DE20105157U1 - Room dividing element for separating rooms and shower cubicle - Google Patents

Description

Patent attorneys
European Patent Attorneys
Dipl.-Ing. Henning Christiansen Dipl.-Ing. Joachim von Oppen Dipl.-Ing. Jutta Kaden
Dipl.-Ing. Mathias Karlhuber

Alicante

European Trademark Attorney Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Klinghardt

Munich

Patent attorneys
European Patent Attorneys
Dipl.-Phys. Heinz Nöth
Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Rainer Fritsche Lbm.-Chem. Gabriele Leißler-Gerstl Dipl.-Ing. Olaf Ungerer

O-3 &Lgr;&Lgr;&ogr;&ggr;-7 &Ogr;&Lgr;&Ogr;&Igr; Patent attorney

Bremen. 23. MθΓΔΕ 2001 Dipl.-Chem. Or. Peter Schuler Our reference: H 3360 MAN/sb Arnulfstrasse

D -80335 Munich Tel. +49(0)89-549 0750

Applicant/Owner: HÜPPE GMBH & CO. Tel.+49-10)89-5441380

.. .. Fax+49-10)89-5502 7555 (G3)

Official reference number: New registration Fax+49-10)89-5441 3838 (G3)

Fax +49-10)89-5490 7529 (G4) mail@eisenfuhr.com http://www.eisenfuhr.com

Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Ing. Günther Eisenführ Dipl.-Ing. Dieter K. Speiser Dr.-Ing. Werner W. Rabus Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Brügge Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Klinghardt Dipl.-Ing. Klaus G. Göken Jochen Ehlers Dipl.-Ing. Mark Andres Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Uwe Stilkenböhme' Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Keck Dipl.-Ing. Johannes M. B. Wasiljeff Patent Attorney Dr.-Ing. Stefan Sasse

Attorneys Ulrich H. Sander Christian Spintig Dr. Matthias Jestaedt Harald A. Förster Sabine Richter

Hamburg Patent Attorney European Patent Attorney Dipl.-Phys. Frank Meier

Attorney Rainer Böhm

Hüppe GmbH & Co. , Industriestraße 3, 26160 Bad Zwischenahn Room divider for separating rooms and shower cubicles

The invention relates to a room divider for separating rooms, as well as a shower cubicle.

Room dividers of the type mentioned above are used, for example, in shower cubicles as a fixed room divider connected to a room wall and as a pivoting shower cubicle door and primarily serve as splash protection.

To seal between two adjacent glass panels, for example between two doors when closed, the current technology involves sliding plastic sealing strips onto the long edges of the glass panels. The U-shaped sealing strips are clamped onto the edge. The disadvantage of this is that over time, dirt accumulates in the space between the sealing strip and the glass panel. This dirt is caused by water penetrating the space and spreading further due to capillary forces, which leads to the formation of limescale and rot.

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In addition, the plastic material discolors over time, making the sealing strips unsightly. This also applies to the well-known sealing strips that are glued to a glass panel. Another disadvantage of the sealing strips made of plastic is that they do not create a high-quality aesthetic impression and can be easily damaged due to their low strength.

The object of the present invention is to provide room dividing elements and in particular a shower cubicle which permanently protect the edge of a glass panel while avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art.

According to a further aspect, the object of the invention is to provide a room divider element to which further components such as sealing strips can be attached in a simple manner.

The invention solves this problem with a room divider of the type mentioned above in that an edge protection metal profile is attached to the edge area of the glass panel.

By attaching an edge protection metal profile in the edge area of the glass panel according to the invention, permanent and particularly safe protection of the edge of the glass panel is achieved for the first time. The metal profile, which is made in particular from rust-proof (stainless) steel, aluminum or other high-quality metals, provides a visually much more appealing and high-quality room divider element, since the metallic exterior creates a kind of shine compared to plastic.

A particularly preferred permanent and permanent fastening of the metal profile along one edge of the room divider creates a high-quality product with a long service life.

The protective effect for an edge of the glass plate is further increased by the fact that the metal profile has two spaced legs, between which the edge region of the glass plate is arranged in a protected manner when fastened, and that the two spaced legs are connected to one another by a connecting section running parallel to one end face of the glass plate.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the metal profile is glued to the glass plate, preferably by means of a double-sided adhesive tape or by means of a liquid adhesive, in particular a reactive adhesive.

According to an alternative embodiment, it is proposed that a plastic filling is arranged at least partially within the metal profile. This increases the strength and the plastic filling absorbs sound that is generated, for example, by coming into contact with an adjacent room divider when closing a shower cubicle door. Furthermore, hollow spaces in which dirt could collect are avoided.

An alternative embodiment provides that the metal profile is attached to the glass plate by means of a positive connection. This is preferably achieved by forming recesses, preferably grooves, in the glass plate and by forming projections on the metal profile, preferably on the two legs, which can be snapped into the recesses. The protection of the edge of a glass plate by means of a metal profile according to the invention can be achieved by a simple assembly process.

The invention solves the problem according to the further aspect in that a room divider element is designed with fastening means for fastening a further component to a plastic or metal profile.

The advantage of this fastening element according to the invention is that

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a plastic or metal profile designed with fastening means acquires a supporting function for the first time, so that further components such as sealing strips, brush seals, labyrinth seals or the like can be attached to the plastic or metal profile with high strength to the room divider element.

Particularly when a metal profile with a high level of strength is permanently and inseparably attached to the glass panel by gluing, and when fastening means are formed on the metal profile, this results in particularly high strength and sealing strips or the like can be easily installed or removed. This enables easy cleaning or replacement. Because the metal profile has a high level of strength, it would remain undamaged even after frequent installation.

It is particularly preferred that the fastening means are designed as projections formed on the metal profile, which can be locked with corresponding projections of the further component, because this further simplifies assembly.

According to a further development, it is proposed that the further component is designed as a plastic strip and at least one magnet is attached to the plastic strip, which, when assembled, interacts with a magnet or a metal body of an adjacent component. The magnet is used to achieve a reliable seal between the adjacent room dividers, for example doors. Minor dimensional inaccuracies can be compensated for by the plastic strip having elastically deformable sections and by the magnet being movably mounted on the plastic strip by means of the elastically deformable sections. The magnet is expediently designed as a magnetic strip and the elastically deformable sections of the plastic strip are made of a transparent plastic, preferably soft PVC.

Alternatively or in addition to a magnet, an elastically deformable sealing lip is formed on the compensation strip for sealing against an adjacent component.

The advantages according to the invention are achieved in particular in a shower cubicle according to the invention which is designed with a room divider element according to the invention.

The invention is described below using embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view;

Figure 2 shows another room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view;

Figure 3 shows a third room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view;

Figure 4 shows another room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view;

Figure 5 shows another room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view;

Figure 6 shows another room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view;

Figure 7 shows another room divider according to the invention in a partial sectional view; and

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Figure 8 shows another room divider element according to the invention in a partial sectional view.

The room divider elements 2 according to the invention for separating rooms are designed in the illustrated embodiments for producing shower cubicles according to the invention. However, they can also be used for other room dividers which are formed from glass doors and/or fixed glass walls.

As can be seen from Figures 1 to 3, the room dividers 2 according to the invention each have a glass plate 4 and a metal profile 8 permanently attached in the edge region 6. In the exemplary embodiment, the glass plate 4 is essentially flat and designed as a rectangular plate, but it could also have other shapes, for example be designed as a curved quarter-circle-shaped divider. The edge region 6 is designed here as a straight edge with a flat surface 10 and bevelled corners 12.

The metal profile 8, which is made of stainless steel (V2A), aluminum or other preferably non-rusting metals, has two legs 14, 16 which encompass the edge region or edge 6, as well as a connecting section 18 which connects them, which is slightly curved and runs essentially parallel to an end face of the glass plate 4 formed by the surface 10.

The metal profile 8 is designed symmetrically to a plane 20 with two opposite curved sections, each forming a projection 20, as well as two further essentially flat sections 22 and 24 arranged perpendicular to one another. This design with the projections 20 forms a fastening means on the metal profile 8, which serves to fasten at least one further component to the metal profile 8. In the exemplary embodiment, the further component is designed as a plastic strip 26, which can be detachably locked by locking due to projections 28 which are hook-shaped in cross section.

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is attached to the metal profile 8, so that the metal profile 8 can be regarded as a support for easy attachment of the plastic strip 26. The sections 22 and projections 20 and 28 are dimensioned such that the plastic strip 26 is fixed to the metal profile 8 without play. In this embodiment of the room divider element 2 with fastening means 20, a plastic plate, wooden plate or the like could equally be provided instead of the glass plate 4.

The metal profile 8 is glued to the glass plate 4 over the entire length of the metal profile 8 by means of a double-sided adhesive tape 30, which has a rectangular cross-section and adheres flat to the surface 10 of the glass plate 4 and is also flatly connected to the sections 24 of the metal profile 8. A plastic filling 32 made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) completely fills an interior of the metal profile 8, which is delimited within the metal profile 8 by the connecting section 18, the projections 20 and the sections 22, and rests with its flat surface 34 on the adhesive tape 30. The positive connection of the plastic filling 32 to the metal profile 8 and the bonding to the adhesive tape 30 and thus to the glass plate result in a high strength of the connection between the metal profile 8 and the glass plate 4, so that even high forces can be absorbed by the metal profile 8, in particular for supporting additional components. Instead of the adhesive tape 34, an initially liquid and then hardening adhesive, e.g. reactive adhesive or hot melt adhesive, could alternatively be used, which optionally also fills the entire gap 36 between the metal profile 8 and the glass plate 4.

The plastic strip 26 is secured axially to the metal profile 8 by a plurality of spaced projections 38 which engage in corresponding recesses formed on the connecting portion 18 of the metal profile 8.

Two elastically deformable sections 40 are formed on the plastic strip 26, on which a magnet 42 designed as a magnetic strip is movably mounted.

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The magnet 42 is housed in a plastic housing 44. The deformable sections 40 are made of a transparent plastic such as PVC and the plastic strip 26 is made of a hard, non-transparent plastic. The magnetic strip is aligned parallel to the surface 10 of the glass plate 4 due to the symmetrical design of the sections 40.

In a manner not shown, the room divider element 2 according to Figure 1 and Figure 2 can be brought into sealing contact either with a stationary adjacent room divider element 2 or with a room wall. The magnet 42 is then attracted in a sealing manner either by an opposite magnet or by a metallic component. The room divider element 2 can also be designed as a sliding or pivoting door.

The alternative room divider element 2 shown in Figure 2 differs from the room divider element according to Figure 1 essentially by an asymmetrical design of elastically deformable sections 46, 48, so that the magnet 42 is arranged obliquely at an angle of approximately 45° with respect to the surface 10 of the glass plate 4. The same reference numerals have been used for identical components and reference is made in full to the above descriptions.

The room divider element 2 shown in Figure 3 also has a number of identically designed components, so that in this respect reference is also made in full to the above descriptions in order to avoid repetition. It is designed as a pivoting door for a shower cubicle.

A strip 50 made of plastic or another material is positively locked to the fastening means (projections 20) of the profile 8 according to the invention. An elastically deformable, slightly curved sealing lip 52 is attached to the strip 50 and projects approximately parallel to the plane 20 from it and, in the closed state of the room divider 2, is in contact with a

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adjacent room divider in the form of a glass plate 54; in deviation from the illustration according to Figure 3, the sealing lip 52 would rest sealingly against the surface 56 of the room divider 54 when the room divider 2 is closed.

By installing the room divider element 2 together with the room divider element 54 in a sanitary room, a shower cubicle 58 according to the invention (see Figure 3) is formed. By pivoting the room divider element 2 in the direction of the arrow 60, the shower cubicle 58 is opened so that a user can enter an interior space 62 of the shower cubicle 58. The room divider element 54 is rigidly mounted as a fixed element on a room wall above a shower tray (not shown).

Figures 4 to 8 illustrate alternative embodiments of a room divider element 2 according to the invention.

In the room divider element 2 according to the invention shown in Figure 4, a metal profile 8 having two legs 64, 66 arranged at right angles to one another is permanently attached to a glass plate 4 by adhesive, so that the edge 6 is protected on two sides.

Figure 5 shows a U-shaped metal profile 8 which, with two opposing legs 14, 16, surrounds the edge region 6 of a glass plate 4 on both sides. The legs 14, 16 and a connecting section 17 are permanently glued to the glass plate 4.

In the room divider element 2 shown in Figure 6, a metal profile 8 is attached to a glass plate 4 by means of elastic sealing cords 68 having a circular cross-section. The metal profile 8 is designed in the same way as the metal profile 8 previously described with reference to Figure 5.

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In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, two opposing sealing lips 70 extending obliquely inwards are formed on the U-shaped metal profile 8 and ensure attachment to a glass plate 4.

Figure 8 shows a form-fitting fastening according to the invention of a substantially U-shaped metal profile 8 to a glass plate 4. The metal profile 8 has projections 72 produced by flanging, which in the assembled state are arranged within recesses 74 formed on the glass plate 4 in the form of grooves, so that the metal profile 8 is secured to the glass plate 4 without play.

Claims (16)

1. Room divider element ( 2 ) for separating rooms, in particular for shower cubicles, essentially consisting of at least one glass plate, characterized in that an edge protection metal profile ( 8 ) is fastened in the edge region ( 6 ) of the glass plate ( 4 ). 2. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is designed as a door or as a fixed room divider element ( 2 ) and the metal profile ( 8 ) runs along an edge of the room divider element ( 2 ) and is permanently attached to the room divider element ( 2 ) along the entire edge. 3. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the metal profile ( 8 ) has two spaced legs ( 14 ), between which the edge region ( 6 ) of the glass plate ( 4 ) is arranged in a protected manner in the fastened state and that the two spaced legs ( 14 ) are connected to one another by a connecting section ( 18 ) running parallel to an end face of the glass plate ( 4 ). 4. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metal profile ( 8 ) is glued to the glass plate ( 4 ), preferably by means of a double-sided adhesive tape or by means of a liquid adhesive, in particular a reactive adhesive. 5. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plastic filling ( 32 ) is arranged at least partially within the metal profile ( 8 ). 6. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 5, characterized in that the plastic filling ( 32 ) consists of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). 7. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metal profile ( 8 ) is fastened to the glass plate ( 4 ) by a positive connection. 8. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that recesses, preferably grooves, are formed in the glass plate ( 4 ) and projections are formed on the metal profile ( 8 ), preferably on the two legs ( 14 ), which can be snapped into the recesses. 9. Room divider element ( 2 ), in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that fastening means are designed for fastening a further component to a plastic or metal profile ( 8 ). 10. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 9, characterized in that the fastening means are designed as projections formed on the metal profile ( 8 ) which can be locked with corresponding projections of the further component. 11. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the further component is designed as a plastic strip ( 26 , 50 ) and at least one magnet ( 42 ) is fastened to the plastic strip ( 26 , 50 ), which in the assembled state interacts with a magnet ( 42 ) or a metallic body of an adjacent component. 12. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 11, characterized in that the plastic strip ( 26 ) has elastically deformable sections ( 40 ) and that the magnet ( 42 ) is movably mounted on the plastic strip ( 26 ) by means of the elastically deformable sections ( 40 ). 13. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to claim 11, characterized in that the magnet ( 42 ) is designed as a magnetic strip and the elastically deformable sections ( 40 ) of the plastic strip are made of a transparent plastic, preferably soft PVC. 14. Fastening element according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the plastic strip ( 26 , 50 ) is secured axially to the metal profile ( 8 ) by means of a positive connection. 15. Room divider element ( 2 ) according to one of the preceding claims 10 to 14, characterized in that an elastically deformable sealing lip ( 52 ) is formed on the plastic strip ( 50 ) for sealing against an adjacent component. 16. Shower cubicle with at least one fixed or movable room divider element ( 2 ), characterized in that the room divider element ( 2 ) is designed according to at least one of the preceding claims.