AU709168B3 - A space saving combination shower and bath assembly - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PETTY PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Ronald Francis HASTED As above CULLEN

CO.,

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, QId. 4000, Australia.

A SPACE SAVING COMBINATION SHOWER AND BATH ASSEMBLY Invention Title: The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: A SPACE SAVING COMBINATION SHOWER AND BATH ASSEMBLY This invention relates to a space saving combination shower and bath assembly which is particularly suitable in confined spaces, for instance small units, caravans, boats and cabins. The assembly provides for a more or less full size shower and a more or less full size bath but where the bath is length adjustable and can protrude into the shower recess to allow the bath to be used more or less as a conventional size bath, but where the bath can be retracted to sit next to the shower recess to provide a more or less full size shower recess.

There is a desire to have a normal shower recess and a conventionally sized bath in dwellings. For larger sized dwellings, for instance a typical hose, there is enough room to have a separate full length bath and a separate full sized shower recess. Combination baths and showers are known where the shower is no more than a shower rose above the bath and a shower curtain or rigid partition is used to prevent water from spilling out of the bath. These combinations are not particularly suitable for older people or mobility impaired people as moving in and out of the bath presents difficulties. It is also known to have shower tubs which consists of a standard shower recess (typically 900mm 2 but where the floor of the shower is a small bath tub. Again, this presents a quite high step which is difficult for mobility impaired people and, in any event, the bath tub is so small to be practically useless.

In smaller areas, for instance caravans, boats, small units and cabins, a choice of either a shower or a bath needs to be made as there is usually insufficient room for both.

The present invention is directed to a combination shower and bath assembly which can provide a conventional shower recess and a full size bath and where the bath is length adjustable (for instance telescopic) to provide a space saving combination.

This assembly is suitable for installation into boats, caravans and the like where previously it was not possible to have a standard shower and a full size bath.

The present invention is directed to an assembly which may overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the public with a useful or commercial choice.

In one form, the invention resides in a space saving combination shower and bath assembly which has a shower recess and a length adjustable bath, the bath being adjustable between a retracted shorter position where the bath is adjacent the shower recess and does not intrude into the shower recess, and a longer extended position where a portion of the bath extends into the shower recess thereby allowing a person to bathe in the bath.

In another form, the invention resides in the assembly as described above where in the bath has a fixed portion which sits next to the shower recess and a moveable portion which can move into the shower recess to lengthen the bath, the fixed portion of the bath having an overlying platform which is moveable between an overlying position when the bath is in the shorter position and an away position when the bath is in the extended position to allow full access to the bath.

The assembly is suitable for installation into small areas and therefore finds particular suitability in boats, caravans, cabins and small units.

The shower recess can now be of more or less conventional type which may have a footprint of about 900mm 2 a typical height of about 1.8 to 2m and a floor which does not have an appreciable raised edge and therefore is more easily accessible by children, mobility impaired people and the like. The shower recess can be formed of fibreglass, plastics, metal, cementitious sheeting and the like. The shower recess can be fitted with a conventional sliding front door, swing front door or a shower curtain.

The assembly further has a length adjustable bath. The bath, when fully extended, can have a length of 1.5 to 2m but it should be appreciated that this can vary to suit. By having the bath adjustable in length, it can be extended to less than its fully extended position to bathe children) which means that less water can be used.

In one form, the bath has a fixed portion and a moveable portion and typically the fixed and moveable portions are approximately equal size with the moveable portion being moveable being relative to the fixed portion.

The fixed portion sits adjacent the shower recess and can have a length of approximately 500 to 800mm which means that together with the shower recess, the entire length can be between 1.5 to 2m and preferably about 1.7m. It can be seen that this allows the assembly to be fitted into quite a small area.

The bath, when moved into the extended position, extends into the shower recess to take advantage of this otherwise empty area. When the bath is in the extended position, a person can bathe in the normal manner but may also still have a shower in the bath if the shower rose is positioned in a suitable orientation. This means that the assembly can be a standard shower, a standard bath, and a combination bath shower which provides great versatility in use.

When the bath is in the retracted shorter position, it is adjacent the shower recess and does not intrude appreciably or at all into the shower recess. By this is meant that when the bath is in the retracted position, the shower recess can be used in the normal manner.

It is preferred that this part of the bath is housed in a cabinettype arrangement. In this arrangement, an overlying platform can be provided which sits next to the shower recess and which overlies the bath.

The platform can be load bearing and can be used as a baby change platform, a platform to hold towels, washing and the like.

The platform may form part of a sink assembly which means that a basin may be fitted in the platform and taps may be provided to provide a wash basin next to the shower recess and which sits above the bath.

In order to allow full access to the bath, the overlying platform can be moved to an away position such that the length of the bath is accessible. In an embodiment, the platform can be hinged to allow it to swing to its away position to allow access to all the bath.

An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which Figure 1 is an overview of the combination shower and bath assembly according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1 showing how the bath can extend into the shower recess.

Figure 3 is a side view of a fixed bath portion showing how it sits underneath an overlying platform.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a space saving combination shower and bath assembly which can be fitted into confined spaces and is suitable for boats, caravans, cabins, small units and the like.

The assembly has a shower recess 10 and a length adjustable bath which, when in the retracted position, sits in an adjacent decorative cabinet 11.

Shower recess 10 can be of more or less conventional design and can have a footprint of approximately 900mm 2 The shower recess can have a front sliding glass door 12 but it should be appreciated that this is an embodiment only and a swing door, shower curtain or any other suitable screen can be used. The shower recess can be formed from fibreglass, laminates, plastics, cementitious panels or other suitable building components. In the embodiment, a shower rose 13 is fitted in an upper portion of the rear wall.

One difference between the shower assembly according to the invention and conventional shower assemblies is that the side wall 14 which is adjacent cabinet 11 can be opened to allow proper access to the bath. In the embodiment, side wall 14 has a pull curtain, roller blind, shutter or other type of screen which can be opened or removed when the bath is desired to be used. On the other hand, when the shower is used, the pull curtain etc can be pulled down to prevent shower water from being sprayed out of side wall 14.

In the embodiment, cabinet 11 has a top platform 15 which is fitted with a wash basin 16. The wall behind platform 15 has hot and cold water taps and a nozzle 17 to fill wash basin 16. Cabinet 11 can have underneath doors 18A to provide a storage area of sorts if desired.

Platform 15 is hinged by hinges 18 and can be hinged upwardly to a substantially vertical position where it sits against end wall 19, which itself is provided with an attachment 20 which attaches to attachment 21 on platform 15 to hold the platform in the upright position.

Referring now specifically to Figures 2 and 3, there is illustrated in plan view and side view respectively a bath having a first fixed portion 22 and a second moveable portion 23 which can move between a shortened position where moveable portion 23 is telescoped into or against fixed portion 22 (see Figure and an extended position (see Figure 2) where the moveable portion 23 is pulled substantially into shower recess When the bath is in the extended position illustrated in Figure 2, platform 15 can be hinged upwardly and fixed to attachment 20 and the pull curtain and side wall 14 can be rolled upwardly to present a full length bath which can be accessed via door 12 or simply stepped into through the top of now open cabinet 11.

Nozzle 17 can now be used to fill the bath as can shower rose 13 which provides quite good versatility to the bath.

The two portions of the bath are sealingly engaged relative to each other via seal 30 such that bath does not appreciably leak. Seal 30 is attached to portion 23 and moves as portion 23 moves In a form of the invention, a drain tray or drip tray is provided underneath the fixed portion 22 of the bath and which forms part of or drains into the floor of the shower recess which means that should there be any dripping or leakage in the bath, it will drain through the drain outlet of the shower recess. The drip tray can be the bottom wall 31 of portion 23 which terminates at 32 into the shower recess, to drain any water which passes through seal The bath is fitted with a drain plug 24 to drain water into a drainage pipe (not illustrated). If a wash basin 16 is provided, it can drain either into the bath or it can have its own drain piping. The shower has a floor drainage outlet 25 to drain water away.

A lever arm (not illustrated) or other type of handle can be used to extend the moveable section of the bath into the shower recess allowing full use of the bath. The assembly can be made to suit left and right-handed 7 drains and can be made of fibreglass which is tough and corrosion resistant.

A mirror 26 can be provided if desired.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims (3)

1. A space saving combination shower and bath assembly which has a shower recess and a length adjustable bath, the bath being adjustable between a retracted shorter position where the bath is adjacent the shower recess and does not intrude into the shower recess, and a longer extended position where a portion of the bath extends into the shower recess thereby allowing a person to bathe in the bath.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the bath has a fixed portion which sits next to the shower recess and a moveable portion which can move into the shower recess to lengthen the bath, the fixed portion of the bath having an overlying platform which is moveable between an overlying position when the bath is in the shorter position and an away position when the bath is in the extended position to allow full access to the bath.

3. The assembly of claim 1 or claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. DATED this 2 9th day of June 1999 Ronald Francis HASTED By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.