Outside Shower Assembly
Outside shower assemblies provided herein offer a sleek yet durable outside showers, that are easy, even for a novice and/or non-plumber, to attach in the spring and remove in fall and which hangs flush and securely to the wall. The assemblies comprise: a shower head; a shower valve; an assembly body having openings for the shower head and the shower valve; one or more pipes in fluid communication with the shower valve, each pipe having a fastener for connection to an external water source; and a mounting cleat on the assembly body, the mounting cleat having a contact surface. Methods of making an using the same are also provided.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/836,860, filed Jun. 19, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure relates to an outside shower assembly that is easily removable from a water supply and from its support structure for storing during cold weather.
BACKGROUNDOutside shower systems are readily used, especially in warm weather, for many reasons. Although outside shower systems have been around for a long time, problems often arise when such systems are not properly maintained. Upon arrival of cold and freezing weather, it is important to drain the system to prevent freezing pipes. Even after draining, however, many systems sustain damage during the cold weather and when the system is turned on in the spring, the system, as a result of the damage from the freezing weather, leaks.
As a result, there is an ongoing need for improved outside shower systems and assemblies that facilitate easy maintenance and removal to avoid the damage and resulting leaks that occur when the system is exposed to the cold and freezing weather.
SUMMARYProvided are outside shower assemblies and methods of making and using the same. In a first aspect, the assembly comprises :a shower head; a shower valve; an assembly body having openings for the shower head and the shower valve; one or more pipes in fluid communication with the shower valve, each pipe having a fastener for connection to an external water source; and a mounting cleat on the assembly body, the mounting cleat having a contact surface.
The contact surface of the mounting cleat may operatively contact or connect to a support surface of a support structure upon placement of the outside shower assembly on the support structure. In one or more embodiments, the contact surface has an angle in the range of 10 to 80°, or 25 to 60°, or is 45°.
The fastener for connection to an external water source may be a swivel connector, or a flexible connector, or combinations thereof. The flexible connector may comprise stainless steel or plastic tubing or other suitable material.
In a second aspect, method of preparing an outside shower system are provided. The methods comprise: providing or obtaining any outside shower assembly disclosed herein; hanging the outside shower assembly on a support structure, where the contact surface of the mounting cleat operatively contacts or connects with a support surface of the support structure; and connecting each fastener to the external water source.
The figures are not necessarily to scale. Like numbers used in the figures refer to like components. It will be understood, however, that the use of a number to refer to a component in a given figure is not intended to limit the component in another figure labeled with the same number.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe assemblies provided herein offer a sleek yet durable outside showers, that are easy, even for a novice and/or non-plumber, to attach in the spring and remove in fall and which hangs flush and securely to the wall.
The accompanying drawings represent embodiments of an outside shower apparatus in accordance with the present invention, which include rendering of existing hot and cold piping that is partially enclosed in the shower assembly invention (
Before describing several exemplary embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction or process steps set forth in the following description. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways.
Turning to
In
Structural differences between
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “certain embodiments,” “one or more embodiments” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as “in one or more embodiments,” “in certain embodiments,” “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment of the invention. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the method and apparatus of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention include modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. An outside shower assembly comprising:
- a shower head;
- a shower valve;
- an assembly body having openings for the shower head and the shower valve;
- one or more pipes in fluid communication with the shower valve, each pipe having a fastener for connection to an external water source; and
- a mounting cleat on the assembly body, the mounting cleat having a contact surface.
2. The outside shower assembly of claim 1, wherein the contact surface of the mounting cleat operatively contacts or connects to a support surface of a support structure upon placement of the outside shower assembly on the support structure.
3. The outside shower assembly of claim 1, wherein the contact surface has an angle in the range of 10 to 80°.
4. The outside shower assembly of claim 3, wherein the angle is in the range of 25 to 60°.
5. The outside shower assembly of claim 4, wherein the angle is 45°.
6. The outside shower assembly of claim 1, wherein the fastener for connection to an external water source is a swivel connector.
7. The outside shower assembly of claim 1, wherein the fastener for connection to an external water source is a flexible connector.
8. The outside shower assembly of claim 6, wherein the flexible connector comprises stainless steel.
9. A method of preparing an outside shower system, the method comprising:
- providing or obtaining the outside shower assembly of claim 1;
- hanging the outside shower assembly on a support structure, where the contact surface of the mounting cleat operatively contacts or connects with a support surface of the support structure; and
- connecting each fastener to the external water source.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the contact surface has an angle in the range of 10 to 80°.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the angle is in the range of 25 to 60°.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the angle is 45°.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the fastener for connection to an external water source is a swivel connector.
14. The method of claim 9, wherein the fastener for connection to an external water source is a flexible connector.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the flexible connector comprises stainless steel.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 18, 2014
Publication Date: Dec 25, 2014
Inventor: Glenn R. Sherman (Harwich, MA)
Application Number: 14/308,098
International Classification: A47K 3/28 (20060101);