Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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T:i[TLE OF THE INVENTION
SHOWER BASIN, IN PARTICUI~R FOR A SELF--BEARING SHOWER BOOTH
CXGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a shower basin and, particularly, to
a basin of a shower booth of a self-bearing or self-supporting
type.
Contrary to traditional shower basins, which are usually made
of a ceramic material and are therefore quite expensive, and which
additionally require masonry work to be performed for their
installation, self-bearing shower booths generally have a
substantially mcnolithic structure which mainly comprises a metal
framework, with blind walls and semitransparent doors, as well as
a shower basin of a rigid material which is attached at a certain
height above the floor. In particular, the periphery of the basin
i8 supported by the floor through a plurality of upright members
provided with resting feet. For greater structural strength, the
upright members are typically interconnected and fastened together
by appropriate brackets or similar strengthening or stiffening
members. Furthermore, due to a number of both sanitary and
aesthetic considerations, the space which is left between the floor
and the basin is concealed by bottom side panels reaching down to
the floor. These bottom side panels are generally made of metal
and are fixed in position by screwing or snap-fitting them to the
remaining structure of the shower booth which thus takes on the
abovementioned self-bearing, monolithic characteristic. It goes
without saying that the assembly of the bottom side panels, which
are nonetheless unable to ensure a satisfactory full-height
sealing, requires the use of appropriate fastening and/or hook-on
members.
Such structures are obviously quite complicated and require
difficult and toilsome installation that must be performed by
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~killed personnel. As a result, these booths are ultimately
undesirably expensive.
8UMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide
a shower basin which has a simple structure and is cost-effective,
particularly but not exclusively adapted to be used in shower
booths of a self-bearinq type, and which is easy to assemble and
install.
To achieve this object, the shower basin of the present
invention includes an upper portion having an outer peripheral wall
and a bottom wall delimiting a concavity, and a lower portion
supporting the upper portion. The lower portion of the basin
includes a peripherally extending fascia supporting the outer
peripheral wall of the upper portion, and a floor-mount base
supporting the bottom wall of the upper portion. The floor-mount
base has a plurality of alternately disposed concave and convex
sections. The convex sections have end surfaces underlying the
bottom wall of the upper portion so as to support the same whereas
the concave sections have end surfaceæ defining a bottom of the
basin which will rest upon the floor of the bathroom or the like.
r
BRIEF DES~IPTION OF TH~ DRAWING~
Other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will be more readily and clearly understood on the basis
of the following description of preferred embodiments made with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of a shower
basin according to the present invention; and
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the shower basin taken
along line II-II of Figure 1, the right side and the left side of
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the figure being used to illustrate res~ective embodiments of the
present invention.
DETAI~D DESCRIPTION OF T~E PREF~RRED EMBODIMENT~
Referring to the figures, the general shape of the shower
basin, in particular as far as its outer contour is concerned, can
vary as desired.
According to the invention, the basin is mainly constituted by
discrete upper and lower portions 6, 7 arranged upon each other and
joined together, preferably in a water-tight manner. These
portions 6, 7 may be made, for instance, of molded methacrylate
ester or the like.
The upper portion 6 includes a peripheral wall 3 and a bottom
wall delimiting the concavity 4 of the basin.
The uppermost part of lower portion 7 is constituted by a
peripheral fascia 8 which is preferably planar and supports the
upper portion 6 at a horizontal section of peripheral wall 3.
At the outer side of the portion 7, the fascia 8 is conti~uous
with a peripheral sidewall 9 which extends downwardly, preferably
to the floor, so as to substantially surround the entire remainder
of the shower basin. At least the outer surface of the sidewall 9
is treated and/or shaped so as to exhibit an adequately aesthetic
appearance.
At the inner side of the portion 7, the fascia 8 is contiguous
with a downwardly extending wall or floor-mount base 10 comprising
a plurality of alternately concave and convex sections which have
respective, preferably planar (lower) end surfaces 11 and (upper)
end surfaces 12. The end surfaces 11 constitute (preferably
together with the lower terminal edge of t~e wall 9) an area for
the shower basin to rest on the floor, whereas the end surfaces 12
are located at a level between the surfaces 11 and the fascia 8 and
underlie the bottom wall portion 6 of the basin to support the
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portion 6. With this structure the lower portion 7 accommodates
the concavity of the upper portion 6.
In the embodiment which is illustrated on the right side of
Figure 2, the bottom wall of the upper portions 6, defining the
bottom of concavity 4, rests substantially directly on the end
surfaces 12 of the convex sections of the floor-mount base 10,
thereby delimiting respective spaces 13 with the end surfaces 11 of
the concave sections. A sound-deadening material 16, such as
foamed polyurethane or the like, is preferably sprayed into such
recesses 13, the material lS serving the further purposes of
mutually "bonding" the upper and lower portions 6 and 7 of the
shower basin together.
The shower basin according to the present invention is
therefore a light-weight, high-strength structure which is very
simple to manufacture. Furthermore, its installation can be
carried out in an extremely simple and quick manner by, for
instance, making use of simple wall-mounted brackets, which are not
shown and do not form a part of the present invention.
In a preferred embodiment, which is illustrated on the left
side of Figure 2, at least a rigid panel 14 of an appropriate
sound-deadening material, such as pressed wooden shavings or the
like, is interposed between the floor-mount base 10 of the basin
and the bottom wall of the upper portion 6. The upper and lower
surfaces of the panel 14 are preferably respectively bonded by
glue, for example, to the bottom wall of the upper portion 6 and to
the end surfaces 12 of the convex sections of the floor-mount base
10. As compared to the previously described embodiment, the panel
14 replaces the foamed material and confers further strength to the
shower basin.
In the preferred case in which the shower basin according to
the invention is used in conjunction with a self-bearing shower
booth, the walls of the booth (not shown in the figures for greater
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simplicity) would rest in a substantially conventional ~anner upon
the horizontal section of the peripheral wall 3 of the basin.
Therefore, the shower basin according to the invention will act as
a complete and finished mounting base for the shower booth, so that
the latter can be installed in a substantially simple, quick and
inexpensive manner.
According to a further feature of the present invention, which
may be applied to either of the above-described embodiments of the
invention, the bottom wall of the upper portion 6 of the shower
basin includes a central planar portion 15a and a recessed portion
15b ad~acent the periphery of the central portion 15a. The drain
hole 5 of the basin extends through the recessed portion 15b. In
a preferred manner, the recessed portion 15b extends around the
entire periphery of the central portion 15a. Of course, the
floor-mount base 10 of the lower portion 7 of the shower basin will
be shaped accordingly. In fact, in the embodiment illustrated on
the right side of Fiqure 2, the bottom of the recessed portion 15b
rests upon end (upper) surfaces 12' of convex sections of the
floor-mount base 10 which are located at a level below the other
surfaces 12.
In the embodiment shown on the left side of Figure 2, the
recessed portion 15b rests, on the contrary, directly on at least
one of the surfaces 12 of the convex section of the floor-mount
base 10. In any case, such a contrivance prevents dirty water from
immediately filling up the entire bottom of the concavity 4 when
the water has difficulty flowing through the drain hole 5 for
whatever reason. Even in such a circumstance, therefore, the user
will be able to keep his or her feet in a substantially clean
central zone (i.e. upon central portion 15a of the bottom wall) of
the shower basin.
It will of course be appreciated that a number of
modifications may be imparted to the shower-bath basin without
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departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as
defined by the appended claims.
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