US2980969A - Shower and bathtub enclosures - Google Patents

Description

April 25, 1961 TINFOW SHOWER AND BATHTUB ENCLOSURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 30, 1959 INVENTOR. Z/O/VEL 77A/Fow BY ATTOQA/EY5 April 25, 1961 TlNFow 2,980,969

SHOWER AND BATHTUB ENCLOSURES Filed April 30, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. L /0/v.54 77/vFow BYG b C W ATTOPA/EYS United States Patent SHOWER AND BATHTUB ENCLOSURES Lionel Tinfow, 53 S. Ridgewood Road, South Orange, NJ.

Filed Apr. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 810,126

9 Claims. (Cl. 20-11) This invention relates to shower and bathtub enclosures and refers, more particularly, to shower and bathtub enclosures which are installed without the use of fasteners in the side walls.

Prior art shower and bathtub enclosures are provided with side-jambs for receiving sliding or swinging doors, and these side-jambs are fastened to a supporting side wall by screws or adhesive. Screws are extremely difficult to anchor in the sidewalls, particularly where the side walls have a tile outer surface. Also, anchoring the fasteniugs in theside Wall mars the wall surface causing unsightly holes and cracks, requiring extensive repair work. Not only are the walls damaged, but the holes and cracks may allow water to enter the wall causing water damage to the walls and ceilings of rooms below. Cement has also been used in prior artto fasten a side jarnb to a side wall, but this is an unsatisfactory method because of the required labor involved, the unpleasant resulting appearance of the cemented structure, and the fact that the cement is often insutficient to support a much used enclosure for an extended period of time. Both the user of screws or cement prevents later removal of the enclosure because the walls have become permanently marred.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a shower and bathtub enclosure which does not have the disadvantage of the prior art.

Another object is the provision of an enclosure which may be rapidly and easily installed on presently existing showers and bathtubs by unskilled labor. 7

Another object is to provide 'a sliding door enclosure in. which the doors will not jam the tracks or become disengaged from the tracks during use.

Another object is to provide a low cost towel bar which can be attached to the doors by unskilled'labor after the doors have been installed.

Yet another object is the provision of an enclosure which may be installed on showers and bathtubs without the necessity of attaching supporting fasteners or other supporting materials to the sidewalls of the room, and which will notzrnar' or damage the side walls in any manner.. i C

Another object is theprovision of an enclosure'held securely between the side walls of the room by meansofpressure exerted on these walls b'y the enclosure itself.

,StillIanotheriobiect iswthe provision of anlenclosure which will'not allowwater to leak out of the shower or the'bathtub 1 1 Still banother'object isithe provision of a le'akproof 'enclosure by the use of vinyl seals.

I further object i'sjthe .provision, of an inexpensive 1 easily 'manufaeturedfshower or bathtub .enclosuresuitable for existing as welLas futureshowers'famdbathtubs. u Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the ,co urseQf the; following specification U [The objects of the present invention may bev realized 7 throughthe pro'visionof pre-bint side-jarnbs,,ahdspecially 's'haped'upper'andglower"horizontal members-joining Patented Apr. 25, 1961 these side-jambs. The pre-bent side-jambs are so shaped that when they are placed vertically against the side walls only the middle portion of the side-jarnb is in contact with the sidewall. Upper and lower horizontal members are then wedged between the top portions and bottom portions, respectively, of the two side jambs, whereby compressive forces in the horizontal members hold the sidejambs securelyagainst the side walls. Then either sliding or swinging doors can be secured by the side-jarnbs and horizontal members, and a water-tight enclosure results.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing, by way of example, preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of a bathtub enclosure of the present invention having sliding doors;

Figure 2 is an exploded front view of side-jarnbs, upper and lower tracks, and a wedge of the present invention prior to their installation in the enclosure;

Figure 3 shows the upper portion of two s'ide-jambs, and an upper track positioned so as to allow the insertion or removal of a sliding door in the upper track;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1 and shows the upper and lower tracks, the sliding doors, and the rollers attached to the sliding doors and supported by the upper track;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a front view of a hinged shower door enclosure of the present invention.

Figure 8 is an exploded front view of the side-jam'bs and. header and saddle of the embodiment of Figure 7 prior to installation; V

t Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 99 of Figure 7;

t Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along line 1(i10 of Figure 7; I

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along line 1111 of Figure 7;

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of Figure 7;

Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of Figure 7;

Figure 14 is a sectional View taken along line 1414 of Figure 7.

A bathtub enclosure 10 of the present invention (Figure 1) comprises side-jambs 11, lzdispos'ed against side walls 13, 14, respectively, a lower track 1Sdisposed on the ledge 16of bathtub 17, a wedge 18 disposed between lower track 15 and side-jamb 11, an upper track 19 disposed between side- jambs 11, 12, and sliding doors 20 having a towel bar 21 and handles 32. The upper and lower tracks 19, 15 constitutethe horizontal menu bers of the enclosure. v

The enclosure supporting structure, comprising the side-jambs' 11, 12, upper track-19, the lower track 15,

and wedge 18 are shown in Figure 2 prior-to beingene gaged with one-another to form the enclosure 10 of Figure l. I 1

The side- ja'rnbs 11, 12 are pre bent in long sweeping curvesor arcs and -are concave away" from the side-wall. against which they will be placed. A crossrsectional; view-of the side-jamb 11 and its relationship'to the side wall 13 is shown in Figure 5. The side janrbs 11, 12 are pre-bent as an aid in the compressionand tofacilita'teyav tight seal between the side-jambs and the-wall.

Mapp r track 19, of proper length, has "two differently v notched ends 19a and 1% which not only enable the track 19 to beifitted between the upper portions 22,23

of side- jambs 11, 12, respectively, but which also enables the notched end 19a to be raised in a substantially vertical manner without disengaging end 1912 in order to engage or disengage the sliding doors 2t) fromthe tracks 19, 15, Figures 1, 2 and 3. r

The lower track 15 has fiat protruding side portions 24, 25 (Figure 4), on which are placed the edges 26a, 27a (Figure 2) of the lower portions 26, 27 of the side jambs 11, 12. Vinyl seals 30 fit under the side-jambs 11, 12 (Figures 1 and 2). The wedge 13 is shaped to be forced between the lower track 15 and side-jamb 11 (Figures 1 and 2). 7

When the side- jambs 11, 12 and lower and upper tracks 15, 19 are in place the sliding doors 211 are supported by upper track 19, and are prevented from leaving track 19 by the lower track 15, as shown in Figure 4. In Figure 4 is shown the upper track 19 supporting rollers 23 which are attached to doors 20, the lower track 15, and a bifurcated door portion 29a having fixed flaps 29 which are attached to the lower end of each sliding door 20. Within the bifurcated door portion 29a is disposed resilient, bent nylon strips 2%, and it is these strips 2% which come in contact with rails 38, whereby a smoothly sliding door results. The tendency of strips 2% to straighten out holds them in place.

In my co-pending application, Serial No. 757,592, filed August 27, 1958, I disclose the manner of supporting enclosure sliding doors by means of rollers supported by an upper track, when said upper track together with a lower track are disposed between side-jambs.

Vinyl seals 30 are attached to track 15 (Figure 4) and to the legs 31 of the jamb 11, as shown in Figure 5. The vinyl seals 30 act as a water seal, preventing water from leaking out of the enclosure. This eliminates the necessity for the use of caulking compound to prevent such leakage from the inside to the outside of the enclosure 10. The vinyl seals 30 have spring action and also act as a cushion, whereby the side-jamb 11 does not come in direct contact with the side-wall 13. Therefore, scratching and marring of the sidewall 13 is prevented, and this spring action further assists in maintaining pressure against the side walls 13, 14. The design of the vinyl seals 30 of the present invention enables them to be attached to the legs 31 of the side jambs 11, 12, and to the lower track 15, in a very simple manner.

A handle 32 is attached to a door 20 by means of one screw 33. The handle 32 is designed in such a manner that a towel bar 21 may be subsequently attached thereto (Figures 1, The projection 34 of the handle 32 fits into the hollowed out portion of the towel bar 21 and is thereto secured by one screw 35 (Fig. 6). A metal strip 35a prevents water from entering the towel bar by connecting the free edges 35b if a C-shaped towel bar is used (Figure 6). Use of the metal strip 35a produces the affect of a hollow extruded section at a cost greatly reduced from that of an actual hollow extrusion.

The manner of installation, operation and use of the enclosure of the present invention is as follows:

First, the lower track is placed on the ledge 16 of tub 17 (Figure 1). Then side-jambs :11, 12, which are made of resilient material and which are pre-bent in long sweeping arcs, as shown in Figure 2, are placed againstthe side- walls 13, 14 with the concave side away from the side-walls 13, 14 (Figure 3). In this position, side-jamb 11, for example, has its middleportion 36 in contact with the side wall 13, whilethe upper portion 22 and lower portion 26 are not in contact with the side wall 13 (Figures'l, 2 and 3). The lower portions 26, 27 are in contact with the protruding. portions .24,

(Figure 4) of the lower track 15. A wedge 18 (Fig- 4 in Wedge 18 and track 15, thus securing track 15 on the bathtub ledge 16 between the side- jambs 11, 12. Since the track 15 is being compressed by the side- jambs 11, 12, the track 15 exerts an equal and opposite force on the side- jambs 11, 12, thus securely holding the sidejambs 11, 12 against side walls 13, 14.

Next the upper track 19 is placed between the sidejambs 1 1, 12, as shown in Figure 3. The notched end 19a allows track 19 to be elevated above its normal horizontal position, so that the doors 20 when at the end 19a of the track 19 will completely clear the upright guides 38 (Figure 4) in the lower track 15. Figure 3 illustrates the position of track 19 when it is desired to engage or disengage the doors 20 from the guides 38 of the lower track 15. The doors 20 are engaged with the upper track 19 at the high end 19a of the track 19 and then rolled down to the low end 1% to engage the guides 38 of the lower track 15. After both doors 28 have been engaged with both the lower and upper tracks 15, 19, the upper track 19 is then pushed downward to its normal horizontal position. In this position it is not possible for the doors 20 to become disengaged from the guides 38 of the lower track 15. Of course, the length of both tracks 15 and 19 is determined by the distance between the contact surfaces 39 and 40 (Figure 1) of side jambs 11, 12, when the side- jambs 11, 12 are flat against the side walls 13, 14.

The notch 1911 (Figures 2 and 3) facilitates the wedging of the upper track 19 between the side jambs 11, 12 and the diagonal portion 41 of notch 19a completes this wedging action as the track 19 is forced into a horizontal position. When the track 19 is in the raised position, the vertical portion 42 of notch 19a is in contact with the contact surface 40 of the side-jamb 12. As the track 19 is forced into thenormal horizontal position the diagonal surface 41 rides along the edge of the contact surface 41), gradually forcing both side- jambs 11, 12 back against their respective side walls 13, 14, until the vertical portion 4-3 comes into contact with the surface 40. The upper track 19 is in compression and forces the sidejarnbs 11, 12 into pressure contact with the side- walls 13, 14. The notched end 1917 facilitates the insertion of the upper track 19 between the two jambs 11, 12.

The vinyl seals 39 are, of course, placed on the sidejambs 11, 12 and lower tracks 19 before these parts are installed, and thereby the seals 30 are in firm contact with the side walls 13, 14 and ledge 16, establishing watertight contacts.

After the doors 20 are in place the towel bar 21 may be connected as indicated above if desired.

To remove the sliding doors 20, the upper track 19 is moved upward and the doors 20 are rolled to the higher end 19a until they clear the guides 38 in the lower tirack 15, and are then disengaged from. both tracks A shower enclosure 50 of the present invention is shown in Figure 7 and'comprises side-jambs 51, 51a, upper header 52, lower saddle 53, wedge 54 and a hinged door 55. Side walls 56 and sill 57 support the side-jambs 51, 51a, and saddle 53 in the same manner as explained above in the case of the enclosure 10.

' Prior to'installation, the side-jambs 51 are pro-bent into long sweeping curves as previously explained (Figure 8). The installation of the members in Figure 8 is the same as for .the embodiment of Figure 1, except, of course, that'the door 55 issupported by hinges 58 rather than by rollers. Also, as indicated in Figure 9, an L-shaped member 59 is attached to upper portion of side-jamb 51 by means of a screw 60. This "construction provides support for the header 52' (Figure 13). A

similar L-shaped member 61 (Figure 7) is provided at the lower end of each side-jamb 51 and 51a to serve as positioning guides for the saddle 53. Vinyl seals 62 are used in the same "manner as explained-inregard to the embodiment of, the enclosure 10 The door 55 may be swung in and out aboutt he ;on-

tinuous two-leafed hinge 58 which is attached to jamb 51a by screws 65, and to the door 55 by screws 66 (Figure A catch 63 is provided to secure the door 55 in the closed position to side-jamb 51 (Figure 11).

Any water passing from the inside of the shower room will become trapped in the depression 67 of the saddle 53 and will drain back into the shower room through weep holes 68, Figure 12.

After the side-jambs 51, 51a, header 52', wedge 54, and saddle 53 have been installed as described above, the door 55 is-attached by hinges 58 to side-jamb 51a (Figure 10) and may thereafter be opened and shut as desired.

The vinyl seals 62, together with the novel saddle design, shown in Figure 12, the extended arms 64, 64a (Figures 10 and 11) of the side-jambs 51, 51a, and the hinge 58' make the shower door enclosure 50 leak-proof.

Among the advantages of the enclosures of the present invention are the following:

The enclosures can be rapidly and easily installed by unskilled labor; the enclosure can be installed on bathtubs and showers without the necessity of attaching supporting fasteners to the side-walls; the enclosure can be installed without using adhesive or cements to attach the side-jambs to the side walls; the enclosure is watertight; the vinyl seals make the use of caulking unnecessary; since no fasteners, cements, or caulking is used the side Walls will not be marred, cracked, or damaged in any way; the handle and towel rack can be economically installed at any time; and the enclosure is inexpensive and easy to manufacture and can be made to fit any bathtub or shower.

It is apparent that the described examples are capable of many variations and modifications within the scope of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are to be included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A supporting structure for an enclosure for a showering area having side walls disposed opposite one. another, said supporting structure comprising two sidejambs, each of said side-jambs being vertically disposed in continuous contact with a different one of said sidewalls, and a plurality of elongated horizontal members having end portions, each of said side-jambs engaging one end portion of each of said horizontal members, at least one of said side-jambs resiliently tending to 'form a simple longitudinal curveconcave away from said contacted side-wall, said horizontal members being in compression between said side-jambs, whereby said sidejambs are securely held incontact with said side Walls along substantially the entire length of the side jambs.

2, A supporting structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of said side-jambs is resilientlytending to 2,326,856 Heaney Aug. 17, 1943 2,532,886 Blanchi Dec. 5, 1950 2,661,084- Stefian Dec. 1,1953 2,818,145 Bragman Dec. 31, 1957 7 2,840,162 Moerdyk June 24, 1958 2,867,860 Anderson Jan. 13, 1959 form a simple longitudinal curve concave away from its repective contacted side wall.

3. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 1, comprising a wedge compressively disposed and secured between one of said horizontal members and said one side-jamb.

, 4. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 1, comprising resilient vinyl seals engaging said side-jambs, said vinyl seals compressively disposed between said sidejambs and said side-walls, whereby said side-jambs and said contacted side walls are in water-tight contact.

5. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 1 for an enclosure for a showering area having a sill portion comprising resilient vinyl seals engaging one of said horizontal members, said engaged horizontal member disposed on said sill portion, said vinyl seals compressively disposed between said horizontal member and said sill portion, whereby said horizontal member and said sill portion are in water-tight contact.

6. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of said side-jambs has an upper portion and a lower portion, one of said horizontal members being engaged by said upper portions of said side-jambs, another of said horizontal members being engaged by said lower portions of said side-jambs.

7. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 6, wherein the horizontal member disposed between said upper portions of said 'side-jambs comprises a trackway.

8. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 6, wherein the horizontal member engaged between said upper portions of said side-jambs has one notched end portion, said notched portion comprising two planar portions normal to the longitudinal axis of the horizontal member, and a planar portion angular to said longitudinal axis and intermediate and contiguous with said normal planar portions.

9. A supporting structure in accordance with claim 8, wherein the other of the end portions of the last-mentioned horizontal member is notched, the last-mentioned notched end portion comprising a planar portion normal to said longitudinal axis, and a planar portion angular to said longitudinal axis and contiguous with the lastmentioned normal planar portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kessler July 7, 1959

Images