AU622030B2

AU622030B2 - Improved shower screen and parts therefor

Info

Publication number: AU622030B2
Application number: AU56886/90A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Rodney Whitney
Original assignee: Dowell Australia Ltd
Current assignee: Aluminium Extrusion and Distribution Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1989-06-15
Filing date: 1990-06-07
Publication date: 1992-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 2010-06-07
Also published as: AU5688690A

Description

L: i ~1 22O30

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Form

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art: COMPLETE-AFTER-PROVISIONAL PJ4745 TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT

I

e a Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: DOWELL AUSTRALIA LIMITED 6 ALBERT STREET PRESTON 3072

VICTORIA

AUSTRALIA

Actual Inventor: Address for Service: GRIFFITH HACK CO., 601 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: IMPROVED SHOWER SCREEN AND PARTS THEREFOR The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:-

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S It It f IMPROVED. SHOWER. SCREEN AND PARTS THEREFOR This invention relates to an improved shower screen and parts therefor.

Hitherto, in the art of shower screens, it has been found necessary in some installations to provide a shower cubicle which has the front panels and return panels mounted at an angle other than 900 to each other.

This is particularly so for odd shaped bathrooms where a conventional shower cubicle would not otherwise fit. In such odd shaped bathrooms it has been quite common to 3 provide the angle between the front panels and the return panels in the order of 1200 but any angle greater than 900 and less than 1800 could be required.

In order to provide for mounting of the front panels it has always been necessary to mount them to a jamb or frame portion of the shower cubicle which is adjacent one of the fixed walls in the bathroom. In addition, in order to allow for the front panels and the return panels to be mounted at an angle greater than 900 to each other, it has been necessary to provide infill means such as strip panels or the like to cover any gaps between the jamb which is placed between the front panels and the return panels.

The present invention has been devised to provide a shower screen assembly where the front panels and the return panel can be at an angle greater than and where the front panels can, if desired, be hinged from a jamb between the front panels and the return panel.

Therefore in accordance with a first broad aspect of the present invention there may be provided an improved shower screen installation comprising at least two front panels for a shower cubicle, said panels being a bi-folded panel set, a jamb for said panel set for fixing to a wall, a top track for said panel set and a further jamb for said panel set, said further jamb having a first arm to which hinge means may be mounted to hinge said panel set therefrom, an arcuate second arm extending from said first arm at the side of said first arm which is to be outermost of the shower screen installation, a socket at the edge of said first arm which is to be innermost of said shower screen installation, and a swinging arm which is received in said socket and which contains a generally shaped recess for receiving a return panel, said swinging arm having an arcuate swinging arm on the ,edge thereof, said arcuate swinging 4 arm co-operating with the arcuate second arm of said first arm so that a desired angle greater than 900 can be achieved between the plane of said panel set and said return panel and so that any longitudinally extending gap between said first arm and said swinging arm will be covered by the respective arcuate swinging arm and the arcuate second arm.

Most preferably the first arm contains a surface against which wings of said hinge means can abut and wherein said surface terminates with a lip means whereby to locate the hinges relative to said first arm in a direction transverse to the plane of the panel set.

It is particularly preferred that that panel o 91 set al.so have lip means thereon to permit correct 15 location of the wings of said hinge means relative to the *o0 o* panel set.

0 In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a jamb and swinging arm combination for a shower screen or like installation, 20 said jamb having a first arm to which hinges may be mounted, an arcuate second arm extending from said first arm at the side of said first arm which is to be S.outermost of the shower screen or like installation, a socket. at the edgc of said first arm which is to be innermost of said shower screen or like installation, °0 and a swinging arm which is receivable in said a, le socket and which contains a generally shaped recess for receiving a panel, said swinging arm having an arcuate swinging arm on the edge thereof, said arcuate swinging arm, in use, co-operating with the arcuate Wr •r second arm of said first arm so that said swinging arm can be inclined at a desired angle relative to each other and so that any longitudinally extending gap between said first arm and said swinging arm will be covered by overlapping of the respective arcuate swinging arm and the arcuate second arm.

_sL 5 i In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained, an example of a preferred embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying Sdrawings, wherein: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a typical shower screen installation; and Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along section 2-2 of the jamb between the panel set and the return panel shown in Figure i.

Figure 1 shows a shower base 1 mounted in the corner of a bathroom. The base 1 is not rectangular but has at least one outermost edge inclined relative to the 1other outermost edge at an angle greater than 900.

The arrangement shown has two front panels 3 15 and 5 in a bi-fold arrangement constituting a panel set I i whereby access to and from a shower cubicle may be obtained. Panel 3 is hinged to panel 5 and panel 5 is, in turn, hinged to a jamb 7. A return panel 9 extends i 2from jamb 7 to one of the corner walls. The angle 2U between the panel set 3 and 5 and return panel 9 is greater than 900. A jamb 11 is provided on the other H wall and a top track 13 extends between jambs 11 and 7.

Return panel 9 has a sub-frame 15 which is fastened relative to the wall and the jamb 7. Each of panels 3 j 25 and 5 also have sub-frames 17. The sub-frames 17 are of je generally shaped transverse cross-section.

Similarly, sub-frames 15 are of generally shape in i transverse cross-section. Each of the jambs, top track, and sub-frames may be of aluminium extrusion.

It can be seen that jamb 7 is in two parts.

The fist part comprises a first arm 19 which has an integrally attached arcuate second arm 21 which is on the edge of the first arm which is outermost of the shower cubicle. The first arm z) has flanges 20 at each end to permit suitable fastening of first arm 19 to the top track and the sill of installation. The extreme I outermost face of the arcuate second arm 21 may have decorative surface undulations 23 thereon. A socket is provided on the other side edge of arm 17 on its inside edge relative to the shower cubicle. The second part of jamb 7 comprises a swinging arm 27 which has an arcuate swinging arm 29 on its edge outermost of the shower cubicle. The other edge of the swinging arm 27 which is to be innermost of the shower cubicle has a bead 31 thereon which is received within the socket 25 of the other part of the jamb 7. Thus, swinging arm 27 can act like a radius arm for the arcuate swinging arm 29. In the embodiment shown herein the arcuate swinging arm 29 I| 4 t is received behind the second arm 21 of the first part of jamb 7. As a variation to the above, the arcuate o 15 swinging arm 29 might be received outermost relative to too.

tne second arm 21 and this variation is to be included within the scope of the invention.

A shaped recess 33 is provided on the swinging arm 27 for receipt of the return panel 9. As 20 shown, the recess 33 is provided in part by a portion of 9994 the arcuate swinging arm 29 and by a further flange I Accordingly, by appropriately swinging the second part of jamb 7 relative to the first part of jamb 7 a desired angle may be achieved which is greater than 900 between the plane of the panel set 3 and 5 and return panel 9.

The top track 13 is fastened relative to jamb 11 and then to the uppermost part of the first part of Sjamb 7. Thus, jamb 7 is rigidly located relative to jamb 11. When the desired angle between the first part and the second part is achieved then the first and second parts may be joined together by means of pop rivets, self-taping screws, silicon and the like. The rigidity of the sub-frame 15 of the return panel 9 is such that when the sub-frame 15 is rigidly fastened to the wall and then to the other part of the jamb 7, then jamb 7 is 7 physically located in place. Thus, jamb 7 is iii sufficiently rigid to support the panel set 3 and 5 by means of hinges 37 which connect therewith.

It can be seen that the hinges 37 have been received with their wings adjacent appropriately inclined i surface 39 on first arm 17. This surface is appropriately inclined whereby to take into account the i dimensions of any pop rivets or screws which may be used i to attach the hinges 37 to the jamb 7 and the sub-frame 17 so that when the panel set 3 and 5 is in the closed position as shown in Figure 2, the heads of the pop rivets and/or screws will be appropriately located 3 between the wings of the hinges 37 and not interfere with !i i i the correct closing of the panel set 3 and 5. Thus the 1 t t1 15 surface 39 lies in a plane which is inclined relative to r c a line extending transverse to the plane of the panel set.

i It is also noted that the first arm 17 contains i lip means 43 and that the sub-frame 17 also contains lip 20 means 45. These lip means are provided to locate the S ,extreme outer edges of the wings of the hinges 37 so that I they can be correctly positioned on the jamb 7 and on the i 7 Ssub-frame 17.

i It should also be seen that the jamb 7 comprising first arm 19 and swinging arm 27 can be I inclined at a desired angle relative to each other and so ii that any longitudinally extending gap between the first i arm 19 and the swinging arm 27 will be covered by the !i Soverlapping of the first arm 19 and swinging arm 27.

Modifications may be made to the present invention as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art of shower screen installations.

These and other modifications may be made without departing from the ambit of the invention, the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

Claims

2. An installation as cl.aimed in claim 1 wherein the first arm contains a surface against which wings of said hinge means can abut and wherein said surface terminates with a lip means whereby to locate the hinges relative to said first arm in a direction transverse to the plane of the panel set.
3. An installation as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said panel set has lip means thereon for permitting correct location of wings of said hinge means relative to said panel set.
4. A jamb and swinging arm combination for a shower screen or like installation, I 9 said jamb having a first arm ieh maKy- e-mu te-d, an arcuate second arm extending from said first arm at the side of said first arm which is to be outermost of the shower screen or like installation, a socket at the edge of said first arm which is to be innermost of said shower screen or like installation, and a swinging arm which is receivable in said socket and which contains a generally shaped recess for receiving a panel, said swinging arm having an arcuate swinging arm on the edge thereof, said arcuate swinging arm, in use, co-operating with the arcuate 0'0 second arm of said first arm so that said swinging arm can be inclined at a desired angle relative to b Sand so that any longitudinally :,xtending gap between said first arm and said swinging arm will be covered by o "overlapping of the respective arcuate swinging arm and 060 a, the arcuate second arm. A combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein the first arm contains a surface against which the wings of o hinge means can abut and wherein said surface terminates 0 with a lip means whereby to locate the wings of said hinge means relative to said first arm.
6. An improved shower screen installation substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
7. A jamb and swinging arm coribination substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 7th Day of June, 1990. DOWELL AUSTRALIA LIMITED By Its Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK CO, Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia