Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~lS7602 S/ ~` 7 ~ q `~
This invention relates to a plastic shower enclosure and its
means for construction.
By "shower enclosure" I include such enclosures which are
shaped to provide bathtub at the bottom and those which are shaped
to provide a shower only.
The invention extends to providing an inventive shower enc1osure
which may be constructed by vacuum forming techniques or from plastic
formed in other ways such as by conventional methods using glass fibre
and resin. The invention also extends to an inventive method of
forming the inventive enclosure when using vacuum forming techniques.
So far as concerns the aspect of the invention which relates
to vacuum forming techniques and vacuum formed products, it i9 noted
that although the apparatus and method are suitable for use with other
vacuum formable plastics than acrylic, and hence the invention extends
to such other vacuum formable plastics. However, acrylic is expected
to be by far the most common in view of its attractive finish.
By the terms 'inward' and 'outward' herein I mean directions
toward the exposed and toward the non-exposed sides, respectively,
of the enclosure.
In producing a plastic shower enclosure which includes top,
side, rear walls, and the bottom wall or bath contour and usually
includes surrounding facing walls on at least the top and sides, it
would, in some respects be most efficient and economical of material
to vacuum form or otherwise form the entire enclosure as one unit in a
single operation. There would then be formed a unit has the width,
height and depth of a shower stall with or without a bath. (By depth
we refer to the horizontal distance from front to rear of the fixture).
Such unit, once formed would ~requently be too large to be passed
.
, .
115760Z
through the doorways and passages of many houses. Thus, if vacuum
forming techniques are used, to form sucn the enclosure as a single
unit, such unit if too large for taking into a house, must be cut
into sections to be installed. Such sections are normally formed by
one or two horizontal cuts. When such sections are reassembled in
the bath or shower room, a seal has been installed along the cut
sections to prevent leakage therebetween. Such seal has customarily
involved a gasket between and about the joint usually covered by a
facing strip. Such arrangement is often unsightly either because of
the appearance of the gasket or strip or because the material of the
facing strip although matched in colo~lr never completely matches the
appearance of the acrylic. Moreover the formation of the joint
necessarily leaves sealing joints facing upwardly or horizontally, or
both, which joints are likely to develop leaks in constant use.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a
shower stall of vacuum formed plastic which is vacuum formed in a
single operation but which is horizontally cut into sections for
- bringing into a dwelling but which, when assembled, does not have
joints allowing do~nward or horizontal passage of water-into the joint,
and which presents an appearance which is consistent, in that all
visible surfaces are of the original plastic.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method of
constructing shower stalls which provides a vacuum forming mold of
the desired width and depth but which is of greater height than re-
quired. The increased height is preferably provided in one or more
relatively plain vertical extents of the vacuum formed shap_. In such
vertical extent, and corresponding to the joints to be formed in the
final product, bands or wide f1at ridges raised toward the inward side
of the sho~er stall, are made, extending preferably horizontally, and
~LlS7602
in any event with a horizontal component. In the process of vacuum
forming the stall)such raised bands are made by a correspondly raised
portion of the mold and provide a corresponding depression on the
non-exposed side of the product. The molded product is removed from
the mold and preferably strengthened on the non exposed face with a
fibreglass layer and cut adjacent the lower boundary of the band, i.e.
so that the stall just below the cut is vertical to its edge, while
substantially all of the raised band is in the portion of the stall
just above the cut. The raised band is then recessed, to the extent
necessary on the outward side to allow insertion therebehind of a
strip of the top of the lower stall portion with a predetermined
amount of overlap, and with the vertical extent of the upper stall
section, just above the band, approximately co-planar with the adjacent
vertical extent of the lower section. If desired some of the exposed
face of the lower section may be removed also to achieve such overlap
~nd co-planarity, as long as the removed portion is hidden by the
overlap. However, removing material from both lower and upper member
is inconvenient and it is preferable to remove material from the upper
section only. With the members shaped to provide such overlap, means
are provided for rigidly connecting such overlapping members. In the
preferred form such rigidly connecting means comprises clamping
members provided for cooperation between the upper and lower sections
designed to draw the sections into the described overlapping relation.
Rreferably, the clamping is combined with a wedging action provided
by the clamping means to force the overlapping upper section toward
the overlapping lower portion as the clamping proceeds. Although
it would be possible to make the displacement of the material
at the raised band larger than the thickness of the reinforced lower
portion and thus simplify or eliminate the removal of material from the
unexposed face of the upper portion, such large arrangement of the
stripped band tends to leave a step at the joint of the thickness of
the vacuum formed material. A more pleasing appearance is provided if
;, .
~L~5760;~
the band is raised by about the thickness of the acrylic sheet and
material is removed from the unexposed side of the upper portion
sufficient to allow reception of the lower portion in overlaped and
co-planar relationship with the vertical extent of the upper stall
section. It will be noted that, because of the preferred limit on
the displacement of the band, that the lower edge of the upper portion
which overlaps tends to be of the tapering appearance towards its
lower edge and pxovides a joint of pleasant a~pearance with the band
appearing almost symmetrical about a median line therealong.
If the shower stall is not constructed by vacuum forming
techniques but by some other conventional technique (e.g. that used
when making structures from glass fibre and resin) then the stall will
probably not be formed originally as an integral unit. If the stall
i9 originally formed as an integral unit then it would be formed with
the extra height, and the raised bands and cut horizontally at the
lower band boundary all in accord with the procedure previously
described for vacuum formed plastics.
However, in most cases, with a conventional non vacuum forming
technique (such as that using glass fibre and resin) then the sections
similarly shaped to those cut from the vacuum formed sheet, will
be usually separately made. However such separately made sections of
solid plastic material will have the same shape as the cut vacuum
formed sections and will be joined to form the assembled shower unit
in the same way as that heretofore and hereafter described for the
cut vacuum formed sections. Thus the invention extends to cover
sho~er stall units from sections which have been separately made and
comprise solid plastic material.
It is an object of the invention, to provide a shower stall
made of sections of solid plastic material, overlapped over a vertical
~57602
extent along a line with a horizontal component where at each joint
a strip of the upper section overlaps astrip ce thelower section and
there are vertical extents of said upper and lower sections above and
below such joint which are approximately co-planar.
It is an object of the invention to provide a shower stall
made of sections of solid plastic material joined along a line with
a horizontal component where, at each joint, a strip of the upper
section overlaps a strip of the lower section and there are above and
below said joint vertical extents of said upper and lower sections
which are approximately co-planar, and where means are provided for
connecting said overlapping members, and preferably where the
connecting member acts to bias said overlapping members toward one
another.
In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the
invention :
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the exposed or outward
side of a vacuum formed shower stall unit before cutting,
Figure 2A, 2B, 2C are sectional views showing the mode of
providing the overlap of upper and lower sections,
Figure 3 is a rear view of an assembled stall unit using one
design of clamping means,
Figure 4 is a perspective view and Figure 5 is a partly
sectional view of the clamping means of Figure 3 along the lines
5-5 of Figure 3,
Figure 6 is a rear view of an assembled stall unit using an
alternative design of clamping means,
Figure 7 is a perspective view and Figure 8 is a side view of
the clamping means of Figure 6 along the lines 8-8 of Figure 6.
- S --
- : :
1~7602
To assist in the brevity of the description it will be
easier to first describe the invention with sole reference to the
method using vacuum formed plastic material and later to describe
that aspect of the invention using plastic material otherwise formed.
It will perhaps be easier to describe the completed assembly
of a shower stall enclosure after following the method of construction.
Accordingly, Figure 1 shows the side of a shower enclosure molding
blank which will be exposed in normal use, which has just been formed
from an initially uniform thickness acrylic sheet on a vacuum forming
mold. The molding differs from prior moldings in two ways. Firstly,
although the width is that desired for the finished assembly, the
height is greater than that desired in the finished assembly by
approximately the amount of joint overlap in the assembled product to
be described hereafter. Secondly, a raised band 10 extends sub-
stantially horizontally across the mold in what, except for the band,
would be uninterrupted vertical extents of the molding both above and
below the bar 12 and shelf 14. The position of the bands 10 will
correspond to the desired positions for joints between the sections.
As will be obvious from the discussions to follow that the invention
does not require the provision of more than one such band and joint.
However, the provision of two provides sections of smaller dimensions
for more easy access to the doors and passages of a house and also the
provision of two joints instead of one is thought to provide a more
balanced and pleasing appearance. It is also noted that it is within
the scope of the invention to provide that the bands and joints may
be sloping rather than horizontal as long as they have a larger
horizontal than vertical component. However, structurally and
ornamentalably the use of horizontal bands and joints is preferred,
and horizontal joints best utilize the advantages of the invention.
-- 6 --
`` 11.57602
The bands 10 are shaped by correspondingly inwardly raised
portion on the vacuum forming mold (not shown). Each band 10
preferably comprises a central extent 12, straight in vertical
section displaced from the co-planar extents above and below with
the straight extent curving into the co-planar extents. Figure 2A
is a cross section of the band in the original blank. The displace-
ment of the band will ~e found to contribute to the non-leakage
qualities of the device, the shape and curvature contributes chiefly
to the appearance. The displacement of the band 10 from the vertical
extent (dimension 'd' in Figure 2A) is preferably equal to the
thickness of the adjacent vacuum formed sheet before reinforcement
with fibreglass and resin.
The vacuum formed molding 11 is next reinforced on the back
by fibreglass and resin 14 to the extent required to provide the
necessary structural qualities.
When the resin has dried, the vacuum formed molding is cut
adjacent the bottom boundary of each band. For best final appearance
the cut 16 is located on the straight extent of the blank just at
the point where it begins to curve into the band 10.
As indicated in Figure 1, two such bands are preferably
provided in a blank and a cut at the location relative to the band
indicated in Figure 2A is made horizontally across the blank just
below each band.
As indicated in Figure 2s, after the cut, fibreglass and if
necessary some of the acrylic is removed from the outward side of the
upper section just above the cut. The material 17 to be removed
(by grinding, routing or the like) is indicated by the horizontally
shaded portion in Figure 2B. The recess is shaped so that in the
overlapped position with the overlapping members pressed against each
~1576Q2
other (indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2C) the vertical extents
of the upper section above and of the lower section below the bands
are approximately co-planar. By the term "approximately" I take into
account that, in most installations for such shower stalls it is
not necessary for any structural or installation purpose that such
vertical extents be exactly co-planar. It is only necessary that they
approach such relationship sufficiently that they appear co-planar
to the user of the shower.
Although the blank and assembled shower stall shown herein
include a bathtub it will be realized that the invention applies
equally to a shower stall without bathtub.
In the overlapped attitude of Figure 2C it will be seen that
the displacement of the band lO inward relative to the vertical extent
by approximately the thickness of the acrylic sheet contributes to
the appearance of the finished joint. Thus, when the upper section is
received for the overlap, there remains at the exposed side adjacent
the edge a thin lip 18 curving on its exposed surface from the flat
extent of band 10 toward the flat vertical extent of the shower
section and providing an appearance closely approaching symmetry about
the median horizontal line of the band.
To attach together the upper and lower sections at a joint,
each of the upper and lower sections is provided with clamping means.
The preferred embodiment of Figure 3-5 uses aligned pairs of upper
wooden blocks 20 and lower wooden blocks 22 attached, preferably by
fibreglass and resin to the upper and lower section respectively,
adjacent the line of the joint as it appears on the non-exposed side.
As Figure 3 shows, pairs of such blocks 20 and 22 are provided spaced
along the joint line. The lower face 24 of upper block 20 is
chamferred to slope downwardly and away from the section at about 45~
.~
~L57602
The upper face 26 of lower block 22 has a complementary chamfer.
The blocks are arranged so that their chamferred faces make contact
as the desired amount of overlap between the sections is almost
reached. To draw the blocks and their attached sections together,
aligned vertically directed bores 24 are made in the paired blocks.
A bolt 30 is inserted through the aligned bores so that wing nut 32
may be tightened thereon. The aligned bores 28 are made with
sufficient clearance for the bolt to allow sideways movement of blocks
20 and 22 relative to each other under the wedging action. When the
wing nuts 32 are tightened, the wedging action draws the upper section
downwardly and outwardly relative to the lower section, the rearward
movement ensuring that the overlapping portions are brought into
close proximity to each other and, given the curved form of the upper
section lip 18, the clamped overlap produces a pleasant appearance
of symmetry in which the exposed joint line behind lip 18 is virtually
insignificant. Further because of the overlap of the upper lip 18,
the only leakage channel at the joint is upward from the exposed joint
line, substantially eliminating the possibility of leakage. It will
further be noted that the joint with the clamping members produces an
assembled shower stall of sufficient rigidity for installation and
use.
There are two joints in the preferred shower stall assembly
and only one has been described. However, it will be understood that
the construction of the second joint is identical, that at each joint
there will be provided the members shown in Figures 2C and 3-5 and
that the terms upper section and lower section as used above will be
used relative to the joint being discussed and that the clamping
members will be provided and will operate.
:
~L~57602
It will further be noted that the amount of the excess
height of the vacuum formed blank of Figure 1 over the designed
height of the assembly will correspond to the extent of the two
overlaps plus the width of the two saw cuts.
Although it is not thought necessary in most instances, a
gasket 34, preferably of rubber, may be provided for each joint.
The gasket has a horizontal web 36 to extend between the horizontally
abutting section surfaces at the joint. Rearwardly of web 36, flanges
38 and 40 are provided to extend upwardly and downwardly along the
rear surfaces of the upper and lower sections respPctively. At the
forward end of web 36 a downwardly extending lip 42 is provided to be
received between the faces of the sections along the upper portion of
the overlapping extent. As Figure 5 shows the blocks 20 and 22 (or
the adjacent section surfaces) are recessed to receive the flanges
38 and 40. As Figure 4 shows flange 38 is initially preferably curved
inwardly in cross-section to assist is to be resiliently retained in
position when applied.
Figures 6-8 show a joint clamping means as an ~ternative to
that shown in Figures 3-5. As before, although there are two joints,
these will be identical and only one will be described. At each joint
the blank will have been cut and recessed as schematically shown in
Figures 2A, 2B, 2C. However, as Figure 8 sho~s the amount of material
removed from the recess is greater from the embodiment of Figures
6-8 than required for the embodiment of Figures 3-5 and greater than
the amount 17 shown in Figures 2B, 2C. This is because of the greater
overlap of the embodiment of Figures 6-8.
Figures 7 and 8 show narrow wooden blocks 46 and 48 which are
fibreglassed onto the rear of the upper and lower sections. Block 48
-- 10 --
~157602
has a downwardly-outwardly sloping chamferred face facing rearwardly
as shown. Block 46 defines (with band 10) a recess wide enough to
receive only part of the maximum thickness of block 48. An outwardly
extending bracket 50 is screwed to each block and the brackets have
aligned apertures 52. The bolt 54 extending through the aligned
apertures 50 allows nut 52 to be tightened to draw the brackets and
blocks toward one another and the chamferred face of block 48 bears
on the adjacent lower corner 49 of block 46 (as shown in Figure 8)
to move the overlapping section members into pressure contact with one
another. Because the chamfer of block 48 is more nearly vertical
than that of blocks 20 and 22 in Figures 3-5, the clearance ~r bolt 54
in apertures 52 may be less. Provision for a gasket with the embodi-
ment of Figures 6-8 is not shown but may be made if desired. The
appearance of the exposed surface of the shower stall is similar,
for both embodiments. The embodiment of Figures 6-8 has an advantage
in that the rearward projection of the clamping members is less than
with the clamping members of Figures 3-5.
It is easiest to describe the correct location of the cut 16
with reference to Figures 2A, 2B, 2C. The cut should be made at the
meeting of the lower curve of a band and the straight extent there-
below. This gives the best symmetry (across the median horizontal line
of the band) of appearance in the finished joint as suggested in
Figure 2C. If the cut 16 is located higher than shown in Figure 2A
so that,it is fully into the curved lower part of the band or even into
the straight portion of the band then there will be formed a definite
step above the cut which will be visible and less sightly in the
final joint. Also any portion of the band left below the cut will have
to be removed to form the joint. If the cut 16 is located in the
straight portion below the band any straight portion above the cut and
~L~57602
below the band will simply have to be removed during the process of
forming the recess behind the band to receive the (outwardly) over-
lapping lower section.
If vacuum forming techniques are not used but t-heunit of Fig.l is
made from plastic by other methods then the cutting and construction
is as described above for vacuum formed plastics.
Turning to the formation of a shower stall with separate
original sections this may be performed with any conventional
technique for forming the section shapes from solid plastic. Most
commonly this such section will be formed by conventional techni~ues
for glass fibre and resin. In accord with this the sections as shown
in Figures 3-8 will be each separately formed. They will normally
have a single fibreglass layer rather than the laminated acryllic
and fibreglass shown. The bands, lip 18 and the recess behind lip 18
for receiving the lower section will be formed either during the
original fibreglass forming or partly at that time and partly there-
after by routing or other removal of excess material to form both the
recess, the lip and the shaping of the parts. The sbaping of the
coupling parts of the separate sections may, of course be that of
Figure 2C or Figure 5. The same attachment means for clamping and
wedging will be attached to the separately formed sections and may take
the form shown in Figures 3-5, or that shown in Figures 6-8 or a
similar clamping means. A gasket such as that shown in Figures 4 and 5
may be used or not as desired.
