US20030009828A1

US20030009828A1 - Bath pillow and seat

Info

Publication number: US20030009828A1
Application number: US10/190,820
Authority: US
Inventors: Arthur Julien
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-07-11
Filing date: 2002-07-09
Publication date: 2003-01-16

Abstract

A rubber bath pillow and seat combination, wherein the bath pillow portion is substantially cylindrical. The pillow is inflated with water. A rectangular planar non-inflatable seat portion is integrated with the pillow along its longitudinal axis. The pillow has an elongated filler tube attached to the cylindrical pillow at one end by a threaded thumb screw having a scalloped periphery. The distal end of the filler tube has a slotted threaded plug.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/304,113, filed Jul. 11, 2001.[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to pillows. More specifically, the invention is a non-floating bath pillow filled with water and attached to a seat for supporting one's back while taking a bath in a bathtub.

2. Description of Related Art

The related art of interest describes various bath pillows, but none discloses the present invention. There is a need for a non-floatable bath pillow and seat made of natural rubber for use in either a sitting position or lying down in the bathtub. The related art will be discussed in the order of perceived relevance to the present invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,012 issued on Mar. 27, 1973, to Sidney Tobinick et al. describes a rectangular polyvinylchloride covered water bed mattress having a polyvinylchloride pillow which may be filled with either air or water. The pillow is formed from a strip which is folded over and sealed at its edges and one of its ends to provide a web in front. A valve is positioned at the rear of the pillow. The strip may be formed from separate panels and must be placed at the head of the mattress. The pillow is distinguishable for being required to be an integral part of a water bed mattress.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,721,571 issued on Jul. 23, 1929, to Carl Miller describes a rectangular bathtub pad constructed of rubber and formed in two compartments having filler plugs to be filled by warmed water. The pillow compartment is one-third of the total length. Straps are positioned at each corner and each strap has a distal suction cup and a proximate aperture for hanging by hooks. The bathtub pad is distinguishable for requiring attachment straps, suction cups and hook apertures.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,373 issued on May 14, 1991, to Dwayne Dobine describes a bath pillow adapted for supporting the head and back while bathing in a bathtub. Straps with suction cups are provided for securing the pillow to the wall of the tub. The pillow comprises two detachable support cushions with a tear-drop cross-section having moisture-proof cores of soft cotton. The bath pillow is distinguishable for failing to have water filled cores.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,713 issued on Aug. 25, 1992, to John B. Pesterfield describes a rectangular bath pillow for use as a head rest within a bathtub comprising an outer casing enclosing a resilient plastic foam filler such as polyurethane. A sheet of film is disposed between a front covering of soft polyvinylchloride and a rear covering of an expanded vinyl coated with polyvinylchloride which has a polyvinylchloride suction cup in each corner. The bath pillow is distinguishable for its solid structure and requirement for suction cups.

U.S. Design Pat. No. 25,786 issued on Jul. 14, 1896, to Albert A. Stoll describes an ornamental design for a rectangular water pillow having a central aperture and elongated outlet tubes with distal stoppers at each corner. The pillow is distinguishable for its required central aperture and corner outlet tubes.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,167,178 issued on Jul. 25, 1939, to Marie M. Kohlstadt describes a bathtub cushion support comprising a head rest detachable from a mat. The cushion support is made of a rubber cover enclosing sponge rubber. The head rest is fatter and less wide with ears on each end and on the free side for supporting three suction cups. The mat is extensive in area and connected by a bead insertable in a slot of the head rest. The bathtub cushion support is distinguishable for being solid in composition.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,483,077 issued on Sep. 27, 1949, to John C. Walsh describes a bathtub cushion comprising a square back cushion and a square seat cushion connected by straps and snap fasteners on the back cushion. The casing is either rubber or rubberized cloth and contains sponge rubber. An array of suction cups are provided only for the bottom surface of the seat cushion. The cushion is distinguishable for being solid in construction with suction cups and being separable.

U.S. Pat. No. 505,873 issued on Oct. 3, 1893, to Joseph Bomgardner describes an ice pillow comprising a rectangular air chamber with an aperture in its center and having an inflation tube. The bottom portion contains ice which can be emptied by a drain tube. The pillow is distinguishable for its different configuration and lack of a seat portion.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,388 issued on Jan. 30, 1990, to Maurice R. Bard describes a water pillow having a gussetted edge filled with a compressible material and a bottom layer filled with a fluid accessed by a filler plug. The plastic pillow has a top space and a zippered or hook and loop fastening for adding a conventional stuffed pillow. The water pillow is distinguishable for its requirement for utilizing a conventional pillow.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,560 issued on Feb. 16, 1988, to Larry L. Christie describes a pillow utilizing air and water in separate compartments, wherein the air is enclosed by the water compartment. The pillow is distinguishable for its requirement for air and water compartments.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,910 issued on Aug. 26, 1975, to Yuichi Nakata describes a water pillow comprising a hollow rubber or polyvinyl chloride container having an upper concavity, a bottom having hollow flexible ridges surrounding the concavity, and filled with water to fit on the user's head. A cap is threaded onto a filling mouth. The water pillow is distinguishable for its distinct structure and lack of a seat.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,582,439 issued on Jan. 15, 1952, to James O. Kavanaugh describes a pneumatic seat and back rest lounging device for a bathtub comprising a vinylite head and back rest portion and a seat portion having an array of suction cups. The head and back rest portion has separate air inlet valves, while the seat portion has only one air valve. The device is distinguishable for its separate air compartments and the requirement for suction cups.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,931 issued on Jul. 18, 1989, to Maurice R. Bard describes a water pillow comprising a rectangular casing layer enclosing a compressible filler material with air pockets in front and in the rear. Water is contained in a thin envelope of ethylene vinyl acetate with a thermal reflector layer and a foam wedge below it. The water pillow is distinguishable for its required enclosed compartments.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a rubber bath pillow and seat combination, wherein the bath pillow is substantially cylindrical except for two diametrically opposed portions. The pillow is inflated with water. A rectangular planar non-inflatable seat portion is integrated with the pillow along its longitudinal axis. The seat portion ensures the static position of the pillow with the pressure of the user's back. The pillow has a plugged, elongated filler tube attached to the cylindrical pillow at one end by a threaded thumb screw attachment having a scalloped periphery. Thus, the thumb screw is readily attached and removed. The distal end of the filler tube has a slotted threaded plug. The elongated filler tube and plug permit the adjustment of the inflated volume of the pillow while the user is laying on it.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a water fillable bath pillow and a planar non-inflatable seat combination.

It is another object of the invention to provide a bath pillow having an elongated filling and discharging tube.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the elongated tube with an attachment screw at a proximate end with a scalloped periphery.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the elongated tube with a threaded filler and emptying plug having a slot in the threaded portion, a flange and a flat rounded handle.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a bath pillow and seat combination according to the present invention. [0027]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the filling nozzle element with the removed thumb screw plug in shadow. [0028]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the thumb screw plug having a round flat handle positioned on a flange having a slotted and threaded neck portion.[0029]
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. [0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a rubber bath pillow and [0031] seat combination device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprising a substantially cylindrical bath pillow portion 12 containing water 14 (hidden). A rubber composition is critical to ensure that the device 10 is durable and heavy enough to stay in place in the bathtub against an inclined side without a requirement for retaining means such as suction cups. Moreover, a rectangular planar non-inflatable seat portion 16 is provided integral with the bath pillow portion 12 along its longitudinal axis.
A [0032] tubular nozzle element 18 is connected to the pillow portion 12 at one of the two planar ends 20. The nozzle element 18 has a threadable distal end plug 22 at the distal end of an elongated and flexible tube 23, illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, which permits the filling and emptying of the water 14 to suit the desires of the user while lying in the bathtub. The end plug 22, depicted enlarged in FIG. 3, has a flat circular tab portion 24 with a cross-hatching design 26 on both sides for ease of gripping, and is based on a circular flange 28 abutting a threaded shank 30 having a slot 32. The slot 32 is important in facilitating the removal of the end plug 22 when it is desired to empty or fill the bath pillow portion 12 with the non-soapy bathtub water 14.
A [0033] thumb screw 34 having a scalloped periphery 36 is positioned at the proximate end of the nozzle element 18, and is adapted to connect the nozzle element 18 to a threaded aperture (hidden) in the bath pillow portion 12. The provision of a scalloped periphery 36 is critical to enable any user to readily remove the nozzle element 18 for cleaning the inside surface of the bath pillow portion 12.
The [0034] combination device 10 is made of rubber, preferably, except for the plastic nozzle element 18.
Although the [0035] bath pillow portion 12 is depicted in FIG. 1 as having a pointed portion 38 diametrically opposite the connection point 40 of the planar non-inflatable seat portion 16, it is within the ambit of this invention to omit the pointed portion 38.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. [0036]

Claims

I claim:

1. A bath pillow and seat combination comprising:

a substantially cylindrical bath pillow containing a filler;

a rectangular non-inflatable seat integral with said bath pillow along its longitudinal axis; and

a closable tubular nozzle connected to said pillow at one end.

2. The bath pillow and seat combination according to claim 1, wherein a thumb screw element having a scalloped periphery being positioned at a proximate end of the nozzle and adapted to connect the nozzle to the bath pillow.

3. The bath pillow and seat combination according to claim 1, wherein the tubular nozzle has a threadable distal end plug.

4. The bath pillow and seat combination according to claim 1, wherein the non-inflatable seat is planar.

5. The bath pillow and seat combination according to claim 1, wherein the bath pillow filler is water.

6. The bath pillow and seat combination according to claim 1, wherein the bath pillow and seat combination is made of rubber.

7. The bath pillow and seat combination according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle element is made of plastic.