US2516311A - Vacuum cup holder for towels and the like - Google Patents

Description

July 25, 1950 A. J. GANZ VACUUM CUP HOLDER FOR TOWELS AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2, 1948 i c a m 4 4 M4 2 4 5 m. 2 m, l 2 2 3 z 4 LP m W m m w J h w I m l. l. m.

QTTOQNGV y 5, 1950 A. J. GANZ 2,516,311

VACUUM CUP HOLDER FOR TOWELS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 2, 1948 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 62 Bier J. 6mm- INVENTOR.

Patented July 25, 1950 VACUUM our HOLDER Eon TOWELS' AND- THE LIKE Albeit J..Ga1iz,'. Les Angeles; cant. Application Septin-Her 2, 1948, Serial-Nm47A30:

The present invention. relates to holders for towels and the like, particularlyone employing a suction cup for application to-a wall; and. the primary object of the invention is to: provide a: device of this kind which is: convenient to usemxtremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture. and easily afiixed to a: wall for support. In thisv same connection, one of thefeatures of. the invention is the provision of an improved holder formed of two interiitting moldedv rubber parts, one of which. constitutes: the. suction cup, and the other part being the toweleholdingv element saidparts being soshaped. and arranged: relativeto, one another that. neither interferes with the proper functioning of the other; and both. being likewise soshaped as: to be. readily produced loyconventional molding. processes.

A further obiectof the intention is to provide a. holder embodying". a novel-towel gripping member which is extremely simple, yet highly effective. towel grippingmember preferably termed in the shape of a flat-bottomed cup'that is, at, tachedto the back of, the suction cup with its hot; tom end presented outwardly. The extiosedloottom end of the cup-hasazigza-gsl-it formed these in which extends from; oneside tovthe otherg and. when the sides oi the-cupadiacent the:endslofuthe slit are pressed together, the edges oftheslitare caused to spread apart and open outwardly. so that the edge of a. towel or other article can be inserted into the gaping slit; Uponbeing' released,

the cup returns. to its; normal.shape,,, closing. the

slit and engaging the towelrthereinwitha iiesiljient grip. v I g V v;

Another object oi the invention to provide a. holder of the. type described a suction cupmember thatis particularly designed to give anenhanced seaimg-anegnpp eg.eaten. To this. end, the periphery of the sucticncupis given a special shape proyidinga. second and separate" vacuum sealing area around the. outside: of the primary suction area or tli'e cul'fil A still further. feature of. invention is. the provision of a suction. towel. holder of the class described, wherein the. suction cue has a: preformed hole at its center extending alrno'st; but not entirely, tmougume cup" from the'loa'cl; or outside surface thereoif so that a tack can easily be pushed through the reii'iainingiuaiterial to mount the holder on aroughicr porous surface of a type unsuited t'othe" use ortnesuction cup in the usual. manner I The foregoingand other .olijfect's and a'dj am tagesof the invention .wi'll. become" apparent to those skilled .intheartiupon consideration Qt. the following detailed description of the prefenee a oninis (01. 248-206) 2'1 embodiment thereof, reference being had to the drawings; in which:

lj'igure 1. is aperspective View of a'holder em liodying the principles of the invention}.

Figure 2 is another view of the same, showing:

the. nanner in which. the edges of the slit spread apartand, gape outwardly when the gripping rnernber is squeezed together adjacent the ends: oi the slit;

Figure 3 is an enlarged verticalsection through they hbldri Figure 4; is an can see or agripping member;

showing another form of thezigzag slit;

Figure 5 shows sun another form. of the zigzag.

Figure 8 is a perspective new illustrating. the

manneroi assembling the device; and

Figure 9 is a perspective View illustrating the insertion ofan article into thedevi'ce.

q In the crawingsth e holder is" designated in its entiretyb'y the referenc'e' numeral H), and com: prises a suctionicupmember H, and a gripping member 12: Both of these members" are molded of either natural o Synthetic rubber, and are provided with. irit'erfitting portions wherehy the gripping member maybe securely inou'nt'edonth'e back of the suction cup member for support.

The suction Cup member ['1 circular in planform', and has a main generally;frusto conifcal wall, including sloping sides f4 andtop l 5-,'w"hicir ma 11a or substantially uniform thickness; excepting for a special formation at the outer e-- 1 riphe'ry;

penned integral-1 y with the side wall M and: projecting outwardly from the Back face Mfd thereof is an inn-ul'ar mountingflange i3 which is preferably somewhat less in thickness thanthe thicknessofthe suction cup mem'Ber at the poi'nt. oi -their junction. Somewhat roughly speaking,

the flange l3 preferably has a diameter of about 80%" or a 1ittle'less thanthe outside diamet'er or the entire cup; inwardly-directed up It is provided around" the-'edg'e'of the-flange 13. The

gripping member I 2 is generally-cup-shapeil, wan

cylindricalside walls' 'ifi a fat, relatively outer end walr 21-; Formed" amen-stile were of} In member is an outwardly directed lip ZYwlticli is member I2 is open at its end corresponding to lip 16, it is susceptible of collapse, as to the position of Figure 8, and is hence capable of'ready assembly and disassembly with respect -:to-.the.gripping member I l.

The usual method of mounting the holder Ill on a wall or other surface is to moisten the suction face of the vacuum cup H, and then press the same firmly against a smooth surface. Air is expelled from underneath the suction cup, and atmospheric pressure thereafter holds the cup firmly against the wall surface. As the cup is applied to the wall surface, the main side wall [4 thereofj bends-'relative to :to'p If: to flatten toward the wall surface"; and the flap portion'24 bends outwardly likewise, but through a few additional degrees of angle because of its initial angular relationshipgto'walhlii, The resilient tendency for the flap portion to return to its initial angle relative to wall [4 causes its periphery to contract slightly, which forces the cup wall upwardly a .short;distance ingthe region of the thin section The outer end wall 21 of the gripping member I2 is formed with a towel-receiving slit-preferably azigzag'slit 23 extending substantially from one side of the member to the'otherw One'form of the zigzag slit 23 is shown in Figure 1, While another form is shown at 23a. in Figure 4, and still a third form is shown at 23b in Figure 5. The'chief characteristic of each of these slits is that it'is ge'r'ierally zigzag in configuration-affording a long line of slit, aswell as gripping teeth and this slit extends in a generally diametral direction across the circular end wall 2| substantially from one side to the other. It will be observed that the'zigzag slit 23b in Figure 5 is curvate, each of the points of reversal in direction being smoothly curved. The feature that makes these zigzag slits more effective than the usual three-way or four-way radiating slits that have heretofore been'employed is the fact that when the gripping memberis squeezed from opposite sides adjacent the ends of' the slit, the edges of the slit gape open and point outwardly, as shown in Figure 2, making it possible to insert the edge or a corner of a'towel or similar object between the toothededges of the slit. The resilient gripping member. I2 is then released and springs back to its original form, closing the edges of the slits together on the article inserted therein and engaging the same in a yieldable grip. The article is removed from the gripping member by merely giving it a slight tug, which pulls it free of the resilient grip. Alternatively, the cor her of a towel or the like, such as T in Figure 9, can simply be forced inbetween the gripping points of the holder by a thrust of the index finger. In such action, the flexible holder l2 readily expands or deforms with any stretching forces so imposed, and thereis no tendency to tear the slit at its ends or corners.

The side wall portion l4, formed preferably at Mb .toa minimum wall thickness point Md, and from there has a surface Me which slopes to the.

periphery of the cup at an increased inclination say at about 45,to the transverse plane. The cup is thus given a minimum thickness section near but somewhat spaced inside its periphery, outside of'which a flap portion -fil -of the shape described, andthere is an obtuse angle of about 155? between the inner wall surface 140 and thefiap surface 14c. 1

l ld, as has been indicated in Figure 6 at 25. The

result is that there is a double vacuum seal, first,

the sealing area 26 inwarid of the annular slightly raised c'up 'region'25, and second, an:additional annular sealingarea all outside the outside of the.

. cordingl'y,'a hole 21- is formed in the center of the suction-cup-mem'ber, said hole extending almost but not entirely through the member so that a thumb tack 2:8 can easily be pushed through the remaining material" and into the wall, as shown in Figure 7,

While Ijhave shown and described in considerable detail what I believe to be the preferred form of my invention,'-it is to be understood that such details are not restrictive, and that various changes may be made in the shape and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

lclaim'g 1. A' holder for towels and the like comprising a suction cup member having an annular mounting flangeprojelcting from' the back side thereof, said fiangehaving an inwardly turned lip along itsedge, a cup-shaped gripping member formed of soft rubber-like material and having cylindricalsi'de walls and a flat, relatively thin outer end wall, said cylindrical side walls having an outwardly turned annular lip formed around the open endthereof, said annular lip being engageable under the lip onsaid mounting flange to secure said gripping member to said suction cup member, and said end wallof said gripping member being formed with slit means adapted to engage a portion of a towel or similar object to hold the same in a yieldable grip.

2. A 'deVi'ceasdefined in claim 1, wherein said suction cup memberhas a hole formed in the center thereof'which extends almost, but not entirely, through the member, whereby a thumb tack can easilyfbepushed through the remaining material to securethe suction cup member to a rough or .porous surface of the type unsuited to the useof, the suctionicupin the usual manner.

' 3. A holder for towels and the like comprising .5 mounting flange projecting from the back side thereof, said flange having an inwardly turned lip along its edge, a cup-shaped gripping member formed of soft rubber-like-material and having cylindrical side walls and a flat, relatively thin outer end wall, said cylindrical side walls having an outwardly turned annular lip formed around the open end thereof, said annular lip being engageable under the lip on said mounting flange to secure said gripping member to said base memher, and said end wall of said gripping member being formed with slit means adapted to engage a portion of a towel or similar object to hold the same in a yieldable grip.

ALBERT J. GANZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,694,235 Schoenfelder Dec. 4, 1928 1,739,641 Lessmann Dec. 17, 1929 1,792,903 Haller Feb. 17, 1931 1,892,140 Fogler Dec. 27, 1932 2,051,068 Ayre et al Aug. 18, 1936 2,278,075 I-Iecht Mar. 31, 1942 2,432,719 Braun Dec. 16, 194 7

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