Snap-on Fixture

The present invention relates to concealed fixtures and, in particular. to a snap-on concealed fixture arrangement for load bearing bathroom fittings.

Load bearing bathroom fittings such as soap holders, bathroom shelves, towel racks, bath robe hooks, and the like must be secured to a vertical surface of a bathroom. It is highly desirable if the fitting can be arranged with a concealed fixture so that the fasteners used to connect the fitting to the vertical surface cannot be seen. This is particularly advantageous in bathroom fittings because the humid atmosphere of the bathroom often leads to corrosion, or discolouration, of metal fasteners.

It is also preferable if all the parts of the fittings can be moulded from plastics material.

According to the present invention there is disclosed a snap-on fixture arrangement for a load bearing bathroom fitting, said arrangement comprising a base plate having at least one aperture through which a fastener passes to secure said base plate to a vertical surface of said bathroom, an upper forwardly protruding curved bearing surface spaced apart from, and above, a downwardly directed ridge., and an outer member comprising said fitting, the inner surface of said outer member having an upper rearwardly directed curved surface and a lower resiliently deformable protrusion whereby said outer member can be engaged with said base plate by inter-engagement of said curved surfaces, and said outer member pivoted to move said protrusion downwardly to snap over said ridge.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective, partly sectional view of a soap holder or shower shelf in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view during installation,

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the assembled fitting, and

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the two inter-engaged parts.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the fitting comprises two parts, a base plate 1 and an outer member 2.

The base plate 1 has a pair of spaced apart apertures 3 arranged to each receive one of a corresponding pair of fasteners 4 by which means the base plate 1 can be secured to a vertical surface 5 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The base plate 1 is provided with two forwardly protruding curved bearing surfaces 6 as its upper extremities and two downwardly directed ridges 7 as its lower extremities. Preferably located intermediate the curved surfaces 6 and ridges 7 are a pair of load bearing bosses 8 which are generally rectangular in shape. However, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1 the bosses B can be deleted or be of reduced height if desired.

The outer member 2 is provided with a shelf 11 which extends outwardly and an inner surface 12 which faces towards the base plate 1 as best seen in FIG. 2. Along its upper edge, the outer member 2 is provided with a recess 13 having a rearwardly directed curved surface whilst along the lower edge of the outer member 2 there is provided a hook-shaped protrusion 14.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the base plate 1 s first secured to the vertical surface 5. Then the recess 13 is engaged with the curved surfaces 6 whilst the shelf 11 is inclined upwardly above the horizontal. Then the outer member 2 is pivoted in a clock-wise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 so as to engage the protrusion 14 over the ridges 7. This is the position illustrated in FIG. 3.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the engaged position illustrated in FIG. 3, the bosses B can be dimensioned to bear on the inner surface 12 and thereby provide additional support to counteract any torque created by objects placed on the shelf 11.

Furthermore, as best seen in FIG. 2, the side edges 16 (only one of which is illustrated in FIG. 2}of the outer member 2 extend rearwardly of the inner surface 12. Thus the side edges 16 cover the base plate 2 from view when viewed in the direction opposite to FIGS. 2 and 3 thereby providing for a completely concealed fixture.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a small gap 15 is provided between the vertical surface 5 and protrusion 14 into which a screwdriver, or like device, can be inserted in order to disengage the protrusion 14 and ridges 7. This enables the fixture to be detached from the vertical surface 5 if desired. The gap 15 is ordinarily hidden from view by the shelf 11 and protrusion 14.

As seen in FIG. 4, in addition to the gap 15, one of the protrusions 14 is provided with a narrow locating slot 17 which mates with the corresponding one of a small lug 18 provided on each the ridges 7. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that since the ridges 7 and protrusions 14 are provided with the same profile, after engagement of the plate 1 and outer member 2, some mechanism should be provided to prevent the possibility of the outer member sliding horizontally (i.e. into and out of the page as illustrated in FIG. 3) This mechanism preferably takes the form of the positioning of the lug 18 in the locating slot 17.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.