Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Tubs – Convenience accessories
Patent
1991-02-05
1992-12-01
Phillips, Charles E.
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Tubs
Convenience accessories
A47K 302
Patent
active
051670429
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a bath and concerns such a bath which is particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for use by or with the elderly, infirm or handicapped.
Use of a conventional bath by the elderly and those with limited use of their legs is difficult without assistance particularly in getting in and out of the bath over the raised side edge or rim and in sitting down and standing up in the bath itself. For a user of limited mobility this difficulty can lead to dangerous accidents by slipping and falling and in some cases a reluctance to use a bath at all with consequent personal hygiene problems.
Efforts have been made in the past to solve this problem by providing a collapsible or inflatable highly flexible structure which retains the bath water around the person. Usually this structure is erected once the person has stepped into, or been laid on a mattress or other support surface. For examples of earlier arrangements, the reader is referred to:
These arrangements are mostly intended for hospital or nursing home use and normally require at least one nurse or other competent helper to assist any elderly or infirm person who is seeking to take a bath. Also, these arrangements are reminiscent of baths used for outdoor camping, and, being non-rigid, do not resemble a normal domestic bath. Hence they may well provoke a stubborn or nervous, negative reaction in elderly or infirm persons. There remains a need for a bath usable by infirm persons, but which gives the user confidence in that it largely resembles a well known conventional bath.
A bathing apparatus for washing (and drying) persons who are bedridden or unable to bathe themselves is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,863 of DUVAL.
There is thus a need for a bath which is easier to use by the elderly, infirm or disabled with or without assistance.
According to the present invention there is provided a bath including sitting member fixedly supported so that a sitting surface thereof is at a convenient height above floor level for a user to sit on, a raisable and lowerable substantially rigid side surround shaped to extend continuously around the periphery of the sitting surface, which surround is movable between a lowered position in which it is located at least substantially below the sitting surface to allow the user to sit on or get off the sitting surface, and a raised position in which it surrounds and projects above the sitting surface to define therewith a bath cavity for receiving liquid therein, means attached to the sitting member and on or attached to the surround for engaging each other to seal the surround to the sitting member in liquid tight manner in the raised position, and closeable and openable outlet means arranged to facilitate the exit of liquid from the bath cavity prior to movement of the surround to the lowered position.
Preferably the sitting surface is fixedly supported on a support surface carried at the required height above floor level on a suitable support means, e.g. a legged frame, with the outlet means in the sitting surface communicating with further outlet means provided in the support surface.
Conveniently the sitting surface has a raised back support at one end thereof and preferably is made from plastics material.
Advantageously the sitting member is of elongated form.
Preferably the side surround is oval or elongate with curved ends and of such a height to extend in the lowered position from the floor level substantially to the level of the sitting member peripheral edge.
Conveniently the side surround has an out-turned lip around the upper edge thereof to form a rim for the bath and an inturned lip around the lower edge thereof. This inturned lip is for co-operation in the raised position with the sitting member.
Advantageously the means for sealing the side surround to the sitting member in liquid tight manner in the raised position includes a self centering male seal ring element and a complementary female seal ring element provided one around one of the sitting member and the side surround inturned li
REFERENCES:
patent: 2133587 (1938-10-01), Stark
patent: 2860349 (1958-11-01), Blomqvist
patent: 3801995 (1974-04-01), Adamson
patent: 3935600 (1976-02-01), Scribner
patent: 4055863 (1977-11-01), Duval
patent: 4068326 (1978-01-01), Deschler
patent: 4312084 (1982-01-01), Browning
patent: 4574408 (1986-03-01), Dentler et al.
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