Tripod Soap Holder

Abstract

A soap holder is provided having a tripod projection suitable to receive a cake of soap that has a central hole (described in prior art as “Spindle Soap”). This invention simultaneously provides balanced support and multiple openings for improved drainage of the cake of soap between uses. The soap holder may be made of stainless steel, brass, plastics, resins, and porcelain, among other materials, and may be a single formed piece. The device may be easily cast or formed by injection mold technique. The soap holder may also be fabricated from wire, rod or plate stock.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

My invention relates to devices for mounting or supporting cakes of soap for hand or bath use.

Cakes of soap are unpleasant to use when stored improperly between washings, since poorly drained soap becomes discolored, has a sticky surfaces and develops fissures ridden with grime. A variety of soap holders are therefore made to provide better drainage of cakes of soap, improving cake soap attractiveness and useful life. Unfortunately, state of the art soap holders are known to leave unaddressed one or more problems relating to drainage and drying of cakes of soap and furthermore can be difficult or uneconomical to use, such as when they are inherently unstable, when the soap is not firmly retained or easily replaced after use, when required accessory pieces may go missing or must be discarded, or when they are large and cannot fit near lavatory or bath. Some key examples of the state of the art are described below.

The support for soap cake provided by U.S. Pat. No. Des. 3,315,933 to Tatham, issued Apr. 25, 1967, teaches a liner embedded within a vertical recess in a cake of soap, and from which the soap is suspended. The soap saving holder provided by U.S. Pat. No. Des. 6,966,445 to Johanna, issued Nov. 22, 2005, remains embedded in a cake of soap to support the cake above any moisture collected below in a soap dish or surface. Both devices require the use of an element embedded in the cake of soap, the disadvantages of which are described above. The utility of these devices is further compromised as the bottom portion of the soap cake repeatedly dries less quickly than the top, encouraging fissures to form in the cake of soap. This uneven drying results from the soap being necessarily replaced in the same orientation after each use. A further problem of the design issued to Tatham is its difficulty of use; there is limited visibility of the mounting post and aperture when replacing soap.

Suspension soap holder provided by U.S. Pat. No. Des. 4,775,124 to Hicks, issued Oct. 4, 1988, teaches a bent wire soap holder that has the primary disadvantage of not holding the soap firmly in place; the soap is free to slip off the holder laterally. An additional disadvantage is that the wire supports mar the outside surfaces of the soap.

The “Soap Spindle” soap holder provided by U.S. Pat. No. Des. 4,458,871 to van Allen, issued Jul. 10, 1984, includes as part of its design a round spindle that retains a cake of soap with a hole completely through it (“Spindle Soap”). The design is problematic in that it teaches a cylindrical spindle of slightly smaller diameter to fit inside a cylindrical hole in a cake of soap; water is thereby retained by capillary action between these surfaces. The round spindle design also requires the cake of soap to be supported at bottom by a convex surface that traps water and soap emulsion against the soap cake's center surface, further preventing water from draining out of the soap hole.

The soap holder provided by U.S. Pat. No. Des. 5,020,753 to Green, issued Jun. 4, 1991, teaches a cylindrical projection extending into a cylindrical recess of a bar of soap, similar to the “Soap Spindle” design issued to van Allen and with similar disadvantages as described above. Furthermore, in the preferred embodiments of Green's invention, the soap holder relies on loose accessory elements embedded within the soap recess to increase utility of the device, thereby creating different problems such as obstruction of the central drainage, wasted materials, potential user injury, and complexity of manufacture and distribution. This invention also needs an overly wide base or mechanical attachments to counteract its inherently unstable format.

None of the above inventions, taken singularly or in combination, is seen to describe my invention nor do they solve all the problems of soap holders described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

My invention, also referred to here as a “tripod soap holder” or “my device,” provides a tripod spindle type soap holder consisting of three equally spaced, outwardly spreading support ribs that converge to fit within a cylindrical hole fashioned through the center a hard cake of soap, permitting the soap to rest in elevated state without touching anything else. The primary objective of my invention is to provide a holder of improved utility and drainage for use with spindle cake soap described in prior art.

Unlike prior art soap holders, my invention does not depend on loose accessory articles embedded in or attached to a soap cake. The comparative advantages of my invention are that it eliminates potential user injury resulting from accessory articles exposed or separated from the cake of soap, it facilitates independent manufacture and marketing of the soap holder and the dispensed product (i.e. cake soap) and it reduces material waste due to disposal or potential loss of accessory articles.

Since my invention can be smaller than a cake of soap, it is inherently space-saving in nature and easy to place next to lavatory or bath. The proportionately wider base and central axis of symmetry of my device contribute to its overall stability during every state of use. Further contributing to ease of use, a person is able to see how to replace cake soap on my device, and soap may be replaced in either orientation.

Prior art soap holders for use with spindle type cake soap rely on a simple cylindrical projection fixed to a perpendicular base. This creates a problem of water held by capillary action between the cylindrical soap hole and the cylindrical projection. In addition, the cake soap slides down the cylinder and is stopped against a base that obstructs the hole in the soap, thereby trapping water against the soap. My invention eliminates both of these problems by means of a tripod support that minimizes capillary action and provides three openings to ensure drainage at the base of the hole.

Marks made by my device within the soap hole by its support edges are inherently free-draining vertical ridges, whichever way the cake soap is replaced. The location of these marks is confined to the interior of the soap, not affecting the primary user surfaces of the soap cake. Thus the cake soap remains hard and substantially unblemished, extending its attractiveness and its useful life.

The form of my invention renders it conveniently manufactured of a single piece from a variety of durable materials, such as stainless steel, brass, plastics, resins, and porcelain, among others. This invention may be easily cast or formed by injection molding techniques. The tripod may also be fabricated from wire, rod or plate stock, and is adaptable to a variety of conventional mounting methods such as suction cup or other mechanical fasteners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the invention from above

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the invention

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through 4-4 in FIG. 2 of the invention with a cake of soap shown resting thereon

FIG. 5 is a sectional view through 5-5 in FIG. 4 looking up toward a cake of soap resting on the invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to attached drawings, FIGS. 1 to 5, there is shown generally a tripod soap holder (a) constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, for use on a suitable flat surface (b). This configuration consists of three uniform vertical fins (c) fixed to a conveniently shaped mounting base (d) of trilateral symmetry. The top surface of the fins (c) provides the equally spaced, outwardly spreading support ribs (e) that converge to fit within a vertical cylindrical hole (f) fashioned through the gravitational center a hard cake of soap (g), permitting the soap to rest, balanced on only three points of contact (h) in elevated state. The resulting space between the soap hole (f) the three fins (c) and the sloping top (i) of the base (d) are three continuous and downwardly draining voids (j).

A cake of soap (g) is spindle type cake soap of any convenient format as provided for in prior art, and thus has a cylindrical hole completely through its lesser dimension, the center of which is the lesser axis of the gravitational center of that mass.

To use, a person lifts a cake of soap (g) off the holder (a) with one hand, washes as customary, replacing the soap afterward by slipping it over the protruding top (k) and releasing. The soap drops into the centralized position and is held in place by gravity. Water freely drips from the surfaces of the cake of soap, allowing the soap to dry between uses. My device works even though the diameter of a soap cake hole (f) will vary due to soap manufacturing tolerances and the gradual widening of a hole through multiple washings. Even if the edges of a soap cake hole become deformed through use or manufacture, the three points of contact (h) provide stable support, similar in principle to that of a three-legged stool on uneven ground.

FIG. 1 shows a general perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a tripod soap holder (a) cast in a single piece from material such as resin. Note the while FIGS. 1 to 4 show the holder in its upright orientation, this embodiment would be most easily cast upside down, and all surfaces, including those drawn here as vertical, shall be constructed with proper draft. The size of the tripod soap holder (a) illustrated is, in relationship to a typical cake of soap (g), less than or equal to its width and less than twice its height, with the top (k) of the tripod being narrower than the hole (f) in the soap.

The plan view, FIG. 2, shows the trilaterally symmetrical positioning of three outward-spreading support ribs (e) centered on the base (d) below. The base (d) is also trilaterally symmetrical to counterbalance the ribs above. In this embodiment the base has a hexagonal form with a flat bottom and a faceted, sloping top (i) that is thick enough to anchor the fins (c) and low enough so as not to impede the utility of support ribs (e). This relationship is also shown in the elevational view, FIG. 3.

The sectional view, FIG. 4, transects one of the three vertical fins (c) rising from the base (d) and illustrates the parabolically curved profile of a supporting rib (e) and its point of contact (h) against the edge of the cylindrical hole (f) in a cake of soap (g).

FIG. 5 is a plan section looking up toward a cake of soap (g) resting on the tripod soap holder (a); this further illustrates the relationship of the three supporting ribs (e) to the edge of the soap hole (f), and shows the three resulting drainage voids (j) that allow water to exit freely through the base of the hole.

While certain embodiments of my invention have been disclosed and shown in the drawings as preferred or typical, my invention is not limited to these particular forms, but rather is applicable broadly to all such variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. For use with a cake of spindle type cake soap described in prior art, a soap holder wherein the improvement comprises:

a.) three uniform supporting ribs that diverge in a trilaterally symmetrical tripod arrangement from a common high point, the supporting surfaces of which ribs extend outward from the vertical axis of symmetry by a constantly increasing distance as approaching the base, thereby elevating a cake of soap on three minimal points of contact with the edges of the soap hole, and

b.) between which ribs are disposed three continuous and downwardly draining voids of maximum volumetric area permitted by fabrication.