SHOWER AND BATH TUB

Abstract: A device for shower and bath comprises a hip-bath (1), which is pivotable about a horizontal pivot shaft (H) between a shower position, in which the foot end of the tub (1) is positioned considerably lower than its head end, and a bath position, in which the foot end is positioned substantially on the same level as the head end. Moreover, the device comprises a height adjustment means (2) which is arranged at the head end of the tub (1) and is intended to pivot the tub (1). A pair of wheels (19) is arranged substantially half-way between the head end and the foot end of the tub (1) so as to support the tub (1) on a base (G) during pivoting of the tub and roll on the base, the axle of the pair of wheels (19) constituting the horizontal pivot shaft (H) of the tub.

Description: SHOWER AND BATH TUB Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for shower and bath, comprising a hip-bath, which is pivotable about a horizontal pivot shaft between a shower position, in which the foot end of the tub is positioned considerably lower than its head end, and a bath position, in which the foot end is positioned substantially on the same level as the head end. Description of the Prior Art Devices of the above-mentioned type are known from, for instance, EP 0,284,644, US-A-3, 92 , 278 and GB-A- 2,029,211. They are intended especially for handicapped or disabled persons, who owing to the lowerable foot end can much more easily than in a common bath-tub get into and out of the same. When the foot end is lowered, a po¬ sition below called shower position, the tubs are also suited for shower, the showering person sitting erect on a seat integrated with the tub. When the two ends of the tub, after pivoting of the tub about its horizontal pivot shaft, are arranged on a level with one another, a posi¬ tion below called bath position, the bathing person re¬ clines comfortably, and the seat, which in the bath posi¬ tion constitutes an elevation with its highest point on a level with the hollow of the bathing person's knees, ef¬ ficiently prevents the bathing person, by supporting his thighs, from sliding so far down into the tub that there is a risk of getting drowned. Although the prior art devices thus confer a number of advantages compared with a common stationary bath-tub, they, too, are not completely rid of drawbacks. The greatest drawback is that they take up a rela¬ tively great deal of space, which when designing a flat for a disabled person renders the installation of the devices considerably more difficult in a normal-sized bathroom instead of e.g. a common stationary bath-tub. A large space is required because the tubs of the prior art devices are supported by stands, from which they are pivotally suspended about a fixed horizontal pivot shaft. The pivot shaft is positioned in the middle of the tub or slightly offset in the direction of the head end of the tub, and pivoting of the tub about the pivot shaft thus leads not only to vertical but also to horizontal displacement of the head end of the tub. In order to permit the pivoting from the shower position mentioned by way of introduction, i.e. the position in which the foot end of the tub is lowered and getting into and out of the tub is facilitated, to said bath position, the prior art devices must therefore in the shower posi¬ tion be arranged at a relatively great distance from the wall behind the head end as well as the wall in front of the foot end. Sometimes such an installation is impos¬ sible, which will be readily appreciated and also applies to tubs whose length, despite their hip-bath construc¬ tion, is considerably smaller than the length of a common bath-tub. Object of the Invention The object of the present invention is to obviate this drawback and to provide a device for shower and bath, said device using the available space in a consid¬ erably more efficient manner than the devices known up to now, the better utilised space permitting the use of a larger and more comfortable hip-bath which is easy to get nto and also permitting the use of a patient lifting de¬ vice even in comparatively small bathrooms. Summary of the Invention According to the invention, this object is achieved by a device according to the preamble, which is charac¬ terised m that a height adjustment means for pivoting the tub is arranged at the head end of the tub, and that a pair of wheels is arranged substantially half-way between the head end and the foot end of the tub so as to support the tub on a base during pivoting of the tub and roll on the base, the axle of the pair of wheels consti¬ tuting the horizontal pivot shaft of the tub. Thanks to the invention, no pivoting space whatso¬ ever is required behind the head end of the tub, and thus a correspondingly larger space is available in front of the foot end of the tub, for instance for a patient lift¬ ing device. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tub is releasably connected to the height adjustment means, and at least one front caster wheel is arranged under the foot end of the tub. This enables easy moving-away of the tub for e.g. cleaning purposes or even for fetching a person who is going to take a bath or shower. According to a further embodiment of the invention, at least one caster wheel is arranged under the foot end of the tub, and a pair of caster wheels is arranged under the tub between the front caster wheel and the pair of wheels. Also this tub is preferably releasably connected to the height adjustment means and, in the shower posi- tion, optionally pivotable about a vertical pivot shaft formed of the height adjustment means. The embodiment having both front and rear caster wheels is suitable for use in situations in which, for instance, extremely restricted spaces require that, be- fore use, the tub be laterally pivoted away from a wall. Preferably, the height adjustment means comprises a vertically oriented guide member which is adapted to ex¬ tend along a wall and has a vertically adjustable attach¬ ment for the head end of the tub, the guide member pref- erably being a cylinder assembly, the piston of which is adapted to displace the attachment. It its very simplest embodiment, the vertically ori¬ ented guide member can be formed of a wall-mounted cylin¬ der assembly, but also constructions with rails which can be clamped between floor and ceiling and support the cyl- inder assembly are conceivable. Brief Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention in its shower position; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device in its bath position; and Fig. 3 is a side view of the tub included in the de¬ vice when transporting a person who is going to take a bath or shower. Description of a Preferred Embodiment The device illustrated in the drawings comprises a mobile unit 1 and a stationary unit 2. The stationary unit 2 is a stand with two vertical columns 6, of which, because of the limited space, merely the lower part is shown. Their upper part is designed in a similar manner. In the embodiment shown, the columns 6 have vertically adjustable feet 7, by means of which the columns 6 can be clamped between the floor G and the ceiling. Consequently, holes need not be made in the wall V, thereby avoiding the risk of damage due to damp. Of course, it is also possible to mount the stationary unit 2 on the wall V, provided that tne moisture barrier of the wall is maintained. The columns 6 are interconnected by means of hori¬ zontal crossbars 8, of which only the lower one is shown. As appears from Fig. 2, a bracket 9 is mounted m the middle of the shown crossbar 8. A similar crossbar pro¬ vided rfith a bracket is mounted a distance above the illustrated crossbar. The two crossbars 8 support, by means of their brackets 9, the cylinder of a vertically oriented cylinder assembly 5, which however, after cer¬ tain modifications of the stand, could also be directed in some other manner and could, for instance, make an angle of 45° with the vertical. The cylinder assembly 5 comprises an upwardly ex¬ tendable piston, which is not to be seen in the drawing and which is provided with a releasable attachment member for connection with the mobile unit 1 which will be de¬ scribed in more detail below. The cylinder assembly 5 is preferably hydraulically operated, and the pressure in the water-mains is suitably used to displace the piston. In addition to or instead of the illustrated cylinder as- sembly, other assemblies may of course be used, if de¬ sired. The mobile unit 1 is a hip-bath, which is adapted to occupy a shower position as shown in Fig. 1 and a bath position as shown in Fig. 2. The tub 1 has, in the embodiment illustrated, an in¬ tegrated seat, whose seat portion 10 in the shower posi¬ tion is substantially horizontally arranged and whose back 11 in the shower position is substantially verti¬ cally arranged. It will be appreciated that also a loose seat is within the scope of the invention. The tub 1 com¬ prises a very low front threshold 12 and, behind this, a planar floor 13 for the purpose of facilitating, in the shower position, getting into and out of the tub and minimising the risk of slipping. To this end, two yoke- shaped handles 14 are besides mounted on the upper edge extending around the tub. Inside the tub 1, foot rests 15 are arranged on the side walls on a suitable level above the floor 13 of the tub, and armrests 16 are integrated with the side walls on both sides of the seat. Moreover, there are two closeable outlets 17, an upper for draining the head end of the tub 1 and a lower for draining the foot end of the tub 1. The outlets 17 are connected to each other and operable by means of e.g. a lever (not shown) on the out¬ side of the tub and may be connected by means of a hose to a floor drain (not shown) . At the head end of the tub 1, a headrest 18 is arranged. In an alternative embodi¬ ment, this can also be detachably mounted in front of a recess in the back of the tub, for facilitating washing of the hair. Seen from the side (see especially Fig. 3), the tub is approximately shaped like a right-angled triangle, whose hypotenuse faces the opening of the tub 1. In the right-angled corner of the triangle, a relatively big and smooth-running wheel 19 is arranged on both sides of the tub 1. The running direction of the wheels 19 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tub 1 and they ro¬ tate about a common axis of rotation H. In the front corner of the triangle, i.e. at the foot end of the tub 1, caster rollers 20 are arranged on both sides of the tub. Thanks to these, it is possible to use, as is apparent from Fig. 3, the tub 1 for instance to fetch a person who is going to take a bath. For this "wheelchair function" the tub preferably has a folding handle 21 mounted on the back of the tub. The mobile unit 1 and the stationary unit 2 of the device are connectible to each other. For connection, the mobile unit is backed towards the stationary unit to the position shown in Fig. 1. Here the height adjustment means, in this case a cylinder assembly 5, of the sta¬ tionary unit is connected by its attachment member to the head end of the tub, and the tub 1 can thus, by vertical displacement of the piston of the cylinder assembly 5 of the stationary stand (ana, thus, of the head end of the tub 1) , be pivoted to and away from the bath position shown m F g. 2 while rolling on the base under the tub 1 oy means cf the wneels 19.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A device for shower and bath, comprising a hip- bath (1), which is pivotable about a horizontal pivot shaft (H) between a shower position, in which the foot end of the tub (1) is positioned considerably lower than its head end, and a bath position, in which the foot end is positioned substantially on the same level as the head end, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a height adjust¬ ment means (2) for pivoting the tub (1) is arranged at the head end of the tub (1), and that a pair of wheels (19) is arranged substantially half-way between the head end and the foot end of the tub (1) so as to support the tub (1) on a base (G) during pivoting of the tub (1) and then roll on the base, the axle of the pair of wheels (19) constituting the horizontal pivot shaft (H) of the tub (1) . 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c - t e r i s e d in that the tub (1) is releasably con¬ nected to the height adjustment means (2), and that at least one front caster wheel (20) is arranged under the foot end of the tub (1) . 3. The device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c - t e r i s e d in that at least one front caster wheel (20) is arranged under the foot end of the tub (1), and that a pair of caster wheels is arranged under the tub (1) between the front caster wheel (20) and the pair of wheels (19) . 4. The device as claimed in claim 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the tub (1) is releasably con¬ nected to the height adjustment means (2) . 5. The device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i s e d in that the tub (1) is, in the shower position, pivotable about a vertical pivot shaft formed of the height adjustment means (2) . 6. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the height ad¬ justment means (2) comprises a vertically oriented guide member (5), which is adapted to extend along a wall (V) and has a vertically adjustable attachment for the head end of the tub (1) . 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the guide member (5) is a cylinder assembly, whose piston is adapted to displace the attachment.

Inventors: HULT LENNART, HULT, LENNART
Applicants: HULT LENNART, SUNDAB I LJUNGBY AB, HULT, LENNART
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A47K3
IPC codes: A47K3