"Improved multifunction unit for sanitary fittings'

The present invention relates to a multifunction unit fox sanitary fittings according to the preamble of claim 1..

The term sanitary fittings, as used herein, includes those fittings that are required fox ¹ proper- operation of a shower, a sink, a washbasin and the like..

Multifunction units of the above type, such as a shower column having a plurality of shower heads and/or water delivery outlets and spot-lights have been increasingly used, and comprise a support structure suitable for wall mounting and for hydraulic and/or electric connection to water and/or power mains,,

These multifunction units have a support structure in which a housing is defined for supporting the hydraulic means required fox proper operation of the multifunction unit, such as mixers/diverters and thermostatic units.. Special connection pipes are further provided for connecting said hydraulic means to each other, to water mains and to water delivery outlets . The advantages of these multifunction units

consist in the possibility of factory assembly of a structure that is fully equipped with hydraulic means, connection pipes and water delivery pipes, as well as lights or other electric means so that installation only requires the structure of the multifunction unit to be mounted to the load-bearing element, such as a wall or a slab, and the inlets of the structure to be connected to water and/or power mains .. This affords considerable savings in terms of installation time and ensures appropriate positioning and connection of the hydraulic means and the water delivery outlets..

In spite of their advantages, these multifunction units still suffer from the drawback of not allowing easy maintenance of the hydraulic and/or connection means provided therein., Problems associated to limestone deposits may be mentioned in this connection, which can cause malfunctioning of the hydraulic means, as well as leakage from connection pipes,, Therefore, any servicing of the internal parts of these multifunction units requires disassembly of all the parts or even partial destruction of their integrity,,

In view of the foregoing, there arises the need for a multifunction unit that allows maintenance of its hydraulic and/or electric parts without requiring its structure ^■ to be disassembled or the structural

integrity of its parts to be destroyed.,

The problem at the basis of the present invention is to provide a multifunction unit for sanitary fittings that has such structural and functional characteristics as to fulfill the above need, while obviating the above prior art drawbacks..

The above problem is addressed by a multifunction unit for sanitary fittings according to the features of claim 1.. Further characteristics of the multifunction unit according to the present invention, as well as the advantages derived therefrom, will be apparent from the following description of a few preferred embodiments thereof, which is given by way of illustration and without limitation with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

- .Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a multifunction unit for sanitary fittings of the invention; - Figure 2 is an sectional side view of the multifunction unit of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is sectional plan view of the multifunction unit of Figure 2;

- Figures 4 to 6 show a second embodiment of the multifunction unit of the invention;

- Figures 7 to 9 show a third embodiment of the multifunction unit of the invention;

- Figures 10 to 12 show a fourth embodiment of the multifunction unit of the invention; - Figures 13 to 16 show a fifth embodiment of the multifunction unit of the invention;

- Figures 17 to 20 show a sixth embodiment of the multifunction unit of the invention- Referring to the above figures, numeral 1 generally designates a multifunction unit for sanitary- fittings according to the invention which, in this specific embodiment, is implemented as a multifunction unit for a shower'..

The multifunction unit 1 comprises hydraulic means which are suitable to be connected to sanitary water main for controlling water delivery to at least one water delivery outlet 4.

The multifunction unit 1 advantageously comprises:

- a structure 2, which is suitable to be mounted to a load bearing element (such as the wall W, the floor P or the slab of a bathroom) , defines a housing 3 and has an external finish, water delivery means 4 which, in the illustrated embodiment, include a fixed shower head, a plurality of stationary front nozzles and a hand

shower,

- hydraulic means 5 supported in the housing 3 and

- hydraulic connection means 6 ,.

Concerning the hydraulic means 5, these may include mixer and/or delivery units, flow diverters and the like, which are connected together and with the water delivery means 4 by means of hydraulic connection pipes , The structure and functions of the hydraulic means will not be described in detail, because they are known per se and have standard sizes,, Nevertheless, it should be noted that the housing 3 has such a size as to be able to receive any type of hydraulic means among those currently available on the market, while it is still possible to provide a structure 2 with a housing 3 of such a size as to accommodate larger hydraulic means than standard ones .

The hydraulic connection means 6 include pipes for providing fluid communication of the hydraulic means 5 and the water delivery means 4 with each other and with water mains.,

In accordance with the preferred embodiment as shown in the figures, said structure 2 of the multifunction unit 1 is embodied as a substantially box-like body which is advantageously suitable for mounting to the wall, floor or ceiling, for- supporting

the hydraulic means 5, the hydraulic connection means 6 and the water delivery means 4.,

Preferably, said substantially box-like body has a front opening through which the housing 3 may be accessed from the outside.. This is the case, fox instance, of the embodiments as shown in Figures 3, 6, 9 and 12, in which the multifunction unit is mounted in the following respective positions:

- external hanging position with respect to the wall W (Figures 1 - 3),

- external to the wall W and lying on the floor P {Figures 4 to 6) ,

- embedded in the wall W (Figures 7 to 9) and

- half-embedded in the wall W (Figures 10 to 12) .. Otherwise, according to the embodiment of Figures

13 to 16 or the embodiment of Figures 17 to 20, concerning a self-standing type multifunction unit, i.e.. a multifunction unit vertically extending from the floor P and having a structure of such a size as to ensure self-support thereof, the substantially box-like body has a rear opening, allowing access to the housing from the outside., Otherwise, a self-standing multifunction unit may be also arranged to have a front opening.. As is apparent, in the embodiments in which the

substantially box-like body is not fully or half embedded in the wall W, the opening may be also located in a side position..

The multifunction unit of the invention is further equipped with a cover to be associated in a closing relationship to said opening of the substantially box- like body ₇ preferably with gasket means interposed therebetween.,

It shall be noted that, in addition to said hydraulic means, the multifunction unit comprises electric means {not shown) and electric cable means

(not shown) for connection of the electric means to power mains.. For instance, the electric means may include a light source such as a lamp, a spotlight or a led, as well as a radio, or a sound system..

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the structure of the multifunction unit includes an internal support structure with an external ^' covering structure associated therewith. The external covering structure is designed to allow use of the actuator- means associated thereto through which said hydraulic means 5 can be adjusted and controlled, for regulation of water flow to the delivery means 4.. For instance, the actuator means may include knobs, levers, push buttons and the like, with the - covering structure

having special holes or apertures coincident therewith

Advantageously, at least one portion 7 of the structure 2 of the multifunction unit of the invention is associated to the remaining portion of the structure through articulated connection means, which allow such portion 7 to reversibly move between a closed operating configuration, in which the portion 7 covers the housing 3 and the hydraulic means 5 and the hydraulic connection means 6 supported therein, and an open configuration (as shown by a thin phantom line in Figures 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20), for access and inspection of the housing 3 and the means held therein .

In the illustrated examples, the articulated connection means include hinge connection means 8 for allowing the ^" portion to move from the closed configuration to the open configuration through a simple pivotal motion about a predetermined hinge axis, preferably extending in a vertical direction Advantageously, the multifunction unit of the invention further has locking means (not shown) which is suitable to operate on the portion 7 to hold it in the closed configuration These locking means are obviously operable from the outside to release, i e, to stop holding the portion 7 and allow the latter to

pivot into said open configuration ,

Thus, the portion 7 of the structure 2 actually acts as a door, connected through said articulated connection means to the remaining portion of the structure 2 to close the opening of the substantially box-like body. The housing 3 may be thus accessed by simple displacement of the portion 7 from the closed configuration 7, without disassembling or destroying the integrity of the multifunction unit 1. A preferred solution apparently consists in providing said portion

7, i.e. the door, at the front, side or rear opening of the substantially box-like body which embodies the structure 2 of the multifunction unit of the invention

In the above case, in which the multifunction unit of the invention has an internal support structure with a separate external covering structure associated therewith, the portion 7, i.e. the door, may be a portion of the external covering structure

According to another embodiment, not shown, the multifunction unit of the invention has a drainage canalization extending through the structure to allow fluid communication between the drainage of a sanitary fitting lying against the multifunction unit and a sewer system associated to the support element, such as a wall.

It shall be noted that the multifunction unit of the invention is suitable to be placed in and suitable to a plurality of different installation conditions, as set forth below., Figures 1 to 3 are related to a rectangular parallelepipedal multifunction unit, externally hanging from the wall W and having a front door hinged thereto..

Figures 4 to 6 are related to a triangular parallelepipedal multifunction unit, externally hanging from two walls W at an angle and lying on the floor P, and having a front door hinged thereto.

Figures 7 to 9 are related to a rectangular parallelepipedal multifunction unit, embedded in the wall W and having a front door hinged thereto.. Figures 10 to 12 are related to a rectangular parallelepipedal multifunction unit, half-embedded in a wall W and having a front door hinged thereto.,

Figures 13 to 16 are related to a rectangular parallelepipedal multifunction unit of the self- standing type, vertically extending from the floor P and having a rear door hinged thereto,,

Figures 17 to 20 are related to a triangular parallelepipedal multifunction unit of the self- standing type, vertically extending from the floor P and having two rear doors hinged thereto..

As a further alternative, the multifunction unit may be mounted to the ceiling (not shown)

The multifunction unit of the invention may be wall-mounted using traditional fastener means, such as wall plugs, screws, cramps and others.

Special couplings and connections may be provided in the structure 2 of the multifunction unit of the invention, for connection to water mains, power mains or others,,

As clearly shown in the above description, the multifunction unit for sanitary fittings according to the present invention fulfills the above mentioned need and also obviates prior art drawbacks and problems as set out in the introduction of this disclosure. Namely, it allows simple and quick installation, while ensuring correct positioning and connection of hydraulic means and connection means, Furthermore, the openable structure portion as described above acts as a door, whose pivotal motion provides access to the housing for inspection and/or maintenance of the means held and supported therein.

An additional advantage of the multifunction unit is versatility, which allows positioning in any preferred manner, as well as shape and size adaptation

to the characteristics of the installation site,, Also, the outer surface of the unit may receive any- desired finish, which can possibly be provided as a panel structure, to be mounted to an underlying support structure ,.

Those skilled in the art will obviously appreciate that a number of changes and variants may be made to the multifunction unit for sanitary fittings as described hereinbefore, without departure from the scope of the invention, as defined in the following claims .,