Abstract:
An improved shower curtain may reduce or eliminate the shower curtain effect and work with any standard shower rod. The shower curtain may include pockets and elongated members disposed substantially vertically within the pockets. The elongated members may be removable from the pockets or the pockets may be sealed to prevent removal of the elongated members. The shower curtain body may also include weighted members disposed in auxiliary pockets located along a lower portion of the curtain.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present application relates to shower curtains. 
         [0003]    2. Related Art 
         [0004]    Showers have been around for centuries, dating back to at least the ancient Greeks, and shower curtains undoubtedly were used a few days later. Ever since, people have attempted to solve the problem known as the shower-curtain effect, the phenomenon in which a shower curtain gets blown inward toward a bather as the water runs from the showerhead. Physicists have yet to determine the definitive cause of this effect, and to date there is no ideal solution to prevent this phenomena from disrupting some of the few moments of solitude most of us get in today&#39;s world. 
         [0005]    Currently, there are two approaches taken to reduce the shower curtain effect. Under a first approach, specialized shower assemblies have been designed with, for example, bowed rods and other specialized equipment to help keep the curtain physically away from the bather. However, these assemblies are expensive and difficult to install and repair. Under the second approach, magnets and suction cups have been attached to the bottom of shower curtains to enable a user to stick the curtain to the tub. But these approaches have drawbacks of their own; magnets require a magnetic tub and suction cups are inconsistent and degraded over time. And both require effort from the bather to attach and re-attach the magnets or suction cups several times during a typical shower, such as upon entering and exiting the shower. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, a need has long existed for an improved shower curtain. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In one embodiment, an improved shower curtain may reduce or eliminate the shower curtain effect and work with any standard shower rod. The shower curtain may include pockets and elongated members disposed substantially vertically within the pockets. The elongated members may be removable from the pockets or the pockets may be sealed to prevent removal of the elongated members. The shower curtain body may also include one or more secondary pockets disposed along the lower portion of the curtain for holding weighted members. 
         [0008]    Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be, or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and technical advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplary shower curtain; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows the exemplary curtain of  FIG. 1  with an exemplary longitudinal member shown outside of an exemplary pocket; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows another view of an exemplary pocket of the exemplary shower curtain shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  shows an exemplary shower curtain in use with a typical shower rod and bath tub; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows another exemplary shower curtain. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    The elements illustrated in the Figures interoperate as explained in more detail below. Before setting forth the detailed explanation, however, it is noted that all of the discussion below, regardless of the particular implementation being described, is exemplary in nature, rather than limiting. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , an exemplary shower curtain  10  is shown. The shower curtain  10  may securable to a shower rod using known techniques and may resist movement caused by air flow generated during a shower. The shower curtain  10  may include a body portion  11  having a plurality of apertures  12 . The shower curtain  10  may also include one or more pockets  20   a - e . In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the shower curtain  10  may include a first pocket  20   a,  a second pocket  20   b,  a third pocket  20   c,  a fourth pocket  20   d  and a fifth pocket  20   e.  The pockets  20   a - e  may be disposed about a corresponding one of axes  14   a - e . The pockets  20   a - e  also may be dimensioned to receive a longitudinal member  30 . 
         [0017]    The body portion  11  may be dimensioned to correspond to typical shower curtain sizes. For example, the body portion  11  may be 70″×70″, 72″×72″, or 70″×72″. In alternate embodiments, the width of the body portion  11  may be 36″, 54″, or 60″. Other sizes also may be used. Body portion  11  may be made of plastic (such as PEVA/EVA), vinyl, fabric, and the like. Any other suitable material also may be used. 
         [0018]    Apertures  12  may be disposed near a top end of body portion  11  and may receive shower curtain hooks and the like for securing the shower curtain  10  to a shower rod. In some embodiments, apertures  12  may be defined using grommets. In the illustrated embodiment, twelve apertures  12  are provided about equally spaced apart from one another. 
         [0019]    Pockets  20   a - e  may be disposed at various positions on the body portion  11 . Pockets  20   a - e  may be made of plastic (such as PEVA/EVA), vinyl, fabric, or any other suitable material. The pockets  20   a - e  may made of the same material as the body portion  11 , or different material may be used for pockets  20   a - e . The pockets  20   a - e  may be attached to the body portion using a variety of methods. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , pockets  20   a - e  may be stitched to the body portion  11 . Alternatively, or additionally, the pockets  20   a - e  may be attached to the body portion  11  by ultrasonic welding, impulse sealing, or other methods. Each pocket  20   a - e  may be attached to the body portion  11  using the same method, or different methods may be used to attach one or more of the pockets  20   a - e.    
         [0020]    The pockets  20   a - e  each may be dimensioned to receive a longitudinal member  30 . In the illustrated embodiment, longitudinal member  30  is substantially straight, so pockets  20   a - e  are also substantially straight. Alternatively, or additionally, pockets  20   a - e  may be shaped differently to accommodate differently shaped longitudinal members  30 . 
         [0021]    Pockets  20   a - e  may be about 35″-65″ long and about 0.25″-3″ wide, preferably about 45″-55″ long and about 0.5″-2.5″ wide, and more preferably about 48″-52″ and about 1″-2″ wide. In the illustrated embodiment, the pockets  20   a - e  are about 50″ long and about 2″ wide. Other lengths and sizes may also be used. In some embodiments, the pockets  20   a - e  may have a length between about 30-80% of a length of the body portion  11 . 
         [0022]    Pockets  20   a - e  may be vertically disposed relative to the bottom of the body portion  11 . For example, for a 70″ long body portion, pockets  20   a - e  may be disposed between about 0″-18″ from the bottom of body portion  11 , preferably between about 4″-14″ from the bottom of body portion  11 , and even more preferably between about 8″-12″ from body portion. In the illustrated embodiment, pockets  20   a - e  are disposed about 10″ from the bottom of body portion  11 . Alternatively, the pockets  20   a - e  may be vertically disposed based on a percentage of the length of the body portion  11 . For example, in some embodiments the pockets may be vertically disposed from the bottom of the body portion  11  by between about 0-33% of a total length of the body portion  11 . Other offset lengths and/or percentages may also be used. 
         [0023]    Pockets  20   a - e  may be horizontally aligned relative to the apertures  12 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, pockets  20   a - e  are horizontally centered between the apertures. Alternatively, or additionally, pockets  20   a - e  may be aligned directly under apertures  12  or using any other spacing. In the illustrated embodiment, pockets  20   a  and  20   e  are disposed between the two left-most and right-most apertures  12 , respectively, pocket  20   c  is disposed between the two center apertures  12 , and pockets  20   b  and  20   d  are disposed between the next two apertures left and right of the two center apertures  12 , respectively. Alternatively, pockets  20   a - e  may be disposed in other configurations. 
         [0024]    In the illustrated embodiments, pockets  20   a - e  open toward the top of body portion  11  (toward apertures  12 ) to allow for the removal of longitudinal members. Pockets  20   a - e  also may open to one or more other sides. In some embodiments, pockets  20   a - e  are closed such that longitudinal members cannot be removed. Alternatively, or additionally, pockets  20   a - e  may be closable via snaps, buttons, hook-and-loop fasteners and the like to secure a longitudinal member  30  in the pocket  20   a - e.    
         [0025]    Pockets  20   a - e  may be disposed about corresponding axes  14   a - e . In the illustrated embodiment, axes  14   a - e  are substantially vertical axes (i.e. 90° relative to a line defined by the top or bottom of the body portion  11 ). Alternatively, or additionally, axes  14   a - e  may be offset by up to about 15-20°. In some embodiments, pockets  20   a - e  are disposed along similar axes (e.g. parallel vertical axes). In other embodiments, some or all of axes  14   a - e  may be at different angles. 
         [0026]    Longitudinal members  30  may be disposed in pockets  20   a - e , providing a shape and/or weight to enable shower curtain  10  to resist movement caused by air flow generated during a shower. Longitudinal members  30  may be made of plastic (such as acrylic), metal (such as aluminum), or any other suitable material. The longitudinal members  30  may be between about 33″-63″ long, preferably about 43″-53″ long and about, and more preferably about 46″-50″. The width of longitudinal members  30  may be between about Longitudinal members  30  may weigh between about 2-10 ounces, preferably between about 3-8 oz, and even more preferably between about 4-6 ounces. In some embodiments, the length of longitudinal members  30  may be between about 30%-80% of the total length of the body portion  11 . Each longitudinal member  30  may be the same length, or one or more of longitudinal members  30  may be a different length than other longitudinal members  30 . 
         [0027]    In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , longitudinal members  30  are straight rods about 48″ inches long, about 0.4″ wide and weight about 5.5 ounces. Other lengths, weights, and shapes may also be used. For example, longitudinal members  30  may be oval, rectangular, U-shaped, or the like. In some embodiments, longitudinal members  30  may include multiple pieces disposed in a single pocket  20 . For example, each longitudinal member  30  may comprise two or more pieces that are stacked in a single pocket  20 , or multiple pockets  20  may be disposed along the same axis  14  for one or more components of a longitudinal member  30 . As another example, a longitudinal member  30  may comprise weighted pellets or the like that are provided in a given pockets  20 , which provides the overall shape. 
         [0028]    Longitudinal members  30  may be transparent or opaque. In some embodiments, longitudinal members  30  may be colored or shaped to provide a decorative element to show curtain  30 . Longitudinal members  30  may be the same color as the pockets  20   a - e  and/or body portion  11  of the shower curtain  10 , or different colors may be used for the different elements. Other variations may also be used. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary shower curtain  10  is shown. In the illustrated embodiment, shower curtain is hung on a typical shower rod using curtain hooks disposed through apertures  12 . As the shower runs and air currents are generated, the placement, shape and weight of the longitudinal members  30   a - e  provided in the pockets  20   a - e  enable the shower curtain  10  to resist movement and thereby provide a better shower experience. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , another exemplary shower curtain  110  is shown. In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the shower curtain  110  includes apertures  112  and pockets  120   a - e  housing longitudinal members  130   a - e  as described above. In addition, the shower curtain  110  shown in  FIG. 5  also includes a set of auxiliary pockets  140   a - e  for receiving weighted members  150   a - e  to further weigh down the lower portion of the shower curtain  110 . In the illustrated embodiment, auxiliary pockets  140   a - e  are disposed directly underneath pockets  120   a - e . Alternatively, or additionally, auxiliary pockets  140   a - e  may be spaced apart from pockets  120   a - e . Auxiliary pockets  140   a - e  may be shaped to accommodate weight members  150   a - e . In the illustrated embodiment, auxiliary pockets  140   a - e  are about 2″×2″. 
         [0031]    Weighted members  150   a - e  may be made of plastic (such as acrylic), metal (such as aluminum), stone, wood or any other suitable material. Weighted members  150   a - e  may be a single piece, or multiple pieces (such as weighted pellets) may be used. In some embodiments, one or more of weighted members  150   a - e  may be magnets. Weighted members  150   a - e  preferably weigh between about 1-10 ounces, more preferably between about 3-7 ounces, and in one embodiment about 5 ounces. Weighted members  150   a - e  may be shaped circular, rectangular, or any other shape. 
         [0032]    While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.