Patent Publication Number: US-10779691-B2

Title: Shower accessory

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/509,282 filed on May 22, 2017. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to shower accessories. More specifically, the present invention provides a member having an irregular surface comprising a plurality of oblong protrusions vary in size and disposed in a random pattern across a portion of the member along with a concave portion disposed on a lower surface of the member. 
     While taking a shower or bath, many individuals use a washcloth or loofah in combination with a bar of soap or shower gel to clean themselves. However, it can be difficult to generate enough soap suds with a washcloth without continually reapplying the soap or shower gel, thereby frustrating the individual. Further, soap generates a soap scum on its surface that can dry out the skin. Additionally, loofahs generate an exorbitant number of bacteria if not replaced often, and many individuals either forget to do so or cannot afford to replace them that often. Thus, an improved shower accessory is desired to allow a person to more easily clean themselves in a fast and efficient manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of shower accessories now present in the known art, the present invention provides a shower accessory wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when desiring to quickly and efficiently clean themselves in the shower. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved shower accessory that has all of the advantages of the known art and none of the disadvantages. The present system comprises a member having a first end, a second end, an upper side, and a lower side, wherein a portion of the member comprises an irregular surface further comprising a plurality of oblong protrusions that vary in size and disposed in a random pattern across the irregular surface of the member. A concave portion is disposed on the lower surface of the member. 
     In one embodiment, the irregular surface covers the entire surface of the shower accessory, including the concave portion. In another embodiment, the member is cylindrically shaped, such that the first end and second end are both rounded. In a further embodiment, the concave portion is elongated such that it extends across the lower surface of the member. In one embodiment, the concave portion extends at least 25% the depth of the member. In another embodiment, the concave portion comprises a first concave portion and a second concave portion, each having a distinct depth, wherein the pair of concave portions are disposed such that they mirror one another. In a further embodiment, the pair of concave portions each have the same depth. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout. 
         FIG. 1  shows a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the shower accessory. 
         FIG. 2  shows a top perspective view of an embodiment of the shower accessory. 
         FIG. 3  shows close up view of an embodiment of the irregular surface. 
         FIG. 4  shows another bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the shower accessory. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the shower accessory. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , there is shown a bottom perspective view and a top perspective view of the shower accessory, respectively. A shower accessory  11  comprises a member having a first end, a second end, an upper side  12  and a lower side  14 . In the illustrated embodiment, the member is cylindrically shaped such that the first end and the second end are rounded. In other embodiments the member is spherically shaped. The member is solid, and configured to be gripped, such that it is sized appropriately for a user&#39;s hand. In the illustrated embodiment, the member is composed of plastic, however in other embodiments it is composed of any hard, durable material. A portion of the member comprises an irregular surface  13 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, a portion the lower side  14  is tapered such that a concave portion  15  is produced thereby. The concave portion  15  is configured to quickly increase the volume of lather produced when the shower accessory  11  is in use by both increasing the total surface area of the member, and the cavity specifically forcing the soap molecules into increased contact with one another, thereby increasing the total amount of soap molecules and lather produced. In the shown embodiment, the lower side  14  begins tapering at a perimeter of the lower side  14 . In one embodiment, the concave portion  15  is elongated, such that it extends completely across a longitudinal axis of the member, such that the concave portion  15  extends the full length of the member. In the shown embodiment, the longitudinal axis of the shower accessory  11  has a greater length than a lateral axis of the shower accessory  11 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the concave portion  15  is V-shaped such that it comes to an inverted point. However, in other embodiments, the concave portion  15  tapers gradually such that the inverted point is less severely inclined, and the concave portion  15  forms a U-shaped indent in the lower surface  14 . In one embodiment, the tapering begins from opposing sides of the lower side  14 , such that the indent of the concave portion  15  extends to the same depth throughout the entire length of the concave portion  15 , thereby forming a channel extending the length of the member. However, in other embodiments, the concave portion  15  is formed such that the taper extends equally from the full perimeter of the lower side  14 . In this way, the indent of the concave portion  15  forms an apex at only the center of the lower side  14 , thereby forming a well. However, in each embodiment, lather collects at the apex of the concave portion  15 . In this way, a user can easily produce enough lather to wash their body, as the concave portion  15  pushes the soap suds into contact with one another and further promotes the foam production. In the illustrated embodiment, the concave portion  15  extends at least 25% the depth of the shower accessory  11  when measured from the apex of the concave portion  15 . However, in other embodiments, the concave portion  15  extends less than 25% of the depth of the shower accessory  11  when measured from the apex of the concave portion  15 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a close up view of an embodiment of the shower accessory. The irregular surface  13  comprises a plurality of oblong protrusions  19  that vary in size, such that in one embodiment the smallest of the oblong protrusions  19  is at least 10% smaller than the size of the largest of the oblong protrusions  19 . Additionally, the oblong protrusions  19  are disposed in a random pattern across the surface of the shower accessory  11 . Although the oblong protrusions  19  are configured to be disposed randomly within the irregular surface  13 , each oblong protrusion  19  contacts another oblong protrusion  19 . In this way, each oblong protrusion  19  is disposed flush against another oblong protrusion  19 , such that each sidewall  18  is in contact with another sidewall  18 . Additionally, each oblong protrusion  19  is disposed such that an upper portion is exposed thereby allowing the plurality of oblong protrusions  19  to interact with the soap. In the shown embodiment, the oblong protrusions  19  vary in shape as well as size, such that spherical protrusions are also formed. However, in another embodiment, each oblong protrusion  19  is tapered at a portion of the sidewall  18  such that a teardrop shape is formed. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the irregular surface  13  comprises the entire surface of the shower accessory  11 , however in other embodiments the irregular surface  13  comprises only a portion of the shower accessory  11 , such as only the upper side  12  of the member or only the lower side  14  of the member. The shower accessory  11  is configured to regularly come into contact with soap and other wash products, and the oblong protrusions  19  disposed randomly across the surface of the member promote the production of soap lather by increasing the total surface area. In this way, the irregular surface  13  is configured to increase the total amount of lather produced when soap and washcloth are applied to the shower accessory  11 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown another bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the shower accessory. In one embodiment, the concave portion of the member comprises a first concave portion  16  and a second concave portion  17 . In the illustrated embodiment, the pair of concave portions are disposed along the lower side of the member such that the first concave portion  16  mirrors the second concave portion  17  across a lateral axis of the member, wherein the lateral axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis as defined previously. In one embodiment, the first concave portion  16  and second concave portion  17  each comprise the same depth. 
     Alternatively, in the shown embodiment, the first concave portion  16  comprises a depth different from the depth of the second concave portion  17 . In the illustrated embodiment, the first concave portion  16  tapers from the first end of the member and the second concave portion  17  tapers from the second end of the member, such that the pair of concave portions  16 ,  17  do not fully extend across the length of the lower side, and a middle portion of the lower side is not indented. However, in an alternate embodiment, the first concave portion  16  and second concave portion  17  each radiate from a point on the lower side such that the first concave portion  16  is cotangent with the second concave portion  17 . In another embodiment, the first concave portion  16  overlaps the second concave portion  17 . 
     Similar to the embodiment wherein the concave portion comprises only a single concave portion disposed throughout the lower side of the member, the first concave portion  16  and second concave portion  17  can taper such that each form a V-shape therein, or each form a U-shape therein, wherein the V-shape and U-shape indentations are as described above. In other embodiments, the concave portions  16 ,  17  can alternate such that one forms a specific indentation while the other forms the opposing indentation. In this way, the shape of the indentation within each concave portion  16 ,  17  varies depending on the preference of the user. 
     In operation, an individual will grasp the shower accessory in one hand and grasp a shower cleaning product, such as a bar of soap, in the opposing hand. The user can then take the bar of soap and apply it to the concave portion of the shower accessory, such that a lather or foam is formed within the concave portion. The irregular surface of the shower accessory propagates the foam within the concave portion and across the surface of the shower accessory, quickly producing a thick lather an individual can transfer to a washcloth, and thereby use to efficiently clean themselves. 
     It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.