US2930505A - Wall insert for setting bathroom fixtures - Google Patents

Description

March 29, 1960 R. J. MEYER 2,930,505

WALL INSERT FOR SETTING BATHROOM FIXTURES Filed Feb. 10, 1959 INVENT OR ATTORNEYS United States Patent WALL INSERT FQR SETTING BATHROOM FIXTURES Robert J. Meyer, Chester, Mass.

Application February 10, 1959, Serial No. 792,291

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-18) The present invention relates to a wall insert for setting bathroom fixtures and particularly for setting bathroom fixtures in tile walls.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a wall insert to serve as a foundation into which a bathroom fixture can be secured by means of plaster.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wall insert of the class described above which can be quickly and easily secured to walls of varying thicknesses without modifying the structure of the insert.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wall insert of the class described above which can be quickly and easily attached to the wall and which will permit a fixture to be secured to the wall with a minimum of plaster or cementitious material.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the invention; and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows with the insert shown in position in a wall with the fixture shown in broken lines.

In present practices, bathroom fixtures of the nature of glass holders, soap dishes, hand rails, toilet paper holders, towel racks and the like are attached to a tile wall in the following manner. The tile setter first cuts a hole the size of the fixture, providing a void of about 4 inches including the thickness of the 2 x 4 wall and the plasterboard secured thereto. To fill this void, he coats excelsior with a very thin mixture of plaster of Paris and stuffs the hole with the material, leaving enough room for the fixture. After the plaster of Paris coated excelsior has hardened, he covers the back of the fixture with plaster of Paris and also places plaster of Paris in the void. The fixture is then pressed into the opening in the wall and is locked in place by the plaster of Paris as it hardens. Under this practice, an excessive quantity of plaster of Paris is required and a considerable delay is entailed while the plaster of Paris coating on the excelsior is hardening before the tile setter can complete the operation of installing the fixture.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference charatcers indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally an insert for use in attaching bathroom fixtures to a wall.

The insert 10 includes a generally rectangular upright back panel 11 having a plurality of perforations 12 extending therethrough in spaced apart relation. The back panel 11 has a pair of upright, spaced apart parallel side walls 13 integrally secured thereto and extending forwardly therefrom. A second pair of end walls 14 are secured to opposite ends of the back panel 11 and extend forwardly therefrom in spaced apart parallel relation.

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The side walls 13 and end walls 14 form with the back panel 11 an open front upright receptacle. The side walls 13 and end walls 14 are each provided with an outwardly extending flange 15 integrally secured to the edges thereof opposite the back panel 11 with the flanges 15 extending generally parallel to the back panel 11.

The side walls 13 and end walls 14 are each provided with a plurality of openings 16 extending therethrough. A tongue 17 is integrally formed centrally of each of the side walls 13 and the end walls 14, and the tongue 17 is delineated by a generally U-shaped cut 18 extending thereabout. The tongue 17 is joined to the insert 10 and when bent outwardly therefrom leaves openings 18a in the side walls 13 and end wall 14 at the forward edge thereof adjacent the flanges 15.

In the use and operation of the invention, a plasterboard wall 19 has an opening 20 cut therein to permit the insert 10 to be extended therethrough. The flanges 15 engage the outer face of the plasterboard wall 19 and the tongues 17 are bent outwardly by hand, or with a suitable tool, to engage over the rear face of the plasterboard wall 19, as can be clearly seen in Figure 3. Theflanges 15 and tongue 17 securely fasten the insert 10 to the plasterboard wall 19 and a fixture 21, shown in broken lines in Figure 3, is secured within the insert 10 by means of plaster of Paris or similar material in the usual manner with the plaster of Paris protruding through the perforations 12 and openings 16, 18a tightly grip the insert 10.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A wall insert for mounting bathroom fixtures comprising a generally rectangular back panel, a pair of spaced apart parallel side walls integrally secured to opposite side edges of said back panel and extending forwardly therefrom, a pair of spaced apart parallel end walls integrally extending from the upper and lower end edges of said back panel, an outwardly projecting flange integrally formed on. the forward edge of each of said side and said end walls with said flanges lying substantially parallel to said back panel, said side walls, said end walls and said back panel having perforations formed therein, and a plurality of deformable tongues integrally secured to said side walls and said end walls adjacent said flanges with said tongues being'adapted to be deformed outwardly into engagement with one face of a wall panel the opposite face of which is engaged by said flanges to secure said insert to said wall panel said tongues being formed from the material of said side walls and said end walls, each tongue being delineated by a substantially U- shaped cut extending thereabout, the bight of said U- shaped out being substantially adjacent the said back panel and the free ends of the legs of said out extending to a line substantially adjacent the associated flange whereby said tongues may be bent along a selected intermediate line parallel to said flange to engage wall panels of varying thickness.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 856,640 Huntting June 11, 1907 1,961,728 Arnest et al. June 5, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 520,343 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1940

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