GB1560713A

GB1560713A - Shower cabinet

Info

Publication number: GB1560713A
Application number: GB883377A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Nordic Saunas Ltd
Current assignee: Nordic Saunas Ltd
Priority date: 1978-01-27
Filing date: 1978-01-27
Publication date: 1980-02-06

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A SHOWER CABINET (71) We, NORDIC SAUNAS LIMITED a British company, of Nordic House, 31-33 Lesbourne Road, Reigate, Surrey, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to a shower cabinet.

A problem associated with a shower cabinet is that where the door opens outwardly, water on the door may drip onto the floor outside the cabinet. The problem may be alleviated by the provision of a door which opens inwardly. However, a conventionally-hinged inwardly-opening door makes it difficult for a bather to enter the shower cabinet and close the door behind him. The present invention provides an improved inwardly-opening door system.

A shower cabinet according to the invention comprises a door for closing a doorway of the shower cabinet and guide means for guiding the door during opening so that one end edge of the door moves along the side of the cabinet having the doorway and the other end edge moves along an adjacent side of the cabinet.

Preferably the guide means comprises two guides disposed at the top and bottom of the doorway side of the cabinet and two guides disposed at the top and bottom of the adjacent side respectively for guiding the door by its corners during opening. Normally the side of the cabinet along which the other part of the guideway extends will be a side panel of the shower cabinet. However, it could be a wall. In this arrangement the corner at which the door opens need not be a right angle.

However, in another arrangement wherein the relevant sides are at right angles, the guide means comprises two guides disposed at the top and the bottom respectively of either the doorway side or the adjacent side for guiding the corners of the door at one upright edge thereof along the respective side during opening, and radius arms connecting the top and the bottom of the corner between the doorway side and the adjacent side to the mid-point of the top edge and the bottom edge of the door respectively for guiding the mid-points around arcs so that the other upright edge of the door moves along the adjacent side or the doorway side during opening.

In accordance with a preferred feature of the invention, the shower cabinet is symmetrical about a plane which horizontally bisects the shower cabinet when the latter is installed upright.

The symmetry enables, for instance, a left-hand opening door to be converted to right-hand opening door by turning the cabinet upside-down.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, two specific embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shower cabinet according to the invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of another shower cabinet according to the invention.

Referring now to Figure 1, there can be seen a shower cabinet erected on a base tray 1 and situated at a corner between two walls 5a, 5b and having a doorway side 28 - closed by a door 30 - and a side panel 29.

The door 30 of toughened glass with top and bottom reinforcing strips 31, 32 is supported at its upper corners by upper wheels.

Upper frame members 33, 34 provide nonillustrated guides for the upper wheels. The members 33, 34 are square-section tubes each having a slot extending along the bottom flange thereof. A shaft extends up through one of the slots from each end of the top reinforcing member and is angled for an upper wheel to be journalled thereon about a horizontal axis and to run on the inside sur face of the bottom flange. Lower frame members 38, 39 connected to the upper frame members by uprights 35, 36, 37, have similar slots, e.g. 40. A shaft, e.g. 43 extends down into one of the slots from each end of the bottom reinforcing member. Journalled on each of the shafts is a wheel which is guided in the respective slot thereby guiding the bottom of the door. The guide in upper frame member 33 and guide 40 form one part of a guide means; whilst the guide in upper frame member 34 and in lower frame member 39 form another part of the guide means.

On opening, the door is slid sideways by means of handle 42 which has portions both inside and outside the door, the four corners of the door - all being supported or guided following their respective guides.

Both the upper wheels and the lower wheels are connected to the respective reinforcing strips 31, 32 by the shafts, e.g. 43, at a small distance from the ends of the strips, to prevent the ends of the door extending out of the cabinet. This is particularly important for end 30a which passes behind toughenedglass panel member 44.

This panel member, which is supported by upper frame member 34, lower frame member 39 and uprights 36, 37 closes the side 29. Since the outside portion of the handle 42 passes behind the panel member 44, it is relatively slim and the closed separation of the door 30 and the panel member 44 is made as large as feasible.

It will be apparent that when the door 30 is opened after the shower cabinet is used when the inside surface of the door is likely to be wet - the door remains within the cabinet.

Thus any drips from the door will fall onto the base tray as opposed to onto the floor outside the cabinet as would be the case with an outwardly opening door.

The cabinet, with the exception of the door, is symmetrical about the horizontal plane H bisecting it, thus it can be inverted to position the door in the required side. The door being symmetrical about the normal plane vertically bisecting it can be used the same way up which ever way the cabinet is positioned.

Figure 2 shows a one-sided enclosure for closing off a three-sided niche to form a shower cabinet. For convenience the onesided enclosure is hereinafter, including in the claims, referred to as a shower cabinet.

The cabinet comprises a toughened-glass door 53 having a handle 54 at mid-height, a toughened-glass small fixed panel 55 and an oxidised aluminium frame 56. A tray 57 is provided as a base for the shower cabinet.

The door 53 is arranged to open without protruding from the cabinet. During opening the left end edge 58 of the door is guided by upper and lower guides (not shown) extending along behind the upper and lower frame parts 59, 60. The door has top (not shown) and bottom 61 reinforcing strips which carry slideable pins to be guided in the guides.

Pivoted to the mid-point of the reinforcing strips are radius arms, of which only the lower 62 is shown. These arms are pivoted at their other ends at the top and bottom corners 63, 64 of the frame 56. This guide means provides that the right hand end edge of the door moves in a plane at right angles to the plane of the guides.

The cabinet is symmetrical about the horizontal plane H bisecting it, thus it can be inverted to convert the door from a righthand opening door to a left-hand opening door or vice versa.

The invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments. The cabinets need not be symmetrical as described. Further they may be extensible, as more fully described in our copending application No. 3444/78 (Serial No.

1560714). Thus in the embodiment of Figure 2 the upper and lower frame members 59, 60 may be telescopic. The cabinet can then be adjusted to fit a given size of niche, the degree of overlap of the glass panel 55 and the door 53 (when closed) varying according to the adjustment of the cabinet. Finally the embodiments shown can be modified to include side panels for each side of the base tray. However, shower cabinets are normally constructed against one or more walls thus reducing the number of sides along which side panels are required.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A shower cabinet comprising a door for closing a door-way of the shower cabinet and guide means for guiding the door during opening so that one end edge of the door moves along the side of the cabinet having the doorway and the other end edge moves along an adjacent side of the cabinet.

2. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the guide means comprises two guides disposed at the top and bottom of the door-way side of the cabinet and two guides disposed at the top and bottom of an adjacent side of the shower cabinet respectively for guiding the door by its corners during opening.

3. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the door-way side of the cabinet and the adjacent side are substantially at right angles to each other; and wherein the guide means comprises two guides disposed at the top and the bottom respectively of either the door-way or the adjacent side for guiding the corners of the door at one upright edge thereof along the door-way side or the adjacent side during opening, and two radius arms connecting the top and the bottom of the corner between the door-way side and the adjacent side to the midpoint of the top

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

face of the bottom flange. Lower frame members 38, 39 connected to the upper frame members by uprights 35, 36, 37, have similar slots, e.g. 40. A shaft, e.g. 43 extends down into one of the slots from each end of the bottom reinforcing member. Journalled on each of the shafts is a wheel which is guided in the respective slot thereby guiding the bottom of the door. The guide in upper frame member 33 and guide 40 form one part of a guide means; whilst the guide in upper frame member 34 and in lower frame member 39 form another part of the guide means.

On opening, the door is slid sideways by means of handle 42 which has portions both inside and outside the door, the four corners of the door - all being supported or guided following their respective guides.

Both the upper wheels and the lower wheels are connected to the respective reinforcing strips 31, 32 by the shafts, e.g. 43, at a small distance from the ends of the strips, to prevent the ends of the door extending out of the cabinet. This is particularly important for end 30a which passes behind toughenedglass panel member 44.

This panel member, which is supported by upper frame member 34, lower frame member 39 and uprights 36, 37 closes the side 29. Since the outside portion of the handle 42 passes behind the panel member 44, it is relatively slim and the closed separation of the door 30 and the panel member 44 is made as large as feasible.

It will be apparent that when the door 30 is opened after the shower cabinet is used when the inside surface of the door is likely to be wet - the door remains within the cabinet.

Thus any drips from the door will fall onto the base tray as opposed to onto the floor outside the cabinet as would be the case with an outwardly opening door.

The cabinet, with the exception of the door, is symmetrical about the horizontal plane H bisecting it, thus it can be inverted to position the door in the required side. The door being symmetrical about the normal plane vertically bisecting it can be used the same way up which ever way the cabinet is positioned.

Figure 2 shows a one-sided enclosure for closing off a three-sided niche to form a shower cabinet. For convenience the onesided enclosure is hereinafter, including in the claims, referred to as a shower cabinet.

The cabinet comprises a toughened-glass door 53 having a handle 54 at mid-height, a toughened-glass small fixed panel 55 and an oxidised aluminium frame 56. A tray 57 is provided as a base for the shower cabinet.

The door 53 is arranged to open without protruding from the cabinet. During opening the left end edge 58 of the door is guided by upper and lower guides (not shown) extending along behind the upper and lower frame parts 59, 60. The door has top (not shown) and bottom 61 reinforcing strips which carry slideable pins to be guided in the guides.

Pivoted to the mid-point of the reinforcing strips are radius arms, of which only the lower 62 is shown. These arms are pivoted at their other ends at the top and bottom corners 63, 64 of the frame 56. This guide means provides that the right hand end edge of the door moves in a plane at right angles to the plane of the guides.

The cabinet is symmetrical about the horizontal plane H bisecting it, thus it can be inverted to convert the door from a righthand opening door to a left-hand opening door or vice versa.

The invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiments. The cabinets need not be symmetrical as described. Further they may be extensible, as more fully described in our copending application No. 3444/78 (Serial No.

1560714). Thus in the embodiment of Figure 2 the upper and lower frame members 59, 60 may be telescopic. The cabinet can then be adjusted to fit a given size of niche, the degree of overlap of the glass panel 55 and the door 53 (when closed) varying according to the adjustment of the cabinet. Finally the embodiments shown can be modified to include side panels for each side of the base tray. However, shower cabinets are normally constructed against one or more walls thus reducing the number of sides along which side panels are required.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A shower cabinet comprising a door for closing a door-way of the shower cabinet and guide means for guiding the door during opening so that one end edge of the door moves along the side of the cabinet having the doorway and the other end edge moves along an adjacent side of the cabinet.
2. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the guide means comprises two guides disposed at the top and bottom of the door-way side of the cabinet and two guides disposed at the top and bottom of an adjacent side of the shower cabinet respectively for guiding the door by its corners during opening.
3. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the door-way side of the cabinet and the adjacent side are substantially at right angles to each other; and wherein the guide means comprises two guides disposed at the top and the bottom respectively of either the door-way or the adjacent side for guiding the corners of the door at one upright edge thereof along the door-way side or the adjacent side during opening, and two radius arms connecting the top and the bottom of the corner between the door-way side and the adjacent side to the midpoint of the top

edge and the bottom edge of the door respectively for guiding the mid-points around arcs so that the other upright edge of the door moves along the adjacent side or the doorway side during opening.
4. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the door-way side of the cabinet is laterally extensible.
5. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein, except for the door, the cabinet is symmetrical about a plane which horizontally bisects the cabinet when the latter is installed upright, the door being symmetrical about the normal plane which vertically bisects it.
6. A shower cabinet as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 3 or Claim 5 wherein the cabinet is symmetrical about a plane which horizontally bisects the cabinet when the latter is installed upright.
7. A shower cabinet as claimed in any preceding claim including a frame of anodized aluminium.
8. A shower cabinet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. - - .