US2991943A - Adjustable shower - Google Patents

Description

July 11, 1961 H. G. MULLETT ET AL 2,991,943

ADJUSTABLE SHOWER Filed Feb. 5, 1959 ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,991,943 ADJUSTABLE SHOWER Howard G. Mullett, Milwaukee, and James L. Sevedge, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignors to Bradley Washfountam Co., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 791,292

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 239-280) This invention relates to a multiple shower device and more particularly to an adjustable shower head assembly.

Heretofore, it has been the general practice to arrange shower heads so that they were adjustable to various angles by bathers who might playfully direct the spray about the shower room or to fixedly set the shower heads at an angle which might be suitable for some users but not for others.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a shower head assembly which may be fixedly set in anyone of various angles by the manager of the shower room, but which may be easily adjusted by him to suit a certain number of users, thus preventing mischievous misalignment of the shower head by playful personnel.

It is another object of this invention to provide a multiple shower having a plurality of shower head assemblies disposed about a central column and each adjustable to any one of several angles subject to the choice of the attendant.

It is another object of this invention to provide a shower head assembly which may be adjusted to any one of various angles of shower projection and including clamping elements not readily accessible to anyone taking a shower bath.

It is another object of this invention to provide an arrangement of the shower head assembly and supporting structure which will prevent playful misalinement of the shower head, may be adjusted by the shower room manager according to his judgment, and will oiier little inducement to removal by vandals.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description.

the apparatus, rather than from below as shown in the drawing. The manner of leading the supply pipes into the apparatus, however, does not play a part of the inn i a-l 'A plurality of control handles are mounted on the exterior of the column '1 which operate associated valves within the mixing chamber 8. The lower handles 12 control the flow of hot water to the mixing chamber and the upper handles 13 control the flow of cold waterto the chamber 8. Details of the mixing chamber have not been shown, as they do not play a part of the present invention. One of a number of shower head supply tubes 14 is shown leading upward from the mixing chamber 8 to an associated shower head assembly 15. Preferably, the tube 14 is of soft temper copper which is formed and annealed to give it the greatest flexibility, particularly at the upper curved end 16 for reasons which will hereafter be apparent. The upper end 16 extends into a recessed, or dished, capital 21 mounted on the upper end of the column 1. A reduced end 22 of the capital 21 is telescoped within the column 1 for securing the members together. a

A shower headassembly 15 joining the upper end of the tube 14 includes a main body 17 open through the center with a threaded flange 18 at one end. The major portion of the body 17 comprises a threaded shank 19 projecting through an elongated opening, or slot, 20 in In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration and not of limitation a specific form in which the invention may be embodied.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, illustrating a multiple shower device,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a shower head assembly,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

The multiple shower device illustrated in FIG. 1 em bodies a tubular column 1 having a flange 2 adjacent its lower end which serves as a support on a drain fixture (not shown). Adjacent the lower end and above the flange 2, the column 1 is provided with a hand hole cover 3 removably secured to the column by means of screws 5. Intermediate the top and bottom of the column, a plurality of soap trays 6 are attached thereto equidistantly about the circumference of the column.

The column 1 houses a hot and cold water mixing chamber 8 which is supplied with hot and cold water by means of pipes 9 and 10 respectively. The pipes 9, 10 connect with their respective sources at a point (not shown) beneath the hand hole cover 3. In some installations the incoming supply pipes connecting with the chamber 8 are introduced to the column 1 from above the overhanging bottom wall 32 of the capital 21. The shank 19'is provided with a beveled end which is complementary to a flared end 23 on the tube 14. A coupling nut 25 rotatable on the tube 14 is threaded on the shower body shank 19 and holds the flared end 23 on the tube 14 in sealed relation to the beveled end of the shank 19. A shower head ring 26 is threaded on the flange 18 and retains a perforated disc 27 and screen 28, separated by a ring 29, in position on the body 17 to break-up a stream of water coming from the mixing chamber 8 into a uniform spray. The ring 29 not only spaces the disc 27 and screen 28, but also forms a seal about the periphery of each to eliminate unwanted dripping. A set screw 30 retains the ring 26 against rotation.

To complete the apparatus a cover 37 is fitted over the capital 21 to keep the interior clean and to make more diflicult access to the interior plumbing fixtures. The cover 37 has a plurality of circumferentially spaced screws 38 extending downwardly from the periphery. Each screw 38 has a wing 39 attached thereto which may be turned to fit under the lip 40 of the capital 21, to hold the cover 37 in place, or which may be turned to disengage from the lip 40 for removal of the cover 37. A spacing washer 41 is provided on each screw 38, as shown.

When the shower head assembly 15 is not anchored to the capital 21, it may be adjusted longitudinally of the slot 20. Preferably the bottom wall 32 of the capital 21 is arcuately contoured in the longitudinal direction of the slot 20 to conform to an arcuate path which the shower head assembly 15 tends to define as the curved end 16 of the tube 14 is flexed during movement of the shank 19 in the slot 20. After the assembly 15 has been moved to a desired position, a lock nut 33 on the shank 19 is rotated and brought up tight to clamp the assembly against movement. A cover plate 34 conforming in contour to the bottom wall 32 of the capital 21 is of sufiicient diameter to close the opening 20 regardless of the position of the head 15 with reference thereto. Two resilient washers 35 and 36, disposed respectively adjacent the nut 33 and shank 19 are held in compression by the nut 33 and flange 18. The broken lines in FIG. 2 indicate two extreme positions in which the assembly 15 may be placed.

Although only one shower head assembly 15 has been shown, it will be understood that a plurality of them are provided in the capital 21 spaced equidistantly about the axis of the column 1.,

From the foregoing it will be obvious that it would be diificult for a bather to disturb the shower head assembly without the assistance of proper tools and gaining access to interior of capital 21. Consequently, the custodian of the premises where the showers are installed will be resonably assured that he will not be called upon to realign the shower head assemblies once they have been set in desired position. It will be obvious that arrangement of the shower head assembly and supporting capital minimizes the possibility of vandalism. Also, theinvention provides an adjustable shower head of refined construction in which adjustment of position can be made without resort to complex rotatable ball and socket joints, but rather a novel use is made of an annealed water tube.

While it has not been shown, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, that the area about the column 1 may be divided into a number of showerhead assemblies mounted on the capital at the head of the column.

We claim:

1. In a shower assembly the combination comprising a tubular upright column; a mixing chamber supported within said column with control handles mounted on the outside of said column; water supply means connected to said mixing chamber; an overhanging capital at the top of said column with a downwardly facing bottom wall having an outwardly arcuate contour and a radially elongated opening; an annealed Water tube of limited flexibility rising upwardly within said column from said mixing chamber and extending into said capital with a curved upper end that turns downwardly toward said opening to present a discharge orifice directly above said opening, such that radial movement of said discharge orifice carries said orifice about a turning center substantially coincident with the radius of said arcuate contour; a shower head having a shank attached to said orifice and extending through said opening and a flange disposed downwardly of said bottom wall adapted to be clamped against the undersurface of said bottom wall; a cover plate on said shank disposed on the upper surface of said bottom wall contoured complementary to said bottom wall, said cover plate extending outwardly of said opening at any position of said shower head and being adapted to be clamped against said upper surface of said bottom wall; and locking means disposed upwardly of said bottom wall to clamp said cover plate against said upper surface of said bottom wall and to clamp said flange against said undersurface of said bottom wall.

2. In a shower assembly, the combination with an overhanging capital portion having a downwardly facing bottom wall, said bottom wall having an outwardly arcuate contour and a radially elongated opening, of a water tube of limited flexibility connected to a water supply means and extending from above said bottom wall to present a discharge orifice directly above said opening, such that radial movement of said discharge orifice carries said discharge orifice about a turning center substantially coincident with the radius of said arcuate contour; a shower head having a shank attached to said discharge orifice and extending through said opening and a flange disposed downwardly of said bottom wall adapted to be clamped against the undersurface of said bottom wall; a cover plate on said shank disposed on the upper surface of said bottom wall and contoured complementary to said bottom wall, said cover plate extending outwardly of said opening at any position of said shower head and being adapted to be clamped against said upper surface of said bottom wall; and locking means disposed upwardly of said bottom Wall to clamp said cover plate against said upper surface of said bottom wall and to clamp said flange against said undersurface of said bottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,000,538 Mueller Aug. 15, 1911 1,541,725 Martin June 9, 1925 1,625,404 Wagenseller Apr. 19, 1927 1,632,042 Price et al June 14, 1927 1,651,714 Kern Dec. 6, 1927 1,730,455 Glauber Oct. 8, 1929 2,238,393 Mullett Apr. 15, 1941 2,496,520 Daniel Feb. 7, 1950 2,690,930 Corson Oct. 5, 1954 2,697,839 Jackson Dec. 28, 1954 2,825,909 Morris Mar. 11, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 246,332 Germany Apr. 29, 1912

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