Patent Publication Number: US-2017367540-A1

Title: Rotary bathtub grab-bar chair

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to an assistive device which features relative rotation between a seat and a base body so that a user can move easily into a bathtub by sitting on or grabbing the seat. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The elderly or those with a mobility disability may have problem getting into and out of a bathtub when taking a bath or shower; without a helping hand, they are likely to fall and be injured as a result. Even when assisted, they may still find it difficult to enter a tub. 
     In light of the above, the applicant of the present invention developed a “TUB GRAB BAR STRUCTURE” and was granted therefor Taiwan Utility Model Patent No. 454497 on Sep. 11, 2001 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,230 on Dec. 25, 2001. This patented invention discloses a clamping base including a fixed board vertically formed on a lateral side of the horizontal base body of the clamping base. A threaded rod is transversely and threadedly provided on the fixed board, includes a knob at the outer end, and is connected with a connecting rod at the inner end, wherein the connecting rod is vertically attached to a clip board. A rotary horizontal baseboard is pivotally provided on the horizontal base body while a grab bar is vertically coupled to the baseboard. A tenon pipe is provided on the baseboard and is radially spaced from the central pivot axis. A plurality of annularly arranged and equally spaced insert holes are provided in the horizontal base body of the clamping base and correspond to the tenon pipe. An elastic bolt is provided in the tenon pipe and can selectively engage with any of the insert holes. Thus, the direction of the grab bar can be adjusted by rotating the baseboard with respect to the clamping base, and the grab bar is locked once the desired direction is obtained. The grab bar structure can therefore adapt to various tubs. An elderly user or a user with a mobility disability can hold the grab bar and turn in order to get into a tub. 
     While the invention described above can effectively help an elderly user or a user with a mobility disability to enter a tub, this is true only if the user&#39;s legs can support, even partially, his or her body weight. Those who are unable to stand due to weakness in legs still need help when using the grab bar, or the difficulty of entering a tub remains. In short, the foregoing invention is not satisfactory in terms of use. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the existing assistive devices designed for bathing and/or showering, the present invention provides a rotary bathtub grab-bar chair which includes a base body, a rotary base, and a seat. The base body is provided with a fixed board, the fixed board is threadedly provided with a threaded rod, the threaded rod is threadedly connected with a moving block, and the moving block is connected with a clip board such that the clip board and the fixed board can be moved toward each other by rotating the threaded rod. The base body is further provided with a position-limiting member. The position-limiting member is fixed to a limiting base by a plurality of first threaded connection elements, and the limiting base is fixed on the base body and is provided with a plurality of bolt holes. The rotary base is coupled to the base body and is limited in movement with respect to the base body. The position-limiting member is mounted around the rotary base and is located at the periphery of the rotary base such that the rotary base, which is rotatable with respect to the base body, is limited in movement with respect to the limiting base. The rotary base is provided with a bolt tube which can correspond to any of the bolt holes. The bolt tube is provided therein with a bolt. The bolt can move in the bolt tube, be movably engaged in any of the bolt holes, and is mounted with a spring and a lever. The lever is pivotally connected to the bolt by a pin in order to move the bolt vertically and elastically in the bolt tube. The rotary base is further provided with a supporting portion. The seat is coupled to the rotary base and is provided with a supporting block. The supporting block is fixedly coupled to the supporting portion by a plurality of second threaded connection elements. The seat is further provided with at least one opening. 
     Preferably, the threaded rod is provided with a rotating handle. 
     Preferably, the seat is further provided with a backrest. 
     The foregoing technical features have the following advantages: 
     1. One whose legs cannot provide sufficient support can sit on the seat and then move easily into a bathtub. In other words, the present invention can help a user get into a bathtub on his or her own. 
     2. The present invention also functions as a bathtub grab bar. An elderly user or a user with a mobility disability can hold the outer edge of the opening in the seat, allowing the seat to support part of his or her body weight and thus make it easier to enter a bathtub. 
     3. The backrest additionally provided on the seat can be leaned on by the user. This enhances the safety of one who has problem keeping his or her upper body upright while taking a bath or shower. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an assembled perspective view of the embodiment in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an assembled sectional view of the embodiment in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  schematically shows the embodiment in  FIG. 1  fixed at an edge of a bathtub; 
         FIG. 5  is another assembled sectional view of the embodiment in  FIG. 1 , showing the bolt out of a bolt hole; 
         FIG. 6  schematically shows how the rotary base of the embodiment in  FIG. 1  can be rotated with respect to the base body; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the seat is additionally provided with a backrest. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , an embodiment of the present invention includes a base body  1 , a rotary base  2 , and a seat  3 . 
     The base body  1  has a lateral side on which a fixed board  11  is vertically provided. The fixed board  11  is transversely and threadedly provided with a threaded rod  12 . The threaded rod  12  is provided with a rotating handle  13 . An L-shaped moving block  14  is threadedly connected to the threaded rod  12 , is located on the inner side of the base body  1  with respect to the fixed board  11 , and is connected with a clip board  15 . By rotating the rotating handle  13 , the clip board  15  and the fixed board  11  can be moved toward each other and eventually clamped onto, for example, an edge of a bathtub. The base body  1  is also provided with a position-limiting member  17 , which is fixed to a limiting base  18  by a plurality of first threaded connection elements  16 . The limiting base  18  is fixed on the base body  1  and is circumferentially provided with a plurality of bolt holes  181 , which are annularly arranged with an equal spacing between each two adjacent ones of the bolt holes  181 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the position-limiting member  17  is mounted around and located at the periphery of the rotary base  2  such that the rotary base  2  is coupled to the limiting base  18  of the base body  1  and is limited in movement. More specifically, the rotary base  2  can rotate with respect to the base body  1  but cannot separate from the base body  1 . In addition, the rotary base  2  is provided with a bolt tube  21 , which can correspond to any of the bolt holes  181 . The bolt tube  21  is provided therein with a bolt  22 . The bolt  22  is mounted with a spring  23  and a lever  24 . The lever  24  is pivotally connected to the bolt  22  by a pin  25  in order to move the bolt  22  up and down elastically in the bolt tube  21 , allowing the bolt  22  to be movably engaged in any of the bolt holes  181  of the base body  1 . Besides, a supporting portion  26  is provided on the top side of the rotary base  2 . 
     The seat  3  has a bottom portion provided with a supporting block  31 . The supporting block  31  is fixedly coupled to the supporting portion  26  by a plurality of second threaded connection elements  32  such that the seat  3  can rotate along with the rotary base  2  with respect to the base body  1 . The seat  3  is provided with at least one opening  33 , whose outer edge can be grabbed by the user. 
     To use, referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 4 , the fixed board  11  and the clip board  15  are placed on the opposite sides of an edge of a bathtub A respectively. Then, the rotating handle  13  is rotated to move the clip board  15  and the fixed board  11  toward each other until the edge of the bathtub A is clamped therebetween. The bolt  22  in the bolt tube  21  can be elastically engaged, and consequently locked, in any one of the bolt holes  181  of the base body  1  due to the elastic force of the spring  23 . Once the bolt  22  is locked, the rotary base  2  and the seat  3  cannot be rotated with respect to the base body  1 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5 , and  FIG. 6 , a user with feeble legs can get into the bathtub A by first sitting on the seat  3 , allowing the weight of his or her upper body to be supported by the seat  3 . Then, the lever  24  of the bolt  22  is pressed down to compress the spring  23  and move the bolt  22  out of the bolt hole  181  in which the bolt  22  is engaged. At this point, the user can rotate the seat  3  on his or her own, or with the assistance of another person, thereby rotating the rotary base  2  with respect to the base body  1 , and by doing so, the user is rotated from outside the bathtub A to the interior of the bathtub A. Once rotated to the desired position, the user releases the lever  24  of the bolt  22  in order for the elastic restoring force of the spring  23  to drive the bolt  22  into the bolt hole  181  to which the bolt  22  currently corresponds and to lock the bolt  22  in place again. As soon as the bolt  22  is locked, the seat  3  and the rotary base  2  are kept from rotating with respect to the base body  1 . Thus, the present invention makes it easier for the user to take a bath or shower. 
     The present invention may also serve as a bathtub grab bar. Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 4 , when a user whose legs can provide a certain degree of support wishes to take a bath of shower, he or she does not have to sit on the seat  3 . Instead, the user can support himself or herself by holding the outer edge of the opening  33  of the seat  3  and then rotate the seat  3 , and hence the rotary base  2 , with respect to the base body  1  in order to enter the bathtub A with the assistance of the present invention used as a grab bar. 
       FIG. 7  shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is different from the previous one in that the seat  4  is additionally provided with a backrest  41 . The backrest  41  is intended to support a user&#39;s back so that one who is unable to hold their upper body in an erect position can lean backward against the backrest  41  to enhance the safety of bathing or showering. 
     The embodiments described above are only two preferred ones of the present invention and are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. All simple, equivalent changes and substitutions based on the appended claims and the disclosure of this specification should fall within the scope of the invention.