Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ELEVATING BATH SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a bath which is particularly, but not exclusively,
suitable for use by or with the elderly, infirm or alternatively abled.
2. Description of Related Art
Use of a conventional bath by the elderly, infirm or alternatively abled is
difficult without assistance especially in getting into and out of the bath
over
the raised side edge or rim and in sitting down and standing up in the bath
itself. This difficulty can lead to dangerous accidents such as slipping and
falling and in some cases can create a reluctance to use a bath with
consequent personal hygiene problems.
Efforts have been made to solve the above problems by providing a
collapsible or inflatable highly flexible structure which retains the bath
water
around the person. Generally, this structure is erected once the person has
stepped into, or has been laid onto a mattress or other support surface.
Examples of earlier arrangements include:
U.K. Patent No. 792,406
U.K. Patent No. 1,189,785
U.S. Patent No. 4,068,326
U.K. Patent No. 1,506,419
U.S. Patent No. 4,312,084
These arrangements are mostly intended for hospital or nursing home use
and normally require at least one nurse or other competent assistant.
Additionally, these arrangements do not resemble a normal domestic bath,
but rather resemble baths used for camping; this feature tends to discourage
users from using these baths.
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An example of an earlier arrangement that can be used without the assistance
of a nurse or other competent individual is Canadian Patent Application No.
2,007,720. This arrangement includes a sitting member fixedly supported so
that a surface thereof is at a convenient height above floor level for a user
to
sit on and a raisable and lowerable substantially rigid side surround shaped
to
extend continuously around the periphery of the sitting surface. When the
surround is in its raised position, it surrounds and projects above the
sitting
surface to define therewith a bath cavity for receiving liquid. Sealing means
are 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 the raised
position. Although this arrangement solves the problems of earlier
arrangements, this arrangement may suffer from leakage of the liquid from the
bath cavity. Because the sealing means is attached to the entire surround,
the sealing means must cover a greater area, increasing the chances of
leakage.
What would be desirable therefore is a bath which is easier to use by the
elderly, infirm or alternatively abled without the need for assistance from
another individual, that better contains liquid within a bath cavity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the above needs by providing a bath
including a sitting surface supported by at least one support member at a
convenient height above floor level for a user to sit on and a sealed, movable
liquid container having a base and upstanding side walls dimensioned to be
able to receive the sitting surface, the container being sealably mounted on
the at least one support member for movement between a lowered position in
which the container is below the sitting surface and a raised position in
which
the container base is adjacent the sitting surface and the container side
walls
project above the sitting surface. The container may be supported by a
container frame.
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The at least one support member may extend through an opening in the base
of the container and the container may include a seal that moves along the at
least one support member as the container is moved between the lowered
and raised positions. The at least one support member may include four
upstanding support members that extend through four sealed holes in the
base of the container.
The bath may further include an elevating system to move the container
between the raised and lowered positions. The elevating system may include
a scissor arrangement, screw system or at least one piston member mounted
between floor and the container. The at least one piston member may be
extendable to move the container to the raised position and may be a
hydraulic piston.
The container may support a liquid delivery system for filling the container
with liquid. The liquid delivery system may include a faucet assembly
connected to a flexible piping system to accommodate raising and lowering of
the container.
The container may include a drain system to remove liquid from the container.
The drain system may include a sealable drain opening in the container
connected to a flexible piping system to accommodate raising and lowering of
the container.
The sitting surface may be detachably mounted to the at least one support
member and may be formed with openings to facilitate passage of liquid past
the surface when the container is being moved to the lowered or raised
positions.
The bath may include a side skirt that substantially surrounds the sitting
surface and the container. The side skirt may have upstanding side walls that
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substantially reach the height of the sitting surface and may include a
plurality
of telescoping side plates that move with the container as the container is
moved by the elevating system.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to
those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description
of
specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,
Figure 1 is an exploded view of a bath according to the preferred
embodiment of the invention
Figure 2 is a plan view of the bath as seen from the side
Figure 3 is a plan view of a sitting surface as seen from above
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the bath
Figure 5 is a plan view of the container in isolation as seen from above
Figure 6 is a plan view of support member through a sealed hole in the
container
Figure 7 is a plan view of the bath with a scissor arrangement elevating
system
Figure 8 is a plan view of the bath with a screw arrangement elevating
system
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a bath according to a first embodiment of the
invention is shown generally at 10. The bath includes a sitting surface 12
supported by at least one support member 14 at a convenient height above
floor level 13 for a user to sit on. In a preferred embodiment, sitting
surface
12 is supported by four support members at each corner of the surface.
Raised sitting surface 12 avoids the user having to step over a conventional
bath side rim and down into the bath cavity, movements which may be very
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difficult for an elderly, infirm or alternatively abled person. With this
arrangement, the user merely sits on the sitting surface 12 and maneuvers his
or her body so that his or her legs slide onto the top of the sitting surface
12,
which is conveniently elongated and preferably formed with openings to
facilitate passage of liquid around it, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The
sitting
surface 12 may be detachably mounted to the support members 14 as shown
in Figure 4. Sitting surface 12 is mounted by hinges to one pair of support
members to permit raising of the sitting surface for cleaning of the
underside.
The bath also includes a sealed, movable liquid container 16 having a base
18 and upstanding side walls 20 dimensioned to be able to receive the sitting
surface 12. Preferably, the four upstanding support members 14 extend
through four sealed holes 22 in the base of the container. In addition, bath
10 further preferably includes a side skirt 11 that substantially surrounds
the
sitting surface and container, the side skirt having upstanding side walls
that
substantially reach the height of the sitting surface. The side skirts are
formed
in 2 parts: a lower portion that is mounted to the floor and an upper portion
attached to and movable with the container 16. When container 16 is raised
or lowered, the upper skirt portion moves past the stationary lower portion to
hide the internal components of the bath system of the present invention. The
sitting surface 12, container 16 and side skirt 11 may be made of any
convenient material and are preferably made of reinforced plastics material.
The container 16 is sealably mounted on support members 14 for movement
between a lowered position in which the container 16 is below the sitting
surface 12 and a raised position in which the container base 18 is adjacent
the sitting surface 12 and the container side walls 20 project above the
sitting
surface. As best shown in Figure 1, the container 16 may sit in a support
frame 15 that rests on the floor in the lowered position. Support frame 15
carries the weight of container 16 and any liquid in the lowered position. The
support frame may support the container 16 as the container 16 is moved
between the lowered and raised positions.
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As shown in Figure 5, the container 16 has spaced openings 22 in the
container base 18 to enable the support members 14 to extend through the
container base 18.
As illustrated in Figure 6, the container 16 includes a seal associated with
each support member 14 that moves along the support member as the
container is moved between the lowered and raised positions. Preferably, the
seal will be an O-ring 23 such as a Wriason Seal, part no. 326-n20. It will be
appreciated by one skilled in the art that other types of sealing means can be
used.
The bath 10 includes an elevating system to move the container 16 between
the raised and lowered positions. The elevating system can take any
convenient form that is known in the art. For example, as illustrated in
Figures 7 and 8, respectively, the elevating system may be a scissor
arrangement 26 or screw system 28. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, the
elevating system may also comprise at least one extendable piston member
30 mounted between the floor 13 and the container 16. Each piston member
30 is preferably a hydraulic piston mounted between the floor 13 and the
container 16. In the illustrated embodiment, four piston members 30 are used
to evenly distribute the load of the container when filled with liquid. As the
elevating system moves the container 16 between its lowered and raised
positions side plates of the upper and lower portions side skirt 11 telescope
and retract to cover internal components of bath 10. This provides the user
with an aesthetically pleasing bath further promoting its use.
The container 16 supports a liquid delivery system for filling the container
with
liquid. The liquid delivery system may simply be a hose. Preferably the liquid
delivery system comprises a faucet assembly 32 connected to a flexible
piping system 34 to accommodate raising and lowering of the container 16.
The liquid delivery system may be positioned at one end of the container, as
shown in Figures 2, 7 and 8, however, it will be appreciated by those skilled
in
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the art that the liquid delivery system may be positioned at any convenient
location on the bath 10.
As shown in Figure 5, the container 16 may also include a drain system to
remove liquid from the container. The drain system may include a sealable
drain opening 36 in the container 16 connected to a flexible piping system 38,
as depicted in Figure 1, to accommodate raising and lowering of the container
16.
Although the bath of the invention has been illustrated as of a conventional
elongated form it could be of any other desired form such as circular, oval,
or
sector shaped in plan.
Operation
To operate the bath the user merely sits on the sitting surface 12 and
maneuvers his or her body so that his or her legs slide onto the top of the
sitting surface 12. By engaging the elevating system, the container 16 is then
moved to its raised position. Because the container 16 is sealed and has both
a base and upstanding sidewalls and the sitting surface is formed with
openings to facilitate passage of liquid, at any time during bathing process,
the user can begin filling the container 16 with liquid by employing the
liquid
delivery system. When the user wishes to leave the bath, he or she simply
employs the elevating system to move the container 16 to its lowered position.
When the container is in its lowered position, the user simply maneuvers his
or her body so that his or her legs slide off the top of the sitting surface
12.
Again, because the container 16 is sealed and has both a base and
upstanding sidewalk and the sitting surface is formed with openings to
facilitate passage of liquid, at any time during bathing process, the user can
discharge the liquid in the container 16 by opening the drain opening.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and
illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the
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invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance
with the accompanying claims.
