This invention concerns improvements in or relating to ablutionary installations. The invention has particular application to ablutionary installations for showering.

A shower installation generally requires a mixing valve or instantaneous water heater to be fitted inside the shower enclosure for supplying temperature controlled water to one or more spray heads in accordance with user selection of the water temperature. The mixing valve or instantaneous water heater take up space in the enclosure, limit style designs and require cold water and hot water or high power electricity supply in the shower enclosure.

For domestic shower installations, the spray head commonly comprises a handset mounted on a vertical slide rail such that the spray head can be raised/lowered to suit the height of the person showering, for example an adult or a child. This type of installation typically employs a flexible hose to connect the handset to the mixing valve or instantaneous water heater. For installations where the mixing valve is built-in, the water connections to the mixing valve are concealed and the outlet is connected to a separate elbow connector in the enclosure to which the hose is connected. The elbow connector adds to the costs and complexity of the installation.

Typically, the slide rail slidably supports a bracket having a parking socket in which the handset is detachably mounted to allow the user to remove the handset and direct the spray to wash different parts of the

body. When the handset is detached from the bracket in this way, there is a risk that the handset may come into contact with wastewater in the shower tray or bath allowing back-siphonage into the shower system. Back-siphonage can be prevented by the use of double check valves in the water supply fittings but this adds to costs. Another approach is to fit a restraining ring to the slide rail and to pass the flexible hose through the ring to stop the handset falling into the shower tray or bath when removed from the bracket. The provision of the restraining ring also adds to costs. In addition, the installer has to fit the ring to the slide rail and feed the hose through the ring and it is not unknown for showers to be installed without the ring.

The present invention has been made from a consideration of the foregoing problems and disadvantages of the known shower installations.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an ablutionary installation for showering comprising a showerhead, a slide rail for supporting the showerhead, the slide rail having an upper, first end and a lower, second end, and a flexible hose for connecting the showerhead to a water supply at the upper, first end of the slide rail.

By connecting the hose to the water supply at the upper, first end of the slide rail, installation is simplified, especially where a water control unit such as mixing valve or instantaneous water heater is located outside the shower area.

Furthermore, where the showerhead is releasably supported on the slide rail, the showerhead can be prevented from coming into contact with waste water when detached by careful selection of the length of the flexible hose and the position of the slide rail.

In this way, the use of check valves or a separate hose restraining ring to prevent back-siphonage can be avoided with potential cost savings. Also, the user may find that manoeuvring of the handset is easier when the hose is not constrained by a restraining ring.

Preferably, the slide rail extends between a pair of brackets for mounting the slide rail on a support surface such as a wall within the shower area so that the slide rail extends vertically and is spaced from the support surface.

Preferably, the bracket at the upper end of the slide rail includes a coupling member for connecting the water supply to the hose. The coupling member may be configured for connection to the water supply from above (falling supply) or behind (rear entry supply) the upper bracket. In a preferred arrangement, the coupling member is concealed within the bracket and is connectable to a supply pipe from a water control unit for supplying temperature controlled water to the handset.

Preferably, the water control unit is located outside the shower area. For example the water control unit may be located in a room or enclosure with the water control unit arranged above a ceiling panel of the room or enclosure and the supply pipe passed down through the ceiling panel for connection to the coupling member. Alternatively, the water control unit may be located behind the wall and the supply pipe passed through the wall for connection to the coupling member. The water control unit may comprise a mixing valve or instantaneous water heater.

Preferably, the bracket at the lower end of the slide rail includes user operable means for controlling the water control unit. For example the user operable control means may comprise an interface panel operatively

connected to the water control unit. The interface panel may include means for user control of water flow and/or temperature. The control means may comprise manually operable devices such as knobs, levers, buttons or the like. Alternatively, the control means may comprise hands free devices such as proximity sensors.

In one arrangement a wire link is provided for transmitting signals between the interface panel and the water control unit. In another arrangement a wireless link is provided and may employ radio, infra-red or other suitable means of transmitting signals.

Where provided, the wire link preferably extends from the interface panel at the lower end of the slide rail to the bracket at the upper end of the slide rail and along the supply pipe to the water control unit. Where the supply pipe extends vertically through the ceiling, the supply pipe and wire link and are preferably concealed within a cover.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an ablutionary installation for showering comprising a showerhead, a slide rail for supporting the shower head, the slide rail extending between an upper bracket and a lower bracket for securing the slide rail to a support surface, one of the brackets being arranged for rear entry of a water supply pipe through the support surface, and a hose connecting the shower head to the water supply pipe.

Preferably, the water connection is made at the upper bracket and the lower bracket includes user operable means for controlling discharge of water from the showerhead.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an ablutionary installation for showering comprising a showerhead, a water

control unit for supplying water to the showerhead, and user operable means for controlling the water control unit via a wireless link.

The wireless link may employ radio, infra-red or any other suitable means for transmitting signals between the user operable means and the control unit. The user operable means may comprise an interface panel within the shower area for operation by the user when showering. The water control unit may comprise a mixing valve or instantaneous water heater located outside the shower enclosure.

The interface panel may be incorporated in a slide rail assembly for supporting the showerhead. The slide rail assembly may also incorporate means for connecting a water supply to a flexible hose for delivery of water to the showerhead. The interface panel may be provided at one end of the slide rail assembly and the water connection at the other end.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein :-

Figure 1 shows a schematic layout of a shower installation according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of the upper slide rail bracket for connecting the hose to a falling water supply pipe;

Figure 3 is a perspective view, similar to Figure 2, with a cover trim of the bracket removed;

Figure 4 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of the lower slide rail bracket incorporating a user interface panel for an electronic mixing valve located outside the shower enclosure;

Figure 5 is a perspective view, similar to Figure 4, with the user interface panel removed;

Figure 6 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of a modification to the upper slide rail bracket for connecting the hose to a rear entry water supply pipe; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view, similar to Figure 6, with the cover trim removed.

Referring to Figure 1 to 5 of the drawings, there is shown a shower installation 1 comprising a handset 2 detachably mounted in a holder 3 slidably supported on a slide rail 4 that extends between an upper bracket 5 and a lower bracket 6. The brackets 5,6 are mounted on a wall (not shown) within a shower area such as a shower enclosure (not shown) so that the slide rail 4 is spaced from the wall and extends vertically.

The holder 3 is manually adjustable to move the holder 3 along the slide rail 4 to alter the vertical position of the handset 2 according to the height of the person showering. The holder 3 includes a parking socket (not shown) for the handset 2 that is adjustable to change the inclination of the handset 2 to alter the direction of the water spray.

A control unit 7 having an electronic mixing valve (not shown) is located outside the shower enclosure, for example in the roof space above the shower enclosure. The control unit 7 has inlets 8,9 for connecting the mixing valve to supplies of hot and cold water and an outlet 10 for

temperature controlled water from the mixing valve. The control unit 7 is also connected to the mains power supply via a fused switch box 11 and a power supply unit 12. The switch box 11 is located to be inaccessible to the user when in the shower enclosure.

The outlet 10 is connected to a supply pipe 13, for example 15mm copper tube, that extends through the ceiling and passes down the wall to the upper bracket 5 where it is connected to one end of a flexible hose 14. The other end of the flexible hose 14 is connected to the handset 2.

The handset 2 can be removed from the parking socket to allow the user to manoeuvre the handset 2 to wash different parts of the body. By careful selection of the length of the flexible hose 14 and the position of the slide rail 4, the handset 2 can be prevented from coming into contact with wastewater in a shower tray or bath when detached from the parking socket.

The upper bracket 5 comprises a base plate 15 for securing to the wall with screws 16 and a hollow body 17 extending from the base plate 15 and terminating in a spigot 18 that is a push-fit in the upper end of the slide rail 4. The body 17 is in two parts, a lower part 17a that is integral with the base plate 15 and an upper part 17b that is detachable and forms a removable cover trim. The body 17 houses a push-fit coupling member 19 secured to the lower part 17a.

The flexible hose 14 has an internally threaded end fitting 20 for connection to an externally threaded portion of the coupling member 19. The supply pipe 13 passes through an opening in the upper part 17b and is a push-fit in the coupling member 19. It will be understood that any other type of coupling member could be employed.

The supply pipe 13 extending between the bracket 5 and the ceiling (not shown) is concealed by an outer tube 21 , for example a plastics tube that can be cut to length when installing the shower. A ceiling plate 22 covers the hole in .the ceiling for passage of the supply pipe. Any other suitable cover trims may be employed to conceal entry of the supply pipe 13 to the shower enclosure and the length of supply pipe 13 within the shower enclosure.

The lower bracket 6 comprises a base plate 22 for securing to the wall with screws 23 and an interface panel 24 releasably secured to the base plate 22. The lower bracket 6 has a spigot 29 that is a push-fit in the lower end of the slide rail 4.

The interface panel 24 includes a rotatable control knob 25 for user selection of the outlet water temperature and push buttons 26a,b,c,d for user control of flow. Three buttons 26a, b,c control flow rate and provide "high" , "medium" and "low" flow selection. The other button 26d provides "on" , "off" flow selection.

The interface panel 24 includes lights for illuminating the buttons 26a, b, c, d to indicate the operating condition to the user. While showering the use can use the interface panel to adjust the temperature of the water and/or the flow rate and can stop the flow on completion of showering. The controls may also allow the flow to be paused while showering, for example to allow the user to apply soap, shampoo etc.

It will be understood that the interface panel 24 may be provided with any suitable user operable controls for starting/stopping flow, adjusting flow rate and/or selecting water temperature.

In this embodiment, the interface panel 24 is connected to the control unit 7 by a wire link comprising a control cable 27 routed through the slide rail 4 and a control cable 28 routed through the outer concealing tube 21.

The cables 27,28 are provided with push-fit connectors 27a, 28a at one end for releasable connection to each other within the upper bracket 5. The other end of the cable 27 has a push fit connector 27b for releasable connection to the interface panel 24 and the other end of the cable 28 has a push-fit connector (not shown) for releasable connection to the water control unit 7.

The wire link consists of four wires, two providing the power supply and two for data transmission. It will be understood that the wire link may comprise any suitable configuration of wires according to the requirements of the installation.

In a modification (not shown) , the wire link may be replaced by a wireless communication system between the interface panel 24 and control unit 7. For example a wireless link may be provided by radio or infrared signals. The radio signals may employ spread spectrum or blue tooth or any other suitable system to prevent interference from other radio signals.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7, there is shown a modification to the shower system above-described. For convenience, like reference numerals in the series 100 are used to indicate corresponding parts.

In this modification, the upper bracket 105 is arranged for rear entry connection of the water supply pipe 113. With this arrangement, the

water supply pipe 113 may be passed through the wall on which the upper bracket 105 is mounted.

As shown, there is no opening in the upper part 117a of the body 117 and the base plate 115 has an opening 115a for passage of the supply pipe 113 for connection to the coupling member 119 within the body 117 of the bracket 105.

In a modification, not shown, the upper part 117a of the body 117 may be provided with an opening for passage of the supply pipe where required and a removable blanking disc provided for closing off the opening if required.

In other respects the operation of this installation is the same as described for Figures 1 to 5.

It will be understood, that connecting the hose to the water supply via the slide rail assembly facilitates installation, in particular where the water control unit is located outside the shower enclosure. It will also be understood that this arrangement may be used with user operable controls built-into the slide rail assembly as described or with the user operable controls mounted separately from the slide rail assembly.

Moreover, rear entry of the water supply pipe to the slide rail assembly may be employed where the water control unit is built-into the wall of the shower area and the outlet from the water control unit is buried in the wall or concealed within the cavity of a hollow wall. In this way a separate outlet connector does not have to be provided on the wall of the shower enclosure.

It will be appreciated that the shower installation may be sited in any convenient location such as over a shower tray or bath or in a wet room.

It will be understood that any of the features of the installations described herein may be employed separately or in combination with any other feature and all combinations and variations are included within the scope of this invention.