DESCRIPTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a sanitary assembly for distributing water to a shower head and to a hand shower and a shower kit comprising such an assembly.

[0002] As is known, current shower stalls may be provided either with a shower head or with a hand shower, that is, a device that can be gripped by the user connected to a flexible water supply pipe.

[0003] In some embodiments, the flow of water is directed towards the shower head or towards the hand shower by means of a flow diverting member which can be actuated by the user. Therefore, the shower kit comprises a water intake connected to the end of a wall-mounted water supply conduit, the flow diverting member which receives the water flow from the water intake, a first conduit which supplies the shower head and a second conduit, made with a flexible pipe, which supplies the hand shower.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to propose a sanitary assembly which allows installing a shower kit of the type described above in replacement of a traditional shower, where the water intake directly supplies the shower head, and therefore is substantially at the same height as the shower head .

[0005] Another object of the invention is to provide a sanitary assembly which allows implementing the shower kit described above and which is constructed with a reduced number of components, easy to assemble and particularly compact from the point of view of the overall dimensions.

[0006] Such objects are achieved with a sanitary assembly according to claim 1 and with a shower kit according to claim 16. The dependent claims describe preferred or advantageous embodiments of the sanitary assembly according to the invention . [0007] The features and the advantages of the sanitary assembly and of the shower kit according to the invention shall be made readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, provided purely by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

[0008] - figure 1 is a perspective view of the sanitary assembly according to the invention, without a protective body;

[0009] - figure 2 is another perspective view of the assembly in figure 1;

[0010] - figures 3 and 4 are a side view and a front view, respectively, of the assembly;

[0011] - figure 5 is a rear perspective view of the sanitary assembly in the preceding figures;

[0012] - figures 6 and 6a are an axial section of the flow diverting member included in the assembly and operable to direct the flow of incoming water towards a first outlet fitting connectable to the shower head or to a second outlet fitting connectable to a hand shower, in the two operating positions ;

[0013] - figure 7 shows an axial section of the lower part of the wall anchoring portion, in an embodiment in which the anchoring bracket and the flow diverting member are interconnected;

[0014] - figure 8 shows an axial section of the portion of the assembly relative to the water intake; and

[0015] - figure 9 shows a perspective view of a shower kit comprising the sanitary assembly of the preceding figures, a shower head and a hand shower.

[0016] In said drawings, reference numeral 1 indicates a sanitary assembly according to the invention, as a whole, for distributing water to a shower head and a hand shower.

[0017] Since the sanitary assembly 1 is intended to be anchored to a wall in which a water supply conduit is embedded, in the rest of the description the terms "vertical", "lower", "upper", "front", "rear", and the like, will be used with reference to the sanitary assembly oriented in the installation position and therefore with respect to the wall to which it will be anchored.

[0018] The sanitary assembly 1 comprises a main body 10 which forms a wall anchoring portion 12 and a head support arm 14 which extends from the top of the anchoring portion 12.

[0019] The anchoring portion 12 extends substantially in a vertical direction, i.e. parallel to the wall to which it is intended to be anchored.

[0020] The head support arm 14 projects forward from the top of the anchoring portion 12.

[0021] For example, the anchoring portion 12 and the support arm 14 form an inverted "L", preferably with rounded connection angle.

[0022] It should be noted that, in a preferred embodiment, the support arm 14 and the anchoring portion 12 are integral with one another, i.e. the first is in continuation of the second without interruption.

[0023] The support arm 14 is distally provided with a head fitting 142 for the connection of a shower head 2 (see figure 9) - [0024] A water intake 16 extends from the top of the anchoring portion 12 suitable for being fluidically connected to the end of a wall-mounted water supply conduit.

[0025] Therefore, the water intake 16 is substantially at the same height, with respect to the floor, of the shower head 2, therefore in a position compatible with the end of a water supply conduit provided for feeding a shower head supported by a traditional arm fixed directly to the wall.

[0026] In the vicinity of the lower end thereof, the anchoring portion 12 comprises a flow diverting member 18 suitable for directing the flow of water coming from the water intake 16 towards the shower head 2 or towards a hand shower 3, as described below.

[0027] The diverting member 18 is provided with an inlet fitting 20, a first outlet fitting 22 facing upwards and a second outlet fitting 24 facing downwards . The diverting member 18 may be operated manually to divert a flow of water coming from the inlet fitting 20 to the first outlet fitting 22 or to the second outlet fitting 24.

[0028] In the main body 10 of the sanitary assembly 1, a first conduit 26, which fluidically connects the water intake 16 with the inlet fitting 20 of the diverting member 18, and a second conduit 28, which fluidically connects the first outlet fitting 22 with the head fitting 142, are formed.

[0029] The second outlet fitting 24 is suitable for being connected to the end of a flexible pipe 30 ending with a hand shower 3.

[0030] It should be noted that the flow diverting member 18, being positioned at the lower end of the wall anchoring portion 12, is at a height such as to be easily accessible by the user.

[0031] In one embodiment, in the vicinity of its lower end and on the side opposite to the diverting member, i.e. at the back, the anchoring portion 12 comprises an anchoring bracket 32 suitable for being fixed to the wall.

[0032] Therefore, the anchoring portion 12 may have two fixing points to the wall: above, through the connection of the water intake 16 to the end of the water supply conduit; below, through the anchoring bracket 32.

[0033] Turning now to the diverting member 18, and with particular reference to figures 6 and 6a, in one embodiment, the diverting member 18 comprises a piston chamber 34 in fluidic communication with the inlet fitting 20, for example through an inlet passage 20' formed in the body of the diverting member 18, with the first outlet fitting 22, through a first outlet passage 22', and with the second outlet fitting 24, for example through a second outlet passage 24 ' .

[0034] In the piston chamber 34, a diverting piston 36 is sealingly housed. The diverting piston 36 is translatable in the piston chamber 34 between a first position, in which it closes the water passage towards the second outlet fitting 24 and places the inlet fitting 20 in fluidic communication with the first outlet fitting 22 (figure 6), and a second position, in which it allows the fluidic connection between the inlet fitting 20 and the second outlet fitting 24 (figure 6a) .

[0035] For example, a rod 38 connected to a grip handle 40 is associated with the diverting piston 36.

[0036] Preferably, the diverting piston 36 is translatable along a horizontal translation axis X, preferably perpendicular to the wall. Such an orientation of the diverting piston facilitates the actuation thereof by the user who is in front of it.

[0037] In one embodiment, the diverting piston 36 is normally maintained in one of the first and second positions by an elastic element, for example a cylindrical helical spring 42.

[0038] For example, the diverting piston 36, at rest, is urged by the elastic element 42 to remain in the first position, that is, in the position that allows the passage of the water flow towards the shower head (figure 6) .

[0039] In one embodiment, the elastic element 42 is selected so that, when the diverting piston 36 is in the position opposite to that determined by the action of the elastic element 42, for example in the second position, the force exerted on the piston by the water present in the piston chamber 34 overcomes the force exerted on the piston by the elastic element 42 until the water pressure is greater than a predetermined pressure threshold value, for example 0.2 - 0.3 bar.

[0040] Therefore, when the user has caused the displacement of the diverting piston by overcoming the force of the elastic element, the user is not forced to manually hold the diverting piston in the position reached, since it is the same water pressure that overcomes the force of the elastic element. The diverting piston then returns to the initial position when the water pressure decreases beyond the preset pressure threshold.

[0041] In one embodiment, the first conduit 26 and the second conduit 28 are made with a first pipe and a second pipe which extend parallel to each other.

[0042] More precisely, the first and second pipes 26, 28 are placed side by side in a front plane parallel to the wall to which the assembly is fixed. Of course, the second pipe 26 continues beyond the water intake 16 and extends along the support arm 14 to the distal end thereof, where it ends with the head fitting 142 for connection to the shower head 2.

[0043] In one embodiment, the inlet fitting 20 and the first outlet fitting 22 of the diverting member 18 are parallel and side by side in such a front plane. Such an arrangement allows containing, in the direction of the translation axis X, the overall dimensions of the piston chamber 34 and of the stroke of the piston 36, to the advantage of the compactness of the assembly and the greater freedom of movement for the user .

[0044] In one embodiment, shown in particular in figure 7, the diverting member 18 extends partially inside the wall anchoring bracket 32.

[0045] In particular, in one embodiment, the wall anchoring bracket 32 comprises a base 322 suitable for being screwed to the wall. The base 322 forms at its front a member seat 324 suitable for receiving a rear end 18' of the diverting member 18 with a shape coupling. An outer casing 326 is placed around and is integral with the base 322. The lower end of the anchoring portion 12 and the diverting member 18 are screwed to the outer casing 326.

[0046] Therefore, this interpenetration between the diverting member 18 and the anchoring bracket 32 also allows in this case to reduce the protrusion of the assembly with respect to the wall and also involves a reduction in the number of components of the assembly.

[0047] Turning now to the water intake 16, in an embodiment illustrated in particular in the enlarged view in figure 8, it comprises a water intake chamber 162 formed in the main body 10 and open at the back. The water intake 16 is provided with a water intake fitting 164 having a threaded rear portion 166 suitable for the connection to the end of the water supply conduit and a front portion 168 which fits tightly in the water intake chamber 162. A rear bush 170 is placed around and fixed to the water intake fitting 164 and anchored to the rear side of the main body 10.

[0048] Also this configuration of the water intake, formed partially in the same thickness as the anchoring portion, allows reducing the protrusion of the assembly from the wail.

[0049] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the water intake chamber 162 has an outlet opening 172 facing downwards. The main body 10 forms, around said outlet opening 172, a fitting appendage 174 which receives the upper end of the first conduit 26 with a shape coupling.

[0050] The connection of the first conduit 26 to the water intake 16 is therefore simple and quick.

[0051] In one embodiment, the main body 10 comprises a plate ^¬ like rear base 102 to which the functional elements of the assembly are fixed or in which they are formed (in particular the pipes, the water intake, the diverting member) . These functional elements are protected by a front protective body 104 fixed to such rear base, for example by means of screws.

[0052] With reference in particular to figure 9, an object of the present invention is a shower kit 200 for delivering a water jet, comprising a sanitary assembly 1 as described above in its possible embodiments, a shower head 2 connected to the head fitting, and a hand shower 3 connected, by means of a flexible pipe 30, to the second outlet fitting 24 of the diverting member 18.

[0053] A man skilled in the art may make several changes, adjustments and replacements of elements with other functionally equivalent ones to the embodiments of the sanitary assembly and of the kit according to the invention in order to meet incidental needs, without departing from the scope of the following claims. Each of the features described as belonging to a possible embodiment can be obtained independently of the other embodiments described.