WATERPROOFING SYSTEM

Abstract

A shower pan comprises a flexible membrane and a plurality of panels sealed to the membrane, one of the plurality of panels having an aperture defined therein. The pan has an operative position wherein the panels are disposed in edge to edge relation under the membrane and the membrane slopes to the aperture. The panels can be formed integrally and hingedly connected to one another.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. 63/736,753, filed Dec. 20, 2024, incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The invention relates to the field of shower waterproofing membranes.

BACKGROUND

Tiled showers often leak and improvements in the field of waterproofing are highly desired.

SUMMARY

Forming one aspect of the invention is a shower pan comprising: a flexible membrane; and a plurality of panels sealed to the membrane, one of the plurality of panels having an aperture defined therein, the pan having an operative position wherein the panels are disposed in edge to edge relation under the membrane and the membrane slopes to the aperture.

According to another aspect, the aperture can be defined by a drain receiver.

According to another aspect, each of the panels can have a foam body and the panel in which the aperture is defined can have an insert which defines the drain receiver.

According to another aspect, the panel in which the aperture is defined can further have a gasket disposed in surrounding relation to the aperture.

According to another aspect, the panel in which the aperture is defined can further have a membrane ring disposed in seal relation to the body and the insert.

According to another aspect, the pan can form part of a system, the system further comprising a drain body adapted to be sealingly received by the drain receiver.

According to another aspect, the insert can be interiorly threaded, the drain body can be externally threaded and the drain body can be sealed to the insert by the gasket when the drain body is operatively positioned.

According to another aspect, the drain body and insert can have cooperating elements that provide a positive engagement when the drain body is operatively positioned.

According to another aspect, the cooperating elements can be defined by a cam arrangement that has a locking position, that resists rotation as the drain body nears the locking position and that urges drain body to the operative position at positions intermediate the locking position and the operative position.

According to another aspect, the system can further comprise extension panels, each extension panel having a foam body and a flexible membrane attached thereto, each extension panel being adapted, when operatively positioned beside the shower pan, such that membrane of the extension panel is substantially coplanar with the membrane of the shower pan immediately adjacent.

Advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art upon a review of the detailed description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, the latter being briefly described hereinbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view of a system according to an example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of part 32 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a side view of the structure of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of part 34 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a side view of the structure of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of part 36 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is a side view of the structure of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4D is a bottom view of the structure of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4E is a view along 4E-4E of FIG. 4B;

FIG. 4F is an enlarged view of detail 4F of FIG. 4E;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of structure 38 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A is an enlarged view of structures 58, 60, 62 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is a side view of the structure of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6D is a view along 6D-6D of FIG. 6B;

FIG. 6E is an enlarged of detail 6E of FIG. 6D;

FIG. 6F is a bottom view of the structure of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6G is a view along 6G-6G of FIG. 6F;

FIG. 6H is an enlarged view of detail 6H of FIG. 6D;

FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of structure 64 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is a bottom view of the structure of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7D is a view long 7D-7D of FIG. 7B;

FIG. 7E is an enlarged view of detail 7E of FIG. 7D;

FIG. 8A is an enlarged view of structure 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C is a view along 8C-8C of FIG. 8B;

FIG. 9A is a view of structure 68 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9B is a bottom view of the structure of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 9C is a top view of the structure of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10A is a view of a set of components with which the system of FIG. 1 is used;

FIG. 10A is an enlarged view of structure 40 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10B is a top view of the structure of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 10C is an end view of the structure of FIG. 10;

FIG. 11 is a view of an alternative embodiment of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a view of yet another alternative embodiment of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a view of a variety of components with which the system is used;

FIG. 14 is a view of a variety of components 38″, 40 and a shower floor;

FIG. 15 is a view of the structure of FIG. 14 wherein the components are cut to size for use;

FIG. 16 is a view of the structure of FIG. 15 with thinset applied;

FIG. 17 is a view of the structure of FIG. 16 with the components laid upon the thinset;

FIG. 18 is a view of structures 34,36 deployed above the structure of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 shows the structure of FIG. 18 assembled with a coat of thinset being applied thereto and a structure 32 arranged for use;

FIG. 20 shows the structure of FIG. 19 in a stage of completion;

FIG. 21 is a view along 21-21 of FIG. 20; and

FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of detail 22 of FIG. 21.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system 30 according to an example embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and will be seen to comprise: a preformed membrane ring 32, a strainer, 34, a drain body 36, a shower pan 38 and an extension 40.

Membrane ring 32 is flexible polypropylene will be seen in FIG. 2 to have a central hollow 42.

The strainer 34 will be seen in FIG. 3 to have a central mesh 44 and a plurality of teeth 46.

The drain body 36 is ABS and will be seen in FIGS. 4A-4F to be exteriorly threaded and to have a protruding flange 48, a plurality of notches 50 and an outlet 52.

The shower pan 38 shown in FIG. 1 will be understood to have a drain receiver 54 and to be sloped towards the drain receiver and, with reference to the exploded view of FIG. 5, will be seen to comprise a membrane 56, three panels 58, 60, 62, a gasket 64, an insert 66 and a membrane ring 68, all shown in more detail in FIGS. 6A-9C. The membrane 56 is flexible polypropylene. The panels 58,60,62 are EPS foam, joined to one another by thin flexible portions best seen in FIG. 6H. The gasket 64 is TPE. The insert 66 is ABS and is overmolded around the gasket. The membrane ring 68 is flexible polypropylene. It will be understood that, in the assembly of FIG. 1: one 60 of the panels has the insert and the membrane ring sealed thereto, such that the insert 66 and gasket 64 define the drain receiver 54; the membrane 56 is sealingly secured to the panels 58, 60, 62; and the membrane ring 68 is sealing secured to the panels, to capture the insert 66 thereagainst.

The extension 40 will be understood to be constructed in a manner similar to the shower pan, i.e. including a membrane 70 sealingly secured to an EPS foam panel 72.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment 30′ of the system of FIG. 1 with a modified pan 38′ wherein the drain receiver is offset.

FIG. 12 shows yet another embodiment 30″ of the system of FIG. 1 with a modified (square) pan 38″ and a modified extension 40′.

FIG. 13 shows a set of components with which the system is used, namely, a retainer 74, an upper drain body 76, a grate base 78 and a grate 80. The retainer, upper drain body, grate base and grate will be understood to be prior art and sold by Loxcreen Canada Inc. under part Nos TT8005NOG03, TT8005STS03, TT8105NOG03 and TT8105STS03.

An example use of the system in context of a shower floor 82 is illustrated in FIG. 14 and utilizes a plurality of extensions 40′ and a pan 38″ which are cut to size as shown in FIG. 15.

Thereafter, thinset is applied by notched trowel to the floor and the underside of the panels as indicated in FIG. 16 and the panels 38″, 40 are laid to the floor 82, as in FIG. 17. The drain receiver 54 will of course be in communication with the rough drain 84.

With the pans installed, the drain body 36 is hand threaded into place such that the outlet 52 is fully received by the rough drain. Once hand tight, the strainer 34 is placed into the drain body such that its teeth 46 engage the notches 50 and then a screwdriver is used to twist the drain body 36 into an operative position, as indicated by FIG. 18, whereat the flange 48 is sealingly received by the gasket 64 of the drain receiver. The preformed membrane ring 32 is then placed upon the drain body and secured in place by thinset, as indicated in FIG. 19. Thinset is also used to secure the membrane of the extensions 40 to the pan 38″ (not shown).

The shower waterproofing installation is then finished in a conventional fashion, i.e.:

• • membrane corners are installed as applicable using thinset
  • angles are installed at the junction of walls and the pan(s), again using an intermediate layer of thinset, in overlapping relation to the corners
  • membrane is applied to the walls in overlapping relation to the angles, again using an intermediate layer of thinset.

With the waterproofing installation completed, tile and grating can be installed in a conventional fashion, i.e.

• • the retainer is secured to the drain body with thinset at a position selected by the tile setter, for example, to reduce tile cutting and/or for aesthetics
  • the upper drain body is threaded in the retainer;
  • the grate base is screwed to the upper drain body and rotated to elevation of the finished tile surround; and
  • tile is installed in a layer of thinset that also seals the retainer, drain body, the membrane ring and the pan together

The result of the foregoing can be seen FIG. 20-22.

Persons of ordinary skill will readily appreciate the foregoing has multiple advantages which include:

• • the foldable nature of the shower pan facilitates transport and also facilitates templating (since with the panels folded upwardly, the pan can be moved around to sight the drain)
  • the extensions allow the pan to be utilized to advantage with shower floors of significantly varying size
  • the pan and extension arrangement minimizes the number of SKUs necessary to be held in inventory

Whereas a specific embodiment is shown and described, it will be evident that variations are possible. It will be understood that in some instances, the shower pan will be larger than the shower floor in all dimensions and will itself be cut on all four sides. In other instances, the shower pan will be larger than the floor in only one dimension and will be cut on only two sides and used without extensions. In other instances, the shower panel may be cut in one dimension and used with one or more extensions to reach the overall size. In any situation wherein an extension is used, the membrane of the extension will overly the membrane of the shower pan. If the size of the shower floor is sufficiently large that 2 or more extensions need to be placed side by side against the shower pan to reach the wall, plywood or similar spacers will be placed beneath the outermost extensions, to main the slope.

Yet further variations are possible. Without limitation in this regard, the dimensions of the shower pans and extensions can be modified and the panels of the shower pan could be connected to one another only by the membrane.

Accordingly, the invention should be understood to be limited only by the accompanying claims, purposively construed.

Claims

1. A shower pan comprising:

a flexible membrane; and

a plurality of panels sealed to the membrane, one of the plurality of panels having an aperture defined therein,

the pan having an operative position wherein the panels are disposed in edge to edge relation under the membrane and the membrane slopes to the aperture.

2. The shower pan of claim 1, wherein the aperture is defined by a drain receiver.

3. The shower pan of claim 2, wherein each of the panels has a foam body and the panel in which the aperture is defined has an insert which defines the drain receiver.

4. The shower pan of claim 3, wherein the panel in which the aperture is defined further has a gasket disposed in surrounding relation to the aperture.

5. The shower pan of claim 4, wherein the panel in which the aperture is defined further has a membrane ring disposed in seal relation to the body and the insert.

6. A system comprising:

the pan of claim 2; and

a drain body adapted to be sealingly received by the drain receiver.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the insert is interiorly threaded, the drain body is externally threaded and the drain body is sealed to the insert by the gasket when the drain body is operatively positioned.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the drain body and insert have cooperating elements that provide a positive engagement when the drain body is operatively positioned.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the cooperating elements are defined by a cam arrangement that has a locking position, that resists rotation as the drain body nears the locking position and that urges drain body to the operative position at positions intermediate the locking position and the operative position.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising extension panels, each extension panel having a foam body and a flexible membrane attached thereto, each extension panel being adapted, when operatively positioned beside the shower pan, such that membrane of the extension panel is substantially coplanar with the membrane of the shower pan immediately adjacent.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the panels are formed integrally and connected to one another by flexible portions.