GB2352393A

GB2352393A - Bath having a door

Info

Publication number: GB2352393A
Application number: GB0012739A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Cooper Basnett; Ronald Brammer
Original assignee: Aquarius Bathrooms Ltd
Current assignee: Aquarius Bathrooms Ltd
Priority date: 1999-06-08
Filing date: 2000-05-26
Publication date: 2001-01-31
Also published as: GB0012739D0

Abstract

A bath having a door in a co-operating opening in one side thereof wherein the door opens from a closed position by rising substantially in the plane of the one side to an intermediate position followed by pivoting from the intermediate position out of the plane of the one side to an open position.

Description

2352393 BATH This invention relates to baths, and in particular to baths

for use by aged, infirm and/or disabled people.

There are several types of bath designed for such use. One such type has a seat which is pivotal between an 'in-use' position with a sifting person facing along the bath with their legs inside the bath, and an access position in which a person can sit on the seat to face laterally of the bath with their legs outside the bath. One problem with such an arrangement is that it can be difficult for persons with certain disabilities to lift their legs over the edge of the bath as the seat is swivelled between the access and in-use positions. To overcome this problem it is known to provide a bath with a door which can be opened whilst the bath is empty of water to enable the person to'walk-in' or out of the bath. With the person standing or sifting in the bath, the door is closed and the bath then filled with water. After bathing and emptying the bath of water, the door is opened and the person walks out of the bath. With doors that open outwardly, sealing of the door is difficult since the water pressure tends to open the door. To avoid this problem, some baths are provided with an inwardly opening door. This makes the closing of the door difficult, particularly in the case of the known relatively short 'walk-in' baths, and even more particularly in the case of walk-in baths that are provided with a seat formation at one end, since the person must stand or sit out of the 'swept-area' of the closing door. Even with inwardly opening doors, sealing of the door is difficult, and in consequence complicated and unsightly lever mechanisms or linkages have been used to ensure the required sealing. Such lever mechanisms and linkages are difficult to operate and some people have disabilities that preclude, or insufficient strength for, operation of such door closing arrangements. The known 'walk-in' baths are relatively wide, which makes transporting such baths up standard sized stairways and through standard doorways difficult and sometimes impossible, leading to the removal of windows in some cases.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bath of the 'walkin' type which overcomes as much as possible, the above mentioned disadvantages of the known baths of this type.

The invention provides a bath having a door in a co-operating opening in one side thereof, the door opening from a closed position by rising substantially in the plane of the one side to an intermediate position followed by pivoting from the intermediate position out of the plane of the one side to an open position.

2 Preferably the door pivots from the intermediate position to the open position inwardly of the bath. The door and the opening may have inclined edges whereby the door and the opening are tapered in width downwardly. The door may have a seal on the bottom thereof and on the inclined edges. The bottom and the inclined edges of the door may have a groove formed to extend therealong in which groove a channel insert is received, and the seal may be received in the channel insert. The seal may be compressible, and may comprise a hollow bead and an attachment formation co-operating with the channel insert to be received therein. A projection may be formed at the upper end of each edge of the door, and a corresponding recess may be formed at the upper end of each edge of the opening. The projections and the recesses may be substantially 50 mm in height.

The bath may comprise an actuator operable to open the door, and the actuator may comprise a piston in a cylinder. The door may be mounted on a piston rod on which the piston is provided, and the piston rod may be received in one of the projections on the door. The piston may be moved by a fluid, and the fluid may be a gas or a liquid. In the former case, the bath may comprise a replaceable pressure gas cylinder. In the latter case, preferably the liquid is water. The fluid may be at a pressure of between 2 bar and 5 bar. The bath may comprise a pressure controller which may be an intensifier to increase the pressure of the fluid. A 2- way valve may be provided to direct the fluid to either side of the piston, and the valve may be mounted on the top surface of the bath, preferably adjacent the opening. The piston may have a spigot extending laterally thereof, and the spigot may be received in a cam slot provided in the cylinder. The cam slot may have an axially extending part and a helical part. The axially extending part may be between 20 mm and 80 mm in length, preferably substantially 50 mm, and the helical part may rise between 20 mm and 80 mm,, preferably between 50 mm and 70 mm, in an angular displacement of between 500 and 900, preferably substantially 700. The stroke of the piston may be such that the piston is at least 5 mm from the bottom end of the stroke when the seal on the bottom of the door is compressed between the door and the sill of the opening. The cylinder may be of phosphor bronze and the piston and piston rod may be of stainless steel.

The bath may be between 1650 mm and 1700 mm in length, between 700 mm and 800 mm in width, and between 650 mm and 700 mm in height, preferably substantially 1685 mm x 750 mm x 670 mm. Preferably the door and the opening are disposed substantially centrally of the one side. The bath may comprise a seat, and the seat may be removable from the bath. The bath may be formed with internal shoulders in the one side and the side opposed thereto, and the seat may be adapted to be supported by the shoulders. There may be shoulders provided at each end of the bath. The seat may have a stepped formation whereby the seat height may 3 be altered by inverting the seat on the shoulders. The step formation may have a height of substantially 50 mm whereby the seat height may be altered by substantially 100 mm by such inversion.

The door may be provided with a locking device, which may comprise a bolt operable when the door is in the closed position. The bolt may be operated by a fluid, which may be a gas or water. The valve may be operable to direct fluid to the bolt when the door is in the closed position.

The bath may be moulded of a plastics material, which may be GRP, acrylic material or GRP faced with acrylic material. The bath may have taps mounted thereon, and the taps may be mounted on the top of the bath substantially centrally of the side opposed to the one side and the door. The bath may also have a shower unit attached thereto. The bath may be provided with a pop-up waste water outlet, which may have a diameter of at least 50 mm, preferably substantially 62 mm. The sill may be between 100 mm and 200 mm from the bottom of the bath, preferably substantially 150 mm. At least one drainage hole may be provided in the bottom edge or sill of the opening.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bath with the door in the closed position, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bath of Fig. 1 with the door in the open position, Fig. 3 is a scrap section showing the seat in its alternative positions, Fig. 4 is a scrap section showing the seal arrangement, and Figs 5 and 6 are front views of alternative piston and cylinder arrangements.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a bath 10 of rectangular shape which is moulded of a plastics material such as GRP, acrylic material or GRP faced with acrylic material. The bath 10 is preferably approximately 1685 mm x 750 mm x 670 mm. This is the same plan area as, but slightly taller than a standard conventional bath so that it can readily replace such a bath without excessive disturbance of the fixtures and fiftings adjacent the existing bath. The bath 10 will cover the wall previously covered by the bottom row of tiles above a standard bath, which tend to be damaged when a bath is removed. This width of bath is also suitable for a standard shower screen.

In the centre of one side 11 of the bath 10 is a door 12. Taps 13 are mounted on the top 14 of the bath 10 centrally at the side 15 opposed to the door 12, and a shower unit 16 is also 4 located centrally of the side 15. Within and at each end of the bath 10, on the sides 11, 15, are shoulders 17 which serve as arm rests for a person sitting in the bath 10 in conventional manner. Since there are shoulders 17 at each end of the bath 10, the person can face in either direction as desired. In addition, the shoulders 17 also provide supports for a seat 18 for use primarily by aged, infirm or disabled people who do not wish to lower themselves further into the bath 10. The seat 18 has a 50 mm stepped formation 19 so that inverting the seat 18 alters the height of the stepped formation 19 between higher and lower positions, see Fig. 3, so that a 100 mm variation in the seat height can be chosen as preferred by the person using the bath 10. Again the seat 18 can be placed at either end of the bath 10 so that the person can face in the preferred direction.

In Fig. 2 the door 12 is shown in the open position. The door 12 and a cooperating opening 20 in the one side 11 of the bath 10 have inclined edges whereby the door 12 and the opening 20 are tapered in width downwardly. The door 12 has a seal 21 on the bottom and on the inclined edges. The bottom and the inclined edges of the door 12 are grooved, and in the groove 22 is received a channel insert 23, and the seal 21 is received in the channel insert 23, as shown in detail in Fig. 4. The seal 21 is compressible, comprising a hollow bead 24 and a T-shaped attachment formation 44 co-operating with the channel insert 23 to be received therein. This arrangement enables the seal 21 to be withdrawn and replaced if damaged or worn.. Alternatively, since the seal 21 is on the door 12 and not the opening 20, if the seal 21 is very badly damaged, the door 12 may be replaced. A projection 25 is formed at the upper end of each edge of the door 12, and a corresponding recess 26 is formed at the upper end of each edge of the opening 20. The projections 25 and the recesses 26 are substantially 50 mm in height. The door 12 is opened by means of an actuator 2 ' 7 which is shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. The actuator 27 comprises a cylinder 28 of phosphor bronze in which a stainless steel piston 29 on a stainless steel piston rod 30 is movable in the case of the Fig. 5 embodiment by supplying water to one side of the piston 29 from a mains or other suitable supply 31 via a 2way valve 32. The valve 32 is controlled by a control lever 33 mounted on the top of the bath 10 adjacent the opening 20. The water pressure is between 2 bar and 5 bar, and if mains pressure is insufficient, a pressure controller in the form of a pressure intensifier 34 may be provided. Attached to the piston rod 30 is a spigot 35 which is guided in a cam slot 36 in the cylinder 28. The cam slot 36 has an axial part 37 which is approximately 50 mm in length, followed by a helical part 38. When water is directed to the underside of the piston 29, the spigot 35 is constrained by the axial part 37 of the cam groove 36 to provide that the piston rod 30 moves vertically. The piston rod 30 is received in one of the projections 25 formed at the upper part of the door 12 so that the initial movement of the door 12 to an intermediate position is also vertical. Further vertical movement of the piston 29 causes the spigot 35 to travel upwardly in the helical part 38 of the cam slot 36, thereby causing the piston rod 30 and the door 12 to rotate about the axis of the piston rod 30 as they rise. The helical part 38 rises approximately 70 mm in an angular displacement of 700, a movement followed by the door 12 as it proceeds to the open position. This movement ensures that the door 12 clears the taps 13. On the next actuation of the control lever 33, the water is directed to the cylinder 28 above the piston 29 which then descends. The door 12 pivots in a downwardly helical path from the open position to the intermediate position and then moves vertically down to the closed position. This latter movement causes the hollow bead 24 of the seal 21 to be compressed between the bottom and inclined edges of the door 12 and the corresponding bottom and inclined edges of the opening 20. The dimensions of the arrangemen t are such that the piston 29 is at least 5 mm from the bottom end of the stroke when the hollow bead 24 of the seal 21 on the door 12 is compressed to ensure a watertight seal. The Fig. 6 embodiment is identical with the Fig. 5 embodiment except that the power to move the piston 29 is provided by gas from a replaceable cylinder 45. In this case the pressure controller 34 may be a pressure reducing valve if the gas pressure in the cylinder 45 is greater than the desired 5 bar.

To further ensure sealing of the door 12 in the opening 20, the door 12 may be provided with a locking device 39, such as a bolt 40. The bolt 40 is operated by the water from supply 31 or by gas from the cylinder 45, the valve 32 being operable to direct water or gas to the bolt 40 when the door 12 is in the closed position.

The bath 10 is provided with a pop-up waste water outlet 41, see Fig. 3, which has a diameter of at least 50 mm, preferably approximately 62 mrn to allow for rapid emptying of the bath 10 so that the door 12 can be opened as soon as possible. The sill 42 is preferably approximately 150 mm above the bottom of the bath 10 to facilitate easy access to the bath 10 whilst allowing sufficient space underneath the bath 10 for pipework. At least one drainage hole 43 is provided in the sill 42 of the opening 20.

Other embodiments of bath in accordance with the invention will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example hydraulic fluid may be used instead of gas or water to power the cylinder 28, in which case the cylinder 28, piston 29 and piston rod 30 may be of mild steel. Alternatively the actuator 27 may be an electrically powered linear motor operating on 24 v in preference to 240 v.. The seat 18 may be moulded into the bath 10 if preferred. The bath 10 may be supplied with integral pipework to facilitate installation. The Figures illustrate a left hand mounted door 12, but the actuator 27 may be inverted and transposed to the right hand side if preferred.

Claims

6 WHAT WE CLAIM IS

1. A bath having a door in a co-operating opening in one side thereof, the door opening from a closed position by rising substantially in the plane of the one side to an intermediate position followed by pivoting from the intermediate position out of the plane of the one side to an open position.

2. A bath according to claim 1, wherein the door pivots from the intermediate position to the open position inwardly of the bath.

3. A bath according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the door and the opening have inclined edges whereby the door and the opening are tapered in width downwardly.

4. A bath according to claim 3, wherein the door has a seal on the bottom thereof and on the inclined edges.

5. A bath according to claim 4, wherein the bottom and the inclined edges of the door have a groove formed to extend therealong in which groove a channel insert is received.

6. A bath according to claim 5, wherein the seal is received in the channel insert.

7. A bath according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the seal is compressible.

8. A bath according to claim 7, wherein the seal comprises a hollow bead.

9. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a projection is formed at the upper end of each edge of the door.

10. A bath according to claim 9, wherein a corresponding recess is formed at the upper end of each edge of the opening.

11. A bath according to claim 10, wherein the projections and the recesses are substantially 50 mm in height.

12. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising an actuator operable to open the door.

7

13. A bath according to claim 12, wherein the actuator comprises a piston in a cylinder.

14. A bath according to claim 13, wherein the door is mounted on a piston rod on which the piston is provided.

15. A bath according to claim 14 when dependent on claim 9, wherein the piston rod is received in one of the projections on the door.

16. A bath according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the piston is moved by a fluid.

17. A bath according to claim 16, comprising a pressure controller to control the pressure of the fluid.

18. A bath according to claim 17, wherein the fluid is at a pressure of between 2 bar and 5 bar.

19. A bath according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the fluid is a liquid.

20. A bath according to claim 19, wherein the liquid is water.

21. A bath according to claim 20, wherein the cylinder is connected to a mains supply of water.

22. A bath according to claim 21 comprising a pressure, intensifier to increase the pressure of the fluid.

23. A bath according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the fluid is a gas.

24. A bath according to claim 23, comprising a replaceable pressure gas cylinder.

25. A bath according to claim 24, comprising a pressure reducing valve to reduce the pressure of the fluid.

26. A bath according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein a 2-way valve is provided to direct the fluid to either side of the piston.

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27. A bath according to claim 26, wherein the valve is mounted on the top surface of the bath.

28. A bath according to claim 27, wherein the valve is mounted adjacent the opening.

29. A bath according to any one of claims 13 to 28, wherein the piston has a spigot extending laterally thereof.

30. A bath according to claim 29, wherein the spigot is received in a cam slot provided in the cylinder.

31. A bath according to claim 30, wherein the cam slot has an axially extending part and a helical part.

32. A bath according to claim 31, wherein the axially extending part is between 20 mm and 80 mm in length.

33. A bath according to claim 32, wherein the axially extending part is substantially 50 mm in length.

34. A bath according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein the helical part rises between 20 mm and 80 mm, in an angular displacement of between 500 and 90'.

35. A bath according to claim 34, wherein the helical part rises between 50 mm and 70 mm, in an angular displacement of substantially 700.

36. A bath according to any one of claims 13 to 35 when dependent on claim 4, wherein the stroke of the piston is such that the piston is at least 5 mm from the bottom end of the stroke when the seal on the bottom of the door is compressed between the door and the sill of the opening.

37. A bath according to any one of claims 13 to 36, wherein the cylinder is of phosphor bronze.

38. A bath according to claim 37, wherein the piston and piston rod are of stainless steel.

9

39. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 38, wherein the bath is between 1650 mm and 1700 mm in length, between 700 mm and 800 mm in width, and between 650 mm and 700 mm in height.

40. A bath according to claim 39, wherein the bath is substantially 1685 mm x 750 mm x 670 mm.

41. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 40, wherein the door and the opening are disposed substantially centrally of the one side.

42. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 41, comprising a seat.

43. A bath according to claim 42, wherein the seat is removable from the bath.

44. A bath according to claim 43, formed with internal shoulders in the one side and the side opposed thereto.

45. A bath according to claim 44, wherein the seat is adapted to be supported by the shoulders.

46. A bath according to claim 45, wherein shoulders are provided at each end of the bath.

47. A bath according to claim 45 or claim 46, wherein the seat has a stepped formation whereby the seat height may be altered by inverting the seat on the shoulders.

48. A bath according to claim 47, wherein the step formation has a height of substantially 50 mm whereby the seat height may be altered by substantially 100 mm by such inversion.

49. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 48, wherein the door is provided with a locking device.

50. A bath according to claim 49, wherein, the locking device comprises a bolt operable when the door is in the closed position.

51. A bath according to claim 50, wherein the bolt is operated by a fluid.

52. A bath according to claim 51, wherein the fluid is water.

53. A bath according to claim 51, wherein the fluid is gas.

54. A bath according to claim 52 or claim 53 when dependent on claim 26, wherein the valve is operable to direct fluid to the bolt when the door is in the closed position.

55. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 54, moulded of a plastics material.

56. A bath according to claim 55, moulded of GRP.

57. A bath according to claim 55, moulded of acrylic material.

58. A bath according to claim 55, moulded of GRP faced with acrylic material.

59. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 58, having taps mounted thereon.

60. A bath according to claim 59, wherein the taps are mounted on the top of the bath substantially centrally of the side opposed to the one side and the door.

61. A bath according to claim 59 or claim 60, also having a shower unit attached thereto.

62. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 61, having with a pop-up waste water outlet having a diameter of at least 50 mm.

63. A bath according to claim 62, wherein the waste outlet is substantially 62 mm in diameter.

64. A bath according to any one of claims I to 63, wherein a sill of the opening is between 100 mm and 200 mm from the bottom of the bath.

65. A bath according to claim 64, wherein the sill is substantially 150 mm from the bottom of the bath

66. A bath according to claim 64 or claim 65, wherein at least one drainage hole is provided 11

67. A bath substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.