GB2368888A

GB2368888A - A method of installing a fluid-using appliance on a wall

Info

Publication number: GB2368888A
Application number: GB0027323A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Fennell; Roy Sheldon
Original assignee: MARFLOW ENGINEERING Ltd
Current assignee: MARFLOW ENGINEERING Ltd
Priority date: 2000-11-09
Filing date: 2000-11-09
Publication date: 2002-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-09
Also published as: GB2368888B; GB0027323D0

Abstract

A method of installing a fluid-using appliance on a wall 12 at a mounting position where a part of a fluid pipe 10, 11 extends outwardly of the wall, includes the steps of securing a mounting member 20 to the wall, and passing the outwardly extending pipe part 14, 15 through an opening 22, 23 provided in the mounting member. The method also includes the steps of locking the pipe part relative to the mounting member so as to prevent axial movement of the outwardly extending pipe part, and subsequently joining the outwardly extending pipe part to an inlet fitting of the appliance in a fluid tight manner. The fluid-using appliance may be a shower, boiler radiator or any other appliance to which gas or liquid is supplied.

Description

PATENTS ACT 1977 DJL/A 10190GB Title: A Method of Installing a Fluid-Using Appliance Description of Invention This invention relates to a method of installing a fluid-using appliance such as a shower, boiler, radiator, or any other appliance to which liquid or gas is supplied in use, on a wall. Such an appliance may have a single inlet, a pair of inlets one being for hot and the other cold liquid or for two different liquids or a liquid and a gas, or an inlet and an outlet.

More particularly but not exclusively the invention relates to a method of installing a shower which typically has either one inlet for cold water, the shower being of the kind in which the cold water is heated in the appliance before delivery to a shower head, or a pair of inlets one for hot and the other for cold water which are mixed in the appliance for delivery to a shower head.

Particularly where the appliance has a pair of inlet fittings, it is known to use a mounting plate which includes integral fittings which are joined to pipe parts which terminate in the fittings. Thus an appliance may be installed later by joining the pair of inlet fittings of the appliance to the fittings integrally provided by the mounting plate. Such a system is commonly used in continental Europe.

The use of a mounting plate as described is advantageous particularly where the appliance has a pair of inlet fittings as the spacing between the pipe parts can be set by the pipe parts being joined to the integral fittings of the mounting plate, and moreover, by having a mounting plate secured relative to the wall, a rigid mounting is provided for the appliance.

However, the integral fittings of the mounting plate each provide a female connecting part for receiving a pipe part end, and a male or female connecting part for joining with an inlet fitting of the appliance. The female connecting part faces inwardly of the wall on which it is desired to install the appliance, and thus the joints between fittings and pipe parts have to be made prior to securing the mounting plate on the wall. After the pipe parts and integral fittings have been joined, and the mounting plate is secured relative to the wall, the joint is inaccessible.

In the UK, the use of such mounting plates is uncommon. This is because the practice in the UK is to make joints directly between outwardly projecting pipe parts and inlet fittings of the appliance.

According to one aspect of the invention we provide a method of installing a fluid-using appliance on a wall at a mounting position where a part of a fluid pipe extends outwardly of the wall, the method including the steps of securing a mounting member relative to the wall at the mounting position, passing the outwardly extending pipe part through an aperture provided in the mounting member until the pipe extends outwardly of the mounting member, locking the pipe part relative to the mounting member such as to prevent axial movement of the outwardly extending pipe part relative to the mounting

member, and subsequently joining the outwardly extending pipe part to an inlet . 1 ID fitting of the appliance in fluid tight manner.

Thus the invention enables advantages of the known system to be

realised, namely that the mounting member can provide a rigid mounting for the appliance and help set the distance between a pair of pipe parts where the appliance has a pair of inlet fittings, whilst enabling joints to be made directly between the pipe part or parts and the inlet fitting or fittings.

Where joints are to be made between pipe parts and inlet fittings it is often the case that the pipe parts are free to move axially at least until the joints are made, and this can make forming joints difficult.

Where the appliance mounting relies on the joints for rigidity, if the pipe parts can move axially, the appliance may not rigidly be mounted.

By virtue of the invention, the pipe part or parts is/are prevented from moving axially and thus the making of joints between the pipe part or parts and the inlet fitting or fittings can be made less difficult. Moreover there is no inaccessible joint between the integral fitting of the mounting member and the pipe part.

The or each pipe part may be locked axially relative to the mounting member by means of tightening a locking element on a collet or other similar locking member provided in or on the mounting member. Preferably the aperture of the mounting member is a through opening. The collet or other locking member may be secured in the through opening, although in another example, the locking member may be provided integrally with the mounting member. This latter embodiment is most easily provided where the mounting member includes a moulded, e. g. plastic, body, in which case a locking member such as a collet may be formed integrally with the body of the mounting memberduringmoulding.

In one example, the body member is a collet having a plurality of tongues separated by slits.

The locking element may in one example be a simple nut which is screw threaded onto the collet or other locking member to lock the pipe part relative to the mounting member, in which case the pipe part preferably extends outwardly of the nut sufficiently to be joined to the inlet fitting of the appliance.

In another example, the locking element may be a union for engagement with an inlet fitting of the appliance, which union may have a tubular body with

an internal female thread for engaging the locking member, and an external 0 1) tD male threaded part which co-operates with the inlet fitting of the appliance to provide a fluid tight joint between the pipe part and the inlet fitting.

The mounting member may be adapted to be secured relative to the wall by one or more fasteners which may pass through pre-formed openings in the mounting member.

Preferably the mounting member has a generally plate-like configuration body, but may be of another construction as desired.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a mounting member for use in the method of the first aspect of the invention the mounting member having an aperture through which an outwardly extending pipe part may be passed, means to enable the mounting member to be secured relative to the wall, and a locking member adapted to ce-operate with a locking element thus to prevent axial movement of the outwardly extending pipe part relative to the mounting member.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is an illustrative view of part of a wall on which an appliance is to be installed; FIGURE la is a view similar to Figure 1 but of another embodiment ; FIGURE 2 is a front view of a mounting member for use in the invention ; FIGURE 3 is an end view of the mounting member of Figure 2.

Referring to Figures t and) a of the drawings, there are shown two I : > ZD alternative constructions.

In Figure I, a pair of pipes 10 and 11 extend downwardly through a wall which is represented by a single stud 12. Because the pipes 10 and 11 extend in the wall, at their ends, the pipes 10 and 11 terminate in a pair of outwardly projecting pipe parts ! 4 and 15 respectively. The pipe parts 14 and 15 are of such a length that they extend sufficiently outwardly of the wall 12 to enable

the pipe parts 14 and 15 to be joined to inlet fittings of an appliance.

Z7) In Figure la, a similar construction is shown and hence similar parts to those of figure I are labelled by the same reference numerals, although in this example, the pipes 10 and 11 extend through the wall and thus the axially extending ends 14 and 15 provide the outwardly projecting pipe parts which are to be joined to inlet fittings of an appliance.

To set the spacing between the outwardly projecting pipe parts 14 and 15 to suit the spacing of inlet fittings of an appliance, a mounting member 20 is provided. In this example, the mounting member 20 is made of a GRP or similar strong plastic material and is of generally rectangular shape.

A pair of openings 21 which may be preformed or provided during installation, receive fasteners by means of which the mounting member 20 is secured relative to the wall 12.

It is envisaged that the mounting member 20 may be secured in position before a skin of the wall is attached to the studs 12 such that the mounting member 20 will lie against a stud ! 2 as shown. In another example the mounting member 20 may be secured to the wall by being positioned on top of a skin of the wall, with the fasteners securing the mounting member 20 to a

stud through the skin.

Where a wall construction is for example a solid wall construction, the pipes 10 and Il may extend through passages provided in the wall. For example in an arrangement such as shown in Figure 1, the pipes may extend in channels in the wall to a mounting position where an appliance is to be mounted on the wall. In Figure la, the pipes 10 and 11 may extend through passages provided by drilling openings through the wall.

The outwardly projecting pipe parts 14 and 15 are passed through apertures 22 and 23 respectively which are provided in the mounting member 20. Thus the distance between the pipe parts 14 and 15 is set by the spacing between the apertures 22 and 23.

To lock the outwardly extending pipe parts 14 and 15 relative to the mounting member 20, in or one the apertures 22,23, there are provided locking members which are adapted to be engaged with the outwardly extending pipe parts 14 and 15 to restrain the pipe parts 14 and 15 from axial movement, that is axially of the outwardly extending pipe parts 14 and 15.

One suitable locking means would be a collet which may be secured in the respective openings 22 and 23, as an interference fit, or by adhesive, or by brazing, welding, or a similar technique. Such a collet may comprise a

plurality of tongues arranged about the openings 22 or 23, which tongues are Z. 1) 0 tD spaced by slits. The tongues may have a common male thread formation and as locking element e. g. a nut is screwed onto the collet, the tongues will be urged inwardly into co-operation and thus locking engagement with the outwardly extending pipe parts 14 and 15.

Subsequently, the outwardly extending pipe parts 14 and 15, which may for example be hot water and cold water delivery pipes to an appliance, may be joined in fluid tight manner direct to inlet fittings of the appliance.

The outwardly projecting pipe parts ! 4 and 15 preferably extend

outwardly of the mounting member 20 or wall skin, for about two centimetres which is sufficient to enable the pipe parts 14 and 15 to be joined to the inlet fittings of the appliance.

ZD Referring to Figures 2 and 3, there is shown a particular embodiment of the mounting member 20 which includes a body 30 which is generally platelike and made of a moulded plastic such as GRP plastic.

The body 30 is provided with openings 21 in many different positions to

provide maximum flexibility for securing the mounting member 20 to e. g. a stud 12 or otherwise to a wall.

In this example, the openings 22 and 23 each have an integrally formed locking member 32 which has a plurality of tongues 33 which are separated by slits. The tongues 33 are arranged on a circumference of the locking member 32, the diameter of the circumference being slightly larger than that of the outwardly extending pipe parts 14 and 15, so that the pipe parts can be passed through the apertures 22 or 23 provided in the member 20. A male threaded formation is provided on the tongues 33.

Thereafter, a locking element such as a nut may be passed over the outwardly extending pipe part 14 or 15 into engagement with the respective tongues 33 and as the nut is tightened, the tongues 33 will close around the pipe part 14 or 15 to lock the pipe part relative to the mounting member 20.

If desired, the locking element which is screwed onto the collet of the openings 22/23 may be a union adapted to be secured in fluid tight manner to the inlet fitting of the appliance. Such a union may be generally tubular having an internal screw thread for engagement with the respective collet 32 and an external male thread adapted to be joined in fluid tight manner to an inlet fitting of the appliance to be installed.

It will be appreciated that where a mounting member 20 having a pair of apertures 22 and 23 is provided, that the spacing between the apertures may be arranged to match that of an appliance.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the mounting member 20 need not be of rectangular configuration shown but may be of any other configuration suitable for

securing to a wall and providing one or a pair or more of apertures for receiving ZD pipe parts. The mounting member may be adapted, for example by being provided with threaded openings to facilitate installing the appliance relative to the wall, for example the mounting plate may be provided with mountings such as threaded openings, or alternatively simple openings, or even outwardly projecting tags on which the appliance may be hung.

In place of collets 32 to secure the outwardly extending pipe parts 14, 15 relative to the mounting member 20, any other suitable locking members may be provided which may lock the pipe parts 14,15 relative to the mounting member 20, at least against movement of the pipe parts 14 and 15 axially thereof.

The invention may be applied where the appliance to be installed is a shower of the kind having hot and cold water inlets and in which the hot and cold water is mixed in the appliance, and from which the mixed water is delivered to a showerhead. However the invention may be applied where other appliances are to be installed such as where the appliance is a boiler in which case the pair of pipes 10 and 1I may be respectively an inlet and an outlet for water to flow through the boiler as it is heated.

The invention may be applied for the installation of other than water using appliances, such as appliances which use other liquids or even gases. In each case, a fluid tight joint may be made direct between the fluid pipe 10 or 11 and an inlet fitting of the appliance. The provision of the mounting member 20 with a locking means to lock the outwardly projecting pipe parts 14 and 15

relative to the mounting member 20. provides a rigid construction to facilitate the installation of the appliance.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in

terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse ZD forms thereof.

Claims

Claims 1. A method of installing a fluid-using appliance on a wall at a mounting position where a part of a fluid pipe extends outwardly of the wall, the method including the steps of securing a mounting member relative to the wall at the mounting position, passing the outwardly extending pipe part through an opening provided in the mounting member until the pipe extends outwardly of the mounting member, locking the pipe part relative to the mounting member such as to prevent axial movement of the outwardly extending pipe part relative to the mounting member, and subsequently joining the outwardly extending pipe part to an inlet fitting of the appliance in fluid tight manner.
2. A method according to claim I characterised in that the pipe part is locked axially relative to the mounting member by means of tightening a locking element on a locking member provided in or on the mounting member.
3. A method according to claim 2 characterised in that the aperture of the z : l mounting member is a through opening and the locking member is secured in the through opening.
4. A method according to claim 2 characterised in that the aperture of the mounting member is a through opening and the locking member is provided integrally with the mounting member.
5. A method according to claim 4 characterised in that the mounting v v member includes a moulded body, the locking member being formed integrally therewith.
6. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 5 characterised in that the locking member is a collet having a plurality of tongues separated by slits.
7. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 6 characterised in that the locking element is a simple nut which is screw threaded onto the locking member to lock the pipe part relative to the mounting member.
8. A method according to any one of claims 2 to 6 characterised in that the locking element is a union for engagement with the inlet fitting of the appliance, the union having a tubular body with an internal female thread for

engaging the locking member, and an external male threaded part which, in use, co-operates with the inlet fitting of the appliance to provide a fluid tight joint between the pipe part and the inlet fitting.
9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the mounting member is adapted to be secured relative to the wall by one

or more fasteners which pass through pie-formed openings in the mounting member.
10. A method according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the mounting member has a generally plate-like configuration body.
I 1. A method of mounting an appliance substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 0
12. A mounting member for use in the method of any one of the preceding claims, the mounting member having an aperture through which an outwardly extending pipe part may be passed, means to enable the mounting member to be secured relative to the wall, and a locking member adapted to co-operate with a 0 locking element thus to prevent axial movement of the outwardly extending pipe part relative to the mounting member.
13. A mounting member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
14. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.