US2903712A - Fixture carrier construction - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 15,-1959 E. l.. MORRIS ET Al.

FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13, 1956 .'5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 15, 1959 E. l.. MORRIS ETAL FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 15, 1956 650,665 if Caer/cz IN V EN TORS Sept. 15, 1959 5.1.. MORRIS EI-Al. 2,903,712

, FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13, 195e l s sheets-*sheet s .Ia/fa. '.l

' xv@ I E6. 10.

y /O v I v5? vf 25.4 l. Mae/5 faflff Caer/ff INVENTCRS.

Unite FIXTURE CARRIER CONSTRUCTION Application July 13, 1956, Serial No. 597,652

3 Claims. (Cl. lm-170) The present invention relates generally to carriers for the support of plumbing fixtures on a wall of a room and is particularly directed to means whereby such a fixture, exemplarily a lavatory, may be rigidly and firmly supported and maintained in position.

The invention contemplates the use of a steel or other rigid metal mounting plate fixed to the vertical structural members such as studs in the wall of a building. By the use of such a mounting plate, the weight of a single plumbing fixture such as a lavatory may be distributed over a number of studs or'other vertical structural members. The mounting plate desirably includes a multiplicity of openings extending therethrough by which various mounting members may be fastened to the mounting plate and supported thereby. One of such mounting members desirably provides a lirm anchor for an outwardly extending arm for concealed arm type of support of a lavatory. In the present construction such an arm includes a novel combination of elements by which the lavatory may be accurately leveled during installation and may, by the same mechanism, be frictionally clamped and positively locked to the arm and thus maintained in its desired position. Mounting members may also be fastened to the plate for supporting carrier arms according to the exposed arm type of construction. When the present invention is used for exposed arm construction, the arm so used and disclosed hereinafter facilitates accurate adjustment of the arm and final leveling of the fixture supported thereby from the face of the finished wall.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken on line I-l of Fig. 2 and showing a lavatory supported on a concealed arm projecting from a finished wall in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a View taken on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view, partially in section, taken on the broken line III-III of Fig. 2, the wall and escutcheon plate being omitted for clarity.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of the central portion of the device as seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line Vl-VI of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a side view, partially in section, showing an exposed type arm in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 8 is 'a plan View of the structure of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a view taken on line lX-IX of Fig. 7.

Fig. l() is a sectional view taken on line X-X of Fig. 7.

The structure of Figs. l, 2 and 3 is mounted upon a pair of adjacent vertical structural members such as studs 10 and 12. A mounting plate indicated generally at 14 and a mounting plate extension indicated generally at 16 are each provided with a number of holes extending therethrough, the holes being generally aligned in four sepa- States Patent rate rows 18, 20, 22 and 24. The holes are desirably horizontally elongated as shown and holes in adjacent rows 18 and 20, and in adjacent rows 22 and 24, are desirably staggered to facilitate flexibility in attachment of the plate to structural members of varying horizontal spacing. The mounting plate 14 and the extension 16 are fastened securely to the studs 10 and 12 respectively by suitable attachment means. In Fig. 3 is seen a preferred form of such means comprising a metallic clip indicated generally at 26 and including a U-shaped portion 28 adapted to snugly lit around a portion of the stud 10 or 12, the clip 26 also including outwardly extending portions 29 and 30 provided with apertures therethrough in which are received fastening elements 31 and 32 respectively. The heads 33 and 34 of the fastening elements 31 and 32 engage two of the openings in one of the rows 18, 20, 22 or 24 of the mounting plate and the mount? ing plate extension. Desirably the mounting plate 14 and the extension 16 are each supported by the respective studs 10 and 12 by two vertically spaced stud'engaging clips and fastening members as shown.

In order to provide the maximum rigidity of the mounting plate and extension, each of such members is provided along its ends with a rearwardly turned flange 37 and 38 respectively (see Fig. 3), and the flanges are provided with registering openings for fastening elements such as bolt 39 by which the plate 14 and extension 16 are rigidly held in assembled relationship. Where an installation so requires, an additional mounting plate may be rigidly fastened to the plate 14 at the other end of such plate. A fragmentary portion of a mounting plate so fastened is indicated generally at 40.

In addition to openings in rows 18, 2li, y22 and 24 of the mounting plate and mounting plate extension, the mounting plate 14 is provided also with a pair of enlarged openings 42 and 44. Each of these is adapted to receive the hub portion of a support member for threadedly receiving the inner end of the concealed arm for use in supporting a fixture. Such a support member is indicated generally at 48 and includes an enlarged central hub portion 50 and upwardly and downwardly projecting ears 52 and 54 respectively, in each of which there is provided an opening for the reception of fastening elements 56 for attachment to the mounting plate. Extending forwardly from the enlarged central portion 50 of the support member is a hub 58 including an internally threaded bore 60. A support arm indicated generally at 62 includes a threaded portion 64 engaging the internally threaded bore 60 of the support member 48. The outer surface of a finished wall is indicated at 66 in Fig. 1, and a locking coupling 63 is threaded on the threaded portion 64 of the carrier arm 62 and abuts the hub 58 to retain the carrier arm and hub in tight assembled relationship. It is particularly to be noted that coupling 68 is elongated and extends substantially outwardly of the finished wall 66 so that final adjustment and tightening of the coupling may be easily accomplished as by a wrench after the finished wall is in place. A conventional frusto-conical escutcheon plate 70 is also desirably threaded on the threaded portion 64 in order to enhance the appearance of the finished structure.

The outer portion of the carrier arm 62 is formed in a U-shaped channel facing downwardly (see Figs. 5 and 6). The channel, indicated generally at '71, includes an upper horizontal portion 72 and a pair of downwardly extending sides 74 and 76. The horizontal portion 72 projects outwardly and terminates at 78 and a leveling screw 88 is desirably provided at the outer end 78. An additional leveling screw 81 is also provided, threaded in upper portion 72 of the arm and fairly close to the inner end of the arm 62.

The present device is particularly adapted for use with a Patented Sept. 15, 1959 lavatory fixture having a horizontally extending laterally spaced channel at each side of the fixture for the reception f a concealed arm. In order to rigidly fix such a fixture to the carrier arm 62 of the present invention, a clamping member is housed within channel 71 of the carrier arm 62. Such a member is indicated generally at 35 in Fig. l and is seen in greater detail in the sectional View of Fig. 4. Clamp 85 extends longitudinally of the carrier arm 62 and terminates at its ends in downwardly projecting abutment elements 88 and 99. intermediate the length of the clamp 85 there is provided a vertically disposed threaded bore 92 in which is threadedly engaged a set screw 94 having its upper end 96 in abuttable contact with the lower surface of horizontal portion 72 defining the top of the U-shaped channel 71. The lower central portion of clamp 85 includes a downwardly extending boss 9S through which the lower end of set screw 94 extends.

The clamp 85 is maintained in desired position longitudinally of the carrier arm 62 by suitable means which are here shown as including a pair of dowel studs 10Q and 192 which are fixed to the carrier arm 62 by suitable means such as by being threaded into threaded bores formed in the horizontal base portion 72 of the 1-shaped channel of the carrier arm. The studs 111i) and 102 are loosely received in vertical bores 164 and 1116 formed in the clump As above stated, the entire ari?L 63 including the clamp S is receivable in a channel formed in the lavatory fixture to be supported. ln the present Fig. 4, the channel portion of such a fixture is indicated generally at 1nd, the fixture being assumed to be vitreous construction, and the lower surface 109 defining the channel 1513 rests upon and is supported by the leveling screws and 81. Access openings 116 and 118 are provided in vertical alignment with leveling screws 811 and 81 respectively, and the fixture is initially leveled by adjust` ment of the screws by a suitable tool through such openings, as is well known in the art.

It will now be seen that tightening of the set screw 94 so that its point 96 is urged upwardly serves to impart downward force on the remaining portion of the clamp S5, particularly including the abutment members 88 and 90 at the ends of the clamp. These abutment members contact the inner surface of the vitreous channel 1118 and thereby eliectively lock the xture including the vitreous channel 103 to the carrier arm 62. It is especially to be noted that the loose or sloppy fit between the dowels 161) and 1192 and their respective bores 104 and 106 permits the clamp 35 to orient itself within the channel 108 so that substantially equal force is exerted downwardly 'by the abutment members 83 and 9i? of the clamp. lt is further to he noted that the points 88 and 90 of downward application of force to the fixture channel 1198 are located between and preferably substantially centrally of the leveling screws 30 and S1, which exert upward force on the channel. By this construction the stresses imposed on the vitreous channel are minimized. A particular feature of the present construction provides a positive lock between the arm 62 and the xture 108. An opening 11@ is conventionally formed in the bottom wall of the channel and the downwardly projecting boss 98 extends into the opening 110. Thus, even if frictional clamping fails, the xture is positively locked on the arm by the abutting contact of boss 98 with the wall of opening 110.

Since clamp S5 is only loosely engaged by the downwardly projecting dowel studs 106 and 102, the clamp will fall downwardly of the arm 62 into the channel 16S. in certain instances the boss 9S, sliding along the lower surface defining channel 1118, may tend to abut against irregularities in such surface and thereby hinder the assembly or disassembly process. In order to prevent this, means may be provided to retain the clamp upwardly within the channel 71, and in the present illustrative embodiment such means include resilient bands 112 and 114 of rubber or the like encircling arm 62 and urging clamp $5 upwardly so that boss 98 is withdrawn out 4l. of contact with the vitreous material defining channel 108. It will be understood that clamp is ford downwardly against the force of resilient bands 112 and 114 by set screw 94 when the fixture is to be clamped in position.

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and l() show a preferred use of the present invention in connection with an exposed arm construction. A mounting member indicated generally at is attached to the mounting plate 14 by suitable fastening members 122 extending through openings formed in the upper and lower ends of the mounting member 120 as well as through selected openings in the mounting plate 14. The mounting member 121i includes a pair of vertically aligned threaded openings extending therethrough indicated at 124 and 126, and may also be provided with a third threaded bore extending therethrough indicated at 12S, the latter named bore being displaced laterally from the bores 124 and 126 and being disposed approximately midway therebetween.

Studs 131i, 132 and 134 are threaded respectively into the bores 124, 126 and 12% of the mounting member 120, the threaded studs being retained in position by nuts 131, 133 and 135 respectively. An exposed arm is indicated generally at 14@ and desirably .-shaped as seen in section (see Fig. 10), including a relatively deep vertical portion 142 and a somewhat narrower horizontal portion 144, the two portions being formed integrally as shown. A mounting flange is provided in the arm 141i and is indicated generally at 145. This mounting flange extends perpendicularly to both the sides 142 and 144 of the arm 145i and is parallel to and spaced a substantial distance outwardly from the inner edges 143 and 145 of the vertical and horizontal walls respectively of the arm. The edges are abuttable against a finished wall 148 of any desired construction.

The mounting flange 146, as is best seen in Fig. l0 is provided with vertically elongated openings 151i, 152 and 154, the vertical elongations permitting vertical adjustment of the arm relative to the studs 130, 132 and 134, as will be understood. These studs are fastened to the fiange by means of suitable fastening members such as nuts 156, 157 adapted to clamp the flange 146 therebetween.

It is particularly to be noted that the mounting flange 146 is spaced outwardly from intersecting edges 143 and 145 by a substantial distance, which in a typical construction is preferably at least about two inches. By this construction access is facilitated to the inner nuts 156 when mounting the present arm into position. rThus a person doing the installation of an arm according to the present invention may thread the inner nuts 156 onto the studs 132, 134, positioning the inner nuts in approximately correct location. The arm 141i is then mounted into position, with the outer ends of the threaded studs extending through the elongated openings in the mounting fiange 146 as previously described. The outer nuts 157 are then placed in position, and it will be seen that the person may easily apply a wrench to the inner nuts 156 even after the arm has been mounted in position as just described, this by reason of the outward spacing of flange 146 from the wall. Furthermore, because of the fact that the stud 134 is offset laterally from the studs and 132, the arm 141i may be easily and effectively positioned, after the wall is finished, to extend outwardly from the wall 148 at whatever angle is required by a given installation, in spite of any manufacturing tolerances or imperfections which may exist in the apparatus or in the construction of the wall itself.

The upper horizontally extending portion 144 of the arm lis provided with one or more elongated openings 160 (see Fig. 8) for the reception of downwardly extending mounting bolts conventionally furnished with a lavatory or similar fixture with which the present carrier construction is to be used. Desirably adjacent ends of the openings 160 are provided with transverse edges 162 l l l l and 164, so that some portion of one of the openings 160 will be in vertical alignment with an attachment bolt extending downwardly from the fixture regardless of where such downwardly extending bolt may be located in a particular xture used. Desirably a leveling screw 166 (see Fig. 7), is provided at the outermost end of the arm 140.

Accordingly it will be seen that there is here provided improved construction for the support of xtures and similar apparatus adapted to extend outwardly from a wall. Although a principal purpose and use of the invention is for the support of a lavatory fixture, and the invention has been herein so described and illustrated, nevertheless it will be understood that the present constructions are adaptable for use in the support of other equipment as well.

Modifications and changes from the specific forms of the invention hereinabove described and illustrated will occur to those skilled in the art, and are intended to be embraced in the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a xture carrier, the provision of: a horizontally extending, elongated carrier arm being channel-shaped in section to deiine a downwardly directed channel opening; upwardly projectable leveling screws threadedly carried on the outer and inner ends of said carrier arm; a clamping member within said channel opening in an unclamped position and having longitudially spaced abutments projecting downwardly; longitudinal orienting means carried by said arm substantially midway between the leveling means and having a loosely engageable connection with complementary means on said clamping member for limiting movement of the latter longitudinally of said arm; and selectively operable means carried by said clamping member and engageable with said carrier arm at a single point substantially midway between said downwardly projecting abutments for selectively forcing said clamping member downwardly relative to said arm from the unclamped position within said channel opening into a clamped position where said abutments extend below the sides of the channel.

2. In a fixture carrier as stated in claim 1, the provision of: resilient means biasing said clamp member upwardly within the channel opening in said arm into the unclamped position whereby the clamp member will not interfere with the positioning of the carrier within a iixture.

3. In a xture carrier, the provision of: a horizontally extending, elongated carrier arm being channel-shaped in section to define a downwardly directed channel opening; upwardly projectable leveling screws threadably carried on the outer and inner ends of said carrier arms; a clamping member within said channel opening in an unclamped position and having longitudinally spaced abutments projecting downwardly; said clamping member including a downwardly projecting locking boss extending below the abutment members and receivable in an opening formed in the lower wall of a iixture; longitudinal orienting means carried by said arm substantially midway between the leveling means and having a loosely engageable connection with complementary means on said clamping member for limiting movement of the latter longitudinally of said arm; and selectively operable means carried by said clamping member and engageable with said carrier arm for selectively forcing said clamping member downwardly relative to said arm from the unclamped position within said channel opening into a clamped position where said abutments and locking boss extend below the sides of one channel.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 526,088 Savill Sept. 18, 1894 1,096,967 Thompson May 19, 1914 1,224,267 Brewer May 1, 1917 1,370,453 Kilgour Mar. 1, 1921 1,935,553 Gerard Nov. 14, 1933 1,999,467 Lucke Apr. 30, 1935 2,264,082 Kintz Nov. 25, 1941 2,271,616 Beale Feb. 3, 1942 2,661,677 Lingelbach Dec. 8, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 216,128 Germany Nov. 12, 1909 551,839 Germany June 15, 1932 653,057 Germany May 31, 1939

Images