GB2196247A

GB2196247A - Bathing device

Info

Publication number: GB2196247A
Application number: GB08724404A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Richard James
Original assignee: Impro Ltd
Current assignee: Impro Ltd
Priority date: 1986-10-17
Filing date: 1987-10-19
Publication date: 1988-04-27
Anticipated expiration: 2007-10-19
Also published as: GB2196247B; GB8724404D0

Abstract

A bathing device comprises a support structure 1 which in use rests on the bottom of a bath tub 6, and a support seat 4 for the user. The support structure 1 has a base section 2 which rests on the bottom of the bath tub 6 for support forwardly of the centre of gravity of a user when supported on the seat 4, and an upstanding rear section 3 from which the seat 4 is supported in a cantilevered manner. The rear section 3 has support means 8 to support vertical loading of the rear section 3 at the top surface of the rim 10 of the bath tub 6 and rearwardly of the aforesaid centre of gravity. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bathing device The invention relates to a bathing device which comprises a seat to support a disabled or infirm person in a bath tub during bathing.

It particularly, but not exclusively, relates to such devices of the type commonly referred to as "bath lifts" used by disabled persons to provide access to bath tubs.

The bath lifts at present available are in general of two types. In one type a support structure such as a column embodies lifting mechanism for a cantilevered seat and is a permanent fixture, for example being bolted to the floor alongside the bath tub. Such a bath lift has the important advantage that the seat can be lowered close to the bottom of the tub but it also has the disadvantage that, being a permanent fixture, it is not portable and occupies a considerable space in the bathroom when not in use. A bath lift of the other types is portable and rests on the bottom of the bath tub, for example being located thereon by suckers.Whilst this overcomes the main disadvantages of said one type it has the disadvantage that the lifting means for the seat is commonly positioned below the latter so that the seat can only be lowered to a corresponding distance above the bottom of the bath tub and thus a considerable depth of water is wasted.

A bath lift intermediate the foregoing two types has been proposed with a support structure which clamps to the side of the bath. Although this enables the seat to be lowered closer to the bottom of the bath tub it has the disadvantage that the clamping arrangements waste space within the bath tub and that a considerable strain is applied to the side of the tub so that many bath tubs do not have adequate strength. This is particularly the case with domestic bath tubs of moulded plastics (typically of acrylic material) construction, and attachment and removal of the bath lift is also a time-consuming procedure.

Another bath lift has been proposed which is supported on the bottom of the bath tub and has lifting means at the rear of the seat and from which the latter is supported. However, this has the disadvantage that it wastes a considerable space at the sloping rear end of the bath tub behind the seat and the lifting means have to be disposed to provide a vertical lift for the seat.

An aim of the invention is to provide an improved bathing device comprising a seat, which rests within the bath tub when in use and which can readily be removed when not in use. As applied to a bath lift, a further aim is to provide a device which can be designed to allow the seat to be lowered to, or substantially to, the bottom of the bath tub and can more effectively utilise the space within the bath tub.

According to one aspect of the invention a bathing device comprises a support structure which in use rests on the bottom of a bath tub, and a support seat for the user; the support structure comprising a base section which rests on the bottom of the bath tub for support forwardly of the centre of gravity of a user when supported on the seat, and an upstanding rear section from which the seat is supported in a cantilevered manner and which embodies support means adapted to support vertical loading of the rear section at or above the top rim surface of the bath tub and rearwardly of said centre of gravity.

Preferably the rear section of the support structure is rearwardly inclined, being angled generally to suit the rear inclined end of a bath tub, with the seat supported in a generally horizontal plane. The seat may be supported at a fixed height, although it is preferably adjustable in height. Thus it may be selectively movable between a plurality of discrete preset height positions on said rear section, although in preferred bath lift embodiments it is infinitely adjustable in height over an operative height range.To this end the rear section of the support structure may embody or support a lifting mechanism for the seat, and the rear section may comprise a central column housing a lifting screw mechanism for the cantilevered seat; Alternatively this section may comprise a column structure of spaced and preferably parallel members, which support or one of which houses the lifting mechanism for the seat.

Said support means of the rear section of the support structure may comprise a transverse arm which engages the rim surface of the bath tub on both sides of the latter.

This arm may have suckers to engage the rim surface and is preferably adjustable to suit different widths and/or depths of bath tub.

The base section of the support structure is preferably U-shaped in plan form and the two arms of the U may have support suckers which engage the bottom of the bath tub forwardly of the centre of the seat and preferably adjacent the front of the latter. It will be appreciated that with the vertical support provided by said support means of the rear section these front suckers are the only support which need be provided for the base section of the support structure, although to reduce bending stresses in the support structure and allow a lighter construction thereof a rear support pad, below the rear section, may be employed.

Preferably the seat has a cantilever support frame which fits within the U-shape of said base section or outside the side limbs of that section. This enables the seat to be lowered on to the base section and the seat may be dished so that it can be lowered to rest on the bottom of the bath tub. This is in marked contrast to prior constructions of bath lift which sit within a bath tub and with w.hich the lifting means below the seat occupies a considerable wasted space when the seat is fully lowered.

Although it is preferred that said support means of the rear section of the support structure should engage the rim of the bath tub it will be appreciated that other forms of support at or above rim level could be employed. Thus said rear section may be designed to engage a complementary support or supports fixed to the wall of the bathroom, for example.

For ease of transport and storage when not in use a bath lift constructed in accordance with the invention is conveniently collapsible.

Said base and rear sections of the support structure may be hinged one to the other so that the base section folds up against the back of the rear section, with the seat hinged so that it folds up against the front of the rear section.

According to another aspect of the-inven tidn a bathing device for use with a bath tub comprises a seat and a support structure for the seat which in use rests in the bath tub, the support structure being adapted to be supported on the base of the tub forwardly of the centre of gravity of a user when supported on the seat, and supported rearwardly of said centre of gravity at or above the level of the rim of the bath tub.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate diagrammatically, by way of example, a preferred bath lift embodiment of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown operatively positioned resting within a bath tub which is partially illustrated in ghost outline; and Figure 2 is a detail sectional view of lifting mechanism of the illustrated bath lift.

The bath lift illustrated comprises a support structure 1, having a base section 2 and an upstanding rear section 3; and a seat 4.

The base section 2 is U-shaped in plan view and is formed of steel tubing. The side limbs 2a of the U shape have support suckers 5 at their front ends which rest on the bottom of the -bath tub 6 adjacent the front of the seat 4 when the latter is fully lowered, and thus forwardly of the centre of gravity of a user supported on the seat 4. The rear section 3 comprises a central and rearwardly inclined tubular steel column 7 secured centrally to the base section 2. Support means embodied in the rear section 3 comprise a support arm 8 which extends laterally of the column 7 closely behind the latter, and the arm 8 has end suckers 9 which rest on the rim 10 of the bath tub 6 to support vertical loading of the rear section 1 from which the seat 4 is cantilevered.Thus, and as can be seen from Fig. 1, the arm 8 provides vertical support at the level of the rim 10 of the bath tub and rearwardly of said centre of gravity of a seated user.

The arm 8 is secured to the column 7 by an attachment sleeve 11 which is adjustable in position along the column 7 to suit the depth of the bath tub 6 with which the bath lift is to be used, and the arm 8 itself is telescopically adjustable to suit the width of the bath tub.

To this end it comprises a central tubular section 12 telescopically engaged by adjustable end sections 13 to which the suckers 9 are attached. Each of the end sections has a row of detent bores 14 selectively engageable by a spring-loaded detent pin mounted on the central section 12 for the required length adjustment of the arm 8.

The seat 4 comprises a U-shaped tubular steel frame 15 supporting a dished plastics seat moulding 16, and this frame has a central sleeve 17 which is slidable along the column 7. As shown in Fig. 2, a sleeve bearing 18 of low friction plastics material is housed within the frame sleeve 17 at the lower end of the latter.

Lowering and raising movement of the cantilevered seat 4 is effected by a lifting mechanism comprising a lifting screw 19 housed lingitudinally within the column 7 and driven by a low-voltage reversible electric motor 20 through a right-angle drive gearbox 21 attached to the top of the column 7. A plastics nut 22 engaging the screw 19 is housed within the upper end of a cylindrical guide tube 23 disposed coaxially, with radial clearance, within the circular-section column 7 which has a rear longitudinal slot 24 through which a rigid drive connection 25 between the tube 23 and the seat frame sleeve 17 extends. This connection 25 is a metal key welded to and between the tube 23 and the sleeve 17 at the upper end of the latter. A sleeve bearing 26 of low friction plastics material is fitted to and surrounds the tube 23 at the upper end of the latter. Thus the bearing load on the column 7 during lowering and raising movement of the seat 4 is sustained jointly, at the front side of the column 7, by upper contact of the bearing 26 with the internal surface of the column 7 and lower contact of the bearing 18 with the external surface of the column 7. The two points of bearing contact with the column 7 are thus widely spaced vertically and well suited to provide a bearing moment which sustains the cantilever loading of the seat 4 when in use.

It will be appreciated that the described construction is readily portable and easily lifted out of the bath, and stored out of the way, when not required; also, that the upper support means for the support structure are readily adjustable to suit different bath tubs wilst providing vertical support allowing the seat 4 to be supported in cantilever by the rear support section 1. The rearwardly-inclined column 7 is angled generally to suit the rear inclined end of the bath tub 6, and the marked advantage is provided that the seat moulding 16 can be lowered down on to the bottom of the bath tub. This is achieved by the dished form of the moulding 16 coupled with the fact that the side limbs 1 5a of the seat frame 15 are wider than the base support section 2 and thus, when the seat is lowered, they extend alongside and outside the side limbs 2a of the base section 2.

Electrical control means (not shown) are provided which enable a disabled user to control the reversible electric motor 20 and thus use the bath lift unaided when this is practicable. These control means and the motor are energized by a rechargeable battery or by a low-voltage mains transformer/rectifier unit.

Claims

1. A bathing device comprising a support structure which in use rests on the bottom of a bath tub, and a support seat for the user; the support structure comprising a base section which rests on the bottom of the bath tub for support forwardly of the centre of gravity of a user when supported on the seat, and an upstanding rear section from which the seat is supported in a cantilevered manner and which embodies support means adapted to support vertical loading of the rear section at or above the top rim surface of the bath tub and rearwardly of said centre of gravity.

2. A bathing device according to claim 1, wherein said rear section of the support structure is rearwardly inclined, being angled generally to suit the rear end of a typical bath tub, with the seat supported in a generally horizontal plane.

3. A bathing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the seat is supported at a fixed height.

4. A bathing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the seat is adjustable in height.

5. A bathing device according to claim 4, wherein the seat is selectively movable between a plurality of discrete preset height positions on said rear section of the support structure.

6. A bathing device according to claim 4, wherein the seat is variable in height over an operative height range.

7. A bathing device according to claim 6, wherein said rear section of the support structure embodies or supports a lifting mechanism for the seat.

8. A bathing device according to claim 7, wherein said rear section comprises a central column housing a lifting screw mechanism for the cantilevered seat.

9. A bathing device according to claim 7, wherein said rear section comprises a column structure of spaced and preferably parallel members, which support or one of which houses the lifting mechanism for the seat.

10. A bathing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said support means of the rear section of the support structure comprise a transverse arm which engages the rim surface of the bath tub on both sides of the latter.

11. A bathing device according to claim 10, wherein said arms has suckers to engage the rim surface.

12. A bathing device according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein said arm is adjustable to suit different widths and/or depths of bath tub.

13. A bathing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said base section of the support structure is U-shaped in plan view.

14. A bathing device according to claim 13, wherein the two arms of the U-shape of the base section have support suckers which engage the bottom of the bath tub forwardly of the centre of the seat.

15. A bathing device according to claim 14, wherein said support suckers also engage the bottom of the bath tub adjacent the front of the seat when viewed from above.

16. A bathing device- according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the seat is of variable height and has a cantilever support frame which, when the seat is in its lowermost position, fits within the U-shape of said base section or outside the side limbs of that section.

17. A bathing device according to claim 16, wherein the seat is dished so that it can be lowered to rest on the bottom of the bath tub.

18. A bathing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said support means of the rear section of the support structure are adapted to engage a complementary support or supports fixed to the wall of the bathroom.

18. A bathing device according to any one of the claims, wherein the device is collapsible and said base and rear sections of the support structure are hinged one to the other so that the base section folds up against the back of the rear section, with the seat being hinged so that it folds up against the front of the rear section.

19. A bathing device for use with a bath tub and which comprises a seat and a support structure for the seat which is use rests in the bath tub, the support structure being adapted to be supported on the base of the tub forwardly of the centre of gravity of a user when supported on the seat, and supported rearwardly of said centre of gravity at or above the level of the rim of the bath tub.

20. A bathing device which is constructed and arranged substantially as herein particularly described with reference to the accom panying drawings.