AU4382501A

AU4382501A - Installation frame for securing a sanitary appliance

Info

Publication number: AU4382501A
Application number: AU43825/01A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Anton Egli
Original assignee: Geberit Technik AG
Current assignee: Geberit International AG
Priority date: 2000-06-22
Filing date: 2001-05-10
Publication date: 2002-01-03
Anticipated expiration: 2021-05-10
Also published as: DE20105411U1; AU777452B2; CH694487A5; CN1332297A; AT5105U1; CN1170039C

Description

S&FRef: 553300

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Geberit Technik AG Schachenstrasse 77 CH-8645Jona Switzerland Anton Egli Spruson Ferguson St Martins Tower,Level 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 Installation Frame for Securing a Sanitary Appliance The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5845c -1 Geberit Technik AG CH-8645 Jona Installation frame for securing a sanitary appliance The invention relates to an installation frame for securing a sanitary appliance, in particular a toilet bowl, having at least two vertical struts and at least two horizontally extending crossmembers connecting the vertical struts, and having at least two supports which are secured on the crossmembers at a distance from one another, and at a distance from, and parallel to, the vertical struts, and which are provided for securing the sanitary appliance.

15 Installation frames of the type mentioned have been known for some time now and serve, in particular, for securing toilet bowls and the associated flushmounted flushing cistern. Such installation frames are :i required to be capable of being installed straightforwardly and quickly and to satisfy the o 0. comparatively high strength-related requirements.

6 A difficulty involved for some time now in installing, in particular, toilet bowls is that such .e sanitary appliances are available in a very large 25 number of different designs. For reasons of storage in particular, an installation frame of the generic type *000should be designed, then, such that it can be adapted ooeeo to the largest possible number of sanitary appliances.

The applicant's EP-A-887 477 has disclosed an installation frame which, for the purpose of securing a toilet bowl, has a connection plate which is secured on two crossmembers. The toilet bowl is secured here by two threaded bolts which are screwed into threaded holes of the connection plate. For adaptation to different toilet bowls, the connection plate has four spaced-apart threaded holes. The two threaded holes at the suitable distance apart are selected during installation.

-2- EP-A-731 224 discloses an installation frame in which the vertical struts have longitudinal crosspieces arranged on the inside. It is possible to plug into said rows of latching holes corresponding latching tabs on the crossmembers. This is intended to allow more universal and straightforward attachment of the crossmembers.

The object of the invention is to provide an installation frame of the type mentioned which allows different sanitary appliances to be secured even more straightforwardly. The object is achieved according to the invention in that the supports are each secured in a horizontally adjustable manner on the crossmembers.

In the installation frame according to the invention, 15 the supports are secured in a horizontally adjustable .*manner on the crossmembers and may thus be spaced apart '*"from one another by different distances. It is thus o possible, for adaptation to different toilet bowls, to select essentially any desired number of distances between the threaded bolts.

If the supports, according to a development of the invention, are hollow profiles and, in particular, Uprofiles, then particularly high strength may thus be achieved. The supports are secured on the crossmembers particularly more straightforwardly and reliably if, according to a development of the invention, the bottom crossmember has a plurality of cutouts in a row one eeeee beside the other, and the supports, at a bottom end in each case, are plugged into at least one of these cutouts. It is preferably the case that each support is plugged into two such cutouts by way of its bottom end.

It is thus particularly well secured against rotation.

According to a development of the invention, the supports, at a top end in each case, have a stop lug which butts against the rear side of the top crossmember. High loading forces on the supports can be absorbed by way of this stop lug. The installation is nevertheless comparatively straightforward.

3 If the support, at its top end in each case, is latched releasably to the top crossmember, this results in straightforward installation of the supports on the crossmembers. The supports are positioned on the bottom crossmember and can be latched to the top crossmember by way of a pivoting movement. This is also possible without any tools being used.

Latching the supports to the top crossmember is particularly advantageous when the supports are secured on the top crossmember by means of a separately produced latching element in each case. According to a development of the invention, the latching elements are designed such that they engage into the rearwardly open and U-shaped top crossmember in each case. The latching 15 of the latching elements preferably takes place by means of a resilient latching tab. This allows the supports to be secured on, and released from, the crossmembers in a particularly straightforward manner without any tool being used.

For better adaptation, a development provides that ooo: .the supports, on the front side in each case, have a ooo.

vertically extending slot for accommodating and securing a threaded rod. This allows stepless adjustment of the height. Straightforward installation of the threaded rods is achieved when a retaining means for a threaded nut is inserted into the supports on the rear side, in the region of the slots in each case.

.ooooi This retaining means is preferably latched in the holes of a row of latching holes by means of protuberances.

It is thus possible for this retaining means to be straightforwardly secured in a releasable manner at different heights in the region of the rows of latching holes. Here too, the abovementioned U-profile is particularly advantageous.

Further advantageous features can be gathered from the dependent patent claims, the following description and the drawing.

4 An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows a view of an installation frame according to the invention with a flushmounted flushing cistern installed, Figure 2 shows a side view of the installation frame with a flush-mounted flushing cistern installed and a sanitary appliance indicated, Figure 3 shows a section of the installation frame along line III-III from Figure i, Figures 4 and 5 show views of a strut, Figure 6 shows a section along line VI-VI from Figure i, 15 Figure 7 shows a section along line VII-VII from Figure i, Figures 8 to 10 show views of a latching element, Figure 11 shows a section through a retaining means along line XI-XI from Figure 12, and Figure 12 shows a view of a retaining means.

The installation frame 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 serves for accommodating a flush-mounted flushing cistern 2 and a toilet bowl 4 or some other sanitary appliance. It has vertical struts 7 which are crosssectionally square, slotted hollow profiles and are set in place on a floor 11 by means of extendable foot supports 10. At the top end, the two vertical struts 7 are fixed to one another by a crosspiece 6 and are supported on a building wall in a manner known per se by an angle connection (not shown specifically here) In the bottom region, the two vertical struts 7 are connected to one another by two spaced-apart horizontally extending crossmembers 8 and 9. The crossmembers 8 and 9, according to Figure 3, are Ushaped profiles and these are arranged such that they are open on the rear side. The crossmembers 8 and 9 may be secured on the vertical struts 7 in fact in any desired manner. For example, it is possible for the 5 crossmembers 8 and 9 to be screwed to the vertical struts 7. They may be fixed or height-adjustable.

Secured to the crossmembers 8 and 9 are two identical supports 12 which are likewise U-shaped in cross section and are open at the rear. The struts 12, at their bottom end in each case, have two spaced-apart lugs 26 which are inserted into a slot 28 of a top wall 9a (Figure 3) of the bottom crossmember 9 from the top in each case. The slots 28 form a row comprising a plurality of such slots 28. For each strut 12, a row is preferably provided with, for example, six such slots 28. The supports 12 are thus set in place on the bottom crossmember 9 from above and fixed against horizontal displacement and against rotation by means of said lugs 26.

*i 1"Each support 12, at its top end, has an upwardly directed plate-like stop lug 25 which, as can be seen in Figure 3, is positioned against the rear side of the top strut 8. With the sanitary appliance 4 installed, the lugs 25 transmit some of the load to the top crossmember 8. The load is transmitted to the struts 12 via the threaded rods 19, which are shown in Figure 3.

The active force subjects the supports 12, in particular, to a torque about the bottom end of the "0 25 supports 12. This torque is eliminated by virtue of the lugs 25 butting against the top crossmember 8.

The supports 12 are latched releasably to the top 999999 S" crossmember 8 by means of a latching element 29 in each case. The latching elements 29 are preferably produced in one piece from a suitable plastic and serve essentially just for fixing the supports 12, in Figure 3, against sliding away in the rearward direction. The considerable load from the sanitary article 4 is, as has been mentioned above, transmitted to the top crossmember 8 by the lugs 25. The latching elements 29, according to Figure 3, engage in the cavity 8a of the top crossmember 8 from behind. Integrally formed on the top side, at a distance from one another, are two resilient arms 33 which, according to Figure 3, project 6 on the rear side. A latching tab 31 is integrally formed on each of these arms 33 in each case and, as shown in Figure 10, projects upwards. These tabs 31 are latched into a slot 30 (Figure 3) of the top crossmember 8 in each case. These slots 30 are arranged, in the same way as the slots 28, in rows. The arms 33 are integrally formed on a rear wall 37 and, in order to release the engagement of the latching tabs 31, can be pivoted resiliently downwards in the direction of the arrow When the engagement of the latching tabs 31 is released, then the strut 12 can be tilted away rearwards in the direction of the arrow 36. During the latching operation, the strut 12 is pivoted in the opposite direction about the lugs 26, the latching tabs 31 being pivoted downwards in each case on an inclined surface 31a by way of the integrally formed arm 33. As S: the tabs 31 are latched in, the arms 33 are moved, by virtue of the resilient action, into the position shown in Figure 3. The latching elements 29 are secured on the respective strut 12 by way of a cutout 34a, which is arranged on a front part 34 and into which the lug is inserted from beneath. A comparatively short central protuberance 32 serves as a top stop. It is 25 thus possible, during installation, for the latching elements 29 to be positioned straightforwardly on the struts 12. The two struts 12 may thus be adjusted laterally independently of one another. The distances between the struts 12 may be adjusted, according to Figure 1, from the minimum distance a 2 to the maximum distance al in relation to the centre line M.

The sanitary appliance 4 is secured on the two struts 12 by means of threaded rods 19 which engage in each case into a vertically extending slot 13 of a strut 12 and is clamped firmly on a front wall 12a in each case by two nuts 20 and 21. One, front nut 20 has a collar 20a which butts against the wall 12a. The nut 21, which is arranged on the rear side, is a square nut, and the latter is positioned in a rotationally -7fixed manner in a corresponding cutout 24 (Figures 11 and 12) of a retaining means 16. In order for the threaded rod 19 to pass through, a through-passage 16a is provided on the rear face in the retaining means 16.

The square nut 21 is not shown in Figure 12.

The two retaining means 16 are inserted into the cavity of the corresponding strut from the rear side in each case, as Figure 7 shows. The side walls of the struts 12 each have a row of latching holes comprising a plurality of holes 18. The securing means 16 are latched releasably in said holes 18 by way of laterally projecting latching protuberances 22 in each case. The latching protuberances 22 are integrally formed on the outside in each case on resilient arms 23 which, 15 according to Figure 7, can be pivoted inwards in the directions of the arrows 27 in order for the latching connection to be released. It is thus possible for the *retaining means 16 to be straightforwardly released and height-adjusted without any tools being used. Figure 1 shows the retaining means 16 in the lowermost position on the right-hand strut 12. By virtue of the retaining oo means 16 being released, the latter can be displaced upwards and latched at the desired height in opposite holes 18. The left-hand support 12, of course, likewise has a retaining means 16 with a square nut 21. For illustrative reasons, this retaining means 16 has not been depicted here for the left-hand support 12. The S" comparatively large height-adjustment range is depicted by B in Figure i.

A yoke-like retaining means 14, on which a discharge pipe 17 is supported, is arranged centrally on the bottom crossmember 9. Said discharge pipe 17 serves, in particular in the case of a toilet bowl 4, for channelling away the flushing water. A rod 15 is arranged on the underside of the retaining means 14 and is secured height-adjustably on the bottom crossmember 9. The rod may be, for example, a threaded rod which is screwed into a threaded hole (not shown here) of the bottom crossmember 9. The height-adjustment range of 8the retaining means 14 is specified by the letter C in Figure i.

The flushing cistern 2 with the flushing pipe 3 is secured on the struts 7, likewise in a heightadjustable manner, by means of grooves 5 and a retaining means (not shown here). The flushing cistern 2 may thus be height-adjusted for adaptation to the sanitary article 4. The corresponding adjustment range is specified by D in Figure 1.

The abovementioned adjustment options mean that adaptation to probably all commercially available toilet bowls 4 and other ceramic appliances is possible. The individual horizontal adjustment of the struts 12, in particular, is essential here. Although 15 these struts 12 have to absorb comparatively high o forces, they can be installed reliably and straightforwardly without any tools being used. The S"struts 12 are set in place on the bottom crossmember 9 at the envisaged position and are pivoted, at the top end, towards the top crossmember, the corresponding latching element 29 automatically latching in on the top crossmember. Release is straightforwardly possible at all times by virtue of the resilient arms 33 being pivoted. The latching elements 29 may be installed on the struts 12 beforehand. It is likewise possible for the retaining means 16 to be height-adjusted without 00.0any tools being used. All that is required is a fork wrench for tightening the nuts 0 wrench for tightening the nuts

Claims

1. Installation frame for securing a sanitary appliance, in particular a toilet bowl having at least two vertical struts and at least two horizontally extending crossmembers 9) connecting the vertical struts and having at least two supports (12) which are secured on the crossmembers (8, 9) at a distance from one another, and at a distance from, and parallel to, the vertical struts and which are provided for securing the sanitary appliance characterized in that the supports (12) are each secured in a horizontally displaceable manner on the crossmembers 9). 15 2. Installation frame according to Claim 1, characterized in that the supports (12) are hollow profiles and, in particular, U-profiles.

3. Installation frame according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bottom crossmember has a plurality of cutouts and the supports at a bottom end in each case, are plugged into at least one of these cutouts (28).

4. Installation frame according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the supports at a 25 top end in each case, have a stop lug (25) which butts against the rear side of the top crossmember

5. Installation frame according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the supports at their top end in each case, are latched releasably to the top crossmember

6. Installation frame according to Claim characterized in that the supports (12) are latched on the top crossmember by means of a separately produced latching element (29) in each case, such that they cannot tilt away.

7. Installation frame according to Claim 6, characterized in that the latching elements (29) engage from behind in each case in a cavity (8a) of the U- shaped top crossmember 10

8. Installation frame according to Claim 7, characterized in that the top crossmember has a plurality of cutouts preferably slots, and the latching elements (29) engage in cutouts (30) by way of at least one latching tab preferably two latching tabs in each case.

9. Installation frame according to one of Claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the latching elements (29) are produced from plastic in each case and have resilient latching means (31, 33) Installation frame according to Claim 9, characterized in that the latching means (31) are connected in each case to a projecting unlocking part (33) which can be actuated by hand. 15 11. Installation frame according to one of Claims d: 1 to 10, characterized in that the supports on the front side in each case, have a vertically extending slot (13) for accommodating and securing a threaded rod (19)

12. Installation frame according to Claim 11, characterized in that a retaining means (16) has doe. ot [lacuna] into the struts (12) from the rear side in each case, and a nut (21) for securing a threaded rod (19) is mounted on said retaining means.

13. Installation frame according to Claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the supports in the *region of the slot (13) in each case, have at least one %de:row (18) of latching holes for securing a nut (21).

14. Installation frame according to Claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the retaining means (16), which are inserted into the supports (12) from the rear side, have latching arms (23) which are formed integrally in a resilient manner. Installation frame according to one of Claims 1 to 14, characterized in that a height-adjustable yoke-like retaining means (14) for securing a discharge pipe (17) is mounted on the bottom crossmember (9) 11

16. An installation frame for securing a sanitary appliance, the frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated 19 April, 2001 Geberit Tech nik AG Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON b o Oro*0 IR:\LBLL) 10964 doc vjp