US2659899A - Recumbent shower bath - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 24, 1953 K. P. wn |s 2,659,899

RECUMBENT SHOWER BATH Filed Feb. 1, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INYENTOR lfz'rk P. wizzis' ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 1953 K. P. WILLIS I 2,659,899

7 RECUMBENT SHOWER BATH Filed Feb. 1, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 0 cl 0 v 0 U 0 U U U/O U 9 as $2 7o [4 [00 3o 55 26 28 f 2 e 14 INVENTOR In 'IZVIIIIIIIIIIIIZ kirk P. waz us Patented Nov. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,659,899 RECUMBENT SHOWER BATH Kirk P. Willis, Wagoner, Okla.

Application February 1, 1952, Serial No. 269,362

ll Claim. (01. 4-145) This invention relates to a unitary structure so designed as to permit one to take a shower while in a reclining position. It is well appreciated that many accidents occur in the bathroom, and a substantial number of such accidents are caused due to a loss of ones footing during the taking of a shower. Falls from a standing position, of course, can have and often do have very serious consequences.

Falls also occur, in many instances, when a person is getting into or out of a, bath tub, by

reason of said person slipping on the bottom of the tub. Especially is this true when one is old and feeble.

Apart from the above, many persons who would prefer to shower rather than take a tub bath are prevented from doing so due to physical disabilities, and this also is a consideration which makes desirable the provision of a shower bath assembly wherein one can remain in a reclining position, with the head and shoulders slightly elevated so as to place ones body in the same position as is assumed thereby in a bed provided with the usual pillow.

The broad object of the present invention is to provide a structure which will be novelly designed in a manner particularly well adapted to meet the above stated considerations, and to this end, the invention comprises a unitary assembly which when viewed in its basic aspects, is a combined bed and shower bath, having a bed portion on which one may recline and a shower unit so related to said bed portion as to cause a gentle spray to fall upon the user while he or she is reclining in a supine position.

' A further important object of the invention is to provide a structure as described in which the water emanating from the shower unit will place of said conventional tub or shower.

Still another obiect is to provide an assembly of the type stated which will be provided, in a "location readily accessible to a user, with a sy ringe wherebyone may give herself a douche, said assembly being equipped with an adiustable hip and back rest adapted to elevate the hip and "ba While t e body is a ,repli ins P i i Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a shower bath and bed structure formed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure l, on an enlarged scale;

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view of the hip and back rest, the scale being enlarged still further, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2;

Figure '7 is an enlarged detail sectional view, taken on line 1-1 of Figure 4, showing the construction at the head end of the bed portion;

Figure 8 is a perspective view, on a reduced scale, of a mattress embodied in the structure constituting the present invention; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the hip an back rest.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the bed portion will be first described. This includes a supporting frame generally designated In, said frame being arranged horizontally and being of rectangular outer configuration when viewed in plan. The frame l i] is formed with parallel, horizontally disposed side rails [2, having their respective ends rigidly secured in any suitable manner to parallel, horizontally disposed end rails Mextended transversely of the frame at opposite ends thereof. Fixedly secured to the side and end rails, at the several corners of the frame, are depending supporting legs l5, adapted to support the rails 12 and M in an elevated position above a supporting surface S. The surface S, in this connection, might be the bottom of a conventional bathtub, or alternatively, it may be a tile floor surface or the like, onto which Water may drain during the regular use of the structure herein described.

Angular braces [8 are preferably employed. these extending between the several legs l6 and the ad acent portions of the side and end rails to which they are secured to ri idify the frame construction. In this connection, the braces, legs, and rails I2 and 14 complete the construction of the supporting frame, and are preferably chrome plated or otherwise treated in a manner effective to render them proof against corrosion or rust.

The bed portion also includes a drain and support plate, said plate being designated generally by the reference numeral and bein integrally formed from a single piece of corrosion and rust proof metal material. The support plate is formed with a flat, rectangular, plate member 22, disposed in a plane slightly below that of the side and end rails of the frame It, and provided throughout its area with perforations 2 through which water may drain onto the surface S.

As best shown in Figures 3 and 7, the plate member 22 has one end portion thereof inclined out of the plane of the main body of the plate member, to provide a head rest 26,.whereby the head and shoulders of a user may be elevated slightly in a position similar to that obtained when one is in bed. Said head rest, as will be noted from either of Figures 3 or 7, is formed with a curved flange extending from side to side .of the support plate at one end thereof and engaging over one of the and rails l4.

Extended longitudinally of the support plate 20 along the opposite sides thereof are side walls '30, saidwalls being integral with the plate memher and extending upwardly toward the respective side rails 12. outwardly directed, transversely curved support flanges 32 are formed upon said side walls, and engage over the side rails to support the plate member dependingly from the support frame If). An end wall 34 is formed upon the foot end edge of the plate member, and is provided with an integral foot end flange 36 engaging over that end rail 14 disposed at the foot ,end of the structure constituting the present invention. Thus, the support plate 20 is mounted upon the support frame, and is of a panlike formation so as to cause all water dropping thereupon from the shower unit to drain through the perforations 2'4.

.Ordinarily, one using the invention will lie in a full reclining position upon the bed portion, but under some circumstances, to be discussed in greater detail hereinafter, a user may desire to have the hip and back elevated while still remaining in a reclining position. To this end, I provide in the structure a hip and back rest, adjjus-table between one position in which it is disposed in the plane of the plate member, and in which it is inoperative for its intended purpose, "and any of a plurality of selected, operative positions in which it is swung upwardly to afford a support for th hips and back of one seated upon the bed portion.

To provide a space in which the hip and back rest may be supported when inoperatively disposed, the plate member is provided, centrally thereof, with an opening 38, the edge of which is off-set downwardly (Figure '6) to form a sunport-ing ledge M for the hip and back rest 42. In Figure 6, the rest 42 is illustrated in its inoperative position, and it will be noted that when it is .in said position, the rest will be coplanar with the plate member so as not to project upwardly therefrom in a manner which would react detrimentally to the comfort of one reclining at full length upon the bed portion.

To provide a means for adjusting the rest 42 to a selected position, I secure to the underside thereof a pair of pivot brackets 44, these being spaced transversely of the rest andrecei-ving a prank 4% that is formed upon a shaft 43 medially between e pposite ends of the shaft. The shaft 48 extends below the plate member 22 and side rails l2, and is journalled at it opposite ends 4 in bearings 50 secured to the underside of the plate member contiguous to the respective side edges thereof.

By reason of this formation and relative arrangement of parts, rocking of the shaft in one direction will be operative to impart upward swinging movement to the hip and back rest, thereby to adjust the rest to a position in which it will elevate the users hips and back. Rocking of the shaft in an opposite direction, conversely, will effect return movement of the rest 42 to the inoperative position thereof illustrated in the drawings.

To control movement of the shaft, and to retain the shaft in selected positions to which it is rotated, I secure to one end of the shaft an operating handle 52. The handle extends upwardly from the bed portion .of the structure, and is equipped with a spring-urged detent or latch 54 normally engaging a selected notch of a segment 56 fixedly secured to the adjacent side rail I2 of the frame H].

For the comfort of the user, it is preferred that a mattress 58 be utilized, said mattress being of the inflatable type and being equipped with the usual air valve 60. The mattress would be of rubber or other waterproof material, and is proportioned to cover the plate member 22 completely. At one end, the mattress overlies the inclined head rest 26, to cushion ones head when he or :he is reclining at full length upon the bed porion.

The parts so far described constitute the bed portion of the invention. In addition to this portion, however, the invention includes a shower unit, so formed and so located relative to the bed portion as to permit one reclining upon said portion to take a shower while keeping his or her shoulders dry.

The shower unit includes a vertically arranged support member 62 formed from a flat sheet of metal material .of non-corrosive and rustproof properties. The support member is secured along the bottom edge thereof to that end rail [4 disposed at the head of the structure constituting the present invention, by means of screws 64 (Figure 7) or equivalent fastening elements.

Integral with the opposite side edges .of the support member are side plates 66, and at the upper end of the support member, a canopy 68 is made rigid with said support member and with the side plates in any suitable manner.

For the convenience of the user, a cabinet 10 is preferably incorporated in the support mem.-

ber construction, said cabinet being recessed within the support member and being provided with hinged closures l2, Interiorly, the cabinet is compartmented as at 14, .to receive soaps, wash towels, and the like. In one of the compartments formed in the cabinet, a support hook it is mounted, over which a flexible hose or tube 18 may be looped when not in use. The hose 18, at its outlet end, has secured thereto a syringe which when considered per se is of conventional formation, so that one making use of the invention may conveniently be provided with means for taking a douche. In this event, the hip and back rest 42 would be adjusted to a selected operative position, to elevate the users hips and back. The mattress 58 need not be removed when the rest 42 is raised.

The flow of water through the flexible tube 0 hose 118 is controlled through the medium of a alve .82, moun ed pon the sup ort member 5 at a location readily accessible to a user, and controlling the flow through a branch pipe 84. The branch pipe is connected to and is in communication with a riser pipe 86, that extends upwardly along the back or outer surface of the support member. At its lower end the riser pipe is in communication with vertically disposed, parallel, hot and cold water pipes 88 each of which is provided with a valve 90.

The riser pipe extends above the canopy 68, and at its upper end is secured to a lateral extension having a connection with one end of a horizontally disposed outlet tube 92. The outlet tube 92, as will be noted from Figure 2, extends longitudinally and centrally of the assembly constituting the present invention, for substantially the full length thereof, and is suitably capped at its free end.

At spaced intervals longitudinally thereof, the tube 92 has mounted thereon spray jets 93, these being arranged to direct jets of water upwardly from the tube 92 when a valve 94, controlling the flow of water through the riser pipe and mounted. on said pipe above the branch 84, is opened.

As will be noted from Figures 3 and 5, the tube 92 underlies and is in spaced relation to an elongated deflector plate 96 of transversely curved of projections I02, the projections of each row being staggered transversely of the deflector relative to the projections of the rows on either side thereof. ,The projections are disposed over the full area of the deflector plate, and are of rounded shape. As a result, when jets or sprays of water are forced upwardly through the several spray nozzles 93, said jets will be directed forcibly against the upwardly bowed mid-width portion of the deflector plate and will travel outwardly in opposite directions, toward the respective side edges of the deflector. As the water moves outwardly over the under surface of the deflector plate, the projections I02 will cause the water to collect thereupon and drip downwardly upon the body of the user, in a manner not unlike that of a gentle rainfall.

It will be readily appreciated, it is thought, that this arrangement is conducive to relaxation during the taking of a shower, the construction illustrated and described being particularly adapted to break up the high pressure jets of water which strike the body when a shower is taken in a conventional shower unit. Further, coacting with this organization of parts is the construction whereby the user reclines at full length, with his or her head and shoulders elevated slightly in a. comfortable position and disposed out of the area over which water drops from the rounded projections [02.

If desired, the structure illustrated and described may be positioned dire y h n a tub of conventional design, with the hot and cold water pipes being separably connected to the hot and cold water pipes of the bathtub assembly by flexible hoses or conventional joints. Or, the structure can be used in substitution of a conventionally designed tub or shower, and can be mounted upon a tile or similar floor surface suitably inclined to permit the drainage of water dropping thereon from the drain and support plate 20.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A collapsible shower unit comprising a frame having parallel side and end bars, legs carried by the frame for holding said frame spaced above a supporting surface, a bottom having spaced drain openings extending therethrough, side and end walls carried by the bottom and extending upwardly from the perimeter thereof and defining with said bottom a shallow pan, flanges carried by the side and end walls and extending outwardly therefrom adjacent the upper edges thereof for engaging the side and end bars of the frame and supporting the pan on the frame in spaced relation to the surface, support rods having arcuate feet removably mounted on the side flanges of the pan and extending upwardly therefrom, said support rods converging toward a plane intersecting the longitudinal axis of the frame as they recede from the side flanges, a transversely arched deflector plate carried by the support rods adjacent the upper ends thereof and extending above the pan in spaced relation thereto, a duct carried by and extending longitudinally in spaced relation below the defiector plate, said duct having upwardly and outwardly directed spray Openings extending therethrough for directing water introduced into the duct upwardly and outwardly against the deflector plate from whence it drips upon a person lying prone in the pan.

KIRK P. WILLIS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 21,615 Irwin Nov. 5, 1940 412,244 Dittman Oct. 8, 1889 592,234 Boyle Oct. 26, 1897 1,143,822 Giedinghagen June 22, 1915 1,242,113 Rees Oct. 2, 1917 2,058,003 Davies Oct. 20, 1936 2,148,926 Bullington Feb. 28, 1939 2,300,455 Lukats Nov. 3, 1942 2,301,601 Wittwer et al Nov. 10, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 624,800 Great Britain June 16, 1949

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