An Improved Spray or Shower Bath.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 20th May, 1898-Accepted, 20th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Spray or Shower Bath.
I, WILLIAM CHARLES HUGHES, of Brewster House, Mortimer Road, Kingsland,
London, N.E., Manufacturing Optician, do hereby declare the nature of this in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
-
My invention relates to an improved portable spray or shower bath, adapted for
both private and other uses, the objects of which are: First-to provide a means
whereby such a bath may be used with either hot, tepid, or cold water, or hot at
first, and tepid or cold after, or vice versa, at the will of the bather, and second
that the spray or shower may impinge upon the skin of the bather, with a greater
or lesser degree of force, by which it is assumed that a certain degree of massage
will be exercised, the circulation of the blood quickened, and such ailments as
lumbago, sciatica, and other rheumatic troubles be remedied thereby.
In order that my said invention and the manner in which I prefer to construct
and use the same may be fully understood, reference is hereinafter made to the
accompanying drawings of which:
Figs. 1 and 2 are central vertical section and external view or elevation res-
pectively of my invention substantially as I prefer to construct and arrange the
same.
Fig. 3 is a section of the same taken upon the line A B of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the door of sanie taken upon the line CD of
Fig. 2, Fig. 5 being a cross sectional view of the said door.
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged views of details hereinafter explained.
My invention consists of a chamber A, of any convenient dimensions suitable
for the purpose, according to where the same is to be located, and of any suitable
formation in cross section, but preferably circular, in which case the said chamber
may be described as a hollow cylinder, arranged to stand upon feet or legs B.
The lower end of A has a preferably perforated division or horizontal partition C,
which in combination with the bottom D of A, forms a water chamber E, adapted
to be filled through an orifice F, and emptied through a suitable cock or tap G,
the said orifice being provided with a steam tight cap a having any suitable form
of safety valve such as b. The upper end of A has a like partition or division H
which in combination with a suitable lid or cover J forms a water chamber K.
The bath or chamber A is provided internally with one or preferably a pair
of any suitable kind of force pump or pumps, preferably of cylindrical formation,
such as L and L', having handles such as c and c¹ conveniently within the reach
of the bather, and the said pump or pumps may be rigidly retained in position by
clips d, or any other suitable means. The lower end or ends of the said pump or
pumps has or have a feed pipe or pipes e which extend through the diaphragm
or partition C into and near to the bottom of the chamber E and a delivery pipe
or pipes f, which extend from the said pumps either inside or outside A into the
chamber K, so that the operating of the said pumps may raise the water in the
chamber E into the chamber K.
The chamber A may be provided with any number of glass panels M and vent

page_text: or air holes y, for supplying light and air to the bather and a close fitting hinged
or otherwise suspended door such as N, of such dimensions only as to permit the
free and easy entry and departure of, the bather, the said door being provided
with any suitable form of catch or handle h, and preferably with an internal
deflecting board m for conveying the water running down therein over the
junction of the lower end of the door with the chamber A.
From the partition H (and communicating with the chamber K) depend any
number of tubes or pipes 0, preferably three, these being arranged one opposite
the door N and the others at right angles thereto, a like pipe or tube of being
fixed upon the inside of tlie door N, and supplied by a flexible conduit or tube
such as P, in connection with one or the other of the tubes or pipes O. The said
tubes or pipes 0 and 0 may be each provided with any number of openings or
outlets, each of which may be open in the form of a nozzle or covered by a
rosette such as R (Fig. 8) or a perforated ring such as S (Fig. 7) each of which
said openings may be provided with a suitable tap or cock such as T. Fig. 1, so
that either or all or any number of the said rosettes or the like may be in use at
one time at the will of the bather. Or in lieu of the said rosettes or the like, the
tubes or pipes O and or ¹ may have holes or perforations ? (Fig. 6) extending
for the whole or any desired portion of their lengths, the upper ends of which
said pipes may be governed by a cock or tap such as T. Or I may find it con-
venient that one or the other of the said tubes 0 or 0¹ may be arranged as at
Fig. 6 while another or the others may be arranged as at Figs. 7 or 8.
The diaphragm or partition H has a central opening communicating with the
chamber K, the same being provided at its under surface with a larger perforated
rosette governed by a suitable tap or cock T.
The feet or legs B of A are more particularly for permitting a gas jet such as S¹
(Fig. 2) or where this may not be available, an oil or other lamp such as S
(Fig. 1) to be placed beneath the diaphragm 1 for the purpose of heating the
water in the chamber E when required or desired, and the manner of use is as
follows:-
The bather or his or her attendant would first charge the chamber E with water
through the orifice F, and (assuming that a warm or tepid bath is required)
would next ignite the gas jet S¹ or lamp S² as the case may be, and when the
water in E, had reached the desired temperature, the bather would enter the bath
through the door B, and in order that the bather may not have to stand upon
the heated diaphragm C.I provide upon this a wooden lattice s (as shewn in
Figs. 1 and 3) upon which the bather may stand.
The water in the chamber E would be raised into the chamber K by the bather
operating the pump or pumps L and L', which exercise, in combination with the
heat from the chamber E, would tend to open the pores of the skin of the bather,
and cause the dirt therein to exude therefrom in a manner similar to the effect
produced by a Turkish bath, and when the whole or any desired portion of the
water in E had been raised into K the pumping operation may cease, and by
operating certain or any or all of the cocks or taps T the water in K may be
caused to exude from whichever of the rosettes or the like had been so opened,
onto the bather, by the action of gravity only, the said water falling from the
bather onto the diaphragm C and through the perforations therein back into
the chamber E, to be again pumped up and used through the same or other of
the orifices in O, R, S, or r as desired.
The pumping up of the water from E to K would naturally lower the tem-
perature of the same, therefore if the bather desires that his bath shall be first
warm or hot and be gradually reduced to a tepid and or cold one, he would lower
or turn out the gas jet S¹ or lamp S2 (as the case may be) before entering the
bath, so that at each repeated emptying of K the water would be lower in tem-
perature than the one preceding it, but if the bather desires a continuous warm
bath the said gas jet or lamp may be allowed to remain. Or if the bather desires
a cold spray or shower bath the said gas jet or lamp may be dispensed with.

page_text: In cases where the bather desires that the water may impinge upon the person
with greater force than that obtained by gravity in the water falling as stated
from the chamber K, I may provide in the pipes f suitable two-way cocks and
connections (not shewn) by means of which the water in E may be pumped
directly into any one or all of the tubes or pipes 0 and 01, so that the water
may exude from the holes or the rosettes or the like R, r or S with a force
equal to that exerted by the bather upon the pump or pumps L and or L¹.
Where the height of the room or apartment in which it is desired my improved
bath shall be fixed may be abnormally low, I may lessen the entire height of the
bath by lessening the height of the chambers E or K or both, but in order to pro-
vide that the capacity of E or K or both may be the same or thereabouts in
either case, the said chambers when so lowered in height may be extended in
width, as suggested by dotted outlines at E¹ and K' in Fig. 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1st. The portable shower or spray bath having a water chamber beneath the
bather adapted to be heated by any suitable means, and the water therein raised
by the means of a force pump or pumps operated by the bather, into a chamber
above, and from the latter chamber into suitable conduits, or from the said pump
or pumps directly into the said conduits without the use of the said upper
chamber, and from the said conduits by the means of tap-governed rosettes or
other perforated outlets onto the bather, substantially as herein described and
shewn.
2nd. In a portable shower or spray-bath, the combination of a cylindrical or
other chamber such as A, having a hinged or otherwise suspended door N, and
standing upon feet or legs such as B, the said chamber A having at its lower
end a water chamber E, formed by a perforated diaphragm C, and at its upper
end a water chamber K, covered by a lid J, with gas jet such as S¹ or lamps such
as S2 for heating the water in E, and a force pump or pumps such as L or and L',
and pipes for enabling the bather to raise the water in E into K, with conduits
such as O and O', provided with any number of perforated outlets such as p, r, R,
or S, each governed by a tap or cock such as T, for permitting the water entering
O and O¹ from K, or directly from the pump or pumps L or and L' to impinge in
spray or shower form, with suitable force, upon any desired part of the bather
and return to the chamber E, substantially as herein described and shewn by the
accompanying drawings.
200
1
1000