US2985889A - Bathing recliner - Google Patents

Description

May 30, 1961 R. E. FAIN ETAL BATHING RECLINER Filed July 10, 1958 United States Patent BATHING RECLINER Ruth E. Fain and Archie I. Fain, both of 55 Fairway Drive, West Newton, Mass.

Filed July 10, 1958, Ser. No. 747,611

4 Claims. (Cl. 4-185) The present invention relates to a recliner or chairrecliner primarily useful as a bathing aid.

Though reclining during tub bathing is frequently desirable it is scarcely comfortable, at least with the usual tub. Usually, the bather will not wish to lie flat and so either leans back without support or rests the head or shoulders against the tub end so that the back is inclined but not supported, either alternative involving discomfort as is well known. For many, such as the infirm, invalids and physically handicapped, reclining during bathing without assistance is not possible. In such cases, it is awkward, difficult and tiring to provide the necessary assistance, which usually involves trying to hold the patient in an inclined position with one hand and assisting the bathing with the other.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a bathing aid in the form of a device which will comfortably support a bather in a reclining position, the device being suitable for use in an ordinary bathtub, thus overcoming the aforementioned difiiculties.

Often it may be desirable or necessary to take a sponge bath, without actual immersion of the bathers body in the tub water. Sponge bathing by'standing in a tub is difiicult at best and impossible in many cases. Another object of the invention is to facilitate sponge bathing, and partial bathing such as douches, where body immersion in water may be undesirable, by providing a bathing aid which may be used as a chair or recliner to support the body above the water-level in the tub comfortably in sitting or reclining posture as desired.

- A still further object of the invention is to provide a bathing aid accomplishing the aforesaid objectives which may be advantageously and inexpensively made of molded plastic material suitably resistant to bath water temperatures, which is light enough to enable the device to be easily handled, and which does not require relatively movable parts for efiective utilization.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing particular description of the preferred embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair-recliner constructed according to the invention positioned for use as a bathing recliner;

Figs. 2 and 4 are respectively side elevation and end views of the device of Fig. 1 so positioned;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 1 positioned for use as a bathing chair;

. Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-section views respectively on the lines 55 and 66 of Fig. 2.

ment of the invention there shown has a back rest part 10 and a seat or leg support part 12. The part 10 may be similar to a chair back, being of a width and length mm forming to the bathers back with the top end 14 of diminishing width to form a shoulder, neck and head rest. The back rest is also contoured to fit the back, that is, concavely curved in transverse cross-section as shown in Fig. 5. The seat part 12 has a similar transverse concave curvature as shown in Fig.6 and as shown is connected integrally with the back rest by a smooth, lon-' gitudinally concave portion 16 best shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, this curve being of sufficient radius so that the angle between parts 10 and 12 is somewhat greater than a right angle.

side of slot 18 is curved outwardly at 20 presenting a convex curve toward the underside of the bathers legs. Adjacent each side edge of parts 10 and 12 and ex-fi tending longitudinally thereof is a supporting member in the form of a rail 22 which is formed integrally with or suitably attached to the outer surface of these parts;

Each member 22 has a portion 24 extending from adjacent the top portion 14 of the back rest to adjacent the base thereof, a portion 26 extending from the outer end 20 of the seat part 10'to adjacent its inner end and an intermediate connecting portion 28. The outer edges 30 of members 22 are substantially planar as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 throughout their length to lie flat against a planar surface. upper end to its lower end while portion 26 is of substantially uniform height which may approximate the height of the lower end of portion 24, their edges 30 extending in planes which intersect at a somewhat greater angle than that between parts 10 and 12. Portion 28 has its edge 30 formed as a convex curve connecting parts 24 and 26.

Used as a recliner, the device may be placed with the edges 30 of rail portions 24 resting on the bottom of a bathtub represented by the plane T in Fig. 2. By virtue of the diminishing height of the portions 24 of members 22, the back rest portion 10 is inclined downwardly from upper end to base'as determined by the diiference in height between the upper and lower ends of portions 24. For comfortable reclining this angle of inclination is preferably from about 20 to about 40 to the horizontal. The bather lies in the recliner, the bathers back resting in the part 10, the shoulders and neck supported by the portion 14, the thighs supported on the seat portion 12 at either side of slot 18. The knees are thereby substan-g tially elevated with the thighs supported and the lower leg portions free so that the feet may be rested on the tub modate an adult body fully reclined.

. The level of water in the tub is adjusted to the minimum height of portions 24 of support members 22 according Both back rest and seat part are also somewhat concavely curved longitudinally as indi-' cated in Fig. 2. Centrally of part 12 is formed a slot 18" extending from the outer end to adjacent the inner end of the seat part. The outer end of the part 12 at either Portion 24 is of diminishing height from its" to whether it is desired that the bathers body be immersed or not immersed in the water. In case nonimmersion is desired, the water level will be less than the height of the side edges of portion 16 and the inner end of slot 18 above the tub bottom. If some immersion is desired, the water level will be adjusted higher as may be suitable. In either case, it will be observed that the slot 18 provides easy access to the water for washing the inner and underside of the legs, for washing the lower body extremities and for douches. The convexly curved ends 20 of seat portion 12 insures that the underside of the legs at opposite sides of the knee will be supported out of engagement with the end edge, and to further insure against discomfort due to bodily contact with sharp edges the outer end of part 12 may be convexly rounded or curved under as indicated at 32 in Fig. 2. A similar curvature is desirably provided on the side edges and inner end of the slot 18 and along the outer edges of the seat and back rest portions as indicated at 33 in Figs. and 6.

If it is desired to use the device as a bathing chair to support the body upright or nearly so it may be positioned as shown in Fig. 3 with seat portion 12 supported substantially horizontally by portions 26 of members 22 resting horizontally on the tub bottom and back rest part inclined slightly to the vertical. In this position the bather sits on the part 12 at either side and inner end of slot 18, the bathers weight on part 12 serving to hold the device in the upright position and to permit substantial support from back rest part 10 without tipping backward. In this position, also, the water level may be adjusted to the height of portions 22 so that the body, except possibly the feet, may be kept entirely out of the water if that is desired, or the water level may be high enough to cover the body or portions thereof from the waist down. In either case, but particularly when the water level is below part 12, the slot 18 affords desirable ready access to the Water to facilitate bathing as above mentioned.

The curved portion 28 connecting portions 24 and 26 of support members 22 is a desirable feature since it enables the device to be rocked on the tub bottom from upright to reclining position and vice versa. This may he done by the bather while either reclining or sitting in the device, grasping the tub sides to assist or control the rocking movement, thus facilitating the use of the device in both positions during bathing.

While in Figs. 1 to 6 the portions 24 and 26 of members 22 have been shown as continuous as may be desirable for purposes of providing adequate supporting strength, this is obviously not essential. For example, portions between the outer and inner ends thereof may be omitted if adequate support is provided by the remainder. Moreover, the support members need not extend longitudinally of the device or be located at its side edges, although this structure is preferred. In Fig. 7 is shown another embodiment in which the side support members 22 of Figs. l-6 are replaced with three transversely extending support members 34, 36 and 38. In the upright position shown in this figure, the device is supported by members 36 and 38 which are integral with, or secured to, the outer and inner ends of the bottom surface of the seat part 12', member 38 also underlying portion 16' (parts the same as in Figs. 1-6 being designated by primes of the same reference numerals). In the reclining position, the device is supported by member 34 and a curved heel portion 40 of member 38, member 34 being of greater height than member 38 to provide an inclination similar to that of the embodiment previously described. Again, members 34, 36 and 38 need not be continuous between their ends but may be provided as two or more separate parts each extending only partially across the width of the device, as will be appreciated.

The devices of Figs. 1 to 7 are so designed that they may be made entirely of lightweight, molded plastic comp 4 a position, as is preferred, and indeed may be entirely produced in a single molding operation which is advantageeous from a cost standpoint. The plastic composition must of course not be such as to soften materially in water at bath water temperatures. However, there are many plastic compositions which are not softened or adversely affected by water at such temperatures or even at higher temperatures such as boiling water. Resinfiber glass plastic compositions such as are utilized for the formation of chair bodies or parts are preferred because of their light weight, great strength and low cost. If it is not desired or advantageous to form the entire device at a single molding, components may be formed separately and subsequently joined together in any suitable manner. Any metal parts are, of course, preferably of anti-rust composition such as stainless steel, a further advantage of the all molded plastic construction being that it requires no metal parts.

Fig. 8 shows an additional modification in the form of a detachable head rest extension at the top end of the back rest portion 10". This extension is shown as a waterproof cushion 40 having at either end projecting rods 42 (one shown) adapted to be removably received in spaced sockets 44 (one shown) molded or otherwise provided on the back of the upper end of the back rest which may correspond to the part =14 of Fig. 1 and is therefore designated with a double prime of that reference numeral. This modification may be desirable not only for providing more head support and greater comfort thereof as compared with the device of Fig. 1 but also in permitting the back rest part 10 to be made of length suflicient only to support the back and shoulders with head support being provided if desired by attaching the extension. The provision of such an extension may be desirable also for women bathers to insure that their hair will be kept out of the water when reclining.

Dimensions can be varied within wide ranges. For an adult, a width of about 13-15 inches for the back rest and seat parts is suitable, while a length of the back rest portion of about 15 inches and of the seat portion about 10 inches is usually adequate. The slot 18 may extend approximately the full length of the seat portion 12 to about its junction with portion 16 or be shorter as desired, and should be wide enough to permit the bathers hand to pass freely therethrough, for example 4 to 6 inches wide. Support members 22' may be about 3 inches in height in portions 26 and 28 and may increase in height to approximately 6 inches at the upper ends to provide a comfortable inclination plus an adequate minimum height for support above bath water level. The relative height of members 34, 36 and 38 of Fig. 7 may be similar. Various other sizes can be provided for adults and smaller sizes for children and infants as desired as will be apparent.

It will be understood that we have described and illustrated herein only preferred embodiments of the invention and that departures from details thereof may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A recliner device for use in bathing, comprising a back rest member and a seat member joined to one end of said back rest member, said members having their front, body-engaging surfaces extending at an obtuse angle to each other, said seat member having laterally spaced thigh-supporting portions at its outer end and a cavity between said portions extending substantially the full length of said portions, and support structure projecting rearwardly from said back rest member having its rearmost surface disposed in a support plane spaced closely rearwardly of the juncture between said back rest and seat member and generally parallel to the transverse axis of said device, said support plane diverging rearwardly of the back rest member from said juncture toward the free end of said back rest member, the angle between said support plane and said seat member being substantially greater than the angle between said support plane and said back rest member.

2. The device'claimed in claim 1 wherein said cavity extends through the front end of said seat member.

3. The device claimed in claim 1 wherein said support structure includes rails at opposite sides of said back rest member, extending longitudinally thereof and projecting rearwardly thereof, said rails having their rearmost surfaces lying in said support plane.

4. The device claimed in claim 1 wherein the undersurface of said seat member is provided with support structure extending rearwardly therefrom having its rearmost surface disposed substantially in a support plane 15 plane of said seat member so that said device may be rocked on a horizontal surface between positions of coincidence of one and the other of said support planes alternatively with said surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 142,800 Watson Nov. 6, 1945 D. 171,210 Jones Dec. 29, 1953 1,252,751 Weatherford Ian. 8, 1918 2,005,972 Gallop June 25, 1935 2,685,326 Lehman Aug. 3, 1954 !2,808,875 Bargen Oct. 8, 1957 2,847,061 Morton Aug. 12, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 769,258 France June 5, 1934 909,377 France Dec. 20, 1945

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