EP0721310A1

EP0721310A1 - Bath-tub having a closable side-wall opening

Info

Publication number: EP0721310A1
Application number: EP93923084A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lars Gustaf Ekman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-10-06
Filing date: 1993-10-05
Publication date: 1996-07-17
Also published as: SE470474B; SE9202903L; SE9202903D0; WO1994007403A1

Abstract

In a side-wall (12) of a bath-tub (10) there is provided an opening (13) which extends in a downward direction from the upper end of said wall (12) and has a lower edge (14). Said opening (13) may be closed by means of a door (16) brought into contact with the inner side of said wall (12) through a sealing member (17). In order to obtain an initial sealing joint between the door (16) and the side-wall (12), at least within the region of the lower portion of the door (16), before filling the bath-tub (10) with water, the door (16) is provided with a generally hook-shaped member (21, 22) which projects from the outer side thereof and which may be hooked over an edge portion of the side-wall (12) located at the lower edge (14) of said opening (13).

Description

Bath-tub having a closable side-wall opening

The present invention relates to a bath-tub arrangement, comprising a bath-tub which, in a side-wall thereof, is provided with a through opening, extending from the upper end of said wall in a direction towards the lower end of said wall and having a lower edge, located at some distance above the lower end of said wall, and a door, usable for closing said opening and arranged to be brought into sealing contact with por¬ tions of the inner side of said wall, extending along the lower edge and the two opposite lateral edges of said opening, by way of an intermediate sealing member and under a pressure, successively increasing when filling the bath-tub with water, means being provided to cause an initial sealing .joint between the door and said side-wall, at least within the region of the lower portion of the door, before filling the bath-tub with water.

Above all, such bath-tub arrangements are intended to facilitate access to the bath-tubs for elderly or disabled people, the bath-tubs being preferably formed as sitting baths. A bath-tub arrangement of the kind above defined is previously known through WO 85/02990. In this known arrangement, an initial sealing joint between the door and the side-wall of the bath-tub, provided with an opening, within the region of the lower portion of the door is obtained by means of a rod, mounted for vertical displacement on the door and acting as a latch bolt which may be inserted into a bore in a wall portion, projecting at the lower edge of said opening and acting as a securing plate. However, this design of the means serving to provide an -initial sealing joint is unfavourable in several respects. Firstly, it results in comparatively high total manufacturing costs for the door. Moreover, in order to make it possible for said means to fullfil their intended function, it is necessary to center the door manually in a very accurate position in relation to the opening provided in the side-wall of the bath-tub. Both the step of centering the door and the required operation of the vertically displaceable latch bolt rod may in practice be very difficult to perform for an elderly or disabled person, meaning that such a person will not be able to utilize the bath-tub arrangement without the aid of an assistant.

The invention has for its object to provide an improved bath-tub arrangement of the kind initially specified which avoids the above-mentioned drawbacks of the known arrangement above described. For this purpose, the bath-tub arrangement according to the invention is primarily characterized in that said means comprise at least one generally hook-shaped member which is rigidly connected to the door and projects from the outer side thereof and which is arranged, when closing said opening by means of the door, to be hooked over an edge portion of said wall, located at the lower edge of said opening.

The invention completely eliminates the prior need for means movably mounted on the door and, naturally, also the need for a manual operation of any such means. In order to make it possible to place the lower end portion of the door accurately in a predetermined position, said hook-shaped member may consist of an elongate flange, projecting from the outer side of the door and having a downwardly bent outer end portion.

Alternatively, the door may be provided with two or more generally hook-shaped members which are located in spaced apart positions and which are arranged to be hooked over edge portions of said wall, located spaced apart along the lower edge of said opening.

Advantageously, the door may be arranged to be brought into sealing contact with a portion of said wall, located at a substantial distance below the lower edge of said opening and extending along said edge. In this case, when mounting the door on the side-wall, it is possible to obtain an initial sealing joint between the door and the wall not only within the region of the lower portion of the door but along the entire height of the door. For the same purpose, the door may alternatively or additionally be provided with at least one pair of generally hook-shaped members which project from the outer side of the door and which are arranged, when closing said opening by means of the door, to be brought into engagement with edge portions of said wall, located each at one lateral edge of said opening. These hook- shaped members may also serve to facilitate an automatic centering of the door in relation to the wall opening. Further characteristic features of the invention appear from claims 6 and 7.

Below the invention is further described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bath-tub arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention, selected by way of example, an opening provided in a side-wall of a bath-tub being closed by means of a door, placed behind said wall and covering said opening.

Figure 2 shows a partial view on an enlarged scale and in section, taken along line II-II in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 shows a perspective view, similar to Figure 1 but showing the door in a lifted and turned-away position.

The bath-tub arrangement shown in the drawing comprises a bath-tub 10, formed as a sitting bath and provided with a seat 11, mounted therein,, A side-wall 12, located at one long side of tub 10, is provided with a through opening 13, extending from the upper end of wall 12 in a direction towards the lower end thereof and having a lower edge 14, located at some distance above the lower end of said wall. Opening 13 has for its purpose to facilitate access to tub 10 for an elderly or disabled person. Reference numeral 15 designa- tes a rim which is formed as an outwardly projecting flange having a bent outer end portion and which extends along the upper edge of the bath-tub as well as along the two opposite lateral edges and the lower edge of opening 13. The illustrated arrangement also comprises a door 16 which may be used for closing opening 13 and which may be brought into sealing contact with portions of the inner side of wall 12, extending along the lower edge 14 and the two opposite- lateral edges of opening 13, through the intermediary of a sealing strip 17, mounted on door 16 and extending along the lower edge and the two lateral edges of the door. As may be seen from Figure 2, sealing strip 17 is provided with a groove 17' for receiving an edge portion of door 16 therein in order hereby to facilitate a safe fixation of the sealing strip to the door by glueing. In the illustrated case, for the sake of simplicity, strip 17 has been shown as having a generally circular cross-section. However, * in practice, the strip may have any other cross-section suitable for its intended function.

At its upper end, door 16 is provided with an edge stiffening having the shape of a tube 18 by means of which the door is rotatably mounted on a rod 19. At its one end, this rod is pivotally mounted on an upper edge por- tion of tub 10 in order to permit rod 19 and door 16 to be swung around a horizontal axis 20 between the approximately horizontal working position shown in Figure 1 and an approximately vertical passive position. When door 16 has been lifted up from tub 10 by being swung to the position indicated in dash-dotted lines in Figure 3, it may be turned around rod 19 to the rest position shown in full lines in Figure 3.

In order to guarantee an initial sealing joint between door 16 and wall 12, at least within the region of the lower portion of door 16, before filling tub 10 with water, at its outer side door 16 is provided with an elongate flange 21 projecting therefrom and having a downwardly bent outer end portion 22. When closing opening 13 in wall 12 by means of door 16, said flange 21 will be hooked over an edge portion of wall 12, located at the lower edge 14 of opening 13 and formed by rim 15.

If, when door 16 is in its working position shown in Figure 1, the lower end of the door is located at a substantial distance below the lower edge of opening 13, the hook-shaped member formed by flange 21 and edge por¬ tion 22 will cause a good initial sealing joint between door 16 and wall 12 not only within the region of the lower portion of door 16, but along the whole height of door 16. However, in order to further improve the initial sealing joint between door 16 and wall 12 at the upper portion of the door, as indicated in dash-dotted lines in Figure 1, door 16 may be provided with at least one pair of hook-shaped members 23 which project from the outer side of the door and which are arranged, when closing opening 13 by means of door 16, to be brought into engagement with edge portions of wall 12, located each at one lateral edge of said opening.

When, after closing opening 13 by means of door 16, tub 10 is filled with water, door 16 will in a manner known per see be forced against wall 12 at a successsively increasing pressure.

The invention is not restricted to the embodiment above described and shown in the drawing. Instead, many other embodiments are feasible within the scope of the invention. By way of example, it could be mentioned that door 16 need not be carried by a rod, pivotally mounted on tub 10, but may instead consist of a completely detachable member.^'

Claims

1. Bath-tub arrangement, comprising a bath-tub (10), which, in a side-wall (12) thereof, is provided with a through opening (13), extending from the upper end of said wall in a direction towards the lower end of said wall and having a lower edge (14), located at some distance above the lower end of said wall, and a door (16), usable for closing said opening (13) and arranged to be brought into sealing contact with portions of the inner side of said wall (12), extending along the lower edge and the two opposite lateral edges of said opening (13), by way of an intermediate sealing member (17) and under a pressure, successively increasing when filling the bath-tub (10) with water, means (21, 22) being provided to cause an initial sealing joint between the door (16) and said side-wall (12), at least within the region of the lower portion of the door (16) , before filling the bath-tub (10) with water, characterized in that said means comprise at least one generally hook- shaped member (21, 22) which is rigidly connected to the door (16) and projects from the outer side thereof and which is arranged, when closing said opening (13) by means of the door (16), to be hooked over an edge portion of said wall (12), located at the lower edge (14) of said opening (13).

2. Bath-tub arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that said hook-shaped member consists of an elongate flange (21), projecting from the outer side of the door (16) and having a downwardly bent outer end portion (22) .

3. Bath-tub arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the door (16) is provided with two or more generally hook-shaped members which are located in spaced apart positions and which are arranged to be hooked over edge portions of said wall (12), located spaced apart along the lower edge (14) of said opening (13).

4. Bath-tub arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the door (16) is arranged to be brought into sealing contact with a portion of said wall (12), located at a substantial distance below the lower edge (14) of said opening (13) and extending along said edge.

5. Bath-tub arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the door (16) also is provided with at least one pair of generally hook-shaped members (23) which project from the outer side of the door and which are arranged, when closing said opening (13) by means of the door (16), to be brought into engagement with edge protions of said wall (12), located each at one lateral edge of said opening (13).

6. Bath-tub arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sealing member is formed by a sealing strip (17) which is secured to the door (16) and extends along the lower edge and the two lateral edges thereof and which is provided with a groove (17') for receiving an edge portion of the door therein.

7. Bath-tub arrangement according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, at its upper end, the door (16) is rotatably mounted on a rod (19) which, at its one end, is pivotally mounted on an upper edge protion of the bath-tub (10) for pivoting movement in unison with the door (16) between an approximately horizontal working position and an approximately vertical passive position.