Patent Publication Number: US-2004049845-A1

Title: Personal care module

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
     [0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/293,949, filed May 25, 2001, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002] The present disclosure relates to a personal care module. The personal care module is disclosed in the context of being useful for a patient within a room of a healthcare facility. The personal care module is believed to be useful in other applications as well.  
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY  
       [0003] Patients in healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes, sometimes have limited mobility. Ambulating to obtain basic personal care services, such as, for example, access to a sink and faucet, a toilet, and a bed pan washer, may be difficult for these individuals without the assistance of a caregiver who may not be available immediately. Such personal services are sometimes located in a restroom attached to the patient&#39;s room. This may require the patient to maneuver around one or more beds, furniture, and hospital equipment to reach the restroom. Some patients having limited mobility may prefer easier access to personal care services.  
       [0004] According to this disclosure, a personal care module for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facility comprises a toilet, a washing station, and a housing coupled to the toilet and the washing station. The washing station has either a sink and a faucet or a bed pan washer. Illustratively, the housing is movable between a first position extending alongside a wall of the room and a second position extending alongside a bed in the room.  
       [0005] Further illustratively, the housing has a first portion and a second portion. The washing station is coupled to the first portion. The toilet is coupled to the second portion. The first portion and the second portion are relatively movable between a third position to cover the toilet and a fourth position to uncover the toilet.  
       [0006] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a personal care module for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facility comprises a toilet, a washing station having a sink and a faucet, a bed pan washer, and a housing coupled to the toilet, the washing station, and the bed pan washer.  
       [0007] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a personal care module for use by a patient within a room of a healthcare facility comprises a first washing station, a second washing station, and a housing coupled to the first washing station and the second washing station. Illustratively, the first washing station has a sink and a faucet, and the second washing station has a bed pan washer.  
       [0008] Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode as presently perceived. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0009] The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:  
     [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personal care module positioned in a first position extending alongside a wall of a patient&#39;s room, the personal care module comprising a first washing station having a sink and a faucet and a second washing station having a bed pan washer;  
     [0011]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the personal care module which is movable along the floor of the room about a pivot axis between the first position (shown in dashed lines) and a second position (shown in solid lines) extending alongside a bed in the room for ready access by the patient;  
     [0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the personal care module having a toilet uncovered by an upper portion of a housing of the personal care module upon movement of the upper portion in the direction of the dashed arrow; and  
     [0013]FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the personal care module showing a pivot coupling between the housing and the floor, a control panel coupled to the bed pan washer and the toilet, and supply and drain lines coupled to the first washing station, the bed pan washer, and the toilet and routed through the interior of the housing to the floor of the room.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0014] A personal care module  10  configured for use by a patient  12  in a healthcare facility such as, for example, a hospital or a nursing home is illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 4 . Module  10  is configured to be conveniently located in a room  14  of the healthcare facility for ready access by patient  12  who may have limited mobility. Module  10  is movable along a room floor  15  about a vertical pivot axis  17  in opposite directions indicated by double-head dashed arrow  27  in FIG. 2 between a first position (FIG. 1, FIG. 2 in phantom) extending alongside a room wall  19  and a second position (FIG. 2 in solid, FIG. 3) extending alongside a bed  21  in room  14 .  
     [0015] Personal care module  10  provides a variety of services for patient  12 . Module  10  has a first washing station  16  (FIGS.  1 - 4 ), a second washing station  18  (FIGS. 1 and 4), and a toilet  20  (FIGS. 3 and 4). Station  16  has a faucet  24  for dispensing water and a sink  22  for draining the water. Station  18  has an automatic bed pan washer  23  for washing a bed pan  25 . It is within the scope of this disclosure for module  10  to provide one or more other services in addition to or in place of stations  16 ,  18  and toilet  20 . Such other services include a water purification system, dialysis connections, and urine sampling equipment.  
     [0016] Faucet  24  has a spout  26 , a hot water control  28 , and a cold water control  30 . Other types of faucets are within the scope of this disclosure. For example, in alternative embodiments, the faucet has a single temperature control for hot and cold water. In other alternative embodiments, the spout has a removable nozzle coupled to a flexible tube to dispense water from a variety of positions. A hot water supply line  32  provides hot water to hot water control  28  while a cold water supply line  34  provides cold water to cold water control  30  as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4. A drain line  36  is coupled to an aperture of a bottom portion of sink  22  to drain water therefrom.  
     [0017] Washer  23  of station  18  has a receptacle  40  for receiving bed pan  25  in an interior region  42  thereof, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. Washer  23  also has one or more dispensers  44 , shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4, for dispensing a cleaning agent such as water and/or a disinfectant into interior region  42  to wash a bed pan  25  positioned therein. Receptacle  40  is movable about a pivot axis  46  between an opened position (FIG. 1) and a closed position (FIG. 2). Bed pan  25  can be inserted in direction of arrow  47  through an opening of receptacle  40  into interior region  42  when receptacle  40  is positioned in its opened position. Bed pan washer  23  washes bed pan  25  after receptacle  40  is pivoted to its closed position. A supply line  48  is coupled to dispensers  44  to provide the cleaning agent thereto. A drain line  50  is coupled to a bottom aperture of receptacle  40  to drain receptacle  40 .  
     [0018] Dispensers  44  extend downwardly from an upper wall  51  of bed pan washer  23  into interior region  42  of receptacle  40 , as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4. It is within the scope of this disclosure for a rear wall  52  of receptacle  40 , shown in FIG. 1, to have an opening sized to permit passage of dispensers  44  therethrough to accommodate movement of receptacle  40  between its opened and closed positions. In some embodiments, dispensers  44  are movable from an extended position wherein dispensers  44  extend downwardly from upper wall  51  into interior region  42  to wash bed pan  25  and a retracted position wherein dispensers  44  are retracted into corresponding openings in upper wall  53  to accommodate movement of receptacle  40  between its opened and closed positions. In other embodiments, dispensers  44  remain in such a retracted position even during operation of bed pan washer  23 . It is within the scope of this disclosure for dispensers  44  to be fixed or movable, such as being rotatable, relative to receptacle  40  during operation of bed pan washer  23 .  
     [0019] Toilet  20  has a seat  56  for patient  12  and a receptacle  58 , as illustrated in FIG. 3. A water supply line  60  is coupled to toilet  20  to provide water thereto. A drain line  62  is coupled to toilet  20  to drain waste therefrom.  
     [0020] Personal care module  10  has a housing  66 , as illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 4 . Housing  66  has a proximal end portion  78  and a distal end portion  80 . A longitudinal axis  81  of module  10  extends horizontally through proximal end portion  78  and distal end portion  80 . Housing  66  also has a lower housing portion  82 , a first upper housing portion  84 , and a second upper housing portion  86 . Lower housing portion  82  supports upper housing portions  84 ,  86  for movement therewith as module  10  is pivoted between its first, wall position and its second, bed position. First upper housing portion  84  is movable relative to lower housing portion  82  and second upper housing portion  86  between a toilet-covering, extended position (FIGS. 1, 2, and  4 ) to cover toilet  20  and a toilet-uncovering, retracted position (FIG. 3) to uncover toilet  20 , as discussed in more detail below.  
     [0021] Proximal end portion  78  of lower housing portion  82  has an outer sleeve  68 , as illustrated in FIG. 4. An inner sleeve  70  is coupled to floor  15  via fasteners  72  and is positioned inside of first sleeve  68 . A bearing  74  engages sleeves  68  and  70  so that module  10  can move about vertical pivot axis  17  between the first, wall position and second, bed position. Thus, sleeves  68  and  70  and bearing  74  cooperate to define a pivot coupling  75  between module  10  and floor  15 . Floor-engaging elements  76 , such as wheels or casters, are coupled to lower housing portion  82  to facilitate movement of module  10  along floor  15 , as illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 4 . In alternative embodiments, lower housing portion  82  has a skirt that hangs downwardly to shield casters  76  from view.  
     [0022] Lines  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  48 ,  50 ,  60 , and  62  are routed through an interior region  88  of housing  66  and through inner sleeve  70 . Lines  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  48 ,  50 ,  60 , and  62  are then coupled to corresponding plumbing lines represented by box  90  and routed through floor  15 . Alternatively, lines  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  48 ,  50 ,  60 , and  62  are coupled to a headwall mounted to wall  19 . At least some portions of lines  32 ,  34 ,  36 ,  48 ,  50 ,  60 , and  62  are flexible to accommodate the pivoting movement of module  10  between its first, wall position and second, bed position and to accommodate the movement of first upper housing portion  84  between its extended and retracted positions. In some embodiments, drain line  36  includes a rigid portion providing an S-shaped trap that traps solid objects dropped inadvertently into sink  22 .  
     [0023] Lower housing portion  82  contains second washing station  18  (FIG. 1) and toilet  20  (FIG. 3). Second washing station  18  is positioned adjacent to proximal end portion  78 . Toilet  20  is positioned adjacent to distal end portion  80 . Toilet seat  56  is coupled to an upper wall  91  of portion  82 . Portion  82  also has side walls  99  and end walls  100  coupled to side walls  99 . Side walls  99  and end walls  100  are coupled to upper wall  91 . Receptacle  40  of bed pan washer  23  pivots outwardly relative to one of side walls  99  to its opened position (FIG. 1) and pivots inwardly relative thereto to its closed position.  
     [0024] First upper housing portion  84  carries first washing station  16 , as illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 3 . Sink  22 , spout  26 , and hot and cold water controls  28 ,  30  are mounted to an upper wall  92  of first upper housing portion  84 . Portion  84  further has a pair of opposing side walls  94  and an end wall  96  coupled to side walls  94 . Side walls  94  and end wall  96  are coupled to upper wall  92 . Upper wall  92  and side walls  94  cooperate to define an edge  98  that defines an opening into an interior region of portion  84 . The majority of sink  22  is positioned in the interior region of portion  84  between side walls  94 .  
     [0025] Second upper housing portion  86  has side walls  110 , an end wall  112  coupled to side walls  110 , and a pair of doors  114 , as illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 3 . Control panel  118  is mounted to one of side walls  110 . Each door  114  is coupled to a top portion of one of side walls  110  for movement, such as by pivoting, between a raised position (FIGS. 1 and 2) wherein doors  114  are positioned to lie in generally horizontal, co-planar relation with one another and a lowered position wherein each door  114  extends downwardly alongside the respective side wall  110 .  
     [0026] First upper housing portion  84  is movable on lower housing portion  82  along longitudinal axis  81  between its toilet-covering, extended position (FIGS. 1, 2, and  4 ) and its toilet-uncovering, retracted position (FIG. 3). Housing portions  84  and  86  are arranged in telescoping relation with one another. Housing portion  84  is slightly larger than housing portion  86  so that a majority of housing portion  86  is positioned to lie in the interior region of housing portion  84  when housing portion  84  is positioned in its retracted position. Thus, housing portion  84  covers housing portion  86  when housing portion  84  is positioned in its retracted position.  
     [0027] During movement of housing portion  84  from its extended position to its retracted position in a direction indicated by arrow  115  (FIG. 3), doors  114  move automatically from their raised position to their lowered position to allow sink  22  to move into a space between doors  114 . When housing portion  84  returns to its extended position, doors  114  move automatically from their lowered position to their raised position. It is within the scope of this disclosure for suitable devices, such as cables, linkages, or cam mechanisms, to be used to couple the movement of housing portion  84  to doors  114 .  
     [0028] In some embodiments, side walls  94  of first upper housing portion  84  are configured to mate with corresponding tracks (not shown) mounted on upper wall  91  or upper portions of side walls  99  to allow movement of first upper housing portion  84  between its extended and retracted positions. In other embodiments, rollers (not shown) are coupled to a bottom portion of each side wall  94  to ride on the tracks.  
     [0029] First washing station  16  and toilet  20  are aligned vertically with one another such that first washing station  16  is positioned above toilet  20  when first upper housing portion  84  is positioned in its extended position. First washing station  16  and toilet  20  are offset vertically from one another when first upper housing portion  84  is positioned in its retracted position. First washing station  16  and second washing station  18  are aligned vertically with one another such that first washing station  16  is positioned above second washing station  18  when first upper housing portion  84  is positioned in its retracted position.  
     [0030] A control panel  118  for controlling module  10  is coupled to one of side walls  110  of second upper housing portion  86 , as illustrated in FIG. 1. Control panel  118  has user inputs  120  that are engaged to control various functions of module  10 . Control panel  118  is coupled to bed pan washer  23  via an electrical conductor  54  to control its washing cycles. It is within the scope of this disclosure for module  10  to have sensors (not shown) coupled to control panel  118  to sense the presence of bed pan  25  in receptacle  40  and to sense the position of receptacle  40  so that bed pan  25  is washed automatically upon movement of receptacle  40  to its closed position. Control panel  118  further controls flushing of toilet  20  via electrical conductor  64  in response to, for example, one of user inputs  120  or a proximity sensor (not shown) mounted to sense when toilet  20  is no longer being used. Alternatively, toilet  20  is flushed manually via a mechanical lever. It is also within the scope of this disclosure for one or more of user inputs  120  to control powered movement of module  10  between its first, wall position and its second, bed position and one or more of user inputs  120  to control movement of first upper housing portion  84  between its extended and retracted positions.  
     [0031] Personal care module  10  is operable in both its first, wall position and its second, bed position or in positions therebetween. When module  10  is in its first, wall position, patient  12  can use first and second washing stations  16 ,  18  (FIG. 1) and can use toilet  20  upon retraction of first upper housing portion  84 . When module  10  is in its second, bed position, patient  12  sitting on bed  21  is able to use first washing station  16  for hand washing or to obtain water for drinking without having to exit bed  21 , as illustrated in FIG. 2. In addition, when module  10  is in its second, bed position, patient  12  sitting on bed  21  is able to move first upper housing portion  84  toward wall  19  of room in a direction indicated by a dashed arrow  115  from its extended position to its retracted position to expose toilet  20 . Patient  12  is then able to move a short distance from a seated position on bed  21  to a seated position on toilet seat  56 . During movement from bed  21  to toilet seat  56 , a patient having limited mobility may steady himself or herself by holding to portions of module  10  as illustrated in FIG. 3.  
     [0032] Although certain illustrative embodiments have been disclosed in detail, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention as described and defined in the following claims.