GB2337697A

GB2337697A - Shower tray

Info

Publication number: GB2337697A
Application number: GB9811199A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Westmoreland
Original assignee: SPRING RAM HOLDINGS PLC
Current assignee: SPRING RAM HOLDINGS PLC
Priority date: 1998-05-26
Filing date: 1998-05-26
Publication date: 1999-12-01
Anticipated expiration: 2018-05-26
Also published as: GB2337697B; GB9811199D0

Abstract

A shower tray comprises a base, upstanding walls arranged along each side of the base and one or more side panels detachably connectable to the tray so as to extend between said upstanding wall(s) and the floor on which the tray is to be mounted; wherein: an upper portion of at least one of said upstanding walls includes an upwardly extending flange 18 which extends longitudinally of the wall; an upper edge 19 of a corresponding side panel 15 is positionable adjacent to, and outwardly of a respective flange, with the remainder of the panel extending downwardly towards the floor; and a respective inverted U-shaped mounting clip 20 is slidably mountable on each adjacent pair of side wall edge/flange in order to mount the side panel to the tray and to extend lengthwise of the flange.

Description

2337697 SHOWER TRAY SIDE PANEL This invention relates to a shower

tray/side panel assembly.

As is well known, a shower tray is usually moulded of plastics material, and in one form comprises a relatively thin-walled plastics moulding having a rectangular base, and four up,tanding walls arranged along the sides of the base.

In order to give the thin-walled moulding necessary strength and rigidity in its base (which bears the main part of the load in service), it is usual to sec-are a rigid board or panel e.g. of chipboard or MDF to the underside of the base.

The base also usually has adjustable support legs, arranged one at or near each corner, and which support the base at a required height above the floor on which it is mounted. These legs are adjustable as necessary according to requirements in any particular location.

The base has to be supported at a sufficient height above the floor so that waste pipe fittings can be coupled to the usual outlet in the base of the trav, and since it is clearly undesirable for the "below tray" components to be visible, it is usual to provide side panels which mask these components from view.

There are a number of existing means provided to permit attachment of the side panels to the tray, but these generally require very careful manipulation of interconnecting portions of the panels and the travs. Further, after time in service, necessary manipulation to remove a side panel (s) when necessary e.g. to check on possible shower tray leakage, can be a task requiring particular care.

Cine known arrangement provides matching curved edge profiles on the edges ot the iray and on the upper edge of Lhe panels, and in'Le.,jenga,,, cm.c-,nt. (and subsequent i 1 especially when working in a confined space. Further, over a period of time, thin-walled plastics material tends to become brittle, and careless work in removing a side panel can easily result in cracking of the plastics material.

There is therefore a need to provide an improved means for connecting a side panel to a shower trav, which simplifies assembly, and disassembly, while providing reliable attachmen-l in service so as to mask or shield from view the under tray components.

According to the invention there is provided a shower tray having a base, upstanding walls arranged along each side of the base, and one or more side panels detachably connectable to the tray so as to extend between said upstanding wall(s) and the floor on which the tray is to be mounted; in which:

an upper portion of at least one of saJd upstanding walls includes an upwardly extending flange which extends longitudinally of the wall; an upper edge of a corresponding side panel is positionable adjacent to, and outwardly of a respective flange, with the remainder of the panel extending downwardly towards the floor; ancl a respective inverted U-shaped mounting clip is slidably mountable on each adjacent pair of side wall edge/flange in order to mount the side panel to the tray, and to extend lengthwise of the flange. -., The shower tray (and preferably its usual related below base floor mounting components,' therefore can be readily installed in a required position, and the assembly of one (or more if necessary) side panel can then be easily c(-,rrpleted, by connection of the upper edge e.f the side panel t the flange of the respective upstanding wall of -the tray by use of the mounting clip referred to above.

Preferably, the mounting clip also provides a deccrative feature.

A mounting clip may be slid longitudinally of the flange, and/or downwardly, in order to complete the assembly of the upper edge of the siae panel to the respective f Lange as necessary.

The bottom edge of the side panel is preferably located in p,,sition by being moved into abutment with one or more loca--ing block mounted on the floor. To secure the bottom edge to each block, it is preferred that some simple attachment/detachment means be provided on the interengaging sur-;7-ces, which are operative simp'Ly by relative movement of the -'nterengaging surfaces towards or away from each other e.g. by use of matching VELCRO strips.

The locating blocks may comprise separate components, scr=--..;ed or otherwise secured to the floor, or may be ince-rporated in usual support lea assemblies to support the base of the tray on a floor.

Depending upon the particular shower tray installation, one r more i.e. up to four side panels may be provided.

The upper edges of adjacent side panels may be joined toge7-her by use of suitable inverted U-shaped corner fitc---'ngs.

The invention is particularly, though not exclusively, applicable to shower trays made of moulded plastics material.

A preferred embodiment of shower tray and side panel asse7bly according to the invention wil 'L now be described in deta_1s, by way of example only, with reference to the accc--ii,,anving drawings, in wh,L-h:

Figure 1 is a perspective illustration of a shower Lrav of m,,:ulded plastics material, mounted on a floor in a reqi.-_jred installation, and showing a first stage of a method of a-zzsemblv of a detachable side panel therewith; Figure ' shows three successive stages in the mode of assembly of the side panel to the shower tray; Figure 3 illustrares successive steps in a means of assembly of two adjacent side panels by a corner fitting; and Figure 4 is a perspective illustration of a means of assemblv of two adjacent side panels to the shower tray, via respective decorative mounting strips to mount the upper edges of the panels to upstanding flanges provided on the upstanding walls of the shower tray.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, in a preferred application of the invention, a shower tray is shown moulded of thin walled plastics material, and designated generally be reference 10, and which comprises a base 11 reinforced on its underside by a reinforcing board, or boards 12, and having four upstanding walls 13 arranged along each of the sides of the rectangular base 11. it should be understood that a rectangular shape of base 11 is described by way of example only, and that other shapes may be adopted if required.

The tray 10 is supported at a required height above a floor by use of adjustable support legs 14, and in a manner which will be known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In order to mask or shield from view the under tray c,,:)7r,ponents, one or r(to.e s-';_de panel 15 is provided, and which is detachably connectable to 'the tray 10 so as to extend bet-ween one of the Lips -1-aviding 1-3 and the floor on which the tray is to be mounted.

Referring now to Figure 2, this shows in more detail the upper edge profile of each upstanding wall 13, and in particular shows that the upper edge of the wall 13 has a stepped profile 16 formed by a horizontal flange 17 and an ipstai-idJLnq flange 18, both cf wh-ich run lengthwise of the wall 13.

To mount the side panel 1-5 to the tray 10, the thr7ee successive stages of assembly are completed, as shown in Figure 2. The side panel 15 _Js moved towards the -Cray, so to bring the upper edge 19 of the side panel into close engagement with the upstanding flange 18, whereby it is positioned adjacent to, but outwardly of this edge, and with the remaining portion of the panel 15 extending downwardly towards the floor, as shown in the middle view marked 3 of Figure 2.

To complete the assembly, a respective inverted mounting strip 210 is provided, which is slidably mounted on the adjacent pair of side wall edge 19 and flange 18, as shown, and this slidable movement may be lengthwise, downwards, or a combination of the two. 11,Iethod step 4 in Figure 2 shows completion of the assemil.,,;.

In some installations, there nn'lv may be a requirement for provision of one decorative side ioanel 15, but clearly the invention may be applied to installa-Lions in which more than one side panel is required to be detachably mounted on the shower tray.

The bottom edge 21 of the s.'1Ae position by beiner moved into abutment wit-h one or more locating blocks 22 mounted on floor 23 by any suitable means. To secure the bottom edge 21 to the or each block 22, any simple attachment / detachment means ma-,,; be provided on the interengaging surfaces (operated or released by relative movement towards or away from each otl-,er', and conveniently this is achieved by use of matching VELCR. C. strip.

The locating blocks 22 can compriLse separate support components, as shown, or may be incorporated in the usual support leg assemblies 14 which supp)rt the base!1 of the trav 10 on t-he floor 23.

Figure assembIV of in schernatic two adiacerit fittinQ 24.

panel 15 is located in n 2 shows the successive stages in the mode of a single side panel 15, whereas Figure 3 shows, plan v-ie.,.,i, the -cziiccessive s'aues of assembly of sIde pa-els via a -U-shaped Jecorative cover --- L L FLgure 1 is a perspective Of two adjacent sIde panels 15 meeting at a cover)f Lh,7-, trav, and being secured to the respective flanges of the upstanding walls of the tray via respective mounting strips.

1

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A shower tray having a base, upstanding walls arranged along each side of the base and one or more side panels detachably connectable to the tray so as to extend between said upstanding wall(s) and the floor on which the tray is to be mounted; in which: an upper portion of at least one of said upstanding walls includes an upwardly extending flange which extends longitudinally of the wall; an upper edge of a corresponding side panel is positionable adjacent to, and outwardly of a respective flange, with the remainder of the panel extending downwardly towards the floor; and a respective inverted U-shaped mounting clip is slidably mountable on each adjacent pair of side wall edge/flange in order to mount the side panel to the tray and to extend lengthwise of the flange.

2. A shower tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein said U-shaped mounting clip is capable of sliding longitudinally of said upwardly extending flange.

3. A shower tray as claimed in claim 1, wherein said U-shaped mounting clip is capable of sliding downwardly of said upwardly extending flange.

4. A shower tray as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the base is supported on a plurality of support leg assemblies.

5. A shower tray as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one support leg assembly is provided with a locating block whereby in use the bottom edge of the side panel is located by abutment with the locating block.

6. A shower tray as claimed in any of claims 1 to wherein the bottom edge of the side panel is locatable by abutment with a locating block mounted on the floor.

7. A shower tray as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the bottom edge of each side panel is locatable by abutment with a locating block mounted on the floor or on a support leg assembly.

8. A shower tray as claimed in claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the locating block and bottom edge of the side panel are provided with attachment/detachment means operative by relative movement of the interengaging surfaces towards or away from each other.

9. A shower tray as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the upper edge of the upstanding wall has a stepped profile terminating in said upwardly extending flange.

10. A shower tray as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said U-shaped mounting clip is decorative.

11. A method for mounting a side panel to a shower tray as defined in any preceding claim, said method comprising: positioning an upper edge of the side panel adjacent to and in engagement with the upwardly extending flange of said upstanding wall so that the remainder of the panel extends downwardly towards the floor; moving the bottom edge of the side panel into abutment with one or more locating blocks; optionally attaching the bottom edge to said locating block; slidably mounting an inverted U-shaped mounting clip on the adjacent side wall edge and upwardly extending flange.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein said slidable movement is longitudinal or downwardly or a combination thereof.

13. A kit of parts comprising a shower tray, one or more side panels and a Ushaped mounting clip as defined in claim 1, optionally one or more support leg assemblies and one or more locating blocks.