Shower

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9718068-B2
Application number	US-201514843692-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 2, 2015
Priority date	Sep 3, 2014
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A shower assembly includes an inlet, a reservoir, a plurality of first outlets, and a plurality of second outlets. The inlet is for receiving water from a water source, and is configured to restrict water flow from the water source to a maximum inlet flow rate. The reservoir receives from the inlet. The plurality of first outlets are configured to pass water from the reservoir. The plurality of second outlets are configured to selectively pass water from the reservoir. The shower assembly is configured for a user to selectively control whether water passes through the plurality of second outlets. A sum of a first collective flow rate of the plurality of first outlets and a second collective flow rate of the plurality of second outlets is greater than the maximum inlet flow rate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A shower assembly comprising:
an inlet for receiving water from a water source, the inlet being configured to restrict water flow from the water source to a maximum inlet flow rate;
a panel defining a reservoir for receiving water from the inlet, the panel comprising:
a plurality of first outlets configured to pass water from the reservoir at a first collective flow rate that is less than the maximum inlet flow rate; and
a plurality of second outlets configured to selectively pass water from the reservoir at a second collective flow rate; and

a seal configured to selectively control whether water passes through the plurality of second outlets through movement into and out of contact with the panel that is controlled by a user;
wherein a sum of the first collective flow rate and the second collective flow rate is greater than the maximum inlet flow rate.

2. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the second collective flow rate is greater than the maximum inlet flow rate.

3. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first collective flow rate is less than the second collective flow rate.

4. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , wherein shower assembly is configured such that when water is present in the reservoir, a user cannot internally control whether water passes through the plurality of first outlets.

5. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the shower assembly is configured for water to pass through the plurality of second outlets simultaneously with water passing through the plurality of first outlets.

6. The shower assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the shower assembly is configured such that when water is present in the reservoir, a user cannot internally control whether water passes through the plurality of first outlets.

7. The shower assembly according to claim 6 , wherein each of the second outlets is configured to pass water from the reservoir as a continuous stream.

8. The shower assembly according to claim 7 , wherein each of the first outlets is configured to pass water from the reservoir only as discrete drops.

9. The shower assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the reservoir is unpressurized by a line pressure of the water source.

10. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , wherein each of the second outlets is configured to pass water from the reservoir as a continuous stream.

11. The shower assembly according to claim 10 , wherein each of the first outlets is configured to pass water from the reservoir only as discrete drops.

12. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a switch configured to at least partially close the inlet in response to a depth of water in the reservoir, such that water in the reservoir is unpressurized by a supply pressure of the water source.

13. The shower assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the panel comprises:
a first wall having the plurality of first outlets and the plurality of second outlets disposed therein; and
a second wall extending from the first wall and dividing the reservoir into a first tank associated with the plurality of first outlets and a second tank associated with the plurality of second outlets.

14. The shower assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the second wall dividing the first tank and the second tank has at least one hole offset from the first wall by a first distance to fluidly connect the second tank with the first tank, wherein the shower assembly further comprises a stopper configured to carry the seal, the stopper being moveable between a first position, in which the plurality of second outlets are fluidly disconnected from water in the reservoir, and a second position, in which the plurality of second outlets are fluidly connected with water in the reservoir.

15. The shower assembly according to claim 13 , further comprising a valve configured to be actuated by a user to selectively control whether water from the second tank of the reservoir passes through the plurality of second.

16. A shower assembly comprising:
a reservoir comprising a wall having a first plurality of outlet holes and a second plurality of outlet holes; and
a seal;
wherein the reservoir is configured to receive water from a water source at a source flow rate;
wherein the reservoir is configured such that during a first operational state, the seal contacts the wall to close off the second plurality of outlet holes such that water exits the reservoir only through the first plurality of outlet holes at a first flow rate that does not exceed the source flow rate; and
wherein the reservoir is configured such that during a second operational state, the seal is offset from the wall such that water exits the reservoir through the first plurality of outlet holes at the first flow rate and the second plurality of outlet holes at a second flow rate, and a total of the first flow rate and the second flow rate of water exiting the reservoir through the first and second pluralities of outlet holes exceeds the source flow rate.

17. The shower assembly according to claim 16 , wherein in the first operational state, water exits the first plurality of outlet holes as individual droplets.

18. The shower assembly according to claim 17 , wherein the first plurality of outlet holes are configured to produce droplets of a plurality of different sizes.

19. The shower assembly according to claim 16 , wherein the second flow rate is greater than the source flow rate.

20. The shower assembly according to claim 19 , wherein water exits the second plurality of outlets holes as streams of water.

21. The shower assembly according to claim 16 , wherein the reservoir is pressurized by gravity and not a line pressure of the water source.

22. The shower assembly according to claim 16 , wherein the inlet is configured to restrict the source flow rate to a maximum inlet flow rate.

Assignees

• Kohler Co

Inventors

• Rexach Rafael Alfredo
• Szemetylo Stephanie
• Richter-O'Connell David J
• Elsesser Jeffrey James
• Giefer James S

Classifications

• A61H2201/0126

  on a wall · CPC title

• Y10T137/698

  Wall · CPC title

• B05B15/60

  Arrangements for mounting, supporting or holding spraying apparatus · CPC title

• E03C1/0408

  Water installations especially for showers (E03C1/06 takes precedence; shower heads B05B1/18) · CPC title

• A47K3/281

  Accessories for showers or bathing douches, e.g. cleaning devices for walls or floors of showers (A47K3/30, A47K3/38, A47K3/40 take precedence) · CPC title