GB2131291A

GB2131291A - Improvements in or relating to bath apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2131291A
Application number: GB08328486A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Edmund Talbot Garman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-10-26
Filing date: 1983-10-25
Publication date: 1984-06-20
Also published as: GB8328486D0

Abstract

Bath apparatus comprising a bath assembly and support apparatus, wherein a seat of a seat and backrest unit 12 of the support apparatus is movable by lifting means 30 between a lower position on or adjacent a bottom 15 of a bath 10 of the bath assembly, and an upper position in which the seat is at or adjacent the level of a brim 19 of the bath, and wherein the bath assembly incorporates guide means at the rear of the bath for guiding the seat and backrest unit. The bottom of the bath is provided with a well 17 which at least partially accommodates the seat portion of the unit 12 in its lowermost position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to bath apparatus This invention concerns bath apparatus, for use by disabled or physically handicapped persons.

It is known, e.g. from my British Patent Specification No. 2014446 to provide portable apparatus for use in assisting such persons into and out of baths.

It is also known from British Patent Specification No. 1370610 to provide a buoyant/submersible bed within a specially constructed bath to form bath apparatus for such persons. However, this apparatus is not well suited for use by able bodied persons and would be very expensive to use. Furthermore such apparatus would be difficult if not practically impossible to clean and disinfect. The portable apparatus in accordance with my aforesaid Specification No.

2014446 avoids these disadvantages as it can be removed easily from an ordinary bath and is easily cleaned; and this is ideal for domestic and personal use.

However, in medical institutions such as hospitals for the disabled, contamination may arise if my apparatus is left in situ, as may happen if many patients require to be bathed in a short time or otherwise if the medical attendants have insufficient time to remove the apparatus.

The present invention provides bath apparatus comprising a bath, a seat and backrest unit, and lifting means for raising and lowering the seat and backrest unit relative to the bath; wherein the bath is provided with guide means for controlling the attitude of the seat and backrest unit as the latter is raised to and lowered from an upper position; wherein the bath comprises a bottom which incorporates a well adjacent a support portion; and wherein a seat portion of the seat and backrest unit can be at least partially accommodated in the well when the seat and backrest unit is in a lower position so that an upper seat surface of the seat portion is substantially level with or close to the level of an upper surface of the support portIon.

A drive means may comprise the lifting means, in the form of an inflatable bag or bellows disposed between the seat portion and the well portion, a pump which may be mounted on the frame or may be remote from the bath, and control means providing a control member operable by a person using the bath or an attendant.

The bag or bellows may be provided with releasably retaining means to restrain the bellows from floating out of the well portion.

The present invention also provides bath apparatus comprising a bath, a seat and backrest unit and lifting means for raising and lowering the seat and backrest unit relative to the bath; wherein the bath is provided with guide means for controlling the attitude of the seat and backrest unit as the latter is raised and lowered; wherein the lifting means is secured to the bath so as to project upwards at the rear of a rear wall of the bath and is connected to an upper part of a backrest portion of the seat and backrest unit; and wherein a fixed part of the guide means is engaged by a lower part of the seat and backrest unit so as to permit the unit to be moved by the lifting means from a lower position in which the seat portion abuts or is proximal to a bottom of the bath to an upper position in which said seat portion is at or adjacent the level of a brim of the bath.The lifting means preferably serves as an upper part of the guide means.

The or a bath drain outlet is preferably positioned so as to be adjacent to the seat portion when the latter is in the lower position, e.g. in the well portion, and the seat and backrest assembly and the lifting means are preferably arranged so that the support apparatus can be moved to permit all of the bottom of the bath to be cleaned.

The bath is preferably of, steel, moulded plastics or reinforced polymeric material, and is preferably connected to a supporting frame to which at least part of the guide means is attached.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein Figures 1 and 2 show longitudinal and transverse sections through a first embodiment of bath apparatus of the invention, with a seat and backrest unit in a lower position; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the seat and backrest assembly in a raised upper position; Figure 4 shows the apparatus in plan; Figure 5 shows a detail of the apparatus; Figures 6, 7and 8are partial longitudinal cross sectional views of second, third and fourth embodiments of bath apparatus of the invention.

In all embodiments of the bath apparatus generally described herein, the apparatus generally includes a bath 10 associated with a frame 11, a seat and backrest unit 12 which engages guide means 13; and drive means 14.

In the first embodiment the bath 10 is of plastics material and has a bottom 15 which includes a support portion 16 and a portion 17 disposed below the level of the support portion 16 to provide a bottom for a well. An outlet 18 is provided in the well portion at the junction between said portions 16 and 17 which slope downwards slightly to said junction for drainage purposes. The bath has a brim 19.

The seat and backrest unit 12 comprises an L-shaped plastics moulding which provides a seat portion 20 and a backrest portion 21. Parallel upstanding channels are formed in the backrest portion 21 and a rear panel (not shown) is releasably secured to the rear of said portion to overlie said channels.

The guide means 13 in this embodiment comprises two rigid tubular fixed guide members 23, each of which has a long rising limb 26, a top elbow 25 and a shorter descending limb 24. A lower end part of the limb 26 is secured through the well portion to the frame 11 adjacent a rear wall 27 of the bath, and the lower end part of the limb 24 is secured through a rear part of the brim 19 to a rear part of the frame 11.

The rising limbs 26 are slidably trapped in the channels by the rear panel.

The drive means 12 in this embodiment includes an electric motor driven air pump assembly 29 which may be remote from the bath but in this embodiment is mounted on the frame 11 below the rear part of the brim 19, which assembly 29 is connected to lifting means in the form of an extensible device, e.g.

a bellows 30, by pipes 31, valve means (not shown), a connector 32 and a flexible pipe 33. The valve means forms part of control means which further includes a manually operable member 34 mounted, for example, on a side wall 35 of the bath 10.

The seat portion 20 has an inverted rim flange to serve to locate an upper end of the bellows 30, and flank panels 36 are hingedly secured to the sides of the seat portion 20. The lower end of the bellows 30 is provided with a base member 37 which rests in the well portion 17. A rear part of the member 37 engages stops (not shown) provided on the lower end parts of the limbs 26, and a front part 38 (Figure 5) is engaged by a rotatable catch 39, which catch is secured to the outlet 18 and serves together with the stops as retaining means to prevent the bellows floating out of the well portion 17.

A plug 40 is provided to close the outlet and cover the catch 39.

In use, the seat and backrest unit 12 is raised, by actuating the member 34 to cause the pump to inflate the bellows 30, to an upper position in which the panels 36 lie on the brim 19 to cover the gaps between the sides of the seat portion and the bath 10 (Figure 3), to enable a disabled person to be seated thereon or slid thereonto from a seat or wheelchair.

The persons legs can then be swung over the brim and lowered into the bath whilst the persons back rests against the backrest portion, the persons bottom being supported on the seat portion.

The control member 34 is then further actuated to cause the valve means to allowthe bellows to deflate slowly so as to lower the person into the bath until the seat portion reaches the lower position wherein it is accommodated in the well portion. In this position the upper surface of the seat portion is level with the top of the plug and the upper surface of the support portion 16, so that the person may use the bath in a normal manner.

After bathing, the bellows are again inflated to raise the person to above the level of the brim 19.

An emergency manually operable air pump or a cannister of compressed gas may be connectable to the drive means, for raising the unit in the event of a power failure.

This embodiment of the apparatus has many advantages including; (a) the bath may be used by able bodied persons without having to remove the support apparatus, (b) when the plug is removed to reveal the catch 39, the latter may be turned to allow the base member 37 to be disengaged from the stops, so that the bellows and seat and backrest unit can be raised manually to enable the well to be cleaned, (c) the bellows and flexible pipe can be removed after being raised as mentioned in (b) above, for ease of repair or replacement, without requiring the use or tools of special skills, (d) the seat and backrest unit can be removed by removing the back panel (e.g. releasing four panel clamping bolts), (e) the pump, motor and valve means are concealed, protected and supported by the bath, whilst being relatively accessible for servicing, (f) the apparatus is easily made using known manufacturing methods is easily installed in a standard sized location for a bath, and has no special installation requirements except possibly for a low voltage electrical supply and a pipe bend union to take a waste pipe to the outlet; and (g) the apparatus is not visually unattractive, unlike most engineering constructions at present employed for hoisting persons onto or out of baths.

To further facilitate cleaning of the bath and guide means 13 the first embodiment may be simplified to comprise only one of the fixed guide members 23 which is repositioned so as to be central at the rear of the bath and so as to cause the rear of the backrest portion 21, or at least lower parts ofthis portion 21, to slidably engage the rear wall 27 of the bath as the unit 12 is raised and lowered in normal use.The top elbow is raised slightly in comparison to the top elbow 25 so that the seat can be taken beyond its normal uppermost position to a further raised position wherein the backrest portion is disengaged from the wall 27, whereby to allow the unit 12 to be moved pivotally around the single rising limb 26 and out of the bath, thereby enabling the bellows 30 and base member 37 to be lifted out of the bath for sterilisation thereof and for ease of cleaning of the bath and the unit 22. It is preferred that the unit 12 be required to be lifted manually from its normal raised upper position to the further raised position, and mechanical or other safety locks or catches or stops are preferably provided to prevent the unit being raised to the further raised position whilst the apparatus is being used in normal use.

In the further embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 8the drive means 14 is disposed outside the bath 10 to the rear of the rear wall of the bath, and is mechanically connected to the backrest portion of the seat and backrest unit 12.

In the second embodiment shown in Figure 6 many of the detail parts are the same as or functionally equivalent to those indicated by the same reference numerals in the first embodiment, which parts are not further described in detail. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment (or the simplified form thereof) in that the drive means 14 comprises a motor driven winch 114 mounted on the frame 11 to raise and lower the unit 12 by means of a rope or cable 130 which serves as lifting means and is connected to an upper part 121 of the backrest portion 21.

The rope or cable 130 extends upwards through or to the rear of the rear part 119 of the brim 19 to a roller or guide 125 carried on a support which is in turn mounted on the elbow or elbows 25. The rising limb of the rope or cable between the brim 19 and the roller or guide 125, and the roller or guide, may be provided with a decorative and/or protective cover, and a headrest (not shown) upstanding from the top of the backrest portion 21 may conceal, and protect the user from, at least part of the descending portion of the rope or cable 130. Manually actuable controls, not shown, are provided for controlling the winch motor, and an emergency crank may be provided for manual operation of the winch.

In the third embodiment shown in Figure 7 the drive means 14 is in the form of a motor driven screw jack 214 having a lifting means in the form of a pillar screw 230 supported by a bearing 231 at or on a rear part 219 of the brim of the bath 10, and a further bearing 232 at the top of an extension 201 of the frame 11 to the rear of the bath. The screw 230 serves as part of the guide means and carries a travelling nut or collar 233 which is strongly connected to an upper part 221 of the backrest portion of the seat and backrest unit 10 by a connecting member 234. A lower part 222 of the backrest portion of the seat and backrest unit engages the rear wall 27 of the bath, which rear wall 27 thereby serves as a fixed part of the guide means.In this embodiment the seat and backrest unit 10 is of modified form having a much thinner seat portion 220 so that the well in the bath is much shallower than in the first embodiment, and the front 202 of the seat portion is provided with a flap 203 which can be pivoted from a forwardly projecting portion to an upwardly projecting portion. In the lowered position of the seat and backrest unit the flap 203 covers the outlet 240 and rests on the bottom 16 of the bath. If, in use, a user grasps the flap 203 in his hands, the flap will, on reaching the bottom 16 of the bath, pivot upwards slightly when the user's fingers touch the bottom of the bath or the outlet 240 thereby preventing the user's fingers from being trapped. An equivalent flap may be provided for the other embodiments.This embodiment has the further feature that the upper end 235 of the screw is provided with coupling means (not shown) to receive a manually operable crank ortool to permit the screw to be rotated manually in the event of a power failure. The coupling means is normally covered by an easily removable part of a protective cover 236 which shrouds the screw and the upper extension 201 oftheframe.

In the fourth embodiment shown in Figure 8 the drive means comprises a pump and motor assembly 314 with manually operable control means, and the lifting means comprises a hydraulic ram 330 which is extensible through a bearing 331 provided in or adjacent the rear 319 of the brim 19, and through which the ram 330 extends upwardly to a connecting member 334 connecting the top of the ram with the upper part 321 of the backrest portion 21. The ram is double acting and serves as a upper part of the guide means, and the rear wall 27 of the bath serves as a fixed part of the guide means and is engaged by lower parts of the backrest portion. A manually operable emergency pump may be provided. The ram may be pneumatic.

In the second, third and fourth embodiments the drive means 14 is arranged to permit the unit 12 to be raised from a lowered position in which the upper surface of the seat portion is level with or only slightly above the level of the bottom 16 of the bath to a raised upper position in which the seat portion is substantially at or slightly above the level of the brim 19 of each side of the bath, for normal use, and to be further raised to a further raised position in which the unit is clear above the level of the brim to facilitate a cleaning of the rear and underside of the unit.Alternatively, in the third and fourth embodiments the connection between the upper part of the backrest and the connecting member 234 or 334 may incorporate a pivot and releasable locking means to prevent movement about the pivot, so that upon release of the locking means the seat and backrest unit can be swung upwards to facilitate cleaning; or a detachable connection may be provided between the upper part of the backrest portion and the connecting member 234 or 334 to enable the unit 12 to be readily detached for ease of cleaning or maintenance.

In the second, third and fourth embodiments the apparatus may employ a modified form of bath having a flat bottom because of the shallow depth of the seat portion. These embodiments have further advantages in that, for example, when the seat and backrest unit is lowered, or is removed to leave the bath and the remainder of the apparatus in situ as an assembly, the bath can be used in an ordinary manner without obstruction, because of the absence of any guide members set forwardly of the rear wall.

The invention is not confined to the details of the foregoing examples, and many variations are possi ble within the scope of the invention.

For example, the backrest portion may comprise a main centre panel hingedly connected to the seat to allow the inclination of the centre panel to be varied or to allow the centre panel to rest against a rear wall or other rear part of or provided on the bath or the guide means.

The drain outlet may be at any suitable location, and may be arranged for remote actuation.

The front of the seat portion is preferably provided with safety means, e.g. the front may be soft or slightly flexible, or may have a thin flexible or hinged flap or flange to overlie said junction, for preventing a persons fingers being trapped below the seat portion as the seat and backrest assembly is lowered.

The backrest portion may have a clip-on or adjustable cushion, e.g. to give a more upright seating position for the user.

The bath and frame may be integrated especially in a fibre reinforced plastics bath construction in which metal reinforcement elements are bonded into the construction. Alternatively, the bath may be of cast steel construction having frame parts secured thereto, e.g. to carry the motor of the drive means, the bath being machined or formed to perform some of the supportive functions of the frame 11, e.g. to provide one or more mountings e.g. for a bearing, guide member, or for a support equivalent to the extension 201 of the various embodiments.

The rear wall of the bath may be provided with wear resisting means for engagement by the seat and backrest unit or sliding or rolling means provided on a lower rear part of the unit, and said wear resisting means and sliding or rolling means may be mutually self-aligning to further stabilise the unit as it is raised and lowered. The wear resisting means may comprise a coating of material in upright channels 327 in the rear wall, to resist wear by sliders 322 slidably engaged in the channels 327 and secured to the unit 10. The wear resisting means may be replaceable and may define the channels.

It will be readily appreciated that the invention generally provides bath apparatus comprising a bath assembly and support apparatus, wherein a seat of a seat and backrest unit of the support apparatus is movable by lifting means between a lower position on or adjacent a bottom of a bath of the bach assembly, and an upper position is which the seat is at or adjacent the level of a brim of the bath, and wherein the bath assembly incorporates guide means at the rear of the bath for guiding the seat and backrest unit; and that there are disclosed herein many inventive features which may be advantageously incorporated into such bath apparatus.

For example features of the guide means, seat and backrest unit, lifting means, bath construction or frame arrangement, which features may be employed singly or in any suitable combination. For instance the apparatus generally provided by the invention may incorporate motor driven drive means, which incorporates the lifting means and is adapted to be actuated by manually operable emergency actuating means for use in the event of a power, e.g. a motor or electricity supply, failure.

In embodiments employing fixed guide members, such as the guide members 23, the rising and descending limbs may be connected at the top by an adjustable orfastened-on top part or parts instead of an integral elbow or elbows, e.g. the elbows 25, and the lower ends of the rising limbs, e.g. the limbs 26, may be adjustably, pivotally or presettably connected to the bath or frame whereby to permit the inclination of the rising limbs to be adjusted or preset. Adjustable means may be provided to conneck the seat portion to the backrest portion of the unitto permit the angle included between said portions to be varied or preset.

Claims

1. Bath apparatus comprising a bath, a seat and backrest unit, and lifting means for raising and lowering the seat and backrest unit relative to the bath; wherein the bath is provided with guide means for controlling the attitude of the seat and backrest unit as the latter is raised to and lowered from an upper position; wherein the bath comprises a bottom which incorporates a well adjacent a support portion; and wherein a seat portion of the seat and backrest unit can be at least partially accommodated in the well when the seat and backrest unit is in a lower position so that an upper seat surface of the seat portion is substantially level with or close to the level of an upper surface of the support portion.

2. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the guide means comprises at least one fixed guide member comprising a rising limb secured to the bottom of the bath forwards of the rear wall of the bath, a descending limb secured at or adjacent to a rear part of the bath, and a top part joining said rising and descending limbs.

3. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the lifting means comprises an extensible device disposed between the seat portion and a bottom of the well.

4. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the extensible device is a removable bellows.

5. Bath apparatus, comprising a bath, a seat and backrest unit and lifting means for raising and lowering the seat and backrest unit relative to the bath; wherein the bath is provided with guide means for controlling the attitude of the seat and backrest unit as the latter is raised and lowered; wherein the lifting means is secured to the bath so as to project upwards at the rear of a rear wall of the bath and is connected to an upper part of a backrest portion of the seat and backrest unit; and wherein a fixed part of the guide means is engaged by a lower part of the seat and backrest unit so as to permit the unit to be moved by the lifting means from a lower position in which the seat portion abuts or is proximal to a bottom of the bath to an upper position in which said seat portion is at or adjacent the level of a brim of the bath.

6. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 1,2 or 5 wherein the seat and backrest unit can be raised to a further raised position, above said upper position, so that the seat portion is above the level of the brim.

7. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 1,2, 5 or 6 wherein the lifting means comprises a winch having a rope or cable attached to the backrest portion.

8. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 or 6, wherein the lifting means serves as an upper part of the guide means and is connected by a connecting member to an upper part of the seat and backrest unit.

9. Bath apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the rear wall of the bath constitutes a or the fixed part of the guide means.

10. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 1,2,5,6, 8 or 9, wherein the lifting means comprises a hydraulic or pheumatic ram.

11. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 1,2, 5,6, 8, wherein the lifting means comprises a rotatable screw.

12. Bath apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, 10, 11 or 9 as appended to Claim 8, wherein the connecting member is connected to the seat and backrest unit by means releasable to permit said unit to be removed from or pivoted relative to the lifting means.

13. Bath apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the lifting means forms part of drive means which including a motor and which is actuable by manually operable emergency actuating means.

14. Bath apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein safety means is provided at the front of the seat portion to protect a users fingers from being trapped.

15. Bath apparatus generally as hereinbefore disclosed and incorporating a seat and backrest unit, lifting means, guide means, a bath or a frame at least partially as hereinbefore described with reference to any Figure of the accompanying drawings.

16. Bath apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5, Figure 6, Figure 7 or Figure 8 or the accompanying drawings.