Abstract:
A shower curtain splash accessory having an elongated, auxiliary edge member for a shower curtain and hangar means for hanging the splash accessory from a curtain rod with the elongated edge member in a generally upright position below the rod and overlapping a leading edge section of the curtain, the edge member having a longitudinally extending front face and a longitudinally extending channel with a lateral opening, on the side or in the front face of the edge member, for inserting a leading edge part of the curtain into the channel, and retainer sleeves mounted in the channel for retaining an inserted edge part therein, the hangar means being shiftable along the curtain rod to shift the edge member and inserted curtain part between a withdrawn position permitting entrance into and egress from the shower and a forward position providing an effective splash barrier.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to shower curtain accessories for preventing splashing water from escaping between the shower curtain and shower wall. More specifically, the present invention relates to splash accessories of the type hung from and shiftable along a shower curtain rod and having an auxiliary edge member adapted to cooperate with a leading edge section of the shower curtain to provide a splash barrier at the shower wall. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A principal object of the present invention is to provide in a splash accessory of the type described, a new and improved auxiliary edge member adapted to be attached to the shower curtain in a new and improved manner to provide an effective splash barrier at the shower wall. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide in a splash accessory of the type described, a new and improved auxiliary edge member having an elongated channel for attaching a leading edge part of the shower curtain to the edge member so that the leading edge part hangs adjacent the shower wall when the edge member is next to the shower wall. In accordance with this object, the leading edge part of the curtain can be attached to the edge member by being tucked into the channel or securely held in the channel by separate connectors. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved splash accessory of the type described which can be easily shifted along the curtain rod to position the auxiliary edge member next to and in engagement with the shower wall to provide a splash barrier at the shower wall, or withdrawn from the shower wall to provide an opening for entrance into and egress from the shower. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved splash accessory of the type described which can be easily installed and which can be used with conventional shower curtains in bathtub and other types of shower enclosures, all without modification, and with the shower curtain on either the right-side or left-side of the shower or inside or outside of the splash accessory. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved splash accessory of the type described, having an economical and attractive design, having a rigid and durable construction primarily employing sheet and/or extruded plastic parts and which can be easily cleaned and maintained. 
     Other objects will become apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view showing a shower curtain splash accessory incorporating the present invention installed in a bathtub type shower enclosure; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial side elevation view of the installation of FIG. 1, showing the splash accessory in greater detail; 
     FIG. 3 is an elevation section view of the installation of FIG. 1, taken generally along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a section view, taken generally along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 3, showing a handle of the splash accessory; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged transverse section view of the splash accessory, taken generally along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 2, also showing a leading edge part of a shower curtain of the shower enclosure; 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 are end and perspective views of a connector sleeve of the splash accessory; 
     FIG. 8 is a side elevation view, generally like FIG. 1, showing a modified splash accessory incorporating the present invention installed in the shower enclosure; 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial side elevation view of the installation of FIG. 8, showing the modified splash accessory in greater detail; 
     FIG. 10 is an elevation section view of the installation of FIG. 8, taken generally along line  10 — 10  of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is an enlarged transverse section view of the modified splash accessory, taken generally along line  11 — 11  of FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 12 is a partial transverse section view of a modified auxiliary edge member for the splash accessories. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the drawings, like reference numerals identify like parts. 
     A shower curtain splash accessory  10  incorporating the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-7. The splash accessory  10  is shown installed in a bathtub type shower enclosure having a shower curtain  12  suspended from a horizontal curtain rod  18 . The splash accessory  10  provides an auxiliary edge member  14  for the curtain  12  and has a hangar  16  for hanging the edge member  14  from the rod  18  in a generally upright position below the rod  18  and within the shower curtain opening. The hangar  16  is manually shiftable along the curtain rod  18  to position a front face  15  of the edge member  14  next to and against (preferably flat against) or withdrawn from an opposed shower wall  19  at one end of the curtain opening. 
     The hangar  16  comprises an elongated, rigid bracket  20  formed from a flat sheet or blank of plastic. The bracket  20  has an upper collar or hook  25  for hanging the splash accessory  10  from the curtain rod. The collar  25  has an inner, semi-cylindrical seat  23  with a radius slightly greater than the radius of the curtain rod  18  to facilitate movement of the hangar  16  along the rod  18 . 
     The edge member  14  is supported, by a pair of transverse fasteners  28 , on a lower front extension  30  of the bracket  20 . The fasteners  28  are mounted in aligned openings in the bracket  20  and in a flat rear fin or splash shield  26  of the edge member  14 . One of the bracket openings is elongated to permit the edge member  14  to be inclined relative to the bracket  20 . A wedge (not shown) may be mounted between the fin  26  and extension  30  to position the lower end of the edge member  14  inward of the vertical plane of the curtain rod axis when the splash accessory  10  hangs freely from the curtain rod  18 . Instead, if desired, the hangar  16  can be swung inwardly slightly when positioning the edge member  14  against the opposed shower wall  19 . 
     The bracket  20  preferably has a length of about 15 to 18 inches and a generally constant (e.g., 4 inch) width from its upper free end to its lower front end  30 . Suitable ribs  34  are provided to give the bracket rigidity. An integral handle  36  with approximately a 45 degree backward inclination is provided at the lower rear edge of the bracket  20  to facilitate manually positioning the hangar  16  on the rod  18 . 
     The bracket  20  has a flat side to which the rear fin  26  and a support flange  38  of a lower collar  40  are secured. The collar  40  has a symmetrical, generally Y-shape with two flat, laterally upwardly and outwardly inclined pads  43  engageable with the bottom surface of the curtain rod  18 . The pads  43  help guide the hangar and help resist hangar movement along the rod  18 , most importantly when the edge member  14  is positioned with its front face  15  against or next to the opposed shower wall  19 . The included angle between the flat pads  43  (e.g., 120 degrees) is selected to provide adequate resistance to unintended hangar movement and yet permit easy manual hangar movement along the rod  18 . 
     The collar support flange  38  has three elongated fastener openings, for three fasteners  44 , for vertically and angularly positioning the collar pads  43  in accordance with the diameter of the curtain rod  18 , the (normally backward) inclination of the upright edge member  14  relative to the bracket  20  and the desired collar resistance. The weight of the splash accessory  10  biases the pads  43  upwardly, about a front pivot edge  47  of the collar seat  23 , against the curtain rod  18 . The pads thereby establish the angle at which the splash accessory  10  hangs from the curtain rod  18 . The edge member  14  and lower collar  40  are mounted so that the edge member  14  can be manually positioned with its front face  15  flat against the shower wall and frictionally held in that position by the opposed collar parts  43 ,  47 . 
     The edge member  14  preferably extends upwards from the bracket extension  30  about 6 to 12 inches and downwards from the extension  30  about 12 to 48 inches, both depending on the configuration of the shower enclosure, height of the curtain rod  18  and manner of use of the edge member  14 . A line of fastener openings are provided on the rear fin  26  to vertically position the edge member on the bracket  20  as desired. 
     A modified splash accessory  110 , shown in FIGS. 8-11, incorporating the present invention, comprises an auxiliary edge member  114  and an elongated extruded plastic hangar  116 . The hangar  116  is preferably about 3 inches wide and has an upper collar or hook  125  for hanging the splash accessory  110  from the curtain rod. A flat depending strap  130  supports the edge member  114 , serves as a counterweight for the edge member, and may serve as a splash shield. An elongated, extruded plastic handle  136  is mounted on the rear end of the strap  130 . The handle  136  is used to manually position the splash accessory  1   10  on the curtain rod  18  and also serves as a counterweight for the edge member  114 . The depending strap  130  may be relatively short, only long enough to support the edge member  114 , or may be much longer and even extend the full length of the edge member  114 . The edge member  114  has a wide rear fin or splash shield  126  secured to the strap  130  by threaded fasteners  128  mounted in slot openings in the rear fin  126  and selected threaded openings in the strap  130 . A line of threaded openings are provided in the strap  130  to vertically position the edge member  114  as desired. The slot openings permit the edge member to be inclined and laterally adjusted relative to the strap  130  for hanging the splash accessory  110  from the curtain rod with its front face  15  flat against the opposed shower wall. The weight of the splash accessory  110  biases the semi-cylindrical seat  123  of the collar  125 , along its entire length, against the curtain rod  18 . If desired, a lower collar  40  (not shown) or other similarly functioning means can be provided on the hangar  116  as on the hangar  16 . 
     One or two conventional curtain rings  68  are mounted on the curtain rod  18  in front of the hangar  16 ,  116  for the first one or two eyes of the curtain  12 . A leading edge section of the curtain  12  is therefore held in overlapping relationship with the edge member  14 ,  114  and is shifted along the curtain rod  18  by and with the hangar  16 ,  116 . 
     Two slightly different auxiliary edge members  14 ,  114  are used in the two splash accessories  10 ,  110 . Each edge member  14 ,  114  comprises a rigid plastic extrusion  50 ,  150  with a front section  75  with a relatively wide, flat or slightly convex, front surface  76  and a strip  74  of resilient material on the front surface  76  to increase the contact area and friction between the edge member  14 ,  114  and shower wall when the edge member is positioned flat against the wall. The added friction helps hold the edge member against sideways movement on the wall (e.g., when the edge member is swung inwardly slightly about the curtain rod  18 ). In an alternative design, the strip  74  is not provided and a concave groove (not shown) is provided in the front surface to conduct water downwardly. 
     Each edge member extrusion  50 ,  150  has an elongated channel  77 , with a circular cross section, immediately behind the front face  15  for receiving a leading edge part of the shower curtain. In the extrusions  50 ,  150 , the front channel  77  has a lateral opening of about 90 degrees on one side of the edge member. In a modified edge member  214 , shown in FIG. 12, the front channel  77  of the extrusion has a 90 degree lateral opening in the front face between two spaced front edges  215  forming the front face. 
     A leading edge part of the curtain is held within the channel  77  by short connectors or slides  88  having outer rings or sleeves  90  dimensioned to be loosely retained (or in the alternative, firmly retained) in the channel  77 . Each connector  88  has an internal, integral leaf spring  92  which cooperates with the outer sleeve  90  to provide a narrow opening or throat for inserting the front edge of the curtain into the sleeve  90  and to lightly clamp the inserted curtain part against withdrawal. Each curtain mounted connector  88  can be easily inserted into and removed from the channel  77  through the lateral channel opening (by compressing the sleeve  90 ) or through either end of the channel  77 . Also, with some curtains, it is expected that a leading edge part of the curtain can be tucked into the channel  77  in such a way that the curtain will remain in the channel  77  without using connectors  88 . 
     When the edge member  14 ,  114 ,  214  is positioned with its front face  15 ,  215  flat against or next to the shower wall, a leading edge part of the curtain will hang from the lower end of the channel  77  adjacent the wall. If desired, the curtain can hang free on the side (preferably outside) of the edge member, overlapping the edge member but not attached to the edge member by the connectors  88  or by tucking the curtain into the channel  77 . The edge member is then used only as a splash shield instead of as both a splash shield and device for positioning a leading edge part of the curtain next to the shower wall. When used only as a splash shield, the edge member preferably has a wide (e.g., 2 or 3 inch wide) splash fin  26 ,  126  and extends to or near the bottom of the shower curtain opening (and when used in a bathtub type shower, has a depending skid (not shown) mounted in the channel  77  for engagement with the top of the bathtub). 
     Each of the described embodiments can be used with a right-sided shower curtain (where the curtain is on the right side of a person standing in the shower enclosure facing the shower) or with a left-sided shower curtain (as shown in the drawings). Each splash accessory  10 ,  110  is shown mounted on the inside of the curtain, but, if desired, can be mounted on the outside of the curtain. To modify the splash accessory  10 ,  110  for use on the opposite side of the curtain or shower enclosure, the upright edge member  14 ,  114  is reversed end-for-end on the hangar  16 ,  116 . Such modification is not required when using the edge member  214 . 
     While preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and described above, other forms of the invention could be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.