GB2226067A

GB2226067A - Profile system for shower and bath enclosures

Info

Publication number: GB2226067A
Application number: GB8828672A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter John Gardner
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-12-08
Filing date: 1988-12-08
Publication date: 1990-06-20
Anticipated expiration: 2008-12-08
Also published as: GB2226067B; GB8828672D0

Abstract

An adjustable profile system for shower and bath enclosures comprises a door jamb profile member (3) having a C-shaped channel section and at least one spacer member (6) having a similar channel section which is slidably fitted therein. The spacer member (6) carries external interlocking engagement members (8), preferably in the form of hooks, which interengage with corresponding engagement members (7) on a further profile member (9). A similar construction is used as a wall spacer profile member. <IMAGE>

Description

PROFILE SYSTEM FOR SHOWER AND BATH ENCLOSURES The present invention relates to a profile system for shower and bath enclosures. More particularly, the present invention relates to a profile system which is adjustable in width.

Profile systems for shower and bath enclosures are already known. Certain different types of profiles are required in such systems. Thus, a door jamb profile is necessary to allow the door of the enclosure to be opened and closed and simultaneously provides the vertical members of an outer frame in which the door fits. Spacer profiles are also employed which space the door jamb profile from the wall of a room adjacent the enclosure or space the side panels of the enclosure from the door. A further known type of profile used in such systems is a side panel profile. Such profile is, effectively, a fourpiece frame member into which a glass panel is fitted.

One major problem does, however, arise in connection with known shower and bath enclosures. As will be readily appreciated, particularly in connection with shower enclosures, the base of the enclosure is in the form of a shower tray. There is, unfortunately, no fixed size for a shower tray; the most common commercially available shower trays are square and have length and width dimensions of 750mm, 760mm or 800mm. Larger sized trays are also commercially available but are less common than the three above stated sizes. The different sizes of shower trays causes problems with regard to the profile system for the enclosure used to surround such a shower tray. The adjustability of the profiles in known systems is also somewhat limited.

In fact, the usual forms of adjustment possible in most such systems are provided either by making the horizontal frame member portions of the side panel profile telescopic or by providing the sliding fitting of two profiles one within the other. The telescopic form of adjustment has certain disadvantages. The provision of a telescopic arrangement adds considerably to the weight of the profile system. Furthermore, the provision of such an arrangement will necessitate the use of overlapping glass panels which is, in itself a disadvantage. Finally, the provision of a telescopic arrangement is not aesthetically pleasing. In practice, therefore, manufacturers of shower and bath enclosures tend to produce at least two different types of profile systems.The smaller of the two profile systems is intended to accommodate shower trays having sides of 750mm and 760mm whilst the other profile system is larger and is intended for use with shower trays having sides of 800mm or more. The sliding fitting arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that the arm members of the interengaging profiles must be made excessively long to provide sufficient retention if, for example, an attempt is made to provide up to 80 mm adjustment.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide an adjustable profile system for use in shower and bath enclosures and which,within reason, can be used to surround any conventional sized bath or shower tray whilst circumventing the disadvantages of the known arrangements.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an adjustable profile system for shower and bath enclosures comprising a door jamb profile defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion and at least one spacer profile member also defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion, the spacer profile member being a sliding fit within the door jamb profile member such that the arms of the two members lie adjacent one another, the or each spacer member carrying interlocking means capable of mating with corresponding interlocking means formed on a further profile member.

According to a further aspect, the present invention provides an adjustable profile system for shower and bath enclosures comprising a wall spacer profile member defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion and a side panel profile member also defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion which is a sliding fit within the wall spacer profile such that the arms of the two members lie adjacent one another, the wall spacer profile member being provided with interlocking means capable of mating with corresponding interlocking means formed on a further profile member.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interlocking means comprise hook members formed at the free end of the arms of the members to be interconnected. Alternatively or additionally, the interlocking means may comprise hook members, the hook members being formed at or adjacent the junctions of the arms defining the channel with the base of the channel.

Desirably, the slidable retention of one profile member within another profile member is effected with the open ends of the two C-shaped channel sections facing in the same direction. Alternatively, the slidable retention of one profile member within another profile member is effected such that the open ends of the channels face in opposite directions.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, an adjustable profile system for shower and bath enclosures comprises a door jamb profile member defining a C-shaped channel portion, a first spacer profile member also defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion and which slidably retained within the door jamb profile, the first spacer profile member carrying hooked interlocking means formed on the free ends of the arms defining the channel, a second spacer profile member forming a corner spacer defining substantially Cshaped channel portion, the corner spacer profile carrying interlocking means at opposed ends of one arm defining the channel capable of mating with the interlocking hook members formed on the first spacer profile member, a side panel profile member defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion slidably retained within the second spacer member and a wall spacer profile member also of a substantially C-shaped channel cross-section for receiving a further portion of the side panel profile member.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a two-sided shower enclosure embodying the adjustable profile system of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a door jamb profile member having two interlocked spacer profile members slidably retained therein and forming part of the assembly shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2 but shows the arrangement of profiles in a corner region of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 shown a plan. vs similar to Figs. 2 and 3 of a further portion of the profiles of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a two-sided shower enclosure. The enclosure comprises a panel member 1, usually made of glass or a suitable plastics material, and a pivoted door 2, also usually made of glass or a suitable plastics material. A door jamb profile member 3 is provided for the door 2. As can best be seen in Figure 2, the door jamb profile member defines a substantially C-shaped channel portion. The door jamb profile 3 carries, on its external surface, a projection 4 defining a slot 5. In use, the slot receives and retains a magnetic strip (not shown) which co-operates with a similar magnetic strip provided along one vertical edge of the door 2 so as to retain the door in its closed position and to provide a seal to prevent shower water from leaking from the enclosure.In the embodiment shown in the drawings, a first spacer member- 6, which also defines a C-shaped channel portion, is slidably retained in the door jamb profile member 3. To achieve this, it will be readily apparent that the cross-sectional width of the spacer profile member 6 must be slightly smaller than that of the door jamb profile member 3. It will also be observed, from Figure 2, that in this embodiment the open ends of the channels of the door jamb profile 3 and the first spacer member 6 face in opposite directions. At the junctions of the two arms defining the channel with the base of the channel of the first spacer profile 6, hooked projection members 8 projecting in a direction generally opposite that to the open end of the channel of the profile member 6, are provided.These hook members 8 cooperate with mating hook members 7 formed on the free ends of the arms of a further spacer profile 9 defining a similar C-shaped channel portion. The arrangement described hitherto is used along the right-hand edge of the door of the arrangement shown in Figure 1.

The profile system employed in the other edge region of the door 2 of the assembly shown in Figure 1 can be seen more clearly in Figure 3. The sliding retention of the first spacer member within the door jamb profile member is somewhat similar to that described with reference to Figure 2. However, in this embodiment, the first spacer profile member 6 is omitted and the further spacer profile member 9 is slid directly into the door jamb profile member 3 such that the open ends of these two channel-shaped members face in the same direction.

Moreover, the interlocking hooks 7 provided on the first spacer member 9 are now provided at the free ends of the arms of the channel. These hooks 7 engage with mating hooks 11 provided at opposed ends of one arm of a profile member 10. This further profile member 10 is, effectively, a further spacer member but serves the further purpose of being a corner member. As will clearly be seen from Figure 3, the open end of the channel of this further spacer or corner profile member 10 faces in a direction which is substantially at right angles to the direction in which the open end of the channel in the door jamb member 3 faces. The channel in the corner profile member slidably receives a frame profile member 12 for the panel 1.

At the left hand end of the panel 1 as shown in Figure 1, a further profile arrangement is provided. This profile arrangement is shown more clearly in Figure 4. In Figure 4 there is shown a first wall spacer profile member 13 which also defines a substantially C-shaped channel and which carries interlocking hooks 14 in the regions of the junctions of the two side arms of the channel with the base of the channel. The open end of this wall spacer profile member is affixable to the wall of a room by screws or other suitable connecting means. Mating with the hooks 14 provided on this first wall spacer profile member are corresponding hooks 15 formed on a second wall spacer profile member 16. The open ends of the channels of these two wall spacer profile members extend substantially at 1800 to one another.The open end of the channel in the second wall profile spacer member 16 receives the second edge 17 of the frame member surrounding the panel 1.

The profile arrangement of the present invention has certain advantages over prior art arrangements.

Firstly, the sliding retention of two of the profile members within one another is achieved by sliding the smaller profile member vertically into the larger profile member. By so doing, the profile members are retained in position. Adjustment of the combined lengths of the profile members disposed inside one another is achieved by sliding one of the two profiles in a horizontal direction with respect to the other profile. By studying Figures 2, 3 and 4 in conjunction with Figure 1, it can clearly be seen that the profiles can be used to accommodate shower trays of different sizes. It can also be readily seen that a minimal number of profile members can, within reason, be used to enclose a shower or bath area.

Claims

1. An adjustable profile system for shower and bath enclosures comprising a door jamb profile defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion and at least one spacer profile member also defining a substantially Cshaped channel portion, each spacer profile member being a sliding fit in the channel of the door jamb profile such that the arms of the profiles lie adjacent one another, each spacer member carrying interlocking means capable of mating with corresponding interlocking means formed on a further profile member.

2. An adjustable profile systems for shower and bath enclosures comprising a wall spacer profile member defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion and a side panel profile member also defining a substantially C-shaped channel portion which is a sliding fit within tne wall spacer profile such that the arms of the profiles lie adjacent one another, the wall spacer profile member carrying interlocking means capable of mating with corresponding interlocking means formed on a further profile member.

3. An adjustable profile system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the interlocking means comprise hook members formed at the free end of each of the arms of the members to be interconnected.

4. An adjustable profile system as clairned in any preceding claim wherein the interlocking means comprise hook members formed ai or adjacent the junction of the arms defining the channel with the base of the chaiiiiel of each member.

5. An adjustable profile system as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the profile members are slidingly fitted one within another with the open, ends of the channel sections facing in the same direction.

6. An adjustable profile system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the profile members are slidingly fitted one within another with the open ends of the channel sections facing in opposed directions.

7. An adjustable profile system as claimed in claim 1, comprising a door jamb profile member defining a substantially C-shaped channel section, a first spacer profile member also defining a substantially C-shaped channel section and which is slidably fitted within the door jamb profile, the first spacer profile carrying hooked interlocking means on the free ends of each arm thereof defining the channel section, a second spacer profile member, forming a corner spacer, defining a substantially C-shaped channel section, the corner spacer member carrying interlocking means at opposed ends of one of the arms thereof defining the channel section, the interlocking means on said corner member mating with the interlocking hook members formed on the first ' spacer profile member, a side panel profile member defining a substantially C-shaped channel section slidably retained within the second spacer member, and a wall spacer profile member also of a substantially C-shaped channel cross-section for receiving a further portion of the side panel profile member.

8. An adjustable profile system as claimed in claim 1 or 2 constructed and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.