Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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sackground of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shower
stall or partition having one or more door
elements, with one end of each door element being
supported or suspended in an upper, horizontal
frame portion of a fixed frame in such a way as to
be movably guided via rollers, slides, or the like,
while the other, lower end of each door element is
provide with an extension having an upwardly angled
piece that extends into a downwardly open recess of
a bottom rail that form~ a further horizontal frame
portion of the fixed frame. Shower stalls of this
general type are known.
To be able to clean the door element or
elements of a shower stall of the aforementioned
type, it is desirable to ba able to periodically
release or remove the door element or elements from
their guides in the region of the bottom rail,
especially to be able to pivot them, at least to a
certain extent, in the direction toward the
interior of the shower stall, without the necessity
for having to raise or disconnect the guide or
suspension elements in the upper frame portion. To
solve this problem, it would be possible to
configure the extensions that are located at the
lower ends of the door elements and are provided
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with the upwardly angled pieces in such a way that
- they are sufficiently elastic, for example by
making them of a suitabl~ thin, sheet-like piece of
plastic, so that the extensions can be removed from
the guides in the bottom rail by being bent.
However, such a construction is unsatisfactory for
many reasons. On the one hand, after having been
used for a certain length of time, it is likely
that cracks or similar damage will occur in the
extensions. On the other hand, flexible extensions
of this type are not suitable structural elements
for providing a well-defined door element guide
that is durable over a long period of time.
Summary of the Invention
By one aspect o this invention, there is
provided a shower stall having one or more door
elements, where one end of each door element is
suspended in an upper, horizontal frame portion of
a fixed frame in such a way as to be ~ovably guided
on a rail via rollers, slides, or the like, while
the other, lowar end of each door element is
provided with a first extension having an upwardly
angled piece that extends into a downwardly opan
recess of a bottom rail that forms a further
horizontal frame portion of the ixed frame, the
improvement wherein: said bottom rail, to help
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define said recess for said angled piece, includes
a wall portion that faces said door element and the
interior of said shower stall, with this wall
portion being supported on the remainder of said
bottom rail, and being movable relative thereto, in
such a way that this wal:l portion can be shifted
from a first position, in which said wall portion
overlaps said angled piece of said first extension
of said door element, into a second position which
permits a pivoting of said door element, transverse
to its plane, in the direction toward the interior
of said shower stall, and from said second position
back into said first position-
Pursuant to the present invention, this ob~ect
is realized in an economical, simple, and elegant
manner by supportin~ that wall portion of the
recess (which serves for guiding the base of the
door elements) that faces the door elements and the
interior of the shower stall on the remainder of
~0 the bottom rail in such a way that this wall
portion is movable relative thereto and can be
shifted from a first position, in which the wall
portion overlaps the angled pieces of the
extensions of the door elements, into a second
position which permits a certain amount of pivoting
of the door elements, transverse to their plane, in
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the direction toward the interior of the shower
stall.
A preferred and particularly simple embodiment
that also satisfies all the requirements for
hygiene is characterized in that a channel, groove,
or the like is provided in the bottom rail on that
side which faces the interior of the shower stall;
this channel, groove, or the like extends in the
longitudinal direction of the bottom rail, and has
- 10 a cross-section in the shape of a part of a circle.
A rod that conforms to the diameter of the channel,
groove, or the like, and that has a cross-section
in the shape of a part of a circle or circular
ring, is supported or guided in the channel,
groove, or the like in such a way that in can be
rotated or pivoted about the common geometrical
axis of the rod and the recess. In order to hold
this rod in the recess, clip-like or bracket-like
securing elements can be provided at suitable
locations along the length of the bottom rail in
the event that the extensions that are disposed on
the door elements and are provided with the angled
pieces have only a very short longitudinal
dimension, so that the aforementioned securing
elements, for example in the form of a clip, do not
disrupt the possible back and forth movement of the
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door elements. Another possibility for rataining
the rod in the recess is the provision of suitable
supports or bearings for the two ands of the rod.
These bearings are then provided in the base
portions of the frame that are connected to the
aforementioned bo-ttom rail.
A further possible embodiment is characterized
- in that a channel, groove, or the like that extends
in the longitudinal direction of the bottom rail is
provided in the latter on that side which faces the
interior of the shower stall; on that side which
faces the interior of the shower stall, this
channel, groove, or the like is provided with a
strip-like element that is disposed on the bottom
rail in such a way that it can be shi~ted in an
approximately vertical plane. In a manner similar
to that of the previous émbodiment, the guide means
for this strip-like element can be provided either
only on the bottom rail via suitable guide
elements, and/or can be provided in the region of
the ends of this strip-like element on the two
opposite base portions of the shower stall frame
ad;acent to the pertaining bottom rail.
A further possibla embodiment for realizing
the aforementioned ob;ect is characterized in that
that portion of the bottom rai~ that forms the
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recess is connected to the remainder of the bottom
rail in such a way that it is rotatable or
pivotable about a horizontal axis that is remote
from the interior of the shower stall.
Finally, an embodiment is possible in which
the upper portion of the bottom rail, which forms
the recess, is detachably connected to the
remainder of the bottom rail. The structural
embodiment can be such that the upper portion of
the bottom rail can, via an extension having an
approximately U-shaped cross-sectlon, be placed on
an approximately I-shaped extension of the
remainder of the bottom rail.
Similar to the solution where the portion of
the bottom rail that forms the recess is detachably
connected to the remainder of the bottom `rail, it
is also possibla in the case of the solution
according to claim 4 where that portion of the
bottom rail that forms the recess is connected to
20 ~ the remainder of the bottom rail ln such a way that
it is pivotable about a horizontal axis that is
remote from the interior of the shower stall, the
rotational connection between the upper and lower
portions of the bottom rail can be detachable. For
this purpose, with appropriate structural
dimensions, it is possible to take advantage of the
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elasticity of the material; consequently, plastics
are particularly suitable for this structural
embodiment.
Brief Description of Drawing
Four individual embodiments of the present
invention are described in detail below with the
aid of Figures 1 to 4.
Shown are
Figure 1 the bottom rail of a
familiar-type shower stall,
here not further illustrated,
and the directly adjacent
portion of a movable door
element, as a cross-
sectional view, with an
inventlvely provided rod that
is supported in the bottom
rail in such a way as to be
pivotable or rotatable,
and which has a cross-
sectional shape in the form
of a portion of a circular
ring, .
Figure 2 a further possible embodiment
of the inventive shower stall
with a movable strip that is
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supported on the bottom rail
and is used to vary the depth
or size of the recess in
which the angled piece of the
extension of the door element
moves,
Figure 3 a fur-ther invsntiva shower
stall in which that area of
the upper portion of the
bottom rail that contains the
recess for the angled piace
of the extension of the door
element is embodied in such a
way that it is removable from
the remainder of the bottom
rail, and
Figure 4 a further possible embodiment ~ ,
of the inventive shower
stall, in whlch the upper
portion o the bottom rail is
pivotably supported on the
remainder of the bottom rail
and could, if desired, be
removable therefrom.
Description of Preferred Embodiments
Figure 1 shows a door element 1 of a familiar
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shower stall or compartment, which is here not
further illustrated. The upper end of the door
element is guided in a known manner via rollers,
slides, or similar structural elements in an
appropriate, horizontally oriented rail or the
like; the lower end of the cloor element is provided
with an extension 2. The extension 2 ends in an
angled piece 3 that points upwardly. The angled
piece 3 extends into a recess 4 of a base or bottom
rail 5. The bottom rail 5 is attached to the edge
- 6 of the shower base 7, for example by means of an
adhesive or in some other manner.
The recess 4 in the bottom rail 5 is formed,
on the one hand, by a channel or groove 8, and on
the other hand by a member or rod 9. When viewed
in cross-section, the rod 9 is in the form of a
part of a circular ring~ and the shape of the inner
wall of the groove 8 corrssponds to the shape of
the outer wall of the rod 9. In this way, both the
groove 8 and the rod 9 have the same geometrical
axis, so that the rod 9 can be rotated or pivoted
within the groove 8 (the sides of the rod can, for
example, be rotatably or pivotably guided in the
non-illustrated bearings or supports that are
located in the frame sections that are ad;acent to
the bottom rail 5). As can be readily seen from
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Figure 1, if the rod 9 is rotated appropriately
from the illustrated position in a counterclockwise
direction into a position that differs from the
illustrated position by approximately 120~, the
lower end of the rod 9, indicated by the reference
numeral 10, is raised to such an extent that the
door element 1, along with the extension 2, can be
swung out of the region of the recess ~, and away
from the bottom rail 5, in the direction of the
interior of the shower stall. It is then
considerably easier to clean the door element, and
possibly other non-illustrated door elements that
can be connected to the bottom rail in the same
manner via extensions having angled pieces; it is
also possible to clean the bottom rail 5 itself.
Figure 2 shows a bottom rail 11 that is
provided with an extension 12 which faces the
interior of the shower stall and is also directed
downwardly. Disposed approximately in the plane of
the extension 12 is a strip-like element 13 which,
similar to the rod 9 of the embodiment of Figure 1,
lS mounted so as to be displaceable in a plane that
extends parallel to the extension 12, especially in
the region of those two base frame parts of the
shower stall that are connected to the sides of the
bottom rail ll. It should also be noted that,
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although not illustrated, it would also be possible
to provide directly on the bottom rail 11 a bearing
that permits an appropriate sliding movement,
similar to the situation of the solution of Figure
1, with the aid of suitable clamps, clips,
brackets, or the like.
By sliding the strip-like element 13 upwardly,
the recess 14 that is located in the bottom rail
can be varied in such a way that it is possible to
swing out the door element 1, as in the case of the
embodiment of Figure 1.
In the embodiment of Figure 3, a removable
part 17 adjoins a fixed part 15 of a bottom rail
16. On that side remote from the interior of the
shower stall, the part 17 is prov~ded with an
extension 18 having an approximately U-shaped
cross-sectional shape. This extension 18 extends
over a corresponding extension 19 of the fixed part
15 of the bottom rail 16, with the extension 19
having an approximately I-shaped cross-sectional
shape. This plug-type connection between the parts
17 and 15 of the bottom rail 16 also makes it
simple top release the guidance connection between
the door element 1 and the bottom rail 16.
Finally, the embodiment of Figure 4 shows à
possible version in which, in addition to the
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possibility for complete removal, the upper part 20
- of a bottom rail 21 $s supported on the fix~d part
22 of the bottom rail 21 in such a way as ~o be
pivotable about an axis that extends in the
longitudinal direction of the bottom ra~l 21. For
this purpose, a connector 23 is provided and is in
the form of a ball-and-soc~et joint comprising a
channel 25 located in an extension 24, and a rod 26
that has a circular cross-sectional shape and fills
the channel 25; this rod is associated with the
fixed part 22 of the bottom rail 21.
The extenslon 24 located on the movable part
of the bottom rail 21 can have such an
elasticity and such dimensions that the part 20
can, simply by pulling it off, be removed from the
rod 26, which has a circular cross-sectional shape,
or from the corresponding widened portion of the`
fixed part 22 of the bottom rail.
The present invention is, of course, in no way
restricted to the specific disclosure of the
specification and drawing, but also encompasses any
modifications within the scope of the appended
claims.
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