Cupboards

Abstract

 A cupboard, generally indicated 10, comprises a body 11 located between identical, but oppositely facing, top and bottom elements 12, 13; a door rotatably received between the elements 12, 13 and a wall bracket for mounting the assembly of the body, elements 12, 13 and door 14 on a wall 16. A shelf 17 may be mounted within the cupboard 10.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to cupboards and in particular to cupboards for use in wet environments such as showers.

[0002] It is becoming more common to provide storage space within shower enclosures for soaps, shampoos, etc. In their simplest form the units are just shelf units, but at least one manufacturer has proposed making a cupboard with a closable door so that the contents can be kept dry. However, the construction of that cupboard is expensive both in terms of components and assembly and involves rather complicated pivot mechanisms.

[0003] The present invention consists in a cupboard comprising a part cylindrical hollow body defining an opening to allow access to the interior of the body, top and bottom closure elements locating the body and together defining a door bracket and a part single door mounted in the bracket for rotation around the body between a first position in which it closes the opening and a second position in which the opening is revealed.

[0004] Each body may define a generally annular recess, such that the recesses together define the door track. In this case the recesses are circumjacent the body.

[0005] The body may include means for supporting a shelf and the support means may include a vertically extending element for allowing sliding adjustment of the vertical position of the shelf within the body.

[0006] Preferably the body is extruded or is bent from a single sheet of material and the door may be similarly constructed.

[0007] The cupboard may further comprise a wall bracket for mounting the cupboard on the wall, in which case the bracket may include top and bottom elements for engaging the top and bottom elements of the cupboard. Means may be provided for allowing radial adjustment in the location between the respective pairs of elements so as to compensate for irregularities in the wall on which the cupboard is mounted.

[0008] Although the invention has been defined above it is to be understood that it include any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description.

[0009] The invention may be performed in various ways and a specific embodiment will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front view of a cupboard;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of the cupboard of Figure 1 along the line 1-1; and

Figures 3a,b,c are respectively a top view, a horizontal section along the lines 2-2, and a bottom view of the cupboard of Figure 1.

[0010] A cupboard, generally indicated at 10, comprises a body 11 located between identical top and bottom elements 12, 13, a door 14 rotatably received between the elements 12, 13 and a wall bracket 15 for mounting the assembly of the body 11, elements 12, 13 and door 14 on a wall 16. A shelf 17 may be mounted within the cupboard 10.

[0011] As can best be seen in Figure 3a, the body 11 is generally semi-circular and defines an opening 18 through which access to the cupboard is achieved. The body is provided with three enlarged portions 19 which define threaded apertures 20 to receive locking screws 21 whereby the body 11 is attached to the top and bottom elements 12, 13. A headed track member 22 is provided on the body and extends vertically centrally down it to provide a location for the shelf 17 so that the shelf can be adjusted vertically within the body. Once the shelf 17 is in its desired position it can be locked therein by conventional locking or support means, e.g. 17a. A further shelf 23 may be supported on the bottom element 13 and indeed other adjustable shelves may be provided.

[0012] It will be understood that the body 11 can easily be extruded and cut to length and the top and bottom elements readily assembled on the body by six screwing operations.

[0013] Each of the elements 12, 13 defines a generally annual recess 24 which are axially directed towards each other, when the elements are assembled on the body 11, so that they define together a track for receiving the door 14. This door is again part cylindrical, and can be formed by extrusion so that it can be rotated to the closed position shown in Figure 3a or to an open position where it is located between the body 11 and the bracket 15 allowing access to the cupboard. As the door 14 is simply located in the recesses 24 assembly is once again extremely simple and no expensive pivots or bearings are required.

[0014] The bracket 15 comprises a wall plate 26 and top and bottom elements 27, 28 which are spaced apart sufficiently so that the main portion of the cupboard 10 can be slid in between them. The top and bottom elements 27, 28 of the bracket 15 can be secured to respective top and bottom elements 12, 13 by means of screws 29. It will be noted that each of the top and bottom elements 27, 28 is provided with an elongate cut out 30 to allow suitable adjustment of the cupboard relative to the wall 16 so that the cupboard can extend vertical even if the wall 16 does not.

[0015] A hook 31 may be provided on the bottom element 13 for shower gel or the like. Drainage holes 32 may be provided in the shelf 17.

[0016] For the reasons indicated above it will be understood that the cupboard is particularly easily manufactured from very few components and assembly costs are low.

Claims

1. A cupboard comprising a part cylindrical hollow body defining an opening to allow access to the interior of the body, top and bottom end elements locating the body and together defining a door track and a part cylindrical door mounted in the track for rotation around the body between a first position in which it closes the opening and a second position in which the opening is revealed.

2. A cupboard, wherein in each body defines a generally annular recess which together define the door track.

3. A cupboard as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the body includes means for supporting a shelf.

4. A cupboard as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the support means includes a vertically extending track for allowing sliding adjustment of the vertical position of the shelf within the body.

5. A cupboard as claimed in any of the preceding Claims, wherein the body is extruded or is bent from a single sheet of material.

6. A cupboard as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the door is extruded or is bent from a single sheet of material.

7. A cupboard as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, further comprising a wall bracket for mounting the cupboard on a wall.

8. A cupboard as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the wall bracket includes top and bottom elements for engaging respective ones of the top and bottom elements of the cupboard.

9. A cupboard as claimed in Claim 6, further including means for allowing radial adjustment between the respective pairs of elements.

10. A cupboard as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawing