Shower assemblies, mounting hardware and multi-port diverting valves therefor, and methods of installing

Abstract

Shower assemblies, mounting hardware and multi-port diverting valves therefor, and methods of installing rain showerhead assemblies. The show assemblies include a bracket assembly that secures to the wall and/or to the ceiling and a rain showerhead assembly supported by the bracket assembly. The bracket assembly reduces off-axis forces against the shower wall and thereby minimizes damage to the shower wall. The bracket assembly may be used to mount a wall-mounted rain showerhead assembly or a ceiling-mounted rain showerhead assembly. A shower arm three-port diverting valve or a shower arm four-port diverting valve may be used with any one of the shower assemblies.

1 . A three-port shower arm diverting valve comprising:
 a valve body;   an inlet port in the valve body for attaching to a shower water pipe protruding from a piping wall to receive a flow of water therefrom;   a first outlet port in the valve body that operatively couples with a rain showerhead to provide a flow of water to the rain showerhead;   a second outlet port in the valve body that operatively couples to a handheld showerhead to provide a flow of water to the handheld showerhead; and   a rotary valve disposed inside the valve body, wherein the rotary valve has a first position that directs water from the inlet port to only the first outlet port, a second position that directs water from the inlet port to both the first outlet port and the second outlet port, and a third position that directs water from the inlet port to only the second outlet port.   
     
     
         2 . The three-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 1 , wherein the shower arm valve further comprises a bracket that releasably holds the handheld showerhead. 
     
     
         3 . The three-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 2 , wherein the inlet port is disposed on a back side of the valve body, and the bracket is disposed on a front side of the valve body. 
     
     
         4 . The three-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 3 , wherein the first outlet port is disposed on a top side of the valve body. 
     
     
         5 . The three-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 4 , wherein the second outlet port is disposed on a bottom side of the valve body. 
     
     
         6 . A shower assembly comprising:
 the three-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 2 ;   a rain showerhead that operatively couples to the first outlet port; and   a handheld showerhead that operatively couples to the second outlet port and can be releasably mounted to the bracket.   
     
     
         7 . A four-port shower arm diverting valve comprising:
 a valve body;   an inlet port in the valve body for attaching to a shower water pipe protruding from a piping wall to receive a flow of water therefrom;   a first outlet port in the valve body that operatively couples with a rain showerhead to provide a flow of water to the rain showerhead; and   a second outlet port in the valve body that operatively couples to a handheld showerhead to provide a flow of water to the handheld showerhead;   a third outlet port in the valve body that operatively mounts a third showerhead to provide a flow of water to the third showerhead; and   a rotary valve disposed inside the valve body, wherein the rotary valve comprises:
 a first position that directs water from the inlet port to only the first outlet port; 
 a second position that directs water from the inlet port to only the first outlet port and the third outlet port; 
 a third position that directs water from the inlet port to only the third outlet port; 
 a fourth position that directs water from the inlet port to only the third outlet port and the second outlet port; 
 a fifth position that directs water from the inlet port to only the second outlet port; and 
 a sixth position that directs water from the inlet port to only the first outlet port and the second outlet port. 
   
     
     
         8 . The four-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 6 , wherein the inlet port is disposed on a back side of the valve body, and the third outlet port is disposed on a front side of the valve body. 
     
     
         9 . The four-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 7 , wherein the first outlet port is disposed on a top side of the valve body, and the second outlet port is disposed on a bottom side of the valve body 
     
     
         10 . A shower assembly comprising:
 the four-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 8 ;   a rain showerhead that operatively couples to the first outlet port;   a handheld showerhead that operatively couples to the second outlet port; and   a third showerhead that mounts to the third outlet port.   
     
     
         11 . A shower assembly comprising:
 a showerhead assembly; and   a mounting bracket assembly, the mounting bracket assembly comprising:
 a bracket mounting plate having a flat back side, a front side opposite the back side, and a post with a threaded bore extending from the front side; 
 a flanged fastener; 
 a nut; and 
 a bracket fastener; 
   wherein the flanged fastener has a nose portion for threading into a support structure, a back end opposite the nose portion, and a flange between the nose portion and the back end,   the bracket mounting plate mounts to the back end of the flanged fastener,   the nut locks the bracket mounting plate on the back end of the flanged fastener,   the showerhead assembly fits onto the post on the front side of the bracket mounting plate, and   the bracket fastener threads into the threaded bore and retains the showerhead assembly on the post.   
     
     
         12 . The shower assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the showerhead assembly comprises a rain showerhead. 
     
     
         13 . The shower assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the showerhead assembly is a wall-mounted showerhead assembly. 
     
     
         14 . The shower assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the wall-mounted showerhead assembly comprises a swing-out piping assembly that pivots a rain showerhead substantially horizontally when installed in a shower stall. 
     
     
         15 . The shower assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the showerhead assembly is a ceiling-mounted showerhead assembly. 
     
     
         16 . The shower assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the bracket mounting plate comprises a horizontal plate and a flange plate extending downwardly from each of two opposite ends of the horizontal plate and the showerhead assembly mounts to the horizontal plate between the flange plates. 
     
     
         17 . The shower assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 the three-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 2 ;   a rain showerhead that operatively couples to the first outlet port; and   a handheld showerhead that operatively couples to the second outlet port and can be releasably mounted to the bracket.   
     
     
         18 . The shower assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 the four-port shower arm diverting valve of  claim 8 ;   a rain showerhead that operatively couples to the first outlet port;   a handheld showerhead that operatively couples to the second outlet port; and   a third showerhead that mounts to the third outlet port.   
     
     
         19 . A method of installing a rain showerhead assembly, the method comprising:
 driving a nose portion of a flanged fastener into a support structure behind a wall or ceiling;   mounting a bracket mounting plate to a back end of the flanged fastener with a back side facing the wall or ceiling;   locking the bracket mounting plate against a flange on the flanged fastener with a nut threaded onto the back end of the flanged fastener;   mounting the rain showerhead assembly onto a post on the front side of the bracket mounting plate; and   threading a bracket fastener into the threaded bore of the post to retains the rain showerhead assembly on the post.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the support structure comprises a wall stud, top plate, or drywall backing supporting the wall or a ceiling joist or drywall backing supporting the ceiling.