AU726540B2 - A shower recess - Google Patents

Description

WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -1- A SHOWER

RECESS

The present invention relates to shower recesses and, in particular, to shower recesses formed from panels formed from glass or equivalent material.

Background Art In order to gain access to the show recess there is an opening between the walls of the shower recess which is closed by a door. The doors generally take either one of two forms. The more common door is a sliding door normally composed of a number of narrow panels which slide in overlapping relationship to close the access opening. It is common for such a sliding door to have one fixed panel and two sliding panels and for the width of the access opening to be just less than the combined width of the two sliding panels.

While such conventional sliding doors are sold in large numbers, they suffer from a number of mechanical disadvantages including a propensity for the sliding mechanism to malfunction, and various aesthetic considerations such as an inclination to rattle and a general impression of flimsiness. For these and other reasons shower recesses having a pivoted glass door are increasingly finding commercial acceptance.

However, the growth of such commercial acceptance is currently inhibited by two problems. The first is that if the glass door has hinges, the door very often leaks thereby resulting in water escaping from the shower recess and creating an unsightly, and dangerous, shallow puddle of water on the bathroom floor. The other problem is that the cost of such shower recesses is relatively high essentially because of the mode of fabrication. If the cost of construction of the shower recess could be reduced then the number of shower recesses of this type which are sold could be substantially increased.

Summary of the Invention It is the object of the present invention to improve upon the existing state of shower recesses. The aim of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a relatively low cost shower recess arrangement with a pivoted door which does not leak.

A further aim of another aspect of the present invention is to provide a shower recess WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -2able to be fabricated from panels of predetermined width which can therefore be packaged in kit form and used irrespective of small variations in the physical size of the area of the bathroom to become the shower recess.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a shower recess comprising a pair of substantially co-planar walls having an access opening therebetween, and a door pivoted to open or close said access opening, wherein said pair of walls are not aligned and the width of said door exceeds the width of said access opening.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a shower recess having an access opening closed by a pivoted door and having a fixed wall formed from two overlapping substantially parallel arranged panels.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of adjusting the length of a fixed wall of a shower recess, the wall being formed from panels of predetermined width, said method comprising the steps of forming said wall from two overlapping substantially parallel arranged ones of said panels, and adjusting the degree of overlap of said panels to determine the length of the wall formed thereby.

Description of the Drawings Several embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first type of prior art shower recess, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a second type of prior art shower recess, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a shower recess in accordance with the present invention, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the base of the shower recess of Fig. 3 taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through the base of the shower recess along the line V-V of Fig. 3, WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -3- Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a tongue used to join the various members which form the base and top frames of the arrangement of Fig. 3, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a shower recess of the second embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 8 is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view taken though a shower recess of a third embodiment which is essentially similar to Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but of a shower recess of a fourth embodiment, Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a shower recess of a fifth embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a shower recess of a sixth embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 12 illustrates in schematic fashion via Figs. 12A-12F six possible door arrangements, Fig. 13 illustrates in schematic fashion via Figs. 13A-13J ten possible configurations for shower recesses formed in a corner, and Fig. 14 illustrates in schematic fashion via Figs. 14A-14H eight possible configurations for shower recesses formed from a single wall rather than a corner.

Detailed Description A first form of prior art shower recess formed from glass panels and having a pivoted glass door is illustrated in Fig. 1. The shower recess 1 has two fixed glass panels 2, 3 and a glass door 4. Each of the glass panels 2, 8 has an extruded aluminium frame member 5 on at least three sides and thus a substantial amount of aluminium is utilised in the construction. Furthermore, the vertical aluminium members, particularly that member 6 at the corner of the shower recess, are not particularly strong and thus the overall arrangement is generally flimsy. In addition, the door 4 edge abuts the smaller of the fixed glass panels 3 and the aluminium frame member 6 forming the corner of the shower recess. When the door 4 is closed, the door 4 is essentially co-planar with the smaller fixed glass panel 3. Clearance gaps WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -4between the door 4 and the panel 2 and member 6 are required to enable the door 4 to move between its open and closed positions. These gaps result in water leaking from the shower recess 1 through the two small clearance gaps.

A second prior art shower recess 11 is illustrated in Fig. 2. Again there are fixed glass panels 12 and 13 and a glass door 14. There are no aluminium frame members, however, there are six mounting brackets 15 which are each relatively expensive. The hinges 18 for the door 14 are also expensive both to purchase and to install. This is because the hinges 18 must be installed on the glass of the door 14 by drilling holes in the glass door 14 and the glass panel 12 and this requires the action of a skilled glazier. In addition the glass panels 12, 13 are sealed with silicone rubber or like material, to the walls 16 and floor 17 of the shower recess 11. This results in the glass panels 12 and 13 being substantially rigidly mounted and so a substantial structure is created. However, the overall arrangement is relatively expensive to construct and therefore such shower recesses 11 have hitherto been installed mainly in high cost buildings such as five star hotels.

Furthermore, although the arrangement is aesthetically pleasing, there are, as before, small clearance gaps between the door 14 and the glass panels 12 and 13.

Furthermore, the floor 17 of the bathroom is not flat. This is in order to allow drainage of water to two waste outlets (only one illustrated) located one inside and one outside the shower recess 11. As a result of the sloping floor 17, the door 14 must have a lower edge which is sufficiently high to ensure clearance above the floor 17 in all positions. As a consequence, there may be a substantial gap between the base of the door 14 and the floor 17 when the door 14 is in the closed position. The inevitable result of the above mentioned gaps or clearances is that the shower recess leaks water even when the door 14 is closed. As a result, an unsightly, and slippery, hazard on the bathroom floor 17 is created.

Turning now to Fig. 3, the shower recess 21 of the first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. As before a first side wall 22, a second side wall 23 and a glass door 24 are provided. The outer edges of the first and second side walls WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 22, 23 are each mounted in a U-shaped aluminium channel 25. The lower edges of the side walls 22 and 23 are mounted in a base frame 26 whilst the upper edges of the side walls 22 and 23 are mounted in a top frame 27. It will be seen that the channel 25 and frames 26, 27 are the only aluminium components required. The door 24 is inexpensively pivoted by means of two pivots 28 which are respectively mounted in the base frame 26 and top frame 27 and connected to the door by fasteners which pass through the glass. The remaining members are two side panels 29 and 30 which are relatively narrow in width and which edge abut the first and second side walls 23 and 22 respectively.

As seen in Fig. 4, the base frame 26 is an extruded aluminium member which sits on, and is sealed to, a base foundation 31 in substantially conventional fashion.

The base frame 26 includes two longitudinally extending grooves 32 and 33 each of which is shaped to receive either a glass panel, a splash rail 34 or a sealing strip 40. As indicated in Fig. 4, in that portion of the base frame 26 located below the door 24, the outer groove 32 receives a splash rail 34 and the inner groove 33 receives a sealing strip The grooves 32, 33 and the splash rail 34 and sealing strip 35 each have a pair of indentations 26 and a pair of protrusions 37 which provide a locating means. In addition, prior to installation of both the splash rail 34 and sealing strip 35, a small amount of silicone rubber is applied so as to form a water tight seal between these two items and the base frame 26.

As indicated in Fig. 4, with the glass door 24 in the closed position, the splash rail 34 is located to the exterior side of the door 24. As a result, any drops of water which fall downwardly into the space between the base frame 26 and the door 24 and bounce outwardly, are intercepted by the splash rail 34. As a result, this water is redirected downwardly towards the upper surface of the base frame 26. Since, as seen in Fig. 4, this upper surface slopes inwardly, such water drains inwardly into the shower recess 21.

WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -6- Turning now to Fig. 5, the base frame 26 at the location of the second side wall 23 has the glass panel 39 which forms the second side wall 23. The glass panel 39 is located in the inner groove 33. Again, preferably a small amount of silicone rubber is located in the inner groove 33 immediately prior to installation of the glass panel 39 so as to provide a suitable seal. A further sealing strip 40 is located in the outer groove 32 in order to close this groove off. As indicated in Fig. 5 the sealing strip 40 (and also strips 34 and 35 if desired) can be provided with extended legs which reach to the base of the grooves 32, 33.

Whilst in Fig. 5 the glass panel 39 of wall 23 is located in the inner groove 33 and the sealing strip 40 is located in the outer groove 32, it will be apparent that for the first side wall 22. the glass thereof is located in the outer groove 32 and the sealing strip 35 is located in the inner groove 33. A similar comment applies in respect of the side panel 30 which edge abuts the first side wall 22 and which is sealed thereto by means of a silicone rubber joint. The other side panel 29 is, however, located in the inner groove 33 and edge abuts the glass panel 39 of the second side wall 23. As a consequence, the side panels 29 and 30 are not co-planar but instead are located in substantially parallel planes spaced apart by the spacing determined by the spacing between the grooves 32 and 33.

Furthermore, the door 24 has a width which exceeds the width of the access opening to the shower recess 21 formed between the side panels 29 and 30. As a consequence, when the door 24 is closed, the edge of the door 24 closer to the door handle 41 overlies the side panel 29. Similarly, the edge of the door 24 closer to the pivots 28 overlies the side panel 30. In this way none of the water which is splashed towards the door 24 and side panels 29, 30 during the showering process, can escape through the walls of the shower recess 21.

It will be apparent from Fig. 3 that the base frame 26 is provided with two mitred joints at the corners between the first side wall 22 and the side panel 30 and the second side wall 23 and the side panel 29 respectively. Such joints are easily formed by hack sawing the aluminium extrusion used to form the base frame 26 and inserting a WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -7preformed V-shaped dual tongue member 43 (Fig. 6) into a rectangular aperture 44 formed in the lowermost portion of the base frame 26. With a tongue member 43 so inserted, some simple fasteners such as pop rivets can be used to secure the tongue member 43 in the recess 44 prior to positioning of the base frame 43 above the base foundation 31.

The top frame 27 (not illustrated in cross section) is essentially the same as the base frame 26 save that the uppermost surface opposite the grooves 32 and 33 is flat as illustrated in Fig. 3. The fasteners can be obscured from view by passing from below (and above) into the aperture 44 on the base frame 26 (and top frame 27) respectively.

If desired, in Fig. 3 the second side wall 23 can be formed in identical fashion to the first side wall 22. However, in many installations it will be desired to form an overlapping wall arrangement as illustrated in Fig. 3. In this arrangement the second side wall 23 as seen in Fig. 3 is formed from two glass panels 38 and 39. The inner glass panel 39 is as illustrated in Fig. 5 and is located in the inner groove 33. The outer glass panel 38 is, as illustrated in Fig. 3, located in the outer groove 32 but overlaps the inner glass panel 39. Those portions of the inner and outer grooves not filled by either of the glass panels 38, 39 are provided with a sealing strip 35 or 40. It will be apparent that because of the overlap between the panels 38 and 39, the second side wall 23 remains water tight as far as water splashing on the inner surfaces of the panels 38, 39 during the showering process, is concerned.

The main advantage of constructing one or other or both, of the side walls 22, 23 in overlapping fashion as illustrated in Fig. 3 has to do with the inherent variability of bathrooms and the desirability of providing cut glass panels of predetermined size in a kit form suitable for installation in a wide range of applications. If standard size glass panels are used, the cost of each panel is substantially reduced. In addition, there is no need to cut glass and thus this skill of a glazier is not required. Any difference between the length of, for example, the second side wall 23 from one installation to the next can be easily accommodated by adjusting the degree of overlap of the glass panels 38 and 39.

WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 -8- A second, and somewhat simpler embodiment of the second invention is illustrated in Fig. 7. Here the shower recess 51 is provided with first and second side walls 52, 53 and a glass door 54 substantially as before with the base frame 56 and top frame 57 being L-shaped but otherwise substantially as before. The door 54 extends between two glass panels 58 and 59 which are respectively located in the inner groove 33 and outer groove 32 of the base frame 56. This again provides the overlapping arrangement in which the access opening between the panels 58 and 59 is of a lesser width than the width of the glass door 54.

The details of the door arrangement of Fig. 7 are illustrated in Fig. 8 in which it will be seen that the glass door 54 is pivoted so as to open outwardly with the pivots being adjacent the glass panel 58. In the alternative arrangement illustrated in Fig. 9, the glass door 64 is pivoted from the other side and thus the second side wall 63 is located in the outer gtoove 32 and the glass panel 68 which is adjacent the first side wall 62 is located in the inner groove 33.

In the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 8, the first side wall 52 has the glass panels forming the corner of the shower recess in the outer groove 33 and the glass panels abutting the walls of the shower recess located in the inner groove 33. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 9 thee roles are reversed with the glass panel forming the corner of the shower recess being located in the inner groove 33 and the glass panels abutting the walls of the shower recess being located in the outer groove 32. In both instances the overlap between these two glass panels is indicated by the letter X with the degree of overlap in Fig. 8 being greater than the degree of overlap in Fig. 9.

A further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 10 in which a shower recess 71 is formed adjacent one end of a bath tub 80. In this embodiment the first side wall 72 is short and is supported in a U-shaped aluminium channel (partly obscured) which is fixed to the end wall 81 of the bath tub 80 just below the upper surface of the rim of the bath tub and opens upwardly. A similar aluminium channel is positioned vertically and extending upwardly at the front edge of the end wall 81.

This channel opens away from the bath and carries the glass panel 78 adjacent to the WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/0014 -9door 74. There is an edge abutting silicon rubber seal joint between the glass of the first side wall 72 and the glass panel 79. The remainder of the shower recess 71 is substantially as before.

Turning now to Fig. 11, a still further embodiment, similar to Fig. 7 is illustrated. However, in Fig. 11 the shower recess 81 has a glass door 84 which closes against a generally U-shaped aluminium extrusion 85 which opens towards the door 84.

The extrusion 85 has an inner arm which is bigger than its outer arm. Thus the door 84 when closed lies between the two arms and the outer edge of the door 84 overlaps the inner arm of the extrusion 85. This arrangement saves the expense of an additional glass panel between the wall and the outer edge of the door 85 yet still provides a substantially watertight seal when the door 85 is closed.

It will be apparent from Figs. 8, 9 and 11 for example, that various arrangements for the door of the shower recess are possible. These are more fully exemplified in Fig. 12. Fig. 12B illustrates the arrangement described above for door 84 of Fig. 11. Fig. 12A is the reverse of this. Figs. 12E and 12F respectively illustrate the arrangement of Figs. 8 and 9.

Figs. 12C and 12D illustrate an arrangement in which one edge only of the door overlaps a glass panel and the other edge is spaced from, for example, an extrusion by a small clearance aperture.

In a manner similar to Fig. 12, Fig. 13 illustrates ten possible shower recesses formed by utilizing a corner of the bathroom. Fig. 13B is the arrangement of Fig. 11, Fig 131 that of Fig. 9, Fig. 13J that of Fig. 8, and Fig. 13F that of Fig. 7. Other arrangements are possible since, for example, the arrangement of Fig. 3 is not illustrated in Fig. 13.

Finally, as illustrated in Fig. 14, it is possible to utilize only a single wall of the bathroom to create a shower recess. Eight arrangements of different geometry and complexity are illustrated in Fig. 14. In each case the overlapping watertight door is provided and in Figs. 14C and 14D overlapping walls are provided.

WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814 Industrial Applicability It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above described embodiments of the present invention provide a number of very substantial advantages.

Firstly, the aluminium extrusions required to be held in stock are simplified, yet a wide variety of shower recesses are possible. This is to be contrasted with the many different aluminium extrusions which are required for the prior art shower recess of Fig. 1, and the restricted number of configurations which are possible.

Secondly, the overlapping nature of the side wall formed from two overlapping glass panels, enables a range of physical sizes within a shower recess to be accommodated by a single kit. In this way advantage is able to be taken of the reduced cost of pre-cut glass panels of standard sizes and the avoidance of the need to cut glass.

Thirdly, the edge abutted corners formed by edge abutted sheets of glass sealed with silicone rubber provide an extremely strong structure which overcomes the flimsy nature of many prior art shower recesses.

Fourthly, the overlapping arrangement of the door and the deliberate misalignment of the panels forming the "jambs" of the door mean that an essentially water tight arrangement is provided which does not leak water onto the floor of the bathroom during the showering process.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (18)

1. 2. The shower recess as claimed in claim 1 wherein each said wall is mounted in a corresponding one of two spaced apart grooves in a mounting frame.
2. 3. The shower recess as claimed in claim 2, wherein those portions of said grooves in said mounting frame not having a wall mounted therein are closed by a sealing strip.
3. 4. The shower recess as claimed in claim 3 wherein a sealing strip positioned across said access opening and outwardly of the door when pivoted to close said access opening, extends towards said door to substantially close any space between the lower edge of said door and the adjacent mounting frame.
4. 5. The shower recess as claimed in claim 4 wherein said walls are mounted between a pair of mounting frames, one of said pair of mounting frames being located adjacent the floor of said shower recess and the other adjacent the top of said walls.
5. 6. The shower recess as claimed in claim 5, wherein said door and walls are fabricated from glass.
6. 7. The shower recess as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said walls comprises an extension of a door jamb.
7. 8. The shower recess as claimed in claim 7, wherein said door jamb is a substantially U-shaped member having two arms, only one of which is extended to form said one wall.
8. 9. A shower recess having an access opening closed by a pivoted door and having a 'fixed wall formed from two overlapping substantially parallel arranged panels. WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/00814
9. 12- The shower recess as claimed in claim 9 wherein each said panel is mounted in a corresponding one of two spaced apart grooves in a mounting frame. 11. The shower recess as claimed in claim 10 wherein those portions of said grooves in said mounting frame not having a panel mounted therein are closed by a sealing strip. 12. The shower recess as claimed in claim 11 wherein said panels are mounted between a pair of mounting frames, one of said pair of mounting frames being located adjacent the floor of said shower recess and the other adjacent the top of said panels.
10. 13. The shower recess as claimed in claim 12 wherein said panels are glass panels.
11. 14. The shower recess as claimed in claim 13 wherein the degree of overlap of said panels is sufficient to form a water proof barrier to spray created during showering.
12. 15. A method of adjusting the length of a fixed wall of a shower recess, the wall being formed from panels of predetermined width, said method comprising the steps of:- forming said wall from two overlapping substantially parallel arranged ones of said panels, and adjusting the degree of overlap of said panels to determine the length of the wall formed thereby.
13. 16. The method as claimed in claim 15, including the step of selecting said panels of predetermined width to be panels of a standard size whereby the cost of each panel is reduced.
14. 17. The method as claimed in claim 16 including the step of selecting one of said panels to be of large width and the other of said panels to be of narrow width.
15. 18. The method as claimed in claim 17 including the step of selecting both panels to be of glass. WO 97/22287 PCT/AU96/0014 13-
16. 19. The method as claimed in claim 18 including the step of mounting each said panel in a corresponding one of two spaced apart grooves in a mounting frame. The method as claimed in claim 19 including the step of closing with a sealing strip those portions of said grooves in said mounting frame not having a panel mounted therein.
17. 21. A method of fabricating a shower recess substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings other than Figs. 1 and 2.
18. 22. A shower recess substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 3-6, or Fig. 7, or Fig. 8, or Fig. 9, or Fig. 10, or Fig. 11 or any one of Figs. 12A-12F, 13A-13F and 14A-14H.