Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a combination sitz and baby bath
for use primarily, but not exclusively in conj~mction w~th a stan-
dard bath tub.
The purpose of this invention i5 to provide a multi-purpose
bathing facility which may be mounted on, or supported within a bath
tub for use by persons (a) who are elderly or infirm and find diffi-
culty gettin~ in and out of a regular bath; (b) who require regular
bathin~ of pelvic or perineal areas during post operative care to
promote healing and prevent infection; and (c) who require a conven-
ient and portable form of bath for a baby, or a young child who maybe handicapped and require additional support during bathing.
The most common form of a sitz bath is one generally found in
hospitals for post operative therapy. This unit is installed as a
permanent fixture, usually in a room, or a space set aside for this
purpose.
Apart from the high installation and maintenance costs, this
facility is available only to patients during their stay in the hos-
pital. As will be appreciated, treatment must be continued after the
patient has been released, and in most cases it is economically and
~ 20 indeed practically impossible for such a fixture to be incorporated
; within a household bathroom.
In an attempt to provide a more suitable facility, Ruth A.
Oskins disclosed a sit bath in United States Patent Serial Number
3,039,117, dated June 19, 1962, which was adapted for use on a con-
ventional toilet bowl. This prior device, while considerably less
costly than the permanent fixture discussed previously does require
the additional facilities of a toilet and prevents use by other per-
sons of that toilet during bathing. Furthermore, the user of this
bath has no control over the supply or temperature of the water being
introduced, neither is this particular unit capable of permitting
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the user to bath the upper torso without saturating the area of the
bathroom adjacent the toilet.
The invention accordingly comprises a combination sitz and
baby bath ormed as a portable, light weight unitary chair-like
structure having a lower tub or water receptor, side walls extending
upwardly to form arm rests and a rearwardly inclined back rest. The
lower portion of the backrest adjacent the seat is preferably formed
with a concave or convex curvature, to provide a more com~ortable back
support and the vertical centre line of the backrest is relieved to
pre~ent spinal contact during use. A detachable seat is provided
spaced from the bottom of the receptor, and the receptor is supplied
with water through the bottom. A water overflow is also provided
within the back rest.
The bath according to the invention may be provided with body
restraining straps for use when bathing babies, young children, or
handicapped persons, and also could be provided with a ~oot rest adjus-
table not only in length,but angle,for use by elderly,or female users.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a stand is provided
to which the bath may be releasably secured. Interconnection between
; 20 the bath and the stand being such that the bath may be swivelled there-
on.
The invention will now be described by way of example only,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bath unit in accordance
with the invention, the bath being depicted in an operative position
in association with a conventional bath tub. In this embodiment,
additional features such as body retaining straps, and a footrest
are shown;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the basic bath structure,
again positioned within the bath tub, the latter being shown in
:
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part section;
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the bath according to the
present invention, in this embodiment, the bath is provided with a
spraying device, and separate drain plug;
Figure 4 is a further embodiment of the invention, in part
section, the bath being carried upon a supporting structure to be
rotatable thereon, and;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the assembly according to
Figure 4, various components being exploded to show the method of
assembly;
Figure 6 (on sheet l) depicts an alternative form of seat
which could be substituted for the seat according to Figures l
through 5, when treatment of specific areas is required rather than
full torso bathing.
Throughout the drawings, for ease of understanding, like
numerals have been utilized to indicate like parts.
Referring firstly to Figures l through 5, the combination
sitz and baby bath according to the invention essentially comprises
a portable~ light-weight unitary structure, generally indicated at
10 which structure consists in a tub portion 11, side walls 12 and
back rest 13. The side walls 12 are flanged or flared outwardly to
provide arm rest 14 and these flanyed portions extend the entire
upper periphery of the structure, namely around the back rest 13
and around the front, upper lip 15 of the tub portion ll. This flan-
ging gives the structure greater rigidity and strength.
The back rest 13 is preferably formed with a slightly concave-
convex arcuate curve, at least in the region immediately above the
said seat, the purpose of which being to keep the user in an erect
position. The back rest may also, along its vertical centerline 40
(Figure 2), be relieved such that when in use there is little or no
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spinal contact with the back resk.
For lightness, and also economy, the bath will preferably be
formed from an easily cleanable fracture resistant material such as
fiberglass reinforced pol~ester resin, or high impact plastics. Of
obvious importance is the need for a material having good thermal
installation properties which will retard of the cooling of the bath
water during the bathing period.
The bath 10, within the tub portion 11 is provided with sup-
porting ledges 16 (Figure 1) which in this embodiment are formed
only on the two opposing sides of the tub to extend from the back
rest portion 13 to the front of the tub. It may however be advan-
tageous to have this ledge 16 extend completely around the internal
surface of the tub 11 for greater seat support.
The purpose of ledge 16 is to provide support for a removable
seat 17, which in the embodiments depicted b~ Figures 1 through 5
comprises a tubular frame 18 preferably formed from plastics, with
supporting webbing 19.
Figure 6 however depicts an alternative seat configuration
which may be of solid plastic construction. This seat will be uti-
lized specifically for persons requiring treatment of perineal area,and, as can be seen, is provided with a central opening 20, which
will expose only the perineal area to warm water. Additionally, the
seat is of wedge configuration such that when in position, there is
a slight rearward slope, which ensures maximum exposure of the peri-
neal area to water. A rubber seal (not shown) could also be provided
in the undersurface of the seat, in the form of an O-ring located in
a groove extending adjacent the peripheral rim of the seat. In use,
the weight of the user would cause the O-ring to contact the ledge
and effectively seal the water containing tub such that only the area
to be treated will be contacted by the warm water, which, as in all
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embodiments is provided through the bottom of the tub via inlet 38.
It will be further evident that heat loos would be minimal in view
of the relatively small surface of water being externally exposed
through opening 20.
With the bath according to the invention, there is an obvious
requirement for an overflow. In the embodiment of Figures 1 through
5, the overflow 22 is shown positioned above seat 17, to permit a
reasonable head of water to be maintained within the tub 11. For
general bathing purposes the bath will be dimensioned sufficiently
to permit the water to be available for complete washing of the upper
:i torso, however, should the bath be required to be used for post opera-
tive treatment of the perineal areas, a seat such as depicted by Figure
6 would be advantageous. For this particular usage, it will be nece-
: ssary to provide a water overflow outlet 23 tFigure 3) at or adjacent
the seat height, since it would only be necessary for the water to be
maintained slightly above opening 20. However, all variations in the
l bath according to the invention could be provided with dual overflow
: outlets, each of which being supplied with a removable plug.
The embodiment according to Figure 3 differs from previous
embodiments in that a detachable spray device 24 is shown, centerly
disposed of the tub 11. Such a device would allow the buttocks and
lower anatomy of the user to be washed as in a conventional bidet,
~ pressure and temperature being controlled by the user. With such
:~ a de~sign, provision would have to be made for a separate drain plug,
which is shown in Figure 3 at 25. The spray device would equally be
advantageous when the bath is used with the seat according to Figure 6,
the spray being directed at opening 20.
Looking again at Figure 1, the bath according to the inven-tion
is disclosed with two additional features, the first being the pro-
vision of body retaining straps 26. While these straps are only
shown in this Fi~ure, it will be appreciated that all embodiments
of the invention can have this strap arrangement. Straps 26 enable
the bath unit to be used as a baby bath, where the straps are uti-
lized to hold the child while the mother bathes it. Aside from its
use for young children, these straps would be e~ually useful for the
bathin~ of handicapped or mentally retarded persons where some con
trol has to be affected during bathingO
The second feature shown in Figure 1 is the provision of a
foot rest 27. Since the bath is provided primarily for the aged,
infirm and handicapped, care must be taken to ensure that the bath
can be used without any detrimental effect with regard to circula-
tion in the popliteal areas of the legs, this is of extreme impor-
tance to the female user. Under normal circumstances the front
edge of the bath would be somewhere in the region of 14-16 inches
from the floor and the user would be able to sit in the bath with
both feet flat on the floor, thus relieving pressure in these spec'
ified areas. However, to prevent problems with circulation, the
bath unit could be provided with the disclosed foot rest 27, and in
this manner ensure adequate circulation.
The foot rest 27 may be adjustable with regard to angle, and
leng~h, and could be detachable from the unit, for ease of storage.
The embodiments of Figure 1 through 3 are all directed to a
sitz bath which is positioned transversally of a conventional bath
tub 29 and deriving partial support therefrom. A front flange or
lip 2~ of the sitz bath extends over, and rest upon the side of
bath tub 29 and the back rest 13 of the sitz bath is supported by
the bathroom wall 30 at its uppermost extremity.
A further embodiment of the combination sitz and baby bath
accordin~ to the invention is however depicted by Figures 4 and 5.
In these Figures it can be seen that the bath 10 is mounted for
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rotation on a stand 31. It will be appreciated that the arrange-
ment shown by Figures 4 and 5 is only one of a nu~er of ways by
which the bath may be attached to a supporting stand for swivelling
motion thereon.
In the arrangement disclosed by Figures ~ and 5, the bath 10
is provided with a molded extension or pedestal 33, which can be pos-
itioned within an annular depression 34 in the base member 31. To en-
sure pedestal 33 remains within depression 34, semi-circular segments
35 are inserted between the bottom of the -tub and the top of stand 31
such that they embrace pedestal 33. solts 36 are then passed through
members 35 into stand 31, which is hollow and the assembly is complete.
As will be appreciated, if both the bath and stand are of plastics
material, the surface friction between the pedestal 33 and the bottom
of depression 34 will be low, and thus permitting the bath to be swiv-
elled about the stand.
To complete the attachment, a swivelling connection 37 is pro-
vided at the juncture of water inlet pipe 38, and pedestal 33 and a
rubber base plate 39 is applied to the bottom of base member 31 to
prevent slip between the stand and the bath tub 29 during use.
Further modifications and alternative embodiments of the inven~
tion will be apparent to those skille~ in the art in view of the des-
cription. Accordingly, the description is to be construed as illu-
strative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in
the art, the manner of carrying out the invention. It is understood
that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be
made in the shape, si~e and general arrangement of components. For
example, equivalent elements or materials may be substituted for those
illustrated and described herein, parts may be reversed, and certain
features of the invention may be used independently of the use of
of other features, all as will be apparent to one skilled in the
art after having the benefit of the description of the invention.
