AU2004100702A4 - A Bath - Google Patents

Description

Our Ref: 2783 P/00/009 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION SPECIFICATION FOR AN INVENTION ENTITLED Invention title: A BATH Name of Applicant: Address for Service PETER R MICHAEL A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 222 Mitcham, S.A. 5062 The invention is described in the following statement: This invention relates to a bath, and more specifically to a two seater corner bath that in one form could be used as a spa bath.

The provision of baths in a bathrooms is somewhat limited for most people by the expense resulting from the cost of the bath and the cost of providing additional wet area in a room.

Baths accordingly are kept compact. It is additionally desirable to provide a bath in particular for spa baths provision for seating of two seater so that it can be enjoyed in company. To accommodate these two competing factors two seater baths that fit into a corner have been devised and are regularly used. These typically fit into a corner of the bathroom with two shorter sides at right angles to each other which abut a respective wall and a longer side extending between the two. A seating arrangement whereby two persons sit along the shorter sides ensure that the two positions are even however that means that the short sides need to be long enough to accommodate an individual and the benefit of the extra leg room of the longer side is not used.

A further factor in the cost of the use of a bath is water consumption, and any design of bath that minimises water use is desirable.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce or obviate anyone or more of the above problems in a simple yet effective manner, or at least to provide the public with an additional choice.

The invention might be said to reside in a corner bath having first and second short sides for juxtaposition against walls of a corner of a room and a third side extending between the first and second side, a first seat and a first leg region adjacent the first side, and a second seat and second leg region adjacent the third side, a tub of the bath defined by a floor at a lowermost part and walls extending upwards therefrom around the sides, a first knee support at a central part of the first leg region to support legs of a user with knees raised.

The knee support may be formed as a raised portion of the floor that contacts at least parts of the legs of a user so as to urge the knee to adopt a bent attitude whilst being supported. A given user will have their knees held at an approximate angle and height in comfort, rather than having to feel cramped and the legs working to maintain the attitude whilst not supported. This provides considerable greater comfort than a flat surface where the legs of the user are unsupported in a bent attitude.

It has thus been found that the provision of a knee support allows comfortable accommodation of the legs of a user of a bath over a shorter distance than the natural length of the leg. This permits comfort for a user of a bath with somewhat smaller dimensions. It has been found further that a bulge formed in a sidewall adjacent a seat can provide additional comfort in a compact bath.

Preferably there is provided a second knee support at a central region of the second leg region, and more preferably the first knee support is higher than the second knee support corresponding to the shorter length of the first leg region. Whilst typically the third side of a corner bath is longer than the first side it is usually in a compact bath still not long enough to permit full stretching out of the legs and the provision of the second knee support accommodates the user seated adjacent the third side more comfortably.

Conveniently the floor of the bath is contoured to form the first and second knee supports, rather than providing abrupt raised portions on an otherwise generally flat floor. The contours utilise volume that would otherwise be occupied by water, so that the bath is more efficient at water usage. This may be to a degree where water consumption is reduced by one third or more.

Preferably the uppermost portion of the wall of the bath has a laterally extending flange, and at least a portion of the respective wall at adjacent either or both of the first seat and the second seat bulges out under the flange to accommodate hips of a user of the respective seat.

The provision of a flange allows a more aesthetically pleasing shape at least in the outline of the tub at the uppermost portion, the bulge beneath the flange permits this flexibility whilst not losing the overall capacity for comfortable seating adjacent the flange.

Preferably there is a shared foot rest area adjacent an apex of the first and third side. Thus the two seats face in generally the same direction. This arrangement has advantages in the amount of lateral room for seating of two adjacent occupants. Preferably also a drain is positioned in the foot rest area.

A perimetrical drainage contour may be provided adjacent the third wall and extending therealong and preferably the drainage contour also extends at least part way along the second side. The drainage contour may not necessarily be in the form a discrete fully defined channel but may simply be the lower level at that grade of the floor. Preferably also the floor does not provide any depressions leading to localised water retention on drainage of the bath.

The first and second side are preferably about normal one to the other and of approximately equal length and the third is approximately at 45' thereto.

Preferably the second wall is angled backwards from the first and second seat and the foot rest is at a height relative to the seat such that the user sits in a reclined position with their feet up relative to a sitting position.

The bath may be used as a spa bath or whirlpool, and include a number of apertures that can be connected with water/air flow pumps such as are commonly used in the operation of spas.

For a better understanding one embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of the illustrated embodiment of the invention Figure 2 is a perspective view of the illustrated embodiment Figure 3 is a cross sectional view through B-B of figure 1 showing the position of two occupants in broken outline, and Figure 4 is a cross sectional view through A-A of figure 1 showing the respective height of the first and second knee supports.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND EXEMPLIED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The illustrated comer bath includes a tub comprising a floor and a wall, the wall extending upwardly from the floor and defining first second and third sides.

A first seat (10) and a first leg region (11) are formed in the floor adjacent the first side (3) and a second seat (12) and a second leg region (13) are formed in the floor adjacent the third side. The first and second seats take on a contoured shape for the comfort of the user. It can also be seen in figure 3 that the second side wall is angled backwards so that back of both users is inclined somewhat for comfort.

A first knee support (20) is provided at a central part of the first leg region (11) to support legs of a user with the knees raised. A second knee support (22) is provided at a central part of the second leg region The first and second knee support take the from of a raised portion of the floor of the tub. The raised portions are gradually contoured upwards, and thus occupy a considerable volume of what might otherwise be provided by a flat floor. It can also be seen in Figure 3 that the first knee support is significantly higher than the second knee support. In the illustrated embodiment this is approximately twice the height taken from the lowermost portion of a respective seat with other embodiments this will be commensurate with the extent to which the legs need to be bent for comfort.

The knee supports do not contact the knees but rather contact either or both of the upper and lower part of the legs to provide physical support therefore and thus provide support for the knees and legs in an elevated attitude.

A shared foot rest area (25) is provided adjacent an apex of the first and third side. The two users therefore occupy their own seats by having their feet resting in the same foot rest area, which of course is made large enough to accommodate two pairs of feet in comfortable relationship with each other. It can be seen that the foot rest area is the lowermost part of the floor, and has formed therethrough a drainage outlet A perimetrical drainage contour (30) is formed adjacent the third wall and is connected with the two seats which represent a lowermost part of the floor adjacent the second wall. The floor between lowermost portion of both seats does not exhibit any raised portion so that water can drain from both seats through to the perimetrical drainage contour so that there is no localised water retention in the seats. Similarly the remainder of the floor is graded through to the drainage contour and from there to the drainage outlet so that there is no water retention on drainage of water from the tub.

It will also be appreciated that the foot rest area is lower than the seat but this is primarily for purposes of providing a drainage flow, and the drop is in the order of a few centimetres. The seating position of the users of the bath can readily be seen as being reclined, with the feet and legs of the users being raised relative to an upright sitting position.

A flange (35) extends outwardly from an uppermost portion of the wall. A periphery of the first and second side of the flange will typically be fixed into walls of a corner of the room.

A periphery of the third side of the flange will typically be set over a stud wall and supported thereby.

Different part of the wall have a different inclination formed therein. Generally the wall will have a moderate inclination outwardly from bottom to top. As referred to earlier the second wall being the wall against which the backs of the users are supported is inclined so that the users of the bath are supported in a reclined attitude. The degree of the inclination of the second wall compared to the majority of the wall is perhaps best seen in figure 3.

Additionally it can be seen specifically with reference to figure 4 that the first wall exhibits a considerable bulge adjacent the first seat. This provides for additional comfort for the user of the first seat with room for the hips and/or arms.

The bath is generally intended for use as a spa bath so that it can be connected with known water and air outlets and the like. Two apertures (40, 41) for connection with such outlets are positioned adjacent the second wall.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiments of the invention, however, it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate and that the invention is not limited thereto and can include various modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A corner bath having first and second short sides for juxtaposition against walls of a comer of a room and a third side extending between the first and second side, a first seat and a first leg region adjacent the first side, and a second seat and second leg region adjacent the third side, a tub of the bath defined by a floor at a lowermost part and walls extending upwards therefrom around the sides, a first knee support at a central part of the first leg region to support legs of a user with knees raised.

2. The corner bath of claim 1 including a second knee support at a central region of the second leg region. and more preferably the first knee support is higher than the second knee support corresponding to the shorter length of the first leg region.

3. The corner bath of either claim 1 or 2 wherein the uppermost portion of the wall of the bath has a laterally extending flange, and at least a portion of the respective wall at adjacent either or both of the first seat and the second seat bulges out under the flange to accommodate hips of a user of the respective seat.

4. The corner bath of any one of the preceding claims including a shared foot rest area adjacent an apex of the first and third side with a drain is positioned in the foot rest area.

5. The corner bath as in claim 4 wherein a perimetrical drainage contour is provided adjacent the third wall and extending therealong. Dated this 26th day ofAugust 2004 PETER R MICHAEL By his Patent Attorneys A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys