Abstract:
A seal for a bathtub door is releasably retained in a groove by a mechanical interlock. The seal has a first, relaxed condition in which it is unable to pass through the opening of the groove, and a second, tensioned condition in which it is able to pass through the opening of the groove. The door is held closed in a watertight manner by a latch having a contacting surface beveled in two directions. The latch has a curved, tapering shape that makes it well suited to be grasped and/or manipulated by the hands of handicapped or arthritic persons. The groove is formed during the molding of the door by a groove-forming element releasably attached to the mold. When the door is removed from the mold, the groove-forming element separates from the mold and remains in the groove, but is removable from the groove by applying longitudinal tension.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to bathtubs having doors to facilitate entry and exit and, more particularly, to an arrangement for providing seals at the doors and a method of making the doors with seals.  
         [0002]     Bathtubs are known that have openings in a side to facilitate entry and exit, and doors to selectively close the openings in a watertight manner. In some known doors, the seals are secured only by adhesive. As a result, there have been problems with the seals being pulled off of the doors or of the adhesive deteriorating from cleaning agents or other causes. In addition, the users of tubs having doors are often handicapped or elderly, some of who have difficulty in operating the mechanisms which are used to secure the door in a watertight condition.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     By the present invention, a seal for a bathtub door is releasably retained in a groove by a mechanical interlock. More specifically, the groove has an opening having a first width transverse to the length of the groove and a main portion having a second width transverse to the length of the groove, wherein the second width is greater than the first width. The seal has a base portion having a third width greater than the first width. Furthermore, the base portion has a first condition in which it is unable to pass through the opening of the groove, and a second condition in which it is able to pass through the opening of the groove. In the first condition, the base portion is relaxed, and in the second condition, the base portion is in tension in the longitudinal direction of the seal.  
         [0004]     The door is held closed in a watertight manner by a latch pivotally mounted on either the door or the side of the bathtub, wherein the latch has a contacting surface beveled in two directions. As a result, the latch cams the door toward the side of the bathtub in all positions in which the contacting surface makes contact with either the side of the bathtub or the door, whichever the latch is not mounted on. The latch has a curved, tapering shape that makes it well suited to be grasped and/or manipulated by hand, including by the hands of handicapped or arthritic persons who are limited in the positions to which they can form their hands.  
         [0005]     The groove is formed during the molding of the door by a groove-forming element releasably attached to the mold. When the door is removed from the mold, the groove-forming element separates from the mold and remains in the groove, but is removable from the groove by the application of tension on the groove-forming element in the longitudinal direction. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a bathtub according to the present invention;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is an elevation from the inside of a portion of a bathtub of  FIG. 1 , showing a tub wall and door;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the bathtub portion of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation of a latch for the door of the bathtub of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is a bottom plan view of the latch of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is a right end view of the latch of  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  is an exploded schematic view of a portion of a bathtub door according to the present invention and a portion of a mold used to form the door;  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  is a partial cross-section of a door in a mold having a mold forming element, in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged cross-section of a door with a seal in place, in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]     As can be seen from  FIGS. 1-3 , a bathtub according to the present invention, which is designated generally by the reference numeral  10 , has a side  12  defining an opening to facilitate entry to and exit from the bathtub, and a door  14  pivotally mounted on the side  12  by a hinge  16 . The hinge mounting enables the door  14  to pivot between an open position allowing entry to and exit from the bathtub  10 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , and a closed position, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in which entry and exit are inhibited and the door  14  closes the opening in the side  12  in a watertight manner. For sealing purposes, a recess  17  is defined in the wall of the tub at the opening, along both sides and at the bottom of the opening. The recess  17  is defined in part by a flange with which a seal  18  on the door makes watertight engagement. A latch  20  is pivotally mounted on an inside surface of the wall  12  adjacent to the recess  17 . The latch  20  is movable from a first position, shown in solid lines in  FIG. 1 , in which the door  14  is free to open, to a second position, shown in dashed lines, in which the latch  20  compresses the seal  18 , thereby holding the door  14  in watertight engagement against the tub side  12 .  
         [0016]     As can be appreciated from  FIGS. 4-6 , the latch  20  has a front side  22 , a rear side  24 , a top  26  and a bottom  28 . The latch  20  is mounted for pivoting about a pivot axis P, the latch having a length extending radially with respect to the pivot axis P and a width extending perpendicular to the length. The rear side  24  faces the door  14  and the side  12  of the bathtub on which the latch is mounted. The rear side  24  contains a first portion  30  defining a plane and a second portion having a contacting surface  32  that is beveled away from the plane along the length and the width. The width tapers from the pivot axis P to an end of the latch  20  radially remote from the pivot axis, and the handle curves slightly along its length. The front side  22  curves from the top  26  to the bottom  28 . The curving and tapering allow an arthritic or otherwise crippled hand, the tight closing of which might not be possible, to move along the latch  20  until it finds a portion having the proper dimensions for the partially closed hand to grasp. Other mounting arrangements are suitable for the latch  20 . For example, the latch  20  can be mounted on an exterior surface of the door  14  in a position to selectively engage an outside surface of the tub side  12 .  
         [0017]     The door  14  can be molded in a mold  40 , a portion of which is illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The mold  40  has contours that are complementary to the contours of the door  14 . The mold  40  has a bottom  42  and a side wall composed of a first upstanding portion  44 , an outwardly extending flange  46  and a second upstanding portion  48 . The flange  46  and the upstanding portions  44  and  48  extend along at least three sides of the mold  40  to form at least the two sides and bottom of the door  14 . A groove  50  is defined in the flange  46 , the groove extending for the entire length of the flange. As can be seen from  FIG. 8 , the groove  50  has sidewalls  52 ,  54  that are angled slightly outward from the vertical. Each sidewall contains a ridge  56  projecting toward the center of the groove slightly above a bottom  58  of the groove.  
         [0018]     The groove  50  in the mold  40  receives a groove-forming element  60  that forms a groove in the door  14  as the door is molded in the mold. The groove-forming element  60  has a shank portion  62  received in the groove  50 , the shank portion having flexible fins  64  that extend laterally outward and upward from the shank portion  62 . The fins  64  are dimensioned to extend, in their relaxed state, beyond the sidewalls  52 ,  54  of the groove  50 . As a result, the fins  64  are resiliently deformed by the sidewalls  52 ,  54 , thereby centering the shank portion  62 . In addition, the lower fins  64  engage the undersides of the ridges  56 , thereby releasably retaining the groove-forming element  60  in the groove  50 .  
         [0019]     The groove-forming element  60  forms a groove  70  in the door  14  along three sides of the perimeter of the door  14 . The groove  70  has a shape that is complementary to a groove-forming portion  66  of the groove-forming element  60 . In the illustrated embodiment, the groove  70  is circular in transverse cross section. Of course, when the door  14  is first molded, the seal  18  shown in  FIG. 6  is not in the groove  70 . Instead, the groove-forming element  60  fills the groove  70 . The groove  70  has an opening  72  that has a first width and a main portion  74  that has a second width that is greater than the first width of the opening  72 . As a result, once the door  14  has solidified, the groove-forming element  60  is securely retained in the groove  70  with greater force than the groove-forming element is retained in the groove  50  of the mold. Therefore, when the door  14  is removed from the mold  40 , the groove-forming element  60  separates from the groove  50  of the mold  40  and stays with the door  14 .  
         [0020]     At least the groove-forming portion  66  of the groove-forming element  60  is made of a material whose dimension in at least one transverse direction decreases as tension is applied in a longitudinal direction. As a result, when the groove-forming element  60  is tensionsed in the longitudinal direction, the dimension of the groove-forming portion  66  in a direction transverse to the length and parallel to the width of the groove  70  decreases. Consequently, when the groove-forming element  60  is in tension in the longitudinal direction, it can be removed from the groove  70  in a direction straight through the opening  72  of the groove  70 . It is not necessary that the dimension of the groove-portion forming  66  parallel to the opening  72  of the groove  70  decrease to a dimension smaller than the width of the opening  72 . The longitudinal tension merely has to decrease the width of the groove-forming portion  66  enough that the groove-forming portion can deform sufficiently to move through the opening  72  of the groove  70 . In the absence of such longitudinal tension, the groove-forming portion  66  is unable to deform sufficiently to move through the opening  72 . Suitable materials for the groove-forming element  60  include silicones.  
         [0021]     After the groove-forming element  60  has been removed from the groove  70 , the groove is available to receive the seal  18 , which makes watertight engagement with the side  12  of the tub  10 . The groove  70  and the seal  18  extend along the bottom and both sides of the door  14  at the perimeter of the door. As can be seen in  FIG. 9 , the seal  18  has a base portion  80  to be received and retained in the groove  70  and a sealing portion  82  extending along the length of the base portion and positioned outside the groove, the base portion and the sealing portion being connected in one piece by a neck portion  84 . The base portion  80  has a generally circular transverse cross-section and a width that is sufficiently greater than the width of the opening  72  of the groove  70  that, in its relaxed, untensioned condition, the base portion is unable to pass through the opening  72  of the groove  70 . This is true despite deformability in the material of which the base portion is made. However, when tension is applied in the longitudinal direction of the base portion  80 , the base portion is able to move through the opening  72  of the groove and enter the main portion  74 , where it is retained after the longitudinal tension has been removed. As with the groove-forming element  60 , the width of the base portion  80  of the seal  18  need not decrease to a width less than the width of the opening  72  of the groove  70 . It need only decrease sufficiently that the base portion  80  can deform sufficiently to pass through the opening  72  of the groove  70 . It is preferred that an adhesive  86  also be used to secure the base portion  80  of the seal  18  in the groove  70 .  
         [0022]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is contemplated that variations and/or changes in the embodiments illustrated had described herein may be made without departure from the present invention. For example, the groove can be provided in the side of the tub, around the door opening, and the seal can be secured therein for engagement with the door. As another example, the bevels can be omitted from the contacting surface of the latch and, instead, a beveled member can be provided on the side of the tub for engagement with an unbeveled contacting surface of the latch. In such an arrangement, the bevel on the beveled member can extend in just one direction, rather than two. Furthermore, it is understood that, if the tub door is hinged along a side opposite to the one hinged in the embodiment illustrated, a latch can be used that is a mirror image of the latch of the illustrated embodiment. Accordingly, it is intended that the foregoing description is illustrative only, not limiting, and that the true spirit and scope of the present invention will be determined by the appended claims.