WO2006054321A1

WO2006054321A1 - Removable support with suckers holding small items

Info

Publication number: WO2006054321A1
Application number: PCT/IT2004/000636
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuseppe De Franco
Original assignee: Giuseppe De Franco
Priority date: 2004-11-18
Filing date: 2004-11-18
Publication date: 2006-05-26

Abstract

This invention consists of a support for items, particularly for the bathroom, such as soaps, bottles and the like, made of a flat surface equipped with suckers both on the back portion, to be fixed to smooth or tiled walls, and on the front portion to hold the item.

Description

"REMOVABLE SUPPORT WITH SUCKERS HOLDING SMALL ITEMS"

Description Technical Field

The present invention concerns the technical sector relative to the production of accessories for the home and in particular for the bathroom. The specific function of this invention is to get a simple and rapid arrangement of everyday products, such as the items for personal hygiene (soaps, toothpastes, make¬ up), or products for domestic works, or however all the products held in containers of various shapes with smooth surfaces. Therefore, the support subject to this invention is suitable to be used mainly in domestic environment or similar. Background Art At present, there are several types of supports that permit to hold items, particularly small objects for domestic use, among which soaps or bottles of soaps and detergents.

Said supports are made of hooks or flat surfaces or lattices that are fixed to the wall by means of self-tapping screws (so called fisher screws), so that the user must drill the wall, and the possible tiles, in order to insert the screw and fix the support to the wall. Once the support is fixed to the wall, it will be possible to place the objects on the flat surface or hang them to the hooks forming the same support. These known supports have two serious drawbacks: the first one is the fact that it's necessary to drill the wall to fix them, the second one is that the items have a fixed space, therefore they do not always perfectly suit the shape of the support, so it's often necessary to have supports of different sizes for the various items to use. Even when the object to hold is equipped with a hook, it however results not handy, since it' s a bit difficult to hook and unhook the object, so finally it is simply placed on the floor, on the base of the sink or on any other available surface.

The problem of the holes on the wall may be partially solved by means of suckers that permit to apply any object to a smooth surface. Said suckers permit to apply a support for an object to the wall, but due to the particular shape of the support (either with a hook or a flat surface to place the item) , the weight of the object may load down, detaching in fact the sucker from the wall and making the hold absolutely not steady. For this reason, the supports with sucker, even if known, are in fact not often used. Disclosure of invention

The purpose of the present invention is to avoid the above- mentioned and other drawbacks, providing a support for small items, particularly for the bathroom, such as soaps, 'shampoos and the like, which is firmly fixed to the wall holding one or more items without the aid of screws, nails or other fasteners, flat surfaces or any other horizontal support. As a matter of fact, the support that is subject to this invention is characterized in that it has suckers in the back, for the hold to the wall, as well as in the front, for the hold of the object.

The advantages resulting from the present invention essentially consist of the fact that it's possible to fix the support to a smooth surface without the need of drillings or other damaging actions on the wall; that it can be easily removed and placed in another position without any problem; that it completely adheres and ensures a perfect hold to the vertical surface; that it perfectly supports the items with smooth surfaces without placing them onto horizontal surfaces or hanging them to hooks; that the items can be placed in any position: vertical, upright or reversed, horizontal, oblique, with no need to change the position of the same support; that it can be washed; that it can be easily manufactured in any shape at a low cost.

The present invention can be better understood reading the following description and referring to the enclosed drawings, given as practical examples of the invention, but not to be considered restrictive. The characteristics of the present invention are described in the independent claims. Other characteristics of this invention are subject to dependent claims.

Reduced to its essential structure and with reference to the figures of the enclosed drawings, a support for different items, such as soaps, bottles, containers, according to the present invention, comprises: - means to adhere to any smooth surface, with its back portion made of a surface equipped with one or more suckers;

- means to hold any item, with its front portion made of a surface equipped with one or more suckers.

Conveniently, the back surface for the hold to the wall is flat and equipped with suckers arranged over its entire area in order to ensure a steadier hold. The above-mentioned support is applied to vertical smooth surfaces, so that its back portion adheres to said surfaces by means of its suckers and keeps the same support in vertical position. Conveniently, once the support is fixed to the wall, it shows, in its front portion, other suckers that are parallel to the vertical wall, but in their turn perpendicular to the floor. The fact that the suckers take a vertical position (Figs. 1 and 2) permits to keep the surface perfectly clean, since the water possibly damping the suckers flows and does not stop in the point where the same suckers are. The suckers are in different number according to their sizes, the number and the hold capacity we want to obtain. The support is made of silicone, rubber, plastic or other flexible material allowing the suckers to adhere to any smooth surface. Conveniently, once the support is fixed to the wall, the object can be held thanks to the suckers placed in the front portion of the support that adhere to the smooth surfaces of the same object. As the suckers are vertical, they permit a vertical hold of the object, therefore any item, such as a bottle or a container, can be held simply pushing it to the front portion of the support, so that the suckers adhere to its surface. Similarly, the item can be simply removed, just pulling it out. This easy hold permits to place the item in any position to the wall, in the same way as stuck on the same wall.

The essential characteristic of this invention is the practical use of the sucker. Its known functional concept takes advantage of the force created by the depression of the air inside the hollow cone (the geometrical shape of the sucker) , which is created by perpendicular pressure of the same sucker on a quite regular surface, so as to perfectly adhere to the circumference of the disc forming the sucker. The innovation of this invention permits an unlimited use of the object as well as the possibility to place it on any surface (vertical, horizontal, oblique) smooth enough to permit the action of the suckers. This invention is hereafter described, for clarification, in three different solutions, all maintaining however the same innovative specific characteristics consisting of the suckers placed both in the back and in the front of the support for the hold to the wall and the hold of the object. A first solution consists of a rectangular structure in rubber, more or less flexible, with suckers on its surfaces, placed at suitable distance and appropriately shaped, so that they solve the problem of the hold of the item to any smooth surface, even if irregular, like for example a wall with tiles. The opposite surface, the one in front after the application, equipped with suckers too, can hold, thanks to a simple pressure, any item with sufficiently smooth and not porous surface, feature largely spread in manufacturing of plastic containers for the various products above listed. The main characteristic of this solution is the versatility and universality of application, as well as the simple and inexpensive manufacturing, followed, in sale distribution, by the possibility to realize the item in two different colours, for each side, as the support can be used in both ways. A definite size of the suckers allows also to hold items not necessarily flat, as the elasticity of the material forming the suckers, together with the depth of the single cones, permits the hold of the item even at different heights compared to the supporting surface. Which allows the support to hold containers of various shapes, obviously until a definite limit of the radius of curvature. As a matter of fact, for some shapes of containers, this solution implies some restrictions in the force of hold, for example in the case of a container of circular shape with a short radius, where the suckers holding the item are few, involving a possible lack of the force of hold. Another practical solution consists of the same surface to be fixed to the wall as the one previously described, i.e. flat, while the opposite surface has a series of curved sections, having constant or variable radius, with the suckers spread all over the surface.

This particular curved shape allows the support to hold also items having an elliptic section or even circular (which are indeed the most common shapes for this kind of containers) . Obviously, in this way the force of hold is increased thanks to the convex surface that allows a greater number of suckers to grip the container. In a further solution, similar to the one above-described, the support has a ledge at the base of each curved section, along its entire length, over which the container held by the suckers can stand. In this way, the suckers must support only a perpendicular action for the hold of the container, avoiding the action of the vertical forces exerted by the weight of the same container. Thus it's possible to get an immediate, safe, simple and steady hold. This flat ledge can be equipped with hole for the hook of sponges or other accessories for the bathroom. Conveniently, this support is made of a rubber strip stamped in a single body (1), with suckers on the two opposite surfaces, which permit the rapid hold to the wall as well as the immediate hold of the containers. Conveniently, the suckers can instead be applied in several ways to the surfaces of the support. This application can be by gluing or any other known system permitting a steady hold. This support, in all the solutions, permits to fix, plastic containers to the wall, in a simple and rapid way, avoiding the fitting of cabinets, shelves or the like. It permits to fix the item to the wall in any position, by a simple and immediate pressure, as well as to remove and shift it without causing any damage to the walls. This support can be fixed in any position, even in angles or small places otherwise difficult to use with the traditional supporting systems. In practice, the manufacturing details may however equally vary as regards shape, size, position of elements and, type of materials used, but still remain within the range of the idea proposed as a solution and, consequently, within the limits of the protection granted by this patent for invention. Brief description of drawings — Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the invention, with the central body (1) including the suckers (2) .

— Fig. 2 and the relative enlarged detail show that the suckers (2) are applied directly on the body (1) and arranged on both the surfaces. — Fig. 3 shows a top view of the invention in action: the back surface is attached by means of the suckers (2) on the tiles (5) fixed to the wall (4) . The container (3), which has not a flat surface, but slightly curved instead, can be held by a sufficient number of suckers (2) on the front surface, thanks to their shape and to the elasticity of their material. — Figs. 4 and 5 respectively represent a front and top view of a different practical solution of this invention, showing the front portion (8) divided in several sectors (6) equipped with the same suckers (2), having a convex curved shape (Fig. 5), so that a container (3) with a particular elliptic section can however be reached by the most number of possible rows of suckers (2) in order to get a steady hold. The back surface (9) is flat and equipped with suckers for a safe hold on the tiles (5) of the wall (4) .

— Figs. 6 and 7 represent another practical solution, showing a horizontal ledge (7) , where containers (3) can stand, possibly equipped with hole for the hook of sponges or other accessories.

Claims

1) Support for the hold of different items to a wall, such as bottles, soaps, containers, particularly for the bathroom, the kitchen or other similar environments, characterised in that• it comprises:

- means to adhere to any smooth surface, with its back portion made of a surface equipped with one or more suckers; means to hold any item, with its front portion made of a surface equipped with one or more suckers.

2) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support is made of silicone, rubber, plastic or other flexible material allowing the suckers to adhere to any smooth surface.

3) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the back surface for the hold to the wall is flat and equipped with suckers arranged over its entire area in order to ensure a steadier hold.

4) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support has, in its front portion, suckers that are parallel to the vertical wall it is fixed to, but in their turn perpendicular to the floor.

5) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the suckers are in different number according to their sizes, the number and the hold capacity we want to obtain. 6) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the object can be held thanks to the suckers placed in the front portion of the support that adhere to the smooth surfaces of the same object. In this way, any item, such as a bottle or a container, can be held simply pushing it to the front portion of the support. Similarly, the item can be simply removed, just pulling it out.

7) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support consists of a rectangular structure in rubber, more or less flexible, with suckers on its front and back surfaces, placed at suitable distance and appropriately shaped, so that they permit the hold of any item with sufficiently smooth surface, to any smooth surface, even if irregular, thanks to a simple pressure.

8) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support is made of a rubber strip stamped in a single body, with suckers on the two opposite surfaces, which permit the rapid hold to the wall as well as the immediate hold of the containers.

9) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said support is made of a strip in rubber or other similar material, where the suckers are applied by gluing or any other known system permitting a steady hold.

10) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that both the back and front surfaces are flat.

11) Support as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the front surface has a series of curved sections, having constant or variable radius, with the suckers spread all over the surface.

12) Support as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that, at the base of each curved section, said support has a ledge, along its entire length, over which the container held by the suckers can stand; said flat ledge can be equipped with hole for the hook of sponges or other accessories for the bathroom.