U.S. patent application number 10/538552 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-23 for shower support.
Invention is credited to Klaus Grohe.
Application Number | 20060059616 10/538552 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32336537 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060059616 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Grohe; Klaus |
March 23, 2006 |
Shower support
Abstract
A shower support, with the aid of which a shower head can be
placed at a distance from a wall, contains, in addition to the
holder for the conventional shower head, at least one additional
shower that is directly-mounted on the wall arm itself. The
additional shower is supplied with water through the inside of the
wall arm. The water supply for the additional shower is independent
from the water supply for the shower head.
Inventors: |
Grohe; Klaus; (Shiltach,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DUANE MORRIS, LLP;IP DEPARTMENT
30 SOUTH 17TH STREET
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103-4196
US
|
Family ID: |
32336537 |
Appl. No.: |
10/538552 |
Filed: |
November 20, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
November 20, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP03/12972 |
371 Date: |
June 13, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/615 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03C 1/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
004/615 |
International
Class: |
A47K 3/022 20060101
A47K003/022 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 13, 2002 |
DE |
10260209.3 |
Claims
1. A support for a shower head, comprising: a mounting fixture for
mounting the support such that the support is adjustable, an arm
jutting out of the mounting fixture, a receptacle a for a shower
head arranged in the vicinity of the far end of the arm, and at
least one additional shower fixture attached to the arm.
2. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the additional
shower fixture can be supplied with water independently of the
shower head.
3. A shower support according to claim 1, having a channel passing
through the arm and leading to the additional shower fixture.
4. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the arm comprises
a length of hollow, profiled stock, at least from the mounting
fixture to the additional shower fixture.
5. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the additional
shower fixture is arranged between the mounting fixture and the far
end of the arm.
6. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein a direction of a
jet exiting the additional shower fixture is adjustable.
7. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the additional
shower fixture is mounted on a side of the arm jutting from the
mounting fixture.
8. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein at least one said
additional shower fixture is mounted on a underside of the arm
jutting from the mounting fixture.
9. A shower support according to claim 1, having several additional
said shower fixtures and a water-supply conduit common to all the
additional shower fixtures.
10. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the additional
shower fixture is nondetachable.
11. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein at least one
additional shower fixture is attached to the arm by means of a
quick-connect coupler.
12. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the arm is
pivotable about a horizontal axis orthogonal to a longitudinal axis
of the arm, on a linkage on the mounting fixture.
13. A shower support according to claim 12, wherein the water
conduit passes through the linkage.
14. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the arm is
configured in the form of a fork.
15. A shower support according to claim 14, wherein the additional
shower fixtures are arranged on outer faces of tines of the
fork.
16. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the shower head
is detachable.
17. A shower support according to claim 1, wherein the shower head
is supplied with water by a hose.
Description
[0001] The invention is based on a support with which a shower head
may be mounted at a particular distance from a fixed location.
[0002] There are a wide variety of supports with which a shower
head may be detachably, or permanently, mounted at a distance from
a wall. In the case of a known support of that type, a pair of
shower heads that may be pivoted about mutually parallel axes is
arranged between the legs of a U-shaped, curved arm. The
wall-mounting arm, which is configured from hollow, profiled stock,
serves as a water conduit. The pair of shower heads are identically
configured and simultaneously supplied with water from a common
water supply.
[0003] Other types of wall-mounting supports have just a single
shower head that is either attached directly to the arm, or is
detachable therefrom.
[0004] The problem addressed by the invention is creating a shower
support that will provide additional showering opportunities and
means for devising showering procedures.
[0005] In order to solve that problem, the invention proposes a
shower support having those features stated under claim 1.
Elaborations on the invention are covered under subclaims.
[0006] In addition to the usual shower fixture or usual shower
head, the shower support proposed by the invention thus has
attached to it a second shower fixture that will hereinafter be
referred to as an "additional shower fixture." The latter may
beneficially be a showering fixture whose shape, dimensions, and/or
design differ from those of the main shower fixture. For example,
it might be a small shower head, or one that yields a jet having a
totally different structure.
[0007] In particular, under an elaboration on the invention, it may
be provided that the additional shower fixture has its own water
supply in order that it may be supplied with water, if desired,
even water at a different temperature, independently of the main
shower head, where it will be beneficial if it is provided that the
additional shower fixture may be connected to the main shower
fixture in order that the former may then be operated either In
combination with the main shower fixture, or alone.
[0008] The separate water supply to the at least one additional
shower fixture may be effected by, for example, providing that it
has its own water supply in the form of its own shower hose.
However, it will be particularly judicious if it is supplied with
water via a channel arranged within the arm. That channel may, for
example, be connected to a hose connected to a line coming from the
mixer faucet, in the vicinity of the mounting fixture. However, it
will also be feasible if the channel is connected directly to a
water line inside the mounting fixture in order that no conduits
will be visible from outside.
[0009] One way in which a water-supply channel may be configured is
configuring the arm in the form of a length of hollow, profiled
stock, at least out to the additional shower fixture.
[0010] The location at which the additional shower fixture is
arranged may be chosen to suit the showering procedure desired. The
additional shower fixture may, for example, be mounted immediately
adjacent to, or even outboard of, the main shower fixture. However,
it will be particularly judicious if it is arranged between the
mounting fixture and the support for the main shower head. It may
be mounted such that supplements the jet, or array of jets, exiting
the main shower fixture.
[0011] Under an elaboration on the invention, it may be provided
that the direction of the jet exiting the additional shower fixture
is adjustable, where adjustments thereof may be accomplished by,
for example, either altering the positioning of the additional
shower fixture as a whole or altering merely part of the additional
shower fixture. In particular, rotating it about a fixed, relative
to the arm, axis represents one means of adjustment.
[0012] According to the invention, under an elaboration thereon, it
may be provided that the at least one additional shower fixture is
mounted on the side of the wall-mounted arm. If several additional
shower fixtures are to be involved, it will be judicious to mount
them on both sides of the wall-mounting arm. Of course, mounting an
additional shower fixture on the underside of the wall-mounting arm
will also be feasible, and is proposed by the invention.
[0013] If several additional shower fixtures are present, the
invention proposes that all of them be supplied by a common water
supply. Groups of additional shower fixtures may be formed, if
desired, in which case, a single, common, water conduit supplying
all additional shower fixtures of every group would be
provided.
[0014] According to the invention, under an elaboration thereon, it
may be provided that the at least one additional shower fixture is
permanently attached to the arm, rather than being detachable
therefrom, where "permanently attached" does not mean that the
shower fixture involved is nonadjustable. "Permanently attached"
shall also be construed as implying that the additional shower
fixture involved will still be detachable using a tool. Attaching
an additional shower fixture to the wall-mounting arm using a
quick-connect coupler, for example, a plug-in connector, is also
feasible, and is proposed by the invention. The plug-in connector
employed will then be configured such that no water will exit when
the additional shower fixture involved is detached.
[0015] It will be particularly beneficial if the arm may be pivoted
about a horizontal, relative to its mounting fixture, axis in order
that the receptacle for the hand-held shower head or shower head
may be swung downward in order to adjust the shower head's location
to suit users of various heights. That axis will then be orthogonal
to the longitudinal axis of the arm. The arm may also be rotated
about a horizontal axis coincident with its longitudinal axis in
order to shift the direction of the jet exiting the shower head to
the left or right.
[0016] According to the invention, it may be provided that, even if
the wall-mounting arm is mounted on the mounting fixture such that
it may be pivoted or rotated, the water conduit passes through the
linkage joining them, which may be accomplished by, for example,
providing a sealed feedthrough, or a hose passing through that
linkage.
[0017] The shape of the wall-mounting arm may be arbitrary,
provided that only a single additional shower fixture may be
attached thereto, which dictates that the wall-mounting arm must
have certain minimum dimensions. For example, under an elaboration
on the invention, it may be provided that the wall-mounting arm is
configured in the form of a fork whose tines may begin at a
particular distance from the mounting fixture. If such a forked arm
is employed, according to the invention, it may be provided that
the additional shower fixtures are arranged on the outer faces of
both of its tines, which will allow obtaining a more divergent
array of jets, or a more divergent jet.
[0018] The shower head may, as usual, be supplied with water by a
shower hose, in which case, the connector for connecting the shower
hose to the water supply may also be located on the wall-mounting
arm's mounting fixture.
[0019] Other features, details, and benefits of the invention will
be evident from the following description of a preferred embodiment
of the invention, the claims and the abstract, whose wordings are
herewith made part of this description by way of reference thereto,
and the drawings, which depict:
[0020] FIG. 1 a schematized side view of a shower support according
to the invention;
[0021] FIG. 2 a top view of the shower support shown in FIG. 1;
[0022] FIG. 3 a second embodiment of a shower support according to
the invention.
[0023] FIG. 1 depicts a greatly simplified side view of a shower
support according to the invention. In the case of example shown,
this shower support is mounted on a wall 1. A mounting fixture 2,
which, in the case of the example shown, is in the form of a
console 3, serves to attach it to the wall. The console 3 is bolted
to the wall. Within the console 3, the shower support is connected
to a water line, preferably one conveying mixed hot and cold water,
coming from a mixer faucet. A wall-mounting arm 5 is pivoted on a
protrusion 4 on the console 3. Its pivot axis is horizontal and
normal to the plane of the paper, i.e., parallel to the surface of
the wall. A setscrew that may be operated by a knob 6 holds the
wall-mounting arm 5 in place at a particular angular position. The
wall-mounting arm extends outward from the wall, from the mounting
fixture 2, to its far end 7. A receptacle, which is not depicted in
detail in FIG. 1, for a shower head 8 is attached to the
wall-mounting arm 5 in the vicinity of the latter's far end 7. In
the case of the embodiment shown, the shower head 8 is disk-shaped,
although it might well have any other shape, and has a handgrip 9
that is slightly angularly offset from the plane of the shower head
8. A shower hose 10 that passes through the handgrip 9 and hangs
downward therefrom, forming a loop, leads to the mounting fixture
2.
[0024] A pair of additional shower fixtures 11 that spray downward
are attached to that side of the wall-mounting arm 5 that may be
seen in FIG. 1. They are supplied with water through the interior
of the wall-mounting arm 5, which is configured from a length of
hollow, profiled stock.
[0025] FIG. 2 depicts a simplified view of the arrangement shown in
FIG. 1. The wall-mounting arm 5 splits, commencing at a short
distance beyond the location thereon where it is attached to the
console 3, thereby forming a pair of tines 14 that are configured
such that they diverge, but are parallel to one another in the
vicinity of the far end 7 of the wall-mounting arm, where a
receptacle 13 for the shower head 8 is provided between the tips 12
of the tines 14.
[0026] This top view shows that the additional shower fixtures 11
are attached to the outer faces of the pair of tines 14, which
allows the additional shower fixtures 11, which spray downward, to
generate an array of jets having a larger cross-sectional area.
[0027] FIG. 3 depicts another manner in which a shower support
according to the invention might be configured. The embodiment
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a forked, wall-mounting arm 5 that, when
viewed from the side, is curved, but the embodiment shown in FIG. 3
has a solid wall-mounting arm 15. A conical receptacle 16 for a
hand-held shower head is schematically depicted on the right end,
i.e., far end, of the wall-mounting arm 15, in FIG. 3. The
hand-held shower head may be inserted therein. In the case of the
example shown, a pair of additional shower fixtures 11, one on
either side of the wall-mounting arm 15, is arranged on the
wall-mounting arm 15.
* * * * *