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(11) | EP 0 703 322 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Equipped panel for a bath incorporating a water-supply tap |
| (57) An equipped panel for a bath is described, which panel is formed by a composite board
28 comprising a flat portion 30 which can be secured to a wall 26 with its lower edge
in contact with the upper edge of the bath. The panel incorporates a water-supply
tap 34 on at least one side of which a shelf 32 for supporting objects generally used
by a person taking a bath is provided on the visible face of the portion 30. The dimensions
of the flat portion 30 of the panel are such that it completely covers the opening
24 which accommodates a pair of joints 22 connecting the hot and cold water supply
pipes 18 to the tap 34. The flat portion 30 is secured to the wall 26 in such a manner
that the opening 24 is within the perimeter of the flat portion 30. |
[0001] The present invention relates to an equipped panel for a bath, incorporating a water-supply tap.
[0002] It is known that, when a bath is replaced, the height of the new bath is very difficult to match to that of the old one, as a result of which the water-supply tap can no longer be attached to the existing water-supply pipes. This disadvantage is especially noticeable when the replacement bath is of the hydromassage type while the bath being replaced is a conventional one. It is known that the first bath is higher than the second, generally by the order of more than 10 cm, and therefore the edge of the new bath is above the ends of the above-mentioned pipes to which the water supply tap was previously attached. The greater height of hydromassage baths is due to the fact that, in order to be moved, for example for maintenance purposes, they are installed with the discharge trap above the floor. Conventional baths, on the other hand, which do not have this requirement, are installed with the trap embedded in the floor. The problem is, however, general in nature and also occurs when a conventional bath is replaced by another without a hydromassage facility, for example because the tap of the new bath is displaced laterally with respect to that of the old bath with the result that the same disadvantages as those mentioned above occur again.
[0003] In both of the cases taken into consideration, an opening has to be made in the wall in order to be able to prepare the necessary connection pipes which connect the new tap to the already existing supply pipes. This operation results in the considerable disadvantage of the difficulty, if not impossibility, of closing the opening in a suitable and uniform manner, that is to say, restoring the panel to its original appearance.
[0004] It is known that, in the majority of cases, it is necessary to close the opening in an empirical and improvised manner because the same type of material, or at least a material with the same aesthetic characteristics, is generally no longer available for covering the panel, this being the typical case of tiles. The results are often hardly satisfactory, mainly for aesthetic reasons.
[0005] An equipped panel for a bath which enables all the above disadvantages to be overcome has now been devised and forms the subject matter of the present invention.
[0006] The present invention therefore relates to an equipped panel for a bath which is characterised in that it is formed by a composite board comprising a flat portion which can be secured to a wall with its lower edge in contact with the upper edge of the bath, the said panel incorporating a water supply tap on at least one side of which a shelf for supporting objects generally used by a person taking a bath is provided on the visible face of the flat portion.
[0007] The features and advantages of the panel according to the present invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description of a non limiting embodiment thereof which is given with reference to the appended figures, in which:
Figure 1 is a partial diagrammatic view, in cross section, of a bath with a hydromassage facility provided with the panel according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a bath of the type shown in Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of a bath of the type shown in Figure 1.
[0008] With particular reference to Figure 1, a partial view in cross section is given of a hydromassage bath and more precisely of its side positioned at the wall where the panel according to the invention is fitted as will be explained in detail hereinafter.
[0009] The bath tub 10 is supported by known support means 12 which maintain it in a raised position with respect to the floor 14 in such a manner that the discharge trap 16 of the bath is positioned above the floor. Purely for the sake of completeness and clarity of reference, Figure 1 also shows a conventional bath, by means of a broken line and in an extremely diagrammatic manner, and it can be seen that the height of its tub 10a with respect to the floor 14 is less than that of the hydromassage bath.
[0010] As already mentioned above, this is due to the fact that its discharge trap 16a is embedded in the floor 14.
[0011] One of the two hot and cold water supply pipes is indicated 18 and an elbow joint 20, by means of which the water was carried to the tap (not shown) of the previous bath, is indicated by a broken line. It is clear that this joint 20 can no longer be used with the hydromassage bath because the joint 20 is at a height lower than the upper edge of the tub 10 of the hydromassage bath.
[0012] It is therefore necessary to remove this elbow joint 20 and to attach a new joint 22 which can reach the tap which is now installed at a greater height.
[0013] As in the embodiment illustrated, the joint 22 may be a flexible tube but could also advantageously be formed by a rigid tube. The tube is accommodated in an opening 24 in the wall 26 which has previously permitted access to the elbow joint 20 for its removal.
[0014] Referring now also to Figures 2 and 3, the panel according to the present invention is formed by a composite board which is generally indicated 28 and comprises a flat portion 30 which can be secured to the wall 26 in any known manner (not shown) whilst its lower edge is in contact with the upper edge of the bath. The visible face of the portion 30 is provided with a pair of shelves 32 on which it is possible to arrange objects generally used by a person taking a bath.
[0015] As can be seen, in particular from Figures 1 and 3, once the panel 28 according to the invention has been secured to the wall 26, its flat portion 30 completely covers the portion of the opening 24 which is visible above the edge of the bath, with an effect which is structurally and aesthetically noteworthy. It must not be forgotten that the use of the panel in question completely eliminates, in a simple and immediate manner, all the problems associated with the closure of the above-mentioned opening 24.
[0016] The panel 28 incorporates a known tap 34 which, in the example illustrated, is of the type provided with a mixer for the hot and cold water and is arranged centrally on the flat portion 30 between the two shelves 32. As can be seen in more detail in Figure 3, the tap 34 is connected at the rear, by means of the joints 22, to the two pipes 18 for supplying hot and cold water. Figure 1 also shows that the tap 34 has two outlets to one of which the end of the flexible tube 36 of a telephone-like shower attachment 38 is connected. The second outlet is used for introducing water into the bath The delivery of water to one or other of the two outlets is controlled by known diverting means (not shown).
[0017] As shown by the solid line in Figure 2, the flat portion 30 of the panel 28 is secured to the wall in a central position with respect to the bath.
[0018] However, the flat portion can advantageously be fitted in a position which is displaced with respect to the centre, as shown in extremely diagrammatic form with a broken line in another of the possible positions. The choice of one or another position is made in such a manner that the opening 24 is nevertheless within the perimeter of the flat portion 30.
1. Equipped panel for a bath, characterised in that it is formed by a composite board
28 comprising a flat portion 30 which can be secured to a wall 26 with its lower edge
in contact with the upper edge of the bath, the said panel incorporating a water-supply
tap 34 on at least one side of which a shelf 32 for supporting objects generally used
by a person taking a bath is provided on the visible face of the portion 30.
2. Equipped panel according to Claim 1, characterised in that the dimensions of its flat
portion 30 are such that it completely covers the opening 24 which accommodates a
pair of joints 22 connecting the hot and cold water supply pipes 18 to the tap 34.
3. Equipped panel according to Claim 1, characterised in that its flat portion 30 is
secured to the wall 26 in such a manner that the opening 24 is within the perimeter
of the flat portion 30.