US2966311A - Adjustable shower attachment - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 27, 1960 H. G. DAVIS 2,966,311

ADJUSTABLE SHOWER ATTACHMENT Filed July 24, 1958 E, 3 INVENTOR.

HAROLD G. DAVIS A TTORN E Y United States This invention relates to an adjustable spray or shower attachment such as the type employed in place of the conventional shower head in a bath tub and the like.

Various constructions and arrangements have been proposed in the past in order to provide an adjustable shower attachment or fixture which will permit both conventional overhead spraying and localized spraying of various parts of the body or of the bath tub. Normally, of the ways proposed, adjustment of the attachment is limited or the extensible parts are hidden or disposed in a recess in the wall of the shower to keep them out of the way and in order to improve the overall appearance of the installation. More important, it is customary to control the flow of water either by the faucets alone, or by manual control in conjunction with the faucets. In addition, installation is often made ditficult and expensive and the attachment is not usually conformable for easy connection into different types of shower fittings.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide for a shower attachment wherein the shower head is extensible and may be automatically controlled to open for spraying from a fixed or secured position, or may be manually extended and controlled for spraying from any desired position.

It is another object to provide for a shower attachment in which the nozzle may be supported in any desired fixed, normally open position simulating a conventional nozzle and wherein the nozzle is further adapted for extension from its fixed position to permit manipulation and direction of the spray over a wide area, such as for local spraying of any part of the users body or for rinsing and cleaning the shower tub or stall itself.

It is a further object to provide for an improved shower arrangement having valved spraying means disposed at the end of flexible discharge means, adaptable for removable support on the wall of the shower bath and the like, wherein the weight of the discharge means is operative to hold the valved spraying means in normally open position, and further upon removal of the valved spray means from the support the spray means may be manually controlled in opening and closing for localized, selective spraying of different areas of the bathroom.

It is still a further object to provide for an improved shower attachment which may be easily installed in place of a conventional shower head and in which the inlet end of the attachment includes an adjustable holder for removable support of the valved outlet end of the attachment and in such a way as to maintain the flexible discharge means connected between the inlet and outlet end in a predetermined, out of the way position without necessity of special attachment to, or within, the wall.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the shower attachment in position on a water outlet pipe projecting atent from the wall of a shower bath or stall in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top section view of the inlet portion of the shower attachment including the holder to support the nozzle, taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a detailed section view of a valve arrangement forming a part of the shower head of the present invention.

With more particular reference to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1, for purposes of illustration and .not limitation, a shower attachment orv fixture 10 connected into the threaded end of a water outlet pipe 12 extending from a wall 14 of a conventional shower bath or shower stall, and wherein the water outlet pipe 12 serves as the water supply line into a conventional shower head of the overhead or fixed spray type. As is the conventional practice, the flow of water through the pipe 12 may be controlled by faucets, not shown, to open and close a mixing valve in the water supply line.

In the shower attachment 10 of the present invention there is provided an inlet portion 16 for connection into the water outlet pipe 12, with a holder and support member 17 connected to one side of the inlet 16 and a flexible conductor or discharge tubing 18 which extends from the outer side of the inlet 16 into a valved shower head section 19 forming the outlet end of the shower attachment.

The inlet 16 is the main support element for the entire attachment arrangement and for this purpose is a relatively heavy Walled fitting having a central threaded bore 24 extending preferably through the greater length of the inlet portion to receive the threaded end of the outlet pipe 12. Adjacent to the closed end of the inlet a lateral threaded opening 25 extends through one wall thereof into communication with the bore 24, the opening being adapted to accommodate the hollow male end of a fitting 26 for the holder 17. Projecting into the other side of the inlet 16 in alignment with the opening 25 is another threaded opening 27 to receive the male end of a fitting 28 which forms an extension of the flexible discharge tubing 18. The male ends of the fittings 26 and 2-8 respectively are both recessed and act as end supports for a strainer 30 so that the strainer 30 extends across the bore 24 to remove any possible foreign matter or sediment from the water as it is conducted through the inlet into the flexible tubing 13. Of course, conventional seals or gaskets, not shown, may be utilized at all the connection points to insure against any leakage of water and loosening of the parts.

The holder 17 is so designed that it may be extended from the inlet 16 or, if desired, from the wall 14 with the addition of other attachment means, and in either position may be swiveled or otherwise suitably adjusted to accommodate the shower head 19 and to ho d it at a predetermined, angular fixed position, yet at the same time will permit easy removal of the shower head for localized spraying around the bathroom. To this end, the fitting 28 forms a solid, generally cylindrical boss or support 31 at its projecting end from the inlet 16 to interconnect the holder 17 to the inlet 16. This may be accomplished by securing a sleeve 33 over the boss 31 by means of a screw or pin 34. Two diametrically opposed exterior surfaces of the sleeve may be flattened or otherwise suitably formed for contact with legs 35 of a generally U-shaped clamp member 36 with the legs 35 being held in position against the surfaces of the sleeve by means of a screw 37 extending through the legs and outer portion of the sleeve just above the boss end of the fitting 26. The screw includes a nut 38 at one end and a knurled knob 39 at the other end to permit manual tightening and loosening of the legs against the sleeve. The outer closed end of the clamp 36 is generally circular both in length and in cross section for the purpose of retaining therein a spherically shaped head 40, the head 40 providing a bore 41 extending therethrough to form a nozzle receiving opening with an inturned flange 42 at the lower end of the opening 41 to limit the extent of projection of the shower head 19 therethrough. It will be evident that by adjustment of the screw 37, the closed end of the clamp may be tightened against the head to frictionally engage the outer surface thereof and to hold it in any desired angular position with respect to the wall 14 of inlet 16.

The flexible discharge tubing 18 interconnecting the inlet 16 and shower head 19 may be secured over the exterior, hollow end of the fitting 28 by any suitable means, and as shown is merely disposed over the hollow end in press fitting relation. Also, to protect the end of the fitting, a metallic band 18' may be loosely disposed over the end of the tubing. The tubing 18 extends from the lower end of the inlet 16 in attached position so as to hang downwardly and rearwardly therefrom and is then doubled back upon itself to extend upwardly into the shower head section. Any suitable materials may be used in the formation of the tubing, although it is preferably composed of a reinforced, rubber-like hose material and in addition can be of any desired length so as to permit extension of the shower head for any desired distance from the normal attached position for localized spraying operations. The shower head 19 forming the outlet end of the attachment may then be connected to the tubing or hose 18 in much the same manner as the inlet 16 with a hollow fitting 43 being press fit into connection with the end of the tubing, as illustrated in Figure 4.

A primary feature of the present invention is the cooperative relationship which is established between the holder 17 and the shower head 19 so that the shower head will serve as a normal shower fixture without necessity of manually opening and closing the valve of the head 19 when in attached position in the holder. Also, the valve is so constructed as to automatically close when the head is removed from the holder 17 to avoid spraying and splashing of the user and then the shower head may be extended and manipulated by hand to open or close the valve for spraying any part of the body, or tub, or other adjacent areas of the bathroom. For this purpose the head is broadly comprised of a valve 44 at the inner end thereof and a conventional nozzle 45 extending from the end of the valve and forming the outer extremity of the head. The valve 44 is preferably manually operated and in the preferred form as shown is of poppet type including a valve body 46 having an internally threaded bore 47 extending through one end thereof for connection to the threaded end of the fitting 43 and a valve seat 48 defined by a tapered shoulder extending from the bore 47 into a passage 49 at the opposite end of the body of the valve. Interposed between the valve seat and male end of the fitting 43 is a valve head or closure 50 of a diameter slightly less than the bore 47 having a rubber-like annular gasket 51 to normally engage the valve seat and maintain the valve in closed position. interconnecting the valve 44 and the nozzle 45 is a rubber sleeve or covering 53 which is spread at its ends and pressed into seal tight connection over the exterior surface of the passage end of the valve body 46 and the inner end of a fitting 55. Bands 54 or other suitable hose clamps may be slipped over the ends of the sleeve 53 to prevent their displacement. In addition, extending through the rubber sleeve 53 from the valve seat side of the valve head is an integral valve stem 52 which, through tilting of the nozzle end of the shower head will engage the internal surface of the fitting 55 and operate to tilt the valve head 50 away from the 4 seat to permit the flow of water through the valve and nozzle.

Any type nozzle 45 may be utilized and as shown in Figure 4 includes a perforated end 57 threaded onto the outer end of the fitting 55 so as to diffuse or spray the water entering the shower head through the valve 44..

When the shower head 19 is projected through the opening 42 in the holder, the weight of the hose will be sufiicient to bend the rubber sleeve 53 and tilt the stem and attached valve head so as to maintain the valve in normally open position. Thus, when the faucets or other suitable regulating means are turned on, the nozzle will operate in much the same manner as any conventional overhead shower arrangement. Of course, the stem which extends through the rubber sleeve will limit the extent of tilting since it engages the inner surface of the fitting 55 with the inner end of the valve head abutting against the male end of the hose fitting 43.

As soon as the weight is taken off the rubber sleeve, due to the resiliency of the sleeve, it will tend to return to a normal relaxed position, and the valve head 50 and stem 52 will also return to a straight line position due to the force of the water against the inlet side of the head holding it in sealed relation with the valve seat. Accordingly, when it is desired to remove the shower head from the holder 17 the valve will automatically close and upon removal the operator or user may then manipulate by hand the opening and closing of the valve simply by tilting the nozzle end of the shower head in any direction.

As pointed out, the holder 17 may be secured at most any convenient angle and the weight of the hose will operate to maintain the valve in an open position. Moreover, if desired and as shown in Figure 1, the holder may form a separate member such as by use of an elongate rod 60 interconnecting a clamp 36' and head 40 of a holder 17' to suitable attaching means, such as a suction cup 61 for securing to the wall 14. Again, the downwardly depending hose 18 from the valve side of the shower head will operate to hold the valve in a normally open position, and in this respect due to the flexibility of the rubber sleeve and relatively small size of the valve, very little weight is necessary to hold the valve in this position. For this reason, the shower head may be easily supported on the wall of a shower stall or bath tub either by temporary attachment means such as the suction cup or more permanent means, as desired.

It will be seen that the unit as a whole is very compact and will permit construction of all the members such as the inlet and outlet sections including the valve and nozzle portion of substantially the same size and diameter. As a result, the installation is very light weight and does not require special arrangements for holding the flexible tubing 18 in an out of the way position since, due to the relative disposition between the inlet 16 and shower head 19 with respect to the tubing, the tubing will extend rearwardly from both ends against the wall of the shower. Also, there is very little wear imposed on the rubber sleeve as a result of the hanging weight of the resilient tubing since the stem of the valve 44 together with the fitting carry substantially all of the weight. In addition, the outer bands 54 protect the ends of the sleeve 53 while at the same time holding it in secure position.

It will accordingly be understood from the foregoing description that the shower attachment of the present invention has unique features which cooperate to form a highly simplified yet improved spray arrangement. The attachment as a whole will accommodate any type nozzle and fittings and, of course, various types of fiexible tubing. Also, there is employed a very compact, simple valve which may be easily operated yet is very reliable. In this connection and as mentioned heretofore the holder 17 need not be made part of the inlet, although such does contribute to the overall compactness of the entire installation, and the holder may also be disposed as a separate part as illustrated.

Having illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spray attachment including an inlet adapted for connection to a water supply line and a flexible conducting member leading from said inlet, the combination of a spray head having a nozzle and valve means interposed between said conducting member and said nozzle including a stem and resilient covering, said valve means being normally closed, and a clamp removably holding said nozzle such that the weight of said conducting member maintains said valve in an open position.

2. In a spray attachment including an inlet adapted for connection to a water supply line and a flexible conducting member leading from said inlet, the combination of a spray head having a nozzle and a manually operative valve interconnecting said conducting member and said nozzle, said valve including a recessed body portion providing a seat therein, a closure member engaging said seat to control the flow of water through said valve, a stem projecting from said closure member into said nozzle, and a resilient sleeve interconmeeting said body and said nozzle relative to said body so that tilting of said nozzle will cause said stem to be tilted for opening said valve, and a clamp removably holding said nozzle with the weight of said conductive member being operative to tilt said nozzle with respect to said body whereupon said valve is held in an open position for the flow of water therethrough.

3. In a shower attachment having an inlet connected to the delivery line for a shower and the like, a flexible conducting member leading from the inlet together with a nozzle defining the outlet end of the attachment, the combination of a holder disposed at the inlet including a clamp member thereon and a nozzle retaining portion adjustably secured in said clamp, and a valve including a flexible sleeve interconnecting the nozzle and flexible conducting member and a stem projecting through said sleeve into the nozzle, said nozzle being disposed in said nozzle retaining portion, whereupon the weight of said conducting member is operative to tilt said valve with respect to said nozzle to hold said valve in an open position for the flow of water therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 936,771 Gandil Oct. 12, 1909 1,231,305 Shepherd June 26, 1917 1,279,006 Rose Sept. 17, 1918 2,015,923 Davis Oct. 1, 1935 2,216,149 Weiss Oct. 1, 1940 2,566,248 Powell Aug. 28, 1951 2,804,344 Price Aug. 27, 1957 2,873,999 Webb Feb. 17, 1959

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