Shelf and shelf holder set for bath/shower screens and a bath/shower screen with this set

The invention relates to the field of bathroom accessories, specifically a shelf and shelf holder set for bath/shower screens and a bath/shower screen with this set.

Commercially available and well-known bathroom shelves consist of a storage board, or even a mount board that is perpendicular to the storage board, and a means of fixing it to the wall for maximum storage space in the bathroom. Bathroom shelves, or their storage boards, especially for shower cabinets and bathtubs, are usually made of a material that is resistant to water and humidity in bathrooms. That is why wooden, veneer or chipboard materials are completely unsuitable for shelves in shower cabinets and bathtubs, and metal, plastic or glass-based materials are chosen. Means for fixing the shelf to the wall of the shower cabinet or bathtub are various brackets, bolts or screws that are used to fix the storage or mount board to the wall.

Shelves are often used in shower cabinets and are attached by means of screws that are drilled into the joints between the tiles or directly through the tiles. Such an installation is difficult, requires the use of specialised tools such as a special drill with very strong drill bits, and even so, there is a risk of the tiles cracking if not handled properly. This can result in the need to replace cracked tiles, or in worse cases, tiles throughout the shower cabinet or bathroom. In addition, permanently attached shelves are impractical in the shower for maintenance and regular cleaning. Metal shelves have a number of bends and areas for mould biofilm to form, which are very difficult to clean and mould removal is never perfect and is virtually impossible as the humid environment of the shower cabinet is ideal for continuous mould formation.

These shortcomings are eliminated by magnetic shelves, which have magnets embedded in the shelf body, and an entire magnetic wall is created on the wall in the shower cabinet or at the bathtub to form the holder of this shelf. Thus, the shelf can be fixed in any part of the magnetic wall and can be removed from the magnetic wall at any time. Such a solution is described, for example, by US 20180020879 or JP 2021129933. The main disadvantage of this arrangement is that the entire magnetic wall has to be attached in the wall in the shower cabinet or at the bathtub in the bathroom, for example by sticking magnetic wallpaper to the tiles. This gives a very unaesthetic and overall distracting impression of the bathroom environment. In addition, the attachment of the magnetic wall to the tiles in the bathroom may not be permanent and after some time, due to the presence of humidity in the bathroom, the magnetic wall will detach from the tiles in the bathroom and must be reattached. Furthermore, such a shelf can only be attached to the wall of the shower cabinet or bathtub to which the magnetic wall is attached, not, for example, to the bath/shower screen, where it would often be more practical and aesthetic.

Therefore, the task of the invention is to create a shelf and shelf holder set for the bath/shower screens that eliminates the above shortcomings, that can be easily and firmly attached to the bath/shower screen and that is easy to remove from the bath/shower screen. Furthermore, no special modifications in the bathroom, such as attaching the magnetic wall to the wall of the shower cabinet or bathtub, should be required to install the shelf and holder set for the bath screens and should be modern, elegant and aesthetic.

The stated object is solved by means of a shelf and shelf holder set for bath/shower screens according to the present invention, wherein the shelf and the holder are provided with a means for magnetic attachment of the shelf to the holder.

The essence of the invention is that the means for magnetic attachment of the shelf to the holder comprises at least one pair of oppositely arranged holding segments, wherein one holding segment is arranged in the shelf and the other holding segment is arranged in the holder, of which at least one holding segment being a permanent magnet. The shelf and the holder are designed as separate bodies adapted for opposite, mutual removable attachment on both sides of the bath/shower screen by means of oppositely arranged holding segments placed in the shelf and the holder by means of magnetic force. The main advantage of the two separate shelf and holder bodies is the possibility to separate the shelf from the holder and the bath/shower screen at any time and clean it, replace it with another one or move it to another part of the bath/shower screen.

In one preferred embodiment, the holding segment in the shelf and the holding segment in the holder are permanent magnets. Two opposite permanent magnets ensure a very strong connection between the shelf and the holder on the bath/shower screen, which can be separated at any time.

In another preferred embodiment, the holding segment in the shelf is a permanent magnet and the holding segment in the holder is a ferromagnetic metal or an alloy of ferromagnetic metals, or in another further preferred embodiment, the holding segment in the shelf is a ferromagnetic metal or an alloy of ferromagnetic metals and the holding segment in the holder is a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic metal or alloy of ferromagnetic metals refers to those metals which exhibit magnetic properties, i.e. they are attracted to permanent magnets and also form a strong connection between the shelf and the holder that can be removed at any time.

The attachment of the holding segments can be made on the outer face of the shelf and holder by attaching the holding segment directly to the shelf and holder, so that the holding segment protrudes from the profile of the shelf and holder and is fully visible. In another preferred embodiment, the shelf and the holder are provided with at least one recess for accommodating one pair of oppositely arranged holding segments. The recess allows partial or total recessing of the holding segment into the body of the shelf and holder so that the holding segment is not visible or only partially visible.

The shelf and the holder are preferably provided with two to five side-by-side recesses for accommodating two to five pairs of oppositely arranged holding segments. A larger number of recesses with accommodated holding segments allow the creation of a longer shelf whose weight and stability is distributed thanks to the side-by-side holding segments. Thanks to the larger number of holding segments, it is therefore possible to create a set with a longer shelf and holder, on which more bathroom accessories can be placed and stored, thus becoming more useful and more usable. Longer shelves can also be more variable in the case of a shelf design that can thus include different separating segments, which also makes the shelf more attractive to the user.

The recesses are preferably formed in the shape of a circle.

By analogy, the holding segments can be attached to the outer face of the shelf and holder without the need to make a recess in the body of the shelf and holder, and the holding segments are attached by protruding from the profile of the body of the shelf and holder. They are usually screwed, but can also be glued. Also, there may be up to five pairs of these holding segments arranged oppositely on the shelf and holder, protruding from the body of the shelf and holder.

The shelf and the holder are preferably made of plastic byD printing, casting or injection moulding, as well as of aluminium or alloys of aluminium and other metallic materials made by bending or welding, gluing or casting into the desired shape, or of composite materials by moulding. The shelf and holder are lightweight, strong and easy to wash.

The advantages of the shelf and shelf holder set for bath/shower screens according to this invention are mainly that it can be simply but at the same time very firmly attached to the bath/shower screen and at the same time it is very easy to remove it from the bath/shower screen. No special modification in the bathroom, such as attaching a magnetic wall to the wall of the shower cabinet or bathtub, is required to install the shelf and holder set for the shower/bath screen according to this invention, and it is modern, elegant and aesthetic, and can be used in a large range of sizes and shapes.

A setof a shelfand a holderfor a bath/shower screenaccording to this invention is shown in.shows a shelfwith a length of 300 mm, a height of 80 mm and a depth of 90 mm, meaning the storage space of the shelf. The shelfis made of high-strength plastic. The body of the shelfcomprises a storage board formed in a T-shape, where one board forms the storage space of the shelfand the other perpendicular board forms the mounting space of the shelf. In this part of the shelf, three circular recesses Z with a diameter of 70 mm are formed for the meansfor magnetic attachment of the shelfto the holder. In this embodiment, the holding segments, which are neodymium permanent magnets, are attached to the recessesby being glued into the recesses.

further shows the holder, the body of which is formed as a rectangular board of high-strength plastic with a length of 300 mm and a height of 80 mm. Three circular recesses Z with a diameter of 70 mm are formed on one side of the holder. In this embodiment, three holding segments, which are neodymium permanent magnets, are attached to the recessesby being glued into the recesses. When the separate bodies of the shelfand the holderare brought together, a magnetic force is applied between the magnets in the shelfand the holderto form the setof the shelfand the holder. When the bodies of the shelfand holderare brought together from the outside and inside of the bath/shower screen, the bath/shower screenis formed with the above-described setof the shelfand holdershown in.shows various bathroom accessories in the form of bottles such as shower gel, soap in a dispenser or conditioner, which are placed on the shelf, which is part of the above-described setand attached to the bath/shower screen.

shows a shelfwith a length of 400 mm, a height of 80 mm and a depth of 90 mm, meaning the storage space of the shelf. The shelfis made of aluminium sheet and formed by bending. The body of the shelfcomprises a storage board formed in a U-shape, where one board forms the storage space of the shelf and the other perpendicular board forms the mounting space. In the mounting part of the shelf, meansfor magnetic attachment of the shelfto the holderare mounted, which are formed by four pairs of holding segments, which in this embodiment are screwed neodymium permanent magnets with a diameter of 70 mm.

further shows the holder, the body of which is formed as a rectangular board of aluminium sheet with a length of 400 mm and a height of 80 mm. On one side of the holder, four holding segmentsare glued, which in this example are made of ferromagnetic metal, specifically iron. When the separate bodies of the shelfand the holderare brought together, a magnetic force is applied between the magnet in the shelfand the holding segmentof iron in the holderto form the setof the shelfand the holder. When the bodies of the shelfand holderare brought together from the outside and inside of the bath/shower screen, the bath/shower screenis formed with the above-described setof the shelfand holdershown in.

In this example,shows a shelfwith a length of 500 mm, a height of 80 mm and a depth of 90 mm, which refers to the storage space of the shelfthat is divided into two parts, one of which is formed with a length of 296 mm and is used for storing bathroom accessories as in Example 1 and the other part is formed with a length of 192 mm for storing bar soap as in Example 2. The shelfis again made of high-strength plastic and is formed in the same way as the smaller shelfdescribed above in Example 1. As can be seen in, an elongated hole is formed in the second part of the shelffor removing water from the bar soap after use. In the mounting part of the shelf, five circular recesses Z with a diameter of 70 mm are formed for the meansfor magnetic attachment of the shelfto the holder. Five holding segmentsmade of ferromagnetic metal, specifically cobalt, are glued into these recesses. In another embodiment, another ferromagnetic metal or alloy of these metals may be used for the holding segment.

further shows the holder, the body of which is formed as a rectangular board of high-strength plastic with a length of 500 mm and a height of 80 mm. Five circular recesses Z with a diameter of 70 mm are formed on one side of the holder. Five holding segmentsof a neodymium permanent magnet are glued into these recesses. When the separate bodies of the shelfand the holderare brought together, a magnetic force is applied between the holding segmentof cobalt in the shelfand the magnet in the holderto form the setof the shelfand the holder. When the bodies of the shelfand holderare brought together from the outside and inside of the bath/shower screen, the bath/shower screenis formed with the above-described setof the shelfand holdershown in.

The shelf and holder set for bath/shower screens and the bath/shower screen with this set according to this invention can be used in any bathroom with the bath/shower screen as the storage space that is also a design complement.