GB2313306A - Shower tray - Google Patents

Abstract

A shower tray comprises a depending flange 11 having a height substantially equal to the thickness of a standard floor board, a dished portion 10 having a base 14 provided with a waste water outlet 15, the undersurface of the base or the lower edges of a plurality of reinforcing ribs 17 on the undersurface of the base being coplanar or substantially coplanar with the lower edge of the flange so that the flange and the base of the flange and the ribs will support the shower tray on noggins and joists with the shower tray fitted in a hole cut in the floorboards, and a gently inclined ramped portion 18 between the upper edge of the flange and the base on at least one side of the dished portion.

Description

SHOWER TRAYS This invention relates to shower trays, and is concerned more particularly, but not exclusively, with shower trays for use by physically handicapped persons.

Special shower trays are produced enabling a handicapped person to take a shower while sitting in a wheelchair. Such shower trays are generally provided with an integral ramp enabling the person within the wheelchair to be wheeled from floor level up to the raised level of the surface of the shower tray on which the wheelchair stands during showering. Furthermore such a shower tray has a slightly raised edge in order to prevent spillage of water from the shower tray during showering.

However, the effort required to push a wheelchair up the ramp or to subsequently remove the wheelchair from the shower tray by lifting it over the raised edge of the shower tray can make it difficult or impossible for some persons to use such a shower tray.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved shower tray which is of particular utility to handicapped persons.

According to the present invention there is provided a shower tray comprising a depending flange having a height substantially equal to the thickness of a standard floor board, a dished portion having a base provided with a waste water outlet, the undersurface of the base or the lower edges of a plurality of reinforcing ribs on the undersurface of the base being coplanar or substantially coplanar with the lower edge of the flange so that the flange and the base or the flange and the ribs will support the shower tray on noggins and joists with the shower tray fitted in a hole cut in the floorboards, and a gently inclined ramped portion between the upper edge of the flange and the base on at least one side of the dished portion.

Preferably, the base of the dished portion is gently inclined in two directions towards the waste water outlet. In this case, the upper surface of the base is, preferably, provided with a plurality of elongate protrusions oriented towards the outlet along the directions in which the base is inclined downwardly.

Also, where the base is gently inclined in two directions towards the outlet, ramped portions are preferably provided on each of two sides of the dished portion between the flange and the two uppermost edges of the base.

Preferably, the shower tray has a horizontally extending lip projecting outwardly from the upper edge of the depending flange to, in use, overlap adjacent floorboards.

Conveniently, the shower tray includes upstanding splashguards along two sides. One side of the shower tray may also include an integral duct for pipe work.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a shower tray according to the invention, Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the shower tray shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a section taken along line III - III of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale, Figure 4 is a side view of the shower tray taken in the direction of arrow A shown in figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the shower tray shown therein is rectangular when viewed in plan and has a dished portion 10 within the confines of a depending vertical flange 11 and a horizontally extending lip 12 projecting outwardly from the upper edge of the flange 11 along two sides of the shower tray.

The dished portion 10 has a base 14 provided with a waste water outlet 15.

The base 14 is gently inclined in two directions towards the waste water outlet 15 and is formed on its upper surface with elongate protrusions 16 orientated towards the outlet 15 along the directions in which the base 14 is inclined downwardly so as to conduct water falling on the base 14 towards the outlet 15. The fall from the highest point to the lowest point of the base 14 is typically about 1 cm so that water runs freely towards the outlet 15. The protrusions 16 also help to provide a non-slip surface to the base 14.

The flange 11 has a height h substantially equal to the thickness of a standard floorboard (20 mm) and the base 14 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 17 on its undersurface. The lower edges of the ribs 17 are coplanar or substantially coplanar with the lower edge of the flange 11 so that the flange 11 and ribs 17 will support the shower tray on floor noggins and joists in a hole cut in the floorboards without having to cut into the noggins and joists in such a manner as to weaken them. When the shower tray is in place in a hole in the floorboards the lip 12 will overlie adjacent floorboards and can adjoin and lie substantially flush with the upper surface of a floor covering.

The flange 11, in this case, extends almost peripherally around the dished portion 10, although it does merge with the lowermost portion of the base 14 of the dished portion 10 in the region of the corner adjacent to the waste water outlet 15.

The dished portion 10 of the shower tray is rectangular in plan and includes gently downwardly inclined ramped portions 18 between the upper edge of the flange 11 and the two uppermost edges of the base 14. The ramped portions 18 are thus provided adjacent two adjoining sides of the shower tray and are typically inclined at an angle no greater than 150 to provide ease of access for a wheelchair.

Splashguards 19 and 20 are provided along the other two sides of the shower tray. The splashguard 20 incorporates an integral pipework duct 21.

The shower tray can be made, inter alia, from cast aluminium, cast iron, cast resin or from injection moulded reinforced plastics material.

The shower tray can be fitted in a hole cut in floorboards and can be supported by the floor noggins and joists without having to cut into the noggins and joists in such a manner as to weaken them. If the showertray is used with thinner floorboards, it would be possible to raise the area surrounding the hole with shims and if the showertray is used with thicker floorboards, shims could be placed on the joists within the hole.

A wheelchair can enter the shower with ease along one or both of the gently inclined ramped portions 18 and this also enables the wheelchair to be removed without difficulty. Various cubicle options can be made available for use with this showertray.

The embodiment described above is given by way of example only and various modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the lip 12 could be omitted although it does serve to cover any gap between the flange 11 and adjacent floorboards and also to provide level entry from any floor covering. Also, instead of the reinforcing ribs 17, the base 14 could be of decreasing thickness towards the water outlet 15 with the undersurface of the base coplanar or substantially coplanar with the lower edge of the flange so that the base 14 and flange 11 will support the shower tray on the noggins and joists. A removable cover plate (not shown) could be removably supported on legs in the dished portion of the showertray. The cover plate could be substantially flush with the surrounding floor surface, or only slightly above it, to make it even easier for a wheelchair to be introduced into the shower. In this case, the ramped portions 18 could be omitted. A gap could be left between the periphery of the cover plate and the edge of the dished portion so that water falling on the cover plate is conducted through the gap from where it is conducted to the water outlet 15. The cover plate could be slightly domed to encourage water to flow towards the gap.

Additionally or alternatively, the cover plate could be perforated. The cover plate can be removed, after showering, to enable the dished portion to be cleaned.

Claims (8)

1. A shower tray comprising a depending flange having a height substantially equal to the thickness of a standard floor board, a dished portion having a base provided with a waste water outlet, the undersurface of the base or the lower edges of a plurality of reinforcing ribs on the undersurface of the base being coplanar or substantially coplanar with the lower edge of the flange so that the flange and the base or the flange and the ribs will support the shower tray on noggins and joists with the shower tray fitted in a hole cut in the floorboards, and a gently inclined ramped portion between the upper edge of the flange and the base on at least one side of the dished portion.

2. A shower tray as claimed in claim I, wherein the base of the dished portion is gently inclined in two directions towards the waste water outlet.

3. A shower tray as claimed in claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the base is provided with a plurality of elongate protrusions oriented towards the outlet along the directions in which the base is inclined downwardly.

4. A shower tray as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein ramped portions are provided on each of two sides of the dished portion between the flange and the two uppermost edges of the base.

5. A shower tray as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a horizontally extending lip projecting outwardly from the upper edge of the depending flange to, in use, overlap adjacent floorboards.

6. A shower tray as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising upstanding splashguards along two sides.

7. A shower tray as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein one side of the shower tray also includes an integral duct for pipework.

8. A shower tray substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.