A standard telephone or hand shower is a shower head mounted on one end of a handle from whose other end extends a hose connected to the water supply. While such a shower is mainly intended for use while it is being held, it is standard to fit it to a wall-mounted bracket assembly that holds it so that it can function as a standard stationary shower. Like such a stationary shower, the bracket assembly normally permits some range of adjustment of the shower to direct the spray where it is wanted.
Accordingly German patent 2,844,190 filed October 1978 by M. Pawelzik et al describes a mounting bracket basically comprised of a stationary wall-mounted support body, a holder body pivotal about a normally horizontal axis parallel to the wall and formed offset from this axis with a seat adapted to hold the hand shower, and a bolt-and-nut assembly extending along the axis. The bolt serves not only as the pivot axis, but it allows the two parts to be secured together axially with sufficient force to frictionally impede them from moving relative to each other, unless of course considerable force is brought to bear, as when the position is being adjusted.
This arrangement has two main disadvantages. First of all it holds the shower relatively far from the wall and moves it in a relatively wide arc when it is adjusted. This makes accurately positioning it difficult. Second, the bolt itself typically bears angularly on one part and the nut on the other so that adjustment in one direction will tighten the nut and opposite adjustment will loosen it.