Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Shower – Particular construction
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2001-01-30
Phillips, Charles E. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Shower
Particular construction
C004S608000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178571
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to shower and shower enclosures generally, and is more particularly directed to a base for a barrier-free shower enclosure and a shower curtain system which, acting in concert, inhibit water from escaping through the barrier-free entrance to the shower enclosure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
So-called barrier-free shower enclosures have, at their entrance, no raised portion or lip. The advantage and purpose of such a configuration is to enable a person in a wheelchair to enter or be easily wheeled into the enclosure. The disadvantage of a such a configuration is that no barrier exists to prevent water from running out over the base at the entrance and onto the floor adjoining the enclosure. Barrier-free showers are in common use in nursing homes, hospitals, and other care facilities. Barrier-free showers allow a wheelchair to be positioned within the shower, so that the occupant can bathe.
Barrier-free showers are in increasing use. As the population ages, more and more people will become confined to wheelchairs. The demand for, and use of, barrier-free showers is rising.
As the “barrier free” designation suggests, at least one side or wall of the shower has a large opening to allow ingress and egress of a wheelchair. The floor adjoining the opening at the threshold is relatively flat, with no obstructions, to allow movement of a wheel chair over the threshold and into the shower.
Because there is no barrier on the entry side of the shower, there is nothing to prevent water from running out of the shower and onto the floor area which is in proximity to the shower. Water on the floor is a major safety and housekeeping problem which is experienced with all barrier-free showers, and in all facilities which use barrier-free showers.
The intermittent attachment of weights to the bottom of a curtain of flexible material, whether that curtain be of decorative or utilitarian function, is known to keep the curtain extended from its top portion, which is attached to a curtain or shower rod, or similar support, toward the floor or the bottom of a tub or the base portion of a shower enclosure. Early weighting devices were coins or similarly formed segments of metal sewn into the hem of a drapery. Shower curtains were also weighted with discrete metal segments, sometimes magnetized, sealed into the lower of the curtain for adherence to a metal tub. U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,326 to Tarlow et. al. discloses one such weighted shower curtain.
These prior art devices were not designed for barrier free shower designs. While intermittent or interval weighting systems have been used, they do not adequately keep the curtain in place when used with a barrier free showers. The curtain will billow between weights, allowing the water striking the curtain to channel within the billows, and run out on the floor.
Traditional shower bases have a centrally located drain hole, usually with the base, on all surfaces, angled downwardly towards the drain. When there is a front barrier in the form of either a shower curtain, or a rigid sliding shower door, water exiting the shower head, or splashed within the enclosure runs down the walls of the enclosure, and down the curtain or door. The water is thereby channeled toward the drain located in the base or floor of the enclosure. With a barrier-free configuration, this structure works on three of the four sides, but not on the fourth side, which is the entrance side of the barrier free enclosure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a barrier-free shower enclosure system having a drain sump and drain. A series of channels is formed into the base of the shower enclosure at the threshold. The channels collect water and channel the water toward the drain sump. A continuously weighted shower curtain, which will not billow out from heat escaping the shower, is positioned over the threshold, which is formed according to the invention.
The channels are formed adjacent to opening, or entrance side, of the enclosure. The shower curtain acts in concert with the base to effectively prevent water from leaking out of a barrier-free shower enclosure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a shower curtain that has a continuous weighing device at or near its bottom edge, so that it will hold the curtain within the barrier-free (i.e. having no barrier across its front entrance) base for a shower enclosure, which will collect and drain the water away from the entrance to the shower, and keep the water off of areas of the floor which should be kept dry. It is another object of this invention to present a configuration of a drain sump, drain, and channels that inhibit the water from escaping the opening of a barrier-free shower enclosure, and in combination with a continuously weighted shower curtain, inhibit water from escaping the opening of a barrier-free shower enclosure.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 298103 (1988-10-01), Rose
patent: 2212326 (1940-08-01), Piken
patent: 2449323 (1948-09-01), Richterkessing
patent: 3004769 (1961-10-01), Turner
patent: 3107361 (1963-10-01), Glutting
patent: 3483494 (1969-12-01), Cromie
patent: 4723326 (1988-02-01), Tarlow et al.
patent: 5243716 (1993-09-01), Zaccai et al.
patent: 5279100 (1994-01-01), Pruitt et al.
patent: 5421393 (1995-06-01), Wolfe et al.
patent: 5718008 (1998-02-01), Pane
Aqua Bath, Inc.
Killough B. Craig
Phillips Charles E.
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