As is well known, the standard shower enclosure in common use for many years comprises glass panels, typically {fraction (3/16)}xe2x80x3 or xc2xcxe2x80x3 thick glass, supported in channel-shaped, metal frames. Each panel of glass, both the fixed panel or panels and the shower door panel, is entirely circumscribed by its frame. The outside vertical frame elements are securely fastened to the walls of the building in which the installation is located, the lower horizontal frame elements are secured to the shower pan or dam around the pan, and the upper horizontal frame element may be secured to an upper horizontally extending, box-shaped header. The structure is very secure, but the use of so much metal may detract from the visual appeal of the bathing unit or the bathroom in which it is located.
For the past several years, therefore, customer demand in shower enclosures has been increasingly away from the type of enclosure described above. More and more customers want less metal and heavier, i.e., thicker, glass, seemingly inconsistent objectives. In general, the demand is toward more transparency and the solid look and feel of thicker glass. The problem is how to support heavier glass without the strength of metal support.
Shower door manufacturers have attempted at least partially to satisfy this demand by providing a heavier glass fitted in a channel-shaped frame that is secured to the wall. The frame is typically of aluminum or polished brass and plated, and the glass is preferably sealed in the frame by silicone. This type of enclosure of course responds to the requirement for heavier glass but certainly not to less metal.
Other installations intended to meet this demand eliminate the metal frame and essentially replace its support function with a header or ceiling over the shower that is secured to the building wall. The fixed glass panels are attached to the header or ceiling and to each other by clear silicone, whereas the shower door is supported by metal hinges. The problem here is that clear silicone cannot be warranted as a structural element capable of supporting the glass, especially heavier glass. The primary function of silicone, therefore, is sealing, not supporting. Although more attractive, such installations lack the dependability required for a bathing enclosure.
To solve the problem of support without the metal frame around the entire panel, other manufacturers have used the header together with metal clips that clamp the frameless glass to the header and thereby hold it in place. These enclosures still use silicone between adjacent panels of glass as a sealant but not for the primary support. The clips are typically of the same metal as the frames previously used and are thus of either aluminum or polished brass and plated. Each clip consists of a bracket with right-angularly related flanges that are about 2xe2x80x3 by 2xe2x80x3 or larger, a pad opposite each flange, and screws extending through the pads and into mounting posts on the flanges. The glass is placed between a flange and its associated pad and clamped therebetween by tightening the screws. Channel-shaped metal frame elements may still be used to fasten the lower edges of the glass to the shower pan. Metal is thus minimized, but the need for many, very visible, metal clips spaced around the enclosure still detracts from the overall appearance of the enclosure. Also, the glass must be provided with a cutout notch to accommodate each clip, resulting in extra manufacturing cost and time.
The present invention provides an apparatus for supporting heavy glass panels in a bathing enclosure without opaque metal frames or metal clips. Most importantly, the supporting apparatus includes transparent plastic support brackets and fasteners that attach to the heavy glass panels. These brackets and fasteners are used in a panel assembly to join an adjacent wall or pan to a fixed glass panel or panels and to join adjacent fixed glass panels to each. Although not relied on for support, clear sealant in the joints of the assembly enhances the overall integrity of the support. The combination provides dependable support while giving the enclosure a more transparent look. The brackets and fasteners are preferably molded of clear polycarbonate, which has the characteristics of transparency, strength, and moisture resistance needed, and the sealant is preferably silicone.
An object of the present invention is to support heavy glass panels in a bathing enclosure without using metal frames or metal clips to support the panels.
Another object is to use heavy glass panels in a bathing enclosure while minimizing the metal used to support the glass panels.
Yet another object is to increase the transparency of a bathing enclosure by minimizing the amount of opaque metal used and using transparent supporting elements instead.
A more specific object is to increase the transparency of a bathing enclosure by omitting metal frames and clips that have been used in the past to support glass panels of the enclosure, and particularly heavy glass panels of at least about xe2x85x9cxe2x80x3 thickness.
An additional object is to provide clear plastic brackets and fasteners for supporting the glass panels of a bathing enclosure.
A still further object is to provide a bathing enclosure structure that includes one or more fixed panels that are supported on a pan and by a wall and to each other with clear plastic brackets and fasteners.
Another object is to provide a panel assembly for a bathing enclosure that is supported in the enclosure on the pan at the base of the enclosure and by the wall forming part of the enclosure by clear plastic support brackets and fasteners and wherein clear sealant is interposed the joints between the panels and the pan and the wall and between adjacent panels.
Yet another object is to support one or more fixed panels of heavy frameless glass in a bathing enclosure by clear plastic brackets and fasteners interconnecting the panels and by other clear plastic brackets and fasteners that attach to the panels and are attached to the pan and adjacent wall by metal screws, such panels thusly supported being capable of supporting a door panel hinged to one of the fixed panels.
A feature of the present invention is the use of polycarbonate as the clear plastic for the support brackets and fasteners wherein the brackets and fasteners are not only clear but have such advantages as high impact strength, moisture resistance, and moldability.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description, accompanying drawings, and appended claims.
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