Patent Publication Number: US-6662385-B1

Title: Shower door track cushion

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to cushions and more particularly to a cushion for use with a bathtub having sliding shower doors. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There are many bathtubs that are equipped with sliding shower doors that permit a bathtub to be used as a shower as well as a bathtub. The shower doors are mounted on the bathtub on shower door tracks that allow one of the shower doors to be slid open. Often it is necessary to use the bathtub to bathe an infant or an elderly person that may be ill or disabled. In this case one of the shower doors is slid open to allow a caregiver, such as a mother, to bathe an infant in the bathtub. While bathing the infant it is necessary for the caregiver to rest his/her forearms on the edge of the bathtub; however, for a bathtub equipped with sliding shower doors this can be an inconvenient and uncomfortable situation. The reason for this is that the forearms of the caregiver must rest directly on the shower door tracks. The shower doors slide along these tracks, which are mounted directly on the top edge of the bathtub. The shower door tracks generally have a vertically extending edge. This edge while not sharp is very uncomfortable to rest forearms upon, especially when bearing any weight, such as the weight of an infant. 
     To alleviate this discomfort caregivers currently place an object such as a towel along the edge of the bathtub. This provides some relief but it is difficult to keep the towel in position while at the same time bathing an infant or elderly ill or disabled adult. Further, inevitably the towels soak up water from the bathing, which creates more laundry, and thus more work for the caregiver. 
     Another problem with shower door tracks is that they present a safety issue. There is a chance that a person&#39;s toe or toes can get caught in between the tracks when entering or exiting the bathtub. This happens on rare occasions and can cause a person to trip and possibly break bones, which is especially perilous for elderly persons. Also a person can lose a toenail in such an accident. 
     What is needed is a waterproof or water-resistant cushion that will stay in place and provide comfort and safety even if there are shower door tracks along the edge of a bathtub. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects and many of the attendant features of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed descriptions and considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols designate like parts throughout the figures. 
     FIG. 1A is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  1 A— 1 A of FIG. 3C in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 1B is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track upon which the shower door track cushion of FIG. 1A can be retained in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2A is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  2 A— 2 A of FIG. 3C in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2B is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track upon which the shower door track cushion of FIG. 2A can be retained in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3A is a top view of a shower door track cushion showing an extending rectangular section retained between a first and a second shower door vertical support in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 3A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3C is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 3A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 shows a shower door system mounted on a bathtub, a shower door track, shower door vertical supports, and a shower door track cushion retained by the shower door track and shower door vertical supports in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5A is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  5 A— 5 A of FIG. 7C in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5B is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  5 B— 5 B of FIG. 7C in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 6A shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 5A retained upon a shower door track in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 6B shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 5B retained upon a shower door track in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7A is a top view of a shower door track cushion showing an extending rectangular section retained between a first and a second shower door vertical support in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 7A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7C is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 7A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  8 — 8  of FIG. 10B in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 8 retained upon a shower door track in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 10A is a bottom view of a shower door track cushion in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 10B is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 10A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 11 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  11 — 11  of FIG. 13B in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 12 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 11 retained upon a shower door track in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 13A is a bottom view of a shower door track cushion in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 13B is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 13A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 14 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  14 — 14  of FIG. 16B in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 15 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 14 retained upon a shower door track in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 16A is a bottom view of a shower door track cushion in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 16B is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 16A in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 17 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion along line  17 — 17  of FIG. 19B in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 18 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 17 retained upon a shower door track in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 19A is a bottom view of a shower door track cushion in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 19B is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 19A in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings and more particularly, to FIG. 1, there is shown an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion  10 , which is a section along line  1 A— 1 A of FIG.  3 C. The shower door track cushion can have a rounded top to increase the comfort factor for forearms rested on the cushion while bathing an infant or ill and/or disabled elderly person. The shower door track cushion can be made of a number of materials including polyethylene foam. Polyethylene foam, which is also the material used for water toys and floats, such as noodles, has the advantage of being waterproof. A slit  18  is cut into the foam in the position on shower door track cushion  10  that aligns with the shower door track  20  shown in FIG.  1 B. The shower door track  20  is mounted on rail  22 , which is along the top edge  32  of a bathtub  30 , as shown in FIG.  4 . The purpose of the shower door track  20  is to guide a shower door, such as shower door  34  of FIG. 4, so that the shower door can be slid open and closed. As shown in FIG. 1B, the shower door track  20  has a relatively narrow edge, which would be uncomfortable to rest a fourarm upon. By placing the slit  18  in the shower door track cushion over the shower door track  20 , the shower door track cushion is held on the shower door track  22  and provides a comfortable resting place for the forearm of a person outside the bathtub who is giving a bath to an infant or ill person sitting inside the bathtub. FIG. 1A shows that the bottom  16  of the shower door track cushion can be relatively flat or whatever contour best fits the top edge of the bathtub. 
     An extending rectangular section  24  is integral to the material at one end of the length of the shower door track cushion as shown in FIG. 2A, which is an elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  10  along line  2 A— 2 A of FIG.  3 C. The purpose of this extending rectangular section  24 , as also shown in FIGS. 3A through 3C, is to fit between the first and second shower door vertical supports  26  and  28  in order to further retain the shower door track cushion on the top edge  32  of the bathtub  30 . The vertical supports  26  and  28  are shown in FIG.  4 . FIG. 3A is a top view of shower door track cushion  10  showing the extending rectangular section  24  retained between the first and second shower door vertical supports  26  and  28 . FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the shower door track cushion  10  showing the slit  18  and FIG. 3C is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG.  3 A. 
     There are different configurations of shower door tracks. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1A there is one vertical shower door track  20 . FIG. 5A is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion  40  along line  5 A— 5 A of FIG. 7C, which is designed for a shower door track configuration with three tracks  50 ,  52 , and  54 . FIG. 6A shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  40  of FIG. 5A retained upon the shower door tracks  50 ,  52 , and  54 . FIG. 5B is an elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  40  along line  5 B— 5 B of FIG.  7 C and FIG. 6B shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion of FIG. 5B retained upon shower door tracks  50 ,  52  and  54 . The shower door track cushion  40  can have a rounded top  41  and has a downward protruding rectangular section  42  that is adapted to fit between tracks  50  and  54 . The slit  44  which is approximately in the middle of the downward protruding rectangular section  42  is designed to fit over track  52  in order to further retain the shower door track cushion  40  on the top edge  32  of the bathtub  30 . The shower door track cushion  40  can be made of polyethylene foam or other materials. 
     An extending rectangular section  48  is integral to the material at one end of the length of the shower door track cushion  40  as shown in FIG. 5A, and FIGS. 7A,  7 B, and  7 C. The extending rectangular section  48  fits between the first and second shower door vertical supports  26  and  28  and further retains the shower door track cushion on the top edge  32  of the bathtub  30 . FIG. 7A is a top view of the shower door track cushion  40  and shows the extending rectangular section  24  retained between the first and second shower door vertical supports  26  and  28 . FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the shower door track cushion  40  showing the slit  44 . FIGS. 7B and 7C show the downward protruding rectangular section  42 . The rounded section  41  of shower door track cushion  40  is ended at  47  in order not to interfere with the mating of the extending rectangular section  48  with the vertical supports  26  and  28 . 
     Another design that is readily adaptable to a shower door track configuration with three tracks  66 ,  67 , and  68  is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion  60  along line  8 — 8  of FIG.  10 B. FIG. 9 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  60  of FIG. 8 retained upon the shower door tracks  66 ,  67 , and  68 . As shown in FIG. 8, the shower door track cushion  60  has three slits  62 ,  63 , and  64 , which fit over the tracks  66 ,  67 , and  68 , as shown in FIG. 10A is a bottom view of a shower door track cushion  60  showing the three slits and FIG. 10B is a side view of the shower door track cushion of FIG.  10 A. The shower door track cushion  60  can be made of polyethylene foam or other materials. 
     For a shower door track configuration with two tracks, such as tracks  84  and  86  shown in FIG. 12, the shower door track cushion  80  as shown in FIG. 11 can be used. FIG. 11 is an elevational sectional view of shower door track cushion  80  along line  11 — 11  of FIG.  13 B. FIG. 12 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  80  retained between the shower door tracks  84  and  86 . FIG. 13A is a bottom view of a shower door track cushion and FIG. 13B is a side view of the shower door track cushion  80 , which has a rounded top  81  and a downward extending rectangular section  82 . The rounded top  81  can be of various shapes and the downward extending rectangular section  82  can also be of various shapes. The shower door track cushion  80  can be made of polyethylene foam or other materials. 
     Another design that is readily adaptable to a shower door track configuration with two tracks  95  and  96 , is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG. 14 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion  90  along line  14 — 14  of FIG.  16 B. FIG. 15 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  90  of FIG. 14 retained upon the shower door tracks  95  and  96 . As shown in FIG. 14, the shower door track cushion  90  has two slits  92  and  93 , which fit over the tracks  95  and  96 , as shown in FIG.  15 . FIG. 16A is a bottom view of the shower door track cushion  90  showing the two slits and FIG. 16B is a side view of the shower door track cushion  90 . The shower door track cushion  90  can be made of polyethylene foam or other materials. 
     Another cushion design that is readily adaptable to a shower door track configuration with multiple tracks, is shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. FIG. 17 is an elevational sectional view of a shower door track cushion  100  along line  17 — 17  of FIG.  19 B. FIG. 18 shows the elevational sectional view of the shower door track cushion  100  of FIG. 17 retained upon the shower door tracks  105  and  106 . As shown in FIG. 17, the shower door track cushion  100  has a slot defined by sides  102  and side  103  that fits over the tracks  105  and  106 , as shown in FIG.  18 . The cushion  100  is readily adaptable to shower door track configurations with two or three tracks. In the case of three tracks the slot in the cushion is adapted to fit over the two outside tracks. FIG. 17 shows that the bottom  104  of the shower door track cushion can be relatively flat or whatever contour best fits the top edge of the bathtub. FIG. 19A is a bottom view of the shower door track cushion  100  showing the slot defined by sides  102  and  103  and FIG. 19B is a side view of the shower door track cushion  100 . The shower door track cushion  100  can be made of polyethylene foam or other materials. 
     The shower door track cushion has an additional benefit of providing a safety feature. The cushion can be mounted on the shower door tracks on the edge of the bathtub while assisting an elderly infirm adult into or out of the bathtub. The cushion will decrease the chance that a person&#39;s toe or toes get caught in between the tracks. This happens on rare occasions and can cause a person to trip and possibly break bones, which is especially perilous for elderly persons. Also a person can lose a toenail in such an accident. 
     Thus, the shower door track cushion provides a waterproof cushion that will stay in place and provide comfort and safety even if there are shower door tracks along the edge of a bathtub. 
     The described embodiments of the invention are only considered to be preferred and illustrative of the inventive concept, the scope of the invention is not to be restricted to such embodiments. Various and numerous other arrangements may be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. 
     It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such applications, modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention.