US2486371A - Bathroom construction - Google Patents

Description

O. MANKKI BATHROOM CONSTRUCTION Oct. 25, 1949.

Filed Sept". 22. 1945 INVENTOR. O/wv/s NH/v/(K/ Patented Oct. 25, 1949 BATHROOM CONSTRUCTION Onnie Mankki, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to Designers For Industry, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio,

acorporation of Ohio Application September 22, 1945, Serial No. 617,951

(Cl. 18S-1) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to bathroom constructions of the type employing a prefabricated unit or core and, as one of its objects, aims to provide an improved unit of this kind which can be enonomically manufactured and installed and has oneY or more. toilet xtures itegrally embodied therein.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved bathroom construction in which building structureis applied to or erected around a prefabricated unit having side and bottom walls and. embodying one or more toilet xtures formed integral with. such. walls so that said unit forms the lowerportion. ofy the bathroom including the toilet fixtures.

StillA another object oli the present invention is to provide a prefabricated bathroom unit of a unitary construction and embodying one or more toilet fixtures formed as an integral part thereof.

A further object oithe invention is to provide a prefabricated bathroom unit of the character mentioned, which` is made of sheet metal or the like and has integrally connected side4 and bottom walls and wherein integral portions of the unit cooperate with such walls. in defining toilet fixtures. in arelative arrangement which utilizes the available space to` maximum advantage and enables the required plumbing connections to be readily made.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionA will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in. conjunction with the accompanying sheet of. drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective viewshowing a. bathroom constructedl or erected in. accordance with the present invention, and l Fig. 2 is a partial transverse sectional view taken through the prefabricated unit as indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The accompanying. drawing shows a bathroom constituting a part of a dwelling or other building and formed by erecting suitable building structure l around a prefabricated bathroom unit I I. The bathroom unit I Iv shown as embodying a,A plurality of toilet fixtures which in thisv instance comprise a bathtub I2, alavatory I3 and a toilet I4. In the bathroom unit II these lixtures are locatedin a desiredarrangement utilizing the available space to maximum. advantage, but-it will be understood, of course, that the bathroom unit can include some or all of these fixtures and that` they can be disposed in` various other relative. arrangements.

The building construction. I0A can be any con.-

re n.tional. building structure such as side` waus and a ceiling constructed from studs, rafters on other frame members.L and having the usual lath and plaster or wallboard or the like mounted thereon to form the desired wall and ceiling surfaces. Although the bathroom` unit II is readily usable with building structure. of the character just mentioned, it is especially suitable for use with a prefabricated type of building construction in which case the building structure I0 would comprise prefabricated wall or ceiling panels, wardrobe units, cabinetsand; the like which would be moved into assembledv relation against and around the prefabricatedunit II, tov cooperate therewith in defining the' complete bathroom.

The prefabricated bathroom unit Il comprises a unitary structure which4 is madefrom sheet metal or the like and is, in general, in the form of a box-like structure havingl side wallsand a bottom wall or floor I6. In this instance the unit I I is quadrangular in plan shape and has pairs of opposed side walls Il, I8 and I9, 20. The side walls can be of any desired height and can extend to the ceiling of the bathroom, or preferably as here shown, are of a height corresponding with the tile wainscoting frequently em-` ployed in bathrooms and which extends'up the side walls, for a distance somewhat above the lavatory I3. In constructing the unit IIl pieces of metal sheets or plates can be formed to the desired shape by cutting, drawing or stamping operations or any combination of these operations, so as to correspond with certain. portions of the unit and then connected into unitary structure or assembly by welding, soldering, brazing or the like.

The bathtub I2 can be located at, the inner or remote end of the unitl I l and, in this instance, is formed in part by the rear side wall 2li and adjacent portions of the side walls I1 and I8 which form the ends Ila and Ia of the tub. The bathtub is also delined in part by a portion l 6a of the floor I6 which forms the bottomv of the tub and in part by an upright transverse hollow structure 22 which forms the front wall of thetub.

The transverse hollow Structure 22 is here shown as extendingacross the interior of the unit Il between the side Walls I'I and I8v and having its ends integrally connectedwiththese side walls. The structure 22 is also integrally connected with the bottom wall or floor II and is of a height. corresponding with that desired for the front upright wall of the bathtub I2. The transverse structure 22 is also made of the sheet metal or the like which is used in the side WallsV and bottom of the unit II and the portion thereof adjacentthe,side` wall II is preferably of increased width and provided with a substantially ilat top 22a to enable this structure to serve'as a seat. A person using the -bathroom can sit on the at top 22a either with his feet and legs disposed in the bathtub I2 or with his feet and legs located on the opposite or front side of the transverse structure.

The hollow interior of the transverse structure 22 can be used as a storage space or cabinet 23 having one or more shelves 24 therein on which towels or various other articles can be placed. Access to the storage space 23 can be had through an opening 25 in the upright front wall 2S of the transverse structure and which is adaptedA to be closed by a door 2l.

The lavatory I3 is built into the unit II as an integral part thereof and preferably is in the form of a corner lavatory which spans the included corner defined by the intersecting side walls I8 and I9. The lavatory I3 includes a downwardly dished structure 29 which forms the curved bottom of this fixture and which is attached to the side walls I8 and I9. In this instance a portion Ib of the side wall I8 cooperates with the dished member 29 in defining the bowl or recess of the lavatory.

The dished member 29 also includes a forwardly and downwardly extending integral portion which deiines a hollow arcuate front rim 39 for the lavatory and an upright front Wall 3| extending between the rim 30 and the floor I5 and forming a closure for the plumbing space located beneath the lavatory. This upright front Wall 3l has an opening therein affording access to the plumbing space and which is adapted to be closed by a door 32 or the like.

The toilet Ill is preferably located in the transverse hollow structure 22 and this fixture comprises a toilet bowl 34 which is formed integral with this hollow structure and on which the usual seat and cover combination 35 is mounted. To accommodate the toilet fixture I4 to best advantage, the transverse structure 22 is constructed with a portion 22h of relatively increased width adjacent the side wall I8 and which wider portion extends along this side wall. The portion 22h is preferably carried along the side wall I8 far enough to engage and merge smoothly into the upright front wall 3i of the lavatory I3.

The front wall 26 of the transverse structure 22 is carried continuously along the front of the relatively wider portion 22h and also engages and merges into the front wall 3I of the lavatory I3. The front wall 26 preferably follows a curved path and, in this instance, the end portions 26a and 26h of this wall adjacent the side walls Il and I9 are conveXly curved and the intermediate connecting section 29e which extends along the front of the relatively wider portion 22h of the upright structure 22, is concavely curved. The bowl Sil of the toilet fixture I4 is preferably located in the upright structure 22 so as to overhang the concavely curved portion 26e 0f the upright front wall 2G. The top portions of the structure 22 which are located on opposite sides of, and to the rear of, the toilet fixture III are substantially flat and can be used as supporting surfaces on which various toilet articles or the like may be placed.

The bathtub I2 is provided with a soap holder 36 and the lavatory I3 is provided with similar soap holders 3l and 39. 'I'hese soap holders are formed as integral parts of the unit II and, as shown in the sectional view of Fig. 2, each holder comprises a rear or upright wall portion 39 and a lateral or horizontal wall portion 40. The lateral wall t0 is provided with a number of substantially parallel upstanding integral ribs 4I forming a rest upon which a cake of soap is adapted to be received in spanning relation to such ribs. The ribs III are constructed with the tops Illia thereof sloping downwardly and rearwardly'toward the wall 39 and with the bottoms of the intervening grooves or slots 42 sloping downwardly and outwardly. The rearwardly sloping tops 4 Ia of the ribs cause Ithe cake of soap to tend to shift toward the rear wall 39 and will prevent the soap from being unintentionally dislodged from the soap holder. The downwardly and outwardly sloping grooves or slots 42 between the ribs will provide drain passages through which water can readily escape from the soap holder.

The bathtub I2 and the lavatory I3 are provided with the usual drain openings 43 at the bottom thereof and are also provided with'suitable water delivery nozzles I4 and the usual drain and faucet control members 45 and d6. In the case of the lavatory I3 the delivery nozzle can be located in or under the soap holder 3'I.

As mentioned above, the bottom wall or floor I6 of the bathroom unit II is formed as an integral part of the unit. This bottom wall forms the floor or sub-floor which is adapted to receive any desired finish or covering. When the bottom wall IB is used as a sub-floor a finished floor Ill formed of tile, linoleum, cement, co-mposition or any other desired material can be applied thereto. One of the side walls of the unit I I, in this instance the front wall I9, is provided with an opening 48 therein which forms a part of the doorway leading into the bathroom. The portion of the building structure I0 which is located above the end wall I8 of the bathtub I2 can be provided with a conventional shower xture 49.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing it will now be readily understood that this invention provides a novel bathroom construction in which a prefabricated unit or core is employed and which unit is of an integral or unitary construction and embodies one or more toilet xtures constituting an integral part of the unit. It will also be seen that this invention provides a bathroom unit of this character which can be economically constructed from sheet metal or other suitable material and that when this unit is enclosed by appropriate building structure it forms a finished inner and lower part of bathroom and provides toilet fixtures in a desired relative arrangement in such room.

Although the bathroom structure of the present invention has been illustrated and described herein in more or less detail, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be regarded as being correspondingly limited but includes all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the ap-pended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A bathroom unit comprising an integral prefabricated box-like structure made of sheet metal and having a bottom wall and side walls including a pair of intersecting side walls deiining an included corner, an upstanding transverse sheet metal structure extending across said unit integrally connected with said bottom wall and certain of said side walls so as to cooperate with ...said bottom wall and said certain side walls in dening a bathtub, a dished sheet metal struc-.-l

ture connected with said pair of intersecting side Walls so as to span said included corner and co- ?operating with said intersecting walls in defining la lavatory having a front rim, said dished sheet metal structure including an upright wall portion extending between and integrally connected with said front rim and said bottom Wall and said transverse structure having a portion of re1- atively increased width connected with and merging into the upright wall of said dished structure, and a toilet bowl located in said portion of relatively increased Width.

2. A bathroom unit comprising an integral prefab-ricated box-like structure made of sheet metal and having a bottom wall and side walls including a pair of intersecting side Walls defining an included corner, an upstanding transverse sheet metal structure extending across said unit and integrally connected with said bottom wall and certain of said side walls so as to cooperate with said bottom Wall and said certain side Walls in dening a bathtub, a dished sheet metal structure connected with said pair of intersecting side walls so as to span said included corner and cooperating with said intersecting walls in dening a lavatory having a front rim, said dished sheet metal structure including an upright wall portion extending between and integrally connected with said front rim and said bottom wall, said transverse structure having a portion of relatively increased Width adjacent one of said certain side walls and said portion of increased width having a concavely curved upright front wall connected with and merging into said upright wall of said dished structure, and a toilet bowl located in and formed integral with said portion of increased width and overhanging said concavely curved front wall.

ONNIE MANKKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the Chapman et al. Dec. 25, 1945

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