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The present invention relates to a plastic profile which is angularly
adjustable. More particularly, the invention provides a plastic profile which can
either be set to a desired angle, or can be used as a door or window hinge. The
profile is of particular utility in the construction of a shower stall.
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In our Israel Specification No. 117,154 there is described a prefabricated
vertical shower stall made of several panels, corner connecting profiles and
other components. Shower stalls of this type are often square or rectangular in
plan view. However, it is sometimes advantageous to allow some of the corners
to form an angle that is other than 90 degrees. Such a requirement may arise
when the enclosure is to be erected in a non-rectangular space, or when a user
is interested in such a shape for purposes of style. Few prior-art shower stalls
allow such an installation; one that does so requires three profiles for this
purpose, allowing corner angles to be adjusted only in coarse increments of
about 30 degrees. The above-mentioned Israel Specification describes and
claims a shower stall which includes, in one of its embodiments, a
multi-functional profile enabling alternative rigid linear and variable angle
connections, said profile having an open channel bracketed by at least two
opposite outer sectors forming part of a circle, each of said sectors having a
plurality of spaced-apart external ridges. The spaces between these ridges
which control the angle setting are typically up to 20 or 25 degrees. Such a
joint is made of two separate rigid extrusions, the angle being set on assembly
on site by drilling and inserting screws through the mating profiles.
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Although the above-described profile joint has been used in
commercially successful designs, the following problems remained:
- a) For space reasons, the panels could not be preassembled as shower
enclosures in the factory, stored and transported to the user as one unit.
- b) Although panel assembly at different angles was possible, such angles
were still limited to increments of about 20°, according to the ridges on
the outer face of the multi-functional profile.
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It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the
disadvantages of the prior-art connector profiles and to provide a profile which,
as a single unit, allows changes in the angle between its panel holders to be
readily made which in prior-art designs requires two profiles. It is a further
object of the present invention to provide a connector profile being absolutely
leak-proof without requiring the use of a sealing element. Yet a further object of
the present invention is to allow large-angle changes, such as those which are
needed when a shower enclosure is folded flat for purposes of storage or
transport.
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The present invention achieve the above objectives by providing a
variable angle connector profile for connecting a plurality of enclosure panels,
said profile comprising:
- a first end segment having a first open channel sized for receiving a first
enclosure panel;
- a flexible middle segment attached to said first end segment; and
- a second end segment attached to said middle segment and having a second
open channel sized for receiving a second enclosure panel;
- said middle segment including a flexible plastic material and said end
segments including at least a semi-rigid material, all three segments being
co-extruded as a single integral linear unit and wherein each of said first and
second end segments includes surfaces adapted to abut each other and to
delimit the extent of movement of said end segments towards each other in a
first sense of swivel from a linear alignment of 180° to a substantially
perpendicular alignment of about 90°, while said segments are free to move in
a second sense of swivel away from said surfaces to form a reflex angle
therebetween, for accordian-like folding, storage and transport of a plurality of
panels interconnected therewith.
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In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a
variable angle connector profile unit wherein the middle segment is made of
flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and the end segments are made of at least
semi-rigid PVC.
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In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided a variable angle connector profile unit wherein the middle segment
has an operating life in excess of 10,000 bend cycles and said profile unit
forms a part of a door assembly, including its hinge.
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Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.
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It will be realized that the novel profile of the present invention serves in
a new application which was not possible with previous designs. Since it was
found that such a variable angle connector profile could be manufactured to
have an operating life exceeding 10 000 bend cycles, it became possible to use
the profile as a hinge for a door or window. An important advantage of this type
of hinge is that, due to continuity of material, there is no leakage path at any
angle of use, and so no seal elements are required. Obviously, such inherent
sealing is a significant advantage in the construction of a shower stall.
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The technique of coextrusion has been known for well over a decade,
although the usual application of this method is for the production of film or
sheet. In film manufacture, it is not unusual for four extruders to form five layers
which are combined before leaving the die. Different materials are melted in
separate chambers and simultaneously extruded and combined while still hot,
in one of two ways: either a single manifold die is used, and the extrusions are
combined in a combining adaptor, or a multi-manifold die is used, the
extrusions combining at the exit of the die.
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The three segments forming the connector profile unit of the present
invention could be extruded separately and joined, when cold, by any suitable
fabrication technique. However, the use of coextrusion produces a superior
joint at lower cost and is inherently completely leakproof.
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In our WO 01/17411, the relevant teachings of which are incorporated
herein by reference, there is described and claimed a shower enclosure
comprising:
- a) at least two adjoining panels, at least one of which is at least indirectly
attachable to a wall; and
- b) at least one flexible, hinged, load-bearing, integrally-formed connector
that dynamically connects said panels, said connector including a first
end segment, a flexible middle segment, and a second end segment,
said end segments being moveable between a first substantially planir
position and a second position, wherein the planes of said end segments
are substantially perpendicular to each other, said middle segment
including a flexible plastic material and said end segments including at
least a semi-rigid material, all three segments being co-extruded as a
single integral linear unit and wherein each of said first and second end
segments include surfaces adapted to abut each other and to delimit the
extent of movement of said end segments towards each other from a
linear alignment of 180° to a substantially perpendicular alignment of
about 90°.
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As will be realized in our WO specification there is neither taught nor
suggested the improved connector of the present invention characterized in
that all three segments are co-extruded as a single integral linear unit and
wherein each of said first and second end segments includes surfaces adapted
to abut each other and to delimit the extent of movement of said end segments
towards each other in a first sense of swivel from a linear alignment of 180° to a
substantially perpendicular alignment of about 90°, while said segments are
free to move in a second sense of swivel away from said surfaces to form a
reflex angle therebetween, for accordian-like folding, storage and transport of a
plurality of panels interconnected therewith.
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In German specification 2901371 and in French patent application
81 06977, published under no. 2503230, there are described flexible hinged
connectors, however said connectors are not provided with means to enable
movement between a first planir position of about 180° and a second position
of about 90° and certainly do not teach nor suggest the partitions of the present
invention characterized in that all three segments are co-extruded as a single
integral linear unit and wherein each of said first and second end segments
includes surfaces adapted to abut each other and to delimit the extent of
movement of said end segments towards each other in a first sense of swivel
from a linear alignment of 180° to a substantially perpendicular alignment of
about 90°, while said segments are free to move in a second sense of swivel
away from said surfaces to form a reflex angle therebetween, for accordian-like
folding, storage and transport of a plurality of panels interconnected therewith,
and therefore do not provide an acceptable solution for the interconnection of
panels as taught for the first time in the present invention.
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Similarly, while US patent 5,729,867 discloses a flexible, hinged,
load-bearing, integrally formed connector, including a first end segment, a
flexible middle segment and a second end segment in which the middle
segment includes a flexible plastic material and all three segments are
co-formed as a single integral unit, and while US Patent 5,115,855 discloses a
flat panel display end hinge in which the hinge means is three segments which
are co-extruded as a single linear unit, neither of said references teaches or
suggests a flexible hinged, load-bearing, integrally formed connector,
comprising first and second end segments which include integral abutment
and/or stop means adapted to limit the extent of rotation of said end segments
towards each other from a linear alignment of about 180° to a substantially
perpendicular alignment of about 90°.
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The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred
embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be
more fully understood.
-
With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the
particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative
discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are
presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and
readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the
invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the
invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of
the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those
skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in
practice.
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In the drawings:
- Fig. 1
- is an enlarged end view of a preferred embodiment of a connector profile
according to the invention;
- Fig. 2
- is a plan view, on a small scale, of a folded shower stall using the
connector profile units of the present invention;
- Fig. 3
- is a perspective view of a multi-window assembly using the connector
profile units of the invention;
- Fig. 4
- is a perspective view of a door assembly using a connector profile unit of
the invention as a hinge;
- Fig. 5
- is an end view of a variable angle connector profile of the invention,
further comprising retention means;
- Fig. 6
- is an end view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, bent inward at an
angle of 90 degrees;
- Fig. 7
- is an end view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, bent outward at an
angle of 90 degrees, and
- Fig. 8
- is an end view of a further embodiment of the connector profile unit of the
present invention, wherein the inner faces of the open channels are
smooth.
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There is seen in Fig. 1 a variable angle connector profile unit 10 for
connecting two enclosure panels 12, 14. A first end segment 16 has a first
open channel 18, sized for receiving therein a first enclosure panel 12. In the
present embodiment, the first open channel 18 is sized to receive an unframed
panel such as, for example, a sheet of safety glass. The side recesses 20 can
be utilized for a liquid-in-use sealant, while the end recess 22 can be used to
retain a flexible seal strip (not shown). The channel 18 could, of course, be
made wider for accepting a framed panel. The end segments 16, 24 are made
of at least a semi-rigid plastic material. A suitable plastic is rigid or semi-rigid
polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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A flexible middle segment 26 is attached to the first end segment 16.
The middle segment 26 is shaped to allow it to bend inward up to 90 degrees,
as will be seen in Fig. 6, and similarly, to bend outward, as will be seen in
Fig. 7. Middle segment 26 is made of a plastic material such as flexible PVC.
The center recess 28 is shaped to facilitate said bending and to avoid sharp
section changes in order to eliminate stress concentrations during bending, as
will be seen in Fig. 6.
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A second end segment 24 is attached to middle segment 26. The
second open channel 29 shown is similar to the first open channel 18, and is
sized to receive a second enclosure panel 14. If so required, the open
channels 18, 29 can have different dimensions and configurations.
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The three segments 16, 24, 26 are attached to each other by being
co-extruded as a single integral unit. Covalent bonds are formed when the hot
extrusions meet, resulting in adhesion lines which are as strong as the parent
plastic. It goes without saying that such a bond is completely water-tight; of
more significance is the high fatigue limit of the joint, which can be bent many
times without danger of delamination.
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With reference to the rest of the Figures, similar reference numerals
have been used to identify similar parts.
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Referring now to Fig. 2, several variable angle connector profile units
30, 32, 34 are shown as used in a low-cost shower stall assembly 36, which is
illustrated in folded condition for storage and transport. The panel 38 forms the
entrance door of the shower stall. Use of the variable angle connector unit 30
will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. The connector profile 32 is
designed to allow a bend of 270 degrees between erection and folding of the
shower stall. Folding of the shower stall assembly 36 brings substantial
savings to transport and storage operations, and by avoiding disassembly of
the panels 38, 40, 42, on-site erection time is saved. In addition, the
householder who may install the shower stall is not necessarily expert at
assembly of such items, and receiving an enclosure in its pre-assembled
configuration is of value in avoiding assembly errors and service calls.
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Fig. 3 illustrates a variable angle connector profile unit 44 used in a
multi-window assembly 46. The windows 48 and 50 are held on angled
intersecting planes in a rigid frame 52. The vertical connector profile unit 44
takes up the required angle, acts as a hinge and connects the windows 48, 50
in a leak-proof manner. The same profile 44 is also used horizontally. The
windows 48, 50 are openable using latches 53, due to the flexibility of
connector profile unit 44.
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Seen in Fig. 4 is a variable angle connector profile unit 30, similar to
unit 10 shown in Fig. 1. However, in this embodiment, the middle segment 54
has an operating life in excess of 10,000 bend cycles. Advantageously, the
middle segment is made of flexible polypropylene, and end segments 56, 58
are made of at least semi-rigid polypropylene. This material has excellent
resistance to bend cracking, and its low specific weight and high chemical
resistance makes it suitable for use in a long-lasting profile, producable at low
cost.
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The profile unit 30 shown in Fig. 4 forms part of a door assembly 60,
including its hinge. The diagram shows a textured safety glass door used as
part of a shower stall 62.
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Referring now to Fig. 5, there is depicted a variable angle connector
profile unit 64, further comprising retention means 66 for releasably holding unit
64 at a desired angle. A first curved tongue 68 extends from the first end
segment 70 and a second curved tongue 72 extends from the second end
segment 74. The two tongues 68, 72 are mutually proximate, and a plurality of
fasteners 76 are inserted to retain any desired profile unit angle within the
unit's range.
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Fig. 6 illustrates the embodiment 10 shown in Fig. 1, bent inward to its
limit, which in this example is 90 degrees. It will be noted that the recess 28
now forms center hole 78. The outer corner 80 also forms part of a circle, thus
reducing stress concentration and contributing to the long life of the profile unit.
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Fig. 7 illustrates the profile 10 bent outward 90 degrees. It will be noted
that even further bending is possible. Re-examining Fig. 2, it will be seen that
the profile units 32 are bent 180 degrees, or very close to that angle. Such
severe bending is, however, usually carried out only once or twice when the
enclosure is folded, and so there is no material fatigue problem.
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Seen in Fig. 8 is a further embodiment 82 of the profile unit shown in
Fig. 1. However, in this embodiment, the inner faces 84 of the open channels
86 are smooth. The channels 86 are appropriate for use when the enclosure
panel 88 to be inserted therein is to be attached by means of an adhesive
instead of a sealant. The center 90 of the flexible middle segment 92 has a
thin section to reduce bending stresses.
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It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited
to the details of the foregoing illustrated embodiments and that the present
invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the
spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to
be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the
invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing
description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of
equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.