JP2929085B2 - Household simple bathing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a disabled person, an elderly person,
The present invention relates to a general household simple bathing apparatus that facilitates use of a bathtub at home for an injured person or a caregiver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, when a disabled person, an elderly person or a healthy person is unable to take a bath due to injury or illness, bathing at home must be assisted by a caregiver such as a family or a home elper. Bathing in a high-edge tub installed in a small bathroom at home is extremely inconvenient, not only increasing the burden on the bather himself, but also requiring undue effort by the caregiver.

[0003] In a medical institution such as a hospital, a large-scale bathing facility can be installed because a patient who is hospitalized or an elderly person who is unable to take a bath is required to take a bath, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-7849.
There is a bathtub system as disclosed in the above issue, but this must be a system that uses a hydraulic pump or hydraulic cylinder and is linked to the special structure of the patient's transfer chair from the sickroom, It requires room and expensive investment and is not applicable for general household use.

[0004] Although such a bathing device for ordinary households is also provided in part, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-7849, the side wall of the bathtub itself can be opened and closed to provide a high edge. A bath is provided so as not to go over the bath, or a lift is prepared and the bather is moved up and down by the lift to bathe in the bathtub.

[0005]

However, they cannot be used in existing home bathrooms or bathtubs and must be rebuilt as expensive unit baths. The former requires a bathtub to be opened and closed each time the door is opened and closed. It is necessary to take in and out of hot water,
The latter requires large lift facilities to be installed in a large bathroom, and is difficult to spread to ordinary households. In other words, unless the general home tub is equipped with a unit bath design in a new building and an expensive housing environment is established in advance assuming that it is embedded under the floor in a large bathroom space in advance.
It is a high tub installed in an existing narrow bathroom,
This height is a major obstacle to bathing when, for example, you become older or physically disabled from a healthy life up to that point. It is necessary to add expensive and large-scale equipment such as a mechanism, or to carry out renovation work including the bathtub. In the market, only such a bathtub system is provided, and in an environment that is not easily available So, as always, we have to borrow the power of family and other caregivers in the existing bathtub or take time on our own, and bathing is a very labor-intensive work for the bather himself and the caregiver. .

The present applicant has obtained information from related organizations and related companies and has identified practical problems, and has been pondering various care assisting means for persons with disabilities and the elderly. No.-219653 has proposed a wheelchair in which armrests and backrests can be moved up and down and easily moved to a bed or a toilet seat. However, the present invention was also invented on this extension, and a bathroom, The present invention proposes a simple bathing apparatus which can be installed at a low cost without the necessity of major remodeling in a bathtub and can be easily installed, or can be easily installed without using a large-scale structure accompanying new construction or remodeling.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A simple household bath apparatus according to the present invention is arranged so as to expand and contract vertically along a measuring wall of a bath tub, and has a mounting portion having a seating area of a bather as an upper surface. An airbag, an air compressor connected to an air pipe so as to supply and deaerate air to the airbag, a switch unit for switching an air supply and deaeration operation of the air compressor, and an airbag mounting unit. Corresponds substantially to the rising position of the upper edge of the bathtub due to the supply of air, the moving portion extends horizontally from outside the bathtub and is adjacent to the airbag mounting portion, and continuously at the upper surface of the moving portion and the airbag mounting portion. And a seat on which a bather sits so as to be able to slide on the movement guide.

[0008] The airbag is formed in a prismatic shape which can be extended and contracted by making a side bellows shape.

The airbag supports a central portion of the mounting portion and supports a single airbag having a smaller projected area than the mounting portion or a plurality of locations on the outer peripheral side of the mounting portion and has a projected area larger than the mounting portion. It consisted of several small airbags.

The moving portion is formed integrally with the bathtub so as to extend inward and outward from the edge of the bathtub, and the inner extension portion guides the elevating and lowering of the airbag on the inner surface, and has an armrest function for a bather at the upper portion. In addition to the configuration, the outer extension portion is configured to function as a small item placing portion or a small item storage portion in the bathroom.

Further, the airbag, the air compressor, the switch section and the moving section are constituted as individual parts which can be mounted on a bathtub.

Further, the seat portion is provided with auxiliary means such as a backrest, an armrest or a foldable or stowable leg support portion for supporting the bather substantially horizontally so as to ensure stable sitting and movement of the bather.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A bellows-shaped prismatic airbag having a mounting portion 2A on its upper surface, which is arranged so as to extend and contract vertically along a measuring wall of a bathtub 1, and has a seating area for a bather. 2 and
An air compressor 3 to which a rubber hose 4 as an air pipe is connected so that air can be supplied to and deaerated from the airbag 2, a switch unit 5 for switching the supply and deaeration operation of the air compressor 3, and an airbag mounting unit 2 </ b> A A moving part 6 extending substantially horizontally from the outside of the bathtub 1 and adjacent to the airbag mounting part 2A, corresponding to the rising position of the upper edge of the bathtub 1 by the supply of air, and the moving part 6 and the airbag mounting part Rail-shaped moving guide 7 provided continuously on the upper surface of 2A
And a seat portion 8 on which the bather can sit by allowing the roller to slide on the moving guide 7.

Further, the seat 8 supports the legs substantially horizontally so that the bather's legs can easily cross the edge of the bathtub 1 when sliding on the movement guide 7 and moving into the bathtub 1. The leg support 10 can be folded or stored.

Therefore, even if the bather is a disabled person, an elderly person, or an injured person who cannot move freely, if he or she comes to the bathtub 1 by a wheelchair or the like, the person sits on the seat 8 and puts his / her legs on the leg support 10 so that the person can take a bath. In the bathtub 1 stretched with air, the air is already supplied through the rubber hose 4 by the air compressor 3 to the mounting portion 2A of the airbag 2 at the ascending position and slides on the moving guide 7 of the moving portion 6 to move. By removing air from the airbag 2 by the air compressor 3, the mounting portion 2A sinks into the bathtub 1 and can easily enter the high-edge bathtub 1 without taking in and out hot water.

[0016]

1 and 2 show a unit bath type simple bathing apparatus in which a moving part is formed integrally with a bathtub, and the moving part is provided with a small article placing section and a small article storing section in the bathroom. Yes,
FIG. 2 shows a representative example of the airbag structure.

The bathtub 1 arranged close to one wall surface of a household bathroom is, for example, an enamel bathtub prepared for general household use, and the size and shape of the bathtub 1 main body are also provided for general household use. It can be easily applied to those having a high structure.

Inside the bathtub along one longitudinal side wall of the bathtub 1, an airbag 2 is formed in a side-bellows structure, and an upper mounting portion 2A is installed so as to be able to move up and down. It is fixed to the bottom of the bathtub by bolts or bolts or key-like connecting means.

The airbag 2 is inflated upward by the expansion and contraction of the bellows-like side surface by introducing air from a small air compressor 3 installed in the installation space on the bathroom wall side of the bathtub 1 via a rubber hose 4. Airbag 2
Is in a plane shape substantially projecting the resin plate-shaped mounting portion 2A fixed to the upper portion, and secures an area where a bather can comfortably sit down.

Since the space required for the seating is smaller than the width of the bathtub 1, the airbag 2 is prevented from swinging and bending before and after the airbag 2 and the bather is prevented from falling left and right to secure a stable bathing posture. For this purpose, regulating steps 1A are provided on the left and right sides of the bathtub 1 around the airbag 2, and slits 1B are provided on the inner surface of the regulating step 1A on the airbag 2 side so as to be continuous in the vertical direction. The projections and hooks of this slit 1B
To secure stable movement in the vertical direction.

The regulating step 1A may be provided as an integral type integrally formed with the bathtub 1. Alternatively, a separate resin-made article formed in a box shape can be easily provided. If the air compressor 3 is housed in the tub 1, there is no need to separately provide an installation space outside the bathtub 1. further,
When a bather sits down and takes a bath, the remaining space in bathtub 1 is
Because the bather only needs to be able to fit the bather's legs,
The size of the elevating structure including a large space in the bathtub 1 can be used, and seating with sufficient space can be performed.

The airbag 2 shown in FIG. 1 has a prismatic bellows structure having substantially the same projected area as the mounting portion 2A, but is in a state of being immersed in hot water in the bathtub 1.
At the time of inflation in which the mounting portion 2A is lifted, the air volume in the airbag 2 increases, and a strong fixing structure for fixing the airbag 2 to the bottom of the bathtub 1 with a large buoyancy is required. In addition, the volume of the airbag 2 in the bathtub 1 at the time of inflation increases, and the hot water in the bathtub 1 overflows, and it is necessary to keep the amount of hot water actually stored in the bathtub 1 small, and the airbag 2 is not used. A phenomenon such as a shortage of hot water during normal bathing occurs.

This point can be adequately dealt with depending on the situation of use, and the air volume when the airbag 2 is inflated in the bathing state where the bather is placed is equal to the body volume of the bather as the airbag 2 contracts. It is not necessary to increase the amount of hot water in the bathtub 1 particularly in an environment where bathing without using the airbag 2 is not performed. It is good.

However, the structure of the airbag 2 shown in FIG. 2 is such that when the airbag 2 is inflated, the hot water overflows due to the amount of air, or when the bather takes a bath toward the bather who sits on the seat 8. In consideration of the flow phenomenon of hot water, the airbag 2 is constituted by a plurality of airbags having a smaller projected area than the mounting portion 2A.

That is, the air bag 2 is
A is composed of four rod-shaped airbags that support the four corner positions of A, and by making each airbag a bellows shape, the same lifting and lowering support can be performed. The air volume can be extremely reduced, and as a result, phenomena such as overflow of hot water in the bathtub 1 due to expansion and contraction of the airbag 2 can be suppressed, and the amount of hot water can be set in consideration of the body volume of the bather. Further, for example, by providing many small water holes in a portion of the seat 8 not supported by the airbag 2, it is possible to satisfactorily suppress a rapid flow of hot water from the front surface toward the bather when descending.

Even in such a structure, the plurality of airbags can be vertically expanded and contracted by guiding the mounting portion 2A by vertically extending slits 1B provided on the inner surface of the regulating step portion 1A on the airbag 2 side. With only the operation, it is possible to perform a sufficiently stable ascent / descent with respect to the swaying right and left and back and forth.

The supply of air from the air compressor in such a configuration of a plurality of airbags can be simply performed at the same pressure by a rubber hose or the like branched from one air compressor. For example, prepare air compressors as many as the number of airbags, connect them individually and supply them independently, or divide the airbags into blocks and supply air with one air compressor for each block It may be. Furthermore, the shape and size of the plurality of airbags can be freely selected in consideration of the number and arrangement capable of stably supporting the mounting portion 2A, and are particularly limited to the arrangement of four airbags in a square portion. In addition, regarding the problem of the air capacity when ascending and descending with the single airbag 2, the design of the material and shape of the airbag does not require the same projection area as the mounting portion 2 </ b> A. This can be easily solved by adopting a structure in which the projection area is supported at the central portion of the mounting portion 2A with a smaller projection area, for example, in a bellows structure.

The supply and deaeration of air from the air compressor 3 to the airbag 2 is carried out by a flexible rubber hose 4 which is an air pipe. Convenient and
Furthermore, it is effective in that it can be configured at low cost without the need for construction. However, in the case of newly purchasing such as refurbishment of the bathroom including the bathtub 1, such pipes are considered in advance, so that resin or metal pipes can be used.

The air compressor 3 is capable of switching the supply and deaeration of air to and from the air bag 2 by a switch unit 5 installed on the bathroom wall. The caregiver and caregiver can operate manually. The switch unit 5 can be provided with the simplest and inexpensive switching structure by manual operation by a person. For example, the switch unit 5 can detect the weight of the bather along with the bathing step in the bathtub 1 or the light sensor of the body. A switch configuration that switches automatically may be used, or a plurality of manual switches may be provided for each location where a bather is located when the air compressor 3 is switched, or may be configured in combination with an automatic switch.

Further, in this embodiment, in the configuration in which the regulating step 1A is formed integrally with the bathtub 1, the moving section 6 extending from the regulating step 1A on the side where the bather takes a bath to the outside of the bathtub 1 integrally.
The upper surface of the moving portion 6 has the same height as the regulating step portion 1A (a height equal to or higher than the height of the edge of the bathtub 1 is preferable for the movement of the foot during the bathing movement). In addition, a rail-shaped moving guide 7 is provided which communicates with the inside of the bathtub 1 on the upper surface and extends to the upper surface of the regulating step 1A (in this case, the regulating step 1A also becomes a part of the moving section 6).

Mounting section 2 provided on the upper surface of airbag 2
A may be configured such that a stopper is provided on the regulating step 1A so that the uppermost position when ascending is at the same height as the upper surface of the regulating step 1A, and the position is restricted. A similar rail-shaped moving guide 7 is formed so as to be continuous with the rail-shaped moving guide 7 on the upper surface of the regulating step portion 1A at the ascending position, and the seat portion 8 when a bather sits and moves into the bathtub 1 is formed. It allows skiing.

The seat 8 on which a bather sits can be easily made of wood or resin. Basically, a plate-like seat body 8A large enough to allow a bather to sit is prepared, and a rail is provided on the back surface thereof. By providing the roller 8B that can slide on the shape moving guide 7, the movement at the time of bathing can be sufficiently performed.

However, in this case, the seat body 8 is provided so that an elderly person with a physical disability can stably move on the seat 8.
A is provided with a backrest 8C and an armrest 8D, which are integrated with it, and further includes a foldable leg support 10 connected to the seat body 8A with a hinge 9, and the leg is placed on the leg support 10. When moving, the leg is lifted substantially horizontally with the seat portion 8 so that the leg can easily pass over the edge of the bathtub 1 when sliding. In order to lift the leg support portion 10, a manual arm may be provided, or a motor may be provided in the seat portion 8 to thereby drive the leg support portion 10 up and down. An auxiliary means such as a backrest may be used depending on use conditions. Can be added. Further, for example, a seat restraining belt or an arm is provided on the seat portion 8 so that the instability at the time of sitting movement of the bather or at the time of bathing can be reliably eliminated and the bather can bathe more safely.
Having a room is convenient for bathing severely disabled people and for carers to leave the place.

Although the leg support 10 is configured to be foldable by the hinge 9 with respect to the seat 8 as disclosed in the embodiment, the seat 8 is slidably accommodated in the seat 8. By having a hollow structure with an opening at the front end and being slidably accommodated so that the plate-like leg support 10 can be put in and out of this opening, the leg support 10
Is slid out of the seat portion 8 and horizontally protruded, thereby enabling the same sliding movement with the leg placed on the leg support portion 10.

In this embodiment, since the moving section 6 is configured to extend from the bathtub 1 along the bathroom wall, a portion below the upper surface of the moving guide 7 is used as a space, and the moving guide 7 is provided with a space such as soap or a pail. Accessory storage section 6A for storing bathing accessories
It is configured so that it can be used as. As such a use method, besides using the space of the moving unit 6 as a storage unit,
Can be devised so that the upper surface of the device is used as a small article placing portion.

With the above arrangement, if the bather moves on his / her wheelchair to the side of the bathtub 1 by himself or by the care of a caregiver when bathing, he / she moves from the wheelchair to the seat 8 waiting on the moving unit 6. Only then, moving part 6 and regulating step part 1
A and the mounting portion 2 of the airbag 2 already in the raised position
A on the rail-shaped moving guide 7 continuous on the upper surface of A
Can easily slide to the mounting portion 2A in the bathtub 1 and switch the air compressor 3 to the deaeration operation by pressing the deaeration button of the switch portion 5 to deaerate the air in the airbag 2. As a result, the airbag 2 contracts, whereby the mounting portion 2A descends below the bathtub 1 together with the bather using the slit 1B of the regulating step portion 1A as a guide.

Therefore, a bather sitting on the seat 8 moving on the mounting portion 2A can also descend into the bathtub 1 and immerse the body in the hot water in the bathtub 1, and after bathing. Even when the user goes out of the bathtub 1, the air is supplied from the air compressor 3 to the airbag 2 through the rubber hose 4 by simply pressing the supply button of the switch unit 5, and the mounting portion 2 </ b> A is raised by the inflation of the airbag 2. Thus, the bather sitting on the seat 8 can be easily moved out of the bathtub 1 again by sliding on the moving guide 7 from the regulating step 1A to the moving unit 6.

In this case, the seat 8 is provided with auxiliary means such as a backrest and an armrest, but when there is no such auxiliary means, the regulating step 1A can also serve as an armrest during bathing. It can be used for maintaining a stable posture of a bather at the time of bathing in addition to the lifting guide 2.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a unit type in which the regulating step 1A and the moving unit 6 are formed integrally with the bathtub 1. However, the embodiment shown in FIG. A similar simple bathing structure can be obtained by additionally installing a bathtub.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 2 and the regulating step 1A can be configured as individual additional parts that can be set on one side wall of the general bathtub 1.

Here, the regulating step 1A and the moving section 6 are integrally formed on a resin-made equipment in which the airbag 2 is fixed at the center, so that the regulating step 1A and the moving section 6 are shaped to fit into the edge of the bathtub from the upper side wall of the bathtub 1. The seat portion 8 is also set in the same color with the same resin material so that it can be fitted into a hook-type moving guide 7 provided on the moving portion 6 and the regulating step portion 1A in a hook-type manner so that it can slide with a small roller. It has become.

One end of the rubber hose 4 connected to the air compressor 3 passes through the inside of the regulating step 1A, and
, Whereby the rubber hose 4 is not dragged by the lifting and lowering of the mounting portion 2A, and the piping is stabilized. The switch section 5 for controlling the operation of the air compressor 3 is provided with a regulating step section 1A located on the left side when a bather takes a bath.
So that the bather can freely operate and go out of the bathtub 1 by himself / herself.

By adopting a structure that is detachable from the existing bathtub 1 as described above, a simple bathing device can be easily formed even in a general bathtub 1 in a general household, and in particular, such a resin material is used. By reducing the weight as a molded integral product, it is only necessary to set it in the bathtub 1 as necessary, and it is possible to easily cope with a bathing work by a sudden injury person,
It becomes easier to spread to ordinary households.

As the simple bathing device constituted as such individual additional parts, in addition to the resin constitution by integral molding as described above, an assembling type in which the parts are made smaller may be used. it can. For example, moving unit 6
Is separately provided outside the bathtub 1 and is connected to the regulating step 1A inside the bathtub 1, so that it is convenient for storage when not in use and easy to carry into the bathroom.

In each of the embodiments described above, the sliding movement on the movement guide 7 of the seat portion 8 is performed manually by a bather or a caregiver. However, as described in the first embodiment, the legs are moved. Similarly to the case where a motor is built in the seat portion 8 so that the support portion 10 can be electrically driven, a driving motor is built in the seat portion 8 so as to drive the roller 8B, or the bath portion 1 is connected to the bath portion 1 with a wire. It can be configured to be pulled and moved in and out of the vehicle, so that the so-called self-propelled type can reduce the labor of sliding movement.

However, if it is possible to perform the sliding movement on its own, which is not particularly necessary under user or home conditions,
As the slide assisting means, a handrail may be provided on the bathroom wall surface facing the moving part 6 of the bathroom, or a handrail may be formed on the moving part 6 itself. Also, when sliding, the bather's feet are obstructed by the edge of the bathtub, but in addition to the method of lifting the feet up like a leg support, if the processing into the bathtub is possible, An opening / closing door having a width and length necessary for the movement may be provided at the edge of the bathtub.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, a handicapped person or an elderly person with limited physical freedom in a home bathroom, or a temporary injured person, can easily take a bath in a bathtub without difficulty. It can provide a bathing device, and can be constructed at a low cost using an airbag or a small air compressor in particular. It can be easily configured without remodeling.

In addition, there is no need to replace the hot water in the bath tub every time the bath is taken, and by additionally fixing the hot tub to an existing home tub as needed, the bathing environment for healthy persons is affected. It is a very suitable bathing device for living in a shared life without affecting the bath. In particular, extremely painful bathing, which could not be solved before, in a general tub with a high margin, which could not be solved before, can be made extremely easy work without requiring excessive human labor, This makes it possible for a person with a disability to take a bath on a daily basis without fear of caregivers.

In addition, by providing a small article storage section and a small article storage section in which the small articles in the bathroom can be placed and stored in the moving section, the structure can be used only for the bather to take a bath. Can also be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view of a simple bathing apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial structural explanatory view showing a use state of a representative embodiment of the airbag of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural explanatory view of a simple bathing apparatus showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathtub 1A Regulation step part 2 Airbag 2A mounting part 3 Air compressor 4 Rubber hose which is an air pipe 5 Switch part 6 Moving part 7 Rail-shaped moving guide 8 Seat part 8B Roller 9 Hinge 10 Leg support part

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A61H 33/00 310

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An airbag which is arranged so as to expand and contract vertically along a measuring wall of a bathtub and has a mounting portion having a seating area of a bather on an upper surface, and supplies air to the airbag. An air compressor to which an air pipe is connected so as to be able to be evacuated, a switch unit for switching an air supply / deaeration operation of the air compressor, and a position corresponding to a rising position of the upper edge of the bathtub substantially by the supply of air to the airbag mounting unit. A moving portion extending horizontally from outside the bathtub and adjacent to the airbag mounting portion, a moving guide provided so as to be continuous on the upper surface of the moving portion and the airbag mounting portion, and A simple household bathing device comprising a seat that can slide and a bather sits on. 2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is formed in a prismatic shape having a bellows-shaped side surface so as to be able to expand and contract.
A household simple bathing apparatus according to item 1. 3. The airbag supports a central portion of the mounting portion and supports a single airbag having a smaller projected area than the mounting portion or a plurality of locations on the outer peripheral side of the mounting portion and has a projected area larger than the mounting portion. The simple household bath apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of airbags each having a small size. 4. The moving portion is formed integrally with the bathtub so as to extend inward and outward from the edge of the bathtub, and the inner extension portion guides the elevating and lowering of the airbag on the inner surface, and armrests of a bather at the upper portion. The household simple bathing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is configured to have a function, and the outer extension portion is configured to function as a small article placing section or a small article storage section in the bathroom. 5. The household simple bathing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the airbag, the air compressor, the switch unit, and the moving unit are configured as individual components so as to be mounted on a bathtub. 6. The seat has auxiliary means such as a backrest, an armrest, or a foldable or stowable leg support for supporting the bather substantially horizontally so as to ensure stable sitting and movement of the bather. The household simple bathing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein