GB2315733A

GB2315733A - Bath lift

Info

Publication number: GB2315733A
Application number: GB9715222A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William David Steadman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-07-29
Filing date: 1997-07-19
Publication date: 1998-02-11
Also published as: GB9715222D0

Abstract

A bath lift 10 comprises a seat 12 slidable upon a vertical track 14 so that the seat and a person upon the seat can move from a lowered position within the bath to a raised position above the bath or vice versa. The seat is connected by an elongate flexible means to a driving means enabling the seat to be raised and lowered, such movement being controlled by the person on the seat. The driving means may comprise a jack operable by the person on the seat with the movement of the jack being multiplied by passing a cable round an appropriate pulley arrangement. Alternatively, the driving means may comprise an electric motor winding the cable in or out as appropriate. Other preferred features include a spring means to urge the seat to its raised position, a safety device to prevent movement of the seat upon failure of the elongate flexible means and the ability to pivot the lift. Preferably the track 14 is fixed, possibly pivotally, to a wall above the bath.

Description

Bath Lift This invention concerns a bath lift for lifting persons into and out of a bath.

A large number of people encounter difficulties getting into and especially out of baths. A number of bath lifts are currently available. Many of these have proved somewhat unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, such as: occupying too much space; being too difficult to operate, and particularly by a user; being not sufficiently stable; or being too expensive.

According to the present invention there is provided a bath lift, the lift comprising a seat means, a track relative to which the seat is slidably movable, the track being locatable in a substantially vertical orientation such that the seat can be moved from within a bath to thereabove whereby to lift a person out of a bath, and means for moving the seat relative to the trade The moving means may be operable by a person on the seat means.

The moving means may comprise a flexible elongate means, one end of which is connected to the seat means and the other end to power means for moving the elongate means relative to the track The power means may comprise means defining a path for the elongate means, and means for shortening or extending the path. The power means may comprise means for moving part of the path away from or towards a fixed end of the elongate means. The moving means is preferably arranged such that a number of passes of the elongate means are moved relative to the fixed end to multiply the relative movement of the seat means.

The elongate means may comprise a band of material.

The power means may comprise a jack. A handle arrangement may be provided to permit the jack to be pumped up by a person on the seat or otherwise. Release means for the jack may be provided operable by a person on the seat means or otherwise.

The power means may include spring means arranged to urge the path defining means away from the fixed end. The spring means may comprise a gas spring.

Alternatively, the jack may be electrically operated, or the power means may comprise a driven roller arrangement for winding the elongate means in or out.

Means may be provided for automatically preventing movement of the seat means upon breakage or significant slacking of the elongate means. The seat means may be mounted to an elongate member slidable along the track.

The automatic movement preventer preferably comprises a sprung member arranged to be urged away from the elongate member by the elongate means when taut, but engageable with the elongate member otherwise.

A plurality of holes may be provided in the elongate member into which the movement preventer is engageable, and said movement preventer may comprise a sprung pin, which pin is preferably connected to a member such as a roller over which the elongate member is movable.

The track may be variable in length and may comprise telescopic components. The track may include a member engageable against the top of a bath.

The seat means may be pivotal between an in use substantially horizontal alignment, and an out of use generally vertical alignment.

The seat means may be pivotally mounted on the moving means such that the seat means will not pivot downwardly beyond a predetermined position, but may pivot upwardly for instance when coming into contact with the end or side of a bath. Roller or other similar means may be provided on the underside of the seat means to ease movement of the seat means over the end or side of a bath. A support member may be provided on the seat means at an appropriate height to serve as an ann or back support. The support member may be pivotally mounted on the seat means so as to be pivotal between an in use substantially horizontal alignment, and an out of use generally vertical alignment.

The lift is preferably mountable to a wail or other fixture. The lift may be arranged such that the track lies against or adjacent to the wall or fixture Alternatively, the track may be movable away from the wall or fixture, and/or pivotal relative thereto.

In one embodiment the lift may be mountable to a wall or fixture so as to be pivotal about a substantially horizontal axis adjacent the top end in use of the lift, relative to the wall or fixture. Gleans may be provided to restrict the extent of pivotal movement, and the restriction means may permit the lift to be held in a required inclined position.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bath lift according to the invention in an out of use condition; Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but with the lift being moved to an in use condition; Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1 with the lift in use; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic side view of part of the lift of Fig. 1; Fig. S is a perspective view of part of the lift shown in Fig. 4; Figs. 6 and 7 are diagrammatic perspective views of part of the lift of Fig.

1; Fig. 8 is a side view of part of the lift of Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a further side view of part of the lift of Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic partially exploded view of the lift of Fig. 1; Figs. 11 and 12 are cross-sectional views respectively on the lines X-X and Y-Y in Fig. 11; Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a further bath lift according to the invention; Fig. 14 is an alternative part for a bath lift according to the invention; Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic side view of a still further bath lift according to the invention; and Fig. 16 is a similar view to Fig. 6 of a modified bath lift according to the invention.

Figures I to 12 show a bath lift 10 comprising a seating means 12 movable relative to a track 14 by virtue of moving means 16. The track 14 comprises first and second channel section members 18,20 arranged to selectively partially telescope together. The first member 18 is uppermost and is fixed to a frame 22 of the moving means 16 to extend downwardly therefrom.

The member 20 is mounted to the member 18 by a bolt 24 engageable through a slot 26 in the member 20 such that their relative positions can be varied.

Each of the members 18,20 is of channel section with an opening facing to the right as shown in Fig. 10. A bracket 28 of inverted Lss section is mounted on the rear of the member 20 at the lower end thereof facing away from the seating means 12.

The seating means 12 comprises a square section elongate member 30 slidably located in the members 18, 20 to be extendable therefrom from either end. Nylon spacer members 32 are provided along the length of the member 30 to provide free sliding thereof within the members 18,20. A rectangular block 34 is provided on the lower end of the member 30 facing outwardly as shown in Fig. 10. A seat 36 is mounted to the block 34 by an axle (not shown) extending through the block 34 and seat 36. The block 34 is accepted within an appropriate shape recess 38 in the seat 36. A wing nut 40 is provided on the outer facing edge of the recess 38 and is engageable with the block 34 to lock the seat 36 in position. Optionally an extra pivotal flap 42 may be provided along the free edge of the seat 36. A projecting member 44 is provided on a part of the member 30 which extends through the open side of the members 18,20. The member 44 mounts a roller 46 around which the free end of a flexible band 48 is fixed in a loop.

As noted previously the moving means 16 comprises a frame 22. The frame 22 mounts a jack 50. The pumping member 32 of the jack 50 is urged upwardly by a spring 54 engageable with a part of the frame 22. The member 52 connects with a bracket 36 which is adjustably mountable on a downwardly extending bar 58. The bar 58 extends below the frame 22 and mounts by a pair of nylon bushes 60, a split end 62 of a handle bar 64. The handle bar 64 is pivotally mounted at the split end 62 to a downwardly extending part 66 of the frame 22. The opposite end of the bar 64 is bent down to a handle portion 68.

The pivotal release valve 70 of the jack 50 mounts an arm 72 which is connected by a spring 74 to the frame 22 to urge the valve to a dosed position.

A loop 76 on the arm 72 mounts the end of a wire 78. The wire 78 extends over a grooved roller 80 and hangs freely with a handle 82 on its free end.

The upper end of the jack 50 mounts a bracket assembly 84. The assembly 84 comprises a central block 86 spacing apart a pair of plates 88.

Extending between the respective ends of the plates 88 and spaced from the block 86 are a pair of rollers 90,92. Circular section projections 94 coanal with the rollers 90,92, extend on both sides of the plates 88 externally thereof.

Parallel guides 96 on the frame 22 slidingly accept the projections 94 to ensure that the jack 30 rises vertically.

The frame 22 also mounts a plurality of other rollers as follows to define a path for the band 48. The other free end of the band 48 is mounted around a roller 98 fixed to the frame 22 towards the upper right hand side thereof as shown in Fig. 4. From the roller 98 the band 48 extends over the roller 92 and back down the right hand side of the jack 50, being guided by a further roller 100 located a little below and to the left of the roller 98. The band 48 extends to a further roller 102 towards the bottom right hand corner of the frame 22.

The band extends around the roller 102 to extend horizontally beneath the jack 50 to a further roller 104 beneath the left hand edge of the jack 50. The band 48 extends guided to the left by a further pair of rollers 106 to pass around the roller 90. The band 48 extends downwardly guided by further rollers 108 to pass through an emergency stop device 110. The band 48 continues downwardly past a guiding roller 111 to the roller 46.

The stop device 110 comprises a frame 112 mounted to the underside of the frame 22. The frame 112 comprises two side members 114 and one end member 116. A square section sub-frame 118 is slidably mounted within the frame 112 and mounts a roller 120 over the left hand side of which as shown in Fig. 4 the band 48 passes. A compressed spring 122 is provided between the sub-frame 118 and end member 116. A pin 124 is provided on the opposite side of the sub-frame 118 to the spring 122. In normal usage the band 48 urges the sub-frame 118 against the spring 122. In the event of the band 48 breaking or becoming very slack, the sub-frame 118 would be urged outwardly by the spring 122 such that the pin 124 would engage in one of a number of recesses or openings 126 provided along the length of the member 30.

In use, the frame 22 is mounted to a wall 128 above a bath 130 as shown for instance in Fig. 1. In general usage a cover 132 is provided on the frame 22 and over the various components mounted thereon. The relative positioning of the members 18,20 is adjusted such that the bracket 28 rests on the side of the bath 130. The members 18,20 are locked together by the bolt 24. If the seat 36 is raised as shown in Fig. 1, the wing nut 40 is loosened and the seat lowered to a position as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 11. The wing nut 40 is then tightened to maintain the seat 36 in this position. If the flap 42 is provided this will rest on the side of the bath 130. Pulling the handle 82 will release the jack 50 causing the seat 36 to move downwardly by virtue of the band 48 being pulled down thereby as the jack 50 relaxes. As the band 48 moves downwardly the member 30 slides down the track 14. The jack 50 and also the relatively convoluted route followed by the band 48 ensures that the seat only moves down slowly.

To raise the seat 36 to permit a person to get out of the bath 130, the jack 30 is pumped by pulling the handle portion 68 repeatedly downwardly thereby pumping the jack SO by virtue of the bar 64 pumping the member 52.

It is to be realised that each movement upwardly of the jack 50 is multiplied by four as there are four passes of the band 48 connected to the assembly 84 as shown in Fig. 4. This provides for a relatively rapid rise whilst not requiring a significant headroom for the jack 50.

Fig. 13 shows a modified bath lift 134. The only difference with the lift 134 is that the moving means 16 is not mounted directly on the wall 128 but is mounted thereto by a frame 136 comprising a bracket 138 mounted to the wall and two pairs of cantilevered arms 140 extending therefrom. With the lift 134 a person can be moved from adjacent the side of the bath 130 to thereover by pivotal movement of the arms 140. The handle 68 is on the opposite side to the lift 10 so as not to obstruct a user.

Fig. 14 shows an alternative seating means 142 usable with either of the above lifts 10,13or. The seating means 142 comprises a seat 144 made for example of plastics material. The seat 144 comprises a back part 146 and a base part 148 pivotally mounted thereto so that the part 148 can be folded upwardly against the part 146. An arm rest 150 is pivotally mounted part way along the length of the part 146 such that it can be raised upwardly to an out of use position.

A mounting member 152 is provided on the rear of the part 146. The member 152 comprises a sleeve 154 at the upper end of the part 146 to permit pivotal mounting of the seat 144. The member 152 extends to the lower end of the part 146, and mounts adjacent thereto a pair of roller assemblies 1S6.

In use, as the seat 144 can be pivotally mounted, if the seat 144 contacts the side or end of a bath it can pivot forwards with the assemblies 136 running over the bath side or end. This means a lift with the seat 144 can be used with a wide range of baths, and is particularly suited for lowering a person into the end of a bath.

Fig. 15 shows a bath lift 160 incorporating the seating means 142 (only parrly shown). The lift 160 is generally similar to the lift 10 except as follows.

A hinged mounting bracket 162 is provided on the top of the lift 160, and is mountable to the wall 164 to permit the lift 160 to pivot outwardly. A bar 166 is mounted on the wall 164 spaced below the bracket 162, and extending substantially horizontally outwardly from the wall 164. An elongate slot 168 is provided along a substantial length of the bar 166. A projection (not shown) is provided extending from the side of the lift 160 through the slot 168. A locking knob 170 threadably engages on the free end of the projection. This arrangement permits the lift 160 to be pivotted outwardly to a required position, for instance as shown in Fig. 15, and held in this position by the locking knob 170 holding the bar 166 against the lift 160. Penis enables the lift 160 to be used with a bath 172 with relatively gently sloping sides, and/or which is spaced somewhat from the wall 164.

Fig. 16 shows a part of a modified bath lift 180. With the lift 180 a gas spring 182 is provided in parallel with the jack 50. The gas spring 182 extends between a location 184 on the frame 22 and an extension 186 on the bracket assembly 84. The gas spring 182 comprises a dosed gas filled cylinder 188 with a piston therein having a piston rod 190 extending upwardly from the cylinder 188. The spring 182 is arranged that in a relaxed position the rod 190 extends substantially fully therefrom, but the rod 190 can be pushed into the cylinder against the resistive force exerted by compression of the gas.

The provision of the gas spring 182 means a much reduced force is required to raise the lift 180, which is particularly useful for relatively infirm users. The extra force required to lower the lift 180 will usually be provided by virtue of the weight of a user. Other types of springs could be used, and/or provided at different locations in the lift.

There are thus described bath lifts which have considerable advantages over existing arrangements. As noted above the arrangement of the flexible band means that the lifts do not require a large headroom to provide a significant height of lift. The automatic stop device means that the safety of the apparatus is not dependent solely on the belt. The apparatus is of relatively straightforward construction and can thus be robustly and inexpensively manufactured, and should provide reliable low maintenance operation Various other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the route of the band could be otherwise configured. A different track configuration could be provide The jack could be electrically controlled perhaps with a waterproof hand control for the user.

The lift may be alternatively configured if it is always to be operated by a person other than the bather. A lift other than a jack could be used, and an electric motor which rolls in or dispenses the flexible band may be suitable Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

aa 1m S:

1. A bath lift, the lift comprising a seat means, a track relative to which the seat is slidably movable, the track being locatable in a substantially vertical orientation such that the seat can be moved from within a bath to thereabove whereby to lift a person out of a bath, and means for moving the seat relative to the track.

2. A bath lift according to daim 1, in which the moving means is operable by a person on the seat means.

3. A bath lift according to claims 1 or 2, in which the moving means comprises a flexible elongate means, one end of which is connected to the seat means and the other end to power means for moving the elongate means relative to the track.

4. A bath lift according to claim 3, in which the power means comprises means defining a path for the elongate means, and means for shortening or extending the path.

5. A bath lift according to claim 4, in which the power means comprises means for moving part of the path away from or towards a fixed end of the elongate means.

6. A bath lift according to claim 5, in which the moving means is arranged such that a number of passes of the elongate means are moved relative to the fixed end to multiply the relative movement of the seat means.

7. A bath lift according to any of claims 3 to 6, in which the elongate means comprises a band of material.

8. A bath lift according to any of the preceding claims, in which the power means comprises a jack.

9. A bath lift according to claim 8, in which a handle arrangement is provided to permit the jack to be pumped up by a person on the seat means or otherwise.

10. A bath lift according to claims 8 or 9, in which release means for the jack are provided operable by a person on the seat means or otherwise.

11. A bath lift according to claim 8, in which the jack is electrically operated.

12. A bath lift according to claim 4 or any of claims 5 to 11 when dependent on claim 4, in which the power means includes spring means arranged to urge the path defining means away from said fixed end.

13. A bath lift according to claim 12, in which the spring means comprises a gas spring.

14. A bath lift according to any of claims 3 to 7, in which the power means comprises a driven roller arrangement for winding the elongate means in or out.

15. A bath lift according to any of claims 3 to 14, in which means are provided for automatically preventing movement of the seat means upon breakage or significant slacking of the elongate means.

16. A bath lift according to claim 15, in which the automatic movement preventer comprises a sprung member arranged to be urged away from the elongate member by the elongate means when taut, but engageable with the elongate member otherwise.

17. A bath lift according to any of the preceding claims, in which the seat means is mounted to an elongate member slidable along the track.

18. A bath lift according to claim 17 when dependent on claims 15 or 16, in which a plurality of holes are provided in the elongate member into which the movement preventer is engageable.

19. A bath lift according to claim 18, in which the movement preventer comprises a sprung pin.

20. A bath lift according to claim 19, in which the sprung pin is connected to a member such as a roller over which the elongate member is movable.

21. A bath lift according to any of the preceding daims, in which the track is variable in length.

22. A bath lift according to claim 21, in which the track comprises telescopic components.

23. A bath lift according to any of the preceding claims, in which the track includes a member engageable against the top of a bath.

24. A bath lift according to any of the preceding daims, in which the seat means is pivotal between an in use substantially horizontal alignment, and an out of use generally vertical alignment

25. A bath lift according to any of the preceding claims, in which the seat means is pivotally mounted on the moving means such that the seat means will not pivot downwardly beyond a predetermined position, but may pivot upwardly for instance when coming into contact with the end or side of a bath.

26. A bath lift according to daim 25, in which roller or other similar means are provided on the underside of the seat means to ease movement of the seat means over the end or side of a bath.

27. A bath lift according to any of the preceding claims, in which a support member is provided on the seat means at an appropriate height to serve as an arm or back support.

28. A bath lift according to claim 27, in which the support member is pivotally mounted on the seat means so as to be pivotal between an in use substantially horizontal alignment, and an out of use generally vertical alignment.

29. A bath lift according to any of the preceding claims, in which the lift is mountable to a wall or other fixture.

30. A bath lift according to claim 29, in which the lift is arranged such that the track lies against or adjacent to the wall or fixture.

31. A bath lift according to claim 29, in which the track is movable away from the wall or fixture, and/or pivotal relative thereto.

32. A bath lift according to claim 29, in which the lift is mountable to a wall or fixture so as to be pivotal about a substantially horizontal axis adjacent the top end in use of the lift, relative to the wall or fixture.

33. A bath lift according to claim 32, in which means is provided to restrict the extent of pivotal movement.

34. A bath lift according to claim 33, in which the restriction means permits the lift to be held in a required inclined position.

35. A bath lift substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs.

1-12 of the drawings.

36. A bath lift substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig.

13 of the drawings.

37. A bath lift substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig.

14 of the drawings.

38. A bath lift substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig.

15 of the drawings.

39. A bath lift substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig.

16 of the drawings.

40. Any novel subject matter or combination induding novel subject matter disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding daims.