Abstract:
A nub cover for covering the suctions cup nubs extending through the wall of a container, the nub cover having a holder for holding a connecting member or one or more nubs to hold the nub cover in place. Also disclosed is a container, at least one suction cup and a nub cover for covering the nub(s) and protecting them from dirt.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to the covering of protruded surfaces, and in particular to the covering of suction cup nubs on containers and the like.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Many household articles are on the market today in the form of containers, kitchen and bathroom utensils, holders and racks of different sorts and the like which use one or more suction cups to hold these articles in place on smooth surfaces such as bathroom tiles, mirrors, metal doors and walls, kitchen tiles and plastic support surfaces. These devices generally have a hole on the rear wall of the article through which the suction cup head extends, to hold the conical cup portion behind the article and the head, with its nub extending through the article to hold the suction cup in place. The nub is generally flexible, and larger than the hole, so that it cannot be easily pulled out. The nub is often times transparent with a cloudy or milky color, and occasionally has an opaque color. These nubs are generally functional in use, and tend to be somewhat unsightly. Moreover, the surface between the article and the underside of the nub is a place where dirt and the like may gather which should be reduced or prevented. In some articles, the back wall of the article is bent over itself so that the very rear part of the back wall is not visible when the article is hung on a support surface. In this rear portion of the back wall, one or more holes can be provided for holding suction cups. However, the provision of the double back wall adds costs to the material used to make the product as well as increasing the die used in the production of the article (if it is plastic, which most of these articles are). In addition, the double wall causes the article itself to stick out further from the support surface than would occur if a single wall were used.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An object of the present invention is to provide a cover for suction cup nubs in household articles.  
           [0006]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a cover for suction cup nubs which is attractive in use.  
           [0007]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cover for suction cup nubs, which renders the nubs substantially free from dirt and grime.  
           [0008]    Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a cover for suction cup nubs which is inexpensive to produce, and easy to install.  
           [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a suction cup nub holder, which can cover a number of suction cup nubs in a single article.  
           [0010]    Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description in this application.  
           [0011]    The foregoing objects are accomplished by means of a plastic nub holder which is configured to cover the suction cup nubs on the article, and has clip-on devices for engaging the nubs to hold the suction cup nub cover in place. The cover itself should be cosmetically pleasing, and can be a plastic cover having an oval configuration and an attractive surface, such as a metallic surface or a surface with some appropriate design. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a rear view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a cut away view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, taken along the lines  5 - 5  in FIG. 2.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a top cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, taken along the lines  6 - 6  in FIG. 5.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a cut away view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, taken along the lines  7 - 7  in FIG. 6.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a pictorial view of the second embodiment of the invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 10 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 11 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 12 is a cut away view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, taken in the direction  12 - 12  in FIG. 11. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]    FIGS.  1 - 7  show an embodiment of the invention involving a suction cup nub cover for a single nub. The drawings show a basket and suction cup assembly  1  having a tall plastic basket  3  with a front wall  5 , a rear wall  7 , and side walls  9  and  11 . Basket  3  has a bottom  13 , which is integral with the sides, and an open top. Rear wall  7  extends higher than front wall  5  from bottom  13 . Walls  5 ,  7 ,  9  and  11  flare out somewhat from bottom  13 , and they terminate in an upper edge or rim  15  which defines a generally oval opening in basket  3 . A hole  17  is provided near the upper portion of rear wall  7 .  
         [0025]    A suction cup  19  is provided for hanging basket  3  on a support surface, such as smooth tiles, a mirror, smooth metal or plastic surfaces or other smooth surfaces. Suction cup  19  includes a conical flange portion  21  which can be pressed against the surface for holding the suction cup to the surface. Suction cup  19  further has a head  23  dimensions to extend through hole  17 , and on head  23  is a nub  25 . Nub  25 , like the rest of suction cup  19 , is somewhat compressible, and has a diameter larger than the diameter of hole  17 . Therefore, in order to install suction cup  19  on basket  3 , one pushes suction cup nub  25  against hole  17  to compress nub  25  and force it through the hole. Once through the hole, nub  25  expands to retain suction cup  19  on basket  3 .  
         [0026]    Nub  25  is somewhat unsightly and further could accumulate dirt beneath the surface of basket  3  and nub  25 . In order to render assembly  1  more sightly and to prevent dirt from accumulating beneath nub  25 , a nub cover  27  according to the invention is provided.  
         [0027]    Nub cover  27  has a generally smooth attractive outer face  29  which is convex in configuration, thus extending outwardly from rear wall  7  when nub cover  27  is installed on basket  3 . Nub cover  27  has a rear face  31  having rearwardly extending cylinders  33 ,  35  which are somewhat outwardly flared (so they are not really cylinders) for gripping a connecting member extending through a pair of holes  37 ,  39 .  
         [0028]    Alternatively, a similar structure could be provided on rear face  31  of nub cover  27  for engaging nub  25  to hold nub cover  27  in place.  
         [0029]    Nub cover  27  has an edge  41  which tightly engages rear side  7  to prevent dirt from going behind nub cover  27 .  
         [0030]    Nub cover  27  is easy to install, simply requiring the insertion of attachment member through holes  37 ,  39  for engagement with cylinders  33 ,  35 . Nub cover  27  is very attractive in appearance, and hides nub  25 .  
         [0031]    Turning next to FIGS.  8 - 12 , another embodiment of the invention is shown. This embodiment shows that the nub cover according to the invention can cover two suction cup nubs, and could cover any additional number of suction cup nubs as well. These figures show a suction cup basket assembly  101  having a basket  103  which is larger than basket  3  of FIGS.  1 - 7 . Basket  103  has a front wall  105 , a rear wall  107 , and side walls  109  and  111 . Basket  103  has a bottom  113  which is integral with the sides. The sides project upwardly from bottom  113  and flare outwardly to a rim  115 . Sides  105 ,  107 ,  109  and  111  flare somewhat outwardly as they project upwardly from bottom  113 , and rear side  107  extends up further from bottom  113  than does front side  105 . Basket  103  has a pair of holes  117 ,  118  for receiving part of one of a pair of suction cups  119 ,  120 .  
         [0032]    Suction cups  119 ,  120  have conical flange portions  121 ,  122  which, when compressed against a smooth surface made of glass, tile, smooth plastic or smooth metal, hold the suction cup to that surface. Suction cups  119 ,  120  also have head portions  123 ,  124 , which have on their free end portions enlarged, compressible nubs  125 ,  126 . In order to assemble suction cups  119 ,  120  to basket  103 , one presses the nubs against the respective holes in basket  103  to compress the nubs and force them through the holes. The nubs then expand, and prevent the suction cups from being displaced from the holes. Another set of holes  137 ,  139  are provided on rear wall  107 , shown in the drawings as being inside of the holes  117 ,  118 .  
         [0033]    Assembly  101  further includes a suction cup nub cover  127  which is preferably made from a suitable plastic, and has cylindrical walls  133 ,  135 , similar to walls  33  and  35  in assembly  1 , which extend rearwardly from the rear wall of cover  127 . Cylinders  133 ,  135  engagement attachment members which extend through holes  137 ,  139 , to hold nub cover  127  in place. As in the previous embodiment, nub cover  127  has an attractive front surface, such as a polished metal surface or other attractive colors, and sits close to rear wall  107  to prevent dirt from collecting behind cover  127 .  
         [0034]    The suction cup nub covers according to the invention accomplish the objectives set forth above. They cover the unattractive nubs of suction cups, and present a clean, attractive appearance and prevent the collection of dirt between the nub and the wall against which the nub sits. Nub covers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to assemble.  
         [0035]    The invention has been described in detail with particular emphasis on the preferred embodiments thereof, but variations and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will appear to those skilled in the art from this application.