AU598417B1 - Showering arrangement - Google Patents

Description

PATENTS ACT 1 952 4 7 futni COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: 0 ~CmPlete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: I Published: 'This document contains the amendments made under Section 49 and is correct for printing.

Priority: reilated Art: Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Peter KOLKKA 115-135 Drews Road, LOGANHOLME, Qid., 4129 Peter KOLKKA HALFORD AND COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 49-51 York Street, SYDNEY, 2000 Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "SHOWERING ARRANGEMENT" The following statement is a full description of this Invention, Including the best method of performing It known to me: -2- The present invention relates to an improvement in showers and in particular to a showering arrangement having two roses.

Most showering arrangements are provided with a single rose enabling a single person to shower beneath the stream formed by the shower head. Other prior art devices enable a fixed shower head or a hand held flexible attachment to be used separately.

Other prior art devices enable a number of shower roses to be activated at the same time and in some devices moved automatically about the person showering.

Australian patents 531,995, 527,340 and 489,227 describe showering arrangements of this type.

These prior art devices suffer from on the one hand their inflexibility in terms of providing a singular showering arrangement or on the other hand being excessively complex mechanical devices.

The present invention seeks to overcome these disadvantages in the prior art and to provide a simple economical alternative.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a showering arrangement including at least a pair of shower roses and a control valve, said control valve enabling flow to one or both of said roses. Preferably said control valve comprises a slide valve and said control valve is housed within a T piece connecting said roses to a water supply outlet.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with respect to the drawings in which: -3- Figure 1 shows an exploded schematic of a showering arrangement according to the invention: and Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional schematic of the assembly of Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1 a pair of shower roses 10 and 12 are connected to a distributor 14 by tubing 16 and 18 respectively. The shower roses 10 and 12 can be any standard form of showering rose or may include additional features as described below. The shower roses 10 and 12 can be made of any suitable plastic or metal as well known in the art.

The distributor 14 comprises a central cylindrical body 20 into which is threaded a standard hexagonal water supply connector 22. The connector 22 enables the showering device to be attached to a suitable wall fitting as used in a standard bath/shower plumbing arrangement.

The tubing 16 and 18 are attached, for example welded, to annular rings 24 and 26 respectively. The interior of respective tubing 14 and 16 communicates with the central void 25 and 27 of respective rings 24 and 26. Annular rings 24 and 26 are attached to the cylindrical body 20 by end plugs 28 and 29.

End plug 28 comprises a hollow tube 30 provided at one end with a screw thread connection 32 for attaching the plug 28 to the cylindrical body 20. The tube 30 is also provided with an aperture 34 to allow water from the connector 22 to pass via the tube 30 to tubing 16. The plug 28 is provided at the end remote from said screw threaded connection 32 with a head 36 closing the tube -4- Similarly end plug 29 comprises a hollow tube 31 provided at one end with a screw thread connection 33 for attaching the plug 29 to the cylindrical body 20. The tube 31 is also provided with an aperture 35 to allow water from the connector 22 to pass via the tube 31 to tubing 18 of the showering arrangement. The end plug 29 is provided at the end remote from said screw threaded connector 33 with a head 37 closing the tube 31. In addition end plug 29 has a plunger 38 which extends through the head wall 37 to enable activation of a piston 40 located within the tube 31.

The piston 40 comprises a pair of cylindrical sections 41, and 42 separated by a central waisted portion 43 having an O-ring seal 44. As the piston 40 is moved along the tube 31 the aperture 35 is either covered or uncovered. Conversely at all times the aperture 34 in plug 28 is in communication with the tube 16 allowing water to flow freely from the connector 22 to the shower rose Thus the plunger 38 enables either a single shower rose 10 to be activated or both shower roses 10 and 12 to be activated at the same time. The shower roses 10 and 12 may be located close together or at such separation as is considered convenient enabling a single person to shower with a more distributed water flow or two people to shower simultaneously without interference or the need to share a singular showering volume.

The invention therefore provides a cheap and effective means of providing a distributed showering arrangement or for two people to conveniently share the same showering outlet without having to occupy the same space.

In addition the outlet surface of one or both of the shower roses may be provided with a series of holes which are inclined with respect to the normal to the surface of the rose rather than perpendicular. Water issuing from the 1 rose is then directed at an angle to the rose surface and not perpendicular thereto as is the usual manner, for example, providing a converging stream, a diverging stream, or a stream directed at a particular angle to the vertical.Also the outlet holes in the rose surface can be provided with variously inclined hole configurations. The rose surface can then be 1 screw threaded to the body of the shower rose so that rotation of the rose surface results in a varied distribution of water from the rose. Each rose may have a separate configuration which can then be used singularly or in combination to produce a desired effect.

The shower roses 10,12, tubing 16,18 and annular rings 24,26 have been described as "rigidly" connected in Sthe above embodiment. Further or alternative variation of the height and angle of shower roses 10, 12 can be provided in the usual manner by having tubing 16, 18 with jointed sections and/or having shower roses 10, 12 connected to tubing 16, 18 by a universal or other rotary joint.

Though the invention has been described above with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof other variations in the invention are contemplated within the knowledge of a person skilled in the art. For example, the material of which the showering device is made could be all or part in plastics material or all or part copper, brass or chrome plated material as is commonly employed in similar bathing 4 installations.

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Claims (5)

1. 2. A showering device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control valve includes a plunger or slide valve.
2. 03. A showering device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said slide valve includes a piston member movable between said first position and said second position.
3. 4. A showering device as claimed in any of the previous il -claims further including means forconnecting said control valve of said showering device to a water supply outlet. A showering device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said connection means includes a 3 way T piece connector having said control valve at one end, a butt fixture at an opposed end and a centre connection to said water supply.
4. 6. A showering device as claimed in any previous claim further including means for varying the direction of the flow issuing from one or both of said shower roses.
5. 7. A showering device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying Z ,drawings. DATED this 27th day of February 1990 Peter KOLKKA By his Patent Attorneys HALFORD AND COMPANY