BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the shower bar assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a close up view of one end of the shower bar, the opposite end being the mirror image thereof;
FIG. 4 is a close-up perspective view of the area circled in a dashed line in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the mounting brackets of the assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a front view of the mounting bracket shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a cross-section view taken through line 7-7 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a side cross-section view of one end the shower bar coupled to one mounting bracket;
FIG. 9 is a side cross-section view of the opposite end of the shower bar coupled to the other opposing mounting bracket
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the shower bar assembly of the present invention is shown generally at 10. As will be described in greater detail below, the shower bar assembly of the present invention includes a pair of mounting brackets 12 configured and arranged to be mounted to a wall of a shower stall. A tubular shower bar 14 is suspended between the mounting brackets 12 and is preferably telescopically adjustable.
Specifically, the tubular shower bar portion 14 is preferably formed from two halves 16, 18 that may couple together to allow the overall length of the shower bar 14 to be adjusted telescopically to the desired size. Although a cylindrical shower bar is preferred, any tubular shape may be used. A compression fitting 20 is provided to fix the shower bar at the desired length. The shower bar portion 14 has “S”-shaped ends to enable the shower bar 14 to expand the usable space within the shower stall. Although S-shaped ends are shown, other configurations could be used, such as a uniformly curved shower bar, for instance.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, at either end of the shower bar 14 a pair of apertures 22 is formed through the shower bar 14 to enable the shower bar 14 to be suspended in the mounting brackets 12. Although the apertures 22 are shown opposing each other and are square, they could be circular, triangular, or any other shape. Similarly, the apertures need not necessarily be opposing one another, but could be offset from one another as well. As will be described further below, the apertures 22 on the shower bar 14 cooperate with the mounting brackets 12 to suspend the shower bar 14 therebetween.
Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the mounting bracket is shown generally at 12. The mounting bracket 12 has a base portion 24 and a pair of horizontally projecting shelves, an upper shelf 26 and a lower shelf 28. Each shelf 26, 28 has an upwardly projecting retaining peg 30 configured to cooperate with the apertures 22 on the shower bar 14. The upper shelf 26 has an upper surface 32 that is convex in order to cradle the upper portion of the end of the shower bar 14. Similarly, the lower shelf 28 also has an upper surface 34 to cradle the lower portion of the end of the shower bar 14, however, it is concave. One skilled in the art would appreciate the fact that the shelves 26, 28 could have other shaped surfaces in order to tubular support shower bars that are not cylindrical. For instance, the surfaces 32, 34 could have a V-shape and inverted V-shape, respectively, to cradle a tubular shower bar with a diamond cross-section.
Preferably, the user attaches the mounting brackets 12 to the shower stall wall or bath tub enclosure wall using plastic anchors 36 and screw-type fasteners 38 (shown in FIG. 2). However, the actual fastening system used may vary depending upon the material of surface the shower bar assembly 10 is to be mounted to. The mounting brackets 12 have a first pair of keyed openings 40 formed on the base portion 24 (best send in FIG. 6), that are configured to slidably couple to the screw-type fasteners 38. Any conventional means of attaching the mounting brackets 12 to a wall can be used and any particular method of attaching the mounting bracket 12 to the wall used is not critical to the inventive concepts described herein.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the tubular shower bar 14 cooperates with the shelves 26, 28 on the mounting bracket 12 to suspend the shower bar 14 between the mounting brackets 12.
Referring to FIG. 8, the retaining peg 30 on the lower shelf 28 cooperates with one of the apertures 22 on the wider portion 18 the shower bar 14 to prevent the shower bar 14 from sliding off of the lower shelf 28, while the concave lower surface 34 on the lower shelf 28 supports the lower portion 18 of the end of the shower bar 14. Similarly, the retaining peg 30 on the upper shelf 26 cooperates with the other free aperture 22 on the end 18 of the shower bar 14 to prevent the shower bar 14 from rotating.
Referring to FIG. 9, the retaining peg 30 on the upper shelf 26 cooperates with one of the apertures 22 on narrower portion 16 the shower bar 14 to prevent the shower bar 14 from sliding off of the upper shelf 26, while the convex upper surface 32 on the upper shelf 26 supports the upper portion of the end of the shower bar 14. Similarly, the retaining peg 30 on the lower shelf 28 cooperates with the other free aperture 22 on the end of the shower bar 14 to prevent the shower bar 14 from rotating.
Because the two retaining pegs 30 cooperate with the apertures 22 of the end 18 of the tubular shower bar 14, respectively, the shower bar 14 is held in a fixed rotational position between the mounting brackets 12.
One skilled in the art would appreciate the fact that a shower bar 14 formed with a uniform diameter could be configured to rest on both the lower and the upper shelves 26, 28.
With the shower bar 14 suspended in the brackets 12, decorative cowlings 42 (best seen in FIG. 1) are used to beautify the overall appearance of the shower bar assembly 10 and to hide the mounting brackets 12 and fasteners 28 from view. The mounting brackets 12 have a second pair of keyed openings 44 formed on the base portion 24 (best seen in FIG. 6), which are configured to slidably receive a corresponding pair of tabs (not shown) on the cowling 42.
Therefore, it can be seen that the present invention provides a unique solution to the problem of providing a shower bar assembly that expands the usable space within the shower bar and suspends the shower bar in a secure manner. Moreover, the shower bar assembly of the present invention requires few tools and little skill to install. In fact, the only tools required are those to install the fasteners for attaching the mounting brackets to the shower stall, which may be as little as a cordless drill and a screwdriver. As can be appreciated, cordless drills and screwdrivers are easy for most individuals to operate safely and effectively.
It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be within the scope of the present invention except as limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080078018
