Technical Field The present invention relates to a soap case, and particularly, to a soap case which enables a bar of soap to dry quickly after use.

Background Art

There are a variety of soap cases suggested in accordance with soap type and place of use. Referring to Fig.1 illustrating an example soap case, a soap case

10 is made up of a body 12 having a space 11 into which a soap bar 100 is inserted, and a lid 13. Water outlets 12a are formed in body 12.

However, although water outlets 12a are provided on the bottom of body 12, such a soap case 10 exhibits the following problems, due to soap bar 100 lying flat:

First, since water on the broad top surface of the soap is not shed quickly, the soap dries slowly; and secondly, since water is retained throughout a broad area between the bottom of the soap and the bottom of the soap case body, the soap melts and softens. In order to solve such problems, diverse shapes have been attempted with respect to other conventional soap cases. However, these attempts have not fundamentally solved such problems as the soap bar melting and softening due to water being retained between the soap and the bottom of a soap case.

Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, in order to overcome the above-discussed problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a soap case in which a bar of soap is able to stand upright or stand inclined at a certain angle so that water on the soap is shed quickly, thus preventing the soap from melting or softening. To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there is provided a soap case comprising a body having a reservoir into which a bar of soap of a predetermined long-side width, a predetermined short-side width and a predetermined thickness is inserted, the reservoir having a width broader than the

thickness of the soap bar and narrower than the short-side width of the soap bar so that the soap bar is received in the soap case in a standing position.

Preferably, any one side of the soap bar except for the broadest surface of the soft bar is parallel to the horizontal plane or slightly sloped with respect to the horizontal plane, wherein the side and/or bottom of the reservoir is formed such that any one side of the soap bar except for the broadest surface thereof is parallel or sloped by a. certain angle, with respect to the horizontal plane.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. l is an exploded perspective view of a conventional soap case;

Fig.2 is a partially removed and exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a soap case of the present invention;

Figs.3A, 3B and 3C are elevational cross-sections of other embodiments of a soap case of the present invention; and Fig.4 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a soap case of the present invention.

Best mode for carrying out the Invention

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Fig.2, a soap case 20 has a body 21 on the upper portion of which a reservoir 22 for receiving a soap having a long-side width Wl, a short-side width W2 and a thickness T is formed. According to the features of the present invention, the width of soap reservoir 22 is wider than the thickness T of soap bar 100 and narrower than the short-side width W2 so that a normal line of the broadest surface of soap bar 100 is level or sloped by an angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The side and/or bottom 22a of reservoir 22 is formed so that any one side of the soap bar except for the broadest surface thereof is parallel or sloped by an angle, with respect to the horizontal plane. Here, it is preferable that the bottom interior surface of body 21 be roughly U-shaped, U-shaped with a corrugated bottom and having at least one protrusion as shown in Fig.3 A, or slanted in one direction by a predetermined angle as shown in Fig.3B, in the cross section perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the body.

For a water outlet 30 formed on side and/or bottom 22a of soap reservoir 22 for facilitating the drainage of water, a groove 31 is formed in the lengthwise direction of the bottom, and a through hole 32 is formed on the end of the groove. For easier drainage, the water outlet can be modified in many other ways, for example, such that branching grooves (not shown) connected with the central main groove are provided (i.e. , having fishbone-like appearance), or such that a recess 22d is formed. so as to provide a predetermined space between the bottom of the body and soap bar 100 as shown in Fig.3C.

As depicted in Fig.4, another embodiment of the soap case of the present invention has a plurality of reservoirs 22' radially disposed with respect to the center of body 21 ' in a soap case 20'. A protrusion 25, provided at the center of the radially disposed reservoirs, prevents soap bar 100 from sliding so as to enter another reservoir, after being inserted into one of reservoirs 22'.

Preferably, a grip for easy carriage of the soap case or a length of double- sided tape for adhesion to a wall surface is provided on body 21 (or 21'). The soap case may be also constructed by further comprising the function of a sponge and scrubber case, a container for shampoo, a dish for the placement of small articles, a toothbrush case, and/or other such usage.

Now, the function of the soap case according to the present invention constructed as above will be described below.

When soap bar 100, after use, is received in reservoir 22 of soap case 20 of the present invention, the soap bar is received in an upright state while any one side thereof except for the broadest surface of the soap bar is parallel or slanted by an angle, with respect to the horizontal plane, because the width of reservoir 22 is narrower than the short-side width W2 of the soap bar. For this reason, water retained on the surface of soap bar 100 is shed quickly therefrom and flows along groove 31 of water outlet 30 formed on the bottom of the body by way of bottom 22a which is sloped by a predetermined angle. The water is finally discharged via through hole 32. Such a configuration prevents water from being retained between bottom 22a and the soap bar so that the soap bar 100 is prevented from melting and softening and therefore dries more quickly.

In the other embodiment of Fig.4, since reservoirs 22' inclined from the top of the body are radially arranged with respect to the center of body 21 ' , a soap bar

is, even if not precisely inserted into reservoirs 22', inserted into one of the plurality of radially disposed reservoirs 22'. This embodiment of the soap case also has the same effect as in the afore-explained embodiments.

Besides the above embodiments, it is apparent to a person skilled in the art that there may be many other modifications and variations to dispose a plurality of the soap case according to a design concept.

The soap case of the present invention can be used without limitation of location, by providing a grip, a hook or a length of double-sided tape for attachment to a wall surface. The present invention can be also combined with various functions such as a sponge and scrubber case, a container for shampoo, a dish for the placement of small articles, or a toothbrush case.

Accordingly, the present invention is advantageous in that, after use, the water on the surface of a bar of soap is shed more quickly and is thus not retained between the bottoms of the soap case and the soap bar, thereby fundamentally preventing the soap from melting or softening.