WO2006013083A1

WO2006013083A1 - Plastic towel rails and method for their manufacture

Info

Publication number: WO2006013083A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/008340
Authority: WO
Inventors: Colm Cally; Paul Warren
Original assignee: Basic Holdings
Priority date: 2004-08-04
Filing date: 2005-08-02
Publication date: 2006-02-09
Also published as: GB0417358D0; GB2416686A

Abstract

A plastic towel rail comprises first and second half components which when assembled define an internal void. Each half component has an outer surface and a void-defining inner surface. The internal void retains and electrical resistance heating element. The half components are made primarily of a plastics material and are preferably constructed to snap-fit or latch together.

Description

PLASTIC TOWEL RAILS AND METHOD FOR THEIR MANUFACTURE

The present invention relates to towel rails and the like and in particular to towel rails made substantially or entirely of a plastic material.

Towel rails are well known in the art and usually provide a plurality of heated horizontal members from which damp towels or other fabrics or garments are hung, for example after use. The horizontal members may be linked to, and usually supported by, one or more substantially vertical members. Most frequently, towel rails comprise a series of linked hollow tubes made from metal, with an electrical resistance heating element disposed within the tubes. Although such towel rails are reasonably aesthetically pleasing, they are relatively heavy (making them more difficult to mount on a wall) and expensive to produce. Also, bearing in mind especially that towel rails are most commonly located in bathrooms or other potentially wet environments, adequate earthing (grounding) of the towel rail on installation is an essential safety requirement.

The present invention seeks to overcome or at least alleviate the above disadvantages by providing a towel rail which is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, is functionally efficient, aesthetically attractive and lightweight.

GB 1 044 051 describes a towel rail made from two tubular U-shaped sections joined at their respective ends to a pair of bosses. A resistance heating tape is drawn through the partially joined U-shaped sections during manufacture.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a towel rail consisting substantially entirely of a plastic material and including at least a region thereof defining an internal void, said region comprising: first and second moulded plastic components, each having an inner surface and an outer surface; said first and second moulded plastic components being engageable such that said inner surfaces together define said internal void.

p_ref_erably _sajd internal void is adapted to contain a flexible heating element.

Preferably the towel rail further comprises a flexible heating element disposed within said void.

In a preferred embodiment one or both of said moulded plastic components include integral formations adapted to receive and retain said flexible heating element.

Preferably the towel rail comprises one or more generally upright members and one or more generally horizontal members together defining a continuous void therein. The horizontal members or spars are adapted in use to provide a support for a towel or similar fabric item, by hanging the towel over the spar.

In preferred variations of the invention said flexible heating element follows a serpentine path in said void through substantially the whole of said towel rail.

In preferred embodiments of the invention the first and second moulded plastic components include respective formations by means of which the moulded plastic components are joined together.

Preferably the respective formations retain the moulded plastic components together by means of a latching or snap-fit action. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a towel rail comprising substantially entirely a plastic material, the method comprising: moulding a first half component having an inner surface and an outer surface; moulding a second half component having an inner surface and an outer surface, one or both of said inner surfaces including integral formations adapted to receive and retain a flexible heating element; disposing a flexible heating element proximate a said inner surface of one of the first or second half components and retaining said flexible heating element on said integral formations; and joining the first and second components together so that the respective inner surfaces thereof define a void containing the flexible heating element and the respective outer surfaces define an outer surface of the towel rail.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference will be made to the following drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front plan view of a towel rail according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the towel rail of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a side view of the towel rail of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the towel rail of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the towel rail of Figure 1; Figure 6a is a section along A-A of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6b shows a portion of Figure 6a on a larger scale;

Figure 7a is a section along B-B of Figure 1 ;

Figure 7b shows a portion of Figure 7a on a larger scale;

Figure 8 is an exploded view of the towel rail of Figure 1 ; Figure 9 shows an alternative arrangement of a heating element suitable for use with the towel rail of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a schematic view of an alternative form of the towel rail of the invention; and

Figures 11 and 12 are respectively top and side views of an alternative construction of a towel rail according to the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Figure 8, the illustrated towel rail 10 comprises a front plastic component 26 and a rear plastic component 28 each of which can be manufactured, most preferably as an integral unit, by a suitable moulding method, such as injection moulding. These plastic components are referred to hereinafter as "half components" although this should not be taken necessarily to imply equality of size of the plastic components. For example, in the embodiment shown in Figures 11 and 12 the towel rail 210 includes a front plastic component 226 and a rear plastic component 228. The front plastic component 226 defines a significantly greater proportion of the finished towel rail 210. The front half component 26, 226 defines a front or outer surface shown generally at 26', 226' and an inner surface 26" (not specifically shown in Fig 8). The rear half component 28, 228 defines a rear or outer surface shown generally at 28', 228' and an inner surface shown generally at 28". When the two half components are brought together, the outer surfaces 26',28' define the outer surface of the completed towel rail 10, 210. The inner surfaces 26",28" together define a void 30 extending through the majority, or indeed the whole, of the completed towel rail 10, 210. The exemplary towel rail 10, 210 comprises a plurality of connected member portions M, N. In the illustrated embodiments, the towel rail 10, 210 comprises a pair of upright (substantially vertical in use) member portions 12, 14, 212, 214 upper and lower substantially horizontal member potions 16, 18 216, 218 extending between the upright member portions 12,14, 212, 214 and a plurality of intermediate substantially horizontal member portions 20, 22, 24, 220, 222, 224 also extending between the upright members 12, 14. Other shapes and configurations of the towel rail are possible, such as the towel rail 10' depicted in Figure 9 which has an extended "S"-like configuration. The void 30 is adapted to accommodate a flexible heating element 32. Flexible heating elements are well known in the art and a suitable element 32 can be selected by the skilled person in accordance with, for example, the desired heat output.

As can be seen from Figure 8, the flexible heating element 32 is arranged in a serpentine path so that it extends substantially throughout the whole of the towel rail 10. In the intermediate members 20, 22, 24 two lengths of the flexible heating element 32 are present. An alternative configuration for the heating element is shown in Figure 9. In Figure 9, the heating element 32' is arranged so that two lengths of the heating element lie in each of the upper and lower member portions 16, 18, 216, 218 and the intermediate member portions 20, 22, 24, 220, 222, 224 and also in one of the upright member portions 12, 212. In the upright member portion 14, 214, the heating element 32' is arranged in loops so that the majority of the upright member portion 12 contains two lengths of the heating element 32'. The heating element 32, 32' is retained in its desired position by suitable formations moulded integrally with the first and/or second half components 26, 28, 226, 228. Exemplary formations are indicated at 34 (Figure 8). The towel rail 10, 210 may be provided with an externally visible mains lead 36, 236 for connection to the electrical supply. In alternative constructions, the towel rail 10, 210 may be adapted for a direct wiring-type connection where, for example, the towel rail 10, 210 includes a removable cover providing access to a terminal connection block for direct wiring to the mains supply. In this arrangement, no mains lead is apparent to a user after installation. An on/off switch 38, 238 which may be positioned at any convenient location, or may be absent if, for example, a remotely located mains switch is provided.

The shape and arrangement of the members of the towel rail 10, 210 can be selected generally as desired provided that the completed towel rail 10, 210 has sufficient structural strength and rigidity, is functional and is sufficiently aesthetically pleasing. The shape can readily be selected by one skilled in the art of plastic moulding. In the illustrated example of Figures 1 to 8, the upright members 12, 14, the horizontal members 16,18 and the intermediate members 20, 22, 24 are all approximately triangular in section. The upper horizontal member 16 is bowed upwardly, the lower horizontal member 18 is bowed downwardly and the intermediate members 20, 22, 24 are bowed forwardly (with respect to the position of use of the towel rail 10). Alternatively, as illustrated in Figures 11 and 12 all of the upper, lower and intermediate members 216, 218, 220, 222, 224 may be bowed forwardly. These constructions are effective in meeting the criteria of strength, rigidity and aesthetic appeal, but other equally effective constructions are possible.

In the assembled towel rail 10, 210, the front half component 26, 226 is joined to the rear half component 28, 228, with the flexible heating element 32, 32' disposed in the void 30 within the joined half components 26, 28, 226, 228. The half components 26, 28, 226, 228 may be joined together by any convenient means, such as one or more of an adhesive bond, screw fixings or heat welding. However, in a particularly preferred arrangement the half components are each provided with engagement formations which cooperate to retain the half components together. Preferably the engagement formations have a latching or "snap-fitting" action. Examples of suitable formations can be seen in Figures 6b and 7b in which each half component comprises a latching hook 40,42,44,46. At least one hook of each pair (40,42) (44,46) of latching hooks is resiliently deformable from its rest condition and is displaced on joining together of the half components 26, 28, 226, 228, returning to its rest condition when the half components 26, 28, 226, 228 are in their final assembled position. In this position, the latching hooks of the formations 40,42,44,46 engage so that the half components may not be separated. The half components 26, 28, 226, 228, may be provided with male and female bosses such as those shown at 48a ,48b which assist in locating the two half components in the correct respective positions on assembly. The towel rail 10, 210 may be formed from more than two moulded plastic (half) components 26, 28, 226, 228, the respective half components being joined together by suitable means. Each half component, whether the towel rail 10, 210 comprises two or more of such components, comprises an outer surface such as 26',28' 226', 228' and an inner surface such as 26",28". It is not essential that the whole area of a given half component is provided with an inner surface such as 26",28". For example, a region of the half component may include a solid part, where a void such as 30 is absent. Also, it is not essential for whole the internal surface of a given half component to be exposed when the half components are in their pre- assembled state. For example, the half component may include a tubular region, with the inner surface forming an inner surface in the tubular portion. It is, however, preferred that such tubular or solid regions form only a minor part of the towel rail 10, 210.

Figure 10 shows an alternative configuration for the towel rail 10' of the invention in which the towel rail 10' is generally "S" shaped. The towel rail 10' comprises generally vertical member portions 112, 114, 116 and generally horizontal member portions 118, 120, 122. Each of the member portions 112 to 122 defines an internal void in which is located a flexible heating element 132, shown schematically as a dotted line. The towel rail is made up of one or more half components which, when assembled, define the void, as in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 8.

In a particularly preferred and convenient form of the invention, and as illustrated in the drawings, all of the internal surfaces 26",28" which will, when the towel rail is assembled, form a void containing the flexible heating element 32, 32', are exposed - that is, not obstructed or covered - prior to assembly of the towel rail. This construction greatly facilitates assembly of the towel rail 10 since the flexible heating element 32, 32' can simply be laid in its desired arrangement on one of the inner surfaces 26" ,28" of the half components 26, 28, 226, 228, preferably so that the flexible heating element 32, 32' is retained, at least loosely, in position by retaining formations 34. The two half components are then joined together (after including any switch and so on) and the assembly of the towel rail 10, 210 is complete. This avoids any inconvenient and time consuming threading of the heating element through tubular sections of the towel rail, as was required in the prior art. Thus, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, whereas any part of the towel rail 10, 210 which is not required to accommodate the flexible heating element 32, 32' may be formed in any convenient shape - such as solid or tubular - those portions of the half components which are required to accommodate the flexible heating element 32, 32' are most preferably formed with an exposed, preferably generally concave, inner surface, such as surface 26", 28", onto which the element 32, 32' may be laid directly.

The external surface of the towel rail 10, as defined by external surfaces 26', 28', 226', 228' of the half components 26, 28, 226, 228 may be formed with any suitable finish. For example, the external surface may be metalised so that the towel rail 10 resembles a conventional metal towel rail, or the external surface may be white or coloured.

Most preferably the towel rail 10, 210 is provided with mounting means, such as bosses 50, 250 which cooperate with fixings 52 to attach the towel rail 10, 210 to a wall.

Claims

1. A towel rail consisting substantially entirely of a plastic material and including at least a region thereof defining an internal void, said region comprising: first and second moulded plastic components, each having an inner surface and an outer surface; said first and second moulded plastic components being engageable such that said inner surfaces together define said internal void.

2. A towel rail as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said internal void is adapted to contain a flexible heating element.

3. A towel rail as claimed in claim 2 further comprising a flexible heating element disposed within said void.

4. A towel rail as claimed in claim 3 wherein one or both of said moulded plastic components include integral formations adapted to receive and retain said flexible heating element.

5. A towel rail is claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4 comprising one or more generally upright members and one or more generally horizontal members together defining a continuous void therein.

6. A towel rail is claimed in claim 3 or 4, or claim 5 when dependent on claim 3 or 4 wherein said flexible heating element follows a serpentine path in said void through substantially the whole of said towel rail.

7. A towel rail as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first and second moulded plastic components include respective formations by means of which the moulded plastic components are joined together.

8. A towel rail as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the respective formations retain the moulded plastic components together by means of a latching or snap-fit action.

9. A method of manufacturing a towel rail comprising substantially entirely a plastic material, the method comprising: moulding a first plastic component having an inner surface and an outer surface; moulding a second plastic component having an inner surface and an outer surface, one or both of said inner surfaces including integral formations adapted to receive and retain a flexible heating element; disposing a flexible heating element proximate a said inner surface of one of the first or second plastic components and retaining said flexible heating element on said integral formations; and joining the first and second components together so that the respective inner surfaces thereof define a void containing the flexible heating element and the respective outer surfaces define an outer surface of the towel rail.

10. A towel rail substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of Figures 1 to 10.