Patent Publication Number: US-8122531-B2

Title: Shower curtain assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for holding a shower curtain in such a particular way that the shower enclosure can be enlarged significantly, the shower curtain can be prevented from moving inward, water can be prevented from spilling onto the floor, and a consumer can even sit on a bathtub upper periphery near the curtain. 
     2. Background of the Prior Art 
     Shower curtains are utilized when shower is in use for a large number of shower facilities to prevent water from spraying out into a bathroom even if glass shower doors are also used. However, for the shower curtains, there is something inconvenient to a consumer. Generally, the space of a shower closure is narrow, especially for two people due to its inherent structure. The shower curtain is often drawn into the shower enclosure when the shower is in use because of a partial vacuum created by a water spray within the shower enclosure, which makes the space further smaller and causes an even inconvenient situation to the user. For a shower facility with a traditional shower curtain, the water may spill onto the floor through the gaps between vertical edges of the shower curtain and sidewalls when one is taking shower, and the user cannot sit on a top periphery of a bathtub when one wants to. In order to solve all the problems, a new shower curtain assembly needs to be investigated. As a result, that is invented as described below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of the present invention is to make a user-friendly shower curtain system for a bathtub with a shower, a shower stall and the like, that provides much wide shower space for consumers than traditional one, prevents the curtain from moving inward, eliminate water spilling onto the floor, and even allows the user to sit on a top periphery of a bathtub near the curtain when the shower is in use. 
     The shower curtain assembly of the present invention is shown in design drawings. It is comprised of a substantially bow-shaped shower curtain support rod, a curtain that is suspended from the curved rod, hooks that connect the curtain to the support rod, and means that secures the main portion of the curtain is positioned away from a shower enclosure, prevent the curtain from moving inward when the shower is in use, and make vertical walls of the curtain close to opposite sidewalls of the shower enclosure. The means includes:
         1. Main weights that are attached to a lower portion of an originally flat curtain to make sure that the curtain is curved following the same shape as the curtain support rod;   2. Two curved metal wires that are attached to a lower portion of an originally curved curtain, and holders fixed to sidewalls of the shower enclosure. The wires can snap to the holder to form a fixed shape of the shower curtain (called wire-holder structure in this invention);   3. A variation of the second means, two curved wires with magnets attached on their lower ends that are used to replace the wire-holder structure described in the second means (called wire-magnet structure in this invention).       

     For the first means, the small weight with much less mass than the main weights may be added to prevent the bottom edge of the shower curtain from moving outward during the process of opening the curtain. 
     For the shower curtain assembly with the weight attached, a user can close and open the curtain as a traditional one. When the curtain is closed, the weight will force the curtain to follow the shape of a rod from which the curtain is suspended. As a result, the curtain will be kept away from the shower enclosure due to the shape of the support rod that bows outward from the shower enclosure along the length of the rod, and the vertical edges of the curtain are made close to the sidewalls of the shower enclosure because both end hooks on the support rod are close to the sidewalls, which prevent shower water from splashing onto the bathroom floor. The main weight and curved shape of the curtain will prevent the curtain from moving inward when the shower is in use. A user can even sit on the top periphery of a bathtub. 
     Another way is to use two curved wires attached to lower portion of a shorter curtain than the above-mentioned curtain, and two holders fixed to the bottom edges of the sidewalls. When the curtain is closed, the lower portions of the wires are snapped onto the holders to ensure the curtain shape is fixed. All the aforementioned advantages are still kept. 
     A variation of the wire-holder structure is to use a magnet to replace the holder. The magnet are attached to the lower end of curved wire whose upper portion has the same shape as the wire-holder structure, and can be easily placed on and removed from the top periphery of the bathtub or a steel plate attached to shower stall base. The wire-magnet structure has the same function as the wire-holder one and is more flexible. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shower curtain assembly with weights. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the shower curtain assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the shower curtain assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a shower curtain with weights. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an end fixture of a support rod of the shower curtain assembly. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a shower curtain assembly with wire-holder structure. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a shower curtain for the shower curtain assembly with wire-holder structure. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the wire-holder structure. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a wire-magnet structure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A shower enclosure  80  is a box-like configuration and has an upper periphery, a showerhead, a base at lower periphery, an open area, and sidewalls. The shower enclosure includes a bathtub equipped with a shower, a shower stall and the like. 
     The shower curtain assembly  10  of the present invention is comprised of a substantially bow-shaped shower curtain support rod  30 , a curtain  20 / 70  that is suspended from the curved rod  30 , hooks  60  that connect the curtain  20 / 70  to the support rod  30 , and means that secures the main portion of the curtain  20 / 70  is positioned away from a shower enclosure  80 , prevent the curtain  20 / 70  from moving inward when the shower is in use, and make vertical edges  28  of the curtain  20 / 70  close to opposite sidewalls  81  of the shower enclosure  80 . The means includes:
         1. Main weights  26  that are attached to a lower portion of an originally flat curtain  20  to make sure that the curtain  20  is curved following the same shape as the curtain support rod  30 ;   2. Two curved metal wires  40  that are attached to a lower portion of an originally curved curtain  70 , and holders  50  fixed to sidewalls of the shower enclosure  80 . The wires  40  can be snapped onto the holders  50  to form a fixed shape of the shower curtain  70 ;   3. A variation of the second means, two curved wires  94  with magnets  90  attached on their lower ends that are used to replace the wire-holder structure described in the second means.       

     Only one of them needs to be chosen for the shower enclosure for the aforementioned functions. 
     The support rod  30  has a pair of end brackets  33 , adopted for attachment to opposite sidewalls  81  of the shower enclosure  80 , connected with a curving middle portion which is comprised of two curved metallic tubes  31  and  32  so that the two tubes  31  and  32  can relatively move to accommodate different distances between the sidewalls  81  of different shower enclosures  80 . The front face  36  of the bracket  33  is designed by extending the connected tube surface so that the hook  60  can touch the sidewall  81  to make the vertical edge  28  of the curtain  20 / 70  close to the sidewall  81  by the gravity of the main weight  26 . The portion  35  of the bracket  33  can be slid into end portion of the tube  31 / 32  and be fixed by screws etc. When the bracket  33  is made of steel, it can be welded to end of the tube  31 / 32  and the portion  35  of the bracket  33  can be made shorter or even removed. 
     For the shower curtain assembly with the main weight attached (first means), an original flat curtain  20  is utilized. And the small weights  27  with much less mass than the main weights  26  may be added to prevent the bottom edge  29  of the shower curtain  20  from moving outward (passing through the top periphery  82  of the bathtub or a raised lip of the shower stall along the floor) during the process of opening the curtain  20 . A user can close and open the curtain  20  as a traditional one. When the curtain  20  is closed, the main weights  26  will force the curtain  20  to follow the shape of a support rod  30  from which the curtain  20  is suspended. As a result, the main portion of the curtain  20  will be kept away from the shower enclosure  80  due to the shape of the support rod  30  that bows outward from the shower enclosure  80  along the length of the rod  30 . And the vertical edges  28  of the curtain  20  are made close to the sidewalls  81  of the shower enclosure  80  because both end hooks on the support rod  30  are close to the sidewalls  81 , which prevents shower water from splashing onto the bathroom floor. The main weight  26  and deformed shape of the curtain  20  will prevent the curtain  20  from moving inward when the shower is in use. A user can even sit on the top periphery  82  of a bathtub. 
     Another way is to use a pair of curved wires  40  attached to lower portion of a shower curtain  70 , and a pair of holders  50  fixed to the bottom edges of the sidewalls  81 . The shape of the portion  42  of the wire  40  near the holder  50  can be adjusted according to the distance between the sidewalls  81  of the shower enclosure  80 . An original curved curtain  70  is used with shorter height than the one utilized in first means. The lower portion of the curtain  70  has a bow shape similar to the support rod  30 . When the curtain  70  is closed, portion of the lower ends  41  of the wires  40  is snapped onto the holders  50  to ensure the curtain shape is secured. All the aforementioned advantages for shower curtain assembly with main weights are still kept. 
     A variation of the wire-holder structure is to use a magnet  90  to replace the holder  50 . The magnet  90  is attached to the lower end of curved wire  94  whose upper portion has the same shape as the wire  40  of the wire-holder structure, and can be easily placed on and removed from the top periphery  82  of the bathtub or a steel plate attached to the shower stall base. A user can hold the middle portion  93  to move the magnet  90 . This wire-magnet structure has the same function as the wire-holder one and is more flexible. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the following scope of the claims.