GB2162740A - Support brackets - Google Patents

Abstract

A towel rail support consists of a bracket 9 with a fixing arm 10 and projecting arm 13, and a bar 3 carrying the rails 1. The bar 3 can be screwed direct to a wall, or can be attached to the arm 13 either parallel or perpendicular to the latter. The arm 13 and bar 3 are shaped to locate them in either relative position and are held together by a screw. The support enables the towel rails 1 to be oriented horizontally side by side regardless of the orientation of the supporting surface to which the bar 3 or bracket arm 10 is attached. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Support brackets This invention relates to support brackets for towel rails and the like, in particular for telescopic towel rails such as are commonly used in kitchens.

Existing telescopic towel rails are intended primarily to be fixed underneath a work surface, for example in a gap between two kitchen base units.

They consist of one or more telescopic arms, cantilevered on a bracket which is fixed by screws to the underside of the work surface, by screws at right angles to the arms. Such brackets do not allow the arms to be oriented horizontally side by side when fixed-to the inside of a door or the end of a base unit or to a wall, that is to say the pair of arms are one above the other which is inconvenient. Conventional brackets are unattractive in appearance and therefore unsuitable for mounting where they are visible. Brackets also exist for fixing to the side of a piece of furniture or to a wall, but conventional brackets do not allow the user to mount two arms side by side regardless of what surface the bracket is fixed to.

The object of the present invention is to provide a supporting bracket which can be fixed to a supporting surface of substantially any orientation and will allow a pair of rails to be aligned in a horizontal plane, i.e. side by side, regardless of the orientation of the supporting surface.

According to the present invention, a device for supporting towel rails or the like comprises a bracket having a first arm adapted to be fastened to a supporting surface and a second arm projecting from the first arm; and a rail support member adapted to be attached to the second arm of the bracket in at least two different orientations relative to the latter, separable from the bracket and adapted to be attached directly to a support surface.

The bracket can be attached to a vertical or horizontal surface with its second arm projecting away from this surface and supporting the rail support member, the orientation of which on the arm can be selected so that, if two or more rails are provided on the rail support member, these can be arranged side by side horizontally, whether the bracket is attached to a vertical or horizontal surface; in this mode, the rail or rails are parallel to the supporting surface. If the rail support member is separated from the bracket, it can be attached directly to a wall so that the rail or rails extend perpendicular to the wall.

Preferably, the projecting arm of the bracket, and the rail support member, have respective complementary shapes such that when these two members are fitted together, the rail support member is positively located either parallel to the arm or perpendicular to the arm.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a towel rail support, fully assembled, Figure 2 shows the device from the front with the parts exploded, Figure 3 shows the device from the rear, with the parts exploded, Figure 4a, b and c show the tail rails mounted in different ways.

Figure 1 shows a pair of parallel telescopic towel rails 1 of conventional construction, comprising metal inner arms on which can slide external plastics arms.

The metal inner arms are force-fitted to bosses 2 at opposite ends of a base or support bar 3 which in the illustrated embodiment has rounded ends.

The support bar has a central hole 4 flanked by a pair of holes 5. In use, these holes can be covered by a cover plate 6 provided with plugs 7 to fit into the holes 5.

The rail support bar 3 can be attached directly; to a wall by means of screws inserted through one or more of the holes 4, 5, thus mounting the towel rails perpendicular to the wall, aligned in a conii- mon plane which is preferably horizontal but can be oriented as desired according to the amount of space available. This mounting arrangement is illustrated in Figure 4a in which the supporting wall is indicated by reference numeral 8. It will be seen that the rail support bar has been designed to have an aesthetically pleasing appearance suitable for mounting in a visible position such as on a wall.

The rail support bar 3 can be attached to a support bracket 9 which can be L-shaped but is preferably T-shaped. The illustrated support bracket has a fixing arm 10 (the cross piece of the T) provided with fixing screw holes 11 and plugs 12 for covering these. By means of these holes, the bracket can be fastened to a vertical surface for example a wall, the inside of a cupboard door, or the end of a kitchen base unit; or to a horizontal surface such as the underside of a kitchen worktop. In each case, the towel rails are parallel to the supporting surface.

The bracket 9 has a projecting arm 13 corresponding in shape to the rail support bar 3. The combined thickness of the arm 13 and bar 3 is substantially equal to the width of the arm 10 and the latter has a recess 14 to accommodate one of the rounded ends of the bar 3. Thus, when the bar 3 is fitted against and parallel to the arm 13, the bar and bracket form a smooth, flush, attractive appearance with the bar positively located in the recess 14. The front face of the arm 13 has a square projection 15 shaped to fit closely in a recess 16 in the back of the bar 3 so as to locate the latter positively on the arm 13. The bar is fastened to the arm 13 by means of a screw or nut and bolt, inserted through the hole 4 in the bar and a hole 17 in the arm 13 and projection 15.To provide access for fastening and unfastening this connection, the back of the arm 13 is open as shown in Figure 3 and is provided with a cover plate 18 with sleeves 19 to fit over retaining pins 20 inside the arm 13.

Figure 1 shows the bar 3 fixed parallel to the bracket arm 13. Alternatively, the bar 3 can be attached to the bracket arm, at right angles to the latter, being positively located in this orientation by the projection 15 fitting inside the recess 16, again using a screw or nut and bolt fitted through the holes 4, 17. Assembled in this fashion, the bracket can be fitted to the underside of a work surface, the towel rails being parallel to the work surface and being aligned side by side, as shown in Figure 4b in which the worktop is indicated by reference numeral 21.

Figure 4c shows the bracket and towel rail assembly of Figure 1, in plane view, attached to the end of a kitchen cabinet 22.

It will be seen therefore that the mounting device described herein enables a pair of towel rails to be attached to any suitable supporting surface, while enabling the rails to be oriented side by side regardless of the orientation of the supporting surface. In the case of direct wall mounting using the bar 3 (Figure 4a) the user will discard the bracket.

In each case, the support device has an attractive appearance and can be used in positions where it is visible. The device is therefore much more versatile and attractive than conventional towel rail supports.

An analogous supporting device can of course be provided for assemblies of more than two towel rails arranged in a line or other desired pattern.

The device could also be used for supporting a single towel rail to be attached either to a wall using the support bar 3, or to a lateral surface using the bracket.

The components of the support device can be made for example of plastics or metal, for example by injection moulding or casting, with any desired surface finish.

Claims (6)

1. A device for supporting towel rails or the like, comprising a bracket having a first arm adapted to be fastened to a supporting surface and a second arm projecting from the first arm; and a rail support member adapted to be attached to the second arm of the bracket in at least two different orientations relative to the latter, separable from the bracket and adapted to be attached directly to a support surface.

2; A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the projecting arm of the bracket, and the rail support member, have respective complementary shapes such that when these two members are fitted together, the rail support member is positively located either parallel to the arm or perpendicular to the arm.

3. A device as claimed in claims 1 and 2 in which the bracket is T-shaped with the cross-piece forming the said first arm.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the second arm and the rail support member have matching external shapes when the support member is oriented along the second arm.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 in which the rail support member is a bar with spaced screwholes for direct attachment to a support surface and a central fixing is provided for attaching the bar to the secdnd arm of the bracket.

6. A towel rail bracket substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.