US2891348A - Soap holder - Google Patents

Description

June 23, 1959 2,891,348

L. BLAGG SOAP HOLDER Filed March 24, 1958 L eon fi/ayy INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent This invention relates to a soap holding device, and

particularly to a vacuum cup device adapted for attach- 1 ment to wash basins, bathtubs and similar fixtures which will permit a bar of soap, whether wet or dry, to be held firmly and readily available to a user.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a suction cup holder for a bar of soap which will not only effectively grip the soap, but which also provides means for collecting the drippings from a wet bar of soap and automatically purging them from the holder each time the bar of soap is placed on the holder.

An important object is the provision of a soap holder which includes a suction cup supported on a resiliently deformable chamber, the bottom of the cup being provided with a passageway communicating with the interior of the chamber to permit drainage ofsoap drippings from the suction cup into the chamber. The latter is provided at a low point therein with outwardly opening check valve means through which drippings collectingin the chamber will automatically be discharged under compression of the chamber produced by pressing the soap down on the suction cup when the soap is placed thereon.

Other and more specific objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent from/the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which illustrates two useful embodiments in accordance with this invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a holder in accordance with one embodiment of this invention, the drippings discharge valve being shown in the closed position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the holder, looking downwardly along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the holder in the compressed position at which the drippings valve is opened;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of holder, the drippings valve being of a slightly different form, shown in the closed position in solid lines and in the open position in broken lines; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view looking downwardly along line 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, the holder is designated generally by the numeral 10 and is shown mounted on a bracket 11, which may be of any suitable form or shape, adapted to support the soap holder from a wall or from any suitable fixture, such as a sink, wash basin, bathtub, or the like. Bracket 11 carries an upwardly extending stud 12, having a head 13 by which holder 10 is secured to the bracket, as will be subsequently described. The soap holder, itself, comprises an upwardly facing, generally circular cup portion 14, of the usual suction cup form having a relatively soft peripheral lip 15, which is adapted to be engaged with a bar of soap S which is to be held by the holder. Cup portion 14 is mounted on top of, and ordinarily integrally formed with, a deformable casing 16 of generally annular or spheroidal shape enclosing a chamber 17. Casing 16 has a bottom wall 18 provided ice with a central opening .19 adapted to receive stud 12. Head 13 of the stud serves to clamp the portion of wall 18 surrounding opening .19 against bracket .11 to thereby secure the holder to the bracket. A central passageway 20 provides communication between the interior of chamber 17, and the bottom 21 of cup portion 14 and serves as a drain passage through which drippings from soap S will drain into the interior of chamber 17. A normally closed slit-type check valve 21 is provided in bottom wall 18 through which drippings accumulating in the interior of chamber 17 may be discharged from the chamber.

Casing 16 and cup portion 14 are constructed of rubber or similar flexible, resilient material, and are preferably integrally formed as illustrated. It will be understood, however, that cup portion 14 and casing 16 may be separately formed and connected together in any suitable and generally conventional manner to provide a structure equivalent in function to that illustrated. Slit-type check valve 22 is formed in a generally conventional manner by providing a slit in the flexible wall of the casing. When the casing is subjected to external compression, the resulting deformation of its walls will distend and separate the wall portions defining the slit, thus opening the valve. Relief of the pressure on the casing will, by reason of the resilience of its walls, allow the distended wall portions to retract and seal with one another to close the valve against inflow of air from the exterior of the casing. 1

The above-described holder operates as follows: When a bar of soap is pressed downwardly on lip 15 of the cup portion, the mouth of the cup portion is sealed and the downward pressure will deform casing 16 and force valve 22 to the open position (Fig. 3), discharging air from the interior of chamber 17. As the downward pressure is relieved while the bar of soap remains in sealed engagement with lip 15, valve 22 closes against inflow of air and upon the expansion of casing 16 to its initial form, a vacuum is created in the interior of chamber 17, passageway 20, and the interior of cup portion 14 of the holder. This vacuum, of course, serves to hold soap S in place on the holder. It will be'seen that the downward pressure applied to the soap, when pressing'it on the holder, will serve not only to open check valve 22, but to cause the discharge through the open check valve of any drippings from the soap which have collected in the interior of chamber 17, the drippings having drained downwardly from the cup portion .14 through passageway 20 into the interior of chamber 17.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate another modification of a holder embodying the principles of the structure illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and described above. In Figs. 4 and 5, a casing 16a, of the same general shape as casing 16, encloses a chamber 17a and is provided with a bottom wall 18a having the central opening 19a to receive the clamping stud 12a, which is modified slightly from that shown in Figs. 1 to 3, to provide a longitudinally extending arcuate slot 23 along one side thereof, the slot being closed at its upper end by the overhanging portion 25 of head 13a. The segment of bottom wall 18a which is in registration with slot 23 serves as an outwardly opening, normally closed, flap-type check valve 24 in that when there is no deforming pressure on casing 16a, valve 24 will be retracted by the resilience of bottom wall 18a and will lie flat against the under surface 25 of head 13a of the mounting stud. The position of valve 24, when casing 16a is compressed downwardly in response to pressure from the passing of the soap on cup portion 14a, is shown in broken lines in Fig. 4 to indicate the open position of the check valve in response to the compression of casing 16a. Slot 23 forms a recess in the exterior of stud 12a which provides clearance suflicient to permit the opening and closing movement of segment 24. Lip 15a, which defines the upper periphery of cup portion 14a, may be v 3 made in the oval or elliptical shape shown best in Fig. 5, in order to accommodate soap bars of oval shape and to permit maintenance of sealing engagement with bars of soap as the latter are reduced in width through use. It will be understood, of course, that cup portion 14a.may also be circular, as in the modification illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and that cup portion 14 may be of the shape illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The operation of the modification illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is substantially the same as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. When the bar of soap is placed on lip 15a and pressed downwardly slightly, the resulting pressure compresses casing 16a and opens the check valve formed by flap valve 24 to discharge air and drippings from the interior of chamber 17a through slot 23. When the pressure on casing 16a is relieved, the resulting retraction of the casing will permit flap valve 24 to retract against the undersurface 25 of head 13a and close the valve. The resulting expansion of chamber 17a will reduce the pres sure inside cup portion 14a and provide the suction sufficient to secure the soap in place on the holder.

It will be understood that various alterations and modifications may be made in the details of the illustrative embodiments within the scope of the appended claims, but without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilient walls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformable chamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, a passageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior of the chamber, and normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of said casing communicating with said chamber.

' 2. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilient walls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformable chamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing and integral therewith, a passageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior of the chamber, and normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of the casing communicating with said chamber.

3. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilient walls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformable chamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, a passageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior of the chamber, and normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of the casing communicating with said chamber, said valve means comprising a slit distendible to open position by compression of said casing.

4. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilient walls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformable chamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, a passageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior of the chamber, normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of said casing communicating with said chamber, and bracket means secured to the bottom wall of said casing to support said holder in an upright position.

5. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilient walls defining a resiliently deformable chamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, a passageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior of the chamber, and normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of said casing communicating with said chamber, and means adapted to support said holder in an upright position, said means including a bracket, an upwardly extending stud secured to the bracket and receivable in an opening in said bottom wall of the casing, said stud having an enlarged head adapted to clamp the edge portion of the bottom wall defining said opening to the bracket.

6. A soap holder according to claim 5, wherein said check valve means comprises a segment of said edge portion retractably engaging the undersurface of said head, and a recess in the exterior of said stud in registration with said segment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 930,236 Schacht Aug. 3, 1909 1,228,649 Childs June 5, 1917 2,194,997 Butler Mar. 26, 1940 2,385,977 Farmer Oct. 2, 1945

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