Height varying apparatus and method for lavatory basins

A height varying apparatus is disclosed wherein a pair of partially threaded members are utilized. The first member is adapted to be screwed horizontally into an existing interiorly located wall mount, and the second member is adapted to be attached perpendicularly to the first. This second member has an aperture or a bore to receive the existing mounting posts that are attached to the basin or other object whose height it is desired to change. Thus, a sink that was attached to the wall mount can be raised with a minimum of intrusion into the wall saving time and money for the contractor or maintenance person required to do the job.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to wall mounted fixtures. More specifically, 
it relates to wall mounted fixtures wherein the height needs perforce to 
be adjusted to allow for a barrier free environment such as are currently 
required to allow access by the handicapped to public facilities. More 
specifically, it relates to an apparatus that can be used to raise the 
height of the sink, basin, or like object without forcing the user to tear 
out the wall and backsplash panel to gain access to the support arms and 
adjustment devices thereinbehind. More generally, the present invention 
relates to any application where an object is supported by a fixture 
located behind a wall, and it is desired to adjust the height of the 
object with a minimum of construction and the associated downtime of the 
facility. 
Thus it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this invention are 
myriad and the particular preferred embodiment described herein is in no 
way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particular field chosen 
for exposition of the details of the invention. 
A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which this invention 
may be applied is limited only by the imagination and is therefore not 
provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications are mentioned 
herein in the interest of providing a full and complete disclosure of the 
unique properties of this previously unknown general purpose article of 
manufacture. It is to be understood from the outset that the scope of this 
invention is not limited to these fields or to the specific examples of 
potential uses presented hereinafter. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
A number of common devices exist for the installation of sinks, basins and 
the like in lavatories. All of these units are disposed behind the wall of 
the room, thus requiring a person who wishes to alter the height of the 
convenience to partially or totally dismantle the wall. This leads to a 
prolonged closing of the facility which, in the case of a public restroom, 
can lead to considerable inconvenience to the patrons of the facility. 
Additionally, the expense involved is not inconsiderable. Recently, laws 
have been proposed and passed that require a certain number of basins in 
public areas to be accessible to handicapped persons; i.e. that they must 
be a specified height above the ground to allow for the passage of a 
wheelchair. Retrofitting the facility to comply with these regulations can 
be a hardship to organizations that are already under budgetary strain. 
The present invention seeks to address this problem by providing an 
apparatus that allows the user to alter the height of the basin or sink 
without removing a large portion of the rear wall. A search at the U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Office revealed the following patents that relate to 
this field: 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,391,091 issued to Emery H. Arbuckle on Sep. 20, 1921 
discloses an adjustable sink. The sink is supported by a bracket that 
includes a number of lugs interengageable with a threaded vertical member. 
Unlike the present invention, there is no disclosure of engaging an 
existing structure behind the wall. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,657,020 issued to Thomas Mason on Jan. 24, 1928 there is 
disclosed a lavatory support. This invention supports the basin through 
either a vertical support embedded in the wall, or an anchoring rod 
extending rearwardly of the support member through the wall and 
terminating in lateral flanges to guard against inadvertent tilting. 
Contrast this with the instant invention, which allows the user to adjust 
the light of the basin or other convenience without adjusting any portions 
of the support lying behind the wall facing. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,473 issued to Albert A. Baker et al. on Jan. 14, 1958 
discloses a support for lavatories and the like wherein the main support 
includes feet embedded in the floor and the T-shaped arm supporting 
members attached thereto are held in their predetermined positions by set 
screws. This is dissimilar from the present invention in that the present 
invention is adapted to modify an existing support. 
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,381 issued to Vincent T. Manas on May 24, 1960 
discloses a carrier construction wherein duplex bracket structure allows 
for the back to back assembly of lavatory bowls or the like. This is 
clearly dissimilar from the present invention in that no post-construction 
height variation is taught without the wholesale tearing down of the wall 
behind which the support is located. 
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in 
combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Briefly, the present invention comprises a pair of partially threaded 
members, the first member being adapted to be screwed horizontally into 
the existing interiorly located wall mount, and the second to be attached 
perpendicularly to the first. This second member has an aperture or a bore 
to receive the mounting posts attached to the basin or other object. Thus, 
a sink that was attached to the wall mount can be raised with a minimum of 
intrusion into the wall saving time and money for the contractor or 
maintenance person required to do the job. 
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a new and 
improved adjustable addition to sink or basin mounts which overcomes the 
disadvantages of the prior art in a simple but effective manner. 
It is a major object of this invention to provide an apparatus that allows 
the user to raise the height of an existing sink, basin, or other lavatory 
convenience without the necessity of tearing out a large portion of the 
wall behind it. 
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for adjusting 
the height of a sink, basin, or other lavatory convenience that fits into 
the standard, existing wall support. 
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for adjusting 
a sink or like object that consists of a minimal number of pieces for 
facilitating sale and transport. 
Finally, it is a general goal of the invention to provide improved elements 
and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which 
is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its 
intended purposes. 
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily 
apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals. 
Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further 
objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those 
skilled in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The present invention is generally indicated at 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2. This 
improved height varying apparatus basically consists of two interengaging 
members. The first member 12, is adapted to fit into the mounting collar 
50 inside the wall W. The second member 14, is adapted to perpendicularly 
engage the first member 12 and receive the basin support members 40 (as 
seen in FIG. 2). It should be noted that though in the figures only one 
interior wall support and set of interengaging members is shown, two are 
necessary to support the basin or like device and that, as one unit is 
described, the other is substantially the same. 
The first interengaging member 12 is designed to be maintained in a 
generally parallel relationship to the floor when installed into the wall 
support as seen in FIG. 2. The member 12 has a threaded portion 20 and a 
head 22. The head has an aperture 24 therethrough. This aperture 24 is 
adapted to receive the threaded portion 26 of engagement member 14, as 
will be discussed further below. The aperture 24 is perpendicular to the 
longitudinal axis L1 (seen in FIG. 1) of the first engagement member 12. 
The second engagement member 14 also has a threaded portion 26 and a head 
portion 28. Additionally, the second engagement member 14 includes an 
aperture 30 through the head portion 26 that is disposed perpendicular to 
the longitudinal axis L2 (also seen in FIG. 1) of the engagement member 
14. 
It should be noted that in the figures, the two engagement members that 
make up a set are depicted as being approximately the same size. This 
should not be construed as a limitation on the instant invention as it is 
contemplated that they could be of differing sizes, depending on the 
application to which they are applied, without departing from the spirit 
of the invention. The sizes, both of the engagement members 12, 14 
themselves, their threaded portions 20, 26, the corresponding apertures 
24, 30, and their head portions 22, 28 could be easily varied by the 
skilled artisan. 
The discussion now turns to the manner in which the apparatus is used. 
Presumably, the user of the apparatus wishes to alter the height of a 
lavatory basin or other convenience. Formerly, this entailed removing a 
large portion of the wall W to gain access to each of the mounting collars 
50 and the collar supports 52. With the present invention this wholesale 
destruction is not necessary. The gasket (not shown) behind the basin is 
removed, and the sink body S (shown in broken lines in FIG. 2) is then 
detached from the mounting collar 50. The first engagement member 12 is 
then attached to the mounting collar 50. In the preferred embodiment 
described herein, this attachment means is a threadable engagement. Other 
attachment means such as a friction fit or an adhesive could be used if 
desired. It is contemplated that the first member 12 could be shortened, 
if desired, by first measuring to determine the distance that the user 
wishes the sink or basin to extend out from the wall W and to the cut the 
member 12 at the appropriate point along the threaded portion 20. The 
first member 12 is then ready to receive the second member 14 by the 
insertion of the threaded portion 26 into the first member aperture 24. 
This is also accomplished by threaded engagement means in the preferred 
embodiment, however, as above, other engagement means could be used 
without departing from the spirit of the invention. The interengagement of 
the two members 12, 14 is fixed (in the preferred embodiment) my the 
tightening of a nut 42 onto the end of the threaded portion 26 that 
extends out of the aperture 24. Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus 10 is 
now ready to receive the sink support members 40. The support members 40 
are inserted into the second member aperture 28, thus providing a height 
variance for the sink in relation to the floor without requiring the 
maintenance personnel or contractor to break into the wall to effect the 
change. This height change can also be fine tuned or adjusted by the 
engagement between the first member aperture 24 and the second member 
threaded portion 24 by varying the depth to which the threaded portion 24 
is inserted into the aperture before fixing it in place with the nut 42. 
It is to be understood that the provided illustrative examples are by no 
means exhaustive of the many possible uses for my invention. 
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain 
the essential characteristics of this invention and, without departing 
from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and 
modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and 
conditions. For example, the artisan could easily use it to lower the 
height of a sink or basin instead of raising it as shown here. Thus a 
school could be retrofitted to serve younger children without expensive 
bathroom modification. 
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the 
sole embodiment described above; but encompasses any and all embodiments 
within the scope of the following claims: