SHOWER BRUSH

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided herein that provide for a shower brush.

Description

FIELD

The field relates generally to hygiene products, and more specifically, to systems and methods for providing a shower brush.

BACKGROUND

Showering can be traced back to early Greek times, which is evidenced by depictions on murals and vases. Lord Monboddo of Scotland gained recognition during the Scottish Enlightenment for showering every morning with cold water on his front porch, although this was considered eccentric for the time. An emulation of the Greeks, Monboddo believed that regular showering was a healthful practice. Showering was further popularized and documented in 1879 when the Prussian military began installing showering rooms in soldier barracks.

Today, many American homes have at least one, if not more than one shower. Typically, a shower includes a spigot positioned near or above head-level which facilitates water being cascaded onto a shower user. Water from the spigot ends up on the floor of the shower, where a drain conveys the water away from the shower. Some showers can also be used as a bathtub, while others are simply an enclosure designed for showering.

As one purpose of showering is hygiene, persons showering will typically use soap or other surfactant to wash their body. Additionally, various tools are used to aid in washing, which includes natural and synthetic sponges and luffas, brushes having bristles, and cloth. While some of these bathing tools may comprise handles, they nonetheless require at least one hand to operate, which may limit a person's ability to wash themselves while showering. In addition to the inaccessibility of various body parts, given the range of motion of an average person, persons with disabilities, medical conditions, or reduced mobility face even more difficulty in washing themselves with such tools.

Moreover, persons with reduced mobility such as the elderly or sick, may require the use of one or both hands to provide stability during showering or bathing, and using one hand for washing can create a situation where there is increased risk of losing balance and falling in the shower. Falling in the shower can result in severe injury such as a broken hip, and may even result in death.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an environmental depiction of a shower brush mounted in a shower, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an environmental depiction of a shower brush mounted in a shower, in accordance with further embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a shower brush in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a shower brush in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a shower brush in accordance with a further embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a shower brush in accordance with a still further embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a shower brush in accordance with yet another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a rotatable shower brush in accordance with one another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush in accordance with a further embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a rotatable shower brush in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush in accordance with a further embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush in accordance with a still further embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a top view of a reversible shower brush in accordance with a still further embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of a reversible shower brush in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a bottom view of a reversible shower brush in accordance with a further embodiment.

DESCRIPTION

Illustrative embodiments presented herein include, but are not limited to, systems and methods for providing a shower brush.

Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced with only some of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.

Further, various operations and/or communications will be described as multiple discrete operations and/or communications, in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the embodiments described herein; however, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations and/or communications are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations and/or communications need not be performed in the order of presentation.

The phrase “in one embodiment” is used repeatedly. The phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment; however, it may. The terms “comprising,” “having” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise.

The following FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a shower brush 150, which is coupled to a shower 100. As shown in these Figures, the shower brush 150 may be various shapes and sizes. Additionally, in some embodiments, the shower brush 150 may be rotatably coupled to a shower 100 or the shower brush 150 may be reversible.

FIG. 1 is an environmental depiction of a shower brush 150 mounted in a shower 100, in accordance with various embodiments. Additionally, FIG. 2 is an environmental depiction of a shower brush 150 mounted in a shower 100, in accordance with further embodiments. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a shower brush 150 may be coupled to the wall of a shower 100, and the shower brush 150 may be various lengths and sizes.

In some embodiments the shower brush 150 can comprise a washing surface comprising various types of bathing tools, which may include a brush with bristles 310, a sponge, a loofah or lufa, a cloth, a stone, a file, a combination thereof, and the like.

In various embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shower brush 150 may be rectangular and of various lengths; however, in some embodiments the shower brush 150 can be various other shapes and sizes. In some embodiments, a shower brush 150 may be operable to allow users to wash their body while in a standing position, in a sitting position, or the like. For example, the shower brush 150 may be of a length that is in proportion to a human body such that bathers standing in the shower 100 can wash their back by engaging the shower brush 150 while the shower brush 150 is coupled to the wall of a shower 100. In other embodiments, the shower brush 150 is configurable to be coupled to various surfaces, which may include tile, plastic, metal, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a shower brush 150 in accordance with an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the shower brush 150 may be a block brush that comprises a plurality of bristles 310. Although the plurality of bristles 310 are depicted in a staggered pattern in FIG. 3, the plurality of bristles 310 may be in a straight pattern, circular pattern, an irregular pattern, or the like. Additionally, the plurality of bristles 31 0 may be various types of natural or synthetic material, which may include nylon, Tampico, hog hair, horse hair, polypropylene, human hair, goat hair, polyester, quill and the like. In some embodiments, the bristles 310 may be shaped in various configurations such as straight, beveled, dome, convex, concave, irregular, and the like.

Additionally, although a block brush type of shower brush 150 is depicted in various Figures herein, the shower brush 150 may be various types of brushes, which may include a strip brush, a formed brush, a cylinder brush, a coil brush, a coil on core brush, a coil on core and shaft brush, a twisted wire brush, a staple set brush, and the like.

The following FIGS. 4 through 7 depict a shower brush 150 in accordance with various embodiments, which may be coupled to a substrate via various coupling systems. For example, a shower brush 150 may be coupled via an adhesive, a slidable coupling system, a hook and look coupling system, a plurality of suction cups, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a shower brush 150 in accordance with another embodiment. The shower brush 150 comprises a plurality of bristles 310 held by a brush body 420, and a coupling adhesive 430 on a coupling surface of the shower brush 150. In various embodiments, the coupling adhesive 430 is operable to couple the block brush 150 to various surfaces such as a shower 1 00 or bathtub. The coupling adhesive may comprise various types of adhesives such as natural, synthetic, drying, contact, hot, thermoplastic, reactive, light curing, pressure sensitive, and the like, and may allow the shower brush to be permanently, semi-permanently, or detachably coupled to a substrate.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a shower brush 150 in accordance with a further embodiment. The shower brush 150 comprises a plurality of bristles 310 a brush body 420, and a first coupling body 530 that is coupled to a coupling surface of the shower brush 150. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a second coupling body 540 that is coupled to a substrate 550. In some embodiments, the second coupling body 540 can be coupled to the substrate 550 in various permanent, semi-permanent, or non permanent ways. For example, the second coupling body 540 may be coupled to a substrate 550 via, screws, nails, an adhesive, welding, hook and loop fastener, on or more suction cup, and the like. In various embodiments, the substrate 550 can be various surfaces, which may include a tile, metal, plastic and the like.

In various embodiments, the first coupling body 530 on the brush body 420 can be detachably coupled to the second coupling body 540 that is attached to the substrate 550. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there may be corresponding flanges and groves in the first and second coupling body 530, 540 that provides for the shower brush 150 being slidably coupled to the substrate 550.

In some embodiments, various configurations of the first and second coupling body 530, 540 may be employed, which may include a flange, slot, hole, pin, lip, hook and the like. The first and second coupling body 530, 540 can be coupled slidably or rotatably in various embodiments. Additionally, the first and second coupling body 530, 540 can further comprise a locking mechanism such that when the first and second coupling body 530, 540 are coupled, the locking mechanism allows the first and second coupling body 530, 540 to be locked in a coupled configuration. The locking mechanism can be various types of apparatus, which may include a latch, pin, hook, slot, screw, or the like.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a shower brush 150 in accordance with yet another embodiment. The shower brush 150 comprises a plurality of bristles 310, a brush body 420, and a hook fastener 630. Additionally, there is a loop fastener 640 that is coupled to a substrate 550. The hook and loop fastener 630, 640 are operable to couple the body brush 150 to the substrate. In one embodiment, the hook fastener 630 can be coupled the substrate 550 and the loop fastener 540 can be coupled to the shower brush 150. In another embodiment, the hook and loop fastener 630, 640 may be Velcro®.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a shower brush 150 in accordance with a still further embodiment. The shower brush 150 comprises a plurality of bristles 310, a brush body 420, and a plurality of suction cups 730 positioned on a coupling surface of the shower brush 150. In some embodiments, the plurality of suction cups 730 can be in various configurations, including a straight, staggered, irregular, circular, and the like. The plurality of suction cups 730 may allow the shower brush 150 to be coupled to various surfaces in various locations.

In some embodiments, the plurality of suction cups 730 can be configured to be coupled to a surface that comprises tile and grout. Surfaces comprising tile and grout typically include an array of rectangular tiles that are configured in a regular pattern with grout or other material filling interstitial spaces between tiles. This may create a surface that is not completely planar and which may be difficult for a suction cup to engage in some areas.

In various embodiments, it may be desirable to configure the plurality of suction cups 730 such that some or all of the plurality of suction cups 730 will engage only the tile portion of a surface comprising tile and grout. In further embodiments, the plurality of suction cups 730 may be movable or otherwise variably configurable so that the configuration of the plurality of suction cups 730 can be modified to correspond to a given surface.

In one embodiment, one or more suction cup may be held within a track such that the one or more suction cup can be moved within the track. In another embodiment, there can be an array of orifices, in which one or more suction cup can be selectively placed, such that a desired configuration may be achieved by moving suction cups from orifice to orifice within the array. In a further embodiment, there may be a portion that allows one or more suction cup to be moved in various directions, which may include horizontally, vertically, laterally, irregularly, or rotationally.

The following FIGS. 8 through 13 depict a shower brush 150 that may be rotatably coupled to a substrate. In the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 8 through 10, the shower brush 150 may have a rotatable member near one end of the shower brush 150. In the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 11 through 13, the shower brush 150 may have a rotatable member near the center of the length of the shower brush 150. In various embodiments, the rotatable member is operable to allow the shower brush 150 to rotate parallel to a substrate that the shower brush 150 is coupled to.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a rotatable shower brush 150 in accordance with one another embodiment, which comprises a plurality of bristles 310. As shown in FIG. 8, the shower brush 150 may be rotatably coupled to a substrate, whereby the shower brush 150 may rotate about an axis.

For example, FIG. 9 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush 150 in accordance with one embodiment, which comprises a suction cup array 910, a coupling body 920 and a rotation body 930. The suction cup array 910 is at a first end of the shower brush 150 and the coupling body 920 and rotation body 930 are located on a second end of the shower brush 150. In various embodiments, the coupling body 930 may be various structures capable of permanently, semi-permanently, or temporarily coupling the shower brush 150 to a substrate such as a shower. In some embodiments, the coupling body 920 may comprise one or more suction cup, hook and loop couplers, an adhesive, a slot and groove body, a slidably coupled coupling member, and the like. Additionally, the rotation body 930 may be various structures, members, or bodies that facilitate rotation about an axis. For example, the rotation body 930 can be coupled to the shower brush 150, the rotation body 930 can be coupled to the coupling body 920, and the coupling body 920 can be coupled to a substrate such as a shower wall or a bathtub.

In another example, FIG. 10 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush 150 in accordance with one embodiment, which comprises a suction cup matrix 910, and a rotatable suction cup 1010. In such an embodiment, the rotatable suction 1010 cup may be operable to allow the shower brush 150 to rotate about an axis. For example, the suction cup 1010 may comprise an elongated portion that resided within a hole in the shower brush 150, and the shower brush 150 is able to rotate about the elongated portion of the suction cup 1010.

In various embodiments, the shower brush 150 may be coupled to a substrate via a coupling body 920, suction cup 1010, or the like, and the shower brush 150 may rotate about a corresponding axis. In various embodiments, such as the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10, there may be a suction cup matrix 1010 that semi-permanently or temporarily couple the shower brush 150 to a substrate. However, in various embodiments, there may be various structures that facilitate such coupling, which may include one or more suction cup of various sizes, an adhesive, hook and loop couplers, and the like.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to allow rotation of a shower brush 150 because a bather may desire to have a shower brush 150 in various positions depending on the part of the bather's body that is being washed. For example, a bather may have a shower brush 150 coupled to a shower 100 in a horizontal position as shown in FIG. 8 and desire to change the position of the shower brush 150 for bathing or showering purposes. The bather may de-couple one end of the shower brush 150, such as an end having a suction cup matrix 910, while leaving the other end coupled. The bather may then rotate the shower brush 150 about an axis where the shower brush 150 is still coupled to the substrate, such as via a rotatable suction cup 1010 or via a coupling body 920 and a rotation body 930. The bather may thereby rotate the shower brush 150 into a vertical position, as shown in FIG. 8, and couple the de-coupled end of the shower brush 150 to the substrate. In various embodiments, a rotatable suction cup 1010, a suction cup matrix 910 or a coupling body 920 may be configured to be coupled to a tile wall.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a rotatable shower brush 150 in accordance with another embodiment, which comprises a plurality of bristles 310. As shown in FIG. 11, the shower brush 150 may be coupled to a substrate and rotatable about an axis that is near the center of the length of the shower brush 150.

For example, FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush 150 in accordance with one embodiment, which comprises a first and suction cup array 910A, 910B, a coupling body 920 and a rotation body 930. The first suction cup array 910A is at a first end of the shower brush 150, the second suction cup array 910B is at a second end of the shower brush 150, and the coupling body 920 and rotation body 930 are located near the center of the length of the shower brush 150.

In various embodiments, the coupling body 930 may be various structures capable of permanently, semi-permanently, or temporarily coupling the shower brush 150 to a substrate such as a shower or bathtub. In some embodiments, the coupling body 920 may comprise one or more suction cup, hook and loop couplers, an adhesive, a slot and groove body, a slidably coupled coupling member, and the like.

Additionally, the rotation body 930 may be various structures, members, or bodies that facilitate rotation about an axis. For example, the rotation body 930 can be coupled to the shower brush 150, the rotation body 930 can be coupled to the coupling body 920, and the coupling body 920 can be coupled to a substrate such as a shower wall or a bathtub.

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of a rotatable shower brush 150 in accordance with a still further embodiment, which comprises a first and second suction cup matrix 910A, 910B and a rotatable suction cup 1010. In such an embodiment, the rotatable suction 1010 cup may be operable to allow the shower brush 150 to rotate about an axis. For example, the suction cup 1010 may comprise an elongated portion that resides within a hole in the shower brush 150, and the shower brush 150 is able to rotate about the elongated portion of the suction cup 1010.

In various embodiments, the shower brush 150 may be coupled to a substrate via a coupling body 920, suction cup 1010, or the like, and the shower brush 150 may rotate about a corresponding axis. In various embodiments, such as the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 12 and 13, there may be a suction cup matrix 1010 that semi-permanently or temporarily couple the shower brush 150 to a substrate. However, in various embodiments, there may be various structures that facilitate such coupling, which may include one or more suction cup of various sizes, an adhesive, hook and loop couplers, and the like.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to allow rotation of a shower brush 150 because a bather may desire to have a shower brush 150 in various positions depending on the part of the bather's body that is being washed. For example, a bather may have a shower brush 150 coupled to a shower 100 in a horizontal position as shown in FIG. 11 and desire to change the position of the shower brush 150 for bathing purposes. The bather may de-couple both ends of the shower brush 150, such as ends having a suction cup matrix 910A, 910B while leaving the center portion coupled. The bather may then rotate the shower brush 150 about an axis where the shower brush 150 is still coupled to the substrate, such as via a rotatable suction cup 1010 or via a coupling body 920 and a rotation body 930. The bather may thereby rotate the shower brush 150 into a vertical position, as shown in FIG. 11, and couple the de-coupled ends of the shower brush 150 to the substrate. In various embodiments, a rotatable suction cup 1010, a suction cup matrix 910 or a coupling body 920 may be configured to be coupled to a tile wall.

FIGS. 14 through 16 depict a reversible shower brush 150 in accordance with various embodiments. The shower brush 150 may have two surfaces with different washing properties that can be selectively configured to expose a desired side. The shower brush 150 may comprise one or more coupling slot 1410, which allows an elongated portion of one or more suction cup 1420 to be held and thereby couple the shower brush 150 to a substrate that the one or more suction cup 1420 may be attached to.

FIG. 14 is a top view of a reversible shower brush 150 in accordance with one embodiment, which comprises a first and second coupling slot 1410A, 1410B, which are operable to couple with a first and second suction cup 1420A, 1420B respectively.

Similarly, FIG. 15 is a bottom view of a reversible shower brush 150 in accordance with another embodiment, which comprises a first, second and third coupling slot 1410A, 1410B, 1410C, which are operable to couple with a first, second and third suction cup 1420A, 1420B, 1420C, respectively.

In some embodiments, similar to those depicted in FIGS. 14 and 15, there may be one or more slot, hole or other structure that couple with one or more suction cup 1420, or other body that is operable to couple to a substrate and with a coupling slot, hole or other coupling structure. In various embodiments, coupling slots 1410 may not be linear, or need not be in a linear orientation in relation to each other or various parts of the shower brush 150.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to have a coupling slot 1410 because a suction cup 1420 may thereby move within the coupling slot 1410 or suction cups in various configurations may be capable with coupling with one or more coupling slot. For example, one or more suction cups may only couple to a tile wall on the flat portion of the tiles, which thereby forces a distance between the suction cups 1420. Coupling slots 1410 may be desirable in such as case because such a configuration would still make coupling of the shower brush 150 to the tile wall operable.

FIG. 16 is a bottom view of a reversible shower brush 150 in accordance with a further embodiment, which comprises a plurality of bristles 310, a brush body 420, a sponge body 1610, a suction cup 1410A and a coupling slot 1420A

As shown in FIG. 16, the suction cup may have an elongated portion that is configured to reside within the coupling slot 1420A and be held via a bulbous portion that corresponds to one or more depression in the coupling slot 1420A. The suction cup 1410A may be coupled within the coupling slot 1420A via various structures, in some embodiments. Additionally, although a suction cup 1410 is depicted as a coupling apparatus, there may be various types of coupling apparatus that may be configured to reside within a coupling slot 1420. For example, an adhesive, a hook and loop fastener, a coupling body, one or more suction cup, and the like.

The brush body 420 comprises first and second surface, which have a plurality of bristles 310 and a sponge body 1610 respectively. Although FIG. 16 depicts a shower brush 150 having a plurality of bristles 310 and a sponge body 1610, in various embodiments there may many types of bathing, scrubbing, or cleaning structures on one or more surface of the shower brush 150.

In further embodiments, the shower brush 150 may be reversible. For example, the shower brush 150 may be decoupled from one or more suction cup 1410, inverted, and re-coupled with the one or more suction cups 1410. In such an example, a side of a shower brush 150 having a plurality of bristles may be facing away from the substrate the shower brush 150 is coupled to (as shown in FIG. 16), however, the shower brush 150 may be decoupled and inverted so that the opposite side of the shower brush 150 is facing away from the substrate. In such an example, the shower brush 150 may be detachably coupled to one or more coupling apparatus like a suction cup, which allows one of two washing surfaces to be selected for washing.

Additionally, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art and others, that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the embodiments described herein. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiment discussed herein. While various embodiments have been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments described herein.

Claims

1. A shower brush comprising:

a brush member comprising: a washing surface, and a coupling surface; and

a first coupling apparatus, wherein said first coupling apparatus is coupled to said coupling surface and said first coupling apparatus is further configurable to be coupled to a substrate, and

a rotatable member comprising: a second coupling apparatus coupled to said coupling surface operable to be coupled to said substrate, wherein said rotatable member is operable to allow the shower brush to rotate approximately parallel to said substrate.

2. The shower brush of claim 1, wherein said rotatable member is positioned near a first end of the shower brush.

3. The shower brush of claim 2, wherein said first coupling apparatus is positioned near a second end of the shower brush.

4. The shower brush of claim 3, wherein said first coupling apparatus comprises a plurality of suction cups.

5. The shower brush of claim 4, wherein said plurality of suction cups is configured to be detachably coupled to a shower wall.

6. The shower brush of claim 1, wherein said shower wall comprises a plurality of tiles in grout.

7. The shower brush of claim 1, wherein said rotatable member is positioned near a central axis of the shower brush.

8. The shower brush of claim 7, wherein said first coupling apparatus is positioned near a first end of the shower brush.

9. The shower brush of claim 8, further comprising a third coupling apparatus positioned near a second end of the shower brush.

10. The shower brush of claim 1, wherein said first coupling apparatus comprises at least one of an adhesive, a hook and loop fastener, a coupling body, and a suction cup.

11. The shower brush of claim 10 wherein said second coupling apparatus comprises at least one of an adhesive, a hook and loop fastener, a coupling body, and a suction cup.

12. The shower brush of claim 1, wherein the shower brush is elongate and operable be rotated from a horizontal position to a vertical position.

13. A shower brush comprising:

a brush member comprising: a first washing surface, a second washing surface; and a coupling slot spanning between said first and second washing surface being defied by said brush member

a coupling apparatus comprising a coupling body operable to be coupled to a substrate; and an elongated portion that is operable to reside within said coupling slot and be detachably coupled within said coupling slot.

14. The shower brush of claim 13, wherein said coupling apparatus comprises at least one suction cup.

15. The shower brush of claim 13, comprising a plurality of coupling slots and a plurality of coupling apparatus.

16. The shower brush of claim 15, wherein said plurality of coupling apparatus each comprise a suction cup, wherein said shower brush is operable to be detachable coupled to a tile wall.

17. The shower brush of claim 13, wherein said coupling slot is elongate and positioned centrally within the shower brush.

18. The shower brush of claim 17, wherein said coupling apparatus is operable to slidably reside within said coupling slot.

19. The shower brush of claim 13, wherein said coupling slot further comprises one or more depression within said coupling slot.

20. The shower brush of claim 13, wherein said coupling apparatus is operable to reside within said one or more depression within said coupling slot.