US2533534A - Toy bathtub - Google Patents

Description

1950 T. E. TELLEFSEN 2,533,534

TOY BATHTUB Filed March 29, 1948 36 73 THOMAS E. TELL Eg s gN attorney Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE TOY BATHTUB Thomas E. Tellefsen, Seattle, Wash. Application March 29, 1948, Serial No. 17,792 onions. (Cl. 46 14) My present invention relates to the general art of toy making, and more particularly to a toy bathtub.

With all the present day interest among grownups in the construction of housing and the like, it is only natural that this condition would be reflected through the talk of the parents on the desires of children for play equipment. The toy doll houses have been made for many years, and of more recent years, considerable time has been spent on the construction of miniature furniture in order to equip the doll houses. My toy bathtub lends itself particularly to such equipment, although of course, it can and no doubt will be used as a separate, individual toy.

Inasmuch as toys are now made to represent quite closely those found in full scale, such as, for instance electric ranges and electric irons that heat, and many other toys that perform generally the function of the full size equipment. I, therefore, have provided means, contained within my bathtub whereby the youngster can draw a bath for a .doll, for instance, and when the bath is concluded, by opening the drain which is positioned substantially as in a standard bathtub, the water contained within the bathtub will be drained down into a lower compartment on my toy. I thus provide a functional toy that will prove to be of great interest-sustaining value.

The principal object in my present invention, therefore, is to provide a toy bathtub which can be filled with water from a self-contained source and which will permit the water to be drained out of the tub back into this container within the outlines of the bathtub.

A further object of my invention is to'provide' a toy bathtub where the supply of water can be stored out of sight in a flexible sack so that in normal operation there is no water spilled about the floor while my toy is in use.

A further object of my invention is to provide a full functioning toy bathtub in which the vari-' ous parts are simpl made so that they can are expected to have a long, useful life without the necessity of repairs and which can be made cheaply enough to bring the toy within the range of the majority of children. I

A further object of my invention is to provide a toy bathtub in which, for initial filling of the water system, the water is poured into the tub as it would normaly be in use, without the necessity of having to fill some small container within the limits of the bathtub. I

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and die- 2 closure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings: I I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a bathtub made after the teachings of my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough my bathtub taken substantially along the plane indicated by line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the means I employ for compressing the water containing sack of my bathtub.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view,.in vertical section, of the drain elementof my device. The same thing is shown on a substantially increased scale.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral I0 designates generally the main tub portion of my bathtub. This conforms to the general form of the usual bath: tub as to proportions and has, as a matter of design necessity, the sloping bottom i2, so that the water will freely and quickl drain to one end. In other words, the slope for the relatively short distance should be several times that of the usual bathtub so that the water can be cleared out quickly when desired. To complete the tub, I provide the two end walls as M and i6, and two substantially vertical parallel side walls. Flush with, and formed as art of the tub portions, is the upper surface as [Send the downwardly directed skirts as 29. These skirts terminate in the lower supporting flange 22, which entirely encircles the tub. As I have indicated in Fig. 1, it is especially desirable to have the outside of the tub conform to modern practice in bathtub design, with the possible exception of finishing the tub on all sides so that it can be viewed from any angle.

Referring now to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the bottom of the tub, as !2, is raised considerably above the floor line as determined by the downwardly extending flange 22. This proportioning does not appreciably detract from the lifelike appearance of the bathtub and it is essential in order "that space be provided for the water containing flexible sack or bladder 24. The best type of sack 24 is a bulb lik'e arrangement made of rather dense rubber or like material which has sufficient rigidity so that it will normally re-eX'tend itself to its fullest position, much after the style of a self-filling bulb that once it has been compressed, tends to go back to its original form and thus has the quality of drawing by suc tion such water as may be in the tub.

In order to carry out the life-like representation of a bathtub, I have provided a water discharge tube 26, which is in turn suitably con nected to the sack 24. It would be possible to position pipe 26 to connect with the discharge opening normally closed by plug 60. Such an arrangement would require only one actual opening into the sack 24. However, it has been determined by trial, that a better arrangement appears to be, to bring tube 26 down along the side of the tub in the space, such as indicated at 28, which also extends around both sides of the tub and thus have 26 connected as at 30, to substantially a mid-point in the length of sack 24 but on one side thereof.

In order to compress sack 24 and expel the water upwardly through tube 26, into the tub, I provide the arrangement probably best illustrated in Fig. 3,. wherein a sheet of metal or plastic, which is relatively rigid, as 32, is positioned in a carrier, which consists of a general rectangular frame 34, which is bent at a point 36, substantiall midway of the length of sheet 32, to provide a transverse rocking line. Sheet 32 is formed to curl over the end of frame 34 as at 38, and at the opposite end of a U-shaped frame 40, hingedly secured at ii to frame 34, is provided so as to provide a support arrangement of similar character at 42; Frame 46 is provided with the opposite bends 43 which provides a transverse rocking line through points 43. It will be observed by study of the drawings that, if the upstanding end bar 44 is depressed, the frame 34 will rock about the bends at 36, and at the same time frame 49 will rock about bends 43 so that plate 32 Will be raised and the water squeezedfrom sack 24 through pipe 26 into the tub.

To effect the squeezing of sack 24 in a realistic manner, I have provided two yoke members as 58 and which are retained frictionally by the resilient guide member 53. This arrangement prevents one yoke dropping when the other is depressed. These yoke members are forked as 55 and 56 so as to form a loose but workable engagement with bar 44 f frame 34. I prefer to use the two yoke members 56 and 5| and have them extend up through the top surface [8 of the tub as shown in Fig. 1, so that they appear to provide a hot and a cold water supply. Naturally they both act upon the same source of water but, it is probably the best equivalent of the real thing that can be economically provided for the youngsters enjoyment.

In order to provide a drain so that the Water can be drawn, or rather flow out of the tub I0, I provide the outlet plug 6%. The exact construction of this plug is probably best illustrated in Fig. 4, and it must be considered that this plug must seal its opening during the time that the pressure is applied to faucets 56 and 5| in order that the water does not come up through the drain but is actually forced out through pipe 26. Then when it is desired to drain the tub, the plug must be capable of being opened so that the water can run back into sack 24 by gravity, or be sucked back int it, under certain conditions. To achieve these results I feel it best to provide plug 60 with the hand grip portion 62 and a preferably conical seat 64. In order to resist the pressure during the time the tub is being filled I employ the screw threads 66, which are threaded through through the material forming the bottom I 2 of the tub. In this connection it has been found desirable to use a multiple thread in order that a relatively small amount of turning of the 4 plug will raise it sufficiently to give prompt drainmg.

The member that is providing the seal between sack 24 and the drain opening is well illustrated in Fig. 4, in that the sack is reinforced, as in the annular ring at 68, and this being yieldable material can be distended and slipped over the bulbous portion 10 of the conical seat 64. A similar arrangement may be employed with tube 26. Tube 26, of course, could be a flexible tube, however, having it disposed as is illustrated in Fig. 2, a fixed tube, such as a small piece of copper tubing can be very successfully employed.

To place my toy bathtub in full operation, assuming it has been just unpacked from the purchase package, water is poured into tub ID to a desirable level. As viewed this would be considered to be about two-thirds full. From this point on the tub can function in the usual manner that the child would use it. In order to drain the tub, plug 60 is turned in its seat so that the conical seat is free and provides an annular opening for the Water to drain into sack 24, through a plurality of annularly disposed openings 72. The whole amount can drain quickly into sack 24 as the bulb is normally of greater width than the inside of tub I0 and has a greater capacity. Tube 26, under this condition provides an air escape vent so that the water will flow under force of gravity into sack 24. A variation of this, that may be attempted at any time, is to depress yokes 50 and 5| thereby flattening sack 24. Then if the finger is placed over the discharge opening of 26 with drain 60 open, a releasing of 50 and 5| will cause a very rapid evacuation of the water due to the suction provided by sack 24 as it regains its normal form. ,This latter method is not the one that is normally used, but has been found desirable where there may be sediment in the water and it will provide considerable agitation within sack 24 so that sediment and the like can be dispelled from the sack.

In the initial setup of my bathtub the various parts can be easily assembled by removing the bottom plate 13. After parts are in place, plate '13 should be either snapped into the recess provided as illustrated in Fig. 2, or suitable means should be employed to secure it in place.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of toy bathtub.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A toy bathtub, consisting of: a tub of rectangular form having a sloping bottom; a downwardly extending skirt surrounding and supporting said tub; a compressible, self restoring, water chamber disposed below the bottom of said tub; a water discharge tube, communicating with said chamber and having a discharge end adapted to direct water into said tub; a vertically movable support disposed below said chamber and adapted to contact its lower surface; means engageable outside of said bath tub adapted to raise said support and compress said water chamber; a drain for said tub communicating with said chamber; a drain plug adapted to selectively seal said drain opening against upward flow of water, or to permit the flow of water downwardly through said drain.

2. A toy bathtub, consisting of: a tub of rectangular form having a sloping bottom; a down wardly extending skirt surrounding and supporting said tub; a compressible water sack disposed below the bottom of said tub; a water discharge tube, communicating with said sack and having a discharge end adapted to direct water into said tub; a vertically movable plate disposed below said water sack and adapted to contact its lower surface; a frame-work disposed in part below said plate, adapted to raise said plate; means engageable outside of said bath tub adapted to communicate manual effort to said frame; a drain for said tub communicating with said water sack; a drain plug adapted to seal said drain opening against upward flow of water or downward flow of water through said drain.

3. A toy bathtub, consisting of: a tub of rectangular form having a sloping bottom; a downwardly extending skirt surrounding and supporting said tub; a compressible water sack disposed belo the bottom of said tub; a water discharge tube, communicating with said sack and having a discharge end adapted to direct water into said tub; a plate disposed below said sack and adapted to contact its lower surface; a fram work engageable outside of said bath tub adapted to compress said water sack; said frame work having a carrier of rectangular form, bent intermediate its ends to provide a transverse rocking line, and adapted to support one end of said plate; a U- shaped frame pivoted at its ends to said carrier, said U-shaped frame having a transverse rocking line intermediate its ends and adapted to support the opposite end of said plate; a drain for said tub communicating with said sack; a drain plug adapted to seal said drain opening against the flow of water in either direction through said drain.

4. A toy tub, consisting of: a basin having a sloping bottom; means for supporting said basin; a compressible water chamber disposed below the bottom of said basin; a water discharge tube, communicating with said chamber and having a discharge end adapted to direct water at considerable pressure into said basin; means engageable outside of said basin adapted to compress said water chamber; a drain for said tub communicating with said chamber; a drain plug adapted to selectively seal said drain opening against upward flow of water to to permit the flow of water downwardly through said drain.

5. A toy tub, consisting of: a tub having a sloping bottom; a downwardly extending skirt surrounding and supporting said tub; a self restoring compressible water chamber disposed below the bottom of said tub; a water discharge tube, communicating with said chamber and having a discharge end adapted to direct water into said tub; a vertically movable support disposed below said chamber and adapted to contact its lower surface; means engageable outside of said tub adapted to raise said support and compress said water chamber; a drain for said tub communicating with said chamber; a drain plug adapted to selectively seal said drain opening against upward flow of water or to permit the flow of water downwardly through said drain.

THOMAS E. TELLEFSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 746,390 Schmidt Dec. 8, 1903 1,340,109 Bodin May 11, 1920 2,196,912 Gilbraith Apr. 9, 1940

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