Abstract:
A heated towel holder comprises an elongate tube formed into the general shape of a conical helix, supported by a mounting arrangement such that the smaller end of the conical helix shape is lowermost and the axis of that shape extends upwardly at a shallow angle to the vertical. The mounting arrangement feeds heated fluid into one end of the formed tube and allows cooled fluid to drain from the other end of the formed tube. At least the greater part of a towel may simply be dropped into the conical volume bound by the helix so as to remain therein and be heated by fluid flowing through the formed tube.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to Great Britain patent application No. 0312004.5, filed May 24, 2003. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   a) Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to a heated towel rail or towel holder. Further, this invention relates to such a towel rail or towel holder in combination with a water manifold arranged to supply hot water to the towel rail or towel holder. 
   The heated towel rail or towel holder of this invention is primarily intended for use in a domestic bathroom. The terms towel rail and towel holder are used herein more or less interchangeably, as the context requires, to refer to apparatus for the temporary storage of a towel, within a domestic environment, between uses of a towel. 
   b) Description of the Related Art 
   Traditionally, a heated towel rail for a bathroom has a pair of upright tubes connected to a domestic hot-water heating system, there being at least one but usually two or more horizontal tubes extending between the upright tubes and through which heated water flows, so that towels hung on the horizontal tubes will be heated and dried. Increasingly, there are calls for more aesthetically-pleasing equipment for use in a domestic environment and as such, towel rails of more attractive designs have been proposed. However, many of these may be difficult to connect to a domestic hot-water heating system, or cannot be used if there is no such heating system. 
   An aim of the present invention is to provide a towel holder of a novel but aesthetically pleasing design, which is also very convenient and easy to use for the temporary storage of a towel in a bathroom or similar domestic situation. A further aim of a preferred embodiment is to provide an aesthetically attractive heated towel holder which may be connected to a hot water heating system using a manifold expressly for that purpose. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to this invention, there is provided a heated towel holder comprising an elongate tube formed into the general shape of a conical helix and through which heated fluid is caused to flow, and a mounting arrangement for the elongate formed tube, said mounting being arranged to feed heated fluid into one end of the formed tube and to allow cooled fluid to run from the other end of the tube. The mounting arrangement holds the formed tube with the smaller end of the conical helix lowermost whereby at least a part of a towel may be dropped into the conical volume bound by the helix so as to remain therein and be heated by fluid flowing through the formed tube. 
   The combination of the shaped elongate tube together with its mounting arrangement allows the provision of an aesthetically attractive towel holder, which is very simple to use and yet effective at drying a used towel. There is no need carefully to fold or arrange a towel when using the towel holder; rather, the towel may simply be tossed into the inverted conical helix-shaped basket defined by the formed tube. Further, the towel holder is easy to furnish within a domestic bathroom, for example by securing the formed tube to a wall using suitable clamps, and then connecting one end of the formed tube to a source of heated fluid and the other end to a return line for that fluid. 
   Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, referring to the drawings as necessary. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Several specific embodiments of this invention will now be described in detail, though only by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic sketch showing a first embodiment of towel holder of this invention in combination with a electrically-heated manifold; 
       FIG. 2  is a sketch similar to that of  FIG. 1  but showing a different manifold; 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are respectively exploded and partly assembled views of the manifold shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows the flow paths through the manifold of  FIGS. 3 and 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a further manifold for use with a towel holder similar to that shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ,  FIG. 6A  being a rear view of the manifold when fitted to a pair of pipes emerging through a floor; 
       FIG. 7  is similar to  FIGS. 1 and 5  but showing an alternative manifold arrangement for use with the towel holder; and 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  are front and plan views of yet another manifold arrangement, used to support three towel holders of this invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   In one embodiment of this invention, the mounting arrangement includes a pair of parallel pipes adapted for mounting on a vertical surface such as a bathroom wall so as to extend generally vertically. One end of the formed tube should be connected to one pipe and the other end of the formed tube to the other pipe, the two pipes of the pair thereof being connected respectively to the flow and return pipes of a domestic hot water central heating system whereby hot water may be caused to flow through the formed tube. The pair of parallel pipes may be secured together with the formed tube connected thereto such that the towel holder is provided as a complete unit, ready for attachment to a wall and connection to a central heating system. 
   Preferably, the mounting arrangement includes a manifold comprising a tubular outer body adapted to be mounted in a generally vertical disposition, the upper end of the body being closed off and an inner tube being mounted within the outer body and communicating with the outer body at or adjacent its upper end. The manifold may have a first connector for said one end of the formed tube which first connector communicates with the interior of the outer body adjacent the upper end thereof, and a second connector for said other end of the formed tube which second connector also communicates with the interior of the outer body but adjacent the lower end thereof. The manifold should include means to introduce heated water to the inner tube, thereby in use to promote convection circulation of hot water through the formed tube defining the towel holder. 
   The manifold permits the construction of a fully self-contained heated towel holder powered by electricity. In this case, the manifold should be provided with an electrically-powered immersion heater within the inner tube and arranged so that when energised, the temperature of the water within the inner tube is raised. This then permits the establishment of a convection heating circuit when a towel holder is connected to the manifold, whereby the hot water will flow through that towel holder. 
   Preferably, the immersion heater includes an elongate rod-like element which extends at least partway along the length of the inner tube. Such a heater should also have a thermostatic control arrangement as well as conventional safety features associated with immersion heaters. In a preferred construction, the lower end of the outer body is provided with a closure through which the immersion heater passes in a sealing manner, so enabling electrical connections to be made externally of the manifold. 
   In the alternative, the manifold may be arranged for connection to a domestic hot water central heating system, with the hot feed pipe communicating with the inner tube and the return pipe with the space between the inner tube and the outer body of the manifold. 
   For this arrangement of the manifold, the inner tube projects internally within the outer body from the lower end thereof towards its upper end, the lower end of the inner tube communicating with a pipe connector externally of the outer body and to which a hot water supply pipe may be secured. In this way, hot water flow to the manifold may be established. The return flow from the manifold may be provided by a tapping on the outer body adjacent the lower end thereof and on which is provided a pipe connector for the return pipe to the central heating system. As an alternative, the lower end of the outer body may have a closure with first and second flow passages, the inner tube connecting with one of the flow passages and the interior of the outer body connecting with the other flow passage. 
   To permit the control of flow from the domestic central heating system and also to allow isolation for maintenance purposes, each of the two flow passages may be provided with a respective shut-off valve. 
   The towel holder may be associated with a manifold having a closure for the lower end thereof which comprises a T-piece, one arm of which is threaded or otherwise secured to the outer body. That arm may be divided to provide two separate flow passages, one of which communicates with one of the remaining arms of the T-piece and the other of which communicates with the other of the remaining arms of the T-piece. Then, the flow and return pipes of the domestic central heating system may be connected to those two other arms, respectively. 
   A plurality of towel holders of this invention and each of a generally similar or identical form may be provided on a single manifold, spaced along the length thereof. To permit this, the manifold may be generally elongate and could either be secured to a wall or upstand from a floor fitting. Further, the plurality of towel holders may be spaced in the circumferential direction, around the manifold. 
   Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an embodiment of heated towel holder  11  of this invention in combination with an electrically-heated manifold  10 , for supplying hot water to the towel holder  11 . The towel holder  11  comprises a single continuous tube  12  provided with compression fittings  13 ,  14  at its two ends. The tube is formed to have a generally conical irregular helical shape such that the effective diameter of that shape changes along the axis of the shape. Thus, the formed tube  12  defines an open conical basket and is dimensioned so as to be suitable for holding at least the greater part of a typical domestic bath towel. However, the formed tube could be dimensioned differently, for example to define a smaller basket for holding the greater part of a hand towel. 
   The towel holder should be aesthetically pleasing, since it will, when installed in a domestic bathroom, be quite noticeable. Thus, the tube typically will be of copper, brass or other ductile material which can be formed into the required shape and is given an attractive non-corroding finish—for example of chromium plating. Alternatively, the formed tube  12  could be of polished or satin-finished stainless steel. Further, the nuts of the compression fittings advantageously are of a more attractive appearance than a simple hexagonal nut and also are finished in a pleasing manner—again, either by polishing if of stainless steel or plating if of other materials. 
   The towel holder  11  is attached to the manifold  10  solely by its compression fittings  13 ,  14  at the two ends of the formed tube  12 , which compression fittings are engaged with threaded stubs  15 ,  16  projecting from a tubular outer body  17  of the manifold. The formed tube  12  should have sufficient strength to withstand all normal usage without significant deflection from the intended shape. Further, when mounted on the manifold with the compression fitting  13  vertically above fitting  14 , the axis of the conical shape of the holder  11  preferably is out of vertical, and also leaning away from the manifold, all as shown in FIG.  1 . 
   The manifold  10  of  FIG. 1  contains an electric immersion heater (not shown) mounted on a lower closure  18  for the tubular body  17 . Electric power for the immersion heater is supplied by cable  19 . The immersion heater must have a fail-safe thermostat system, to limit the upper temperature of the water in the manifold and also to cut off the supply of electricity in the event of a fault. 
   The threaded stubs  15 ,  16  are secured to the outer body  17 , typically by a brazing operation. A suitable clamp arrangement (not shown) is provided to secure the manifold  10  to a wall, in the region where the towel holder is to be furnished. 
   In use, the system of  FIG. 1  is filled with water but in such a way as to leave a pocket of air trapped below an upper end cap  20  for the outer body  17 , to serve as an expansion chamber as the water is heated. Conveniently, this may be achieved by inverting the system before installation, removing the immersion heater and then filling the manifold with water to the required level, before refitting the immersion heater. An anti-corrosion agent may be added to the water used to fill the heater. Once filled, the manifold is mechanically mounted to a wall by suitable clamps, and the cable  19  is connected to an electrical supply with an isolator switch, possibly also provided with a time switch. When energised, the immersion heater will raise the temperature of the water in the manifold, so promoting a convection flow through the formed tube  12 . A towel may be temporarily stored in the holder  11  merely by being tossed into the basket-like shape defined by the formed tube  12 . So long as sufficient of the towel is within the shape, it will remain there and will be heated by the water passing through the tube  12 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 2  to  5 , there is shown a manifold which, though generally similar to that described above, does not employ an immersion heater; rather, this manifold is intended for connection to a domestic hot-water space heating system whereby the towel holder  11  connected to the manifold may be heated by water drawn from that space heating system. In  FIGS. 2  to  5 , like or generally similar parts to those of  FIG. 1  are given the same reference numbers and will not be described again here. 
   The manifold has a tubular outer body  17  provided at its lower end with an internally-threaded ring  22 . Threaded into that ring is a valve assembly  23  including an inner tube  24  which extends upwardly within the outer body  17 , towards the upper end thereof. The inner tube  24  connects into the valve assembly  23  to the downstream side of a control valve  25  provided in the lower part of that assembly. A control knob  26  is provided externally of the assembly, to permit adjustment of flow into the inner tube  24 . The space around the inner tube  24  communicates with a further control valve  27 , which may be preset to a required setting but primarily is used to close off the flow passage for maintenance purposes. The valves  25 , 27  have compression pipe connectors  28 , 29  to permit the attachment thereto of pipes  30 , 31  of a domestic central heating system in a manner well known in the art. 
   With the valve assembly  23  threaded into the ring  22 , hot water from pipe  30  may flow into the inner tube  24 , to enter the outer body  17  adjacent the upper end thereof, and water from within the outer body  17  may flow downwardly into pipe  31 , all as shown in FIG.  5 . Thus, there is a flow path for hot water through the formed tube  12  of a connected towel holder  11 . 
     FIGS. 6 and 6A  show another manifold having certain similarities to that of  FIGS. 2  to  5 . Again, like parts are given like reference numbers and will not be described again here. 
   With the manifold of  FIGS. 6 and 6A , the lower end of the outer body  17  is secured to a T-piece  34  having an internal dividing wall  35  to separate arm  36  of the T-piece from arm  37  thereof. The dividing wall  35  is profiled so as to admit the lower end of the inner tube  24  in flow communication with arm  36 . The volume of the outer body  17  is in communication with arm  37 . 
   The two arms  36 , 37  are internally threaded and each is provided with a combined valve and pipe connector  38 , 39 . Each such valve has an adjusting knob  40 , 41  and permits the attachment thereto of a flow pipe or a return pipe, as appropriate, from a domestic central heating system. The combined valve and pipe connectors  38 , 39  may be secured to the T-piece  34  in the disposition illustrated in  FIG. 6A , to permit the manifold to be secured directly to flow and return pipes emerging through a floor. In the alternative, the connectors  38 , 39  may be turned through 90° so that they may connect to pipes extending at right angles to the axis of the outer body  17 —that is, to pipes leaving a wall at 90° to its surface, with the outer body  17  secured to the wall by a suitable clamp arrangement (not shown). 
   Once installed, with a towel holder  11  connected to the manifold, the arrangement of  FIGS. 6 and 6A  functions in precisely the same way as has been described above with reference to  FIGS. 2  to  5 . 
     FIG. 7  shows the towel holder  11  used with a different manifold arrangement comprising a pair of pipes  45  extending parallel to one another but held spaced apart by lower and upper cross-members  46 , 47 . The compression fitting  13  at the upper end of the formed tube  12  is secured to one of the pipes  45 , using a union provided on that pipe, and the compression fitting  14  at the lower end of the formed tube  12  is secured to the other of the pipes  45 , again using a union provided on that pipe. A clamp arrangement (not shown) is provided to secure the manifold to a wall—for example by interacting with the cross-members  46 , 47 . 
   The arrangement of  FIG. 7  may be provided with an immersion heater within pipe  45  to which the upper compression fitting  13  is secured, an electric cable  48  for supplying power to the immersion heater extending away from the lower end of that pipe. In this design, the lower cross-member  46  should be hollow and permit the flow of water between the two pipes  45 , such that convection circulation may be established on the supply of power to the immersion heater. In an alternative arrangement, the two pipes  45  may be connected respectively to flow and return hot-water pipes of a domestic heating system, whereby water from the supply pipe will flow through the formed tube  12  and then to the return pipe. 
   Any of the above-described manifolds may be extended so as to have a much greater length than that shown in the drawings. Then, the manifold may support a plurality of towel holders  11  disposed generally one above the other though not necessarily in the same axial line. 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B  show a possible configuration for a manifold  50  having a sufficient length to support a plurality of separate towel holders  51 . Each of the holders  51  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 1 , the holders being spaced along the manifold but also being displaced about the axis of the manifold as shown in  FIG. 8B , to give easier access to the upper mouth of each holder. 
   Rather than have the manifold  50  secured to a wall, for example by means of a clamp arrangement interfitting therewith, the unit could be arranged as a floor-standing holder, especially where more than one towel holder  51  is provided. In this case, the manifold  50  may be provided with a base screwed to the floor.