Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Flush closet – wash receptacle – and bathtub or shower
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-20
2001-02-13
Recla, Henry J. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Flush closet, wash receptacle, and bathtub or shower
C004S254000, C004S604000, C004S608000, C004S610000, C004S611000, C004S664000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185759
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a built-in sanitary furniture unit having a shower, a shower tray, a rear wall tightly joined to the shower tray, a toilet inside the built-in furniture unit, and a seat embodied as a toilet seat, with a mount for the toilet seat provided on the rear wall.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Particularly for renovating hotel rooms, shower cubicles are known that have a shower tray and are designed as a cubicle that is open on one side. A shower rod for holding the shower head is located on the wall of the cubicle, for instance, along with the shower fittings and optionally a soap holder. Cubicles of this design are built into the hotel room and connected to the existing water inlets and outlets. These shower cubicles make it simple to retrofit antiquated hotel rooms by adding a shower. ortable free-standing toilet cubicles, used especially on construction sites, are also known.
Especially in caring at home for persons who cannot care for themselves, it is often inconvenient to wash and care for them in a bathroom that does not meet the needs of the patient. Conventional bathrooms and toilets are unsuitable for such patients and even perhaps for persons with slight handicaps. It is true that these bathrooms can be adapted or reconstructed to suit the needs of these persons, but this is very expensive and sometimes, as in rented apartments, is not allowed. With increasing age or with handicaps from illness come physical limitations that make it impossible for a person to use the toilet, bathtub or shower without help from others. As nursing home accommodations for such patients become increasingly expensive, it is becoming more and more common for them to be cared for at home. Daily care for such a patient demands enormous effort on the part of the caregiver, however, since as a rule the patient must be transported into the tub or toilet, and afterward back into bed. In general, wheelchairs cannot be used in conventional bathrooms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,817 describes a built-in sanitary furniture unit with a door, which tightly closes off the built-in furniture unit so that the built-in furniture unit can be used as a bathtub. The built-in furniture unit includes a bench seat, under which is a toilet bowl that can be moved out of the built-in furniture unit and, after a seat has been lowered, can be used as a toilet outside the built-in furniture unit. For washing up afterward, the user has to enter the built-in furniture unit, or be helped into it by a helper.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to furnish a built-in sanitary furniture unit with which persons requiring such care can be cared for substantially more easily, and which is relatively inexpensive.
This object is attained according to the present invention by a built-in sanitary furniture unit of the type described at the outset, in which the toilet seat is secured such that it can be pulled out and retracted, displaced, or swiveled on the mount, at least as far as the edge of the shower tray, with the user seated on it.
The built-in sanitary furniture unit of the present invention is a complete unit and includes both the toilet and the shower and can be constructed independently of the bathroom, for instance in the bedroom, next to the patient's bed. To that end, the built-in sanitary furniture unit of the invention has connection means, in particular on the rear wall, for the cold and optionally hot water inlets and for the wastewater outlet, especially from the toilet and the shower tray. Once the built-in furniture unit has been set up and the water inlets and outlets have been connected, the unit is ready for use, and so the patient can be cared for in his bedroom, not far from his bed. There is no longer any need to transport the patient to the bathroom or toilet; on the one hand this lessens the risk of accidents, and on the other it offers the patient the chance to perform toilet activities on his own, without help from others. The bathroom, which no longer needs to be reconstructed, can continue to be used by the other members of the family. In particular, the toilet or shower of the built-in unit can be used regardless of whether or not the bathroom itself is available, so there is no need for the patient to wait.
Further advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims. The built-in sanitary furniture unit is accordingly an open, prefabricated unit on the order of a half-shell, in a corner version that takes up only one square meter of floor space. To make optimal use of the space in the built-in sanitary furniture unit and to provide optimal care, the toilet and shower are disposed one above the other. Thus the toilet seat simultaneously serves as a shower seat and is secured directly about the toilet bowl. The toilet seat has the usual opening, so that it can be used for using the toilet as well and does not have to be raised.
A major advantage is considered to be that the toilet seat can be moved or swiveled on its mount far enough out of the cubicle that the user can easily take a seat on the toilet seat and can slide or swivel effortlessly into the cubicle. The toilet seat has locks for its terminal positions. The toilet seat is also provided with swinging grab bars, so that particularly when the patient stands up from a wheelchair and sits down on the toilet seat, the grab bars provide sure support and guidance.
One advantageous embodiment provides that the built-in sanitary furniture unit is equipped with two swivelable curtain rods, which to close the cubicle are swiveled in front of it and can be swiveled back again on entering or leaving the cubicle. In addition, with the curtains swiveled in front, the privacy of the patient is preserved. The curtain rod can be secured to an adjustable height on the rear wall, so that even with the curtain swiveled in front of him, the patient still has a clear view into the room or of the caregiver, and the caregiver does not lose visual control of the patient.
The wall-mounted toilet bowl allows optimal cleaning of the shower tray, and the toilet itself is flushed pneumatically using a button on the wall. The built-in sanitary furniture unit is also provided with a hydraulic wastewater system for the toilet water and the shower water, so that the wastewater is automatically carried away by a special pump, and optionally with a chopper downstream of it. The shower handle is also adjustable in height and mounted on the rear wall of the built-in furniture unit, and it can be operated with a fitting mounted at elbow level, laterally beside the person seated on the toilet seat, in the rear or control region on the rear wall.
After the patient uses the built-in sanitary furniture unit, he leaves the cubicle without barriers, using the displaceable or swivelable toilet seat. The height of the toilet seat outside the cubicle is selected to be suitable for wheelchair users as well.
Because a pivot bearing that has a vertical axis is secured to the cubicle, and a wash stand is pivotably supported on the pivot bearing in such a way that it can be used both inside and outside the cubicle, the utility of the built-in sanitary furniture unit is increased still further.
In addition to the shower and the toilet, the built-in sanitary furniture unit of the present invention has a wash stand, which can be used either by a person located inside the built-in furniture unit or by persons located outside it. This has the substantial advantage that the wash stand can be used for minor washing up, such as handwashing and the like or for washing objects, outside the built-in furniture unit. To that end, the wash stand is swiveled out of a position inside the built-in furniture unit to a position outside it. Even a patient in a wheelchair, for instance, can then move up to the wash stand and use it conveniently. Once the wash stand has been swiveled into the built-in furniture unit, it can be used by a person seated on the toilet seat. In the built-in fur
Jones Tullar & Cooper P.C.
Prunner Kathleen J.
Recla Henry J.
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