Abstract:
This invention is a distinctive plastic receptacle or bath. This bath is made from clear or coloured supple PVC plastic and the body of the bath is held upright and in place by a lightweight structure that consists of parts that can be connected and taken apart again, so that the bath becomes collapsible. This means that the bath can easily be folded away and transported. It is meant to be used as a bath for camping, or any other temporary use, where such a structure would be very useful, such a temporary fish tank.

Description:
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 
       [0001]    GB 1404020.8 
         [0002]    GB 1319730.5 
         [0003]    GB 1307998.3 
         [0004]    These documents mean that the first patent application regarding this invention was done in Great Britain on the 2 May 2013. 
       BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In the UK alone there are over a million campers and campervan, caravan and motorhome (RV) users and enthusiasts. The people who like camping already like various gadgets and pieces of equipment that are specially designed to make the camping experience more comfortable. 
         [0006]    This invention is a camping bath. A collapsible, portable lightweight bath designed to be used in tents, caravan tents, motorhome annexes, utility tents or any other shelter that affords some privacy, or even just in the great outdoors during a wild camping experience. It can be taken on expeditions, for example, a rally car expedition across several continents. 
         [0007]    It can also be used as a temporary water tank, for example when a permanent fixture, such as pond is being fixed. The contents of the pond, usually fish of some kind can be kept in the receptacle and kept warm while repairs are being carried out, by simply adding a small water heater to the bath as used in most aquariums. 
         [0008]    It is also very useful to bathe vulnerable children in, on a camping trip, because they find the ordinary facilities at a campsite daunting and very disconcerting. They often get very upset and frustrated due to the unfamiliar surroundings. 
         [0009]    Due to the suitability of the materials used in the construction of the bath, it is also useful when taking pets on holiday, either to bathe them or just to have them cool down on a very hot day. 
         [0010]    Even campsites with very good facilities might seem too far away and that is why a lot of campers have their own toilets and may well like their own baths as well. On most campsites, when they get very busy, the hot water might run out, or there would always be queues and women, especially do not like using shared facilities very much. (See the March 2013 edition of Camping Magazine, page 30) 
         [0011]    The only other product on the market that can be used for sanitation is the camping shower. Though inexpensive, the camping shower relies only on the sun in order to heat up whereas the water for the camping bath can be heated up in a variety of ways. Using the camping shower is not a very relaxing experience as it can only take up to 20 litres of water and once this has gone, the shower and the bathing experience is over, whether a person has finished bathing or not. There is also a continuing problem with the output pressure being too low and so a lot of the time only a trickle of water is discharged. It is know that some people have even constructed their own temporary showers. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The camping bath can easily be set up and dismantled. It can be folded and carried in its own textile carrying case, for easy storage and transportation. It can be used again and again because it is made of lightweight, yet very strong materials. 
         [0013]    The structure is strong enough to take the weight of almost any person. The body of the bath can be made out of strong supple PVC sheets, which can be transparent, or it can be suffused with colour, or it can contain patterns on the sides of the bath, either imprinted or added on later in the form of temporary or permanent PVC decals or stickers which may contain suction mechanisms to adhere to the bath. 
         [0014]    Because the bath can contain hundreds of litres of water, and since it is not, typically, going to be permanently plumbed in, there needs to be a mechanism for filling it with water. There are several ways of filling and emptying the bath. 
         [0015]    The easiest way is to take on 25 litre plastic container and either pour it directly into the bath, or use a small 12V pump to place inside the container and pump the water into the bath. Then four, 3 litre kettles of boiled water can be added to the bath. Since most cooking hobs in a tenth have two hot plates, the water in the bath will be hot enough after about 10 minutes. Because the PVC plastic is so strong the boiling water can be poured in first if so desired. If the tent has access to electricity then this can be used to heat up the water. 
         [0016]    There are also many and varied gas and electric powered small portable water heating tanks available on the market to either heat up the water in a tent, or caravan or motorhome (RV). 
         [0017]    Water may also be fetched from the ablution block or water taps, by using a trolley, of which there are a huge variety on the market. 
         [0018]    Most tents, (but not those made out of canvas) also get very hot during the day and so if the water container or containers are just left in a tent or utility tent then there will be enough hot water already available for a bath, later in the day. The water can then just be topped up with a boiled kettle and so a hot relaxing bath can be enjoyed in the great outdoors with only the time it takes to make a cup of tea. 
         [0019]    When emptying the bath, a small 12V pump, either battery operated or hand-held, or electrical can be used to pump the waste water back into the containers. There are several types of these pumps able to do this on the market and it usually takes 10 minutes or less to empty the bath, as some of these pumps act quite fast. 
         [0020]    Caravans and motorhomes have hot water already installed and therefore readily available. They contain only shower, however. 
         [0021]    The camping bath consists of a plastic and metal or plastic only, frame, which sits inside the a supple PVC plastic container or receptacle in such a way that the frame holds up the plastic and a rectangular bath is formed. 
         [0022]    The frame is typically made of aluminium, because of its excellent qualities but it can also be made from brass or any other suitable metal that does not corrode easily and is not too heavy. The frame can also be made out of extruded plastic such as solid polypropylene or acrylic. If hollow plastic tubes are used they may not be strong enough to hold the weight of most people as they climb in and out of the bath. 
         [0023]    The advantage of using acrylic is that it is very tough and durable. It may be relatively expensive but it can be coloured in a variety of colours and so combinations of coloured PVC and acrylic could be very commercial, once the idea of a having a camping bath is established. 
         [0024]    The advantage of using aluminium for the frame is that it is lightweight, yet very strong. The aluminium can be anodised or preferably powder coated, so that it can also be made in a variety of colours to enhance its commercial value. This may make it easier to market the product. 
         [0025]    The aluminium extruded tubes are held in place by hard PVC, or polypropylene or any other similarly strong and suitable plastic, tube connectors or sockets. The aluminium tubes either fit snugly inside these connectors or the connectors can be placed inside the aluminium tubes to make up the frame. 
         [0026]    In order to construct the bath the aluminium tubes are first threaded through the plastic bath&#39;s welded seams before being either placed inside or outside the tube connectors or sockets. Each aluminium tube is no longer than approximately 50 cm or else the bath may be too bulky to carry around easily. The tube connectors consist of 389 degree sockets, T-junction connectors, clip-on sockets and rounded connectors. When the connectors are inserted inside the aluminium tubes the bath has an even more elegant appearance. The junctions may be even stronger because the plastic connectors are now made more compacted, and are also surrounded and therefore protected by the aluminium, and so are less prone to crack or have a fracture. 
         [0027]    If acrylic is used then the tube connectors may be made in different colours and so the bath can again be made more colourful. Both the aluminium and acrylic tubes or rods are resistant to heat and corrosion. 
         [0028]    The rectangular body of the bath may be preferably made from supple PVC as this material has the best qualities and is also the most inexpensive. The plastic sheets from which the body is cut out can withstand boiling water poured directly onto it, if so desired. It is UV resistant and does not expand when it is filled with water by more than approximately 1 cm outwards when the bath contains around 130 litres of water. When it is emptied the bath returns to its original size and shape. The thickness of the sheet is preferably in the order of up to 0.75 mm thick. If it is any thicker than the bath becomes too difficult to fold away. Plastic sheets strips of 1 mm thick are used to form curtains in warehouses and supermarkets. Sheets of approximately 0.5 cm thick are used as washing up bowls or tent windows. 
         [0029]    Other materials that may be used for the body of the bath are plastics that contain textile fibres embedded in the plastic, which is usually polyurethane. The problem with these types of plastic is that their hydrolysis resistance may be low. What this means is that they cannot withstand heated water as well as the supple PVC. They are however, very tough and need not be thicker than 0.5 cm. Other plastics, where the fibres are inserted between two layers of plastic have excellent hydrolysis qualities. 
         [0030]    Whichever plastic is used they can be destroyed by folding the plastic into a point or vertex and then scraping this pointed part across surfaces like concrete for the supple PVC or even just synthetic carpets, in the case of other plastics with the embedded textile fibres. It is therefore, important to find a balance between the strength of the material for the body of the bath, and the ability to fold it up and pack it away. 
         [0031]    Another advantage of using supple PVC for the bath is that it can be cut into shapes very easily, by just using a Stanley knife. It is important not to cut out sharp angles, however, but to use rounded corners because the supple PVC, degrades over time where sharp angles have been cut into it. This manifests itself as small tears at the corner edges. 
         [0032]    The PVC sheet may be cut into three or more shapes or parts and these are then welded together to form the body of the bath. A 6 kW high frequency welding method is used which heats and fuses the pieces together to form an extremely strong bond. Other plastic materials use other welding methods. 
         [0033]    A small pocket of thinner supple PVC may be added to the inside of the bath, either by welding or by a temporary suction mechanism. This is to hold the small 12V pump upright because if it is held upright it is the most effective. 
         [0034]    Even though portable baths have been made before, and even though the materials described are not new, it is the combination of using these materials for a portable rectangular bath in the modern camping environment, including the ideas of what campers are going to use to fill and empty the bath, that is new. Recent innovations including a portable spa bath still utilises the round plastic swimming pool design that is held upright by air being pumped into it. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0035]    In order to understand exactly what the portable, collapsible bath consists of, please refer to the following drawings. 
           [0036]      FIG. 1  is a plan view illustrating one version or example of a cut piece of supple PVC; 
           [0037]      FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating one version of a cut piece of PVC that is designed to fit together with the piece of PVC of  FIG. 1 , in order to be welded together in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0038]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an example of one version of a 360 degree, hard plastic tube fitting or connector; 
           [0039]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an example of one representation of a hard plastic T-junction tube connector; 
           [0040]      FIG. 5  Is a perspective view of an example of one version of a hard plastic semi-circular tube connector; 
           [0041]      FIG. 6  is a perspective side view of one version of how the aluminium tubes or rods fit into the hard plastic tube connectors, to form the frame in a manner consistent with the present invention; 
           [0042]      FIG. 7  is a perspective side view of the completed frame as shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0043]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of one example or embodiment of a camping bath, containing all the elements of the previous drawings, which can be made in a manner consistent with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0044]    In order to fully understand the area and scope of the invention the description will start by looking at the material which the body of the baht consists of  FIG. 1  shows a plan view of a sheet of PVC that is preferably made of supple PVC  1 , or similar plastic, some of which may contain fibres embedded in the plastic sheet. By supple PVC it is meant that the polyvinylchloride polymer has had plasticisers added to it to make the plastic flexible and bendable, yet strong enough to resist high temperatures of water and soap. It is also very easy to cut and this can be done using a Stanley knife or similar. As can be seen in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  the PVC plastic sheet is cut out in a certain way, showing only one example of this invention. 
         [0045]    The plastic sheet plan designs  1  and  2  have rounded cut out flaps or wings  6  and  7 . 
         [0046]    It can be seen in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  that when the corners are cut out of the supple plastic PVC sheet that they are rounded  15  and not cut out at right angles. This is done to prevent any weak points forming at these corners, because these will eventually result in small tears appearing at the corner after some extensive usage. 
         [0047]    The thickness of the transparent PVC sheet  1  and  2  is 0.75 mm, in this version of the invention, but the thickness can vary from 0.5 to 0.75 mm. If the PVC sheet has a greater thickness than 0.75 mm the bath would be too difficult to fold away. A balance must be found between the thickness of the plastic sheet and the ability to fold it up. If the thickness is 0.5 mm, it would be very easy to fold up into a smaller shape but then when the bath is filled with water it will expand above 1 cm outwards, even though once the vessel is emptied it will regain its original shape again. 
         [0048]    The polyurethane plastic, or any other plastic with embedded fibres, are very strong and so the thickness needed would be from 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm. Some of these plastics have also got excellent hydrolysis qualities in that they can easily withstand boiling water being poured onto them and pressures applied to the plastic at the same time. These are the type of conditions that the bath would normally be subjected to. Most of these types of plastic are already made opaque during the manufacturing process. These types of plastics also would not expand when filled with water because the embedded fibres keep the bath&#39;s shape completely. However, when a point or corner is formed they are not as strong as the supple PVC and will form a hole when the corner is scraped on a carpet, whereas the supple PVC will only form a hole when scraped on a hard material like cement. Also, when the supple PVC is folded it does not retain the folds, whereas these types of plastic do. They are also more expensive and use a different welding method than that used by the supple PVC. 
         [0049]    If transparency is an issue the clear supple PVC may have decals or plastic stickers added to the outside of the bath, which may stick to the bath panes by way of a suction mechanism. The camping bath is though, primarily designed to fit into either a small side room of a large family tent, or more typically in a utility tent, which has its own privacy built in. The supple PVC is also manufactured in a range of colours. The PVC plastic is widely available and is manufactured to come in large rolls of film or sheeting. 
         [0050]    The plastic sheets  1  and  2  are welded together using a high frequency welding method. This means that the two sheets are overlaid by approximately 1 cm and then the seam is heated when it is subjected to a frequency ranging from 13-100 MHz and with a machine with a power rating of at least 6 kW. Because of the high power rating a three phase socket is needed for the welding machine. An example of what the very strong seam  19  looks like after it has been welded, is in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0051]    The first pieces to be welded are the flaps or wings  6  and  7 . These rounded cut out wings are folded over and then welded to pieces  1  and  2 , respectively. In this representation of the invention there are six wings on the main plan sheet  1  and two each  7  on the side panels  2 , one of which is shown in  FIG. 2 . The aluminium tube pieces  14  and  20  will slide inside these welded flaps  6  and the aluminium tube pieces will slide inside the welded flaps  7  whenever the bath is assembled, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0052]    To weld together the pieces  1  and  2 , the PVC sheet is first folded along the lines  16  and then the edge  3  is combined with the edge  4 , in such a way that they overlap by 1 cm before being subjected to the high frequency welding. Care has to be taken so that when these two sheets are welded together, the flaps  6  and  7  are situated on the inside of the bath and not the outside. After this has been done another piece  2  is going to be welded on the other side of the piece  1  in exactly the same way except that there are two wings  5  cut out and so the edges  3  and  5  will now be combined with edge  4 . This is done to ensure that the completed structure will have an extension  17  as shown in  FIG. 8 . This is constructed so that a person can lean backwards comfortably and have a relaxing bath. 
         [0053]    The plastic sheet  1  and  2  and all the wings  6  and  7  must be cut out according to a set pattern so that for example, the plastic does not cover the tube connectors  11  as shown in  FIG. 4  because this may make the bath too slippery when a person leans on the structure when they get in and out of the bath. When the design is done correctly as shown in  FIG. 8 , it will also be relatively easy to insert the aluminium tubing first into the welded plastic sleeves  6  and  7  and then into the tube connectors  11 ,  8 ,  12 . The tube connector  13  can be added last and are just clipped onto the exposed aluminium tube  21 . 
         [0054]    In this representation of the invention there are twenty-eight aluminium tubes,  16 ,  18  and  20  of five varying sizes, as can be seen in  FIG. 6  and in  FIG. 7 . The sizes range from 84 mm to 472 mm. The diameters of the tubes are one inch or 25.4 mm and the inside thickness is 18 SWG or 1.219 mm. The aluminium tubing is very robust and can withstand the weight of almost any person. It is well-known from the internet and other sources that aluminium is a passive metal and so does not corrode easily. It merely forms an aluminium oxide shell and once this has occurred no further corrosion or interaction with the environment takes place. Even so to protect the aluminium even further, or to allow colouring of the aluminium tubing, the tubes are subjected to either anodising or powder coating. By colouring the aluminium tubes, the product may be made more commercial. 
         [0055]    Anodising the aluminium may lead to cracks forming after many uses because the aluminium is going to be submerged in water, so it preferable that the aluminium is powder coated. Powder coating increases the resistance to ultraviolet rays, and corrosion, and also allows dyeing of the aluminium without causing the paint to form blisters. The powder is a type of plastic polymer and may have particle size ranging from 30-50 micrometers. The powder coating contains only the powder and a resin or glue, but no solvent like ordinary paint and is therefore less harmful to the environment because it causes less pollution. 
         [0056]    In order to cover the tubing the powder coating has a softening temperature of 80 degree Celcius, a melting temperature of 150 degrees and is cured at 200 degrees. The final procedure forms a type of skin so that the finished product will have a consistent surface appearance and colour, as well as a smooth texture, and will also be able to withstand knocks and abrasions. The powder coating is applied electrostatically before it is cured under heat. 
         [0057]    The tube connectors  8 ,  11  and  12  in this representation of the invention can be seen in  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 . They are made of a preferably thermosoftening polymer or hard PVC, or a thermosetting plastic of some kind There are many examples of tube connectors in use, but the difference for this invention is that the connectors must be stronger and tougher and not be prone to cracking or splitting, or have any other stress fracture weaknesses, then those used in other products. Tube connectors used for camping equipment or furniture may be prone to fractures even when they contain strengthening bars  10 , as shown in the 360-degree,  9  tube connector,  8  as in  FIG. 3 . The aluminium tubes will fit quite tightly into the socket  9  so that the structure is strong, but not too tightly so that it cannot be easily taken apart again. The tube connector or socket,  11  in  FIG. 4 , is a T-junction type and this connector will need to be the strongest as it will take most of the weight of the person, whenever he or she is getting in or out of the bath. Typically an inner diameter of 14 SWG would be suitable to withstand the strain. The rounded sockets,  12  in  FIG. 5  are situated at the back of the bath to ensure that there are no hard edges as a person leans back in the bath. 
         [0058]    The clip  13  is attached to the tube  18  at the front and back of the bath for added strength to the overall structure, as can be seen in  FIG. 6  and in  FIG. 7 . These figures also show how the aluminium tubes fit into all the connectors to make up the structure of the bath. Another representation of this invention could include a design where the tube sockets or junctions fit inside the aluminium tubes. The overall effect of this design is that it is very aesthetically pleasing because the T-junction would not be visible anymore, except for a small black band. This design may be more appealing to the eye and therefore could be more commercial. It may even be give a stronger structure as the plastic connectors would now be protected by the aluminium tubing. 
         [0059]    Even though the materials and manufacturing techniques and processes are well known, this invention is about the combination of using these materials in a completely new way and in a novel approach, which is not obvious. It is also about thinking out different ways in which this collapsible, portable camping bath can be useful and also how it can be used. For example, how to fill a bath that is a temporary structure, and also how the water is heated in a safe and harmless way. It is also not going to be an expensive product. Many other variations, modifications and the use of similar materials, may become obvious, especially once the idea of using a camping bath is established, but it is intended that they will fall within the spirit and scope of this invention. The representation as described earlier is meant to be an example or illustration only, and as such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.