Device for supporting a foot

Abstract

The present invention is a device for mounting to a bathroom wall and supporting a person's foot during shaving. The device comprises a suction member engageable with the wall to form a suction cavity. The device further comprises a support housing engageable with the suction member and having a central hole. The device further comprises a screw member engaged with the suction member and extending thru the central hole of the support housing. The device further comprises a fastener member engageable with the screw member to increase the volume of said suction cavity thereby creating a vacuum to secure said suction member to the wall. The device further comprises a platform extending outward from the support housing for supporting the person's foot.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,693 discloses a foot rest having a plurality of suction cups for attaching the foot rest to a wall of a shower. Such conventional constructions are difficult to use insomuch as the person attaches the device to a wall by pushing the multiple suction cups against the wall and detaches the device by pulling or tearing the multiple suction cups from the wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a device for supporting a person's foot which may be easily attached or removed from a wall such as that commonly found in a bath or a shower. In one embodiment, the device comprises a suction member engageable with the wall to form a suction cavity. The device further comprises a support housing engageable with the suction member and having a central hole. The device further comprises a screw member engaged with the suction member and extending thru the central hole of the support housing. The device further comprises a fastener member engageable with the screw member to increase the volume of the suction cavity thereby creating a vacuum and securing the suction member to the wall. The device further comprises a platform extending outward from the support housing for supporting the person's foot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following description of the invention will make reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3 showing the device placed against a wall in an unsecured position; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3 showing the device secured to a wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, the present invention is a device 14 that may be easily attached to a wall 10 for supporting a person's foot (not shown) and detached when desired. The wall 10 may be that of a common tile wall found in a bath or shower or any other wall that is substantially planar and smooth. As shown in FIG. 1, the device 14 generally comprises a suction member 16, a screw member 46, a spring 60, a support housing 32, a fastener member 62, and a platform 68. As shown in FIG. 5, the suction member 16 is engageable with the wall 10 to form a suction cavity 12. The support housing 32 is engageable with the suction member 16 and has a central hole 42. The screw member 46 is engaged with the suction member 16 and extends or passes thru the central hole 42 of the support housing 32. As shown in FIG. 6, the fastener member 62 is engageable with the screw member 46 to increase the volume of the suction cavity 12 thereby creating a vacuum within the suction cavity 12 to secure the suction member 16 to the wall 10. The platform 68 extends outward from the support housing 32 and is adapted to, among other things, support a person's foot (not shown) while shaving.

The suction member 16 comprises an inner surface 18 having a centrally disposed pocket or recessed portion 24, and an annular portion 26 engageable with the annular portion 40 (to be described) of the support housing 32. The recessed portion 24 is adapted to retain or engage with a flange or disk portion 48 (to be described) of the screw member 46. The suction member 16 further comprises an outer surface 28 having an annular portion 30 adapted to engage with the wall 10. The suction member 16 may be made from any type of resilient material such as rubber and may be formed by conventional molding processes.

The screw member 46 comprises a body portion 50 engaged with a flange or disk portion 48. The body portion 50 comprises a proximal end portion 48, a distal end portion 50, and threads 52. The disk portion 48 is retained within and secured to the recessed portion 24 of the suction member 16 by conventional means such as adhesive. The screw member 46 extends outward from the inner surface 18 of the suction member 16 and thru the central hole 42 of the support housing 32. The body portion 50 is formed with opposing planar sidewall portions 58 which pass thru the central hole 42 with corresponding opposing flat sidewall portions 44 (to be described) to prevent rotation of the screw member 46 when engaged by the fastener member 62. The disk portion 48 and the body portion 50 of the screw member 44 are each made from a rigid plastic material. The proximal end portion 48 of the body portion 50 may be secured to the disk portion 48 by conventional means such as an epoxy based adhesive. The disk portion 48 and the body portion 50 may each be formed by conventional molding processes.

The support housing 32 generally comprises a wall 33 having an inside surface 34 and an outside surface 36. The central hole 42 passes thru the wall 32 and comprises opposing planar sidewalls 40 adapted to receive planar sidewall portions 58 of the screw member 46 to prevent rotation of the screw member 46 when engaged by the fastener member 62. The support housing 32 further comprises a cavity portion 38 formed by an annular wall portion 40 and the outside surface 36 of wall 33. The inside surface 34 of the wall33 is engageable with the fastener member 56. The annular wall portion 40 is engageable with the annular portion 30 of the suction member 16. The support housing 32 may be made from a rigid plastic material and formed by conventional molding processes.

The device 14 may further comprise a spring 54 disposed about the body portion 50 of the screw member 46 and disposed between the disk portion 48 of the screw member 46 and the outside surface 36 of the wall 33 of the support housing 32. The spring 54 provides a biased force against the suction member 16 as the suction member 16 is moved inward to increase the volume of the suction cavity 12. The spring 54 may be of conventional design such as a helical spring.

The fastener member 62 comprises a knob 64 having internal threads 66. Internal threads 66 are adapted to engage with threads 56 of the screw member 46. The fastener member 62 may be made from a rigid plastic material and formed by conventional molding and machining processes.

The platform 68 is preferably formed as part of the support housing 32. The platform 62 comprises a proximal end portion 70, a distal end portion 72, and sidewalls 74 and 76. The distal end portion 72 is downwardly tapered so as to comfortably support a person's foot.

The device 14 may further comprise first and second razor holders 84 and 88 engaged with the platform 68. In the embodiment shown, the first and second razor holders 84 and 88 are formed as part of the platform 68 and comprise first and second openings 86 and 90, respectively, through which the handle of a razor may be inserted.

The device 14 may further comprise a soap holder 78 engaged with the platform 68. In the embodiment shown, the soap holder 78 is formed as part of the platform 68 and comprises a recessed portion 80 disposed at the proximal end portion 70 of the platform 68. The soap holder 78 further comprises a plurality of drain holes 82 disposed in the recessed portion 80.

In operation and as shown in FIG. 5, the annular portion 30 of the suction member 16 is placed against the wall 10 to form the suction cavity 12. At this point, the device 14 is not secured to the wall 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the device 14 may be secured to the wall 10 by turning the knob 64 several times. As the knob 64 is turned, the screw member 46 pulls the central portion of the suction member 16 into the cavity portion 38 toward the wall 33 thereby increasing the volume of the suction cavity 12. After several turns, the screw member 46 is positioned as shown in FIG. 6 whereby the volume of the suction cavity 12 has increased to a level where a vacuum is created within the suction cavity 12 thereby securing the suction member 16 and the device 14 to the wall 10. To remove the device 14 from the wall 10, the knob 64 is turned in the opposite direction several times to move the screw member 46 and the central portion of the suction member 16 toward the wall 10 thereby decreasing the volume of the suction cavity 12 and removing any vacuum holding the suction member 16 to the wall 10.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the specification and appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for mounting to a bathroom wall and for supporting a person's foot, the device comprising:

(a) a suction member engageable with the wall to form a suction cavity;

(b) a support housing engageable with said suction member and having a central hole;

(c) a screw member engaged with said suction member and extending thru said central hole of said support housing;

(d) a fastener member engageable with said screw member to increase the volume of said suction cavity thereby creating a vacuum and securing said suction member to the wall; and

(e) a platform extending outward from said support housing for supporting the person's foot.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said suction member comprises an inner surface engageable with said support housing and an outer surface engageable with the wall.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein said support housing comprises an outside portion engageable with said inside surface of said suction member and an inside portion engageable with said fastener member.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein said screw member extends outward from said inside surface of said suction member and thru said central hole of said support housing.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein said platform comprises a distal end portion adapted to support the person's foot.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein said distal end portion is tapered downwardly.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a razor holder engaged with said platform for retaining a razor.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said razor holder comprises an opening in said platform.

9. The device of claim 8, further comprising a soap holder engaged with said platform to retain a bar of soap.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein said soap holder comprises a recessed portion having a plurality of drain holes.