GB2056519A - Foldable shower cubicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A foldable shower cubicle having two wings (4, 5) which are swingable so as to overlie two adjoining, angularly-disposed walls (6, 7) of an enclosure in which the foldable shower is installed and which, in an operative mode, are swingable to a position in which their outer edges juxtapose each other at a substantial right angle so as to, in association with the adjoining, angularly-disposed walls of said enclosure, constitute a said shower cubicle having substantially rectangular configuration; or so as to overlie a wall of an enclosure in which the foldable shower cubicle is to be installed, or so that one said wing overlies the other said wing which in turn overlies the said enclosure wall and which, in an operative mode, are swingable to a position parallel to each other so as to constitute, with said wall, three sides of a said shower cubicle having substantially rectangular configuration. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Foldable shower cubicle This invention relates to shower cubicles, and more particularly to foldable shower cubicles possessing wings adapted to lie against a wall or walls when the cubicle is not in use.

Ideally, a bathroom should include both a bathtub and a shower cubicle and, indeed, this is the case in most modern dwelling houses and is common in many small latter-day flats and apartments. Furthermore, recent years have seen the introduction of the'en suite' bathroom adjacent the 'master' bedroom of even modest houses and this has proved to be of great advantage, particularly to a large family.

However, desirable as the above arrangements may be, a very large number of older houses were built with bathrooms having insufficient space in which to accommodate both a bathtub and a shower cubicle. Also, the main bedrooms of such houses are seldom spacious enough to have installed therein an 'en suite' bathroom. Many of these older, small bathrooms have shower fittings above the bathtub which, while providing showering and bath facilities of a sort, are the cause of many domestic accidents especially among the aged and infirm - and, in addition, are notorious for producing wetness and mess in a bathroom, as any custodian of young children will know only too well, even when shower curtains are used.It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the above and other disadvantages attendant upon the older-type, too-small bathroom and also to reduce the area, and thus the cost, of new bathrooms.

To this end, there is provided, according to the present invention, a foldable shower cubicle having two wings which, in an inoperative mode, are swingable so as to overlie either; (A) respecively, two adjoining, angularlydisposed walls of an enclosure in which the foldable shower is installed and which, in an operative mode, are swingable to a position in which their outer edges juxtapose each other at a substantial right angle so as to, in association with the adjoining, angularly-disposed walls of said enclosure, constitute a said shower cubicle having substantially rectangular configuration; or; (B) a wall of an enclosure in which the foldable shower cubicle is to be installed, or so that one said wing overlies the other said wing which in turn overlies the said enclosure wall and which, in an operative mode, are swingable to a position parallel to each other so as to constitute, with said wall, three sides of a said shower cubicle having substantially rectangular configuration.

Preferably, the hinged edge of each said wing is provided with an elongated tubular element extending substantially the height of said wing and having, at each end thereof, a projecting peg; each said peg being adapted to engage within a cooperating hole in a lug, said lugs being disposed one at each end of a pivot-post securable to a said wall of said enclosure.

So as to be able to compensate for deviations from verticalness of a wall, the pivot-post may be securable to a wall by its being receivable within the bight of a channel-sectioned member affixable directly to a wall so that it is adjustable therein.

In the case where the wings are parallellydisposable, they may be so maintained in their parallel relationship by a rod member spanning the space between outer edges of the wings and adapted to have suspended thereon a shower curtain.

In order that the reader may gain a better understanding of the invention, hereinafter are described certain embodiments thereof, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa general perspective view of a foldable shower cubicle according to the present invention, with one wing folded back to overlie a wall and with the other extended in the operative mode; Figure 2 is a schematic top view of the shower cubicle with its two wings folded; Figure 3 is a schematic top view of the shower cubicle with the wings opened; Figure 4 is a fragmentary view, to an enlarged scale, showing in more detail how the wings overlie the walls and how they locate with respect to each other when folded; Figure 5 shows, isometrically, a typical pivot or hinge fitting;; Figure 6 is a section through a tubular pivot element and wing frame; Figure 7 is similar two Figure 6 but shows a rather more elegant embodiment; Figures 8 and 9 are part-sections showing suitable sealing arrangements between a wing and the floor of a shower cubicle; and Figure 10 illustrates a device whereby a wing may be attached to an 'out-of'plumb' wall.

Figure 1 shows a foldable shower cubicle according to the present invention, generally referenced 1, installed in a corner of a room. The floor area 2 is slightly dished, dropping perhaps 2" to a drainhole 3. Cubicle 1 has two wings 4 and 5 which, in an inoperative mode, are swingable about suitable pivot assemblies so as to overlie two walls 6 and 7 of the room meeting to form the said corner and, in an operative mode, swingable to constitute the shower cubicle 1. In Figure 1, one wing 5 is shown folded back parallel to wall 7, while wing 4 is shown open. These wings 4,5 are ideally wiremesh-reinforced glass panels 8 and 9 in metal frames 10 and 11.These metal frames 10 and 11 may well be of aluminium, aluminium alloy, chromed brass, stainless steel or the like for preference but may equally well be sections of heavy plastics material framing panels of clear or translucent plastics sheets material. Both wings 4, 5 have inner and outer door-pulls or handles such as 12 and 13.

Wings 4,5 are held in eitheroftheirfolded or opened position by means of magnetic catches, to be seen in Figures 2 to 4. Located below wings 4, 5, when they are open, are sealing strips 14 to prevent outward seepage of water when the shower is in use, these being more fully described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Cubicle 1 is conventionally provided with a shower-head 15 and hot and coid taps 16, 17 on wall 7.

Ideally, the foldable shower cubicle according to the present invention will be in the order of 1 metre square, which size is adequate to accommodate a wheelchair. The two swingable wings 4, 5 are attached to respective walls 6,7 by pivot means which will be described hereinafter with reference to Figures 5 and 9 in particular. Each wing may be secured individually to its associated wall ortho two pivot-posts may be integrally connected by suitable sturdy horizontal members 18, 19 so asto enable cubicle 1 to be installed as an entity in a suitable corner of a room.

Figure 2 shows, in a schematic manner, a plan view of a shower cubicle with its wings 4, 5 folded back in the inoperative mode. Wing 4 will be seen to be able to be swung back so as to closely overlie its associated wall, and thus the pivot-post 20 to which it is pivoted is dimensioned so as to "stand proud" from wall 6 by only a small distance while the other wing 5 is pivoted to a pivot-post 21 which is dimensioned so as to "stand proud" from its associated wall 7 by a distance great enough to allowforsuch items as the faucets 16,17 which project from wall 7. Details of the pivot-posts 20 and 21 will be described hereinafterwith reference to Figure 5,6,7 and 10.Ideally, there will be means to prevent wing 5 from being forced back against faucets 16, 17 when it is swung back into the folded or inoperative position, and such a means will be described with reference to Figure 4.

Figure 3 is a similar schematic plan view of the shower cubicle with the wings 4 and 5 opened in the operative mode. Wing 5 is swung open through an angle of slightly more than 90"with respect to wall 7, wing 4 is then swung open through a 90 angle with respect to wall 6 and wing 5 swung back slightly so as to 'mate' with wing 4. Wings 4 and 5 are held together at the outer margins in a manner also to be made clear in Figure 4. Wing 5 is provided with a right-angled sealing strip 22 (best seen in Figure 4) which extends along the outer member of frame 11 of wing 5 for the purpose of preventing egress of water when the shower is in use.

Figure 4 shows, in greater detail, how the two wings 4 and 5 locate with respect to each other when folded back into the inoperative position. As has been stated, wing 4 is swung backfirstto closely overlie wall 6, then wing 5 is swung backto overlie wall 7 less closely. Wing 5, which "stands proud" from wall 6 by a distance sufficient for itto not make contact with the faucets, (notshown in Figure 4) is prevented from so doing by a stop 23 affixed to wall 7. Stop 23 has at its outer end a magnet~24 adapted to co-act with a piece of magnetic material 25 mounted on wing 5. Thus this arrangement is both a stop and a magnetic catch.Mounted on sealing angle strip 22 is a magnetic strip or a series of magnets 26 adapted to co-act with a complementary strip of magnetic material 27 mounted on the outer edge of wing 4 to thus hold wings 4 and 5 together when they are swung into the operative mode as evinced by Figure 3.

It will be realised, that while magnetic catches are preferred, mechanical latches may be employed instead. Moreover, the assembly 23, 24, 25 could be replaced by, say, a suction cup arrangement.

Mechanical latch means might well taketheform of conventional, spring-biased floor-catches, for example. Wings 4 and 5 may be fitted with door pulls such as 28 and 29, respectively, as well as the outer door handles 12 and 13 shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 shows in greater detail, the pivots on which wings 4 and 5 are hung. A pivot-post, reference in Figures 2 and 3 by either 20 or 21, will for the purpose of describing Figure 5 be designated as 20. In like manner its associated wing will be considered to be wing 4. Pivot-post 20 is secured to wall 6 (or 7) by such means as screws, rivets or the like and is provided, at its ends, with identical upper and lower lugs as exemplified by an upper lug 30.

Attached to the frame 10 of wing 4 by suitable means to be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7 is a tubular, elongated element 31 which is ideally an extrusion of aluminium or aluminium alloy. In the upper and lower ends of tubular element 31 are inserts or plugs 32, each having a projecting peg 33 adapted to engage in a co-operating hole 34 in lug 30, thus allowing wing 4 to swing freely and smooth Iy through an ang le greater tha n 1800.The integrity of the juxtaposition of pivot-post 20 with tubular element 31 is such that egress of water from the shower cubicle, when in use, is effectively prevented. In Figure 5, however, the gap is exaggerated purely for the sake of clarity.

Figure 6 shows how such a tubular element 31 is attached to frame member 10 of wing 4 by a device 35 known in the art as a 'pop-rivet', used in situations where a bolt or a conventional rivet cannot be manipulated, via an intervening channel strip36 which enables tubular element 31 to be immovably attached to frame member 10. However, a more elegant embodiment is illustrated in Figure 7 in which tubular element 31 and frame member 10 are integrally embodied as an extruded section.

Alternatively, the member 10 may not constitute the actual member which receives a panel such as 8 of wing 4 but may well bea channel-section member in the bight of which a frame member 10 of a wing 4 is accommodated, as in the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 9.

To prevent seepage of water from beneath the wings when the shower is in use, a sealing arrangement is provided as shown in Figure 8. Along the bottom edges of a wing such as 4 are affixed channelled elements 37 which are adapted to receive profiled plastics or rubber skirts 38 which, when the wings are in the operative mode, abut the sealing strips 14 (also see Figure 1) located on floor 2 of the cubicle. Sealing strips 14, which may be of such materials as aluminium, rubber, plastics etc. are ideally shaped as shown so as to present no hazards - for example, tripping, 'stubbing' toes-to the user of the shower cubicle and to present no obstacle to the entry of wheelchairs and the like.

Figure 9 shows an alternative arrangement in which a profiled plastics or rubber strip 39 is of part circular section to give a better squeegee action. In practice, strip 39 may contact floor 2 so that it will present a very slightly ovoid section. Strip 39 is accommodated in a channelled element 40 of wing 4.

As will be realized, since sealing strips 14 can be easily over-ridden and the wing catches are magnetic, the accidental impact of such objects as a toppling human body will not shatter or crack the wing panels but merely fling them open, breaking the body's fall in the process.

The walls of many buildings, particularly brickbuilt and old buildings, are frequently 'out-ofplumb', and this is calculated to cause great difficulty in hanging the wings so as to enable them to come together accurately, as will be readily appreciated.

However, this contingency is catered for in the embodiment shown in Figure 10. Here the pivot-post is not secured directly to a wall but is receivable within the bight of a channel-sectioned member which is so secured.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 10 pivot-post 20 can be adjusted within bight 41 of the channelsectioned member 42 which is securable to the wall in place of pivot-post 20 itself - as is the case in the embodiment of Figure 5. Pivot-post 20 is brought into exact vertical alignment and secured in bight 41, by bolts or rivets, to thus compensate for the 'outof-plumbness' of the wall.

It will be realized that, while Figure 10 represents, in an exaggerated manner, the situation in which a wall leans outwardly with respect to the shower cubicle, the post-and-channel arrangement will be found equally suitable in situations in which a wall leans inwardly.

While the above description has been couched in terms of two wings hung on walls adjoining at 900, it is contemplated that such wings may be hung so as to be swingable on a wall other than at a corner. The wings may each overlie the wall or one may overlie the other which in turn overlies the wall. In both embodiments, when the wings are swung into the operative mode, they thus will constitute, with the wall, three sides of a shower cubicle. The open side may have thereacross a rod or rods connecting the outer edges of the wings and upon which a shower curtain may be hung to close off the open side.

Moreover, show cubicles as described in accordance with the present invention need not be confined to installation in a building; they may equally well be installed in such vehicles as railway cars, buses and caravans and in water-borne vessels.

From the above-going it will be seen that foldable shower cubicles constructed in accordance with the present invention will be found to be easy to install, relatively inexpensive, economical of space and, at the very least, offer the public a useful and attractive alternative to conventional installations.

Claims (5)

1. A foldable shower cubicle having two wings which, in an inoperative mode, are swingable so as to overlie either; (A) respectively, two adjoining, angularlydisposed walls of an enclosure in which the foldable shower is installed and which, in an operative mode, are swingable to a position in which their outer edges juxtapose each other at a substantial right angle so as to, in association with the adjoining, angularly-disposed walls of said enclosure, constitute a said shower cubicle having substantially rectangular configuration; or; (B) a wall of an enclosure in which the foldable shower cubicle is to be installed, or so that one said wing overlies the other said wing which in turn overlies the said enclosure wall and which, in an operative mode, are swingable to a position parallel to each other so as to constitute, with said wall, three sides of a said shower cubicle having substantially rectangular configuration.

2. The foldable shower cubicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said two parallelly-disposable wings are maintainable in said parallel relationship by a rod member spanning the space between outer edges of said wings and adapted to have suspended thereon a shower curtain.

3. The foldable shower cubicle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the hinged edge of each said wing is provided with an elongated tubular element extending substantially the height of said wing and having, at each end thereof, a projecting peg adapted to engage within a co-operating hole in a lug, said lugs being disposed one at each end of a pivot-post securable to a said wall of said enclosure.

4. The foldable shower cubicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the said pivot-post is securable to a said wall by its being receivable within the bight of a channel-sectioned member affixable within said height so as to be able to compensate for deviations from verticalness of a said wall.

5. A foldable shower cubicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.