Patent Publication Number: US-8528125-B1

Title: Basin device for use in washing the hair of a person sitting upright

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to basins that are used to hold or catch water during the washing of a person&#39;s hair. In particular, the present invention relates to portable basins which permit the washing or shampooing of a person&#39;s hair while the person maintains an inclined or upright body position. 
     2. Prior Art Description 
     When the hair of a person is shampooed by another, the process is typically performed over a sink or bathtub. Professional hair salons typically perform the washing or shampooing of a person&#39;s hair over a contoured sink. To use a contoured sink, a person places his/her neck into a relief that is formed along the brim of the sink. Such positioning typically requires sharp backward bending of the person&#39;s neck. This is often inconvenient, uncomfortable, or impossible, particularly for hospital or nursing home patients with limited mobility. Additionally, such sharp bending of the neck results not only in discomfort due to increased pressure on the neck, but also in restriction of blood flow, which can lead to medical complications. 
     Recognizing that not all people are capable of having their hair washed over a sink. Devices have been invented that enable a person&#39;s hair to be washed while that person is sitting upright, or in a slightly inclined position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,551 to Pasquarello, entitled Shampoo Apparatus, discloses a portable shampoo apparatus that is contoured to fit adjacent a person&#39;s neck and to facilitate the shampooing process. This device channels all water it receives to one point. Accordingly, as water flows down the head, it is immediately channeled away from the head. Consequently, the device must be used close to a sink that can receive the water. Having a sink close at hand is often impractical for bedridden people. Furthermore, since the device only channels water that falls from the back of the head, the system has a tendency to leak. This wets the clothing, linens and the bedding of the person having their hair washed. This is highly undesirable since it is extremely labor intensive to change the clothes, linens and bedding of a bedridden person. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,054 to Pasquarello, entitled Shampoo Device, discloses another shampoo device that partially fits around a person&#39;s neck. The device relies upon a belt-like closure for looping around the patient&#39;s neck to form a seal. The closure includes a tie string or the like to maintain the seal around the base of the patient&#39;s neck. However, this design causes water to flow toward the seal at the base of the patient&#39;s neck and collect, which creates a leakage problem. The seal around the neck cannot be made too tight for obvious blood flow and comfort reasons. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,745 to Magee, entitled Portable Shampoo Bowl, discloses a closed system which acts as a reservoir and does not require a patient to assume a position adjacent a sink. The Magee device is a complex multi-piece system which is coupled with a cape having a drawstring to facilitate a seal around the neck. The cape is fitted around the base of the neck beneath the device. The patient must keep constant tension on the drawstrings to prevent leakage. This is undesirable for unconscious patients or patients incapable of maintaining such constant tension, as leakage will result. Alternatively, more than one person would have to participate in the shampooing procedure to ensure that the patient&#39;s clothes remain dry, which is undesirable because of the time and costs associated with employing additional personnel to perform the shampooing procedure. Additionally, water is caused to flow toward the seal around the patient&#39;s neck and allowed to collect. This causes a leakage problem. This is ameliorated in part by the provision of a reservoir below the seal with the patient&#39;s neck. However, water in the reservoir makes the device heavy and unstable, which makes it difficult or impossible for patients to support and which increases the risk of water spillage due to instability of the reservoir. 
     Some of the problems associated with prior art hair washing basins have been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,458 to McFadden, the inventor herein, entitled Shampooing Device. In the McFadden patent, a basin is described that seals to the body above the level of the water. Accordingly, the seal against the body produces little leakage. However, a strap is still used to make the seal. The use of a strap comes with the chance that the strap can be overtightened, therein causing restricted blood flow and/or discomfort to the person having their hair washed. 
     A need therefore exists for a basin that enables a person to have their hair washed while in an upright position that creates a watertight seal around the neck, yet does so without possibly restricting blood flow through the neck or causing discomfort. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view showing a temporary configuration used during the application of the invention onto a user&#39;s body. 
     
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a portable washbasin assembly that is used to catch water when a person is having his/her hair washed. A basin is provided that rests on the shoulders of the person. This enables the person to have his/her hair washed while sitting upright or near upright. The basin has a bottom surface through which is disposed a generally centralized opening. An outer vertical wall extends around the periphery of the bottom surface. An inner vertical wall extends upwardly from the bottom surface around the centralized opening. 
     A flexible membrane is stretched over the centralized opening between sections of the inner vertical wall. The flexible membrane contains a hole that is positioned over the below lying centralized opening. 
     To utilize the washbasin assembly, a person passes his/her head through the central opening in the basin and through the hole in the membrane. The membrane is highly elastic and creates a seal around the user&#39;s neck without constricting blood flow through the neck. The seal created by the flexible membrane is elevated well above the bottom of the basin. Accordingly, as water flows into the basin during a hair washing procedure, that water does not reach the flexible membrane. The seal created by the flexible membrane is therefore not prone to leak. 
     Water that collects within the basin flows into a drain and out a drain tube. The drain tube can lead to a sink, or to a bucket if a sink is not close at hand. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Although the present invention washbasin assembly can be used to isolate different extremities of the body during washing, such as an arm or a leg, the present invention is particularly well suited for isolating a person&#39;s head during the washing of that person&#39;s hair. Accordingly, the present invention is illustrated and described in an application where it is used for hair washing. Such an exemplary embodiment is selected to present the best mode contemplated for the invention. It should be understood that the present invention washbasin assembly can also be applied to other parts of the body and to other objects that need to be selectively washed. All such alternate uses of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. 
     Referring to both  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , there is shown an exemplary embodiment of a washbasin assembly  10 . The washbasin assembly  10  has a primary reservoir  12  that is defined along its exterior by continuous peripheral walls  14 . In the shown embodiment, the primary reservoir  12  has a rectangular shape. It should be understood that such a shape is merely exemplary and other shapes, such as round and square, can be used with equal effectiveness. 
     The primary reservoir  12  has a bottom surface  16  that spans between the peripheral walls  14 . A funnel structure  18  is formed in the bottom surface  16 . The funnel structure  18  collects all water that flows into the primary reservoir  12 . A tube  20  is attached to the funnel structure  18 . The tube  20  is used to channel away the water that flows into the funnel structure  18 . 
     A head opening  22  is disposed in the primary reservoir  12  proximate its geometric center. The head opening  22  is fenced by continuous vertical walls  24  that extend upwardly from the bottom surface  16  of the primary reservoir  12 . Accordingly, it will be understood that the primary reservoir  12  can hold water between the vertical walls  24  surrounding the head opening  22  and the outer peripheral walls  14 . 
     Two bulges  26  are present in the bottom surface  16  of the primary reservoir  12  on opposite sides of the head opening  22 . The bulges  26  are convex on the interior of the primary reservoir  12  and concave on the exterior. The bulges  26  create shoulder reliefs  28  that enable the washbasin assembly  10  to more steadily rest upon the shoulders of a person during a hair washing procedure. 
     Padding  29  may optionally be present on the top of the vertical walls  24  of the head opening  22 . As will later be described in more detail, the padding  29  prevents the head opening  22  from injuring a person when the washbasin assembly  10  is being placed upon, or removed from, the head of a person. 
     Catch hooks  30  are present on the exterior of the vertical walls  24  of the head opening  22 . The catch hooks  30  are oriented downwardly and are used to snag the edges of a flexible membrane  32 . The flexible membrane  32  is stretched over the head opening  22 . The flexible membrane  32  is kept taut over the head opening  22  by the engagement of the edges of the flexible membrane  32  by the various catch hooks  30 . The flexible membrane  32  is not solid. Rather, the flexible membrane  32  defines a central hole  34  that is stretched open over the center of the head opening  22  as the flexible membrane  32  is stretched between the catch hooks  30 . The central hole  34  is defined by a continuous open edge  36  that is cut into the flexible membrane  32 . 
     The flexible membrane  32  is made of a soft, flexible, water impervious and highly elastic material. The preferred material is a styrene based tri-block copolymer gel material. Examples of tri-block copolymer gels include poly(styrene-ethylene-ethylene-propylene-styrene), polystyrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene) and poly(styrene-butylene-propylene-styrene) that are mixed with a plasticizing oil to achieve a desired durometer. Such material is extremely elastic, having the ability to stretch over ten fold without tearing and without permanent distortion. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  in conjunction with  FIG. 2 , a preferred method of use for the washbasin assembly  10  is described. Initially, the washbasin assembly  10  is configured to the condition expressed in  FIG. 2 , wherein the flexible membrane  32  is stretched over the head opening  22  and is engaged by the catch hooks  30 . To prepare the washbasin device  10  for application onto a person, the central hole  34  of the flexible membrane  32  is temporarily stretched open. To stretch open the central hole  34  of the flexible membrane  32 , the open edge  36  of the central hole  34  is stretched open until it can be set onto the catch hooks  30 . Once the open edge  36  of the central hole  34  is engaged by the catch hooks  30 , the central hole  34  is hyper-expanded to a size close to the size of the head opening  22 . This enables the washbasin assembly  10  to be placed over a person&#39;s head without requiring the person to force their head through a small opening. 
     The washbasin assembly  10  is passed over a person&#39;s head with the central hole  34  of the flexible membrane  32  being temporarily held open. The washbasin assembly  10  is brought to rest on the person&#39;s shoulders. The person&#39;s shoulders pass into the shoulder reliefs  28  created by the bulges  26  in the bottom surface  16  of the washbasin assembly  10 . In this manner, the washbasin assembly  10  will not teeter on the person&#39;s shoulders. Once the washbasin assembly  10  is comfortably resting on the shoulders, the open edge  36  of the central hole  34  is disconnected from the catch hooks  30 . 
     Once detached from the catch hooks  30 , the central hole  34  in the flexible membrane  32  attempts to contract back to its original size. However, a person&#39;s neck is now inside the opening defined by the central hole  34 . Consequently, the flexible membrane  32  only contracts back until it contacts the person&#39;s neck. Once in contact with the person&#39;s neck, the extreme elasticity of the flexible membrane  32  prevents the flexible membrane  32  from squeezing the neck with any appreciable force. The flexible membrane  32 , therefore, does not restrict blood flow through the neck or otherwise cause discomfort. 
     Water and shampoo are used to wash the person&#39;s hair in the traditional manner. As water runs down the head, the water collects in the primary basin  12 . Water accumulating in the primary basin  12  flows into the funnel structure  18  and into the drain tube  20 . The drain tube  20  leads the water to a sink, or to a bucket if a sink is not at hand. 
     The flexible membrane  32  creates a seal against the neck of the user. Furthermore, the area of the seal is elevated above the bottom surface  16  of the primary basin  12 . Accordingly, any water drains into the funnel structure  18  well before it rises to the level of the flexible membrane  32 . Since the seal created by the flexible membrane  32  is not exposed to any standing water, there is no significant leakage and the clothes, linens and bedding of the person remain dry during the hair washing procedure. 
     When the hair washing procedure is complete, the open edge  36  of the central hole  34  is again stretched out to engage the catch hooks  30 . This expands the central hole  34  and causes the flexible membrane  32  to expand away from the person&#39;s neck. The washbasin assembly  10  can then be lifted over the person&#39;s head without the washbasin assembly  10  rubbing along the face and causing discomfort. 
     The embodiment of the present invention illustrated and described is merely exemplary. It will be understood that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to the shown embodiment using functionally equivalent components. For instance, the shape of the primary basin can be changed. Furthermore, many fastening devices, other than catch hooks, can be used to hold the flexible membrane onto the catch basin assembly. All such variations, modifications and alternate embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as set forth by the claims.