Patent Publication Number: US-11384516-B1

Title: Shower water saver

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to shower stalls, and more particularly to a water saving device for shower stalls. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Untold billions of gallons of water are wasted down shower drains each year while people wait for their shower water to heat-up to a desired temperature. Recirculating hot water systems can be installed to reduce the wait time, but such systems are costly to install and often require running additional pipe through walls back to the water heater. 
     Furthermore, even with recirculating hot water systems, there is some inefficiency in running hot water through the pipes in a residence, commercial building, or industrial building, and then back to the water heater, cooling the water along the way, 24 hours a day. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a device that can capture the cold water that first exists the shower head in a shower and saves it for other use, such as watering plants or trees. Such a needed device would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and could be added during construction or after construction without nearly the complexity of installing a hot water recirculating system. Such a needed invention would further provide additional shower storage for shampoo bottles, and the like, and could be mounted to a shower wall or within a shower wall as desired. The present invention accomplishes these objectives. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present device is a water saving apparatus for use in a shower stall that has shower walls and a handheld shower head. A basin has a rear wall, two side walls, a front wall, a bottom wall, and a top wall. All of the walls defines an internal volume. The front wall is open at a top portion of the basin and sized to accept the handheld shower head therethrough. 
     A drain pipe is fixed through the basin proximate the bottom wall and directed to a collection point that is lower than the basin. The drain pipe may be made from a combination of pipe segments and pipe fittings. 
     In use, with the basin mounted with the shower stall, the handheld shower head can be placed into the internal volume to collect water exiting the handheld shower head and direct the water by gravity to the collection point, such as a catch bucket, a garden, or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the basin is mounted to one of the shower walls, or preferably as in new construction or a shower remodel project, within one of the shower walls. In the preferred embodiments a depth of the basin is not more than a depth of the shower wall in which the basin is mounted, such that the basin can be mounted flush with shower tiles of the shower wall. 
     In some embodiments, the water saving apparatus further includes a side compartment fixed with one of the side walls of the basin. The side compartment has an open front side facing the shower stall and is adapted to receive items, such as shampoo bottles and the like. 
     Preferably the bottom wall is sloped towards the drain pipe such that water on the bottom wall is directed by gravity to the drain pipe. Similarly, in embodiments having the side compartment, a bottom wall of the side compartment is sloped towards the open side, such that water on the bottom wall of the side compartment is directed by gravity towards the shower stall. 
     The present invention is a device that captures the cold water that first exists the shower head in a shower and saves it for other use, such as watering plants or trees. The present device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and can be installed during new construction or as a remodel project without nearly the complexity of installing a hot water recirculating system. The present invention provides additional shower storage for shampoo bottles, and the like, and can be mounted to a shower wall or within a shower wall as desired. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the invention as mounted in a shower stall wall; 
         FIG. 2  is an alternate front perspective view of the invention, showing a removable shower head as held in a basin of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the invention, illustrated with a rear wall of the shower stall open for clarity of illustration; 
         FIG. 4  is an alternate rear perspective view of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of a basin and a side compartment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the basin is mounted to a shower wall, not within the shower wall. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. The following explanation provides specific details for a thorough understanding of and enabling description for these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments. 
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list. When the word “each” is used to refer to an element that was previously introduced as being at least one in number, the word “each” does not necessarily imply a plurality of the elements, but can also mean a singular element. 
       FIGS. 1-3  illustrate a water saving apparatus  10  for use in a shower stall  15  that has shower walls and a handheld shower head  20 . 
     A basin  30  has a rear wall  37 , two side walls  35 , a front wall  33 , a bottom wall  32 , and a top wall  38 . All of the walls  37 ,  35 ,  33 ,  32 ,  38  defines an internal volume  40 . The front wall  33  is open at a top portion  50  of the basin  30  and sized to accept the handheld shower head  20  therethrough. 
     A drain pipe  60  is fixed through the basin  30  proximate the bottom wall  32  and directed to a collection point  70  that is lower than the basin  30 . The drain pipe  60  may be made from a combination of pipe segments  61  and pipe fittings  62  ( FIG. 3 ), such as standard PVC type pipe segments  61  and PVC type pipe fittings  62 . In some installations where the shower stall  15  includes an outside wall, the drain pipe  60  is directed through the wall outside to the collection point  70  ( FIG. 3 ). In embodiments wherein the shower stall  15  does not include an outside wall, the drain pipe  60  may need to be directed through studs until the drain pipe  60  reaches an outside wall. 
     In use, with the basin  30  mounted with the shower stall  15 , the handheld shower head  20  can be placed into the internal volume  40  to collect water exiting the handheld shower head  20  and direct the water by gravity to the collection point  70 , such as a catch bucket, a garden (not shown), or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the basin  30  is mounted to one of the shower walls  16  ( FIG. 6 ), or preferably as in new construction or a shower remodel project, within one of the shower walls  16  ( FIGS. 1-5 ). In the preferred embodiments a depth D 1  of the basin  30  is not more than a depth D 2  of the shower wall  16  in which the basin  30  is mounted, such that the front wall  33  of the basin  30  can be mounted flush with shower tiles of the shower wall  16 , the basin  30  being mounted substantially within the shower wall  16 . 
     In some embodiments, the water saving apparatus  10  further includes a side compartment  80  ( FIG. 5 ) fixed with one of the side walls  35  of the basin  30 . The side compartment  80  has an open front side  83  facing the shower stall  15  and is adapted to receive items  17 , such as shampoo bottles and the like. The basin  30  and side compartment  80  are preferably made with stainless steel in some embodiments, or alternately may be integrally formed from an injection molded plastic material, or alternately made with ceramic, porcelain, or formed with ceramic or other tiles. 
     Optionally one or more hooks  90  ( FIG. 5 ) can be fixed within the side compartment  80  and on the front wall  33  of the basin  30  for hanging hangable items  18 , such as razors, soap-on-a-rope soap products, or the like. In some embodiments the basin  30  and the side compartment  80  are made from a magnetically-attractive metal such as stainless steel, wherein the hooks  90  may be selectively magnetically attached to either the front wall  33  of the basin  30  or the side compartment  80 , in which case the hooks  90  include a magnet (not shown). 
     Preferably the bottom wall  32  is sloped towards the drain pipe  60  such that water on the bottom wall  32  is directed by gravity to the drain pipe  60 . Similarly, in embodiments having the side compartment  80 , a bottom wall  82  of the side compartment  80  is sloped towards the open side  83 , such that water on the bottom wall  82  of the side compartment  80  is directed by gravity towards the shower stall  15 . 
     While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims. 
     Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention. 
     The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. 
     All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention. 
     Changes can be made to the invention in light of the above “Detailed Description.” While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Therefore, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. 
     While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.