JP2013169444A - Lift mechanism of bathtub - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a bathtub body and a lift mechanism to be cleaned without detaching the lift mechanism.SOLUTION: An opening/closing type bathtub includes a bathtub body 11, and a door part 13 for opening and closing an opening 12 provided on the upper side of a first sidewall 11a of the bathtub body 11. The bathtub body 11 includes a lift mechanism having a column support 18 for supporting a sitting part 19 and an elevating/lowering drive part 26 for elevating and lowering the sitting part 19 along the column support 18. A rotary shaft 36 is provided on the upper part of the column support 18, and the column support 18 and the sitting part 19 are turned with the rotary shaft 36 as a center and separated from an inner wall surface of the bathtub body 11.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lift mechanism for a bathtub provided with a lift mechanism that raises and lowers a seating portion on which a bather sits in a bathtub body.

Conventionally, for example, in a bathtub for a nursing facility or a household bathtub, if the height of the side wall of the bathtub body is high when taking a bath, it is not easy for a disabled person or an elderly person to cross the side wall, and it is difficult to enter the bathtub. There is a fear. Therefore, the floor surface is dug down to some extent, and the side wall height of the bathtub body with respect to the floor surface is lowered by dropping and installing the bathtub body in the dug portion. Thereby, even if it is a handicapped person, an elderly person, etc., it can be easily bathed across the side wall of a bathtub main body.
However, in the conventional bathtub in which the bathtub main body is dropped on the dug floor surface, there is a problem that it takes time and construction costs to dug the floor surface to drop the bathtub main body.

Moreover, the bathtub which can open and close shown in patent document 1 is proposed as a bathtub which improved such a fault. In this bathtub, an opening is formed in the side wall of the bathtub body, and a door is provided to be slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the opening. When bathing persons such as disabled people and elderly people take a bath, the door is lowered to open the opening, and a bathing chair on which the bather is placed is placed on the rail base in the bathtub body from the transfer stand arranged adjacent to the bathtub body. It is configured to move sideways and then close the door and close the opening of the bathtub body.
When transferring the bather into the bathtub body during bathing, the amount of hot water in the bathtub above the opening is temporarily transferred to the tank, and after the opening is closed by the door, the hot water in the tank is returned to the bathtub. ing. For this reason, the adjustment of hot water accompanying bathing and leaving the bather is about half of the hot water stored in the bathtub, so that the transfer of hot water accompanying bathing and bathing can be greatly shortened.

By the way, in recent years, the ratio of elderly people to the total population has been increasing year by year, and it has become difficult to care for many elderly people in hospitals, nursing homes, and the like. Therefore, the necessity of care including bathing for the elderly etc. at home is increasing year by year.
However, the open / close bathtub described in Patent Document 1 is configured to transfer a bather to a rail platform in the bathtub through the opening of the bathtub body while being placed on a chair or stretcher for bathing. Since the occupied space including the space for chairs and stretchers is large and a large space is required for the bathroom and the bathtub main body, it is not suitable for bathing in a relatively small domestic bathroom or a small bathroom or bathtub.

On the other hand, in the bathtub described in Patent Document 2, a lift mechanism is provided on the side wall facing the opening of the bathtub body so as to be able to move up and down the seating section on which the bather sits, and the seating section provided on the lift mechanism is rotated. It is made possible and slidable in the direction of the opening. In addition, the lift mechanism is movable along the side wall.
As a result, even in a narrow space such as a home bathroom, the lift mechanism having a seating portion can be moved according to the layout of the bathroom and positioned at a position where bathing is easy. In addition, it is easy for disabled people and the elderly to enter and exit the bathtub through the opening by rotating or moving the seating part while the bather is seated on the seating part of the bathtub. Is possible.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-7848 JP 2006-296715 A

However, the open / close tub described in Patent Document 2 described above has a lift mechanism column and a seat portion that is guided by the column to move up and down in the bathtub body. Dirt adheres to the pillars, the seats, and the inner wall surface of the bathtub body with which they come in contact, such as accumulation of hair, hair and dirt. Therefore, the bathtub must be periodically cleaned in order to keep the inside of the bathtub clean.
In such a case, the surface of the lift mechanism can be cleaned as it is, but the back surface of the lift mechanism, the back of the seating section, and the inner wall surface of the bathtub main body that contacts them cannot be cleaned without removing the lift mechanism. Was cumbersome and inconvenient. In particular, in a bathtub where many bathers take a bath such as a nursing facility, the lift mechanism has to be frequently removed for cleaning, which has the disadvantage of being cumbersome and time-consuming.

     The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bathtub lift mechanism that can clean a column and a bathtub body without removing the lift mechanism.

A bathtub lift mechanism according to the present invention includes a lift mechanism that is provided along an inner wall surface of a bathtub body and supports a seating portion, and a lift drive unit that raises and lowers the seating portion along the pillar. The bathtub is characterized in that the column and the seating portion can be displaced in a direction away from the inner wall surface.
According to the bathtub lift mechanism of the present invention, when cleaning the inside of the bathtub, the support column and the seating portion are provided in positions close to or in contact with the inner wall surface of the bathtub body. Displacement in a direction away from the wall surface can clean dirt such as dirt and dust adhering to the inner wall surface, and can easily clean dirt on the back surface of the support column and the seating surface separated from the inner wall surface.

Moreover, it is preferable that the rotating shaft which can rotate in the direction which separates this support | pillar and a seating part from the inner wall face of a bathtub main body is provided in the upper part of the support | pillar.
When cleaning the inside of the bathtub body, the back surface of the support column and the seating part and the inner wall surface where they come into contact with each other by rotating the support column and the seating part in the direction away from the inner wall surface around the rotation axis provided at the top of the support column Etc. can be easily cleaned.

Moreover, it is preferable that a bathtub is an open / close-type bathtub provided with the door part which opens and closes the opening part provided in the upper part side of the one side wall of the bathtub main body.
In an open / close-type bathtub, with the opening open, people with disabilities, elderly people, etc. can move through the opening into the body of the bathtub and sit on the seat, and then raise the door to close the opening and close the hot water. You can take a bath by supplying.

  According to the bathtub lift mechanism of the present invention, when cleaning the inside of the bathtub, if the column and the seating part are displaced in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the bathtub body, a space is created between the two. It is possible to easily clean dirt such as scale and dust adhering to the wall, and it is also possible to easily clean dirt on the back side of the column and the seating surface that are separated from the inner wall surface. Moreover, it is possible to clean the inner wall surface of the bathtub provided with the columns and the back surface of the columns without removing or moving the lift mechanism.

It is a perspective view which shows the open / close-type bathtub by embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the open / close-type bathtub shown in FIG. It is the front view which fractured | ruptured a part which shows the lift mechanism of the open / close-type bathtub shown in FIG. The lift mechanism installed in the side surface of an open / close-type bathtub is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is a rear view. It is a front view of the state which closed the opening part in an open / close-type bathtub with the door part. FIG. 6 is a side view of the open / close bathtub shown in FIG. 5.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The openable bathtub 10 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a bathtub body 11, an opening 12 provided in the first side wall 11a on the near side of the bathtub body 11, and the height direction of the first side wall 11a. The door part 13 which can move and opens and closes the opening part 12 is provided.
The bathtub body 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape with the upper part opened, and is formed by four side walls 11a to 11d and a bottom wall. In the figure, the side walls 11a to 11d are formed of a first side wall 11a and a second side wall 11b that form a long side plate, and a third side wall 11c and a fourth side wall 11d that form a short side plate. . The opening 12 is formed by cutting the first side wall 11a on the near side into a rectangular shape, for example, approximately in the upper half from the top to the bottom.

The door part 13 is for opening and closing the opening part 12, and is attached along the first side wall 11a of the bathtub main body 11 so as to be movable up and down. The first side wall 11a is provided with a guide groove 14 that guides the up-and-down movement of the door portion 13, and a gas such as air is supplied to the inner surface of the door portion 13 between the opening 12 and the periphery of the first side wall 11a. A seal member 15 is provided to prevent the leakage of hot water by liquid-tightly sealing (see FIG. 5).
The seal member 15 is formed on the inner surface of the door portion 13 in, for example, a substantially U shape or a U shape. The sealing member 15 is made of a synthetic resin or rubber member that is hollow and can be expanded and contracted. When a gas such as air is supplied with the door portion 13 closing the opening portion 12, the hot water in the bathtub body 11 is opened. The sealing action that does not leak from the portion 12 is achieved.

Moreover, in FIG. 1, the lift mechanism 16 is attached to the 3rd side wall 11c which is a short side plate-shaped side surface in the bathtub main body 11, and the storage box 17 is arrange | positioned at the back side of the 3rd side wall 11c. The structure of the lift mechanism 16 is described in detail in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a column 18 is provided in the bathtub body 11 along the vertical direction of the third side wall 11 c. A seating portion 19 that can be lifted and lowered by using the column 18 as a lifting guide is attached to 18.
In addition, a contact portion 18a that contacts the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11c is provided on the back surface of the support column 18 to prevent the entire support column 18 from contacting and scratching the third side wall 11c.

As shown in FIG. 3, the seat portion 19 is provided with a lift portion 20 that moves up and down along the support column 18 and a seat surface portion 21 on which a bather sits in a substantially L shape in side view. On the front side of the lift part 20, a backrest part 22 that makes a backrest of a bather is attached.
In addition, the flap 23 which can be bent via a hinge may be provided in the seat surface part 21, and the first side wall 11a is opened in the state where the door part 13 is lowered and the opening part 12 is opened as shown in FIG. The upper surface of the opening portion 12 and the upper surface of the door portion 13 have substantially the same height, and the flap 23 is placed on the same plane as the seat surface portion 21. Thereby, when a bather goes in and out of the bathtub main body 10, it can move to the seat surface part 21 by sitting down in the flap 23 once, or can go out from the seat surface part 21 in the bathtub main body 11 outside. .

  In the lift mechanism 16 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a substantially L-shaped frame 25 including a horizontal plate 25 a and a downward vertical plate 25 b is provided on the upper portion of the column 18, and a lift is provided on the vertical plate 25 b of the frame 25. An elevating drive unit 26 for driving the mechanism 16 is installed. In the elevating drive unit 26, a battery 27, a gear box 28, and a motor 29 are attached to the frame 25 in parallel.

  The horizontal plate 25a of the frame 25 connected to the upper end of the support column 18 is placed on the upper surface of the third side wall 11c, and the vertical plate 25b and the elevating drive unit 26 enter into the adjacent storage box 17 from its upper end opening. Has been. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the third side wall 11 c, the horizontal plate 25 a of the frame 25, and the upper end opening of the storage box 17 are covered with a cover member 30. The cover member 30 also has a function as a pillow on which the bather's head is placed when the bather bathes in the bathtub body 11 and sits on the seat surface portion 21.

Further, in the lift mechanism 16 shown in FIG. 4, a wire 35 is attached to the roller 32 protruding from the gear box 28, and the wire 35 extends through the column 18 via the other rollers 33 and 34 and is connected to the lift unit 20. Has been. Then, by winding the wire 35 with the roller 32 by the rotation of the motor 29 in one direction, the seating portion 19 is guided and raised by the support 18, and the wire 35 wound around the roller 32 by rotating the motor 29 in the reverse direction. The seat 19 is lowered by its own weight.
In addition, a rotation shaft 36 is provided at a connection portion between the upper end of the support column 18 and the frame 25, and the support column 18 and the seating portion 19 rotate around the rotation shaft 36 in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11 c. It is possible to move.

In the storage box 17 provided on the side surface of the bathtub body 11 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the battery 27, the gear box 28, and the motor 29 of the elevating drive unit 26 are stored in the upper part, and the lift is in the lower part. A sliding portion 38 that houses a relay box 37 that is electrically connected to the motor 29 and / or the battery 27 in the mechanism 17 is provided. The relay box 37 also constitutes a part of the lifting drive unit 26.
As shown in FIG. 6, a rail portion 39 is attached to the lower portion in the storage box 17. Legs are installed in the lower part of the rail part 39.

The sliding portion 38 is provided with a relay box 37 of the elevating drive unit 26 on the substrate 43, and as a pressure supply means for supplying a gas such as air to the seal member 15 provided on the inner surface of the door portion 13. For example, an air pump 44 is provided. The air pump 44 can supply air to the seal member 15 provided on the inner surface of the door portion 13 via the tube 46, and can seal the raised door portion 13 and the periphery of the opening portion 12 of the first side wall 11a in a liquid-tight manner. Has been.
The sliding portion 38 is slid along the rail portion 39, so that it can be pulled out and stored from the storage box 17. When the sliding portion 38 is pulled out, it can be separated from the rail portion 39 for maintenance. Further, a cover 48 is attached to the front surface of the storage box 17 so as to cover the sliding portion 38 in a stored state.

The open / close bathtub 10 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the operation thereof will be described next.
When bathing a bather, in FIG. 1, hot water is filled in the bathtub main body 11 of the openable bathtub 10 to the opening 12, and the door 13 is lowered to open the opening 12. And a bather places the flap 23 connected to the seat surface part 21 of the seating part 19 on the opening part 12 and the door part 13 which make the same plane, and a bather sits on this.
Then, the bather sits on the flap 23, moves over the opening 12, moves onto the seat surface portion 21 in the seating portion 19 in the bathtub body 11, and thereafter, an assistant or the like manually raises the door portion 13. The flap 23 is bent inside the door portion 13. In this state, air is supplied from the air pump 44 through the tube 46 to the sealing member 15 to be expanded, and the door 13 and the first side wall 11a are sealed in a liquid-tight manner.
Thereafter, the motor 29 of the lift mechanism 16 is driven to lower the seating portion 19 toward the bottom surface, and the bather enters a bathing state by filling the remaining hot water.

When taking a bath after bathing, the procedure may be reversed to the above procedure. That is, the hot water is returned to another tank, the hot water level is lowered to the lower part of the opening 12, the seating part 19 of the lift mechanism 16 is raised, and the seating surface part 21 on which the bather sits is the same as the lower part of the opening 12. Keep on level. Alternatively, hot water may be drained from a drain outlet on the bottom surface of the bathtub body 11.
And the air of the sealing member 15 is extracted, the door part 13 is lowered manually, and the flap 23 of the seat surface part 21 is placed on the upper surface of the opening part 12 and the door part 13. Thereafter, the bather moves from the seat surface portion 21 to the flap 23 and leaves the opening 12.

Next, when cleaning the openable bathtub 10, the operator cleans each inner wall surface of the bathtub body 11. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to clean the back surface of the support column 18 and the seating portion 19 of the lift mechanism 16, the support column 18 and the seating portion 19 are separated from the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11 c around the rotation shaft 36. Turn to. Then, since a wide space K is formed between the support column 18 and the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11c, the operator can clean dirt such as scales attached to the inner wall surface. Also, dirt such as scales and dust adhering to the back surfaces of the support column 18 and the seating portion 19 can be easily cleaned by extending the hand.
And after completion | finish of cleaning, it returns to a bathing possible state by rotating the support | pillar 18 and the seating part 19 to the inner wall face of the 3rd side wall 11c, and making the contact part 18a contact | abut to an inner wall face.

  As described above, according to the lift mechanism 16 of the open / close bathtub 10 according to the present embodiment, when the inner wall surface of the bathtub body 11 is cleaned, the support 18 of the lift mechanism 16 and the back surface of the seating portion 19 and the inner surface of these contact with each other. Wall surfaces can be easily and easily cleaned. At that time, it is not necessary to remove the lift mechanism 16 from the bathtub main body 11 or to move the lift mechanism 16 along the third side wall 11c.

The open / close bathtub 10 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate changes and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the openable bathtub 10 that opens and closes the opening 12 with the door 13 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and a normal bathtub without the opening 12 and the door 13 is used. The present invention can also be applied to.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the lift mechanism 16 and the storage box 17 were installed in the 3rd side wall 11c, it cannot be overemphasized that you may install in the other side walls 11a, 11b, and 11d.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the lift mechanism 16, the lift drive unit 26 that lifts and lowers the seating part 19 is provided in the storage box 17 provided on the back surface of the side wall of the bathtub body 11, and the height of the lift mechanism 16 is increased. Although set to the same level as the bathtub main body 11, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the elevating drive unit 26 may be installed above the support column 18. In this case, since the height of the lift mechanism 16 is higher than that of the bathtub body 11, the bather may feel a sense of pressure. However, since the storage box 17 is not provided, the bathtub body 11 becomes compact and is narrow for home use. It can also be installed in the bathroom.
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the seal member 15 is disposed on the door portion 13 has been described. However, the seal member 15 may be disposed on the surface around the opening portion 12 of the first side wall 11a. In addition, although the example in which the seal member 15 swells by supplying air to perform the sealing function is shown, other seal materials such as packing can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Opening / closing type bathtub 11 Bath body 11c 3rd side wall 12 Opening part 13 Door part 15 Sealing member 16 Lifting mechanism 17 Storage box 18 Supporting column 19 Seating part 21 Seating part 26 Lifting drive part 36 Rotating shaft

Claims (3)

A bathtub provided with a lift mechanism that is provided along the inner wall surface of the bathtub body and supports the seating portion, and a lift mechanism that lifts and lowers the seating portion along the pillar,
The bathtub lift mechanism, wherein the support column and the seating portion are displaceable in a direction away from the inner wall surface.   The bathtub lift mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a rotary shaft capable of rotating the support column and the seating portion in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the bathtub body is provided at an upper portion of the support column.   The bathtub lift mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bathtub body of the bathtub is an openable bathtub provided with a door portion that opens and closes an opening provided on an upper side of one side wall.

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