Portable shower apparatus

A multipurpose, collapsible, shower apparatus for use almost anywhere but especially adapted for use in places somewhat remote from civilization such as recreational vehicles, campers, the outdoors, space vehicles and the like where there may be a limited amount of water or other liquid. The collapsible shower apparatus includes a curtain assembly having an inner wall, an outer wall and a porous element for separating the inner and outer walls; a series of spaced hollow hoops connected by one or more sets of hollow tubes (manifolds); one or more nozzles connected to and in communication with at least one of the hollow hoops; a source of fluid under pressure in communication with at least one of the hollow hoops; and a suction pump for withdrawing fluid from the interior of the curtain assembly.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to a shower apparatus for use as a 
conventional bathing facility, for use for portable bathing by campers, 
for use as a bathing facility for decontamination purposes, and for use 
for medical treatment purposes. More particularly, this invention relates 
to a multipurpose shower apparatus having a structure which is portable, 
easily transportable, useable almost anywhere, but especially adapted for 
use in places somewhat remote from civilization such as use in space 
vehicles, recreational vehicles, ships, the outdoors and the like. Still 
more particularly, this invention relates to a multipurpose, collapsible, 
shower apparatus having structure which is portable, light weight, easily 
transportable, and especially adapted to use a much lesser amount of water 
or other liquid since it dispenses a fog or mist in lieu of a steady 
stream of water or other liquid. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The prior art abounds with portable shower units for use for bathing and 
decontamination purposes. Most of prior art shower units include a single 
nozzle for dispensing a steady stream of water for bathing purposes; 
however, many of the prior art shower apparatuses include a plurality of 
nozzles for dispensing a steady stream of water for bathing purposes. U.S. 
Pat. Nos. 2,852,784, 3,629,875, 3,925,828, and 4,413,363 are illustrative 
of portable prior art shower apparatuses having a single nozzle for 
dispensing a steady stream of water for bathing purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 
1,065,265, 2,336,402 and 4,554,690 are illustrative of portable shower 
apparatuses having a plurality of nozzles for dispensing steady streams of 
water for bathing purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,675,923 and 4,777,675 are 
illustrative of portable shower apparatuses having a single nozzle for 
dispensing a steady stream of water for decontamination purposes. 
These prior art shower units, while somewhat portable, have several 
drawbacks or disadvantages. The principal disadvantage of these prior art 
shower units is due to the fact that they require a large amount of water 
since they dispense one or more steady streams of flowing water. Another 
principal disadvantage of these prior art shower unit resides in the fact 
that they are intended for use for a single function, namely, the function 
of bathing. Still another principal disadvantage of most of the prior art 
shower units resides in their rigid, non-collapsible, structure which 
precludes the ready and easy movement of the shower unit from one location 
to another.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIGS. 1-4 and 7 of the drawings which depict a first 
embodiment of the invention, reference numeral 10 designates the portable 
shower apparatus. The portable shower apparatus 10 is depicted in its 
extended, ready to use, condition in FIG. 1 and in its collapsed, easily 
transportable, storage, condition in FIG. 4. 
As best illustrated in FIG. 1, portable shower apparatus 10 includes a 
curtain assembly 12 which defines a chamber 14, a series of spaced hollow 
hoops 16, a plurality of nozzles 18 connected to and in communication with 
hoops 16, a plurality of aligned, flexible, longitudinal hollow tubes 26, 
which constitute a manifold, connected to and in communication with 
adjacent hoops 16, a flexible supply pipe 28 connected to and in 
communication with the uppermost of hoops 16, a first fluid discharge hose 
30 in communication with a drain 47 in floor or bottom 46 of chamber 14, a 
second fluid discharge hose 32 in communication with chamber 14, and a 
collection hose 34 connected to and in communication with first fluid 
discharge hose 30 and second fluid discharge hose 32. Referring now to 
FIG. 3, curtain assembly 12 includes a generally cylindrical outer wall 36 
connected to and in communication with second fluid discharge hose 32, an 
inner wall 38 having a plurality of perforations 40 therein opening into 
chamber 14, a porous element 42 such as a nylon mesh or a series of nylon 
balls between outer wall 36 and inner wall 38 for separating and 
preventing contact of inner wall 38 with outer wall 36. FIG. 1 shows 
curtain assembly 12 as being made of a transparent material for reasons to 
be later explained with the inner wall 38 and porous element 42 removed 
therefrom for clarity. Referring now to FIG. 1, shower apparatus 10 
further includes a floor or bottom 46 secured to outer and inner walls 36 
and 38 and connected to and in communication with first fluid discharge 
hose 30, a ceiling or top 48 secured to outer and inner walls 36 and 38, a 
longitudinal opening (not shown) in outer and inner walls 36 and 38, and a 
zipper 50 secured to outer and inner walls 36 and 38 adjacent the opening 
(not shown) in walls 36 and 38 for closing the opening. 
Referring now to FIG. 1, flexible supply pipe 28 is adapted to be connected 
to, and communicate with a source 52 of fluid under pressure; hose 34 is 
adapted to be connected to and communicate with suction pump 54; and a 
pressure differential control device 56 is adapted for connection to 
suction pump 54 and the interior of chamber 14 to maintain pressure within 
chamber 14 while allowing suction pump 54 to draw or suck fluid from 
chamber 14 through first and second discharge hoses 30 and 32. The source 
52 of fluid under pressure may be any conventional mechanism such as a 
pump or compressor in combination with a supply of water, or other liquid, 
which causes the water or other liquid to be mixed with air and forced 
through supply pipe 28 into hoops 16, tubes 26 and nozzles 18. The suction 
pump 54 may be any conventional mechanism capable of sucking or 
withdrawing fog or vapor (which includes a liquid) from chamber 14 through 
first and second discharge hoses 30 and 32. The pressure differential 
control device 56 may be any conventional device capable of maintaining 
pressure within chamber 14 while still allowing suction pump 52 to remove 
fog or vapor (including a liquid) from chamber 14. The pressure 
differential control device 56 will either increase the output of source 
(pump) 52 to provide more fluid pressure if there is a drop in fluid 
pressure or cause suction pump 54 to withdraw more fluid from chamber 14 
if fluid pressure becomes excessive. 
In the embodiment of the invention as depicted in FIGS. 1-4 and 7, the 
outer wall 36, the inner wall 38 and the porous separation element 42 
would normally be made of a transparent material such as a conventional 
high quality, thick, plastic for reasons to be explained later. The 
embodiment of the invention depicted in FIGS. 1-4 and 7 would primarily be 
used to rinse harmful chemicals or the like from a person who has been 
contaminated. While initially intended for use on a Space Station, it 
could be used in laboratories and factories on earth as well as for 
routine shower bathing almost anywhere, but especially in areas with 
limited water supply. The embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 and 7 could likewise be 
used to treat persons with severe medical problems such as burns to the 
body. When used to treat persons with severe medical problems such as 
burns to the body a suitable drug in the form of a fluid would be provided 
to and dispensed by nozzles 18 which are individually controlled by one or 
more persons located outside of shower apparatus 10. The transparency of 
the outer wall 36, the inner wall 38 and the porous separation element 42 
allows the person outside of shower apparatus 10 to see the person within 
shower apparatus 10. 
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 and 7, each nozzle 18, as best 
shown in FIG. 2, includes a nozzle head 20 having numerous small openings 
13 and a knob 11 which protrudes into chamber 14, a handle 24 which 
protrudes out of outer wall 36 of curtain assembly 12, and a valve 22 
capable of being actuated by either handle 24 or knob 11. As illustrated 
in FIG. 2, a casing 15 is placed around each hoop 16 adjacent each nozzle 
18 to help support the nozzle 18 and its associated valve 22 and handle 
24. Each casing 15 includes a first annular extension 19 and a second 
annular extension 17 diametrically opposed to the first annular extension 
19. As shown, valve 22 is trapezoid shaped and mounted on a slidable and 
rotatable rod 21 whose ends are secured to knob 11 and handle 24. The 
tapered outer surface of valve 22 corresponds to the tapered inner surface 
23 of nozzle 18 so that they can mate to close the valve 22 and prevent 
fluid from reaching small openings 13 in nozzle 18. A cam member 25 
surrounds rod 21 and is secured to the face 27 of nozzle 18 for holding 
valve 22 in its opened position. A spring 29 surrounds rod 21 for acting 
between nozzle 20 and valve 22 to normally urge valve 22 so that it seats 
within tapered surface 23 of nozzle 18. Spring urged detents and spaced 
openings or other suitable means might be provided in the mating surfaces 
of knob 11 and cam member 25 to lock valve 22 (against the urging action 
of spring 29) in one or more opened positions. A spider like structure 31 
(FIGS. 2 and 7) is secured within an extension 33 of nozzle 18 for 
supporting the rod 21. Valve 22 can be opened or closed either from inside 
of chamber 14 or outside outer wall 36 by either pushing on and rotating 
handle 24 or by turning knob 11 to open the valve 22 or by rotating and 
pulling on handle 24 or turning knob 11 to close valve 22. 
The operation of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1-4 and 7 is as follows. 
While in the collapsed condition as shown in FIG. 4, but with source 52 
connected to supply pipe 28, suction pump 54 being connected to hose 34, 
and pressure differential control device 56 being connected to curtain 
assembly 12 and to suction pump 54 as generally shown in FIG. 1, a fluid 
(e.g., a mixture of air and water) is released from source 52, through 
flexible supply pipe 28, to hollow hoops 16 and connecting hollow, 
flexible, tubes (manifold) 26, thus pressurizing the network of hoops 16 
and tubes 26, which causes curtain assembly 12 to open from its collapsed 
condition as generally shown in FIG. 4 to its fully extended condition and 
be maintained in such condition as shown in FIG. 1. It is apparent that 
additional manifolds made up of aligned flexible tubes 26 could be 
incorporated in shower apparatus 10 at spaced intervals to enable shower 
apparatus 10 to be more easily raised from its collapsed condition (FIG. 
4) to its extended condition (FIG. 1) and maintained in its fully extended 
condition. A person (the victim of contamination) would then enter the 
chamber 14 through the zippered opening by manipulation of zipper 50. 
Chamber 14 is then closed by manipulation of zipper 50 by either the 
person inside of chamber 14 or by a person located outside of curtain 
assembly 12. The person within chamber 14 or one or more persons outside 
of curtain assembly 12 can selectively manipulate via knob 13 or handle 24 
as explained above to create a fog like spray or mist that scrub 
contaminants from the person within chamber 14. Wastewater and the like 
leaves the chamber 14 through perforations 40 in inner wall 38 and first 
fluid discharge hose 30 and second fluid discharge hose 32 due to the 
suction created by suction pump 54. 
The embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 5 differs from that shown 
in FIGS. 1-4 only by the addition of conventional two way valves 60 at the 
junction of each hoop 16 with longitudinal tubes (manifold) 26. The two 
way valves 60 in one position allow the fluid under pressure to enter tube 
(manifold) 26 to pressurize the network of hoops 16 and tube 26 to open 
curtain assembly 12 from its collapsed condition to its extended 
condition. The two way valves 60 in a second position allow the fluid 
under pressure to enter a selected hoop 16 to allow the fluid to flow 
through the selected hoop 16 to allow the fluid to be dispensed from the 
nozzles 18 associated with the selected hoop 16. The structure of the 
embodiment shown in FIG. 5 permits fluid to be available only to selected 
ones of the several hoops 16. For example, with this embodiment, fluid 
could be provided only to the uppermost hoop 16, to the two uppermost 
hoops 16, to the uppermost and third uppermost hoops 16 or whatever. If 
more than one manifold (sets of aligned, flexible, tubes 26) is 
incorporated in shower apparatus 10 to enable better erection to and 
maintenance in its fully extended condition as indicated above, it is 
apparent that only one two-way valve would be required with respect to 
each hoop 16. 
The embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 6 differs from that shown 
in FIGS. 1-4 only by the elimination of nozzles from all but the uppermost 
or two uppermost hoops 16 and having a conventional water hose connection 
72 to supply pipe 28 for feeding water only to the nozzles 18 on a 
selective basis. With the embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, the pressure of 
the water will cause hoops 16 and tube 26 to be pressurized to cause the 
curtain assembly to be held and maintained in an upright, erected, 
condition. With this embodiment, more water would be required than in the 
other embodiments. With this embodiment, the second fluid discharge hose 
32 might be eliminated. 
While the drawings depict the outer wall 36 and inner wall 38 of curtain 
assembly 12 as being made of transparent plastic material, such walls can 
be made of materials other than plastic and be opaque rather than 
transparent. The transparent material, rather than opaque material, is 
preferred primarily where the nozzles 18 may likely be operated by someone 
located outside of shower apparatus 10 and shower apparatus is being used 
for decontamination or medical treatment purposes. 
While the above description constitutes preferred embodiments of the 
present invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is 
susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from 
the proper scope and fair meaning of the accompanying claims. For 
examples: the shape or configuration of curtain assembly 12 and hoops 16 
need not be generally round as depicted in the drawings as they could be 
rectangular or some other shape or configuration, they could even be in 
the form of a jump suit or bag for medical treatment purposes; only a 
single nozzle 18 could be incorporated in the uppermost hoop 16; twelve 
volt batteries or A/C outlets could be utilized as the power source; other 
type of spray devices, including conventional nozzle heads, could be 
substituted for nozzles 18; and a conventional valve could be placed at 
the junction of supply hose 28 with the uppermost hoop 16.