SHOWERHEAD ASSEMBLY WITH DUAL NOZZLE MOUNT

Abstract

An improved showerhead assembly is provided for use with handheld showerheads. The handheld showerhead includes an elongate handle and a showerhead face including one or more nozzles for spraying water. In addition, the showerhead assembly includes a hollow mount for affixing to the male threaded pipe found in a shower stall. The mount includes a “C” shaped receptacle for holding the handheld shower assembly, an inlet for receiving water, as well as an outlet for expelling water to a flexible hose, which in turn is connected to the handheld showerhead. In addition, the mount includes supplemental nozzles which can be swiveled to spray water in different directions.

Claims

1. A handheld showerhead assembly comprising: a handheld showerhead including a primary showerhead and an elongate hollow handle, said primary showerhead having a front face and a plurality of nozzles projecting from said front face, said elongate hollow handle having a proximal end and a distal end with said distal end affixed to said primary showerhead, said handheld showerhead further including a channel connecting said hollow handle's proximal end to said nozzles for transporting water received from said handle's proximal end to said nozzles; a flexible hose having first and second ends with said first end being connected to said elongate handle's proximal end; a showerhead mount including a housing, a female threaded inlet, a male threaded outlet which is connected to said flexible hose's second end, and a central conduit connecting said female threaded inlet to said male threaded outlet, said housing further including a “C” shaped receptacle sized and shaped to receive and hold the proximal end of said handheld showerhead, said “C” shaped receptacle separating said showerhead mount's housing into a first side shoulder section and a second side shoulder section; said showerhead mount further including a first supplemental sprayer assembly, said first supplemental sprayer assembly is mounted to said first side shoulder section by a first ball joint so as to enable said first supplemental sprayer assembly to swivel relative to said housing, said mount further including a first nozzle conduit connecting said central conduit to said first supplemental sprayer assembly for supplying water from said central conduit to said first supplemental sprayer assembly.

2. The handheld showerhead assembly of claim 1 wherein said first ball joint includes a first substantially spherical cavity formed in said housing's first shoulder section and said first supplemental sprayer includes a first ball rotatably positioned in said first spherical cavity.

3. The handheld showerhead assembly of claim 1 wherein said showerhead mount further including a second supplemental sprayer assembly mounted to said second shoulder section by a second ball joint so as to enable said second supplemental sprayer assembly to swivel relative to said housing, said mount further including a second nozzle conduit connecting said central conduit to said second supplemental sprayer assembly for supplying water from said central conduit to said second supplemental sprayer assembly.

4. The handheld showerhead assembly of claim 3 wherein said first ball joint includes a first substantially spherical cavity formed in said housing's first shoulder section and said first supplemental sprayer includes a first ball rotatably positioned in said first spherical cavity, and said second ball joint includes a second substantially spherical cavity formed in said housing's second shoulder section and said second supplemental sprayer includes a second ball rotatably positioned in said second spherical cavity.

5. The handheld showerhead assembly of claim 1 wherein said hollow handle extends longitudinally to define a longitudinal axis, and said, showerhead's front face faces at an angle between 45° and 90° relative to said handle's longitudinal axis.

6. The handheld showerhead assembly of claim 1 wherein said hollow handle extends longitudinally to define a longitudinal axis, and said, showerhead's front face faces at an angle between 45° and 90° relative to said handle's longitudinal axis, and said first and second supplemental sprayer assemblies face in substantially the same direction as said primary showerhead.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a showerhead mount with swiveling nozzles;

[0018] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the showerhead mount with swivel nozzles wherein the mount's inlet has been pivoted downwardly;

[0019] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the showerhead mount with swiveling nozzles illustrating that the mount's inlet and mount's nozzles can be pivoted upwardly, downwardly, left or right;

[0020] FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the showerhead mount with swiveling nozzles illustrating that both of the mount's nozzle assemblies having been pivoted left and right;

[0021] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the showerhead assembly;

[0022] FIG. 6 is a top plan cutaway view of the mount illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0023] FIG. 7 is a top plan cutaway view of the mount illustrated in FIG. 1 wherein the valve button has been depressed so as to prevent the flow of water to the mount nozzles;

[0024] FIG. 8 is a left side cutaway view of the mount illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the mount's supplement nozzles are expelling water; and

[0025] FIG. 9 is a side cutaway view of the mount illustrated in FIG. 7 illustrating the flow of water to a flexible hose, but not to the mount nozzles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, as shown in the drawings, hereinafter will be described the presently preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and it is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

[0027] With reference to all FIGS. 1-9, the showerhead assembly 1 includes a mounting structure 11 for supporting a handheld showerhead assembly 47. The handheld showerhead portion of the showerhead assembly 1 has a relatively traditional construction including a hollow handle 49 having a proximal end 51 which affixes to a flexible hose 41, and a distal end which includes a showerhead 53. The handle 49 includes a longitudinal axis, and preferably the showerhead 53 affixes to the distal end of the handle 47 at an angle, such as 45° to 90°, relative to the handle's longitudinal axis. The showerhead assembly's primary showerhead 53 has a face 55 through which a plurality of nozzles 57 project. As understood by those skilled in the art, water is capable of flowing through a central channel (not shown) within the center of the handle 49 which connects to the showerhead's nozzles 57 which are constructed to spray water. Preferably, but not necessarily, the showerhead 53 includes a controller, such as the controller knob 59, which is capable of altering the flow of water so as to provide the showerhead with the capability of producing different spray patterns. As illustrated in FIG. 5, preferably the handheld showerhead's hollow handle 49 has a proximal end which has male threads 51 so as to couple to the female threaded connection 43 found on a traditional flexible hose 41.

[0028] The showerhead assembly 1 has a unique hollow mounting structure 11 for holding the showerhead assembly's hollow handle 49. As illustrated in each of the Figures, the mount 11 includes an inlet 13 which connects to a water supply. Preferably, the inlet 13 includes female threads 17 for connecting to the male threads found at the end of a traditional shower stall pipe 3. Preferably, the mount's hollow housing 19 is connected to the mount's inlet 13 by a ball joint 15. As illustrated in the Figures, the ball joint 15 allows the mount 11 to rotate and swivel in any direction about the ball joint's center.

[0029] As illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, like traditional handheld showerhead mounting structures, the preferred mount 11 includes a housing 19 which has a central conduit 21 and hose conduit 27 which connects the inlet 13 to a primary hose outlet 29. Preferably, the mount's primary outlet 29 includes male threads for connecting to the female threaded inlet 43 of the flexible hose 41. As illustrated in FIG. 1-9, the mount 11 includes a “C” shaped receptacle 33 for receiving the proximal end 51 of the handheld shower assembly 47. When held by mount 11, the handheld shower assembly's longitudinal axis aligns with the “C” shaped receptable's vertical axis 35, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Preferably, the “C” shaped receptacle is located substantially at the midpoint of the housing 19, and separates the housing into two shoulder sections, including a left side shoulder section 20 and a right side shoulder section 22.

[0030] As best illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mount 11 includes a pair of nozzle conduits 23 which connect to the central conduit 21 to supply water to supplemental sprayer assemblies 101. More specifically, for this embodiment, the nozzle conduits 23 transport water to nozzles 111 located in rotatable nozzle housings 101. To provide pivot rotation, each nozzle housing 101 is connected to the mount's housing 19 by a ball joint 103. Each ball joint 103 includes a ball 105 which forms the proximal end of each nozzle's housing 101, and each nozzle housing's ball 105 is pivotally positioned within a spherical chamber 107 formed in the mount's housing 19. Advantageously, each of the nozzle housings 101 are capable of pivoting both upwardly and downwardly, as well as left and right, so as to be able to spray water throughout a shower stall, as desired by the bather.

[0031] As illustrated in FIGS. 6-9, preferably, but not necessarily, the mount 11 includes an on/off valve 25 which permits or obstructs the flow of water from the housing's inlet 13 to the nozzle conduits 23. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the preferred valve consists of an on/off button 25 with depression of the button causing the conduit 21 to close to prevent water from flowing to the nozzle conduits 23. For example, FIGS. 6 and 8 illustrate the valve button 25 not depressed to allow water to flow through the central conduit 21 to the sprayer assemblies 101. Conversely, FIGS. 7 and 9 illustrate the valve button depressed to obstruct the flow of water through conduit 21 to the nozzle conduits 23. This valve construction 25 may be incorporated into any mount embodiments including the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-9. Furthermore, the showerhead assembly may incorporate additional or alternative valve assemblies. For example, a preferred valve (not shown) may be capable of activating or deactivating any of the valve assemblies such as a valve which provides three modes including: 1) on—mount nozzles and on—handheld showerhead; 2) on—mount nozzles and off—handheld showerhead; and 3) off—mount nozzles and on—handheld showerhead. The mount may also incorporate a valve assembly (not shown) which can selectively activate or deactivate either of the two mount spray assemblies, such as to activate the left mount nozzles but deactivate the right mount nozzles, or to deactivate the left mount nozzles but activate the right mount nozzles. Various valve constructions for providing these capabilities can be selected by those skilled in the art.

[0032] The present shower assembly provides an improved mounting structure for holding a handheld shower assembly. Advantageously, the mount 11 provides a variety of different nozzle configurations which provide supplemental streams of water. Also advantageously, the supplemental streams of water can be diverted to different locations within the shower enclosure.

[0033] While preferred showerhead assemblies have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, preferred showerhead mounts may include only a single nozzle assembly, or the mount may possess three or more nozzle assemblies. However, the preferred showerhead assemblies described and illustrated herein include a mount having two adjustable nozzle assemblies. Still alternative embodiments may be envisioned by those skilled in the art after consideration of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, having described my invention in such terms such as to enable a person skilled in the art to understand the invention, recreate the invention and practice it, and having presently identified the presently preferred embodiments thereof,