JP4237767B2 - Nursing tub - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bathtub that enables independent bathing for physically handicapped persons and elderly persons (hereinafter, care recipients), particularly those requiring caregiving with a low degree of care.

  Conventionally, by providing an opening in part of the side wall of the bathtub and making the height of the bottom of the bathtub substantially the same as that of a transport device such as a wheelchair, the care recipient is transferred from the transport device to the bathtub by himself without straddling the side wall. Nursing care bathtubs (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2) that can perform bathing are known.

  The bathtub described in Patent Document 1 is configured such that a care recipient can directly sit on the bottom of the bathtub from the entrance opening by manually removing the lid that is detachably attached to the entrance opening from the bathtub body. Has been.

On the other hand, the bathing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 manually rotates a door member that closes the door opening of the bathtub from the lower position to the upper position so that the care recipient can move from the door opening to the seat surface. It is configured so that it can be moved easily.
JP 2002-143260 A JP 2002-325818 A

  However, in the bathtub described in Patent Document 1, in order to remove the lid from the opening, the U-shaped connecting member is removed and the fastening tool is loosened to disengage the cutout groove from the lid, After the lid is guided by the locking piece and slid to the right by a predetermined amount, it is necessary to rotate it 90 ° and lean it against the right corner of the bathtub. On the contrary, the lid is airtightly fixed to the opening. After placing the lid on the locking piece, the left end surface is pressed against the regulating plate, and the blind hole is bridged using a U-shaped connecting member, and then the fastener is attached to the locking piece. An operation of inserting into the screw hole is necessary, and the attaching / detaching operation of the lid body is very complicated and has a problem that the burden on the caregiver is heavy.

  Further, in the bathing apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the door member is located above the upper edge of the bathtub when bathing and leaving, so that not only the care recipient needs to feel pressure and fear, but also in some cases it is necessary. There was a problem that there was a risk that a caregiver would accidentally hit his head and shoulders against the door member and be injured.

  The present invention has been made to solve these various problems, and its purpose is to reduce the burden on the caregiver's operation of the door member and to make the caregiver more secure without receiving a sense of pressure. The object is to provide a nursing tub that can be taken in and out.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bathtub having a door member capable of watertightly closing an opening formed by cutting at least one side wall surface, and a predetermined upper position and a predetermined lower portion of the door member. comprising a door moving means for moving vertically between the positions, at least care recipient a inner bottom surface of the bath is within the bottom surface of the seating is set at a height corresponding to the seating surface care recipient sits, In addition, the inner bottom surface is formed in a substantially horizontal plane in which substantially the entire surface extends in the front-rear and left-right directions, and in the door moving means, at least the upper surface of the door member facing the opening is substantially the same as the inner bottom surface of the bathtub. The door member can be moved to the predetermined lower position that is flush with or lower than the plane, and the care recipient can move from the opening to an arbitrary position on the inner bottom surface without performing an operation across the side wall and the door member. After sitting directly, said ERROR and can bathe in the bath, the door moving means, the closing means for closing the watertight between said door member and the peripheral surface of the opening in tandem with the movement of the predetermined upper position of the door member By automatically acting, the door member in a non-pressure contact state with respect to the peripheral surface is pressed in the peripheral surface direction, and the door member is pressed into the peripheral surface with a sealant interposed therebetween. It is characterized by.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the door member is a single piece.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1 or 2, a handle to be held by a care recipient is attached to the bathtub.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the care recipient can transfer directly from the transport device such as a wheelchair to the inner bottom surface of the bathtub only by moving the door member from the predetermined upper position to the predetermined lower position. In order to close the opening of the bathtub, it is only necessary to move the door member at the predetermined lower position to the predetermined upper position. The caregiver's burden related to the operation can be greatly reduced. If the movement of the door member is automated, the burden on the caregiver can be further reduced, which is preferable.

  At the time of entering and leaving the bath, the door member moves to a predetermined lower position where the upper surface of the door member is substantially flush with or less than the inner bottom surface of the bathtub, so that the vicinity of the upper surface of the door member hinders the transfer operation. No need for caregiver to feel pressure from door member, and safe entry / exit operation without risk of needing care to accidentally crash head or shoulder into door member Can be done. Further, a space for opening and closing the door member is not required as compared with a bathtub having a conventional side-opening door member, and installation in a small bathroom becomes possible.

  In addition, the inner bottom surface is formed in a substantially horizontal plane that extends substantially in the front / rear / left / right direction, so that the care recipient performs a bathing operation by sitting down at an arbitrary position on the inner bottom surface depending on the situation. It is easy to use for care recipients.

  According to invention of Claim 2, the structure of a door member and the structure of the door moving means to which this door member is moved can be simplified, and manufacturing cost can be restrained cheaply.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the care-requiring person can hold the handle during the bathing / removing operation to prevent the fall, and the care-requiring person can safely perform the entering / leaving operation.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of the nursing tub 1, FIG. 2 is a left side view of the nursing tub 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the nursing tub 1.

  The entire shape of the nursing tub 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the nursing tub 1 is disposed side by side on the bathtub 2 and the side surface on the one long side of the bathtub 2 (the rear surface of the bathtub 2) and a pump (not shown). A hot water storage tank 3 for storing hot water to be supplied to the bathtub 2 and connected to the bathtub 2 through a hot water transfer means including a piping member and the like is a main component.

  The bathtub 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped resin or stainless steel container 9 having an opening 4 formed by cutting out the entire area of the side surface of the bathtub 2 in the opposite (front) direction of the hot water storage tank 3. And is supported at a predetermined height. And it moves to the up-down direction between the predetermined upper position and the predetermined lower position via the door moving means 10 (refer FIG. 3) mentioned later, and the right and left facing the front side of the bathtub 3 via the closing means 11 mentioned later A single door member 6 is provided that enables watertight closing between the side wall surface 2a and the lower side wall surface 2a (hereinafter referred to as the peripheral surface of the opening 4).

  The support frame 8 is placed away from the floor surface 5 by four installation legs 26 arranged on the lower surface of the frame 8. The height H1 from the floor surface 5 to the inner bottom surface 2b of the bathtub 2 (container 9) where the care recipient is seated is determined by the care recipient who is seated on a transport device such as a general shower chair (not shown) or a wheelchair for bathing. It is set to a height that allows easy transfer directly to the inner bottom surface 2b, specifically, a height range of 400 mm to 500 mm, preferably 450 mm. The portion of the inner bottom surface 2b on which the care recipient is seated is formed in a substantially horizontal shape.

  The left and right inner side surfaces 2d of the bathtub 2 are each provided with a substantially U-shaped handle 7 in front view so that the upper surface portion is located near the upper edge surface 2c and the front surface portion is located near the left and right side wall surfaces 2a. Has been. The handle 7 is to be held by a care recipient when the transfer device is moved from the transport device into the bathtub 2 or from the bathtub 2 to the transport device. In addition, the attachment position of the handle 7 is not limited to the position, and may be provided at any position as long as it is easy for a care recipient to hold.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the door member 6 has a vertically outer dimension and a left and right outer dimension set longer than the inner dimensions of the opening 4 and has a substantially rectangular shape in front view. A seal member 16 made of a soft rubber material is attached in a substantially U shape along the left and right edges and the lower edge of the door member 6 on the side (rear surface side) facing the peripheral surface of the opening 4. Note that the seal member 16 is not on the rear surface side of the door member 6 but on the peripheral surface side of the opening 4 so as to correspond to the left and right edge edges and the lower edge edges on the rear face of the door member 6 moved to a predetermined upper position. You may stick it on.

  Next, a door moving means 10 for moving the door member 6 in the vertical direction between a predetermined upper position and a predetermined lower position, and a closing means 11 for closing the space between the door member 6 and the peripheral surface of the opening 4 in a watertight manner. The configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the door moving means 10 and the closing means 11 are arranged in the left and right short side directions of the bathtub 2, respectively. Description will be made by paying attention to the configuration of the door moving means 10 and the closing means 11 in the side direction).

  First, the configuration of the door moving means 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, support pillars 12 are erected and fixed over the upper and lower ends of the support frame 8 at positions close to the front surface of the bathtub 2, and a moving member 13 is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the support pillars 12. It has been. As shown in FIG. 3, the moving member 13 is a bent portion 13 a whose one side (door member 6 side) is bent into a substantially U-shape in plan view toward the outer side of the bathtub 2, and the other side is a flat plate. It is set as the surface part 13b.

  The outer peripheral surface of the support column 12 is sandwiched from the front and rear direction by the roller shaft 25 between the flat plate member 17 provided on the opposite side of the flat plate surface portion 13b with respect to the flat plate surface portion 13b and the support column 12, and can be rolled along the support column 12. A four-wheel roller 14 is attached and supported.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rod portion 15 a whose tip is pivotally mounted at an upper position behind the flat plate surface portion 13 b and the flat plate member 17, the portion 15 a is held so as to be extendable, and the lower portion is the support frame 8. An actuator 15 having a holding portion 15b fixed to the shaft is disposed. The moving member 13 and the actuator 15 described above constitute the door moving means 10 that moves the door member 6 in the vertical direction between a predetermined upper position and a predetermined lower position.

  Therefore, for example, when the rod portion 15a in the contracted state is operated in the extending direction as shown in FIG. 2, the four-wheel roller 14 rolls along the outer peripheral surface of the support column 12, and the moving member 13, that is, the door member. 6 will move upward. The rod portion 15a is electrically controlled such that the extension operation stops when the upper surface 6a of the door member 6 reaches a position (predetermined upper position) where the upper surface 6c of the bathtub 2 is substantially the same height.

  On the contrary, when the rod portion 15a in the extended state is operated in the contracting direction, the door member 6 moves downward. The rod portion 15a stops its contraction operation at a position where the rear lower surface of the flat plate surface portion 13b abuts on a limit switch 27 provided so as to protrude from the lower surface portion of the support frame 8 toward the floor surface 5. At this time, the upper surface 6a of the door member 6 is stopped. The height position (predetermined lower position) is substantially flush with the inner bottom surface 2b of the bathtub.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an upper cam 19 and a lower cam 20 which are bent into a dogleg shape when viewed from the side and have the same shape as each other extend from the flat surface portion 13b and are surrounded by the bent portion 13a. Are arranged so as to face up and down in a U-shaped space 18. One end of each of the upper cam 19 and the lower cam 20 is connected to the door member 6 via a connecting shaft 21 that passes through the bent portion 13a surface that is flush with the flat plate surface portion 13b from the vertical position of the left side of the door member 6. ing.

  The upper cam 19 and the lower cam 20 are respectively pivotally attached to a support shaft 22 inserted over both opposing surfaces of the bent portion 13a at the bent portion, and the other end side is provided to extend in the vertical direction. The upper and lower ends of the elongated cam-shaped cam operation plate 23 are respectively attached by connecting shafts 24. In FIG. 3, 28 is a boss fixed to both the left and right sides of one end of the upper cam 19, and the door member 6 moves in the vertical direction by suppressing unnecessary play in the horizontal direction of the upper cam 19. Sometimes, the door member 6 is prevented from swinging left and right.

  The above-described upper and lower cams 19 and 20 and the cam operation plate 23 press the door member 6 in the direction of the peripheral surface of the opening 4 to press the seal member 16 against the peripheral surface, so that the opening 4 is brought into contact with the door member 6. The closing means 11 for closing watertightly is configured.

  Therefore, for example, when the door member 6 is in the lower position shown in FIG. 2, the closing means 11 does not act, and the seal member 16 is in a non-pressure contact state with the peripheral surface of the opening 4 (see FIG. 3). When the door member 6 at this position is moved upward using the door moving means 10, the upper surface of the cam operation plate 23 contacts the upper surface edge 8 a of the support frame 8 at a certain position.

  Further, when the door member 6 is moved upward, the cam operation plate 23 is pushed downward in the opposite direction to the movement direction of the door member 6 by contact with the upper surface edge portion 8a. As a result, the upper cam 19 and the lower cam 20 are moved. Rotates to the state indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. By this rotation, the door member 6 is pressed in the direction of the peripheral surface of the bathtub 2, the seal member 16 is pressed against the peripheral surface, and the opening 4 is water-tightly closed by the door member 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper cam 19 and the lower cam 20 have the same shape, and the corresponding connecting shaft 24, supporting shaft 22, and connecting shaft 21 are aligned at the same position in the vertical direction. Since the distance between the shafts 22 and the distance between the support shaft 22 and the connecting shaft 21 are the same in the upper cam 19 and the lower cam 20, the upper cam 19 and the upper cam 19 when the door member 6 reaches a predetermined upper position. The distances by which the respective cams move due to the rotation of the lower cam 20 are the same distance, and therefore the pressing forces exerted on the upper part and the lower part of the door member 6 are the same force.

  In addition, although detailed description is abbreviate | omitted, on the upper edge surface 2c of the bathtub 2, in addition to the power switch of the care bathtub 1, the start of the upward movement and the downward movement of the door member 6 is instructed. An operation display unit 29 equipped with various switches such as a door movement switch, a hot water storage switch for instructing the start of hot water storage from the hot water tank 3 to the bathtub 2, and a hot water temperature display unit for displaying the hot water temperature in the bathtub 2 is provided. Is provided.

  Next, the usage method of the care bathtub 1 of 1st embodiment is demonstrated. The door member 6 is moved to a predetermined upper position, and it is assumed that a predetermined amount of hot water is stored in the hot water storage tank 3. The caregiver turns on the power switch and then depresses the door movement switch to move the door member 6 to a predetermined lower position. A care recipient seated on a transport device such as a shower chair is guided to a position near the opening 4.

  A care recipient having a low degree of care required, for example, having a level of care required of 1, transfers from the opening 4 to the inner bottom surface 2b of the bathtub 2 by himself / herself while holding the handle 7 as necessary. In addition, in the case of a care recipient who has a high degree of care required, such as a degree of care required of 3 or the like, it may be transferred to the inner bottom surface 2b with the assistance of the caregiver. At this time, since the vicinity of the upper surface 6a of the door member 6 does not protrude upward from the inner bottom surface 2b, it does not hinder the transfer operation of the care recipient and the assistance work of the caregiver. Further, since the height H1 from the floor surface 5 to the inner bottom surface 2b is set to be substantially the same as the seating surface of the transport device, the care recipient is remarkably involved in the transfer from the transport device to the inner bottom surface 2b. Can be transferred easily without labor.

  After confirming that the care recipient has completely entered the bathtub 1, the caregiver presses the door movement switch to move the door member 6 to a predetermined upper position. When the door member 6 reaches a predetermined upper position by the door moving means 10, the closing means 11 automatically operates, so that the caregiver can close the opening 4 in a watertight manner only by an extremely easy operation of pressing the door moving switch. The operation burden on the caregiver's door movement is extremely small.

  The hot water storage switch is pressed, and the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 is supplied and moved to the bathtub 2. When leaving the bath, the bath water in the bathtub 2 is drained first. After confirming that drainage is complete, the door movement switch is pressed to move the door member 6 to a predetermined lower position. The care recipient needs to transfer to the transport device by himself or with the assistance of the caregiver and complete the bath.

  In the first embodiment described above, the pressing force exerted by the upper cam 19 and the lower cam 20 on the upper part and the lower part of the door member 6 when the door member 6 reaches a predetermined upper position becomes the same force. However, the water pressure exerted on the door member 6 by the hot water supplied into the bathtub 2 becomes lower as the bath member 6 moves upward, so that the pressing force by the upper cam 19 is reduced to the lower cam at the time point. You may make it become low with respect to the pressing force of 20. For example, the pressing force of the upper cam 19 can be reduced by changing the current position of the connecting shaft 21 in the upper cam 19 downward and reducing the distance between the support shaft 22 and the connecting shaft 21. It becomes possible.

  By changing in this way, the repulsive force which the upper part of the door member 6 receives from the seal member 16 when the door member 6 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the opening 4 can be reduced, and the opening 4 can be more suitably opened. It becomes possible to close with the member 6.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment, the opening 4 is formed so that the peripheral surface of the opening 4 is oriented in the vertical vertical direction when viewed from the side, but the upper edge surface so that the upper part of the bathtub 2 is longer than the lower part when viewed from the side. An opening is formed in an inclined shape from 2c toward the inner bottom surface 2b, and a door moving means is disposed at each position of the bathtub so that the door member can be moved in the vertical direction along the inclined peripheral surface of the opening. May be. In addition, by electrically controlling the speed of each actuator rod in the embodiment in the vicinity of the start of extension and the vicinity of the stop of extension and the speed in the vicinity of the start of contraction and the vicinity of the stop of contraction, the door member is moved upward and downward. The movement may be started gradually and the movement may be stopped gently.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a bathtub that enables independent bathing of a care recipient, particularly a care recipient with a low degree of care required.

It is a front view which shows the care bathtub which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a left view which shows the care bathtub which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the nursing bathtub which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the nursing care bathtub which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a left view which shows a part of nursing care bathtub which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the care bathtub which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows typically the shape of the 1st door member which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the nursing bathtub in the state which fixed the 2nd door member which concerns on 3rd embodiment of this invention to the horizontal direction orthogonal to a 1st door member. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the AA arrow direction in FIG. It is a front view which shows the care bathtub of the state which moved both the 1st door member and 2nd door member which concern on 4th embodiment of this invention to the predetermined downward position. It is a left view which shows the care bathtub which concerns on 4th embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the care bathtub which concerns on 4th embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the care bathtub of the state which moved both the 1st door member and 2nd door member which concern on 5th embodiment of this invention to the predetermined downward position. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the BB arrow direction in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Nursing bathtub 2 Bathtub 2b Inner bottom face 4 Opening part 6 Door member 7 Handle 10 Door moving means

Claims (3)

A bathtub having a door member capable of watertightly closing an opening formed by cutting and forming at least one side wall surface;
Door moving means for moving the door member in a vertical direction between a predetermined upper position and a predetermined lower position;
Wherein the bottom surface is set at a height corresponding to the seating surface care recipient sits, and the inner bottom surface has its substantially entire extends in longitudinal and lateral directions at least care recipient a inner bottom surface of the bath is seated Is formed in a substantially horizontal plane,
The door moving means is capable of moving the door member to the predetermined lower position where at least the upper surface of the door member facing the opening is substantially flush with or less than the inner bottom surface of the bathtub;
The care recipient is able to take a bath by transferring into the bathtub after sitting directly on an arbitrary position on the inner bottom surface from the opening without performing an operation across the side wall and the door member ,
The door moving means is configured to automatically act as closing means for watertightly closing between the peripheral surface of the opening and the door member in conjunction with the movement of the door member to a predetermined upper position. A nursing bath , wherein the door member in a non-pressure contact state with respect to the peripheral surface is pressed in the peripheral surface direction, and the door member is pressed into contact with the peripheral surface via a sealing material .
The nursing care bathtub according to claim 1, wherein the door member has a single structure.
The care bathtub according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a handle to be held by a care recipient is attached to the bathtub.

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