Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGRQUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to the art
of fluidics and particular to a dual shower head design
that develop~ a comfortably warm spray pattern.
In known prior art patent~ a~ exemplified by patent
S V.S. 3,822,826, dual ~hower heads are disclosed for enabl-
ing two per~on~ to ~hower independently at the same time
in addition, the disclo~ure Ytates that a single per~on
standing centrally may be showered from each ~ide for more
rapid cleansing. However, the above cited patent does not
address it~elf to a recognized problem of body and ~kin
chill which i~ upon certaln areas of the body when utiliz-
lng either single or dual ~hower heads. This result~ from
a failure by the prior art to discloee how a ~pray pattern
may be developed that produce~ a soothing and warm effect
upon the u~er'~ skin surface without having to continually
turn in place to attain a zone of comfort.
Another shortcoming of the prior art lles in its in-
ability to devi~e a ~tructure that furni~he~ a warm and
~oothing warm water spray that i~ operative for either an
adult or child The prior art a~ exemplified by patent
U.S. 4,865,254 cannot produae a non-chilling ~hower pattern
for an adult a~ well a8 a ahild in view of the fixed cur~a-
ture of its shower extension~ emanating from a ~upply line
and, the inability of the heads attached to the exten~ion~
to rotate. Tlli~ patent therefore cannot do what i~ achiev-
able by the present di~closure ~ince the dual head arrang-
ment i~ angled at the 8ame incline.
The present invention is designed to eliminate uncom-
fortable and annoyin~ chill~ that re~ult from the inab~lity
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of the ~rior art dual shower assemblies to cover the body
with a proper pattern that ~erve~ equally well for an adult
or chlld. To develop a soothing spray herein the dual heads
are properly ~eparated from one another and in addition, one
head i~ inclined at an approximate angle of forty-five degree~.
Howe~er, the second head i~ directed downwardly in a vertical
direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The dual ~hower head assembly of the invention i~ de~ign-
ed to afford a uniform temperature response over a user'~body. This i~ accompli~hed by developing a ~pray pattern
that simultaneously cover~ the head, ~houlders, frontal and
rear areas of the body of either an adult or juvenile u~er.
This is a recognized shortcoming in the ~howering art and
one that iB not fully under~tood nor appreciated by prior
art single or dual head syAtem~.
The de~ired spray pattern of the present invention is
d~rived from a unique orlentation of the dual heads where
one i~ oriented directly downward, wherea~ the ~econd is
inclined to the horizontal. In addition, the head at each
orientation i~ rotatable ~o that it can be adapted for a
; child or an adult u~er.
The assembly of the invention i~ al~o easily fabricated
by u~e in one embodiment of a ~ectionalized ~upply pipe to
~5 which are joined T-~haped extensions for receiving shower
heads. In another embodiment, the a~sembly may be fabricated
in an integral manner where the ~upply line and the exten~ion~
are formed as one piece. Additional member~ are al~o provided
for eventual connection to a pre~urized qupply line and for
gravitationally re~ting upon a uupport.
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It is therefore an object of this invention to provide
a new and improved dual shower head assembly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T}~E DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the shower
in~tallation of thi~ invention.
Figure 2 ~ a sectional view of two T-fittinqs which
are connected to a ~upply line and further illu~trating
the angle~ of the supply line extensions.
Figure 3 i~ another embodiment of the invention where-
in the extension~ and part of the aupply line i~ integrallyformed.
DESCRIPTION QF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reférring now to the drawing~ and in particular to the
front elevational view of Figure 1 there i~ depicted a bath
tub with a dual shower in~tallation in accordance with the
invention. The ~hower tub 10 i8 of conventional design and
i~ deplcted in an appropriate alcove 11 in which ceramic
tile 7 2 or o~her appropriate wall covering i~ provided,
Straddlinq the length of the tub 10 at a height of approxi-
mately ix and one-half to ~even feet i~ the shower a~embly
14. The a~sembly 14 compri~es a ~upply line 50 whose Froximal
end 13a consi~t~ of a nipple 9 whlch i 8 attached to a pres~ur-
ized water ~ource lnot ~hown) located behind the wall 15s the
nipple 9 i~ threaded at the end 13a for connecting to the
~upply. The distal end 13b con~i~ts of a slidable Yhaft for
coupling supply line 13 for gravitational resting upon the
rece~sed block 19 which i~ attached to wall 17. It i~ under-
~tood that the end of line 13 is appropriately blocked in the
area ju~t discus~ed in order to prevent leakage of water.
- 3 -
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In the preferred embodiment, the heads 16, 18 are
directly attached to the supply line 50 via straight line
extensions 20 and 22. This apparatus will be discussed with
re~pect to the more detailed drawing~ of Figure 3. In another
embodiment, the head~ 16, 18 are attacl~ed to a supply line 13
via respecti~e extensions 6, 7 which are shown in Figure 2 as
T-fitting~. The exten~ions 6, 7 are joil~ed to tlle line 13
which may be made of polyvinyl chloride ~PVC~ by an appropri-
ate bonding medium. Other ~uitable material~ may be utilized
without departing from the ~pirit of this invention. The
T-fi~ting extension 6 i8 inclined to the horizontal at an
angle of approximately forty-five degxees: on the other hand,
the exten~ion 7 i~ a T-fitting that i~ oriented directly down-
ward. The dual head 16, 18 are attached to the respective
exten~ion~ 6, 7 by nuts 25, 26 which are joined to threaded
terminal members ~not ~hown) and are further joined to ball
joints 30, 32 which enable a ueer to ~wivel the head~ to
develop a water ~pray pattern that i~ ~uitable for an adult
or child. Shut-off valve~ 4, 5 are provi(led to allow indivi-
dual control of each head in conjunction with main valve 90.
The ~wi~al heads 16, 18 are arranged ~uch that head 18
i~ ~w~vable about the vert~ca~ extet~ion 7 with a three hun-
dred ~ixty degree rotation, wherea~ head 16 i~ rotatable in
the same manner about the inclined extension 6. This rotat-
able head and extension configuration allows a spray patternto be formed upon either an adult or child u~er wllich covers
the s~in in a manner that prevents chilling on certain parts
of the body. The ~pray pattern for an adult in achieving
the above ~tated benefit i~ attained by standing between
the heads 16, 18 and causing them to be po~itioned inwardly
while user iB facing in any direction.
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When an adult is located within the sllower assembly 14,
head 16 is aimed to generate a spray that strikes under the
user's chin; and, the head 18 i~ aimed to generate a spray
which impinge~ upon the back of the head. This simultaneous
~praylng actlon produces a warm water stream UpOIl the entire
body from top to bottom that is comforting as well as ~oothing.
The vertical and inclined orientation of extensions 6, 7
in combination with swivel heads 16, 18 allow the user to
vary his positioning A8, for example, by ~tal)diny closer
to the head 18 80 as to direct more of the spray to the top
of the head. It is understood by this variance, however,
that head 16 must be orlented more upwardly to direct the
~pray pattern under the chin or upon the face to develop
the non-chilling shower effect derived by the presently dis-
clo8ed apparatus.
In the event that a child is a user of the shower inFigures 1 and 2 the orientation of dual head~ 16, 1~ is re-
adjusted from the adult positioning previously discussed.
The Shower head adjustment~ for the chlld u~er 1~ SUCIl that
the head 18 i~ oriented downward with respect to vertical
extension 9 whereas, the head 16 is oriented to its maximum
downward position from the inclined extension 6. It should
' be noted that in view of the inclined positioning of the
extension 6, the head 16 cannot be placed in a perfectly
vertical or~entation, and there~ore is slightly inclined
to the horizontal. However, ~ince the water pattern from
head 16 wLdens considerably from the narrow spray produced
~ear ita source to the moment it reaches a person of ~hort
etature, the water droplets are able ~o cover the entire
frontal area~ of the body; similarly, spray droplet~ from
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head 18 cover the back areas of the body in an all encompas~ing
manner. The result produced onthe child us~r is such that
no chills are developed while taking a warm shower particularly
when the outside air i~ relatively cool. It should be noted
that in the event that the child po~itio~s himself clo~er
to Qhower head 18 in order to receive the full force of the
downward water pattern upon the top of the ~ead atld ~11oulders,
the pattern from head 16 may be adjusted to cover the ent~re
frontal area.
~0 The a~sembly 14 of Figure ~ may be easily constructed
~o that a state-of-the-art single head shower as is found in
mo~t homes may be retrofltted to a dual head design in accord-
ance with the principles of the invention. In this embodiment,
the extension~ 6, 7 are constr~cted in the form of T-fittings
which are joined to the supply line 13 by suitable bonding.
A male ~leeve 36 i8 provided for coupling with the T-fitting
extension 7 and the resting block 19.
The opposite end of the supply line 13 i~ fitted with
a nipple 3a whicll i~ roaded at ol~e e~ld. ~ u~ ron(lc~
2~ end of nipple 3~ is bon~ed to one end of the T-fitting exten-
~ion 6 and, the threaded end is joined to the pres~urized
water source ~not shown1 by the compre~ion nut 40 that is
attached to a decorative bezel 42. The bezel 42 is fixedly
juxtaposed to the wall 15 by an appropriate male bolt 43
to which a nut 45 and washer 47 is applied.
The embodiment of the invention previously mentioned
with respect to Figure 1 is more graphically illu~trated in
Figure 3. In this embodiment, the main body 50 of the supply
line i8 de~igned to have a circular cross ~ection although
a rectangular cross section may be used in order to simplify
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it~ manufacture a~ well as to enllance its appearance;
additionally, the extension 22 i~ tegrAlly formed with
the main body 50 and is oriented in a directly downward
direction. The second extension 20 is completely inclined
to the supply line 50 and i~ phy~ically attached thereto
by cementing the entire abutting surface to tl~e exterior
~urface of the line. An internal pipe 57 i~ located witllin
inclined extension 20 and communicate~ with openings 58, 60
and i~ fixedly l~eld in position by a mutually operative
threading device 61. The internal pipe 57 may also be held
in po~ition with re~pect to supply pipe 50 by additional
cementing with an epoxy like adhe~ivé or other suitable
cement.
The embodiment of Figure 3 additionally includes a block-
ing member 62 that terminates the pres~urized water supply
at end point 63 of opening 50. Contiguou~ tw tlle block 62
is located a slidable shaft 66 one end of which i~ located
within an opening 68 an opposite end of ~haft 66 i~ coupled
to a reces~ed holder 19 which i~ attached by ap~opriate
fa~tener~ (not ~hown) to wall 17. The slidable shaft 66
allow~ the ~hower a~embly to be ea~ily adjusted to ~ccomma-
date variations in length when being in~talled. The opposite
end of line 50 iu attached to a threaded nipple 78 one end
of which i~ joined to the ~upply line 50 and, the opposing
end i~ threaded into a compre~sion llUt 79 which i9 integrally
joined to a decorative bezel 80. The bezel 80 and nut 79
are attached to the wall lS in a similar manner to the embodi-
ment above described with respect to Fig~re 2.
The embodiment of Figure 3 further include~ individual
shut-off ~alves 83, 85 which operate in conjunction with the
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main ~hut-off valves so ~see Figure 1). The valves 83, 85
are useful for customizing the use of the dual shower heads
16, 18 as well as for assisting parents when ~athing children.
The shut-off valves 83, 85 are particularly useful in avoid-
S ing scalding of children since an adult supervisor can readilyopen valve 9O to test the water temperature from ~pigot 91
prior to opening both valves 83, 85.
The embodiment of ~igure 3 i8 similar in operation to
the embodiment described with re~pect to Figure Z in that
a ~pray pattern may be developea which i~ capable of covering
both the top, back, and frontal area~ of an adult or child
~o that the chill factor is eliminated. This is particularly
the case when the ambient temperature is cool and relatively
uncomfortable. This is accomplished by developing a water
~tream upon the body beginning on ~he topmost extremitiee
of the front, back and head that continually transfer warmth
to the various body parts. This result is achieved in view
of the rotatability of the head~ 16, 1~ with respect to the
b~ oint con~truction A~ well a8 tt)e ori~ nt.~ )f tl~e
extensions 6, ~ which enable the ~pray pattern to envelope
the body be the user an adult or child.
This invention has been described by reference to precise
embodiments but it will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art that this invention is subjec~ to various modifications
and to the extent that those modifications would be obviou~
to one of ordinary skill they are con~idered a~ being within
the scope of the appended cla~ms.
