GB2363779A - Protective cover for sanitary wares - Google Patents

Abstract

Protective cover 30 for sanitary wares such a toilet, washbasin or bath tub, comprises a rigid sheet 31 formed with lines of weakness 32, 33, 34, which form fold lines along which the sheet can be folded to form at least one front panel 35, at least one side panel 37 and at least one top panel 36, the sheet also being cut being cut 39 along at least one of the lines of weakness extending from an intersection 38 of two lines of weakness to an edge of the sheet. At least one cut fold lines 39 may form at least one tab 40 and at least one corresponding fold line at a right angle to the tab may form a slit 41 to receive said tab. An upper front panel 58 (fig 5) may extend upwardly from the top panel 59 to an upper top panel 57, upper side panels 61 being provided and having tabs 65 for engaging in slots 72 at the tops of the side panels 62. The sheet may be formed from polypropylene and may be a twin-wall fluted polypropylene sheet. The sheet may be folded in away so that a flap (fig 2, 25) can be folded over and secured to the side panel 17 by adhesive tape (fig 2, 26).

Description

1 2363779 PROTECTION PRODUCT This invention relates to protection

products, and in particular to products for the protection of sanitary ware during the building phase of domestic or commercial buildings.

It is customary to install sanitary ware such as baths, washbasins and W Cs (water closets) in a premises prior to the completion of building or refurbishment of the premises In consequence the items of sanitary ware are prone to being damaged during their installation and whilst further work is being carried out on the premises Such sanitary ware items are relatively expensive, and are susceptible to damage such as scratching, chipping or breakage, and could be misused if left readily accessible whilst the work is continuing The traditional method of protecting such items consists of 'boxing-in' the item concerned using a wooden framework and panels of wood or other suitable material nailed or screwed to the framework However, this form of protection is expensive, cumbersome and the 'box' construction is not easily removed when the work in the premises is completed In addition the act of 'boxing-in' the item or removing the 'box' can lead to damage of the item Furthermore constructing the 'box' is in itself time consuming and wasteful of material.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a protection product for an item of sanitary ware that overcomes the problems of the traditional method of protection.

The invention provides a protection product for an item of sanitary ware, comprising a rigid sheet material formed with lines of weakness forming fold lines along which the sheet may be folded to form in use at least one front panel, a least one side panel and at least one top panel, and the sheet being cut along at least one of the lines of weakness extending from each intersection of two lines of weakness to an edge of the sheet.

The sheet may have fold lines along which the sheet may be folded to form in use a front panel, two side panels and a top panel Alternatively the sheet may have fold lines along which the sheet may be folded to form in use two front panels, two top panels and two side panels.

At least one cut fold line may be shaped to form at least one tab, and each cut fold line may be shaped to form at least one tab In that case the other fold line extending from that intersection to an edge of the sheet may have at least one slit therein adapted to receive the at least one tab A cut fold line may have two spaced tabs formed therealong and a respective other fold line may have two slits spaced therealong adapted to receive the respective two tabs therein.

Respective tabs and slits may have corresponding identification markings adjacent thereto.

The sheet may be of polypropylene, and may be a twin-wall fluted polypropylene sheet The sheet may have a thickness of substantially 4 mm.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig 1 illustrates a protection sheet for protecting a bath, prior to folding, Fig 2 shows the protection sheet of Fig 1 in use on a bath, Fig 3 illustrates a protection sheet for protecting a washbasin, prior to folding, Fig 4 shows the protection sheet of Fig 3 in use on a washbasin, Fig 5 illustrates a protection sheet for protecting a WC, prior to folding, and Fig 6 shows the protection sheet of Fig 5 assembled for use in protecting a WC.

Referring now to Fig 1, there is shown a protection product 10 in the form of a sheet 11 The sheet 11 is formed of a twin wall fluted polypropylene material having a thickness of 4 mm The sheet 11 has three lines of weakness or fold lines 12, 13, 14 scored or pre-creased therein.

The lines 12, 13, 14 define panels 15, 16 and 17 which in use will form top panel 15, front panel 16 and a side panel 17 as will be become apparent on consideration of Fig 2 From each intersection 18 of fold line 13 with fold line 12 and fold line 14, fold line 13 extending from the intersection 18 to an edge of the sheet 1 1 is cut at 19 to facilitate folding to form the sheet 11 into the protection product 10 as shown in Fig 2.

In Fig 2 the protection product 10 is shown in situ on a bath 20 The bath 20 is supported on legs 21 on the floor 22 and abuts a back wall 23 and an end wall 24 The bath 20 shown is right-handed, and the protection product 10 is formed accordingly In this case the sheet 11 is folded along fold line 13 to form a top panel 15 and a front panel 16 The sheet 11 is also folded along fold line 14 to form a side panel 17 to protect the free end of the bath 20 The flap 25, which is attached to the front panel 16, is then folded over the side panel 17 and secured thereto with adhesive tape 26 The protection product 10 may also be secured to the bath 20 and/or the walls 23, 24 with adhesive tape to ensure that it remains in position until work in the vicinity of the bath 20 is completed The protection product 10 is then easily removed from the bath 20 and can be re-used many times The twin-wall fluted polypropylene sheet 11 is of a relatively heavy grade to ensure its rigidity in use, since there will be a tendency for tools and other items to be placed on the top surface 15.

3 In the case of a left-handed bath 20, the sheet 11 is folded along fold line 12 instead of fold line 14 as described above for the right-handed bath.

Referring now to Fig 3, there is shown a protection product 30 in the form of a sheet 31 The sheet 31 is formed of a twin wall fluted polypropylene material having a thickness of 4 mm The sheet 31 has three fold lines 32, 33, 34 scored or pre-creased therein The fold lines 32, 33, 34 define panels 35, 36 and 37 which in use will form top panel 35, front panel 36 and two side panels 37 as will be become apparent on consideration of Fig 4 From each intersection 38 of fold line 33 with fold line 32 and fold line 34, fold line 33 extending from the intersection 38 to an edge of the sheet 31 is cut at 39 to facilitate folding to form the sheet 31 into the protection product 30 as shown in Fig 4 Each of the cuts 39 is shaped to form two spaced tabs 40.

Along the parts of fold lines 32, 34 extending from the intersection 38 to the edge of the sheet 31 are two spaced slits 41 positioned and sized to receive the tabs 40 when the product 30 is constructed for use Marked on the sheet 31 adjacent the tabs 40 and slits 41 are reference numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 to indicate to the person assembling the protection product 30 the slit 41 into which a respective tab 40 is to be inserted.

In Fig 4 the protection product 30 is shown in situ around a pedestal washbasin 43 To assemble the protection product 30 the sheet 31 is folded along fold lines 32, 34 The sheet 31 is then folded along fold line 33 so that the tabs 40 can be inserted into the respective slit 41, with the flaps 42 inside the side panels 37 When in the assembled configuration, the protection product 30 can be placed in position around the washbasin 43 to protect it whilst work continues in the vicinity.

Referring now to Fig 5, there is shown a protection product 50 in the form of a sheet 51 The sheet 51 is formed of a twin wall fluted polypropylene material having a thickness of 4 mm The sheet 51 has five fold lines 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 scored or pre-creased therein The fold lines 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 define panels 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 and 62 which in use will form upper top panel 57, upper front panel 58, lower top panel 59, lower front panel 60, two upper side panels 61 and two lower side panels 62 as will be become apparent on consideration of Fig 6 From each intersection 63 of fold line 53 with fold line 52 and fold line 54, fold line 53 extending from the intersection 63 to an edge of the sheet 51 is cut at 64 to facilitate folding to form the sheet 51 into the upper top panel 57, upper front panel 58 and upper side panels 61 of protection product 50 as shown in Fig 6 Each of the cuts 64 is shaped to form a tab 65 From the intersections 66 of fold line 55 with fold line 52 and fold line 54, fold lines 52 and 54 extending from the intersections 66 to an edge of the sheet 51 are cut at 67 to facilitate folding to form the sheet 51 into the upper front panel 58 and lower side panels 62 From each intersection 68 4 of fold line 56 with fold line 52 and fold line 54, fold line 56 extending from the intersection 68 to an edge of the sheet 51 is cut at 69 to facilitate folding to form the sheet 51 into the lower front panel 57 and flaps 70 Each of the cuts 69 is shaped to form a tab 71 Along the parts of fold lines 52, 54 between intersections 66 and 68 are two spaced slits 72 positioned and sized to receive the tabs 65, 71 when the product 50 is constructed for use Marked on the sheet 51 adjacent the tabs 65, 71 and slits 72 are reference numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 to indicate to the person assembling the protection product 50 the slit 72 into which a respective tab 65, 71 is to be inserted.

In Fig 6 the protection product 50 is assembled to be placed around a WC To assemble the protection product 50 the sheet 51 is folded along fold lines 52 to 56 The tabs 65, 71 can be inserted into the respective slit 72, with the upper side panels 61 outside and the flaps 70 inside the lower side panels 62 When in the assembled configuration, the protection product can be placed in position around the WC to protect it whilst work continues in the vicinity To minimise the cost of the products 30, 50, the twin-wall fluted polypropylene sheet 31, 51 may be of a relatively lighter grade than that of sheet 11, since there will be a lesser tendency for items to be placed on the top surfaces 35, 57, 59 of products 30, 50 than top surface 15 of product 10.

By means of the invention a simple and cost effective protection product is provided for the protection of sanitary ware during construction work on premises in which the sanitary ware has been installed Fitting the protection product to and removal from the sanitary ware is quick, simple and less likely to cause damage to the sanitary ware than the 'boxing-in' method previously performed In addition the protection product of this invention may be readily disassembled and stored for future use.

Claims (1)

1 A protection product for an item of sanitary ware, comprising a rigid sheet material formed with lines of weakness forming fold lines along which the sheet may be folded to form in use at least one front panel, a least one side panel and at least one top panel, and the sheet being cut along at least one of the lines of weakness extending from each intersection of two lines of weakness to an edge of the sheet.

2 A protection product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has fold lines along which the sheet may be folded to form in use a front panel, two side panels and a top panel.

3 A protection product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has fold lines along which the sheet may be folded to form in use two front panels, two top panels and two side panels.

4 A protection product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one cut fold line is shaped to form at least one tab.

A protection product according to claim 4, wherein each cut fold line is shaped to form at least one tab.

6 A protection product according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the other fold line extending from that intersection to an edge of the sheet has at least one slit therein adapted to receive the at least one tab.

7 A protection product according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein a cut fold line has two spaced tabs formed therealong.

8 A protection product according to claim 7, wherein each respective other fold line has two slits spaced therealong adapted to receive the respective two tabs therein.

9 A protection product according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein respective tabs and slits have corresponding identification markings adjacent thereto.

A protection product according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sheet is of polypropylene.

6 11 A protection product according to claim 10, wherein the sheet is a twin-wall fluted polypropylene sheet.

12 A protection product according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the sheet has a thickness of substantially 4 mm.

13 A protection product according to claim 1 mounted on a bath.

14 A protection product according to claim 1 disposed around a pedestal washbasin.

A protection product according to claim 1 disposed around a WC.

16 A protection product substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs 1 and 2, or Figs 3 and 4, or Figs 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.