DE20105173U1 - Shower partition - Google Patents

Abstract

The shower screen has a fixed screen section (4) whose edge (16) fits into a profile (2). The profile contains a guide (14) with a bore (30) on the side nearest the screen section into which a connector (32) fits. This cooperates with a second connector (42) mounted in a fastener (44) whose edge is in contact with the screen section.

Description

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Patent attorneys Lawyers phone Patents and trademarks DIPL.-PHYS. HANS KLOSE DR. GERHARD REBLE fax PO Box 12 15 19 DIPL-ING. MEINRAD SCHMITT CHRISTIAN SCHULTZE E-mail D-68066 Mannheim DR. JOHANN OSSING 0621 - 41977-50 /-54 DR. HELMUT-THOMAS KILPPER 0621 - 41977-88 DR. RALF-DIETMAR HÄRER inf o@rebl ekl öse. de ROLAND STORM DR: CLAUS WEBER

Applicant:

Altura Leiden Holding B.V. Hagenweg 1 F

NL-4131 LX Vianen Shower partition

The invention relates to a shower partition according to the features specified in the preamble of claim 1.

Shower partitions of the type mentioned contain fixed wall elements, which are now usually designed as glass panels and whose vertical longitudinal edges are assigned profiles. These profiles can be connected directly or indirectly to a room wall of a bathroom or shower room as well as to other fixed wall elements. The profiles can also be designed as posts or be parts of them, with pivoting door leaves assigned to such posts. Due to on-site tolerances, the room walls in bathrooms are often not aligned exactly vertically or the space provided for a shower partition does not correspond to the planning specifications. In order to enable a shower partition and in particular its fixed wall elements to be aligned precisely and to compensate for tolerances, additional compensation or adaptation profiles are used. For example, EP 1 038 490 A2 discloses a shower partition whose fixed wall element, designed as a glass panel, is connected to a first profile on the vertical longitudinal edge assigned to a room wall. A further compensation profile is attached to the room wall itself, which

has a U-shaped cross-section such that the 'first' profile with the plate can be moved and aligned with respect to the compensation profile. The profiles mentioned contain telescopically interlocking legs or the like, with a minimum and maximum distance being predefined accordingly. If the profiles mentioned are set to the maximum distance from one another, the overall width is correspondingly large, which can be detrimental to the overall appearance of a shower partition, particularly since nowadays the narrowest possible profiles are sought with a view to an attractive design. Furthermore, additional measures must be taken to ensure the required stability, especially when the profiles are pulled as far apart as possible, for which purpose the wall thicknesses of the profiles in particular are specified to be large. The use of the two telescopically interlocking profiles also results in considerable manufacturing and storage costs.

Based on this, the invention is based on the task of developing the shower partition of the type mentioned with little construction effort so that a simple and functionally reliable adjustment and alignment of the wall element with respect to a fixed room wall, a post, a side part of the shower partition or similar components is easily possible. The manufacturing and assembly effort should be reduced to a minimum and the profiles provided in the area of the long edge of the wall element should require a small construction volume and a low material requirement.

This object is achieved according to the features specified in claim 1.

The shower partition according to the invention is characterized by a simple and functional structure and enables the alignment and adjustment of the fixed wall element with respect to the profile without any problems. A guide body is arranged in the profile, in particular in a longitudinal groove thereof, so that it can be moved axially. The guide body and the profile rail contain mutually corresponding and/or interlocking guide elements which run in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the profile and ensure the longitudinal displacement of the guide body with respect to the profile. The longitudinal groove can be undercut or dovetail-shaped or the like, with the guide body being designed to correspond thereto. In a special embodiment, the guide body contains a recess which preferably runs orthogonally to the longitudinal axis, in particular in the form of a transverse groove, in which a connecting body is arranged so that it can be moved. With the

The connecting body is a fastening body which is preferably also partially arranged in a recess in ^the wall element and is connected to the connecting body in particular by means of a connecting element and/or a screw. The fastening body is arranged in the recess of the wall element in a substantially immovable manner in the direction of its plane, while the connecting body is displaceable transversely to the longitudinal axis of the profile and the guide body is displaceable in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the profile. The profile contains at least two guide bodies arranged at a distance from one another and accordingly at least two axially spaced connecting bodies are assigned to the wall element. Thus, the desired alignment of the wall element to the profile can be specified according to the alignment of the two connecting bodies, preferably partially arranged in the recesses of the wall element, with respect to the guide bodies and thus the profile. The guide body, the guide elements, the connecting bodies and the fastening bodies and connecting elements arranged opposite one another on the other side of the wall element are arranged in an inner cavity of the profile, wherein the cavity is open on one longitudinal side of the profile and is there by means of a can be closed by means of a detachably arranged cover profile. The external dimensions of the profile, including the cover profile, are always the same, regardless of the respective setting of the wall element in relation to the profile. In particular, regardless of the alignment of the wall element in relation to the profile, its width, i.e. measured transversely to the plane of the wall element, is the same.

The profile can be designed as a connecting profile on a room wall and preferably has a basically L-shaped cross-section, with a leg to be attached to a room wall being provided essentially transversely to the plane of the wall element. The profile can also be part of a post which is assigned to a pivoting door leaf or its joint profile or the like. Furthermore, the profile can be designed as a post or corner profile in such a way that two wall elements, the planes of which either lie in the same vertical plane or have a predetermined angle to one another, are arranged with their vertical longitudinal edges aligned with one another and with respect to the profile. It is particularly important that, for each design of the profile, it always has the same external dimensions, regardless of the alignment of the wall element(s) with respect to the profile.

Further developments and special embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims and the further description.

The invention is explained in more detail below using preferred embodiments, without any limitation being imposed. They show:

Fig. 1 a section in a horizontal plane through the shower partition

in the area of the vertically aligned profile and the vertical longitudinal edge of the wall element,

Fig. 2 partial view of the profile with the guide body,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the guide body and the fastening

¹ body,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, wherein the wall element designed as a glass plate is also shown,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, with the fastening body additionally mounted,

Fig. 6 is a section in a horizontal plane through a further embodiment, according to which a pivotably mounted door leaf is assigned to the profile.

Fig. 1 shows a horizontal section through the shower partition with a profile 2 and a fixed wall element 4, only partially shown here, which is preferably designed as a plate made of safety glass. The profile 2 is aligned essentially vertically in a known manner, with the longitudinal axis 6 of the profile being essentially orthogonal to the plane of the drawing. The wall element 4 is also aligned essentially vertically and can be designed as a flat or curved plate. The profile 2 has a basically L-shaped cross-section and contains a leg 8, which is fastened to a wall in a known manner by means of a screw 10 according to the dot-dash line 12. Over the entire height of the shower partition, or over the length of the profile 2, there are at least two such screws 10 for wall fastening. It should be noted that

Due to on-site tolerances or inaccuracies, wall 10 is often not exactly

¹ , &igr;

is aligned vertically and consequently the longitudinal axis 6 of the profile 2 attached to the wall 12 also deviates from the vertical. As will be explained below, a correct alignment of the wall element 4 is nevertheless made possible.

In the profile 2, a guide body 14 is arranged so as to be displaceable in the direction of or parallel to the longitudinal axis 6, in a plane which runs essentially orthogonal to the leg 8 or to the wall 12. This plane is aligned essentially vertically, which is easily achieved by appropriate assembly, for example with the aid of a spirit level, when mounting the profile 2 on the wall 12. Furthermore, at least the vertical longitudinal edge 16 of the wall element 4 connected to the profile 2 is arranged in a vertical plane 18 which is essentially orthogonal to the leg 8 and/or the wall 12. The profile 2 and the guide body 14 contain mutually corresponding and/or interlocking guide elements 22, 23 and 24, 25 which are arranged such that the guide body 14 can be displaced parallel to the longitudinal axis 6 and/or to the vertical plane 18 in the profile 2. Preferably, the profile 2 contains a longitudinal groove 26, in which the guide body 14, which is designed in particular as a plate, is arranged so as to be displaceable parallel to the longitudinal axis 6 and/or to the vertical plane which runs through the longitudinal edge 16 of the wall element 4. The guide body 14 can thus be arranged and aligned in the desired longitudinal position of the profile 2 or in the desired vertical position, in accordance with the position of an opening 28, which will be explained below, in the region of the longitudinal edge 16 of the wall element 4.

The guide body 14 also contains a recess or transverse groove 30 which runs essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis 6 and in which a connecting body 32 is arranged so as to be displaceable transversely to the longitudinal axis 6. The guide body 14 and/or the transverse groove 30 contain an edge or step 34 and, correspondingly, the connecting body 32 has a shoulder 36 such that the connecting body 32 is secured against tensile loading in the direction of the longitudinal edge 16 of the wall element 4 in the connecting body 32. The guide body 14 has, particularly in the region of the edge or step 34, a corrugation 38 which preferably runs parallel to the longitudinal axis 6 and, accordingly, the connecting body 32 and/or its shoulder 36 contains a corresponding corrugation such that undesirable displacement of the connecting body 32 with respect to the guide body 14 is prevented.

The connecting body 32 advantageously projects with a pin-shaped part 33 into the recess or opening 28 of the longitudinal edge 16 and contains an internal thread 40 into which a connecting element 42, in particular designed as a screw, engages from the other side of the wall element 4 or its longitudinal edge 16. A fastening body 44 is arranged between the connecting element 42 or the head of the screw, which is preferably designed as a plate and/or rests against the longitudinal edge 16 of the wall element 4 in front of or behind the plane of the drawing. The fastening body 44 preferably has an annular projection 45 which engages in the opening 28 of the longitudinal edge 26. The annular projection 45 has an outer diameter which is at least approximately the same size as the inner diameter of the opening 28. The fastening body 44 with the projection 45 is advantageously made of plastic, the hardness of which is less than that of the wall element 4 by a predetermined amount. Local peak loads on the wall element or its longitudinal edge and resulting damage to the wall element made of safety glass are avoided. Thus, by tightening the connecting element or the screw 42, the wall element 4 is fixed in a defined manner with respect to the profile 2 via the connecting body 14. According to the invention, the wall element can be aligned with respect to the profile 2 according to the double arrow 46 depending on the length of the recess or transverse groove 30. The pin-shaped part 33 of the connecting body 32 preferably projects into a recess 47 in the annular projection 45 and/or the fastening body 44. The outer contour of the part 33 and the inner contour of the recess 47 are advantageously coordinated with one another in such a way that there is practically no play, particularly in the horizontal direction.

The guide body 14, the connecting body 32, the fastening body 44 and the connecting element 42 are arranged in an inner cavity 48. This cavity 48 is closed off from the outside by means of a cover profile ^50. The cover profile 50 is detachably fastened to the profile 2, which also has at least one clamping body 52 in the inner cavity 48. The clamping body 52 on the one hand and the profile 2 and the cover profile 50 on the other hand contain mutually corresponding locking elements which engage with one another as required or can be released in order to detach the cover profile 50 from the profile 2. The cover profile 50 and the profile 2 are designed in such a way that when the cover profile 50 is removed, both the screw 10 for fastening the profile 2 to the wall 12 and the connecting element or the screw 42 for setting and adjusting the wall element 4 are accessible.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of part of the profile 2, which has a basically L-shaped cross section. In the undercut longitudinal groove 26 of the profile

2, the guide body 14 is mounted displaceably, whereby the guide elements 22, 23 and the corresponding guide elements 24, 25 prevent the guide body 14 from coming loose from the profile 2. The recess or transverse groove 14 explained above in the guide body 14, which is preferably designed as a plate, is here

I ■

can be clearly seen. As can be seen, the pin-shaped part 33 of the connecting body 32, which is fixed behind the plane of the drawing in relation to the guide body 14 in the manner explained above, engages through the transverse groove 30.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the plate-shaped guide body 14 and the likewise plate-shaped fastening body 44 with the ring-shaped projection 45. The step 34 with the corrugation 38 of the guide body 14 for the connecting body 32 can be clearly seen here. Furthermore, the contact surfaces 54, 55 of the fastening body 44 located above and below the projection 45 can be clearly seen, which can be brought into contact with the longitudinal edge of the wall element. It should be noted that the longitudinal edge can be clamped between the guide body 14 and the fastening body 44, with the projection 45 engaging in the aforementioned opening in the area of the longitudinal edge. As can be seen in connection with Fig. 1, the connecting body 32 conveniently engages with the part 33 in a corresponding recess 47 of the annular projection 45, so that relative movements between the connecting body 32 and the fastening body 44 are largely prevented.

Fig. 4 shows a representation similar to Fig. 2, whereby the wall element 4 with the longitudinal edge 16 is also shown. Between the longitudinal edge 16 and the profile rail 2, a sealing profile 56 is also provided, which is made of a material that is less hard than the material, in particular aluminum or an aluminum alloy, of the profile 2 and/or the glass of the wall element 4. The sealing profile 56 is expediently made of plastic and is inserted or locked in longitudinal grooves of the profile 2. As can be seen, the already mentioned opening 28, which preferably has a substantially cylindrical inner contour, contains the opening 28. The diameter of the opening 28 is essentially the same size as the outer diameter of the above-mentioned attachment of the fastening body. In a particularly advantageous manner, the opening 28 is near the front edge 58 of the longitudinal

edge 16 or the wall element 4 is arranged in such a way that the opening 28 is open towards the front edge 58. It is essential in this respect that at the front edge 58 the opening

break 28 have vertically spaced transverse edges 60,*62 with a predetermined distance 64. According to the invention, the distance 64 is equal to or greater than the height 66 of the part 33 of the connecting body penetrating the break 28. The height 66 is, however, smaller than the inner diameter of the preferably cylindrical break 28. Thus, during assembly, the wall element 4 can be moved in the direction of the arrow 68 into the profile 2 or towards its leg 8. The wall element 4 can remain vertically aligned so that tilting or even falling over of the wall element 4 is easily avoided during assembly. Once the wall element 4 has been brought into the position shown, the fastening body is mounted, the ring-shaped attachment of which is inserted into the break 28 and is connected to the connecting body and ultimately to the profile 2 by means of the connecting element or the screw. As long as the connecting element or the screw are not firmly tightened, the wall element 4 can be moved and adjusted in the direction of the arrow 68 or in the opposite direction. Since the ring-shaped projection has an outer diameter which is at least approximately the same size as the inner diameter of the opening 28, the wall element 4 cannot be completely detached, which is thus secured in a particularly advantageous manner with respect to the profile 2. After the final adjustment of the wall element 4 with respect to the profile 2, a firm connection between the wall element 4 and the profile 2 is established by finally tightening the connecting element or the screw 42.

Fig. 5 shows the wall element 4 after assembly, whereby the plate-shaped fastening body 44 and the head of the connecting element or screw 42 can now be clearly seen. At the end of the assembly, the cover profile is connected to the profile 2 by means of the clamping body(s) 52 explained above.

Fig. 6 shows a further embodiment of the profile 3 according to the invention, to which a pivotably mounted door leaf 70 is assigned. In the drawing, the wall element 4 with its other vertical longitudinal edge 72 can be seen on the right. Analogous to the above statements, this other vertical longitudinal edge 72 is also fixed in the profile 3. In this embodiment, a guide body 14 is also provided, the width of which is somewhat smaller here than that of the guide body according to Fig. 1. The length of the transverse groove 30 is also correspondingly smaller, so that in this embodiment the horizontal adjustment range is correspondingly smaller. In this embodiment, too, the inner cavity 48 is closed off by means of the cover profile 50 which is detachably connected to the profile 3. According to the drawing, to the left of the profile 3, a

si-

Joint profile 74 of the door leaf 70. The door leaf 70 also contains a

The hinge profile 74 is connected to a door element 76, which is preferably also designed as a panel made of safety glass. The hinge profile 74 and thus the door leaf 70 are pivotally mounted about a substantially vertical pivot axis 78.

Reference symbol

2, 3 Profile

4 Wall element

6 Longitudinal edge of 2

8 legs

10 Screw

12 Wall / dotted line

14 Guide bodies

16 Longitudinal edge of 4

18 Level of 16

22, 23 Guide element of

24, 25 Guide element of

26 Longitudinal groove in 2

28 Breakthrough in

30 recess / cross groove in

32 connecting bodies

33 cone-shaped part of

34 edge / step of 14 / 36 shoulder of 32

38 ribbing of 14/30

40 internal threads from

42 Fastener / screw

44 Fastening body

45 ring-shaped attachment of

46 Double arrow

47 recess in 45

48 inner cavity 50 Blend profile

52 clamping bodies

54, 55 Contact surface of

·

S :*f. ix-; ·.

56 Sealing profile 58 Front edge of 4 60, 62 Transverse edge of 28 64 Distance of 60, 62 66 Height of 32 68 Arrow 70 Door leaf 72 other longitudinal edge of 4 74 Joint profile 76 Door element 78 Swivel axis of 70

Claims (8)

1. Shower partition wall, comprising a substantially vertically arranged profile ( 2 , 3 ) and a fixed wall element ( 4 ) whose vertical longitudinal edge ( 16 ) is connected to the profile ( 2 , 3 ), characterized in that
that the profile ( 2 , 3 ) is assigned a guide body ( 14 ) with a recess or transverse groove ( 30 ) running at least approximately transversely to the longitudinal axis ( 6 ) of the profile ( 2 , 3 ),
that a connecting body ( 32 ) is slidably arranged in the recess or transverse groove ( 30 ),
that on the opposite side of the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) there is provided a fastening body ( 44 ) which rests against the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) and is connected to the connecting body ( 32 ) by means of a connecting element ( 42 ) in such a way that the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) and thus the wall element ( 4 ) is fixed with respect to the profile ( 2 , 3 ). 2. Shower partition according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide body ( 14 ) is arranged displaceably in the profile ( 2 , 3 ) parallel to its longitudinal axis ( 6 ) and/or that the profile ( 2 , 3 ) has guide elements ( 22 , 23 ) which engage with guide elements ( 24 , 25 ) of the guide body ( 14 ) and/or that the guide body ( 14 ) is arranged displaceably in a longitudinal groove ( 26 ) of the profile ( 2 , 3 ) parallel to its longitudinal axis ( 6 ). 3. Shower partition according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the fastening body ( 44 ) has an annular projection ( 45 ) which engages in the preferably cylindrical opening ( 28 ) of the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) and/or that the diameter of the annular projection ( 45 ) is at least approximately the same size as the diameter of the opening ( 28 ). 4. Shower partition, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the connecting body ( 32 ) engages with a pin-shaped part ( 33 ) in the opening ( 28 ) of the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) and/or engages in a corresponding recess ( 47 ) of the annular projection ( 45 ) of the fastening body ( 44 ). 5. Shower partition according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the connecting body ( 32 ), in particular in the region of the recess or transverse groove ( 30 ), has a step ( 34 ) against which the connecting body ( 32 ) rests with a shoulder ( 36 ), and/or that in particular the recess or transverse groove ( 30 ) has a corrugation ( 38 ) which runs at least approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis ( 6 ), wherein the shoulder ( 36 ) of the connecting body ( 32 ) contains a corresponding corrugation. 6. Shower partition according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) of the wall element ( 4 ), the connecting body ( 32 ), the fastening body ( 44 ) and the connecting element ( 42 ) are arranged in an inner cavity ( 48 ) of the profile ( 2 , 3 ) and/or that the inner cavity ( 48 ) is closed off to the outside by means of a cover profile ( 50 ) detachably connected to the profile ( 2 , 3 ) and/or that the cover profile ( 50 ) is detachably fixed with respect to the profile ( 2 , 3 ) by means of at least one clamping body ( 52 ). 7. Shower partition according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the profile ( 2 ) has an at least approximately L-shaped cross-section and contains a leg ( 8 ) which is arranged substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal edge ( 16 ) of the wall element ( 4 ), wherein the leg ( 8 ) can be connected to a room wall ( 12 ) by means of one or more screws ( 10 ). 8. Shower partition according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a pivotable door leaf ( 70 ) is assigned to the profile ( 3 ), and/or that an articulated profile ( 74 ) of the door leaf ( 70 ) is arranged next to the profile ( 3 ).