Shower cabin with multiple controllable functions

Abstract: Shower cabin consisting of a room which can be fully closed, comprising a side slidable door (16), a shaped ceiling (96) which can be upwardly fastened, a shower distributor (72) of adjustable height, a seat (26) housed in a recess (22), downwardly directed cascade jets (30, 32), horizontally oriented jets (44) operating in a pulsating manner, steam and/or hot air generating equipments and heated compartments for bath gowns or like clothing.

Description: The present invention relates to an improved shower cabin suitable to fulfill multiple functions, which can be controlled by the user, besides the normal and usual shower function to be received in an erected condition. Said additional multiple functions may consist of cleaning treatments by means of cascade-jets with a water film, of hydromassage by means of pulsating jets actuated either simultaneously or according to a predetermined sequence, of steam and/or hot air treatments like Turkish bath, of the possibility of effecting said treatments both in the user's erected and in the seated condition, of the possibility of deviating the water of the treatments to an auxiliary outlet until a temperature is achieved which can be tolerated without discomfort and of the possibility of keeping clothing articles within an isolated and heated compartment. A number of different shower cabins are known in the form of a compartment which is accessible through a closable door to receive a water jet divided in single drops, or shower, falling from a distributor or shower head connected to hot and cold water systems in order to permit said jet to be adjusted as regards both the flow rate and the temperature. Said cabins can be provided with a great variety of accessories such as recesses receiving hygienic products and items, like creams, soaps , detergents, lotions, sponges, brushes and the like, supporting handles for the user to retain an equilirbium position or to abut, himself and taps and valves for the either manual or automatic adjustment of the temperature and flow rate of the water for said shower. Apparatus for hydromassage treatments are also known, normally carried out within a bath tub, as well as apparatus for steam and/or hot air treatments which can be carried out within boxes or small rooms in which said steam and/or hot air are circulated. The prior art suggests just some partial solutions incorporating more than one bath or bath related function in one cabinet. A first one is disclosed and claimed in EP-A-0 024 714 and consists of a closed cabinet, of transportable kind, housing a person in seated position with the head held out of said cabinet by means of rubber or similar material diaphragm members engaging the neck of the user. According to this reference, the user is complelled the user to remain seated onto a seat where his body is subjected either to the action of steam, when the device is operating as a Turkish bath quipment, or of hot air when the devices is operating as a sauna bath, but without any movement freedom and inertely undergoing the desired treatment, having just the possiblity of controlling a first water valve supplying a shower head,and a second water valve supplying a steam generator. However, the user cannot have any possibilty for controlling turning on and/or off of the device being a control panel thereof located in a position external with respect to the cabinet and out of reach of the user himself, unless he comes out from the cabinet. In EP-A-0 046 475 a multifunction shower cabin according to the preamble of claim 1, is disclosed, consisting of a closed cabin completely containing a user, comprising a circulating compact pump unit, both a massage shower head and a common hot/cold water shower head and a control panel located in said cabin, using, as a steam source, a hot water pool formed in a bottom basin of said cabin. In this solution a hot water pool is directly in touch with the feet of the user dramatically limitating the water temperature, as water temperatures higher than 60°C are hardly beared by human beings, so that a steam production for a possible steam sauna remains well poor, if any. The purpose of the present invention is just that of providing said functions in only one compartment of cabin, with furthermore added other functions to make it of very highly useful and pleasent use. Said invention consists of a multiple function shower cabin comprising a seat, walls and a ceiling suitable for housing accessories for a number of functions in order to establish the conditions for a Turkish bath and to perform a hydromassage treatment in standing position, which can be carried out within said cabin, in which a user is not in contact with water pools in a tub of a pedestal of said cabin, characterized in that two side walls are transparent or partially transparent walls and the two other are opaque, a first of said opaque walls contains a recess with possible armrests above which recess flattened openings are formed and adapted to generate water film cascade jets, being said recess encompassed by a number of openings for hydromassage type jets and downwardly provided at the base of said seat with a first opening for the outlet of steam and/or hot air and a second opening for allowing a first water discharge into the tub before beginning a shower function, this recess upwardly continuing with a zone and continuing with a suction opening for the return air to be heated for said Turkish bath function, one wall comprises several control systems such as a tap and a valve group in order to control the several functions and an assembly of displays and push-buttons for the control and readings of parameters of interest, such as times, temperatures and the like. According to another preferred embodiment, the other of said opaque walls contains, in sequence, starting from a position close to said first opaque wall a first series of recesses vertically aligned and crossed by bridge of rail members suitable to retain items positioned in said recesses, a second vertically elongated recess having height substantially equal to that of the whole wall, containing a vertical support member for a clamp which can be fastened to said support member in order to adjust the height of a shower head or distributor and a third recess, also vertically elongated and of substantially equal height, closed by a door to form a heatable compartment adapted to contain clothing items to be kept in a warm and dry condition, such as a bath-gown or the like. According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention the side walls of the cabin are downwardly supported by a pedestal shaped base, housing a tub having substantially the same dept of said base, the bottom of which is provided with a raised grid, having anti-skid function, and insulating the user feet from the discharge water possibly accumulating on the tub bottom. Furthermore according to the present invention the bottom wall of the recess in the first opaque wall and the seat in said recess are provided with anti-skid corrugated surfaces, said surfaces being aligned with each other and with a surface, also corrugated , continuing up the top of the wall, adapted to house said air suction opening for the Turkish bath function and, above said opening, a lamp means enclosed within a bracket protrusion. Moreover for controlling accessories, of the kind commonly used for electronically controlled equipments are provided between the recesses of the first series on the second opaque wall tap handles and an assembly of the displays and push buttons. Most preferably for a better operation this cabin is provided with a shaped ceiling which can be closed and permits an atmosphere suited for specific treatments, such as the aforesaid Turkish bath, to be therein generated. Moreover, an inner panel of said first opaque wall is juornalled on pins for the rotation around a vertical side thereof to permit the access to the devices housed within said wall, being said panel lockable by means of a lock actuable by means of a key. The features and advantages, as above mentioned, of the present invention shall be better understandable from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, referring to the enclosed drawing. According to said drawing the present finding consists of a cabin 10 of essentially parallelepipedal shape, having two adjacent side walls 12 and 14 substantially transparent or at least partially trasparent, the wall 12 of which contains a slidable door 16, whereas the wall 14 is integer, and two substantially opaque walls 18 and 20, opaque, adapted to contain equipments and accessories of the said cabin 10. The first wall 18 adjacent to the transparent wall 12 containing the slidable door 16 is downwardly provided with a vertical recess 22 having essentially the shape of a triangular prism, on the lower base 24 of which a seat 26 is located, provided with anti-skid corrugations or grid 27, and from the upper base 28 of which slot shaped elongated outlets 30 and 32 are downwardly directed, having the purpose of emitting water jets in form of cascade, and the side faces 34 and 36 of which, wherein two essentially rounded recesses 38 and 40 are formed so as to receive and support the arms of the user when seated onto the seat 26, are connected by an abutment corrugated surface 42, serving as the possible abutment for the user's back. The side faces 34 and 36 are provided, near to their edge, with a series of openings 44a-44b connected to a hydromassage plant for the purpose of emitting through said openings pulsating water jets, the latter being activated either contemporarily or according to a preselected sequence. The said opaque wall 18 continues above the recess 22 with a planar area 46 , crossed by a corrugated vertical strip 48 centrally provided with an opening covered by a grid 50 and terminating with a bracket protrusion 52, which is essentially transparent, in which a lightening device or lamp is housed. The second opaque wall 20 contains three orders of recesses, the leftest of which contains a series of vertically aligned recesses 54, 56, 58, 60, downwardly encompassed, where possible, by crossing bridge or rail members 62, 64, 66 having the purpose of retaining items housed in said recesses such as bottles, boxes, small bottles, sponges, brushes and the like, although permitting the draining of water possibly entering the recess, the intermediate order consists of only one elongated recess 68 having height substantially equal to the height of the wall 20 and containing a support member 70 shaped as a tubular column adapted to support a shower head or distributor 72 fastened by means of a loosenable clamp 74 to said column 70 and connected through a hose 76 to a hydraulic system concealed within said wall 20, said recess 68 being crossed, together with the adjacent recesses 56 and 58, by two bars or handrails 78 and 80, and the rightest order is formed by only one elongated recess closed by a door 82, provided with a handle 84, to define a heated compartment having the purpose of keeping in a warm and dry condition clothing items, like bath-gown and the like. In said wall 20 also several control systems are housed such as a tap and valve group 86, positioned between the recesses 56 and 58 to control the several functions and an assembly of displays and push-buttons 88 for the control and reading of parameters of interest, such as times, temperatures and the like. Other provisions useful for the operation of the present invention comprise a first hole 92 and a second hole 94 positioned under the seat 26 respectively for the exit of the steam and/or hot air in the case of the Turkish bath and/or sauna function and for a first discharge of water to be carried out at the beginning of the shower function as the water is too cooled to be tolerated without discomfort. When a Turkish bath is carried out, in order to avoid a dispersion of steam the cabin is preferably closed upwardly by means of a shaped ceiling 96, by which hot air and steam are retained within the cabin. In the thickness of the wall 18 other accessories can be housed , such as a panel 98 containing a filling plug of a reservoir for Turkish bath and push-buttomns as well as signalling lights for the actuation and monitoring of said Turkish bath. Moreover an inner panel of said wall 18 is journalled onto pins 100 and 102 in order to be rotatable around its right vertical edge whereby an access is permitted to devices lodged in the same wall. A lock 104 permits the panel to be fastened to said wall 19. The cabin is downwardly terminated by a raised pedestal base 106, inwardly defining a tub 108 for the water collection, provided at the bottom with a grid 110 having the functions of anti-skid and isolation of the user's feet from the water collected at the bottom The above illustrated embodiment of the present invention is a typical embodiment thereof and it is understood that obvious variations, substitutions and full or partial equivalents, which may occur to a skilled in this art upon reading the above description are to be considered as therefrom all protected.

Claims: Multiple function shower cabin (10) comprising a seat (26), walls (12, 14, 18, 20) and a ceiling (96) suitable for housing accessories for a number of functions in order to establish the conditions for a Turkish bath and to perform a hydromassage treatment in standing position, which can be carried out within said cabin, in which a user is not in contact with water pools in a tub (108) of a pedestal (106) of said cabin, characterized in t hat two side walls (12, 14) are transparent or partially transparent walls (12, 14) and the two other are opaque, (18, 20) a first (18) of said opaque walls contain a recess (22) with possible armrests (36, 38), above which recess (22) flattened openings (30, 32) are formed and adapted to generate water film cascade jets, being said recess (22) encompassed by a number of openings (44a-44h) for hydromassage type jets and downwardly provided at the base of said seat (26) with a first opening (92) for the outlet of steam and/or hot air and a second opening (94) for allowing a first water discharge into the tub (108) before beginning a shower function, this recess (22) upwarldly continuing with a zone (46) and continuing with a suction opening (50) for the return air to be heated for said Turkish bath function, one wall (20) comprises several control systems such as a tap and a valve group (86) in order to control the several functions and an assembly of displays and push-buttons (88) for the control and readings of parameters of interest, such as times, temperatures and the like. Multiple function shower cabin according to claim 1, characterized in that the second of said opaque walls (20) contains, in sequence, starting from a position close to said first opaque wall (18) a first series of recesses (54-60) vertically aligned and crossed by bridge or rail members (62-66) suitable to retain items positioned in said recesses, a second vertically elongated recess (68) having height substantially equal to that of the whole wall (20), containing a vertical support member (70) for a clamp (74) which can be fastened to said support member in order to adjust the height of a shower distributor (72) and a third recess, also vertically elongated and of substantially equal height, closed by a door (82) to form a heatable compartment adapted to contain clothing items to be kept in a warm and dry condition, such as a bath-gown or the like. The shower cabin, according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the side walls thereof abut at the lower side onto said relieved pedestal base (106), forming said tub (108), characterized in that the tub (108), having substantially the same dept of said base (106), is provided onto the bottom with a raised grid (110), having anti-skid function, and insulating the user feet from the discharge water possibly accumulating on the tub (108) bottom. The shower cabin, according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the bottom wall (42) of the recess (22) in the first opaque wall (18) and the seat (26) in said recess (22) are provided with anti-skid corrugated surfaces, said surfaces being aligned with each other and with a surface (48), also corrugated, adapted to house said air suction opening (50) for the Turkish bath function and, above said opening, a lamp means enclosed within a bracket protrusion (52). The shower cabin, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the tap handles (86), the assembly of displays and push-buttons (88) for controlling accessories, of the kind commonly used for electronically controlled equipments are provided between the recesses (54-60) of the first series on the second opaque wall (20). The shower cabin, according to the preceeding claims, characterized in that, for a better operation, said cabin is provided with a shaped ceiling (96) which can be closed and permits an atmosphere suited for specific treatments, as the aforesaid Turkish bath, to be therein generated. The shower cabin, according to the above claims, characterized in that an inner panel of said first opaque wall (18) is juornalled on pins (100, 102) for the rotation around a vertical side thereof to permit the access to the devices housed within said wall (18), being said panel lockable by means of a lock (104) actuable by means of a key.

Inventors: SOISSONS EMANUELE VILLAFRANCA, SOISSONS, EMANUELE VILLAFRANCA
Applicants: JACUZZI EUROP, JACUZZI EUROPE SPA
Application year: 1989
Main classification: A47K4
IPC codes: A47K4