Shower door system with gravity hinge

A shower door and hinge assembly comprising a glass shower door, a sloping sill, a sill angle adapter, upper and lower horizontal door frame rails, and upper and lower shower door hinges where the lower hinge is a gravity style hinge featuring a self-closing action, is presented. The hinges of the present invention shower door and hinge assembly attach only to horizontal edge surfaces of the glass door. The hinges do not attach to any vertical surface of the door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the art of shower door enclosures and more particularly to a shower door featuring a gravity hinge to provide the door with a self-closing action.

Background of the Invention

Bathroom design has achieved a significant level of importance in the overall appearance of a home. Architects and homeowners today are insisting that every detail of bathroom appearance be precise and decorative in nature. Unfortunately, when it comes to installing shower doors, available shower door binges are generally not in conformance with the otherwise highly decorative theme of the modern residential bathroom. Prior art shower door hinges are typically bulky, exposed mechanical devices that are decidedly not decorative its nature.

Most shower doors presently available are constructed of metal and glass and are of the swinging door type. Such doors usually are affixed to the shower enclosure at the pivoted edge of the door using piano style hinges which often extend the full height of the door. Prior art hinges typically connect the metal frame of the door to the enclosure jamb and are bolted to the jamb in several places as is required to adequately support the weight of the door. In a typical installation, the free edge of the door swings against a vertical metal strike plate which is bolted to the door jamb on that side of the enclosure. The strike plate serve as a positive stop to the door's travel. A spring biased latch is also often used in conjunction with the strike plate to keep the door in the closed position.

Traditional methods of affixing a shower door to an enclosure as described above have proven to be undesirable in modern high-end shower enclosures. Modern high-end shower enclosures typically feature a glass door set into a glass wall. In this style of installation, it is desirable to polish the vertical edges of the glass door and leave the vertical edges unframed to create the appearance of an unbroken glass wall.

Piano style hinges and most other prior art shower door hinges are poorly suited to the glass wall style of shower enclosure because the glass door lacks vertical frame rails and the glass wall lacks a jamb structure. Thus, no suitable structure is present within which to install the hinges on the pivoted edge of the door and the strike plate on the free edge of the door. While it may be possible to install the hinges and strike plate directly to the glass door and associated glass wall structure, any such installation would be unsightly and unacceptable to both architects and consumers.

What is needed therefore, is an alternative to the traditional piano style door hinge specifically designed to work with glass doors installed in glass wall shower enclosures. Any such hinge system should be sufficiently compact so that it may be hidden within relatively low profile bottom and top rails attached to the glass shower door to provide for an unbroken glass wall appearance. Ideally, the hinges would not attach to any part of the vertical surface of the glass door. It would further be desirable that the hinges incorporate a self-closing feature eliminate the need for a strike plate and latch on the free end of the door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing a glass shower door, a sloping sill, a sill angle adapter, upper and lower horizontal door frame rails, and a shower door hinge assembly where the hinges include a self-closing feature and attach only to horizontal edge surfaces of the glass door, i.e. the hinges do not attach to any vertical surface of the door. The hinges of the present invention comprise a lower hinge with self-closing provisions which is used in conjunction with a pivot style upper hinge. The lower and upper hinges are sufficiently compact such that the upper hinge may be hidden within the upper horizontal rail of the door and the header of the shower enclosure and the lower hinge may be hidden within the lower horizontal rail of the door and the sill of the shower enclosure.

The gravity style lower hinge of the invention includes lower or fixed portion and an upper or rotating portion where the fixed portion mounts to the sill of the shower enclosure and the rotating portion mounts to a lower horizontal rail attached to the lower horizontal edge of the glass door. The fixed portion of the lower hinge includes a cylindrical receptacle for receipt of a pintle or pin fixed to the shower door. Arranged radially about an opening of the receptacle and spaced angularly from a longitudinal axis of the fixed half of the lower hinge are a pair of mutually opposed raised surfaces and a pair of mutually opposed grooves or low surfaces. Joining the each raised surface and each groove or low surface is an interconnecting ramp. The radial centers of the raised surfaces, grooves and interconnecting ramps are measured angularly from a longitudinal axis of the fixed portion of the lower hinge. The angular position of these futures are as follows: The raised surfaces are located at 0° and 180°. The grooves are located at 90° and 270°. The ramps are located at 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°.

The rotating portion of the lower hinge contains essentially the same features as the fixed portion, except that the features are clocked 90 degrees from those of the fixed portion. In particular, the rotating portion of the lower hinge includes raised surfaces, grooves, and ramps which interconnect the raised surfaces and the grooves. The angular position of these features on the rotating portion of the lower hinge, with respect to a longitudinal axis of the rotating portion of the lower hinge, are as follows: The raised surfaces are located at 90° and 270°. The grooves are located at 0° and 180°. The camming ramps are located at 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°.

The fixed and rotating portions of the lower hinge are configured to be engaged when installed. At all times, the fixed portion of the lower hinge remains in a fixed position attached to the sill, whereas the rotating portion of the lower hinge is attached to the shower door and rotates as the door is opened or closed. The grooves define the self-centering or closed position of the door. With the door is at rest in the closed position, the raised surfaces of the rotating portion of the lower hinge rest in mating grooves in the fixed portion of the lower hinge. Likewise, the raised surfaces of the fixed portion of the lower hinge will rest in mating grooves of the rotating portion of the hinge. When the door is pushed outwardly, the raised surfaces of the rotating portion of the lower hinge ride upwardly along the ramps of the fixed portion of the hinge. When the raised surfaces of the rotating portion are positioned on the ramps of the fixed portion, the weight of the door will bias the raised surfaces towards the self-centered or closed position in the grooves. Thus, if the door is released, the door will close of its own accord.

Continued pushing of the shower door outwardly, will cause the raised surfaces of the rotating portion of the hinge to continue to ride up the ramps on the fixed portion of the hinge until the raised surfaces of the rotating portion of the hinge rest upon the raised surfaces of the fixed portion of the hinge. Once the raised surfaces of the rotating portion of the hinge rest upon the raised surfaces of the fixed portion of the hinge, the door will then open freely, i.e. the bias due to the weight of the door is then removed and the door will not close of its own accord. If the open door is then pushed inwardly, once the raised surfaces of the rotating portion slide off those of the fixed portion and begin descending the ramps of the fixed portion, the door will again be biased to the self-centered or closed position. The arc width of the ramps and the raised surfaces controls the range of motion for which the door will be biased to a closed position or allowed to travel freely.

In at least the region spanned by the shower door, the sill of the shower door and hinge assembly of the present invention is configured to slope downwardly towards the drain (inwardly) of the shower enclosure. The downward angle of the sill assists in preventing water from escaping the shower enclosure via the opening for the shower door. To allow for installation of the lower door hinge and the lower horizontal frame rail on the shower door, a sill adapter is provided to create a level surface. On the portion of the lower horizontal frame rail adjacent the lower door hinge, a sweep seal is provided to seal the gap between the lower frame rail of the door and the sill or sill angle adapter. The above and other advantages of the shower door system of the present invention will be described in more detail below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference toFIGS. 1 through 5, the shower door and hinge assembly of the present invention10typically comprises a glass shower door12disposed adjacent to glass walls14of a shower enclosure15. The shower door and hinge assembly10further includes a sloping sill16, a sill angle adapter18, upper and lower horizontal door frame rails20and22, an upper shower door hinge assembly26(seeFIG. 14) which is a pivot style hinge and a lower shower door hinge assembly24(seeFIGS. 2-11), referred to as a gravity hinge.

With reference toFIGS. 2-11, the gravity style lower hinge assembly24includes a fixed hinge portion28and a rotating hinge portion30where the fixed hinge portion28mounts to the sill16of the shower enclosure via the sill angle adapter18and the rotating hinge portion30mounts to the lower horizontal rail22attached to a lower horizontal edge of the glass door12. The fixed portion28of the lower hinge24includes a cylindrical receptacle32for receipt of a pivot pin34extending from the glass door12.

Arranged radially about an opening36of the receptacle32of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24and spaced angularly from a longitudinal axis38of the fixed portion28are two pairs of mutually opposed inclined surfaces referred to as ramps or camming ramps40, a pair of raised surfaces42and two grooves44. The radial centers of the ramps40, raised surfaces42and grooves44, measured angularly from a longitudinal axis38of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24, are as follows: The raised surfaces42are located at 0° and 180°. The grooves44are located at 90° and 270°. The two pairs of mutually opposed camming ramps40are located at 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°. The arc width41of the camming ramps40controls the range of motion through which the shower door12will be biased to a closed position, while the arc width43of the raised surfaces42controls the range of motion for which the shower door12will be able to travel freely.

The fixed portion28of the lower hinge24also features a water management dam46, which assists in preventing water from escaping the shower enclosure. Also included in the fixed portion28are a pair of aced apart alignment holes48which are configured as elongated slots. The alignment holes48allow for the fixed portion28to be attached to the sill16of the shower enclosure mechanical fasteners typically screws.

With reference toFIGS. 2 and 12-13, disposed between the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24and the sill16is the sill angle adapter18. The sill angle adapter18includes a through-hole66for receipt of the pivot pin34, as well as mounting slots68which allow the sill adapter18to be attached to the sill16, typically via mechanical fasteners such as screws.

With reference toFIGS. 2, 5 and 9-11, the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24includes a generally rectangular section50having rounded corners and a generally cylindrical upper section52formed integrally with the lower section50. The generally cylindrical upper section52includes mutually opposed raised surfaces55, low surfaces or grooves54; and ramps or camming ramps57. The arc width59of the camming ramps57and the arc width61of the raised surfaces55, in conjunction with those of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24, controls the range of motion through which the shower door12will be biased to a closed position or will be able to travel freely in an open position.

The rotating portion30of the lower hinge24also includes a cylindrical opening56through which the pivot pin34(seeFIG. 2) passes. Also included are attachment holes58, which allow the rotating portion30to attach to the lower horizontal rail20(shown inFIG. 1) of the glass door12.

With reference toFIGS. 1-2, and 4-8, the lower hinge24is configured such that the pivot pin34is rigidly attached to the lower horizontal rail20which itself is affixed to the glass door12. The rotating portion30of the lower hinge24is attached to the lower horizontal rail20via mechanical fasteners (typically screws) (not shown) and is positioned such that the pivot pin34protrudes from the cylindrical opening56of the rotating portion30. Likewise, the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24is attached to the sill16via the sill adapter18by means of mechanical fasteners, also, typically screws (not shown). The shower door12is installed in the shower enclosure by mating the fixed and rotating portions28and30. The fixed and rotating portions28and30are mated by positioning the pivot pin34, which protrudes from the cylindrical opening56of the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24, into the cylindrical receptacle32of the fixed portion28.

With reference toFIGS. 1 and 14, during installation of the shower door12into the shower enclosure15, the components of the upper hinge26between the door and the shower enclosure would also be installed. The upper hinge26is shown schematically inFIG. 14. The upper hinge26comprises an upper hinge block or upper portion86, a pivot pin88and a lower hinge block or lower portion90. The lower hinge block90would typically be mounted concealed in the upper horizontal rail20. The upper hinge block86would typically be mounted in a header of the shower enclosure15.

With reference toFIGS. 1-11, the fixed portion28and rotating portion30of the lower hinge24are configured to be engaged when installed. At all times, the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24remains in a fixed position, whereas the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24rotates as the shower door12is opened or closed. The grooves44in the fixed portion28and the grooves54in the rotating portion30, define the self-centered or closed position of the door12when the grooves (44,54) are engaged with the raised portions42of the fixed portion28and the raised portions55of the rotating portion30.

In other words, when the shower door12is in the closed position, the grooves54of the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24located at 0° and 180° will be engaged with the raised surfaces42of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24which are also located at 0° and 180°. Similarly, the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24located at 90° and 270° are engaged with the grooves44of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24also located at 90° and 270°.

With reference toFIGS. 1-11, when the shower door12is installed in the shower enclosure15, the weight of the door12is transmitted via the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30of the lower24to either the ramps40, raised surfaces42or grooves44of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24, depending upon the position of the door12. The upper portion30and lower portion28of the lower hinge24, when engaged and bearing the weight of the door act as follows.

When the raised portions55of the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24are at rest in the grooves44of the fixed portion28, the shower door12is in the closed or self-centered position. When the shower door12is pushed outwardly, the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30of lower hinge24ride upwardly along the camming ramps40of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24. When the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30are positioned on the camming ramps40of the fixed portion28, the weight of the door12biases the raised surfaces55towards the grooves44. Thus, if the door12is released when the raised surfaces55are riding upon the camming ramps40, the door12will close of its own accord.

Continued pushing of the door12outwardly, will cause the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24to continue to ride up the camming ramps40of the fixed portion28until they reach the raised surfaces42of the fixed portion28. Once the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30of the lower hinge24are on the raised surfaces42of the fixed portion28of the lower hinge24, the door12will then open freely, i.e. the bias due to the weight of the door is then removed and the door will not close of its own accord.

If the open door is then pushed close, once the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion30traverse the raised surfaces42of the fixed portion28and begin descending the camming ramps40of the fixed portion28, the door12will again be biased to the self-centered or closed position and the raised surfaces55of the rotating portion will again come to rest in the grooves44of the fixed portion28.

Other features of the shower door and hinge assembly of the present invention10, include the sill16which is configured to slope downwardly towards the drain of the shower enclosure. The downward angle of the sill16assists in preventing water from escaping the shower enclosure via the opening for the shower door. To allow for installation of the fixed portion28of the lower door hinge24on the sill16, the sill adapter18is provided to create a level surface.

The lower and upper horizontal door frame rails20and22of shower door and hinge assembly10, are extrusions which feature a generally u-shaped channel section60and a sweep seal retaining section62for retention of a sweep seal64. The sweep seal64is provided to seal a gap between the shower door12and the sill16.

The u-shaped channel sections60of the lower and upper horizontal frame rails20and22are configured to receive the lower and upper horizontal edges of the glass door12, respectively. The lower and upper horizontal frame rails20and22are bonded to lower94and upper92horizontal edges of the glass door12via structural adhesive placed within u-shaped channels60.

The component parts of the shower door and binge assembly of the present invention10may be made from a number of materials. In the exemplary embodiment, the rotating portion30and fixed portion28of the lower hinge24, as well as the still angle adapter18, are made from a structural grade thermoplastic material having excellent dimensional stability. Suitable thermoplastic materials such as polyoxymethylene (“POM”) materials are widely available from a number of manufacturers under the trade names Delrin, Celcon, Ramtal and Duracon, among others. In the exemplary embodiment, the lower and upper horizontal frame rails20and22are made from aluminum and will typically feature stainless steel decorative cladding. These components may also be made from other extrudable metallic materials.

With reference toFIGS. 15 and 16, a heavy door closing device70, which may be used with the shower door and hinge assembly of the present invention, is disclosed. The heavy door closing device70comprises a housing72end cap74, cover plate76, a spindle/cam80, a cam follower78and biasing springs82. The spindle/cam80is configured with a flat surface84which is engagable by the cam follower78to establish a closed or at rest position. When the cam follower78is engaged with the flat surface84of the spindle/cam80, the cam follower78is biased against the flat surface84by the biasing springs82. The force provided by the biasing springs82tends to keep a door12equipped with heavy closing device70secured in the closed position.

The foregoing detailed description and appended drawings are intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed and/or utilized. Those skilled in the art will understand that modifications and alternative embodiments of the present invention which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the foregoing specification and drawings, and of the claims appended below are possible and practical. It is intended that the claims cover all such modifications and alternative embodiments.