WO2013125477A1

WO2013125477A1 - Lift mechanism for bathtub, and bathtub

Info

Publication number: WO2013125477A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/053830
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真也鳥居; 陽一大倉
Original assignee: 酒井医療株式会社
Priority date: 2012-02-23
Filing date: 2013-02-18
Publication date: 2013-08-29
Also published as: JP2013169444A; JP5938231B2

Abstract

This lift mechanism (16) for a bathtub is provided with: a support (18) which is provided on the inner wall surface side of the bathtub body (11) and which supports a sitting section (19); and a lift drive section (26) which vertically moves the sitting section (19) along the support (18). Also, this lift mechanism (16) for a bathtub is configured so that the support (18) and the sitting section (19) can be displaced in the direction in which the support (18) and the sitting section (19) move away from the inner wall surface.

Description

Bathtub lift mechanism and bathtub

The present invention relates to a lift mechanism for a bathtub and a bathtub provided with the lift mechanism, which raise and lower a seating portion on which a bather sits in a bathtub body.
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-037364 for which it applied to Japan on February 23, 2012, and uses the content here.

Conventionally, for example, in a bathtub for a nursing facility or a home tub, if the height of the side wall of the bathtub body is high, it is not easy for a disabled person or an elderly person to cross the side wall at the time of bathing, and it is difficult and troublesome to enter the bathtub. there is a possibility. Therefore, the recessed part which dipped below and is formed in a floor surface, and installing the bathtub main body in the recessed part may make the side wall height of the bathtub main body with respect to a floor surface low. Thereby, even if it is a handicapped person, an elderly person, etc., the side wall of a bathtub main body can be straddled easily at the time of bathing.
However, in a conventional bathtub in which a bathtub body is installed in a recess on the floor surface, labor and construction costs for forming the recess on the floor surface on which the bathtub body is installed may be required.

Moreover, the open / close-type bathtub shown in patent document 1 is proposed as a bathtub for improving such a subject. In this bathtub, an opening is formed in the side wall of the bathtub body, and a door is provided so as to be slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the opening. In such an open / close-type bathtub, when a bather such as a handicapped person or an elderly person takes a bath, the door is lowered to open the opening, and the bath is bathed on the rail base in the bathtub body from the transfer stand arranged adjacent to the bathtub body. Move the bathing chair on which the person is placed in the horizontal direction. Then, a door part is raised and the opening part of a bathtub main body is closed.
When the bather is moved into the bathtub body during bathing, the hot water in the bathtub above the opening is temporarily transferred to the tank, and the hot water in the tank is returned to the bathtub after the opening is closed by the door. . Therefore, the amount of hot water taken in and out of the bather is about half of the amount of hot water stored in the bathtub, so the time required for the transfer of hot water accompanying bathing and bathing can be greatly reduced. .

In recent years, the ratio of elderly people to the total population has been increasing year by year, and it has become difficult to care for a large number of elderly people in hospitals and nursing care facilities. For this reason, the need for nursing care including bathing for elderly people at home has been increasing year by year.
However, in the openable bathtub described in Patent Document 1, the bather is transferred to the rail base in the bathtub through the opening of the bathtub main body by the transfer base while being placed on a bathing chair or stretcher. For this reason, the space occupied by the chairs and stretchers for bathing is large, and a large space is required for the bathroom and bathtub body, making them suitable for bathing in relatively small domestic bathrooms and small bathrooms or bathtubs. There may not be.

On the other hand, in the bathtub described in Patent Document 2, a lift mechanism that holds the seating portion on which the bather sits so as to be movable up and down is provided on the side wall facing the opening of the bathtub body, and the seating portion provided on the lift mechanism is rotated. It is made possible to slide toward the opening. In addition, the lift mechanism is movable along the side wall.
Accordingly, even in a narrow space such as a home bathroom, the seat mechanism can be positioned at a position where bathing is easy by moving the lift mechanism provided with the seat according to the layout of the bathroom. Moreover, by rotating or moving the seating part while the bather is seated on the seating part of the bathtub, the disabled or the elderly can enter and leave the bathtub through the opening, so it is easy to bathe become.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-7848 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-296715

However, in the open / close-type bathtub described in Patent Document 2 described above, a column of a lift mechanism and a seating portion that is guided by the column and moves up and down are installed in the bathtub body. Therefore, when such an open / close bathtub is repeatedly used for bathing, dirt may adhere to the support column, the seating portion, and the inner wall surface of the bathtub main body in contact with these. For example, scales, hair, garbage, etc. may accumulate in these portions. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the bathtub regularly in order to keep the inside of the bathtub clean.
When cleaning the bathtub or the lift mechanism, the surface of the lift mechanism (such as the surface of the seating portion) can be cleaned with the lift mechanism installed in the bathtub. On the other hand, it is difficult to clean the lift mechanism columns and the back surface of the seating section, and the inner wall surface of the bathtub main body that abuts them unless the lift mechanism is removed from the bathtub, which may be cumbersome and inconvenient. is there. In particular, in a bathtub where many bathers take a bath such as a nursing facility, the lift mechanism must be frequently removed for cleaning, which may be cumbersome and time-consuming.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bathtub lift mechanism that can clean a column and a bathtub body without removing the lift mechanism and a bathtub including the same.

The bathtub lift mechanism according to the present invention includes a support column that is provided on the inner wall surface side of the bathtub body and supports the seating portion, and an elevating drive unit that moves the seating portion up and down along the support column. Moreover, the support | pillar and the seating part are comprised so that a displacement in the direction away from an inner wall face is possible.
According to the bathtub lift mechanism of the present invention, when the bather takes a bath, the support column and the seating part are provided at a position in contact with or close to the inner wall surface of the bathtub body. The support column and the seating portion can be displaced in a direction away from the inner wall surface. By separating the support and the seating portion from the inner wall surface, dirt such as dirt and dust attached to the inner wall surface can be easily cleaned. In addition, dirt such as a column spaced from the inner wall surface and the back surface side of the seating surface can be easily cleaned.

Moreover, the rotating shaft which supports a support | pillar and a seating part so that rotation to the direction spaced apart from the inner wall face of a bathtub main body may be provided in the upper part of the support | pillar.
When cleaning the inside of the bathtub main body, the back surface of the support column and the seating portion and the inner wall surface where they come into contact with each other by rotating the support column and the seating portion in a direction away from the inner wall surface around the rotation shaft provided at the top of the support column Etc. can be easily cleaned.

The bathtub in the present invention includes the above-described bathtub lift mechanism.
Moreover, the opening part for connecting the inside of a bathtub main body and the exterior may be formed in the upper part side of the one side wall of a bathtub main body, and the bathtub in this invention may further be provided with the door part which opens and closes this opening part.
In a bathtub (open / close-type bathtub) having an opening, a disabled person, an elderly person, etc. can move through the opening into the bathtub body and sit on the seat. Thereafter, the bather can take a bath by raising the door, closing the opening, and further supplying hot water.

According to the lift mechanism of the bathtub and the bathtub including the same according to the present invention, when cleaning the inside of the bathtub, the space between the two is achieved by displacing the support column and the seating portion in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the bathtub body. It is formed. Therefore, dirt such as scales and dust attached to the inner wall surface can be easily cleaned, and dirt on the back surface of the column and the seating surface separated from the inner wall surface can be easily cleaned. That is, it is possible to clean the inner wall surface of the bathtub provided with the columns and the back surface of the columns without removing the lift mechanism.

It is a perspective view which shows the open / close-type bathtub in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the open / close-type bathtub shown in FIG. It is the front view which fractured | ruptured a part of open / close-type bathtub shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the lift mechanism installed in the open / close bathtub. It is a rear view of a lift mechanism. It is a front view of the open / close-type bathtub of the state which closed the opening part with the door part. FIG. 6 is a side view of the open / close bathtub shown in FIG. 5.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The openable bathtub 10 (tub) in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes an opening provided in the bathtub main body 11 and the first side wall 11a (side wall) on the front side of the bathtub main body 11 (the side where the bather takes a bath). 12 and a door portion 13 that is movable along the height direction of the first side wall 11a and that opens and closes the opening portion 12.
The bathtub main body 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape with an open top, and includes a first side wall 11a, a second side wall 11b, a third side wall 11c, and a fourth side wall 11d and a bottom wall, which are four side walls. Is formed. In FIG. 1 etc., the 1st side wall 11a and the 2nd side wall 11b are the plate-shaped side walls of the long side of the bathtub main body 11, and are arrange | positioned mutually, and the 3rd side wall 11c and the 4th side wall 11d are the bathtub main body 11's. It is a plate-like side wall on the short side and is disposed so as to face each other. The opening 12 is formed by cutting the first side wall 11a on the front side downward from the upper part (upper end), for example, about the upper half in a substantially rectangular shape. The opening 12 is formed so as to connect the inside of the bathtub body 11 and the outside thereof, and is provided in order to make it easy for the bather to enter and leave the bathtub body 11.

The door part 13 is a member for opening and closing the opening part 12, and is attached to the first side wall 11a so as to be movable up and down along the first side wall 11a of the bathtub body 11. The first side wall 11a is provided with a guide groove 14 that guides the up-and-down movement of the door portion 13. By supplying a gas such as air, the sealing member 15 that seals between the opening 12 of the first side wall 11a and the door portion 13 in a liquid-tight manner to prevent leakage of water is provided on the inner surface (first side wall of the door portion 13). 11a (surface facing 11a) (see FIG. 5).
The seal member 15 is formed on the inner surface of the door portion 13 in, for example, a substantially U shape or a U shape.
The seal member 15 is formed of a hollow, stretchable synthetic resin material or rubber material. The seal member 15 expands when a gas such as air is supplied in a state in which the door 13 closes the opening 12, and seals between the opening 12 and the door 13 in a liquid-tight manner. Thereby, the sealing action which prevents the hot water in the bathtub main body 11 from leaking out from the opening part 12 is implement | achieved.

The open / close bathtub 10 includes a seat 19 that is provided in the bathtub body 11 and on which a bather can be seated, and a lift mechanism 16 (a lift mechanism for the bathtub) that moves the seat 19 up and down. In FIG. 1, a lift mechanism 16 is attached to a short side plate-like third side wall 11 c in the bathtub main body 11, and an accommodation box 17 is disposed on the back side of the third side wall 11 c (outer side surface of the bathtub main body 11). ing. The configuration of the lift mechanism 16 is described in detail in Patent Document 2 above. The height of the storage box 17 is substantially the same as the height of the bathtub body 11 (third side wall 11c).
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4B, the lift mechanism 16 is provided on the inner wall surface side of the bathtub main body 11 and supports a seating portion 19 and an elevating drive unit that moves the seating portion 19 up and down along the column 18. 26 (described later). A support column 18 is provided in the bathtub body 11 along the vertical direction of the third side wall 11c, and a seating portion 19 that can be moved up and down is attached to the support column 18 using the support column 18 as a lifting guide.
Further, a contact portion 18a that contacts the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11c is provided on the back surface (the surface on the third side wall 11c side) of the support column 18 (see FIG. 3). The contact portion 18a can prevent the entire support column 18 from coming into contact with and scratching the third side wall 11c. The abutting portion 18 a is provided at the lower portion of the support column 18. The contact portion 18a may be formed of an elastic body.

As shown in FIG. 3, the seating portion 19 includes a lift portion 20 that moves up and down along the support column 18 and a seat surface portion 21 on which a bather sits. The lift portion 20 and the seat surface portion 21 are provided in a substantially L shape in a side view. On the front side of the lift part 20 (the side toward the center of the bathtub main body 11), a backrest part 22 that forms the backrest of the bather is attached.
Note that the seat surface portion 21 may be provided with a flap 23 that can be bent via a hinge. As shown in FIG. 1, in a state where the door portion 13 is lowered and the opening portion 12 is opened, the lower edge of the opening portion 12 of the first side wall 11a and the upper surface of the door portion 13 have substantially the same height, and the seat surface portion. It is possible to place the flap 23 on the lower edge of the opening portion 12 and the upper surface of the door portion 13 by rotating the flap 23 so as to be positioned on the same plane as 21. Thereby, a bather can make entrance / exit with respect to the bathtub main body 11 easy for a bather to sit down to the flap 23 once. That is, the bather can easily move from the flap 23 to the seat surface portion 21 and take a bath, and can move from the seat surface portion 21 in the bathtub body 11 to the flap 23 and go outside.

In the lift mechanism 16 shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, a substantially L-shaped frame 25 including a horizontal plate 25a and a downward vertical plate 25b is provided on the upper portion of the column 18, and the vertical plate 25b of the frame 25 is provided. A lift drive unit 26 for driving the lift mechanism 16 is installed. The elevating drive unit 26 includes a battery 27, a gear box 28, and a motor 29. The battery 27, the gear box 28, and the motor 29 are attached to the frame 25, for example, aligned in the horizontal direction.
An opening (not shown) is formed at the upper end of the storage box 17 installed on the outer surface of the bathtub body 11.

The horizontal plate 25a of the frame 25 connected to the upper end of the column 18 is placed on the upper surface of the third side wall 11c. The vertical plate 25b and the elevating drive unit 26 enter and are accommodated in the accommodation box 17 adjacent to the third side wall 11c from the upper end opening. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the third side wall 11 c, the horizontal plate 25 a of the frame 25, and the upper end opening of the storage box 17 are covered with a cover member 30. The cover member 30 is provided in order to prevent water from entering the storage box 17 and the elevating drive unit 26. The cover member 30 also has a function as a pillow on which the bather's head is placed when the bather bathes in the bathtub body 11 and sits on the seat surface portion 21.

Further, in the lift mechanism 16 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a wire 35 is attached to the roller 32 protruding from the gear box 28. The wire 35 is supported by

other rollers

33 and 34 provided on the horizontal plate 25 a and is connected to the lift unit 20 through the support column 18. As the roller 32 winds up the wire 35 by the rotation of the motor 29 in one direction, the seat portion 19 is guided by the support column 18 and moves up. On the other hand, the wire 35 wound around the roller 32 is fed out by the rotation of the motor 29 in the reverse direction, and the seat portion 19 is lowered by its own weight.
A rotating shaft 36 is provided at the connection portion between the upper end of the column 18 and the frame 25. The rotating shaft 36 is disposed so as to extend in the horizontal direction. The support column 18 and the seating portion 19 are rotatable (displaceable) in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11c around the rotation shaft 36 (that is, around the rotation shaft 36). In other words, the rotating shaft 36 is configured as a rotation support portion for connecting the upper end of the support column 18 and the frame 25 in a rotatable manner. The support column 18 and the seating part 19 are supported by this rotation support part. The support column 18 and the seating portion 19 are rotatable in a direction away from the third side wall 11c around the rotation support portion. In addition, this rotation support part is not limited to the rotating shaft 36, For example, members, such as a flexible rubber | gum which connect the upper end of the support | pillar 18, and the flame | frame 25, may be sufficient.

A battery 27, a gear box 28, and a motor 29 of the elevating drive unit 26 are accommodated in an upper portion of the accommodation box 17 provided on the outer surface of the bathtub main body 11 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. On the other hand, the sliding part 38 is installed in the lower part in the storage box 17 so that extraction | drawer is possible. The sliding portion 38 accommodates a relay box 37 that is electrically connected to at least one of the motor 29 and the battery 27 in the lift mechanism 16. Note that the relay box 37 also constitutes a part of the elevating drive unit 26.
As shown in FIG. 6, a rail portion 39 is attached to the lower portion in the storage box 17. A leg portion is provided at a lower portion of the rail portion 39, and the rail portion 39 is installed on the leg portion.

In the sliding portion 38, a relay box 37 of the elevating drive portion 26 and an air pump 44 as a pressure supply means for supplying a gas such as air to the seal member 15 provided on the inner surface of the door portion 13 are mounted on the substrate 43. Is provided. The air pump 44 is connected to a seal member 15 provided on the inner surface of the door portion 13 via a tube 46. The air pump 44 is capable of liquid-tightly sealing the raised door portion 13 and the periphery of the opening portion 12 of the first side wall 11a by supplying air to the sealing member 15 through the tube 46.
By sliding the sliding portion 38 along the rail portion 39, the sliding portion 38 can be taken in and out (drawn and stored) with respect to the storage box 17. Further, the sliding portion 38 can be separated and removed from the rail portion 39 when pulled out, and in this state, the components (relay box 37 and the like) in the sliding portion 38 can be maintained. Further, a cover 48 is attached to the front surface of the storage box 17 so as to cover the sliding portion 38 in a stored state (see FIG. 5).

The open / close bathtub 10 in the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the operation thereof will be described next.
When bathing a bather, in FIG. 1, hot water is filled in the bathtub main body 11 of the open / close bathtub 10 to the lower end of the opening 12, and the door 13 is lowered to open the opening 12. The flap 23 connected to the seating surface portion 21 of the seating portion 19 is placed on the lower end of the opening 12 and the upper surface of the door portion 13 having substantially the same height, and a bather sits on the flap 23.
The bather straddles the lower end of the opening 12 in a state of being seated on the flap 23 and moves onto the seat surface portion 21 in the seating portion 19 in the bathtub body 11. Thereafter, an assistant or the like manually raises the door portion 13 and bends the flap 23 inside the door portion 13. In this state, air is supplied from the air pump 44 through the tube 46 to the seal member 15 to be expanded, and the door 13 and the first side wall 11a (opening 12) are sealed in a liquid-tight manner.
Thereafter, the motor 29 of the lift mechanism 16 is driven to lower the seating portion 19 toward the bottom surface of the bathtub body 11, and the bather enters a bathing state by filling hot water over the lower end of the opening 12.

When the bather leaves the bathtub main body 11 after bathing, the procedure opposite to the above may be performed. That is, the hot water is transferred to another tank (not shown), the hot water level is lowered to the lower part of the opening 12, the seat 19 of the lift mechanism 16 is raised, and the seat 21 on which the bather sits is opened. 12 is held at the same height as the lower part. In addition, hot water may be drained from the drain outlet on the bottom surface of the bathtub body 11, and the hot water surface may be lowered to the lower portion of the opening 12.
The air of the seal member 15 is evacuated, the door portion 13 is lowered manually, and the flap 23 of the seat surface portion 21 is placed on the lower end of the opening portion 12 and the upper surface of the door portion 13. Thereafter, the bather moves from the seat surface portion 21 to the flap 23, and exits across the opening 12.

When cleaning the openable bathtub 10, the operator cleans each inner wall surface of the bathtub body 11.
As shown in FIG. 3, in order to clean the back surface of the support column 18 and the seating portion 19 of the lift mechanism 16, the support column 18 is separated from the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11 c around the rotation shaft 36 together with the seating portion 19. Turn to. Thereby, since the wide space K is formed between the support | pillar 18 and the inner wall surface of the 3rd side wall 11c, the operator can clean easily dirts, such as scales adhering to the inner wall surface of the 3rd side wall 11c. Also, dirt such as scales and dust adhering to the back surfaces of the support column 18 and the seating portion 19 can be easily cleaned by extending the hand.
After the cleaning is completed, the column 18 and the seating portion 19 are rotated so as to approach the inner wall surface of the third side wall 11c, and the abutment portion 18a is brought into contact with the inner wall surface to return to the bathing enabled state.

As described above, according to the lift mechanism 16 of the openable bathtub 10 in the present embodiment, when cleaning the bathtub body 11, the column 18 of the lift mechanism 16, the back surface of the seating portion 19, and the bathtub with which these abut. The inner wall surface of the main body 11 can be easily cleaned. In that case, it is not necessary to remove the lift mechanism 16 from the bathtub main body 11 or to move it along the third side wall 11c, and the labor required for cleaning can be reduced.

In addition, the open / close bathtub 10 in the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed or replaced without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the opening 12 is formed in the first side wall 11a and the door 13 is described with respect to the open / close bathtub 10 that opens and closes the opening 12. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The present invention can also be applied to a normal bathtub having no opening 12 or door 13.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the lift mechanism 16 and the storage box 17 were installed in the 3rd side wall 11c, you may install these in the

other side walls

11a, 11b, and 11d. In addition, when installing the lift mechanism 16 and the storage box 17 in the 1st side wall 11a, these installation positions and the opening area | region of the opening part 12 are adjusted suitably.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lift mechanism 16 is provided in the storage box 17 provided on the back surface (outer surface) of the side wall of the bathtub body 11 by moving the lift mechanism 16 that moves the seat portion 19 up and down. The height of 16 is set to the same level as the bathtub body 11. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the elevating drive unit 26 may be installed above the support column 18 (above the side wall of the bathtub body 11). In this case, since the height of the lift mechanism 16 is higher than that of the bathtub body 11, the bather may feel a sense of pressure during bathing, but since the storage box 17 is not provided, the openable bathtub 10 can be downsized, The openable bathtub 10 can be installed in a narrow bathroom for home use or the like.
In the above-described embodiment, the seal member 15 is disposed on the door portion 13, but the seal member 15 is disposed on the surface around the opening portion 12 of the first side wall 11 a (surface facing the door portion 13). May be. Further, the seal member 15 swells by supplying air to realize a sealing action, but other sealing materials such as packing can also be used.

The present invention can be used for a lift mechanism of a bathtub and a bathtub equipped with the lift mechanism, which raises and lowers a seating portion where a bather sits in the bathtub body.

10 Openable bathtub (tub)
11 Bathtub body 11a First side wall (side wall)
11c 3rd side wall 12 Opening part 13 Door part 15 Seal member 16 Lift mechanism (lift mechanism of a bathtub)
17 Storage box 18 Post 19 Seating part 21 Seating part 26 Lifting drive part 36 Rotating shaft

Claims

A column that is provided on the inner wall surface side of the bathtub body and supports the seating part,
An elevating drive unit that elevates and lowers the seating unit along the support column,
The bathtub lift mechanism is configured such that the column and the seating portion are displaceable in a direction away from the inner wall surface.
The bathtub lift mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a rotating shaft is provided at an upper portion of the support column to rotatably support the support column and the seating portion in a direction away from the inner wall surface of the bathtub body.
A bathtub provided with the bathtub lift mechanism according to claim 1 or 2.
On the upper side of one side wall of the bathtub body, an opening for connecting the inside of the bathtub body and the outside thereof is formed,
The bathtub of Claim 3 further provided with the door part which opens and closes the said opening part.