Bathtub

The invention is concerned with a bathtub having a bottom wall, a pair of sidewalls and opposed first and second end walls integrally formed with the bottom wall, the second end wall being angularly inclined outwardly to define an abutment surface against which a person lying in the tub may rest, and water inlet means for filling the tub with a mixture of hot and cold water. According to the invention, the water inlet means extends through one of the sidewalls and is adapted to discharge a flow of hot and cold water along the one sidewall in a direction towards the second end wall so as to impart to the water a circulatory movement as it fills the tub and to thereby uniformly mix the hot and cold water and provide a uniform water mixture having a substantially constant temperature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to improvements in bathtubs. More 
particularly, the invention is concerned with a bathtub having improved 
water inlet means for filling the tub with a mixture of hot and cold 
water. 
Various systems have been proposed for discharging water into a bathtub for 
filling same while satisfying at the same time a specific need. In U.S. 
Pat. No. 2,198,631, for example, the conventional water faucets adjacent 
the drain at one end of the tub are replaced by a duct connected to hot 
and cold water supply pipes via a mixing valve and leading to one or more 
nozzles extending through the slanted wall of the tub at the other end 
thereof. When the mixing valve is turned on, the water enters the tub at 
the end opposite the drain and flows downwardly against the sides of the 
tub to fill the tub and, after the tub has been used, to thoroughly rinse 
the same and drive the water toward the drain. Thus, the water inlet 
arrangement proposed in this patent serves the dual purpose of filling the 
tub for a bath and later automatically rinsing it toward the drain. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,396,412, on the other hand, the conventional water 
faucets for filling the bathtub with water are retained, but in addition 
thereto, there is provided a pump with a conduit for recirculating the 
bath water for the comfort of the user. The pump which is located under 
the faucets at one end of the tub drains water from the tub and pumps this 
water through an imbedded conduit leading to a nozzle recessed in a head 
rest arranged at the other end of the tub. The pump water is mixed with 
air in the recessed nozzle through a remote air vent and discharged from 
the nozzle in the form of an aerated jet or spray over the neck and 
shoulders of the body. 
Although the above arrangements may be satisfactory for their own specific 
purposes, they do not overcome the problem of non-uniform mixture of hot 
and cold water and the resulting water temperature fluctuations one is 
forever faced with when filling a tub for a bath. Indeed, with the 
conventional faucets located at the front end of the tub, the mixture of 
hot and cold water issuing from the faucet enters the tub at the front end 
and gradually flows towards the back end of the tub to fill the same, 
causing the heat of the water entering the tub to dissipate through the 
tub walls and escape to the open atmosphere as the water moves towards the 
back end. As a consequence, then are considerable temperature fluctuations 
within the bath water such that the water temperature will be greater at 
the front end of the tub than at the back end. Thus, prior to entering the 
tub, the user will have to churn the water around the tub with his hand in 
order to uniformly mix the hot and cold water and provide a uniform water 
mixture having a constant temperature. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of this invention to overcome the above problems 
and to provide a bathtub having improved water inlet means for filling the 
tub with a mixture of hot and cold water while at the same time uniformly 
mixing the hot and cold water to produce a uniform water mixture having a 
substantially constant temperature. 
In accordance with the invention, there is provided in a bathtub having a 
bottom wall, a pair of sidewalls and opposed first and second end walls 
integrally formed with the bottom wall, the second end wall being 
angularly inclined outwardly to define an abutment surface against which a 
person lying in the tub may rest, and water inlet means for filling the 
tub with a mixture of hot and cold water, the improvement wherein the 
water inlet means extends through one of the sidewalls and is adapted to 
discharge a flow of hot and cold water along the one sidewall in a 
direction towards the second end wall so as to impart to the water a 
circulatory movement as it fills the tub and to thereby uniformly mix the 
hot and cold water and provide a uniform water mixture having a 
substantially constant temperature. 
Thus, by discharging the water along a sidewall of the tub and towards the 
inclined end wall thereof, the water entering the tub will contour the tub 
walls and thereby flow within the tub along a circular path. As the water 
fills the tub, the circulatory movement of the water entering the latter 
will also impart to the bath water the same movement. As a result, there 
is a simultaneous mixing of the hot and cold water such that a uniform 
water mixture having a substantially constant temperature is obtained 
during the filling of the tub. 
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sidewall of the 
tub along which the water is discharged is provided with a flow directing 
channel defined by an elongated recess having first and second ends and 
tapering towards the second end to merge with the sidewall in a direction 
towards the second end wall, and an end wall at the first end of the 
recess extending transversely thereto. The water inlet means, on the other 
hand, comprises a water discharge nozzle integral with the transverse end 
wall and extending therethrough in substantial axial alignment with the 
longitudinal axis of the recess, the nozzle being connected to hot and 
cold water supply means.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is 
illustrated a bathtub generally designated by reference numeral 10. The 
tub 10 includes a bottom wall 12 provided with a drain 14 at the front end 
of the tub, and a pair of sidewalls 16,16' and front and back end walls 
18,18' which are integrally formed with the bottom wall 12. The back end 
wall 18' is angularly inclined outwardly to define an abutment surface 
against which a person lying in the tub may rest, as shown in FIG. 2. A 
mixture of hot and cold water is discharged through the pipe 20 via hot 
and cold water control valves 22 and 24. The pipe 20 leads to a flow 
directing channel 26 which is provided in the sidewall 16 of the tub and 
disposed adjacent the bottom wall 12 and the front end wall 18, such that 
the water is discharged into the tub along the sidewall 16 in a direction 
towards the back end wall 18'. 
As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the flow directing channel 26 is defined by 
an elongated recess 28 which is formed in the sidewall 16 and tapers in a 
direction towards the back end wall 18' to merge with the sidewall 16, and 
an end wall 30 which extends transversely to the recess 28. The recess 28 
extends substantially parallel to the bottom wall 12 and has a curved 
cross-section. A water discharge nozzle 32 extends through the transverse 
end wall 30 in substantial axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of 
the recess 28 and is connected to the water supply pipe 20. The nozzle 32 
which may be integrally molded with the tub during the manufacture thereof 
extends through the transverse end wall 30 to terminate flush therewith 
inside the flow directing channel 26. 
As a result of the above arrangement, the water is discharged into the tub 
10 along the sidewall 16 in a direction towards the back end wall 18' and 
contours the tub walls to thereby flow within the tub along a circular 
path, as shown in FIG. 1. As the water fills the tub, the circulatory 
movement of the water also imparts to the bath water the same movement. 
There is thus a simultaneous mixing of the hot and cold water such that a 
uniform water mixture having a substantially constant temperature is 
obtained. Owing to the position of the flow directing channel 26 through 
which the water enters, a person may enter the bath during its filling and 
comfortably rest against the back end wall 18' without impeding the 
circulatory movement of the water which passes between the back of the 
person's body and the back end wall 18', as shown in FIG. 2.