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The invention relates to a shower drain according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a combination of such shower drain with a floor and at least one wall, such as a floor and wall of a shower room or the like.
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Such a shower drain comprises an elongated drain pan with an outlet, a bottom surface and vertical walls along the perimeter of the bottom surface, wherein the upper edges of the vertical walls define an inflow opening of the drain pan. In other words, these upper edges of the verical walls of the drain pan form a circumferentially closed, outer boundary, i.e. perimeter, for the inflow opening of the drain pan.
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In known shower drains, a grating is often provided within the perimeter of the vertical walls of the drain pan, which covers the inflow opening. The upper surface of the grating is usually flush with the upper surface of the surrounding floor, so that the floor and the shower drain can be walked on comfortably.
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In known drains, the drain pan may be configured as one single piece, but it is also known, for example from laid-
open publication EP 2 140 072 A1 , to make the drain pan as a two-part device and provide an adjusting frame, within which the grating is then placed. The advantage with these known drains is that with the adjusting frame, the height of the upper surface of the grating can easily be set flush with the upper surface of the surrounding floor.
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From an aesthetic viewpoint it is desirable to provide the grating with a surface treatment, with which the usual stainless steel colour is adapted. The grating may, for example by means of powder coating or a PVD (physical vapour deposition) treatment, be provided with any desired colour or by means of chromium-plating may even be provided with a reflecting layer, such as a gold-coloured layer or silver-coloured layer.
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When the grating of a known shower drain is provided with a different colour, the upper edge of the vertical wall of the sump will still be visible, because the grating is usually placed within the perimeter of the vertical walls. With drains of this kind, it would then also be necessary to provide the drain pan with the respective colour treatment, so that the costs become excessive.
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When a shower drain of this kind is fitted against a wall, that means a usually vertical wall of a shower room or the like, it is then also important that the finishing layer that is still to be applied, seen in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the grating, does not overlap this grating. Otherwise, removal of the grating from the drain pan would be hampered or would not be possible at all.
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Because during building it is often still unknown what finishing layer is to be applied on the wall, it is impossible to fit the shower drain in the floor in such a way that after application of the finishing layer, no gap is visible between the shower drain and the wall. This is undesirable from the aesthetic viewpoint.
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It is the technical problem of the invention to provide a shower drain of the type mentioned at the outset, which drain is capable to reduce or even prevent one or more of the drawbacks associated with the aforementioned prior art, and to provide a corresponding combination with a floor and a wall.
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The invention solves this problem by providing a shower drain having the features of claim 1 and a combination having the features of claim 8. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are mentioned in the dependent claims, the wording of which is herewith incorporated by reference.
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The shower drain according to the invention comprises a cover plate, which covers the inflow opening of the drain pan, wherein at least one orifice is provided in the cover plate, through which water can flow via the inflow opening into the drain pan, wherein the cover plate extends over each of the upper edges of the vertical walls in order to cover the upper edges completely and wherein the cover plate is divided, in the longitudinal direction of the drain pan, into at least two cover plate parts.
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Because the cover plate extends over each of the upper edges of the vertical walls of the drain pan so as to cover them on their top side completely, this drain pan is completely hidden from view, in particular from being viewed from above. When it is chosen to provide the cover plate with a special colour, it is not necessary to provide the drain pan with the same colour so as to avoid the appearance of different colours. This further offers the possibility of even making the drain pan from another, less expensive material, for example such as plastic, while choosing a more expensive material for the cover plate.
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In addition the cover plate is divided in the longitudinal direction of the drain pan into at least two cover plate parts. This means that each of these cover plate parts extends along the whole longitudinal length of the cover plate, and that these cover plate parts, to build the cover plate, are arranged side by side with facing long sides, i.e. these long sides face each other along a corresponding dividing line which continuously extends in the longitudinal direction from one narrow side of the cover plate to the other so as to divide the cover plate into the two or more separate plate parts. By this specific multi-part characteristic of the cover plate it is possible that a finishing layer on a vertical wall of a shower room or the like may overlap one of the cover plate parts while still allowing easy access to the drain pan. While this overlapped cover plate part may not be easily removable after installation, if at all, at least one other cover plate can be configured and provided to be removably installed, e.g. in order to be able to clean the drain pan.
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Optionally, if one cover plate part overlaps with the finishing layer of the wall, it may nevertheless be possible to remove it after removal of the other cover plate part, e.g. by being laterally moved over the upper edges of the vertical walls of the drain pan, and then taken out. Generally a sealant bead may have to be cut away first in this case, but this does make it possible to fit another cover plate on the drain pan after the passage of time, for example for renovation of a shower room.
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The cover plate is understood to be plate-shaped. Preferably, the cover plate has an at least substantially constant plate thickness and/or has a substantially cuboid shape, apart from the at least one orifice and/or any rounded edges. Preferably, the cover plate has a smooth, in particular polished, surface, at least on its upper side. The cover plate is preferably made of a metallic material.
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In an embodiment of the shower drain according to the invention, the at least one orifice is arranged to border on a dividing plane, or equivalently a dividing line, between two corresponding ones of the cover plate parts. That means the dividing plane or line intersects with the orifice, preferably along the whole length of the orifice, so as to extend at least partly within the orifice and/or at least partly along a longitudinal edge of the orifice.
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In an embodiment of the invention, the at least one orifice is formed at least partly by a recess provided in a long side of at least one of the adjacent cover plate parts. This has the advantage that the orifice can be kept narrow, but by removing the cover plate part with the recess it can also be cleaned easily, should the orifice become blocked. In addition, the orifice can be formed with low manufacturing effort in this case.
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In an embodiment of the shower drain according to the invention, the at least one orifice, seen in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the cover plate, lies within the inflow opening of the drain pan.
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In this case, because the at least one orifice lies within the inflow opening of the drain pan, the upper edges of the vertical walls of the drain pan will also not be visible via the one or more orifices.
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In a preferred embodiment of the shower drain according to the invention, along at least one long side of the drain pan, a horizontal flange is fitted to the upper edge of a corresponding one of the vertical walls or extends in one piece therefrom.
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As an advantage of this measure, a sealing cloth or bead can easily be fitted on this horizontal flange, with which the drain pan can easily be sealed on and with respect to the surrounding floor or an adjacent wall.
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In an embodiment of the shower drain according to the invention, one cover plate part extends over the horizontal flange and is attached thereto, for example by using a double-sided tape.
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A finishing layer, such as a layer of tiles, of a wall may project over this firmly attached cover plate part. Because the cover plate part is attached to the horizontal flange, this may provide a seal between the cover plate part and the drain pan.
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In an embodiment of the shower drain according to the invention, an elongated profile, of for example L-shaped cross-section, is fitted against an underside of at least one cover plate part in the longitudinal direction, said elongated profile abutting against the inner side of a corresponding one of the vertical walls of the drain pan.
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The elongated profile facilitates or provides positioning of the removable cover plate part relative to the drain pan. Especially when the cover plate part does not abut directly against for example a tile of the surrounding floor, the elongated profile prevents the at least two cover plate parts moving apart during use.
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In an embodiment of the shower drain according to the invention, the cover plate projects along one or more sides over and laterally beyond a respective one of the upper edges of the vertical walls, and a sealant bead is provided on the underside of the projecting part of the cover plate and on an outer side of the corresponding vertical wall. This allows a favorable sealing effect of the drain, when installed in a floor, with respect to the neighbouring floor region, and further can facilitate to hide the drain pan from being viewed by the user, if desired.
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The invention further provides a combination of a shower drain according to the invention, a floor and at least one wall of a shower room or the like, wherein the shower drain is fitted in the floor and wherein an upper surface of the cover plate lies flush with an upper surface of the floor. The shower drain abuts with a long side against the wall, and a finishing layer, such as a layer of tiles, is applied on the wall, said finishing layer, seen in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the cover plate, overlapping with a part of one of the cover plate parts.
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Preferably, between the finishing layer and the overlapped part of the corresponding one of the cover plate parts, a sealant bead is applied for sealing the transition between that cover plate part and the finishing layer.
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Preferably, the top layer of the floor is formed by a finishing layer, such as a tiled floor. The upper edges of the vertical walls then lie at a height level of this floor finishing layer, that is, in a height direction perpendicular to a plane of the floor the upper edges lie above a bottom or lower surface of the floor finishing layer and under a top or upper surface of the floor finishing layer.
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Advantageous embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and described in the following in more detail. In the drawings:
- Fig. 1
- shows an exploded, perspective view of a shower drain, and
- Fig. 2
- shows a perspective cross-sectional view of the shower drain according to Fig. 1 fitted in a floor and against a wall.
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Fig. 1 shows a shower drain 1 according to the invention. This shower drain 1 has a drain pan with an outlet 2, a bottom surface 3 and vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7 along the perimeter of the bottom surface 3, see also Fig. 2.
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A cover plate 8, 9 is arranged on upper edges of the vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7. The cover plate 8, 9 is divided, in the longitudinal direction of the drain pan, into two or more cover plate parts, in the embodiment shown the cover plate 8, 9 is divided in two cover plate parts 8, 9. Due to the cover plate 8, 9 being divided in the longitudinal direction each of the cover plate parts 8, 9 extends along the whole length of the cover plate 8, 9, i.e. from one narrow side to the other of the cover plate 8, 9, and the cover plate parts 8, 9 are arranged side by side with facing long sides, said long sides extending along a corresponding dividing line or plane.
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In the embodiment shown, in the cover plate part 8, a recess 10 is provided in a long side thereof, and forms a corresponding orifice of the cover plate 8, 9. The orifice or opening in the cover plate 8, 9 borders on the dividing plane between the two adjacent cover plate parts 8, 9. In preferred embodiments of the invention one single orifice/opening is provided in the cover plate 8, 9. In the embodiment shown, this orifice is formed by the recess 10.
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A perimeter of the cover plate 8, 9 is greater on all sides than a perimeter of the vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7, so that the cover plate 8, 9 completely covers the upper edges of the vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7 and hides them from view. The cover plate 8, 9 is preferably supported on the upper edges of at least two of the vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7. The cover plate 8, 9 preferably contacts the upper edges of at least two of the vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7.
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Fig. 2 shows the shower drain 1 fitted in a generally horizontal floor 11 of a shower room or the like covered with tiles 12, and against a generally vertical wall 13 of the shower room or the like, which is also covered with tiles 14.
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Seen in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the cover plate 8, 9, the layer of tiles 14 on the wall 13 overlaps a part of the cover plate part 9. Moreover, a sealant bead 15 for sealing is optionally provided between the cover plate part 9 and the tiles 14.
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In the embodiment shown, on the underside of the cover plate part 9, a horizontal flange 16, on which the cover plate part 9 is fastened with the aid of double-sided tape 17, is provided on the upper edge of the vertical side wall 6. Said flange 16 may be fitted to the corresponding upper edge of the vertical side wall 6 or may extend therefrom in one single piece.
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In the embodiment shown, on the underside of the cover plate part 8, an elongated profile 18 of L-shaped cross-section is fastened with double-sided tape 19. The part of the L-shaped cross-section that hangs down abuts against an inner side of the vertical wall 4, so that the two cover plate parts 8, 9 are fixed in position relative to each other.
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As an alternative to the elongate profile 18, a reinforcement rib can be arranged at an underside of at least one of the two cover plate parts 8, 9, preferably at the removable cover plate part 8, as seen in Fig. 1. Such a reinforcement rib preferably extends along the whole length or at least half of the length of the longitudinal extension of the cover plate part 8. The reinforcement rib does not contact the bottom surface 3 of the drain pan.
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In corresponding embodiments the cover plate 8, 9 projects along at least one side, preferably along all its sides, over the perimeter of the vertical walls 4, 5, 6, 7, such as in the embodiment shown. That means, the cover plate 8, 9 extends laterally beyond the upper edge of the respective vertical wall 4, 5, 6, and/or 7. This may be used to provide a sealant bead 20 between the tiles 12 of the floor 11 and the drain pan, more particularly an outer side of an upper portion of the corresponding vertical wall 4, 5, 6, and/or 7. The sealant bead 20 provides a sealing between the floor tiles 12 and the drain pan and helps to hide the drain pan from view.
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Because the two cover plate parts 8, 9 abut against each other in the longitudinal direction of the shower drain 1, the cover plate part 8 can be taken out easily in order to clean the drain pan of the shower drain 1, while the cover plate part 9 remains in position.
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Because the cover plate part 9 extends partly under the layer of tiles 14, an aesthetic general appearance is obtained with a minimum number of seams.
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As easily understood from the embodiments shown and explained above, the invention provides for an advantageous shower drain and a combination formed by installing this shower drain in a floor and adjacent a wall of a shower room, a bathroom or any other room where water or some other fluid has to be drained off.
