FR2809610A1 - SHOWER ENCLOSURE AND PROFILE FOR SUCH A CABIN - Google Patents

Abstract

A shower cubicle comprises a tray (1) and a rigid wall (2), said tray having a generally vertical peripheral wall (10) having an upper horizontal sidewalk (11) and an internal face (14) directed towards the inside of the shower. receiver (1) and the rigid wall (2) being constituted by a rigid panel (20) arranged in a U-shaped groove (26) of a profile (21) positioned on the peripheral wall (10) of said receiver (1). Said section (21) consists of an upper part (22) comprising a flat lower wall (23) intended to be positioned on the sidewalk (11) of the peripheral wall (10) of the receiver (1) and of a part side (24) comprising an outer wall (25) constituting with the flat wall (23) of the upper part (22) a concave right angle, intended to be positioned facing the inner face (14) of said peripheral wall (10) of the receiver (1).

Description

The present invention relates generally to a booth

  shower and more specifically a shower enclosure with glass wall.

  In a manner known per se, the shower cubicles consist of a receiver and a vertical wall positioned around the periphery of said receiver to close the space disposed above it so as to stop the splashes of water which inevitably occur when a person takes a shower and thus avoid wetting the room in which the shower is fitted. The vertical wall usually extends over a height of about two meters but can also mount up against the ceiling of

the bathroom.

  The receiver is a tray of low height comprising a generally horizontal bottom and a generally vertical peripheral wall. This recipient can be in

  earthenware or thermoformed plastic.

  There are generally two types of shower enclosures, wall-mounted enclosures

  made of thermoformed thin plastic and rigid-walled cabins,

  ie cannot be shaped, generally made of glass.

  In cabins with a plastic wall, the receiver is made of plastic and the bottom of the wall is shaped so as to be applied against the internal face of the peripheral wall of the receiver in order to be fixed to said receiver, for example by screwing . These cabins have the advantage of not requiring the installation of a seal between the wall and the receiver since the water from the projections flowing along the wall

  goes straight to the bottom of the receiver.

  When the cabin wall is rigid, made of glass or synthetic glazing, it is not possible to shape the lower end to adapt it to the shape of the peripheral wall of the receiver. Said wall is then positioned on the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the receiver, possibly with the interposition of an aluminum decorative profile glued to the wall. This arrangement leaves the water flowing along the wall with the possibility of infiltrating between the wall and the receiver and of flowing out of the cabin. It is therefore necessary to position a seal between the bottom of the wall and the

  receiver or between the profile and the receiver.

  The wall is usually made up of several elements extending generally along one side of the receiver and connected together by angle profiles and by a continuous upper profile. At least one movable element is provided

  constituting a door allowing access to the interior of the cabin.

  These cabins are much more aesthetic than cabins with plastic walls and have the advantage of being able to be retrofitted from an existing receiver. However, they have the disadvantage of requiring a seal. Indeed, the seal is a silicone seal positioned on the edge of the receiver and crushed during the installation of the wall. This seal is well known and widespread, but is not appreciated by installers or by housewives. It is not easy to implement because it takes time and patience to build a very regular bead around the receiver, shape it and remove the burrs, and is more difficult

cleanable when dirty.

  The object of the present invention is then to propose a shower cabin with

  rigid wall which does not require the installation of such a seal.

  To this end, the invention relates to a shower enclosure comprising a receiver and a rigid wall, said receiver having a generally vertical peripheral wall having an upper horizontal sidewalk and an internal face directed towards the interior of the receiver and the rigid wall being constituted by a rigid panel disposed in a U-shaped groove of a profile positioned on the peripheral wall of said receiver, characterized in that said profile consists of an upper part comprising a flat bottom wall intended to be positioned on the sidewalk of the wall receiver device and a side part comprising an external wall constituting with the flat wall of the upper part a concave right angle, intended to

  be positioned vis-à-vis the internal face of said peripheral wall of the receiver.

  The shower cabin according to the invention is also remarkable in that: the lateral part of the profile carries a raceway directed towards the interior of the receiver, - the profile is in one piece, - the profile is in two pieces, the first part comprising an upper part with a flat bottom wall and a lateral part with an external wall constituting a concave right angle with the flat wall, and the second part comprising an upper U-shaped part constituting the groove for positioning the rigid panel and a wing extending outwards from the bottom wall of the groove, parallel to the

  walls of said groove, and adapted to be pressed and fixed against the first part.

  The invention also relates to the profile intended to be used in

  a shower cabin according to the invention.

  The invention will be better understood thanks to the description which follows given

  by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a partial sectional view of a shower enclosure according to a first embodiment of the invention, - Figure 2 is a partial view in section of a shower cabin according to a second embodiment of the invention, - Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of a shower cabin according to

  a third embodiment of the invention.

  The drawings are partial views of shower cubicles according to the invention on which only a portion of the edge of the receiver 1 and of the bottom of a rigid wall 2 are represented. In order to simplify the representation and to facilitate understanding, only the

  receiver 1 and the rigid panel 20 constituting the wall 2 have been hatched.

  The receivers 1 shown in the drawing are receivers of thermoformed plastic but we will not depart from the invention by using another type

catcher.

  In a manner known per se, the receiver 1 has a generally horizontal bottom 12, but having a slope in the direction of the discharge plug not shown in the drawing, and a generally vertical peripheral wall 10, with a

slight workmanship.

  The peripheral wall 10 has an upper horizontal sidewalk 11 and an internal face 14 directed towards the interior of the receiver. In the embodiments shown in the drawing, the bottom comprises a peripheral step 13 constituting a

horizontal wall.

  In the present description, the terms interior and exterior are used

  to designate respectively the elements turned towards the interior of the cabin and towards

outside of it.

  The rigid panel 20 is arranged in a U-shaped groove 26 of a profile 21, for example of aluminum, positioned on the peripheral wall 10 of said receiver 1. According to the invention, the profile 21 is such that it is unnecessary to position a

seal.

  To this end, as can be seen in the drawing, the profile 21 has an upper part 22 whose exterior is rounded for aesthetic reasons and a part

lateral 24.

  The upper part 22 has a flat bottom wall 23 while the side part 24 has an outer wall 25 constituting with the flat wall 23 of the

  upper part 22 a concave right angle.

  Said profile 21 is put in place by positioning the lower flat wall 23 of the upper part 22 on the sidewalk 11 of the peripheral wall 10 and the external wall of the lateral part 24 facing the internal face 14 of said peripheral wall 10. In doing so, the water flowing along the rigid panel 20 continues its descent along the internal face of the lateral part 24 to reach the bottom 12 of the receiver 1 and cannot infiltrate towards the exterior of the cabin constituted according to the invention. It is

  then totally unnecessary to clutter with a silicone seal.

  In the example shown in the drawing, the lateral part 24 of the profile 21 carries a raceway 27 directed towards the interior of the receiver and intended for guiding the

  rollers of a sliding door not shown in Figure 1.

  When a complete cabin is proposed comprising a receiver 1 and a rigid wall 2, the lateral part 24 of the profile 21 can, as shown in the drawing, be of length perfectly adapted to the height of the receiver and be supported

against step 13 of it.

  However, when adapting a rigid wall 2 to an existing receiver, it is preferable to choose a profile 21 whose lateral part 24 is shorter than the height of the internal face 14 of the peripheral wall 10 of this receiver so that the flat bottom wall 23 of the upper part 22 of said profile 21 is suitably

  positioned resting on the sidewalk 1l 1 of receiver 1.

  The implementation of a profile 21 whose side portion 24 is higher than the internal face 14 of the peripheral wall 10 of the receiver 1 is of course possible, the operation will not be disturbed but there will remain a gap between the sidewalk 11 and the planar wall 23 and it would be necessary for aesthetic reasons to

  position a finishing bead along the sidewalk 11.

  The cabin is held in place on the receiver by its own weight, its entirety is ensured by the profiles arranged at the corners of the receiver and by the peripheral profile disposed at the top of the rigid panels 20, the lateral part 24 of the profile 21 which extends along the inner face of the peripheral wall 10 of the receiver 1 allows

avoid tipping.

  In the embodiment of Figure 2, the profile 121 is in two parts

and 130.

  The first part 120 is similar to the profile 21 of FIG. 1 but unlike the latter, it does not have a groove 26 for positioning the rigid panel 20. This part 120 then comprises an upper part 22 with a lower plane wall 23 and a side portion 24 with wall 25 constituting a concave right angle with

the flat wall 23.

  The second part 130 comprises an upper part 131 in U constituting the groove 26 for the establishment of the rigid panel 20 and a wing 132 extending outwards from the bottom wall of the groove 26, parallel to the walls of said groove 26, and adapted to be pressed and fixed, for example by screwing, against the face

  internal part 24 of the part 120.

  To facilitate the installation of the part 130 carrying the rigid panel 20, the wing 132 can be shaped so as to rest on the upper part of the path

  bearing 27 when it is provided.

  This realization of the two-piece profile 120, 130 facilitates packaging and

  transport of the rigid panels constituting the elements of the cabin wall.

  Indeed, for practical reasons, it is preferable to bond the rigid panels 20 into the grooves 26 of the aluminum profiles in the factory rather than

  when installing the booth.

  It is then necessary to provide a packaging allowing the protection of the rigid panel, often made of glass, and of the profile. Due to the presence of the profile according to the invention, the packaging is larger and the transport costs are increased in proportion. This is even more obvious when the cabin has a cylindrical wall element with two fixed parts at the ends and one or two sliding doors at the

center.

  There is shown in Figure 2 a sliding door 40 and a roller 41 of

  the latter, positioned in the raceway 27 of the profile.

  Figure 3 shows a third embodiment in which the groove 226 for the establishment of the rigid panel 20 is positioned above the flat wall 223 of the upper part 222 of the profile 221. Such an arrangement makes it possible to enlarge the space internal of the cabin by spreading the rigid wall. The profile 221 also comprises a lateral part 224 comprising an external wall 225 intended to be positioned opposite the internal face 14 of the peripheral wall 10 of the receiver. The invention is not limited to the three embodiments shown by way of nonlimiting example in the drawing but includes any variant embodiment comprising a profile having a flat wall 23, 223 adapted to be positioned on the sidewalk of the peripheral wall and an external wall 25, 225 adapted to be positioned in front of the internal face of said peripheral wall so as not to

  require the installation of a seal.

  The cabin according to the invention is very simple to install because the shape of the profile alone makes it possible to seal the cabin. It has the very appreciable advantage of not requiring the installation of a silicone seal and

  to overcome all the disadvantages presented by these joints.

Claims (7)

  1. Shower cabin comprising a receiver (1) and a rigid wall (2), said receiver having a generally vertical peripheral wall (10) having an upper horizontal sidewalk (11) and an internal face (14) directed inwards of the receiver (1) and the rigid wall (2) consisting of a rigid panel (20) arranged in a U-shaped groove (26, 226) of a profile (21, 121, 221) positioned on the peripheral wall (10 ) of said receiver (1), characterized in that said profile (21, 121, 221) consists of an upper part (22, 222) comprising a flat lower wall (23, 223) intended to be positioned on the sidewalk ( 11) of the peripheral wall (10) of the receiver (1) and of a lateral part (24, 224) comprising an external wall (25, 225) constituting with the flat wall (23, 223) of the upper part (22 , 222) a concave right angle, intended to be positioned facing the internal face (14) of said peripheral wall (10) d u receiver (1).   2. Shower cabin according to claim 1, characterized in that the lateral part (24) of the profile (21, 121) carries a raceway (27) directed towards inside the receiver (1).   3. Shower cabin according to claim 1 or according to claim 2,   characterized in that the profile (21, 221) is in one piece.   4. Shower enclosure according to claim 1 or according to claim 2,   characterized in that the profile (121) is in two parts (120, 130).   5. Shower cabin according to claim 5, characterized in that the first part (120) comprises an upper part (22) with a flat lower wall (23) and a side part (24) with an external wall (25) constituting an angle concave right with the flat wall (23).   6. Shower enclosure according to claim 4 or according to claim 5, characterized in that the second part (130) has an upper U-shaped part (131) constituting the groove (26) for the establishment of the rigid panel (20 ) and a wing (132) extending outward from the bottom wall of the groove (26), parallel to the walls of said groove (26), and adapted to be pressed and fixed against the first part (120).   7. Profile characterized in that it is intended to be implemented in a   shower enclosure according to any one of claims 1 to 6.