Rotatable standoff for shower caddy bucket

A shower caddy bucket having a rotatable standoff for positioning a bottom portion of the bucket away from the wall to which the caddy is mounted. The bucket has a tapered configuration with a narrower bottom end. The standoff has an elongated configuration and is selectively rotatable between a stored position parallel to the wall and a standoff position perpendicular to the wall. In the standoff position, an end of the standoff will engage the wall to maintain the bottom end of the caddy bucket spaced away from the wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
I. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a bucket for storage of commodity items and, in 
particular, to a bucket caddy attachable to a wall or other flat surface 
and having a rotatable stand-off to ensure the bucket is maintained at a 
level position. 
II. Description of the Prior Art 
Consumers have demanded conveniences throughout the home. Such conveniences 
even extend to such aspects as the shower, bath or within cabinets where 
users desire convenient storage for easy access to items. The prior known 
storage units have included corner caddies which may have a plurality of 
shelves supported on a pole extending vertically. Bucket caddies may be 
mounted to the walls of the bathing unit to provide deeper wells for 
storing bathing items. However, the attachment of such storage devices can 
pose a problem particularly on irregular surfaces such as tiled walls. 
Suction cups require a smooth clean surface to maintain engagement. Any 
permanent securement such as threaded fasteners prevent the storage bucket 
from being conveniently removed for cleaning. And it is desirable to 
maintain such storage devices in a level orientation to properly store 
items. 
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior known caddy 
buckets by providing a rotatable standoff to maintain the bucket in a 
substantially level position when mounted to a vertical flat surface 
either by suction cups or fixed fasteners. 
The caddy of the present invention includes a bucket with means for 
securing the caddy to a wall of the bathing unit such as suction cups or 
fasteners. The bucket has a tapered configuration with a narrower bottom 
end. In order to maintain the bucket in a level position, a rotatable 
standoff is mounted to the bottom of the bucket. The standoff has an 
elongated configuration and is selectively rotatable between a stored 
position parallel to the wall and a standoff position perpendicular to the 
wall. In the standoff position, an end of the standoff will engage the 
wall to maintain the bottom end of the bucket spaced away from the wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
Referring to the drawing, there is shown a bucket caddy 10 embodying the 
present invention and adapted to be mounted to a vertical surface. The 
caddy 10 includes a bucket 12 forming a well 14 for retaining bottles, 
soaps, cleaning items, etc. in a convenient place. The bucket 12 is 
preferably secured to the wall using suction cups 16. A rotatable standoff 
18 is preferably mounted to the underside of the bucket 14 so as to 
selectively engage the wall and maintain the bottom of the bucket 14 away 
from the wall (FIG. 5) thereby mounting the bucket 14 in a substantially 
level position. Alternatively, fasteners may be secured to the vertical 
surface for "hanging" the bucket 12. 
The bucket caddy 10 is adapted to be mounted to a vertical surface such as 
in a bathing unit in order to keep bathing items in convenient proximity 
to the bather. The bucket caddy 10 is designed to retain shampoo bottles 
and soaps in a convenient placement by securing the caddy 10 as required. 
In a preferred embodiment, the caddy 10 includes suction cups 16 to mount 
the caddy 10 to a smooth vertical surface within the bathing unit. Formed 
in the rear of the bucket 12 are notches 17 for receiving fasteners (not 
shown) secured to the vertical surface 11. Accordingly, the bucket 12 may 
be removably mounted to the fasteners fixed to the wall 11. 
The bucket caddy 10 includes the bucket 12 defining the well 14 to hold 
bathing items. Preferably, the bucket 12 has at least one substantially 
horizontal wall 20 to which the suction cups 16 are attached and a bottom 
wall 22 to maintain items within the bucket 12. In one preferred 
embodiment, the bucket 12 has a substantially elongated configuration such 
that several items may be retained in the caddy 10. Additionally, the 
bucket 12 preferably has a tapered configuration with a bottom narrower 
than the top opening 24 of the bucket 12. 
Rotatably secured to the bottom wall 22 of the bucket 12 is the standoff 
18. In a preferred embodiment, the standoff 18 includes an integrally 
molded axle 26 which is rotatably received in an aperture 28 formed in the 
bottom wall 22. The standoff 18 is selectively rotatable between a stored 
position substantially parallel to the back wall 20 of the bucket 12 and 
the wall 11 to which the caddy 10 is mounted and a standoff position 
perpendicular to the bucket wall 20 and the wall 11. In the standoff 
position, the standoff 18 is configured to maintain the bottom portion of 
the bucket 12 in a predetermined distance from the wall 11 such that the 
bucket 12 is maintained in a substantially level orientation as best shown 
in FIG. 5. 
The standoff 18 is rotatable not only to a stored position to facilitate 
packaging of the caddy 10 but rotatable between two different standoff 
positions. The ends of the standoff 18 relative to the axle 26 are 
provided with different lengths. As a result, the standoff 18 may be 
rotated between a first standoff position when the bucket 12 is mounted 
using fasteners and a second standoff position when the caddy 10 is 
mounted using the suction cups 16 which position the bucket 12 farther 
from the vertical surface 11. As best shown in FIG. 3, end 30 of the 
standoff 18 is longer than end 32 relative to the axis of rotation. The 
end 30 is designed to be used when the bucket 12 is hung using the suction 
cups 16 and end 32 is designed for use in conjunction with wall-mounted 
fasteners which would hold the bucket 12 closer to the vertical surface 
11. 
The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of 
understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood 
therefrom as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the 
art without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.