GB2462594A

GB2462594A - A removable divider for a bath tub

Info

Publication number: GB2462594A
Application number: GB0814541A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark John Waterhouse
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-08-11
Filing date: 2008-08-11
Publication date: 2010-02-17
Also published as: GB0814541D0

Abstract

A removable divider for a bath tub comprises a moulded rubber insert shaped to fit the sides and bottom of a bath. Rubber cylindrical pipes B, containing a reinforcing steel wire, run along both edges of side A. Suction cups E are placed along the side of the insert, and hold the edge against the side and base of the bath, so that a watertight seal is formed. A slit C is also formed in the insert, into which a divider D may be inserted.

Description

Design title: Bathtime baby BackQround: The bathtime baby design first came to mind whilst observing my own young children being bathed, the bath would be filled along its full length and to a desired depth yet the child only sat in the front half of the bath and so half of the water went to waste, this not only created unnecessary water waste but also energy waste as the water is heated before getting into the bath. By creating a device which can divide a standard bathtub so that it can be partitioned at a specified point along its length this waste can be substantially reduced, with this in mind I began to design the bathtime baby.

Statement of Invention:

The bathtime baby is designed to overcome the waste element described above by creating a temporary water tight partition across the width of the bath thus restricting the area of a bath which can be filled whilst not affecting the depth of water required. When finished with the bathtime baby is simply removed from the bathtub allowing for the full bath capacity to be used once again. Additional uses could be the ability to divide the bath tub into two with both sides having the ability to hold different liquids, an example would be where one side held water and washing powder and the other held clean water allowing the user to wash and rinse clothing within the same bath tub without the need to empty the soapy water and re-fill with clean rinse water. The only corrosive element of the whole design are two steel wires which would be completely encased within rubber so the bathtime baby would never corrode nor would it have any sharp edges which could be dangerous to people or pets. The bathtime baby could also be shaped to fit a number of different bath design within a given tolerance.

Description:

To allow for a better understanding of the bathtime baby the attached 8 images should be referred to when reading the following description.

All 6 sides of the design plus 1 perspective view and 1 exploded view are shown within the attached drawings.

Drawing_i -Perspective view Drawing_2 -Front view Drawing_3 -Right view Drawing_4 -Back view Drawing_5 -Left view Drawing_6 -Top view Drawing_7 -Bottom view Drawing_8 -Exploded view showing all component parts including enlarged profile (Z) The main body (A) of the design illustrated is formed from a one piece firm moulded rubber insert with a profile shape as illustrated (Z), the main body is pre-shaped to fit both sides and bottom of a bath, on both edges of the main body (A) there is a rubber cylindrical pipe (B) which runs the full length of the main body (A), these cylindrical pipes (B) are designed to create a water tight seal between the design illustrated and the bath tub when the complete unit is correctly fixed into place. Also moulded as part of the main body (A) and running the length of the spine is an extruded rubber slit (C) which provides a water tight seal for the partition (D) to be permanently fitted into. The two water seals (B) are internally re-enforced with steel wire to give extra strength whilst still enabling the main body to be manually shaped for different bath tub designs within a given tolerance. Attached onto the centre of the width and running the length of the outside of the main body (A) but recessed in from the water seals (B) are a number of large equally spaced suction cups (E) which allow for the main body (A) to be fixed against the bath tub by pressing the main body (A) onto the inside of the bath tub, the suction cups (E) are recessed in from the water seals (B) so that the water seals (B) are forced against the bath tub which in turn causes the water seals (B) to create a water tight seal.

Although a separate entity the fixing heads of the suction cups (E) would be moulded into the main body (A) so that they are securely fixed whilst creating a water tight seal between the suction cups (E) and the main body (A). The partition (D) is shaped to and permanently fixed into the main body slit (C) with a flat top edge to create the main partition of the design, this would be a flexible yet water proof sheet probably made of plastic. To help strengthen the partition (D) from the weight of water there is a rubber band (F) which is fixed centrally on the rear side (G) of the partition (0) which then feeds through the partition at approximately a third distance from either edge and extends out into the filled area of the bath and to the sides where each end has fixed suction cups (H) which would be pressed onto the inside of the bath tub, this would apply a force opposite to the water pressure and help stop the device from sliding or the main body suction cups (E) from becoming unstuck. To remove the device after use a lateral force would be applied to the pull tabs (J) which are thin thumb sized plastics tabs and are located on the top two ends of the main body (A) these are moulded as part of the main body (A) to provide strength when pulled, with a lateral force applied the device would simply peel away from the bath tub.

Claims

Claims: 1: The invention illustrated creates a temporary partition across the internal width of a bath tub and at a user specified position along the internal length of a bath tub creating a water tight divide giving the ability to partially fill a bath tub with a liquid or filling both sides of the divide with two different liquids restricting the mixing of these liquids.

2: The invention illustrated reduces the amount of waste water used by allowing the user to reduce the area of a bathtub which is filled but still maintaining the full water depth.

3: The invention illustrated can reduce energy consumption by reducing the amount of heated water required for bathing or washing.

4: The invention illustrated can be fitted to allow a small child to rest their back on the invention illustrated whilst keeping their feet pressed onto the end of the bath tub which will reduce the chance of a child sliding under the water.