Tub with inflatable seal door

Abstract: For a tub (11) which provides access through a side door (10), an inflatable seal (27) is employed with the fluid connection to the seal (27) being provided through the door hinge structure. In one embodiment, sensors (46,47) are provided in conjunction with the water level in the tub so as to activate the source of pressurized fluid to the seal as well as to deflate the seal at a desired time. In another embodiment, a latching mechanism (75) is utilized so as to provide a secure but easy delatching of the door.

Description: Background Of The Invention 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to bathing structures having a side wall door to facilitate access. More particularly it relates to an inflatable seal for the door. 2. Description Of The Prior Art Bathtubs with side doors are known. A key problem with such tubs is sealing the door when water is in the tub. Gaskets were therefore placed around the doorway. For example, see US-A-3,423,769 and US-A-3,863,275. In the former patent, a seal is disposed on the doorway edge and connected by a tube in the structure forming the doorway. In the latter patent, a seal is attached to a door with a source of air in the door. In providing air inflatable seals for such doors, it is desirable to have the inflatable seal placed on the door itself (rather than the doorway structure) so that it is not exposed to contact as a person enters or exists through the doorway of the bathing structure. Also, for aesthetic and other reasons, to minimize vandalism and for safety reasons, it is desired to conceal the supply tube which delivers air or another fluid (e.g. liquid) to such an inflatable seal. This is a problem as air compressors cannot easily be placed in the door and because the door must pivot. CH-A-319156 discloses a povitable door provided at its outer edge with an inflatable seal, there being conduit means disposed on the hinge structure for providing fluid to the inflatable seal. It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a tub which affords a concealed connection between a source of pressurized fluid in the housing of the tub and the seal in the door. Summary Of The Invention The present invention provides a tub having an inflatable seal door assembly, said tub having an enclosure defined by at least one side wall with a doorway formed in said side wall, a bottom wall, and an upwardly open interior cavity, said assembly comprising: a door hingedly disposed in said doorway, a fluid inflatable seal mounted on an edge of said door, to pivot towards and away from said doorway with said door, and a hinge structure operatively associated with said doorway and said door to mount said door for said pivoting, characterized by said hinge structure having a passage therethrough, and conduit means disposed through said hinge passage for providing a fluid to said inflatable seal. In a preferred form, the hinge structure includes a sleeve member telescoping over a hollow post. In still another embodiment, there is latch means operatively positioned in the door for releasable contact with the doorway. The latch means is defined by a latch bolt and activating means including a release button positioned in an upper surface of the door for releasing the latch means. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will appear in the following detailed description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of illustration and not limitation, preferred embodiments of the invention. Description Of The Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bathing enclosure with an inflatable seal door in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the inflatable seal door and a latching means; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in cross section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2 (after assembly), but showing the door in a latched position in a doorway; Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in cross section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2 (after assembly), with the door cover in place; Fig. 5 is a view in front elevation, partially fragmented, and partially in vertical section; Fig. 6 is a view in horizontal section showing the inflatable seal in a non-inflated condition and; Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the inflatable seal in an inflated condition. Detailed Description Of The Preferred Embodiments Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, a door with inflatable seal generally 10 is shown in conjunction with a tub 11. The tub is defined by the usual side walls such as front wall panels 13 and 16, a rear wall 14, side walls 12 and 15, as well as a bottom wall 20. The tub 11 preferably includes a back rest 17. A doorway 18 is provided between the front wall panels 13 and 16 in which a door 10 is pivotally mounted. The door 10 includes a central body portion 22 over which are placed front and back panels 24 and 25, respectively, as well as a top cover 30. Referring specifically to Fig. 5, the hinging of the door 10 is illustrated. Fig. 5 shows a support post 31 secured in a vertical tubular pocket 36 that is formed in the doorway 18. As the tub 11 is composed of fiberglass, the post 31 is bonded to the housing 36 such as with the use of resinous plastic or adhesive. Support post 31 extends upwardly and into sleeve 33 which in turn is connected to the door body 22 by the bracket 32 (see Fig. 2). Post 31 bears against bearing 34 disposed in the end of sleeve 33. This provides the pivotal attachment of the door 10 to the doorway 18. Air feed line 40 extends under the spill level 19 of doorway 18 and continues upwardly through the hinge structure afforded by the post 31 and the sleeve 33. This feed line 40 then extends to an is connected to the inflatable seal 27 as seen in Figs. 2 and 4. As best seen in Fig. 4, the inflatable seal 27 is secured to door body portion 22 by the screw 71 which passes through flange 35 of cover 30 and is housed in a channel 29 of the body portion 22. The seal 27 can be purchased from the Presray Corporation of Pawling, New York as Model PR 6648. Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, it is seen that the seal in its deflated state is in a substantially U-shape as it is doubled back on itself. When expanded with air, it will extend as shown in Fig. 7. However, due to the close proximity of the doorway 18, it will not extend to its fullest extendable length, but will engage the adjacent surface of the doorway 18 as shown in Fig. 6 in dotted lines. Fig. 3 illustrates a latching mechanism generally 75 for securing the door 10 to the doorway 18. A plunger 76 is suitably positioned in a guide block 77 and is biased therein by the spring 79 positioned over the reduced section 74 of the plunger 76. As seen in Fig. 2, guide block 77 is formed as a portion of the door body 22 and is in effect a compartment for housing the spring 79 and the plunger 76. A bent rod 80 has one leg thereof positioned in an aperture 81 of the plunger 76 and is secured on an upper surface 83 of the body portion 22 by the integral friction and slotted clip 82. The opposing end of the bent wire 80 is positioned under a clip 86 which is fastened to the button 84. It is activated by the downward movement of button 84 compressing the spring 85 in the recess 87. This moves the clip 86 downwardly and against the rod 80 to deflect it to the broken line showing in Fig. 3. In this position, the plunger 76 is retracted from the latch plate 89 in the doorway 18. It will be seen that the latch mechanism 75 is easily activated by merely pressing down on the button 84 at the top of the door 10. This provides easy activation by an elderly or handicapped person. An important feature of the door 10 with the inflatable seal 27 is the fact that the air supply feed tube 40 is positioned through the hinge structure as represented by the post 31 and the sleeve 33. This allows for a concealed connection of the line to the seal 27 without bending or twisting of the air tube 40 when the door is pivoted. It also permits the source of the compressed air such as the compressor 42 to be concealed inside the structure of the tub such as wall panel 13 as is also tree of the air feed tube 40. This obviates also any unintentional disconnection of the air feed tube 40. While a particular inflatable seal 27 has been described for use with the air feed tube 40 and the connection through the hinge, it will be appreciated that any similar type of inflatable air seal tube 27 which will provide a positive seal at a relatively low pressure can also be advantageously employed. In addition, other fluids such as water, oil or gases could be employed in place of air to inflate seal 27. All such and other modifications within the spirit of the invention are meant to be in the scope of the invention as claimed in the appending claims.

Claims: A tub having an inflatable seal door assembly, said tub (11) having an enclosure defined by at least one side wall (13, 16) with a doorway (18) formed in said side wall, a bottom wall (20), and an upwardly open interior cavity, said assembly comprising: a door (10) hingedly disposed in said doorway, a fluid inflatable seal (27) mounted on an edge of said door (10), to pivot towards and away from said doorway (18) with said door, and a hinge structure (31, 33) operatively associated with said doorway (18) and said door (10) to mount said door for said pivoting, characterized by said hinge structure having a passage therethrough, and conduit means (40) disposed through said hinge passage for providing a fluid to said inflatable seal (27). The tub of claim 1, characterized in that said hinge structure includes an axial sleeve member (33) telescoping over a hollow post (31). The tub of claim 2, characterized in that said axial sleeve member (33) is connected to said door (10) and said hollow post (31) is connected to said doorway (18). The tub of claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said side wall is composed of a resinous plastic material and said hollow post (31) is adhesively secured to said side wall. The tub of any of claims 1 to 4, characterized by air compressor means (42) operatively connected to said fluid conduit means (40) and housed under at least a part of said tub (11). The tub of any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said inflatable seal (27) is air inflatable. The tub of any of the preceding claims, characterized by a latch means (76) operatively positioned in said door (10) for releasable contact with said doorway (18). The tub of claim 7, characterized in that said latch means is defined by a latch bolt (76) and an activating means in the form of a release button (84).

Inventors: AUGUST ANTHONY M, BLOEMER JOHN M, DANNENBERG TODD D, JORSCH THOMAS C, KOLAR ANTON J, SWART PETER W, AUGUST, ANTHONY M., BLOEMER, JOHN M., DANNENBERG, TODD D., JORSCH, THOMAS C., KOLAR, ANTON J., SWART, PETER W.
Applicants: KOHLER CO, KOHLER CO.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A47K3
IPC codes: A47K3, E06B7