Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SOAP CASE
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a soap case having a
receiving portion for receiving a bar of soap in a standing
position, and more particularly, to a soap case having a
receiving portion for guiding the receiving of the soap
voluntarily in a standing position.by the load of the soap,
which has a geometrical space into which a bar of a soap is
received in an upright position and also a portion formed
of intentional curved side surface and bottom surfaces
having the function of making point-contact with the
received soap.
In general, there are various types of soap cases and
a typical conventional soap case is shown in FIG. 1. The
soap case 10 has a main body 12 for receiving a bar of soap
100, which consists of a space portion 11 having a flat
bottom surface and a plurality of water draining slits 12a.
In the soap case 10, the wide surface of the soap 100
horizontally contacts the bottom surface of the main body
12 as the soap 100 is received into the soap case 10.
Thus, water left on the wide upper surface of the soap does
not drain rapidly an since there remains a large amount of
water at the contact surface between the lower surface of
the soap and the bottom surface of the case, the lower
surface of the soap softens and disintegrates.
To solve the above problems, there have been many
suggestions, for instance, Korean Utility Model Publication
Nos. 85-3772 and 90-11529, Japanese Utility Model
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Publication Nos. 51-11241 and 51-139750, Japanese Patent
No. 1-171289. However, the following fundamental problems
remain unsolved.
First, a large area of the wide surface of a bar of
soap continues to contact the bottom surface of a case.
Second, even in the case when the bar of soap is received in
a standing position, the bar of soap must be carefully
placed into the soap case to make it stand upright. Third,
when standing upright, the bar of soap easily falls flat due
to a lack of supporting means. And fourth, there is a
burden placed on the user to place the bar of soap in a
particular position since there is no function of guiding
the soap to voluntarily stand upright in the soap case when
the soap is not put into the soap case in an upright
position. Also, as another suggestion, a soap containing
case having a receiving portion in which a bar of soap is
received in a standing position is disclosed in Korean
Patent No. 107887 which was filed by the present applicant.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a soap case according
to the conventional technology. In FIG. 2, the soap case 21
includes a receiving portion 22 in which a bar of soap
having a predetermined length Wa, width Wb and thickness Ta
is received. The receiving portion 22 has a width which is
greater than the thickness Ta and narrower than width Wb of
the bar of soap 200. The bottom of the receiving portion 22
'is angled with respect to the base of the case 21 and the
side walls of the receiving portion 22 has a depth
sufficient to receive and support the bar of soap 200 in an
upright position as the wide surface 201 of the soap 200 is
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directed to the side wall. As a result, the received bar of
soap 200 remains stably in an upright position and narrow
side surfaces 202 thereof is at a predetermined angle.
Thus, since water left at the narrow side surfaces 202 and
the wide surfaces 201 can drain rapidly, the bar of soap 200
dries quickly.
However, in such a case, since the received bar of soap
200 contacts the side surfaces or the bottom surface 2 of
the case 21 partially making a surface or lin contact, the
bar of soap 200 still softens partially. Also, when placing
the bar of soap 200 into the case 21 without care, the bar
of soap may get caught on the upper edge or at the bottom
corner of the side surface of the receiving portion 22.
That is, there is a need to guide the bar of soap 200 to be
received voluntarily and to stand voluntarily in an upright
position.
Summary of the Invention
To overcome the above problems, it is an object of the
present invention to provide a soap case for facilitating
the receiving of a bar of soap while guiding the bar of soap
in a voluntary standing position, allowing the bar of soap
to dry quickly and further preventing the bar of soap from
softening and disintegrating away, by receiving the bar of
soap in a standing position so that water on wide and narrow
'side surfaces of the bar of soap can drain quickly,
providing a means for guiding the bar of soap to voluntarily
stand or to be voluntarily received into the soap case and a
means for supporting the received bar of soap to maintain
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standing, allowing the received bar of soap to make point-
contact at a side surface or a bottom surface of a receiving
portion of the soap case, and preventing water from being
left between the
bar of soap and the side surface or the bottom surface. of
the receiving portion.
Accordingly, to achieve the above object, there is
provided a soap case having a receiving portion for
receiving a bar of soap. The receiving portion has a width
wider than the thickness of the bar of soap and narrower
than the width of the bar of soap such that the bar of soap
can be received in a standing position as a pair of
relatively wider surfaces of the bar of soap face both side
surfaces of the receiving portion, and also has a depth
sufficient for the bar of soap to stably stand upright. The
receiving portion includes side surfaces each being curved
of which the effective contact portions actually contacting
the bar of soap being received become narrower towards the
bottom of the case, a front surface for supporting the
received bar of soap to stably stand upright, a rim surface
of a curved shape forming the upper portion of the side
surfaces and the front surface, and a bottom surface of a
curved shape sloped at a predetermined angle with respect to
the receiving direction of a bar of soap. The both side
surfaces, the front surface, the rim surface and the bottom
-surface are curved sot hat the bar of soap preferably makes
point-contact with the side surfaces, the front surface, the
rim surface and the bottom surface.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
The above object and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent by describing in detail
a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the
attached drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a respective view illustrating a typical soap
case and a bar of soap to be put therein;
FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away perspective view
illustrating another conventional soap case according to
conventional technology;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment
of a soap case according to the present invention;
FIG. 4A and 4B are vertical sectional views taken along
line A-A and line B-B in FIG. 3, respectively, showing a
state in which a bar of soap is received in the soap case of
the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion showing a state in which the bar of soap is being
received in the soap case shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the side
surface of the receiving portion showing a state in which
the bar of soap is being received in the soap case shown in
FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the
side surface of the receiving portion showing a state in
'which the bar of soap is being received in the soap case
shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of the
receiving portion for explaining the concept of the width of
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the receiving portion;
FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion for preventing water droplets from being formed at
an edge of a soap in a soap case according to the present
invention;
FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion having an air flow pocket formed in a soap case
according to the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion having an air hole formed at the side surfaces in a
soap case according to the present invention; and
FIG. 12 is a perspective view for showing modifications
made to the present invention.
Detailed Description of the Invention
As shown in FIG. 3, a receiving portion 32 of a soap
case 30 is formed to have a predetermined varying width W
and a varying depth. The receiving portion 32 of the case
30 has side surfaces 36, front surface 38, a rim surface 35
and a bottom surface 37 that are formed to be curved and
rounded as a whole. The bottom surface 37 has a slope of a
predetermined angle toward a front surface 38, i.e., in the
direction of receiving the bar of soap 300. A water outlet
hole 34 is provided at the lowermost portion of the
receiving portion 32. The bar of soap 300, preferably cubic
'in shape, has a predetermined length W1, width W2 and
thickness T. The width W of the receiving portion 32 is
formed to be greater than the thickness T of the bar of soap
300 and less than the width W2 of the bar of soap so that
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the bar of soap can be received in a standing position.
Also, the rim surface 35 of the receiving portion 32 is
formed to be curved getting narrower toward the front
surface 38, i.e., toward the direction of receiving the bar
of soap together with the side surfaces 36. Both side
surfaces 36 are curved so that the effective contact
portions actually contacting the bar of soap as the bar of
soap is received becoming narrower towards the bottom of the
case, i.e., the side surfaces 36 are curved inwards. The
front surface 38 supports the received bar of soap to stand
in a stable position, and the rim surface 35 has a curved
shape extending from the side surface 36. Also, the soap
case 30 is provided with a support L formed by extending a
portion of the soap case 30 for the stable placement
thereof.
Hereinafter, the soap case according to the present
invention will now be described in more detail with
reference to the attached drawings.
FIGS. 4A and 4B show vertical sectional views of the
receiving portion 32 taken along lines A-A and B-B of FIG.
3, respectively, and the entire shape of the soap 300 is
represented three-dimensionally. As shown in FIG. 4A, the
side surfaces 36 of the receiving portion 32 are
intentionally curved inwards, narrowing the receiving
portion 32 as it goes down and makes point-contact with the
'bar of soap 300 at a point A. In FIG. 4B, the bottom
surface 37 of the receiving portion 32 slopes downward at a
predetermined angle toward the front surface 38, i.e., in a
direction of receiving the bar of soap and makes point-
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contact with the bar of soap at a point B. Also, the bar of
soap makes point-contact with the front surface 38 at a
point C toward the water outlet hole 34. The position of
the contact point A on the bar of soap 300 is also shown in
the drawing.
In other words, in the present embodiment, the bar of
soap makes point-contact with the receiving portion at three
points and is supported by the three contact points. In the
meantime, if the center of gravity of the soap is lower than
the points B and C, the bar of soap can be supported by the
two points B and C only, without contacting a side surface.
That is, the soap can be supported by contacting the
receiving portion at least two points.
Next, the shape and operation of the surfaces 36 and 38
and the bottom surface 37 of the receiving portion 32 formed
to be curved will be described while analyzing the state of
the soap in the middle of being received in the receiving
portion 32.
FIG. 5 shows a vertical sectional view of the receiving
portion 32 at the point where the bar of soap being in the
middle of being received therein contacts the bottom surface
37 of the receiving portion 32. In the drawing, the soap is
illustrated three-dimensionally, the sections of the front
surface 38 and the bottom surface 37 of the receiving
portion 32 are shown, and the bottom surface is sloped at a
-predetermined angle downward toward the soap receiving
direction. The three-dimensionally shaped soap 300 makes
point-contact with the bottom surface 37 at a point D, and
also makes point-contact with the side surfaces 36 of the
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receiving portion 32 at points E and F. It can be seen that
the bar of soap 300 voluntarily slides in due to the weight
of the soap 300 itself toward the front surface 38, i.e., in
the direction indicated by arrow D1 which is the soap
receiving direction. E-E represents a horizontal plane
including contact point E and F-F represents a horizontal
plane including contact point F.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a portion of the
side surfaces 36 and front surface 38 of the receiving
portion 32 at the point (E and F) at which the bar of soap
300 in the middle of being received contacts the side
surface 36 of the receiving portion 32. In the drawing, the
bar of soap 300 is illustrated three-dimensionally. Here,
Se is a cross section of a portion of the surface of the
receiving portion 32 cut along plane E-E of FIG. 5, and Sf
is a cross section of a portion of the surfaces of the
receiving portion cut along plane F-F of FIG. 5. As in the
description for the FIG. 3, the sections Se and Sf have a
width W greater than thickness T and less than width W2 of
the bar of soap 300, respectively. The distance between the
side surfaces 36, i.e., the width W of the receiving portion
32 becomes narrower toward the front surface 38. The points
E and F are contact points between the bar of soap 300 and
the side surface 36 of the receiving portion 32. As shown
in FIG. 5, since the bar of soap moves toward the front
'surface 38 of the receiving portion 32, the bar of soap
slides in the direction indicated by arrow E1 at the point E
and in the direction indicated by arrow F1 at the point F,
respectively. At this time, the soap receives repelling
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forces from the side surfaces 36 in the direction indicated
by arrow Ehl at the point E and in the direction indicated
by Fhl at the ping F, respectively. However, as shown in
FIG. 5, since the point E is disposed quite lower than the
point F, the bar of soap will voluntarily stand upright.
The point D and the arrow D1 are the same as those in FIG.
5.
FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the
side surfaces 36 of the receiving portion 32 at respective
points E and F at which the bar of soap 300 in the middle of
being received contacts the side surfaces 36 of the
receiving portion 32. The side surfaces 36 and the bottom
surface 37 are joined as a continuous curved surface and
formed to be narrower as towards the bottom. The bar of
soap 300 is illustrated tree-dimensionally and located at
the same position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The bar of
soap 300 sliding in the direction indicated by arrow E2 at
the point E receives repelling forces in the direction
indicated by arrow Eh2 and in the direction indicated by
Fh2, respectively. Thus, the bar of soap 300 voluntarily
stands upright.
In the meantime, since the receiving portion 32 has
sufficient depth in the vicinity of front surface 38 as
shown in FIG. 5, the bar of soap 300 received in the
receiving portion 32 having a width narrower than the width
'of the bar of soap 300 can stand stably by both the side
surfaces 36.
When the both side surface 36 or the rim surface 35
becomes narrower toward the front surface 38, i.e., the bar
CA 02211950 1997-07-30
of soap receiving direction, as shown in FIG. 6, the width
of the receiving portion 32 is further narrowed so that the
bar of soap is supported to stand upright more stably.
Accordingly, the bar of soap 300 can stand stably also in
case the receiving portion is not deep enough, and further,
even when the upper portion of the front surface 38 does not
exist to some extent.
Also, even when the distance between the side surfaces
36 or the rim surfaces 35, which gets narrower toward the
direction of receiving the bar of soap as shown in FIG. 6,
does not get narrower, it is possible that the bar of soap
300 can voluntarily stand upright by the forces described in
FIGS. 5 and 7. However, the forces described in FIG. 6 can
more securely allow the bar of soap to voluntarily stand
upright.
In the description of the intentionally curved
surfaces, the entire portion of the side surfaces or the rim
surface does not necessarily have to narrow as it goes down
or in the bar of soap receiving direction. It is
sufficient that only the effective portion in contact with
the bar of soap gets narrower for the bar of soap to
voluntarily stand upright.
In the above embodiment described with reference to
FIGS. 4A-4B, 5, 6, and 7, a bar of soap is received
voluntarily in a standing position and when the receiving is
'complete, the bar of soap remains stably upright while
making point-contact with surfaces of the soap case.
Hereinafter, the concept of the width W of the
receiving portion 32 described above will be described in
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more detail referring to FIG. 8.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing a portion of
the receiving portion for explaining the concept of the
width W of the receiving portion 32. In the drawing, the
soap case includes a portion in which the distance between
the side surfaces 36 is a distance W apart and a portion in
which the distance therebetween is greater than W. Here,
the effective portion of the side surfaces in receiving the
bar of soap 300 in a standing position is the portion in
which the distance between the side surfaces is W. That is,
in the description of the present invention, the width of
the receiving portion for receiving the bar of soap in a
standing position represents the width W of the receiving
portion at the side surface portion effective in keeping bar
of soap upright.
In the meantime, rather than the shapes shown in the
above-described embodiment, there can be a variety of shapes
for the side surfaces, the rim surface and the bottom
surface formed of intentional curved surface for guiding a
bar of soap which is voluntarily received in a standing
position, supporting the received bar of soap to stably
stand upright and allowing the bar of soap to make point-
contact with the receiving portion. The examples are shown
in FIG. 9, 10 and 11 in which the bar of soap is illustrated
three-dimensionally.
FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion by which no water drops are formed at the end
portion of the bar of soap. The shapes of the side surfaces
36 and the bottom surface 37 are been modified version of
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the above-described embodiment. The water flowing down the
body of the bar of soap is not formed as a water drop at an
end portion G of the bar of soap but flows down along the
modified side surface or bottom surface.
FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion in which an air flow pocket 39 is formed by
modifying one side surface 36 and the bottom surface 37 of
the above- described embodiment. The air flowing in through
the water outlet hole 34 shown in FIG. 4 is ventilated via
the air flow pocket 39.
FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view of a receiving
portion having at least one opening 40 for allowing air to
ventilate inside a receiving portion 32. The opening 40 is
formed in the side surface 36 without hindering the bar of
soap from voluntarily sliding down. Such an opening can be
formed in the bottom surface 37 of the receiving portion 32
shown in FIG. 4.
As described above, although there can be numerous
modifications to the soap case, it is a characteristic
feature of the present invention in that an effective curved
surface for guiding or receiving the bar of soap to
voluntarily stand upright and allowing the received bar of
soap to make a point-contact with the soap case, is provided
at the effective contact portions on the side surface, the
rim surface and the bottom surface which actually contact
'the bar of soap being received. Thus, the shapes f the
other portions can be modified differently from the above
embodiments in view of various design concepts.
It is obvious that various modifications and
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alterations to the soap case can be made. As shown in FIG.
12, a plurality of receiving portions 22a and 22b can be
formed in one soap case. That is, the receiving portions
can be arranged to allow the front surface 38 to face each
other or the side surfaces to be in parallel with each
other. Here, when rim surfaces of each of the receiving
portions are connected by a smooth curved surface, the bar
of soap placed on the receiving portion in an arbitrary
direction can be easily received in any one of the receiving
portions. Further, a lid (not shown) or a handle 60 can be
provided in the soap case, and a means 70 for attaching the
receiving portion to the wall and an auxiliary container 50
for storing contact lens or bathing items can also be
provided.
The operation of the soap case having such a structure
according to the present invention will now be described.
Since the soap case 30 formed such that the width W of
the receiving portion 32 is formed to be wider than the
thickness T of the bar of soap 300 and narrower than the
width W2 of the bar of soap and the bottom surface 37 is
sloped at a predetermined angle, the bar of soap is received
to stand upright such that the length W1 is angled at a
predetermined degree. Thus, the water on all surfaces of
the bar of soap rapidly flows down. The side surfaces 36,
front surface 38, rim surface 35 and bottom surfaces 37 of
'the receiving portion 32 have an intentional and calculated
curved surface to receive the bar of soap to voluntarily
stand upright so that the bar of soap is received by sliding
and standing upright voluntarily even if the bar of soap is
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not carefully placed in the soap case. The received bar of
soap remains standing upright by making point-contact with
the side surfaces 36, front surface 38 and bottom surface 37
or the rim surface 35 of the receiving portion 32.
As described above, the soap case according to the
present invention has the following advantages: 1) the water
left on the surface of the bar of soap rapidly flows down so
that the bar of soap dries quickly; 2) the bar of soap is
received as voluntarily standing upright, which facilitates
the receiving by making the bar of soap stand upright even
when being placed aslant; and 3) since the bar of soap makes
point-contact with the surfaces of the soap case, the bar of
soap does not soften and dries quickly due to the smooth
ventilation of air around the bar of soap.
