Abstract:
Disclosed is a removable shower seat for use in a modular shower. The seat is constructed from a plastic material and includes an elastomer coating which is molded onto the plastic substrate. The shower seat mounts to shower module wall pockets at each end, and is further supported at the rear and front corners.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to shower enclosures and the like. More specifically it relates to support structures provided near corners of such enclosures, and seats for use therewith. 
     There are occasions when almost any bather may want to be able to sit at normal chair height in a shower enclosure (e.g. to wash feet). Also, the elderly, the handicapped, and certain children often need or desire to be able to sit at normal chair height when showering. 
     While the largest shower enclosures can provide enough room to install integral (or permanently affixed) seat structures (see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,725), some shower enclosures are 48 inches wide or less. For these, it may be undesirable to take up so much room with seats that will always jut out into the standing space. Thus, some enclosures are provided with fold-up seats. However, these types of seats require additional construction and assembly, and risk additional leakage points along the attachment holes. 
     In connection with bathtubs there have been a variety of removable seats provided that are suspended on opposed front and back walls of the tub. When the bather wishes to sit all the way in the tub, the seat is simply removed. However, this requires there to be a front wall opposed to the rear wall. 
     For more conventional shower enclosures which do not have a raised front wall, it is more conventional to use the approach of attaching corner seats with fasteners. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,542,218 and 5,732,421. 
     Yet another approach is that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,848 which describes a self-standing stool with legs that permit it to be positioned at a corner and temporarily coupled to the corner with suction cups. However, this is not a secure attachment system. 
     There have also been suggestions to provide a shower enclosure that has at both its left and its right corners pedestals that can be used to somewhat support a removable seat. However, this system did not securely attach the seat without fasteners in situations where most of the weight is at the front of the seat. 
     Thus, a need still exists for the development of a removable shower seat which can be easily positioned in or removed from a shower module without the use of fasteners, yet which is securely supported. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a combined bathing enclosure and removable seat. The bathing enclosure has (i) a rear wall, (ii) opposed side walls, (iii) a support positioned adjacent a corner of the enclosure, where the corner is defined by a junction between the rear wall and a specified one of said side walls, (iv) a first pocket along the rear wall adjacent the support, and (v) a second pocket along the specified side wall adjacent the support. For purposes of this application, the term “bathing enclosure” is intended to cover any enclosure suitable for bathing, regardless of whether fully enclosed (e.g. a three-sided structure), and regardless of whether having a bathtub for also permitting reclined bathing (e.g. a shower enclosure). There is also a seat removably supportable adjacent the corner with one end of the seat positionable in the first pocket and an opposite end of the seat positionable in the second pocket. 
     In preferred forms at least one of the pockets has a downwardly sloped surface, and the seat has a surface that can rest on that sloped surface. The rear wall of the enclosure has a ledge adjacent the first pocket opposite the support, and the seat has a flange suitable to rest on that ledge. Also, the specified side wall of the enclosure can have a ledge adjacent the second pocket opposite the support, and the seat can have a wall suitable to rest on that ledge. 
     Further, the seat can have on its top surface a front edge, a left edge, a right edge, and a rear edge, with the left and right edges being essentially perpendicular to each other. In yet other forms the seat is formed of a base material that is at least partially coated with an elastomer along surfaces that can contact the bathing enclosure when the seat is installed therein. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the seat can be installed without fasteners, and thus can be removed without marring the shower stall, for cleaning, for when a user wishes to use the shower without a seat, and for when the seat is to be moved to the opposite corner. 
     The seat is supported on three sides, and on its opposite ends is also supported in angled pockets. Thus, the seat can support substantial weight without tipping, even though it is not bolted to the wall or supported along the front wall. 
     These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description that follows. The claims should be looked to in order to judge the full scope of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is left, frontal, upper perspective of part of a shower enclosure having a seat structure constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the seat of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the seat of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the seat of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the seat of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a right side view of the seat of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing somewhat more of the shower module, and showing the seat in an installed position; 
     FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a part of the FIG. 7 assembly; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line  10 — 10  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line  11 — 11  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line  12 — 12  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line  13 — 13  of FIG. 8; and 
     FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line  14 — 14  of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A removable shower seat  10  that is constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG.  1  in the process of being installed in a shower enclosure module  28 . The shower seat  10  preferably has a planar top  11  that is contoured trapezoidal. The top is supported by a base section  22  which is sized and dimensioned to be wedged against and into pockets  36  and  38  of the module  28 , as described more fully below. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, the seat has right and left side edges  12  and  14 , a front edge  16 , and a rear edge  18 . The right and left side edges  12  and  14  are directed in planes substantially perpendicular to each other. The front edge  16  and back edge  18  extend between the side walls  12  and  14  substantially parallel to each other. Preferably, the front and back edges  16  and  18  are curved, as shown. 
     The base section  22  has left and right side walls  21  and  23 , respectively, a front wall  25 , and a rear wall  27 . The walls  21 ,  23 ,  25 , and  27  extend downward in direction substantially perpendicular to a horizontal plane defined by the seat top  11 . The front wall  25  and front edge  16  are generally co-extensive, while the side wall  12 , side wall  14 , and back side wall  18  are offset from the corresponding surfaces of the seat to define a horizontally-extending flange. See also FIGS. 4-6. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, it can also be seen that the width of the flange  20  is varied to provide a wider contact surface in defined mounting locations. In particular, the side walls  21  and  23  are angled as they approach the front wall  25 , thereby providing corner mounting sections  29  and  31 , respectfully, at the intersection of the front and side walls. 
     Referring again to FIGS. 4-6, and FIG. 1, the side walls  21  and  23  are angled to mate with the angled pocket side walls ( 36  and  38 ) of the shower stall, as described more fully below. The walls  21  and  23  are angled upward from the back to the front of the seat  10 . The side walls  21  and  23  are therefore highest at the intersection with the back wall  27  and lowest at the intersection with the front wall  25 . 
     The back wall  27  has a back support which is formed to mate against the corner wall of the shower stall  28 . However, a small water passage groove  33  is formed in the wall  27  to allow water to drain from both the seat  10  and the supporting region  32 . The water passage area comprises an indentation  33  in the back wall  27 , which operates in a conjunction with a downwardly sloping ridge  35  formed in the seat  11  to direct water. 
     The seat element  11  and base section  22  are preferably molded as a single piece from a relatively rigid plastic such as polypropylene material. To further provide rigidity, the base section  22  is provided with internal structural ribs. 
     In accordance with the present invention, a low durometer elastomer material  44  is molded onto contact surfaces along the seat  10 , such as the lower side of flange  20  and the corresponding walls  21 ,  23 , and  27 . The plastic material can be polypropylene, preferably a homopolymer having a tensile strength of 4900 psi (ASTM D638) and a flexural modulus of 190,000 psi (ASTM D790). The elastomer is preferably rated at 55±5 durometer. An elastomer of this type is the Santoprene®  8211-55  series available from Advanced Elastomer Systems of Akron, Ohio. 
     It will be particularly appreciated that the flexibility of the surface should be greater than the flexibility of the shower module walls. This will assist in avoiding having the seat scratch the wall surfaces. The flexible material will also help securely wedge the seat in place. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 7, the shower stall module  28  has pockets  36  and  38 . There is also a corner pedestal  32  above a support  40 . A similar construction is provided at the left rear corner of the shower stall to provide the opportunity for the seat to alternatively be mounted at that corner. The pockets have outwardly and downwardly sloping side walls, and opposed end walls. Along the rear wall of the module is a ledge  34 , and along the side wall of the module is a ledge  37 . 
     As the seat  10  is installed, the portion of the flange  20  extending horizontally from the back wall  27  of the base  22  is received on the corner pedestal  32 . See also FIG.  9 . 
     The corner mounting portions  29  and  31  of the flange  20  rest on the ledges  37  and  34 . See e.g. FIG.  14 . When this is achieved, both the bottom of the side walls  21  and  23  and the flange section  20  along the side walls  21  and  23  rest against the angled pocket wall sections  36  and  38 , respectively. See FIG.  13 . Because of all of these points of support, the seat can support a wide range of body sizes without tipping. 
     As noted above, all surfaces which will contact the shower stall  28  are coated with an elastomer material  44 . Apart from the advantages noted above, the elastomer compresses with applied weight, thereby allowing some flex, thereby making seating more comfortable. 
     Referring next specifically to FIGS. 9-11, detailed views of the back portion of the flange  20  resting on the corner pedestal  32  are shown. Note that the back wall  27  rests along the support section  40 . 
     Referring next to FIGS. 12 and 13, both the bottom edges of the side walls  21  and  23  and the edge of the flange  20  rests against the angled side wall  36  and  38 , respectively. Referring next to FIG. 14, at the corner between each of the side and front edges of the seat, the corner portions  29 ,  31  of the flange  20  rests on the mounting ledges  34  or  37 , respectively. 
     As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above. Modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the described embodiment. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced. 
     Industrial Applicability 
     The present invention provides a shower enclosure having a removable shower seat.