Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Tubs – Convenience accessories
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-23
2001-05-29
Phillips, Charles E. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Tubs
Convenience accessories
C004S615000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237167
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shower system that allows water to be directed to a user's body without getting the user's head wet.
2. Description of Related Art
Many people have their hair professionally styled by a hair stylist at great expense. These people generally visit the hair stylist once a week to maintain the look and hairstyle that they desire. During the visits to the hair stylist their hair is shampooed and styled. To maintain their hair style in between visits to the hairstylist, such people must avoid getting their hair wet.
Heretofore, shower caps have been used to prevent the wetting of styled hair while the person takes a shower; however, shower caps suffer from several drawbacks. First, the perspiration trapped by the shower cap is often sufficient to cause the hair to get wet resulting in a matted, flattened look to the hair. Second, the mechanical impact of bunching the hair under the shower cap and of the force applied to the hair by the shower cap and its elastic gather, tend to flatten the hair or otherwise ruin the hair style. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an appliance that allows people to take showers without getting their hair wet.
Many unconventional shower appliances for directing the flow of water to various body parts in a more controlled fashion have been proposed in the art. Examples of such shower appliances are provided herein below.
U.S. Pat. No. 382,011, issued to Benjamin C. Smith on May 1, 1888, shows a shower appliance including an arcuate, horizontal, perforated pipe having vertical, perforated pipes branching therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,501,762, issued to Robert G. Ferguson on Jul. 15, 1924, shows a shower appliance having a circular, perforated pipe which can be hydraulically raised or lowered. The height adjustment range of the appliance in Ferguson is very limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,758,767, issued to Louis E. Taggart on May 13, 1930, shows a shower appliance having a circular, perforated pipe which is pivoted down to place the circular pipe around a body and pivoted up to remove the circular pipe from around the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,829,379, issued to Robert M. McGee on Apr. 8, 1958, shows a bathing apparatus having a circular, perforated pipe which is placed on the ground and sprinkles water on a person sitting at the center of the circular pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,171, issued to Lawrence E. Mayhew et al. on Feb. 23, 1965, shows a shower hoop for amusement purposes which includes a perforated pipe formed into an upright shower hoop. The upright shower hoop sprinkles water on people jumping through the hoop.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,257, issued to Allen R. Mace on Mar. 6, 1979, shows a pair of circular shower hoops that are height adjustable. The shower hoops are attached to a carrier which has internal passages for supplying water and other additives, such as soap or perfumes, to the shower hoops. Pairs of side-by-side rollers held between a pair of elongated channels having C-shaped cross sections, allow the assembly including the shower hoops and the carrier to be moved vertically. The carrier has clamping means for fixing the location of the shower hoops at a desired height. The shower hoops of Mace do not pivot. Further, Mace does not disclose a carrier or guide rail having the same structural features as the carrier and guide rail of the present invention. In addition, Mace fails to disclose any details of the structure of the clamping means used as part of the apparatus shown in the Mace patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,553, issued to Remigio Bianchi on Feb. 16, 1988, shows an apparatus for providing a hydromassage over the whole body of a person. The apparatus of Bianchi includes helical perforated pipe portions that rotate about an axis coincident with the axis of the person's body to thereby cause water to impinge upon the person's entire body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,130, issued to Gustav E. Utzinger on Jun. 7, 1988, shows an apparatus for spraying water on a person. The apparatus of Utzinger includes a helically wound perforated pipe which sprays water upon a person surrounded by the helically wound perforated pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,254, issued to George D. Kragle on Sep. 12, 1989, shows a two headed shower consisting of Y-shaped conduit having an inlet and a shower head at each of its two outlets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,985, issued to Robert Antoine on May 30, 1995, shows a horizontal shower hoop attached to a carrier. The carrier is vertically movable and is guided by a T-shaped rail engaged by rollers mounted to the carrier. A cable attached to the carrier is taken up around a motorized, rotating cam to pull the carrier along the rail in accordance with a predetermined program. The shower hoop of Antoine does not pivot. Further, Antoine does not disclose a carrier or guide rail having the same structural features as the carrier and guide rail of the present invention. In addition, Antoine does not disclose a clamping means such as that used as part of the present invention.
Soviet Document Number 1806719, dated Apr. 7, 1993, shows an apparatus having a series of vertically arranged arcuate shower pipes which spray water on a person's body. Japanese Document Number 6,284,985, dated Oct. 11, 1994, shows a plurality of shower nozzles arranged in an arc to shower water upon a seated person.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. In particular, none of the above inventions and patents teach or suggest a pivoting shower arc adapted to move vertically. Further, none of the above inventions and patents teach or suggest a carrier or guide rail having the same structural features as the carrier and guide rail of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a shower apparatus having an arcuate pipe dimensioned to substantially encircle a person taking a shower. The arcuate pipe has perforations that allow water supplied to the pipe to be discharged onto the body of the person taking a shower. The arcuate pipe is pivotally attached to a carrier which is slidably movable along a vertical guide plate. The carrier has a clamping feature that allows the vertical position of the arcuate pipe to be fixed at a height selected by a user. The shower apparatus of the present invention can be retrofitted to existing shower fixtures.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a shower apparatus that can shower a person's body with water without getting the person's head wet.
It is another object of the invention to provide a shower apparatus having a perforated, arcuate pipe which substantially encircles the person taking a shower as liquid is discharged on to the person's body.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a shower apparatus which is adjustable in height to suit users of different heights.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a shower apparatus which can be retrofitted to existing shower fixtures.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 380011 (1888-05-01), Smith
patent: 1188681 (1916-06-01), Rosenberg
patent: 1501762 (1924-07-01), Ferguson
patent: 1758767 (1930-05-01), Taggart
patent: 1986355 (1935-01-01), Pajari
patent: 2829379 (1958-04-01), McGee
patent: 3170171 (1965-02-01), Mayhew et al.
patent: 4142257 (1979-03-01), Mace
patent: 4724553 (1988-02-01), Bianchi
patent: 4749130 (1988-06-01), Utzinger
patent: 4865254 (1989-09-01), Kragle
patent: 5418985 (1995-05-01), Antoine
patent: 0497290 (1950-12-01), None
patent: 6-284985 (1994-10-01), None
patent: 1806719 A1 (1993-04-01), None
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