Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BATH TUB DESIGN
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements
in a bath tub and, particularly, to a bath tub design
which incorporates embossed portions to the sidewalls of
a bath tub to improve the quality of comfortableness
provided to a bather or increases water turbulence for a
better quality of massage performance when such
embossment configuration is used with a hydro-massage
bath tub.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A bath tub generally includes an open-top-end
enclosure having a bottom wall, opposed sidewalls, and
opposed end walls to define an inner chamber therein. In
the most popular type of bath tubs, especially for
domestic use, the sidewalls and end walls are configured
with flat inner surfaces, and may include air or water
jets in the flat end walls and the sidewalls if the bath
tub is a hydro-massage bath tub. In order to provide
greater comfortableness to bathers, some types of bath
tubs provide internal step portions at the opposed end
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walls of the tub to serve as a footrest and headrest, as
described, for example, in United States Patent
No. 4,101,988 which issued to Sierant on July 25, 1978,
and is entitled "BATHS". In another type of bath tub,
embossed configurations are incorporated to the sidewalls
of the bath tub, such as described in Applicant's United
States Patent No. 4,249,522 which issued on February 10,
1981 and is entitled "HYDROMASSAGE APPARATUS", wherein
armrests are provided in the upper regions of the
sidewalls of a hydro-massage bath tub. Johansson, in his
United States Patent No. 4,254,516, which issued on
March 10, 1981 and is entitled "BATH TUBS", describes a
bath tub for use in back treatment of patients in
sick-nursing and old-people-care activities. The bath
tub described in that patent includes a footrest and a
backrest for partitioning its bathing space to provide an
agreeable sitting comfort during bathing. The footrest
is detachably mounted by being extractable upwardly from
engagement in vertical grooves in the opposed sidewalls
of the tub. By disposing such grooves at different
localities in the bath tub, the footrest can be mounted
at various places for varying the partitioning of the
bathing compartment. This detachable configuration of
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the footrest may not be adequate in bath tubs for
domestic use which need to be comfortable for bathing,
agreeable in view and simple to use.
There therefore exists a need for a bath tub
with improved configurations to provide sitting comfort
during bathing and simplicity in use, and to present an
agreeable view.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the present invention
to provide a sidewall configuration of a bath tub to
provide an agreeable sitting comfort during bathing for
different sized individual bathers.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a sidewall configuration of a bath tub which
combines footrests and armrests therein.
It is a further object of the present invention
to provide a sidewall configuration of a bath tub for
hydro-massage wherein the sidewall configuration directs
air jets from the sidewall for increased water turbulence
and better quality hydro-massage.
In general terms, one of the opposed sidewalls
of the bath tub is configured with embossed portions
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which provide agreeable sitting comfort for different
sized individual bathers, and the embossed portions may
also improve the dynamic massage flow of air jets in the
water when the bath tub is used as a hydro-massage bath
tub.
More specifically, the bath tub comprises an
open-top-end enclosure including a bottom wall, opposed
sidewalls, and opposed end walls, defining an inner
chamber therein, and a means for draining water from the
inner chamber. At least one footrest step is formed on
at least one of the sidewalls whereby the feet of a
bather are enabled to be placed against the footrest step
to prevent the body of the bather from sliding down in
the inner chamber when the bather sits in the bath tub
and leans back against one of the end walls.
Each of the footrest steps preferably comprises
a surface substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal
axis of the tub. The surfaces of the footrest steps
preferably extend from the bottom wall and terminate at a
common surface which forms an armrest.
According to one embodiment of the present
invention, the hydro-massage bath tub comprises an
open-top-end enclosure including a bottom wall, opposed
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sidewalls, and opposed end walls, defining the inner
chamber therein, and means for draining water from the
inner chamber. A distribution duct is connected to a
source of air under pressure and attached to at least the
sidewalls and end walls of the tub. A plurality of
nozzles of predetermined dimensions are disposed in at
least the sidewalls and end walls of the tub, and
communicate the duct with the inner chamber of the tub
for directing air jets in the body of water contained in
the inner chamber, to create water turbulence and
massaging flows about the body of a bather. Embossed
portions are formed on at least one of the sidewalls
above at least one of the nozzles . The embossed portion
has a concave bottom surface extending smoothly to an
area where the at least one nozzle is disposed so that
the air jet from the at least one nozzle and the water
movement produced thereby are directed by the concave
bottom surface to increase the water turbulence for
better quality of the massage performance.
The embossed portion preferably includes a top
surface forming an armrest.
The embossments configured on the sidewalls of
the bath tub combine the footrests and armrests in an
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agreeable view. There are no removable units to be
mounted for sitting adjustment for different sized
individual bathers. The embossed sidewall configuration
of the bath also combines a sitting comfort and
improvements in dynamic massaging flows for a better
quality massage performance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features of the present invention will
now become apparent from the following specific
description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate
preferred embodiments in accordance with the invention,
and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top view of a bath tub according to
a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the
footrest on one sidewall of the bath tub;
FIG. 2 is a front view of the bath tub shown in
FIG. 1, showing the armrests thereof;
FIG. 3 is a top view of a hydro-massage bath
tub according to another embodiment of the invention,
showing the footrests and armrests; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a
hydro-massage bath tub according to a further embodiment
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of the invention, showing the embossed portions on the
sidewalls directing the air jets in the water.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a bath tub 10 includes
opposed and longitudinally extending sidewalls 12 and 14,
opposed steeply inclined end walls 16 and 18, as well as
generally flat bottom wall 20 to form an open-top-end
enclosure and define an inner chamber 22 therein. The
bath tub 10 has an outlet 24 which is disposed in the
bottom wall and connected to a waste pipe in a manner
well known in the art. Neither the drain pipe, water
taps, nor supporting elements for the bath tub 10 are
shown on the drawings because such arrangements are well
known in the art and have no direct relation to the
present invention.
The outlet 24 of the bath tub serves for
discharging water from the inner chamber 22. The inner
chamber 22 is surrounded by a top edge 26.
The sidewall 12 is configured with embossments
which include a first laterally embossed portion 28,
extending longitudinally from end wall 16 to end wall 18.
The top of the first laterally embossed portion 28 is
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divided into two different levels, including a lower top
surface 30 adjacent the end wall 18 and an upper top
surface 32 adjacent the end wall 16. The embossed
configuration of the sidewall 12 further includes a
second laterally embossed portion 34 which is embossed on
the side surface of the first laterally embossed
portion 28. The second laterally embossed portion 34
extends longitudinally from the end wall 16 and
terminates at about the mid of the tub length. The
second laterally embossed portion 34 has a flat top
surface 36. The top surfaces 30, 32 and 36 are
substantially parallel to the bottom wall 22, and the top
surface 36 is at the same level as the top surface 30,
which is disposed at about a half of the tub height. The
top surface 32 is disposed at a higher level, which is
close to the top edge 26.
At the opposite side, the sidewall 14 is formed
with different configurations which include only one
laterally embossed portion 38 with a flat top surface 40.
The side surface of the laterally embossed portion 38 is
formed with steps. Each step includes a surface 42
or 42' which is substantially perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the tub and extends substantially
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perpendicular to the bottom wall 22. The surfaces 42,
42' of the steps extend from the bottom wall 22 and
terminate at the common top surface 40. The steps formed
on the side surface of the laterally embossed portion 40
are divided into two groups so that the surfaces 42 of
the steps in one group adjacent the end wall 16 face
towards the opposite end wall 18, and the surfaces 42' of
the steps in the other group adjacent the end wall 18
face towards the opposite end wall 16. The end walls 16
and 18 have a convex top 44 protruding above the top
edge 26, which provides an agreeable outlook from the
bath tub 10. The bottom wall 20 is flat and includes a
transitional strip 46 surrounding the bottom wall 20
which is smoothly curved to connect the opposed sidewalls
and opposed end walls, which also provides an agreeable
outlook from the bath tub and further helps to clean the
inner chamber 22 after a bath.
In use, a bather may sit in the bath tub using
either of the end walls 16, 18 as head end. However, it
is suggested that the end wall 16 be used as head end for
a bather having a smaller body size, and the end wall 18
be used as head end for a bather having a bigger body
size, because of the different lateral dimensions of the
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inner chamber 22. When a bather sitting in the bath tub
leans back against the end wall 16, the bather can place
his/her feet selectively against the end wall 18 or one
of the step surfaces 42', depending on the bather's
height, to prevent the bather from sliding down in the
inner chamber 22. The top surface 36 and the top
surface 40 adjacent the end wall 16 serve as armrests to
provide sitting comfort to the bather. The top
surface 30 and the top surface 40 adjacent the end
wall 18 may serve as footrests on which the bather, if a
woman, for example, may place her legs to be shaved. The
top surface 32 at the higher level can be used as a shelf
to place lotion and shampoo bottles or other bath tools.
When the bather sitting in the bath tub leans
back against the end wall 18, the bather may place
his/her feet selectively against the end wall 16 or one
of the step surfaces 42 for sitting comfort, and rest
his/her arms on the respective top surfaces 30 and 40.
The top surface 36 and the top surface 40 adjacent the
end wall 16 serve as footrests enabling the bather to
place his/her legs thereon.
The bath tub 10 is preferably made of moulded
resin impregnated glass fiber.
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In FIG. 3, a hydro-massage bath tub 10' is
illustrated, and is generally formed with the same
configuration as the bath tub 10 shown in FIG. 1. The
same reference numerals are used to indicate the same
configuration as in FIG. 1. Additionally, the
hydro-massage bath tub 10' is equipped with a plurality
of nozzles 50 of predetermined dimensions, at
predetermined spaces around the tub 10'. The nozzles 50
are connected to a source of air under pressure for
directing air jets in a body of water contained in a
chamber 22, to create water turbulence and massaging
flows about the body of a bather. The nozzles 50
illustrated in FIG. 3 are disposed in the transitional
strip area 46 and in the end wall 16 as two substantially
parallel lines to form the air jets about the body of a
bather and beside the back bones of the bather. However,
the nozzles 50 can be disposed at other locations in the
bath tub. The air distribution system, including the
configuration of the nozzles 50, is not a part of the
present invention and is described in Applicant's United
States Patent No. 4,249,522 "HYDROMASSAGE APPARATUS".
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FIG. 3 illustrates an example only of a
hydro-massage bath tub which incorporates the
configuration of the bath tub in accordance with the
present invention. Different nozzle locations and
configurations can be adapted for a hydro-massage bath
tub incorporating the embossed sidewall configuration of
the present invention.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the preferred
embodiment only of the present invention; the embossed
configuration of the sidewalls may have different
structures. For example, the sidewall 12 may be
configured the same way as the sidewall 14, having the
footrests on both sidewalls of the bath tub 10.
Alternatively, the side surface of the first laterally
embossed portion 28 formed with steps adjacent the end
wall 18 and step surfaces 42' being formed on the side
surface of the laterally embossed portion 38, while the
first laterally embossed portion 28 adjacent the end
wall 16 and the second laterally embossed portion 34
remain unchanged. It will also be understood by those
skilled in the art that the number of steps may vary and
only one group of step surfaces 42 or 42' may be provided
for one-direction use of the tub.
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In FIG. 4, a further embodiment of the
invention is illustrated in which a hydro-massage bath
tub 60 includes an open-top-end enclosure having opposed
sidewalls 12, 14 and opposed end walls, only one of which
is showed as end wall 18, for defining an inner chamber
therein. An outlet 24 is provided at the bottom wall 20.
The end walls have a convex top surface 44 above the top
edge 26 which surrounds the bath tub. The sidewalls 12,
14 are formed with an embossed portion 62 above the
nozzles 50 disposed therein. The embossed portion 62 has
a concave bottom surface 64 extending smoothly through an
area where the nozzles 50 are disposed, so that the air
jets from the nozzles 50 and water movement produced
thereby are directed by the concave bottom surface 64, as
shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, to increase the water
turbulence for a better quality massage performance. The
embossed portion includes a top surface 66 serving as an
armrest. The embossed portion 62 extends along the
sidewall 12 or 14 and the longitudinal axis of the
embossed portion is substantially parallel to the
sidewall. The embossed portion 62 may extend
longitudinally in a full length between the opposed end
walls of the bath tub 60, or alternatively extend in a
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part of the longitudinal length of the inner chamber 22.
A smoothly curved surface 68 interconnects the concave
bottom surface 64 and the top surface 66 to provide an
agreeable outlook of the embossed portion and prevent
acute corners formed at the connection of the two
surfaces, in order to avoid an uncomfortable feeling when
the bather touches the embossed portion 62.
It is noted that the feature of the concave
bottom surface of the embossed portion 62 may be
incorporated to the configuration of the bath tub 10'
shown in FIG. 3. For example, any section of the side
surface of the laterally embossed portions 30, 36 or 40
may be formed with a concave surface similar to the
concave surface 64 shown in FIG. 4, provided the section
of the side surface is adjacent and above at least one
nozzle 50. It will also be understood by persons skilled
in the art that the nozzles 50 associated with the bath
tub 10' in FIG. 3 are oriented upwards at an angle less
than 45° with respect to the bottom wall 20, and
preferably 0° so that the air jets are directed
substantially parallel to the bottom wall of the tub.
However, the nozzles 50 associated with the bath tub 60
shown in FIG. 4 should be oriented upwardly at an angle
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generally greater than is usually adopted for the nozzles
of the bath tub 10'; a 0° orientation is not suggested.
As will be obvious to persons skilled in the
art, the present invention is not limited to the
foregoing detailed description of the preferred
embodiments, and the scope of the present invention
should be ascertained from the following claims.
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