Shower-bath basin, in particular for a self-bearing shower-Bath booth

Abstract

 The shower-bath basin comprises a first portion (6) which is shaped to include a concave zone (4) that is delimitated by a peripheral edge (3). Said first portion is arranged upon and joined to a second portion (7) which is shaped to include an upper peripheral fascia (8) adapted to support said edge (3) and blending into a floor-mount base (10) of said second portion (7). Said floor-mount base (10) comprises a plurality of alternately concave and convex sections having respective lower surfaces (11), which constitute an area for the basin to rest upon the floor, and upper surfaces (12), which are adapted to support said first portion (6) of the basin in correspondence of the bottom of said concave zone (4).

Description

[0001] This invention relates to an improved type of shower-bath basin and, particularly, to a basin for a shower-bath booth of the self-bearing or self-supporting type.

[0002] As contrary to traditional shower-bath basins, which are usually made of a ceramic material and are therefore quite expensive, and which additionally require masonry work to be performed for their installation, self-bearing shower-bath booths are known to be generally provided with a substantially monolithic structure which mainly comprises a metal framework, with blind walls and semitransparent doors, as well as a shower basin of a rigid material which is attached to the metal framework of the booth and is installed at a certain height above the floor. In particular, the periphery of the basin is supported by the floor through a plurality of upright members equipped with resting feet; for a greater structural strength, said upright members shall additionally be interconnected and fastened together by means of appropriate brackets or similar strengthening or stiffening means. Furthermore, due to a number of both sanitary and aesthetic considerations, the space which is comprised between the floor and the basin must be concealed by means of bottom side panels reaching down to the floor (according to the shape and the type of installation of the shower booth), which are generally made of metal and are fixed in their position by screwing or snap-fitting thee on the remaining structure of the shower booth which thus takes the afore cited self-bearing, monolithic appearance. It goes without saying that also this assembly of said bottom side panels, which anyway are unable to ensure a satifactory full-height sealing, requires the use of appropriate fastening and/or hook-on means.

[0003] Such solutions are obviously quite complicated from a construction point of view and, for their installation, they require difficult and toilsome work that must be performed by skilled personnel. As a consequence, these solutions are ultimately also undesirably expensive.

[0004] It is therefore a purpose of the present invention to provide a shower-bath basin which is simple and cost-effective, particularly but not exclusively adapted to be used in shower-bath booths of a self-bearing type, which enables assembly and installation work to be significantly simplified and reduced to a minimum.

[0005] According to the invention, such an aim is reached in a shower-bath basin, particularly for shower-bath booths of the self-bearing type, which embodies the features as claimed in the appended claims.

[0006] Features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily and clearly understood on the basis of the description which is given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the shower-bath basin according to the present invention; and
• Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the shower-bath basin taken along the II-II line of Figure 1, wherein it should be noticed that the right side and the left side of Figure 2 are shown to illustrate respective embodiments of the present invention.

[0007] With reference to the above cited Figures, the general shape of the shower-bath basin, in particular as far as its plan outline is concerned, is variable according to requirements, with an inner concave zone 4 which is provided with at least a drain hole 5 and is delimitated by a substantially plane, raised peripheral edge 3.

[0008] According to the invention, the basin is mainly constituted by two portions 6, 7 arranged upon each other and joined together, preferably in a water-tight manner, which may be made, for instance, of moulded methacrylate ester or the like.

[0009] The upper portion 6 includes the edge 3 and the concave zone 4 of the basin, which has a preferably plane bottom.

[0010] The lower portion 7 is shaped with an upper peripheral fascia 8 which is preferably plane and adapted to support said upper portion 6 in correspondence of its raised edge 3.

[0011] In correspondence of the portion 7 of the basin, said fascia 8 blends externally into a peripheral side wall 9 which extends downwards, preferably reaching down to the floor, so as to substantially enclose the whole shower-bath basin all around it. At least the outer surface of the side wall 9 can be easily treated and/or shaped so as to give it an adequately attractive aesthetical appearance.

[0012] On the inner side of the portion 7, the fascia 8 blends into a downwards reaching wall or floor-mount base 10 comprising a plurality of alternately concave and convex sections which have respective, preferably plane lower surfaces 11 and upper surfaces 12. The lower surfaces 11 constitute (preferably together with the lower edge of the wall 9) an area for the shower-bath basin to rest on the floor, whereas the upper surfaces 12 extend up to a height situated between said surfaces 11 and the fascia 8 and constitute an area adapted to support the portion 6 of the basin in correspondence of the bottom of the concave zone 4 thereof. The upper portion 6 of the basin joins thus together with the lower portion 7, which is adapted to accomodate the concave zone 4 thereof.

[0013] In the embodiment which is illustrated on the right side of Figure 2, the bottom of the concave zone 4 rests in a substantially direct manner on the upper surfaces 12 of the floor-mount base 10, with which it delimitates respective recesses 13 in correspondence of the lower surfaces 11. A sound-deadening material, such as foamed polyurethane or the like (not shown for greater simplicity) is preferably foamed into such recesses 13, said material serving the further purpose of mutually "bonding" together said two portions 6 and 7 of the shower-bath basin.

[0014] The shower-bath basin according to the present invention is therefore a light-weight, high-strength construction which is very simple to manufacture. Furthermore, its installation can be carried out in an extremely simple, quick manner, by for instance making use of simple wall-mount brackets, which are not shown here and are not a part of the present invention.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, which is illustrated on the left side of Figure 2, at least a rigid panel 14 of an appropriate sound-deadening material, such as for instance pressed wooden shavings or the like, is arranged between the floor-mount base 10 of the basin and the bottom of the concave zone 4. The upper and lower surfaces of the panel 14 are in a preferred way respectively bonded, such as for instance by glueing, to the bottom of the concave zone 4 and the corresponding upper surfaces 12 of the floor-mount base 10. As compared to the previously described embodiment, the panel 14 replaces in this embodiment the foamed-in material and confers further strength to the whole shower-bath basin.

[0016] In the preferred case in which the shower-bath basin according to the invention is used in conjunction with a self-bearing shower-bath booth, as previously considered, the walls of the booth (not shown in the Figure for greater simplicity) would rest in a substantially traditional manner upon the peripheral edge 3 of the basin. Therefore, the shower-bath basin according to the invention will act as a complete and finished mounting base for the whole shower-bath booth, so that the latter will be enabled to be installed in a substantially simple, quick and unexpensive manner.

[0017] According to a further feature of the present invention, which may be applied to any of the possible afore cited embodiments of the invention, the upper portion 6 of the shower-bath basin is furthermore shaped to include at least a recessed area 15 provided in correspondence of the bottom of said concave zone 4 and comprising the drain hole 5. In a preferred manner, said recessed area 15 extends over the whole periphery of the bottom of the concave zone 4, adjacently to the raised edge 3. Of course, in correspondence of the floor-mount base 10 said upper portion 7 of the shower-bath basin will be shaped accordingly. In fact, in the embodiment illustrated on the right side of Figure 2, the bottom of the recessed area 15 rests upon at least an upper surface 12' of the floor-mount base 10 which is lowered accordingly with respect to the similar surfaces 12.

[0018] In the embodiment shown on the left side of Figure 2, the recessed area 15 rests on the contrary directly upon at least one of the adjacent surfaces 12 of the floor-mount base 10. In any case, such a contrivance enables dirty water to be prevented from immediately filling up the whole bottom of the concave portion 4 in the case that the outlet of the water through the drain hole 5 proves to be difficult for any reason whatsoever. Even in such a circumstance, therefore, the user will be able to keep his or her feet in a substantially clean central zone of the shower-bath basin.

[0019] It will of course be appreciated that the described shower-bath basin may be the subject of a number of modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Shower-bath basin, in particular for use in conjunction with shower-bath booths of the self-bearing type, comprising a concave zone delimitated by a raised peripheral edge, characterized in that it further comprises a first portion (6) which is shaped to include said concave zone (4) aid said raised edge (3) and is arranged upon and joined to a second portion (7) which is shaped to include an upper peripheral fascia (8) adapted to support said edge (3) and blending into a floor-mount base (10) of said second portion (7) comprising a plurality of alternately concave and convex sections having respective lower surfaces (11), which constitute an area for the basin to rest upon the floor, and upper surfaces (12), which are adapted to support said first portion (6) of the basin in correspondence of the bottom of said concave zone (4).

2. Shower-bath basin according to claim 1, characterized in that said peripheral fascia (8) blends externally into a peripheral side wall (9) which extends downwards so as to substantially enclose the whole shower-bath basin.

3. Shower-bath basin according to claim 2, characterized in that the lower edge of said side wall (9) constitutes said resting area of the basin together with the lower surfaces (11) of said floor-mount base (10).

4. Shower-bath basin according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of said concave zone (4) rests in a substantially direct manner upon the upper surfaces (12) of said floor-mount base (10) with which it delimitates, in correspondence of the lower surfaces (11), respective recesses (13) in which there is foamed a sound-deadening material that is capable of bonding to each other said first and said second portion (6, 7) of the shower-bath basin.

5. Shower-bath basin according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a rigid panel (14) of sound-deadening material is arranged between said floor-mount base (10) and the bottom of the concave zone (4).

6. Shower-bath basin according to claim 5, characterized in that said panel (14) has an upper surface and a lower surface that are bonded to the bottom of the concave zone (4) and the upper surfaces (12) of the floor-mount base, respectively.

7. Shower-bath basin according to claim 1, comprising at least a drain hole, characterized in that at least said first portion (6) is further shaped so as to include at least a recessed zone (15) provided in correspondence of the bottom of said concave zone (4) and comprising said drain hole (5).

8. Shower-bath basin according to claim 7, characterized in that said recessed zone (15) extends peripherally over the bottom of said concave zone (4), adjacently to said raised edge (3).

9. Shower-bath basin according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said peripheral edge (3) is adapted to support the walls of a shower-bath booth of the self-bearing type, of which the basin constitutes the base on which it rests on the floor.

Drawing