DE29702094U1 - Equipment for the sanitary area - Google Patents

Description

Equipment for the sanitary area

The present invention relates to a device for the sanitary sector with a stationary holding rail and with at least one functional element held on the holding rail.

Such devices are used in particular in bathrooms in hospitals and old people's homes. They enable the bathroom to be designed in a way that is also suitable for older and physically disabled people, for example by allowing armrests, shower seats and other functional elements to be mounted on the support rail, which is fixed to the bathroom wall. Using the bathroom is made easier, in particular, by using armrests that can be mounted on the support rail. However, it has been shown that frail people and/or people who rely on crutches in particular are in many cases dependent on helpers or nursing staff, despite the fact that the known devices make it easier to use the bathroom.

The object of the present invention is to design a device for the sanitary area of the generic type in such a way that the use of the sanitary area is made easier, especially for frail and/or mobility-impaired people.

This object is achieved according to the invention in a device of the type mentioned at the outset in that the holding rail can be grasped by the user and that the functional element can be detachably connected to the holding rail without any aids.

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In the device according to the invention, the cross-section of the holding rail is selected so that the holding rail can be grasped by the user. The holding rail is thus designed in such a way that it ensures the detachable holding of the functional elements and can also serve as a handle, particularly for frail and/or mobility-impaired people. For this purpose, the holding rail can be grasped by the user, i.e. it forms a railing on which the user can support themselves. The holding rail thus enables support for the user of the sanitary area along its entire length, regardless of where additional functional elements, such as support handles and the like, are mounted on the holding rail. This makes using the sanitary area considerably easier, particularly for frail and/or mobility-impaired people.

The use of the sanitary area is further simplified with the device according to the invention in that the functional elements can be detachably connected to the holding rail without additional aids. They can therefore not only be moved along the holding rail by the user, for example, but can also be completely detached from it or connected to it. This gives the user a considerable degree of independence when using the sanitary area, since he can attach the functional elements that are advantageous to him to a desired location on the holding rail and remove them again after use, without the aid of an additional tool.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the device comprises spacers for holding the retaining rail at a distance from a supporting wall.

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Using the spacers, the support rail can be fixed to the bathroom wall in a structurally simple manner, for example, whereby the user can grasp the support rail along its entire circumference. This enables particularly safe support for the user. In this way, the support rail forms a handrail that runs at a distance along the bathroom wall, for example. Using the spacers, the support rail can be fixed to the wall at a height that is easily accessible to the user, and a particularly ergonomic shape can be selected for the cross-section of the support rail, without the shape being impaired by the fastening of the support rail to the wall. Instead, the fastening takes place using the spacers.

It is particularly advantageous if the retaining rail can be detachably connected to the spacers, as this enables particularly simple assembly of the retaining rail. For example, it can be provided that the retaining rail can be screwed to the spacers.

It is advantageous if the device comprises a support element that can be fixed to a supporting wall and to which the spacer can be detachably connected. This makes it possible to select a support element that is adapted to the conditions of the supporting wall for fastening the retaining rail, to which the spacer can then be detachably connected, which in turn supports the retaining rail.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, it is provided that the carrier element and the spacer form a plug connection with a pin and a corresponding receptacle. For example, it can be provided that the carrier element has a protruding from a base plate

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Has a support pin onto which the spacer, which has a corresponding hole, can be plugged. For this purpose, the spacer can be designed, for example, as a piece of pipe that can be plugged onto the support pin. In an alternative embodiment, it can be provided that the spacer has a support pin that can be inserted into a corresponding blind hole in the support element. In any case, the design of the support element and the spacer with a plug connection enables simple and cost-effective assembly of the device according to the invention.

The support rail is particularly preferably made of a continuous material. When assembling the device according to the invention, the continuous material can be cut to length according to the lengths of, for example, the side walls of a bathroom, so that the support rail has a particularly smooth, user-friendly surface without any joints being created when two support rails come into contact with one another.

The retaining rail can advantageously be designed in a tubular manner so that it can withstand high mechanical loads and is relatively light in weight.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is provided that the functional element has a hanging part for detachable connection to the holding rail. This enables the user to attach the functional element to the location he has specified by simply hanging it on the holding rail, without the need for an additional tool. The design of the functional element with a hanging part

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also has the advantage that the functional element can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the support rail without having to be removed from the support rail. The hanging part can thus be used to achieve a movable mounting of the functional element on the support rail.

It is advantageous if the functional element can be clamped to the holding rail. For example, the hanging part can include a clamping element. This enables a particularly stable connection between the holding rail and the functional element, which is also characterized by easy handling.

In an embodiment that can be produced inexpensively, it is provided that the suspension part comprises a bow-shaped section that partially surrounds the holding rail in the circumferential direction. Using a suspension bracket designed in this way, the functional element can be attached to the holding rail by the user without any additional tools. It is advantageous if the shape of the bow-shaped section corresponds to the cross section of the holding rail, so that a particularly stable mechanical connection is achieved by the bow-shaped section being in flat contact with the holding rail.

To increase the stability of the functional element, a particularly preferred embodiment provides that the functional element has a support part for support on a support wall. This support part is preferably arranged at a vertical distance from the hanging part. The support part can comprise a support pad so that damage to the support wall by the functional element is avoided.

It is advantageous if the functional element is height-adjustable so that it can be used by different users

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of the sanitary area can be adjusted to their respective body size, which makes the use of the sanitary area even easier, especially for frail and/or mobility-impaired people.

Preferably, the functional element for height adjustment comprises a gas pressure spring.

The functional element can, for example, be designed in the form of an armrest, which can be fixed by the user at the location specified by him on the support rail. It is particularly advantageous if the armrest is designed to be foldable, so that it can be folded up or down if necessary.

Alternatively and/or additionally, the device can comprise a functional element in the form of a shower seat, whereby it is particularly advantageous if this has additional armrests. The shower seat can be height-adjustable and/or foldable.

In order to make it easier to reach your feet when showering while standing, a particularly preferred embodiment provides that the device includes a functional element in the form of a footrest. It is particularly advantageous if the footrest has an adjustment mechanism, for example a mechanical spring, a gas pressure spring or a clamp, so that the footrest is height-adjustable.

Particularly for use in hospitals, it is advantageous if the device according to the invention comprises a functional element in the form of a laundry bag holder. This makes it easy to store laundry to be cleaned in the bathroom.

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mer and then send it to a central cleaning facility.

The device according to the invention is not only used in hospitals and old people's homes, but can also be used in hotels, rest areas and public toilets, for example. It is particularly advantageous if the device according to the invention includes a functional element in the form of a changing table. In a particularly simple design, the changing table includes two folding handles designed in the same way as the armrests explained above for attachment to the support rail.

Height-adjustable shelves, towel holders or towel rails, paper towel dispensers, cabinets and/or waste bins can also be used as functional elements.

It is particularly advantageous if the device according to the invention includes a functional element in the form of a preferably height-adjustable washstand. A mirror can be assigned to this, whereby it is advantageous if the mirror is designed to be height-adjustable.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, the functional element is height-adjustable and has a scale to display the respective position for a corresponding body size of the user. This enables a particularly user-friendly design of the sanitary area, in that users of different sizes can each pre-set the functional elements to their body size. For this purpose, the functional elements are equipped with a scale.

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which shows the respective position for the corresponding body size. This avoids uncertainty and reduces the risk of accidents.

The following description of preferred embodiments of the invention serves to explain in more detail in conjunction with the drawing. They show:

Figure 1: a schematic, perspective representation of a device according to the invention for the sanitary area;

Figure 2: a schematic, perspective view of two armrests used in the device according to the invention according to Figure 1;

Figure 3: a schematic, perspective view of a laundry bag holder used in the device according to the invention according to Figure 1;

Figure 4: a sectional view of a first embodiment of a fastening element used in the device according to the invention;

Figure 5: a front view of the fastening element shown in Figure 5;

Figure 6: a sectional view of a second embodiment of the fastening element;

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Figure 7: a side view of a third embodiment of the fastening element and

Figure 8: a side view of a fourth embodiment of the fastening element.

Figure 1 shows a schematic section of a bathroom with side walls 11 and 12 and a floor 13. A bathroom mirror 14 is held on the side wall 11 and is associated with a washstand 15 described below. In order to make it easier for frail and/or mobility-impaired people in particular to use the bathroom, a support rail 16 runs along the side walls 11 and 12 at a distance from them and is secured to the side walls 11 and 12 by means of fastening elements 17 arranged at a distance from one another. The user of the bathroom can grasp the support rail 16 so that he or she can find a firm hold on the support rail 16. The support rail 16 is designed in the form of a handrail or a railing and, in addition to its function as a handle for the user, also has an assembly function in that a large number of functional elements can be attached to it in a simple manner. Such functional elements are shown in Figures 1 to 3 in the form of armrests 20, 21, in the form of a seat 23, a footrest 25 and in the form of a laundry bag holder 27 and the washstand 15. The functional elements each have a bow-shaped section 56 and can be hung by the user of the bathroom at the location provided by him on the support rail 16 and easily removed again at any time after use.

The armrests 20 and 21 can be used as functional elements. These can be, as shown in Fig.

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gur 1, in combination with a seat 23, but they can also, as can be seen from Figure 2, be hung on the support rail 16 on both sides of a toilet 31. They each comprise an armrest 33, which can be pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis running parallel to the support rail 16 and is held on a guide rail 34 in a height-adjustable manner by means of a gas pressure spring known per se and therefore not shown in the drawing. In this way, the armrest can be folded down on the one hand and its height can be adjusted relative to the floor 13 on the other hand, and thus adapted to the respective body size of the user.

A guide rail 35 designed in accordance with the guide rail 34 is used in the seat 23 shown in Figure 1. A seat element 36 and a backrest 37 are held on it in a known manner and are adjustable in height.

As already mentioned above, the footrest 25 shown in Figure 1 can also be used as a functional element. This comprises a guide tube 39 and a support tube 40 guided therein by means of an adjustment mechanism in the form of a mechanical spring, which is known per se and therefore not shown in the drawing, which protrudes from the end of the guide tube 39 facing the floor 13 and has a support element 41 at its free end. The height of the support tube 40 and the support element 41 can be adjusted relative to the floor 13 by means of an adjustment handle 42 which is slidably held on the guide tube 39 and is operatively connected to the adjustment mechanism, whereby the adjustment handle can be easily reached by the user in a standing position. At its end facing the floor 13, the guide tube

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39 has a spacer in the form of a support fork 43 protruding vertically from the guide tube 39, with the aid of which the footrest 25 can be supported on the side wall 11.

The laundry bag holder 27 is shown in Figure 3. It comprises a vertically aligned holding tube 45, the end of which facing the floor is bent and carries a support wheel 46, which forms a support part in a similar way to the support fork 43 of the footrest, in that the support wheel 46 is supported on a side wall of the bathroom. At its upper end facing away from the floor 13, the holding tube 45 carries a substantially horizontally aligned holding ring 47, which holds a laundry bag 48. At its end facing the floor 13, the holding tube 45 has a substantially horizontally aligned holding fork 49, into which the closed end of the laundry bag 48 dips. The laundry bag holder suspended in the holding rail 16 can be removed from the holding rail 16 and guided along the floor 13 in a simple manner using the support wheel 46. The laundry bag holder 27 is thus designed to be mobile and is used in particular in hospitals to transport laundry to be cleaned to a central cleaning facility.

The washstand 15 shown in Figure 1 comprises two guide rails 51, which are designed to correspond to the guide rails 34 and 35 of the armrests 20, 21 and the seat 23. A washbasin 52 is held on them in a height-adjustable manner by means of a gas pressure spring (not shown in the drawing). The washstand 15 also comprises two horizontally aligned shelves 53 and 54, which are held on the side of the washbasin 52 and can be detached from the washbasin 52 if necessary.

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As already mentioned, the functional elements described above can be hung by the user in the holding rail 16. For this purpose, they each have a hanging part in the form of the bow-shaped section 56 that partially surrounds the holding rail 16 in the circumferential direction. This is particularly clear from Figures 3 and 4.

The fastening of the holding rail 16 to the side walls 11 and 12 has not yet been explained in detail. It can be seen from Figures 4 to 8, in which various embodiments of the fastening element 17 are shown enlarged. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the fastening element 17 comprises a spacer 60, which can be detachably connected to the tubular holding rail 16 by means of a screw 61 and which has a holding pin 62 with a circumferential groove 63 on its free end facing away from the holding rail 16. The fastening element 17 shown in Figure 4 also comprises a carrier element 65 with a support plate 66, which can be screwed onto the side wall 11 or 12, and with a support tube socket 67, which is connected in one piece to the support plate 66 and receives the holding pin 62 of the spacer 60. At the level of the circumferential groove 63, the support tube socket 67 has a through hole 68 with an internal thread into which a grub screw (not shown in the drawing) can be screwed, which penetrates into the circumferential groove 63 of the retaining pin 62 and thus fixes it.

Support tube socket 67 and retaining pin 62 form a plug connection, so that the mounting of the retaining rail 16 on the side wall 11 or 12 can be accomplished within a short time. As is particularly clear from Figure 5, it is only necessary to attach the support plate 66 by means of the

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Fasten the fastening screws 69 to the side wall 11 or 12, then fix the spacer 60 to the support tube socket 67 using the retaining pin 62 and finally screw the tubular retaining rail 16, which has been cut to the corresponding length of the side wall 11 or 12, to the spacer 60.

Figure 6 shows an alternative embodiment of a fastening element 17. This differs from the embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5 essentially in that the arrangement of the retaining pin 62 and the support tube socket 67 is swapped. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, as in the embodiments described below with reference to Figures 7 and 8, the same reference numerals are used for identical components as in the embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5. In the embodiment of the fastening element 17 shown in Figure 6, the support plate 66 of the support element 65 is connected in one piece to an obliquely projecting support pin 70, onto which a spacer 71 with a blind hole 72 is placed. The spacer 71 is screwed to the tubular retaining rail 16 by means of a connecting screw 73 that passes through the bottom of the blind hole 72. To fasten the retaining rail 16 using the fastening element 17 shown in Figure 6, the spacer 71 is first screwed to the retaining rail 16, and then the spacer 71 screwed to the retaining rail 16 is placed on the support pin 70 of the carrier element 65 previously screwed to the side wall 11 or 12.

A further embodiment of a fastening element 17 for mounting the tubular support rail 16 on the side

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walls 11 and 12 is shown in Figure 7. This also includes a support element 65 with a support plate 66, which can be screwed to the side wall 11 or 12. A spacer 75 is connected in one piece to the support plate 66, which is angled so that its end region facing the support plate 66 protrudes obliquely from the support plate, while its end region facing the holding rail 16 is aligned vertically. In its free end region facing away from the support plate 66, which is aligned vertically, the spacer 65 has a blind hole 76 so that the spacer 75 can be screwed to the holding rail 16 by means of a connecting screw 77 passing through the bottom of the blind hole 76.

Another embodiment of a fastening element 17 is shown in Figure 8. This differs from the embodiment shown in Figure 7 essentially in that a spacer 79 protruding perpendicularly from the support plate 66 of the carrier element 65 is used and that the holding rail 16 can be screwed to the spacer in that it has an internal thread 80 into which a connecting screw (not shown in the drawing) that penetrates diametrically through the holding rail 16 can be screwed.

By means of the above-explained embodiments of the fastening element 17, the holding rail 16 can be mounted in a cost-effective manner within a short time on the side walls 11 and 12 of the bathroom shown in Figure 1, whereby the holding rail 16 is spaced apart from the corresponding side walls. The holding rail 16 has a circular cross-section so that it can be comfortably grasped by the user. In addition to its holding

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function for the functional elements described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, the retaining rail
16 also has a handle function for the user, who thus receives additional support, making the use of the bathroom considerably easier.

Claims (1)

» · · _a9 * j A 53 359 g 6 February 1997 - 16 - PROTECTION CLAIMS 1. Device for the sanitary area with a stationary holding rail and with at least one functional element held on the holding rail, characterized in that the holding rail (16) can be grasped by the user and that the functional element (15; 20; 21; 23; 25; 27) can be detachably connected to the holding rail (16) without any aids. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device comprises a spacer (60; 71; 75; 79) for holding the holding rail (16) at a distance from a supporting wall (11, 12). 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the holding rail (16) can be detachably connected to the spacer (60; 71; 75; 79). 4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the device comprises a support element (65) which can be fixed to a side wall and to which the spacer (60; 71) can be detachably connected. 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the carrier element (65) and the spacer (60; 71) form a plug connection with a pin (62; 70) and a corresponding receptacle (67; 71). A 53 359 g 6 February 1997 - 17 - 6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding rail (16) is made of a continuous material. 7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding rail (16) is tubular. 8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional element (15; 20; 21; 23; 25; 27;) has a suspension part (56) for detachable connection to the holding rail (16). 9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional element can be clamped to the holding rail (16). 10. Device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the suspension part comprises a bow-shaped section (56) partially surrounding the holding rail (16) in the circumferential direction. 11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional element (25; 27) has a support part (43; 46) for support on a support wall (11, 12). 12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the support part (43; 46) is arranged at a vertical distance from the suspension part (56). · A 53 359 g 6 February 1997 - 18 - 13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional element (15; 20; 21; 23; 25;) is designed to be height-adjustable. 14. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a functional element in the form of an armrest (20; 21). 15. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a functional element in the form of a shower seat (23). 16. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a functional element in the form of a footrest (25). 17. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a functional element in the form of a laundry bag holder (27). 18. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a functional element in the form of a changing table. 19. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a functional element in the form of a washstand (15). 20. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional element (15; 20; 21; 23; 25;) is height-adjustable and has a scale. A 53 359 g 6 February 1997 - 19 - to indicate the respective position for a corresponding body size of the user.