GB2176231A - Bathroom plumbing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

A bathroom plumbing unit comprises a housing 2 having installed in it, fully connected and positioned for use, inlet pipework e.g. 20,21, to wash-basin and bath taps for connection to hot and cold water supply pipes in the bathroom, and outlet pipework 36,37,38 for connecting wash-basin and bath outlets to a waste pipe. A water-closet cistern may be included in the unit with associated pipework. The pipework of the unit can be connected and installed in the housing under factory conditions, thereby reducing the skilled labour required to install the unit in a bathroom. As illustrated, the housing comprises support members eg 3,4 with respect to which the pipework is located and to which panels 8,9,10 are secured, and is located in position by hooks 14 engaged over a bar 16 which fixes to a wall of the bathroom. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bathroom plumbing unit This invention relates to a bathroom plumbing unit.

Conventionally the pipework for a wash-basin, bath, water-closet pan and cistern is cut to size, bent as necessary and connected on site. This is time consuming and requires skilled labour.

It is an object of the present invention to facilitate the procedure of installing bathroom fittings.

According to the present invention a bathroom plumbing unit is provided which comprises a housing adapted to be mounted in a bathroom, and installed in the housing fully connected and positioned inlet pipework adapted to be connected to hot and cold water supply pipes in a building and at least to the taps of a wash-basin and bath, and outlet pipework adapted at least to be connected to the outlets of the wash-basin and bath and to a waste pipe. The wash-basin and bath taps may be incorporated in the unit and connected to the inlet pipework.

With the necessary pipework for supply and waste disposal already installed in the housing the procedure of plumbing in the wash-basin and bath on site is simplified. The only connections to be made are at the hot and cold water delivery pipes, the wash-basin and bath taps, if not already connected in the unit, and at the outlets and waste pipe. That may be done by less skilled labour than is normally required for the installation of pipework.

The bathroom plumbing unit may also include the necessary water supply pipework for a water-closet cistern and pan. Preferably the cistern is installed in the unit with the water supply and delivery pipework for the cistern fully connected to it for use.

Supply and waste pipework for a bidet may be included in the unit as well.

All the pipework installed in the unit can be cut, bent and connected in the factory before the unit is sent to a site for installation. In this way the pipework may be prepared and assembled on a production line which facilitates the work involved. Tests for leakages can also be carried out readily on the connected pipework so that the risk of leakages occurring on site can be reduced.

Preferably the pipework installed in the unit, or at least the greater part of it, is hidden from view in the housing when the housing is mounted for use in a bathroom. One or more detachable panels may be incorporated in the construction of the housing for access to the interior of the housing when it is mounted in position for use.

Attachment means are conveniently included in the housing for use in mounting and retaining the housing in position for use. In a preferred form the attachment means comprise hooked members which engage with a mating member or members adapted to be secured to a wall or other suitable support of or in the bathroom. The or each mating member may comprise a bar over which the hooked members engage.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a bathroom plumbing unit in accordance with the present invention in position for use, being shown with front and top panels of a housing of the unit removed; Figure 2 is a similar front perspective view but with the missing panels in position, although being shown partly broken away, and Figure 3 is a front perspective view showing a wash-basin, bath and water-closet pan connected to the unit.

In this embodiment of the invention, the bathroom plumbing unit includes all the inlet and outlet pipework and fittings necessary for a wash-basin, bath and water-closet pan, including a low-level cistern 1 for the latter.

The unit has a housing 2 composed of four horizontally spaced and parallel upright members 3, 4, 5, 6 of board form, Figure 1, on which are fixed angíe-brackets 7, a front panel 8 extending across front edges of the upright members and secured to those members by means of the angle-brackets 7, and two top panels 9, 10 which fit horizontally over the tops of the upright members 3, 4, 5, 6 and have depending front lips 11 and 12 respectively which overlap the top edge of the front panel 8. A shelf 13 extends between and is supported by two of the upright members 5, 6 which are towards one end of the unit. The cistern 1 is supported by the shelf 13 below the one top panel 10 which can be detached for access to the cistern.

At least the front panel 8 and top panels 9, 10 may be provided by boards, for example chip boards or block boards, which have laminated plastics surfaces.

Rear ends of the angle-brackets 7 are shaped to form depending hooks 14, Figure 2, positioned opposite cut-outs 15, Figure 1, in the rear edges of the upright members 3, 4, 5, 6. These hooks 14 engage over a horizontal bar 16 which is secured by mounting brackets 17 on a wall of the bathroom in which the unit is installed for use, the cut-outs 15 providing clearance at the upright members for the bar. When fitting the housing in the bathroom all that is required to mount it in place for use is to offer it to the wall to engage the hooks 14 over the bar 16. When the hooks are engaged with the bar the housing stands on the floor of the bathroom and is firmly held in position by the engagement.

Installed in the housing 2 at the factory are all the inlet and outlet pipework and fittings.

The inlet pipework, as shown in Figure 1, comprises a cold water inlet pipe 18 and a hot water inlet pipe 19 each having flexible connecting tubes 20, 21 for connection respectively to a cold water supply pipe 22 and a hot water supply pipe 23 already installed in the bathroom. The flexible connecting tubes 20, 21 enable misalignments between the respective inlet pipes and the supply pipes to be readily accommodated. The cold water inlet pipe 18 extends to, and is connected through a cold water control 24 to, a washbasin mixer tap 25 having a discharge spout 26. Also connected to the cold water inlet pipe is a first delivery pipe 27 extending to the cistern 1 which passes through upright member 5 to the cistern, and a second delivery pipe 28 which passes through upright member 4 and is connected through a cold water control 29 to a bath mixer tap 30 having a discharge spout 31.The hot water inlet pipe 19 extends to, and is connected to, the wash-basin mixer tap 25 at a hot water control 32 of that unit, and a delivery pipe 33 connected to that inlet pipe extends through upright member 4 to a hot water control 34 of the bath mixer tap 30. The outlet pipework comprises a wash-basin outlet pipe 35 and connected trap 36, and a bath outlet pipe 37, which passes through upright member 4, and connected trap 38, the two outlet pipes 35, 37 being connected at a T-joint 39 to which when the unit is installed a waste outlet pipe 40 is connected leading to a soil pipe 41.

Holes, not shown, are provided in the front panel 8 of the housing opposite the washbasin mixer tap 25 and the bath mixer tap 30 for the knobs of the respective controls and the discharge spouts to be disposed in front of the panel. Holes 42, 43 are also formed in the front panel 8 respectively for the washbasin outlet pipe 35 and the bath outlet pipe 37 to pass through.

A flush pipe 44 from the bottom of the cistern 1 extends through an opening, not shown, in the shelf 13 and projects through a hole 45 in the front panel, Figure 2. A lever handle 46 for operating the cistern is disposed in front of the front panel as well, its operating spindle 47 extending through a cutout, not shown, in the upper edge of the front panel. An over-fiow pipe 48, Figure 1, from the cistern extends under the cistern and through upright member 5 to pass out of the rear of the unit between upright members 4 and 5. Below the hole 45 in the front panel is a hole 49 for a branch pipe 50 of the soil pipe 41 to open through to the front of the front panel.

The front panel has a removable section 51, Figure 3, which when removed gives access to the cold water inlet pipe 18, the hot water inlet pipe 19 and their respective flexible connecting tubes 20, 21, as will be understood from Figure 2.

Having mounted the unit on a wall of the bathroom by means of the hooks 14 and the bar 16, a wash-basin 52, bath 53 and watercloset pan 54 are then connected to the unit, as shown in Figure 3. The wash-basin 52 is mounted on the front of the front panel 8, above the removable section 51, and has the trap 36 of the wash-basin outlet pipe 35 connected to it; the bath 53 has the trap 38 of the bath outlet pipe 37 connected to it, and the flush pipe 44 of the cistern 1 and the branch pipe 50 of the soil pipe 41 are connected to the water-closet pan 54. The only other connections which have to be made are those of the flexible connecting tubes 20, 21 of the cold water inlet pipe 18 and the hot water inlet pipe 19 respectively to the cold and hot water supply pipes 22, 23 in the bathroom.

It will be appreciated that the connections which have to be made on site are minimal.

In addition to the advantages of the unit now provided which have been mentioned above, there are the advantages that the pipework is hidden in the housing of the unit, pilferage of taps and other fittings may be reduced because they are built into the unit, and as the unit can be packaged for delivery to the site where it is to be installed the likelihood of damage to, and loss of, parts incorporated in the unit is reduced.

Claims (15)

1. A bathroom plumbing unit comprising a housing adapted to be fitted for use in a bathroom, and installed in the housing fully connected and positioned for use inlet pipework adapted to be connected to hot and cold water supply pipes serving the bathroom and also being adapted to be connected to, or being connected to, at least the taps of a wash-basin and bath, and outlet pipework adapted at least to be connected to the outlets of the wash-basin and bath and to a waste pipe.

2. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 1 wherein the inlet pipework includes a supply pipe adapted to be connected to a water-closet cistern.

3. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 1 wherein a water-closet cistern is installed in the housing adapted to be connected to a water-closet pan, and the inlet pipework includes a supply pipe connected to the cistern.

4. A bathroom plumbing unit according to any preceding claim including supply and waste pipework adapted to be connected to a bidet.

5. A bathroom plumbing unit according to any preceding claim wherein the housing is constructed and arranged such that when the unit is fitted for use in a bathroom at least a substantial part of the pipework installed in the housing is hidden from view from the front of the housing.

6. A bathroom plumbing unit according to any preceding claim wherein the housing comprises support members with respect to which the pipework is located in the housing, and panels secured to the support members.

7. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 6 wherein the support members are upright and the panels are secured to the support members to close off at least a substantial part of the front and top of the housing.

8. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 3 and claim 6 wherein a shelf extends between and is supported by two of the support members, and the cistern is supported on the shelf.

9. A bathroom plumbing unit according to any preceding claim wherein the housing has attachment means whereby the housing is retained to a wall or other support for use.

10. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 9 wherein the attachment means comprises hooked members which detachably engage with a mating member or members adapted to be secured to a wall or other support for use.

11. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 10 wherein the or each mating member comprises a bar over which the, or the respective, hooked members engage.

12. A bathroom plumbing unit according to claim 7 and claim 11 wherein angle-brackets are fixed to the upright support members having forward parts to which one of the panels is secured at the front of the housing and rearward parts disposed at the rear of the housing shaped to form the hook members.

13. A bathroom plumbing unit according to any of claims 6, 7 and 12 wherein one of the panels, or the panel, at the front of the housing has a removable section which when removed gives access into the housing to that part of the inlet pipework at which the connections to hot and cold water supply pipes are to be made for use of the unit.

14. A bathroom plumbing unit according to any preceding claim wherein the inlet pipework includes flexible connecting tubes at which the connections to hot and cold water supply pipes are to be made for use of the unit.

15. A bathroom plumbing unit substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.