Shower Curtain Tension Rods
Shower curtain tension rods comprising a stationary rod, movable rod and adjustable end cap are disclosed. The movable rod may telescope in the stationary rod and may be secured in an axially extended position with respect to the stationary rod. The adjustable end cap may be axially extended from the movable rod and/or stationary rod to provide greater holding force for the tension rod. The shower curtain tension rods may be installed quickly and easily in various sizes of bath and shower stalls.
Latest Maytex Mills, Inc. Patents:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/361,735 filed Jul. 6, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to shower curtain tension rods for installation in bath and shower stalls.
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONConventional tension rods for shower curtains are very clumsy to put up, requiring many rotations to twist them to the desired length. Further, as they are tightenened, the rubber type caps move from their intended position. This movement is often referred to as walking. The shower curtain tension rods of the present invention overcome the cumbersome installation associated with conventional tension rods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides improved shower curtain tension rods that are faster and easier to install in comparison with conventional rods.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a shower curtain tension rod comprising a stationary rod having an end cap adjacent an end thereof, a movable rod axially movable with respect to the stationary rod having another end cap adjacent an end thereof, and a locking mechanism for securing the movable rod in a desired axial position with respect to the stationary rod, wherein at least one of the end caps is axially adjustable and comprises a contact member rotatably mounted on the at least one end cap structured and arranged to contact a wall of a bath or shower stall.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an adjustable end cap for a shower curtain tension rod comprising a cap body, a threaded fastener fixedly mounted on the cap body, and a contact member rotatably mounted on the cap body.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism for a shower curtain tension rod comprising a stationary rod, a telescoping rod axially movable with respect to the stationary rod, and a locking mechanism for securing the telescoping rod in a desired axial position with respect to the stationary rod, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a pin fixedly mounted on an end of the telescoping rod and positioned inside the stationary rod, and a locking cam head mounted on the pin structured and arranged to engage an inner surface of the stationary rod to thereby secure the telescoping rod in a selected axial position with respect to the stationary rod.
These and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.
As shown in
As shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 9-11, the retainer 40 includes a generally disk-shaped cylindrical body 42 with three finger clips 44 extending from one surface thereof. Each finger clip 44 includes a flexible arm 45 and a locking tab 46. As shown most clearly in
As shown in
In another embodiment, the pin 72 is fixedly mounted at the end of the telescoping rod, and the spring 78 is removed. Such a non-reciprocating pin design provides a relatively rigid structure that may increase the holding power of the tension rod 10. For example, the tension rod 10 may hold greater than 25 pounds of weight in comparison with prior spring designs that may hold only 15 to 18 pounds.
The locking cam head 74 includes the annular flange 80 and an end flange 86. The locking head 74 includes two cam surfaces 82 extending between the annular flange 80 and end flange 86 having non-circular, helical surfaces. One of the cam surfaces 82 is shown in each of
As shown in
The torsional locking mechanism 70 operates as follows. The locking cam sleeve 90 is initially located in a radially retracted position on the locking cam head 74 in which the stop edges 97 of the sleeve 90 are in contact or adjacent to the corresponding stop surfaces 84 of the locking head 74. The thicker portions of the cam members 92 are adjacent to the radially recessed portion of the cam surfaces 82. In this radially retracted position, the telescoping rod 14 is free to move axially with respect to the stationary rod 12.
During installation, the telescoping rod 14 is extended from the stationary rod 12 to a desired position in which the rotatable end disk 50 and stationary end cap 60 are in initial contact positions against the bath or shower stall walls. In this position, the telescoping rod 14 is then twisted around its longitudinal axis, which rotates the locking cam head 74 inside the stationary rod 12. Upon such a twisting motion, the outer contact surfaces 96 of the locking cam sleeve 90 contact the inner surface of the stationary rod 12 and frictional forces therebetween hold the locking cam sleeve 90 in a stationary position with respect to the stationary rod 12, i.e., the locking cam sleeve 90 does not rotate inside the rod 12 with the remainder of the torsional locking mechanism 70. As the locking cam head 74 rotates inside the stationary rod 12 with the locking cam sleeve 90 remaining in position, the inner cam surfaces 94 of the locking cam sleeve 90 slide in a generally circumferential direction on the cam surfaces 82 of the locking cam head 74. Due to this relative movement, the cam members 92 move radially outward and press against the inner surface of the stationary rod 12 with sufficient force to lock the cam head 74 into position within the stationary rod 12. Thus, the telescoping rod 14 and stationary rod 12 are held in position with respect to each other, and the only axial movement therebetween results from compression of the optional spring 78. This embodiment permits a slight amount of axial movement between the telescoping rod 14 and stationary rod 12 against the force of the spring 78. Alternatively, in the embodiment in which the spring 78 is eliminated and the pin 72 is fixedly attached to the end of the telescoping rod 14, essentially no axial movement occurs between the stationary and telescoping rods 12 and 14.
With the torsional locking mechanism 70 in the locked position, the adjustable end cap 20 may be rotated with respect to the telescoping rod 14, thereby extending the adjustable end cap 20 into the installed position in which the shower curtain tension rod 10 is securely mounted in a bath or shower stall.
The shower curtain tension rods of the present invention overcome the cumbersome installation associated with conventional tension rods. The rotatable end disk 50 on the adjustable end cap 20 prevents the tension rod from walking on the wall during installation. The internal torsional locking mechanism 70 provides improved stability.
An important benefit of the tension rods of the present invention is much improved simplicity of installation. The result is an installation time of about 10 seconds or less versus approximately 1 minute with the existing products. Furthermore, the present tension rods create a much quieter product due to the elimination of the long spring and screw mechanism used in existing products on the market. The present tension rods are also capable of holding more weight than conventional tension rods. The rods are suitable for residential use, hotels, hospitals and other institutions.
Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A shower curtain tension rod comprising:
- a stationary rod having an end cap adjacent an end thereof;
- a movable rod axially movable with respect to the stationary rod having another end cap adjacent an end thereof; and
- a locking mechanism for securing the movable rod in a desired axial position with respect to the stationary rod, wherein at least one of the end caps is axially adjustable and comprises a contact member rotatably mounted on the at least one end cap structured and arranged to contact a wall of a bath or shower stall.
2. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 1, wherein the movable rod telescopes inside the stationary rod.
3. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 1, wherein the adjustable end cap is threadably mounted on the end of the movable rod.
4. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 3, wherein the adjustable end cap comprises a cap body and a threaded bolt fixedly mounted thereon.
5. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 4, wherein the cap body includes a recessed holder structured and arranged to hold a head of the threaded bolt to thereby prevent rotation of the threaded bolt with respect to the cap body.
6. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 4, wherein the adjustable end cap comprises a retainer mounted in the cap body structured and arranged to prevent axial movement of the threaded bolt with respect to the cap body.
7. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 6, wherein the contact member is rotatably mounted on the retainer.
8. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 1, wherein the contact member is generally disk shaped.
9. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 8, wherein the contact member comprises a support disk and an elastomeric contact disk mounted thereon.
10. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 9, wherein the support disk comprises at least one flexible mounting finger structured and arranged for insertion into a central mounting hole in the adjustable cap.
11. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 10, wherein the support disk comprises at least two of the flexible mounting fingers, and the central mounting hole is provided in a retainer mounted in the adjustable cap.
12. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 1, wherein the end cap of the stationary rod comprises an elastomeric contact disk rotatably mounted on the end cap.
13. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:
- a pin mounted on an end of the movable rod and positioned inside the stationary rod; and
- a locking cam head mounted on the pin structured and arranged to engage an inner surface of the stationary rod to thereby secure the movable rod in a selected axial position with respect to the stationary rod.
14. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 13, wherein the locking cam head includes at least one cam surface and a locking cam sleeve surrounding at least a portion of the at least one cam surface, wherein rotation of the movable rod around a longitudinal axis thereof causes the at least one cam surface of the locking cam head to move the locking cam sleeve radially outward to thereby force an outer contact surface of the cam sleeve against the inner surface of the stationary rod.
15. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 13, wherein the pin is fixedly mounted on the end of the movable rod.
16. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 13, wherein the pin is reciprocally mounted on the end of the movable rod.
17. The shower curtain tension rod of claim 16, further comprising a compression spring contacting the end of the movable rod and the pin, wherein the compression spring forces the pin axially outward from the end of the movable rod.
18. An adjustable end cap for a shower curtain tension rod comprising:
- a cap body;
- a threaded fastener fixedly mounted on the cap body; and
- a contact member rotatably mounted on the cap body.
19. The adjustable end cap for a shower curtain tension rod of claim 18, wherein the threaded fastener comprises a threaded bolt including a head mounted in the cap body, and further comprising a retainer mounted in the cap body including a central mounting hole in which at least one flexible mounting finger of the contact member is rotatably mounted.
20. A locking mechanism for a shower curtain tension rod comprising:
- a stationary rod;
- a telescoping rod axially movable with respect to the stationary rod; and
- a locking mechanism for securing the telescoping rod in a desired axial position with respect to the stationary rod, wherein the locking mechanism comprises: a pin fixedly mounted on an end of the telescoping rod and positioned inside the stationary rod; and a locking cam head mounted on the pin structured and arranged to engage an inner surface of the stationary rod to thereby secure the telescoping rod in a selected axial position with respect to the stationary rod.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 6, 2011
Publication Date: Jan 12, 2012
Applicant: Maytex Mills, Inc. (New York, NY)
Inventor: David Baines (New Canaan, CT)
Application Number: 13/177,129
International Classification: A47K 3/00 (20060101);