Patent Publication Number: US-2009222983-A1

Title: Bathroom shower set

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
     There are conventional shower sets for bathrooms, known as slide bar sets, in which the head from which water exits is provided with means for connection to a vertical sliding guide, so as to allow the user to position the shower head at the height that he finds most appropriate by simply pushing it. 
     Water is fed to the shower head by means of a flexible hose, and the user generally can grip a handle that is jointly connected to the shower head in order to remove it from the sliding guide and handle it at will. 
     Shower sets of the described type comprised in the background art, however, suffer some drawbacks. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
     The aim of the present invention is to eliminate such drawbacks by providing a bathroom shower set, characterized in that it comprises a panel associated with a vertical sliding guide which is fixed to the wall of the intended space, the panel being adapted to delimit a portion of space that is adjacent to said wall and being capable of accommodating at least partially a flexible hose for conveying water from a connector that protrudes from said wall to the shower head, the panel having an opening that is adapted to allow the passage of said flexible hose and being further provided with a support for the removable resting of the end of the flexible hose that is connected to the handle of the shower head. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the description of two preferred but not exclusive embodiments of a bathroom shower set, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  are perspective views of the shower set according to the invention, in two different operating situations; 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are perspective views of the shower set arranged at the two end heights of its vertical stroke; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of some elements of the shower; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged-scale view of a detail of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view, taken along the line VII-VII of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the shower set according to the present invention in a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a view of a detail of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 7  and  9 , the reference numeral  1  designates a panel associated with a guide  2  that is fixed to a wall  3  of a space intended for the shower set, so that it can slide with respect to said wall. 
     More precisely, the panel  1  has a profile  4  jointly connected thereto, and said profile constitutes the element for connection to the guide  2  with a male-female mating and is provided monolithically with a stiffening strip  4   a.    
     The user can thus make the panel  1  slide along the guide  2  between the two extreme positions that are shown respectively in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , determined by stroke limit abutments  4   b,    4   c,  as described in greater detail hereinafter; the guide  2  has such as a length as to remain always concealed behind the panel  1  along its entire stroke, according to what is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     The panel  1  is provided, at the upper edge, with a support  5  that allows the removable resting of an end  6 a of a flexible hose  6  that conveys water from a connector  7 , optionally provided with a faucet, which exits from the wall  3 , up to a head  8  with a handle  8   a  of the shower set; the panel  1  is shaped so as to define a flat face  1   a,  designed to be arranged parallel to the wall  3 , and two sides  1   b,    1   c  that are extended towards said wall; while the side  1   b  skims the wall  3 , the side  1   c  is extended to a distance from said wall such as to define an opening that allows the passage of the flexible hose  6 . 
     A portion of space is thereby delimited being comprised between the wall  3  and the face  1   a  of the panel  1  and being capable of accommodating at least partially the flexible hose  6 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  3 ,  4 ; said flexible hose becomes movable by a user who, by gripping the handle  8   a  of the shower head, moves the shower set into a situation such as the one shown in  FIG. 2 , utilizing the possibility to pass the flexible hose through the opening provided between the wall  3  and the end of the side  1   c.    
     The method of association between the sliding panel  1  and the fixed guide  2  is shown in  FIG. 7 ; the guide  2  is provided with at least one and preferably a plurality of disks  9 , which are pushed by a spring  10  into contact with the surface of the profile  4  that is jointly connected to the panel  1 , thereby causing a sliding motion of the panel  1  pushed by the user in calibrated friction conditions which allows the arrangement of said panel in the position in which it is left; means  11  for removable locking of the panel in the selected position are provided and comprise a threaded shank that is designed to act on a block which is not shown in the figure and is designed to provide the desired locking by friction. 
     In a position that substantially faces said locking means  11  a grip handle  12  is provided, which is applied to the face of the panel  1  that is directed towards the wall  3  and is designed to be concealed from sight, and can be gripped by the user with the left hand while he grips the means  11  with the right hand, thereby achieving in optimum conditions for providing the sliding of the panel  1  along the guide  2 . 
     The panel  1  has a continuous flat face  1   a,  which is adapted to receive decorations of any kind; the embodiment of  FIG. 8  illustrates a shower set which comprises a panel  13  that differs from panel  1  only for the presence of an opening  14  provided with a transparent strip for protecting light-emitting bodies arranged behind, and can be provided with a handle that is similar to the handle  12  described previously. 
     The described invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements. 
     The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MN2008A000006 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.