or screw 102 (FIG. 9) while the brackets themselves are attached to the wall 12 by any suitable screw 104 or the like. The wall brackets 98 define an arcuate slots or groove 106 through which the rod extends with the groove being disposed in a horizontal plane such that the rod is freely movable within the groove 106 in a horizontal plane but because of the abutment of the rod with the upper and lower edges of the groove 106, the rod and thus the container 92 is not movable out of the horizontal plane. Since the ball 96 can rotate freely within the bore 100, the rod 94 and thus the container 92 can be rotated such that the container 92 can be positioned selectively either in a vertical or a horizontal plane in the same manner as the container 46. The rod 94 may be positioned so that it extends transversely of longitudinal axis of the bathtub 14 or positioned so that it is parallel to the wall 12 in the same manner as the assembly 10 is operational and as illustrated in FIG. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The upper of the two wall bracket 98 is provided with a recess 108 housing a friction member 110 such as a rubber disk or the like which is engaged by an L-shaped member 112 having a threaded surface engaging a threaded bore in the upper bracket member 98 such that as the member 112 is rotated into the bracket 98 engaging the friction member 110, the same engages the spherical end 96 so as to fixedly secure the same and prevent further relative rotational movement with respect to the bracket 98 thereby locking the container 92 in any desired plane in a manner similar to the aforementioned toilet article container assembly 10. The container 92 is used in the same manner and functions in the same way as the aforementioned article container and a further description thereof is not necessary.

It can thus be seen that the present invention has provided a toilet article container assembly adapted to be used in conjunction with a bathtub to permit an individual bathing therein to conveniently shave while at the same time the article container assembly may be removed from over the bathtub and conveniently stored adjacent thereto.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A toilet article container assembly mountable on a vertical wall adjacent a bathtub and parallel to the lengthwise edges of said bathtub, said assembly comprising a bracket support fastened to said wall; a bracket pivotally carried at one end by said bracket support, a container being attached to the other end of said bracket, said bracket being movable between a first position adjacent to and parallel to said wall and a second position extending outwardly from said wall and transversely of said bathtub lengthwise edges said bracket being of such a length that said container lies between the lengthwise edges of said bathtub when said bracket and said container is moved to said second position; said container having an opening to permit access to the interior thereof, said interior having partition means for dividing said interior into different sepa rated sections, one of said sections being adapted to hold water therewithin, the other of said sections being adapted to store selected toilet articles; said container being rotatable relative to said bracket support between a first position wherein said opening is disposed in a horizontal plane and a second position wherein said opening is disposed in a vertical plane.

2. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said container is pivotally carried at the other end of said bracket.

3. The assembly defined in claim 2 further comprising means carried by said bracket for limiting said pivotal movement of said container to a are between said vertical and horizontal planes.

4. The assembly defined in claim 2 further comprising means for releasably locking said container against movement from out of one of said planes.

5. The assembly defined in claim 4 wherein said lacking means comprises a detent carried at said other end of said bracket and biased into engagement with the adjacent sidewall of said container and adapted to be manually removable from said engagement to permit pivotal movement of said container with respect to said other end of said bracket.

6. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said bracket comprises an elongated connecting rod having said other end fixedly attached to said container. said one end thereof having a spherically shaped end, said bracket support having a spherically shaped bore adapted to receive and permit relative pivotal movement of said spherically shaped end therewithin, said bracket support having an arcuate slot through which said rod extends and so sized that it permits said rod to move only in a horizontal plane.

7. The assembly defined in claim 6 further comprising means carried by said bracket support for locking said spherically shaped end in any desired position relative to said spherical bore whereby said container may be oriented in any desired plane.

8. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said container interior has partition means dividing said interior into different separated sections. one of said sections being adapted to hold water, the other of said sections being adapted to store selected toilet articles.

9. The assembly defined in claim 8 further comprising a cover pivotally mounted along an edge of said container and adapted to open to permit access to said interior.

10. The toilet article defined in claim 9 further comprising a mirror means carried on the inside wall of said

Claims

1. A toilet article container assembly mountable on a vertical wall adjacent a bathtub and parallel to the lengthwise edges of said bathtub, said assembly comprising a bracket support fastened to said wall; a bracket pivotally carried at one end by said bracket support, a container being attached to the other end of said bracket, said bracket being movable between a first position adjacent to and parallel to said wall and a second position extending outwardly from said wall and transversely of said bathtub lengthwise edges said bracket being of such a length that said container lies between the lengthwise edges of said bathtub when said bracket and said container is moved to said second position; said container having an opening to permit access to the interior thereof, said interior having partition means for dividing said interior into different separated sections, one of said sections being adapted to hold water therewithin, the other of said sections being adapted to store selected toilet articles; said container being rotatable relative to said bracket support between a first position wherein said opening is disposed in a horizontal plane and a second position wherein said opening is disposed in a vertical plane.

3. The assembly defined in claim 2 further comprising means carried by said bracket for limiting said pivotal movement of said container to a 90* arc between said vertical and horizontal planes.

6. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said bracket comprises an elongated connecting rod having said other end fixedly attached to said container, said one end thereof having a spherically shaped end, said bracket support having a spherically shaped bore adapted to receive and permit relative pivotal movement of said spherically shaped end therewithin, said bracket support having an arcuate slot through which said rod extends and so sized that it permits said rod to move only in a horizontal plane.

8. The assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said container interior has partition means dividing said interior into different separated sections, one of said sections being adapted to hold water, the other of said sections being adapted to store selected toilet articles.

10. The toilet article defined in claim 9 further comprising a mirror means carried on the inside wall of said cover.