Improvements in Hot Air or Vapour Baths.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 31st July, 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hot Air or Vapour Baths.
I, CHARLES ALBERT BERTHE, of No. 2, St. Mark's Lodge, St. Mark's Road,
in the Island of Jersey, Manager of the "Jersey Hydropathic Establishment and
Medical Gymnasium," do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in hot air or vapour baths, and is
applicable to hot air and vapour baths, either or both, the special features of the
invention rendering it possible to modify, to any desired extent, the nature of the
bath, in respect both of temperature, humidity, and also the composition of
the atmosphere surrounding the body of the bather, in the direction of imparting
to the said atmosphere any medical property or agent which it may be desired to
bring to bear upon the bather through the skin.
Outside of, and in addition to, the adaptability as to temperature, humidity, and
nature of the atmosphere, referred to in the previous paragraph, my invention
provides for the prevention of the numerous fatal accidents which have from time
to time occurred to users of the so called vapour baths heretofore in use.
These accidents have generally been caused by fire or by asphyxiation.
In carrying my invention into effect I proceed as follows.
Up to the present time, the top of the bath chamber, or cavity of the bath
proper, in which the trunk and limbs of the bather were, has been made with a
hole large enough to take the neck, so that when the bather has been taking his
bath, he has been, so to speak, fast by the throat, and incapable of freeing
himself.
According to my invention, the said hole is large enough, or more than large
enough, to pass the trunk of the bather's body, and the top of it is divided into two
parts. One of these is fixed to the door of the bath, the axis of which, instead of
being at the corner so that only the door swings, is placed round the corner in the
back wall of the bath, so that a portion of the said wall is incorporated with the
door, and swings with it. Arm holes are made in the said top, so that the bather's
hands are not confined, but can be used to hold a book, or to unfasten the door,
the latch of the latter being of a suitable type for being easily operated from the
inside.
I provide a cape of suitable impervious material which can be made fast to the
said top and also packed comfortably tight around the neck. There may be (and
this device I find to be practicable and satisfactory) a ring about the hole in the
top of the bath chamber, to which the bottom edge of the cape is fastened. The
ring is in two or more parts, so that half or more of it can be turned over on
entering or leaving the bath, suitable releasable devices being provided for holding
the movable portions of the ring down upon the top. The cape is also made to
open down (preferably) the side next the door, and is provided with suitable lacing
devices for closing this opening with sufficient tightness.
The heating of the bath is effected by any suitable arrangement of hot air, water,
or steam circulations. These are laid, on as many sides of the bath as may be
deemed necessary, in casings formed against the framing of the bath by a perforated
partition of suitable material. The boiler for the heating apparatus is for obvious
reasons external to the bath.
The medicament to be applied, whatever its consistence, whether liquid or
gaseous, is comminuted and distributed through the atmosphere of the bath under-
neath the cape and top hereinbefore mentioned by a spray-producer worked by any
suitable current, and as there is, according to my invention, no interference with

page_text: the atmosphere above the cape, there cannot be any inhalation of the medicament
on the part of the patient, and the only way in which it reaches his system is by
cutaneous absorption.
There may be arranged within the front of the bath a chamber adapted to serve
as a linen airer; and proper provision is made by doors or hinged portions of the
framing for enjoying convenient access to the interior of the bath for the purpose of
cleansing it.
Dated this 31st day of October 1890.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Hot Air or Vapour Baths.
I, CHARLES ALBERT BERTHE of No. 2 St. Mark's Lodge, St. Mark's Road in
the Island of Jersey, Manager of the "Jersey Hydropathic Establishment and
Medical Gymnasium" do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in hot air or vapour baths, and is applicable
to hot air and vapour baths, either or both, the special features of the invention
rendering it possible to modify to any desired extent, the nature of the bath in
respect both of temperature, humidity, and also the composition of the atmosphere
surrounding the body of the bather, in the direction of imparting to the said
atmosphere any medical property or agent which it may be desired to bring to bear
upon the physical system of the bather through his skin.
Outside of, and in addition to, the adaptability as to temperature, humidity, and
nature of the atmosphere referred to in the previous paragraph, my invention
provides for the prevention of the numerous fatal accidents which have from time
to time occurred to users of the so-called vapour baths heretofore in use.
These accidents have generally been caused by fire or asphyxiation.
In carrying my invention into effect I proceed as follows.
Up to the present time, the top of the bath chamber, or cavity of the bath
proper, in which the trunk and limbs of the bather were has been made with a hole
large enough to take the neck so that when the bather has been taking his bath,
he has been so to speak, fast by the throat and incapable of freeing himself.
According to my invention the said hole is large enough or more than large
enough to pass the trunk of the bather's body and the top of it is divided into two
parts. One of these is fixed to the door of the bath, the axis of which instead of
being at the corner so that only the door swings, is placed round the corner in the
back wall of the bath, so that a portion of the said wall is incorporated with the
door, and swings with it. Arm holes are made in the said top so that the bather's
hands are not confined, but can be used to hold a book or to unfasten the door,
the latch of the latter being of a suitable type for being easily operated from the
inside.
I provide a cape of suitable impervious material which can be made fast to the
said top and also packed comfortably tight around the neck. There may be (and
this device I find to be practicable and satisfactory) a ring about the hole in the
top of the bath chamber to which the bottom edge of the cape is fastened. The
ring is in two or more parts, so that half or more of it can be turned over on
entering or leaving the bath, suitable releasing devices being provided for holding
the movable portions of the ring down upon the top. The cape is also made to
open down (preferably) the side next the door, and is provided with suitable lacing
devices for closing this opening with sufficient tightness.
The heating of the bath is effected by any suitable arrangement of hot air, water
or steam circulation.

page_text: These are laid on as many sides of the bath as may be deemed necessary in
casings formed against the framing of the bath by a perforated partition of
suitable material. The boiler for the heating apparatus is for obvious reasons
external to the bath.
The medicament to be applied, whatever its consistence, whether liquid or gaseous,
is comminuted and distributed through the atmosphere of the bath underneath the
cape and top herein before mentioned by a spray-producer worked by any suitable
current, and as there is, according to my invention no interference with the
atmosphere above the cape there cannot be any inhalation of the medicament on
the part of the patient, and the only way in which it reaches his system is by
cutaneous absorption.
There may be arranged within the front of the bath a chamber adapted to serve
as a linen airer, and proper provision is made by doors or hinged portions of the
framing for enjoying convenient access to the interior of the bath for the purpose
of cleansing it.
In order that my invention and the means by which the same is to be carried into
practical effect may be thoroughly understood I will now describe them in detail
referring in so doing to the accompanying figures which are to be taken as part of
this Specification and read therewith.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating my invention embodied in a local-general
as well as in a general bath with the necessary apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my invention constructed as a general bath and
shewing it open.
Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the local bath for the left arm.
Fig. 4 is a plan of a set of floor coils for the general bath and adapted to deliver.
dry heat or medicated steam either or both into the same.
Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a set of floor coils adapted to deliver medicated
steam into a bath.
Fig. 6 is a part plan of the bath.
Fig. 7 is a part front elevation of a bath with the lid down.
Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of the medicating vessel illustrating its use with
herbs, pine chips or bark.
Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of the medicating vessel illustrating its use with a
liquid medicament.
Referring to Fig. 1, the bath A. on the right hand is the general bath.
I apply
this term to it because it is adapted for the administration of a bath to only the
whole of the person, the head excepted.
As it is shewn in use an inspection of the figure will clearly shew that the head
must be kept outside the bath.
The bath B in the middle of the figure is the local bath. It is so called
because its internal addenda adapt it for the administration of a bath to any
member or portion of the body è.g. to the head, the loins, to either arm or leg
or to more than one member or portion as may be required. The bath C is
the foot bath, and is shewn outside the bath B to prevent its normal position in
the representation of the latter detracting from the illustrative value of such
representation. The constructional difference between a general and a local
bath is that a local bath is a general bath fitted with the above-mentioned.
addenda. So that a local bath as illustrated in A and B can be used as a
general bath, but a general bath cannot be used for the purpose of administering
local baths.
A local bath may therefore in virtue of its double utility be spoken of as a local-
general bath.
D is the floor of the bath room and C is a chamber underneath in which
are E the steam and F the oxygen generator. A generator for any other gas
may be substituted if desired. Both of these members of the installation
illustrated in the figure may be of any suitable or convenient type. This

page_text: chamber is divided by a partition c which prevents all communication between
the atmospheres surrounding the generators respectively.
e is the steam supply and the oxygen supply pipes to G the medicating vessel
which is fixed preferably to the wall of the bath room by brackets gg.
are provided with suitable stop cocks e¹¹..
:-
Both pipes
+
The construction of the general bath A is as follows:-
hhare a pair of steps on each side of the bath. They render access to the bath
easy and at the same time facilitate the discharge of the attendant's duties to the
bather.
i is the door of the bath.
latter.
It is hinged to the back at the adjacent edge of the
jis the cover; it is an important portion of the bath top and the novelties
characteristic of it add much to the comfort and value of the invention. k is an
oval opening in the top j. Its object is to allow the cover to come down over the
head and shoulders.
I is a cape of some suitable fabric fixed to the edge of the opening k It
is suitably shaped for it to be comfortably gathered in round the neck as
illustrated in Fig. 1. Any suitable padding round the throat may be added.
An alternative construction of cover and door is illustrated in Fig. 6. The
door in this case is a combination of the side-door and of part of the back
of the bath and is hinged at 7. The cover is in two portions-indicated by
the line m and that next the door is made fast to it.
which the cape is held to the cover.
n is a metal ring by
It may be and preferably is hinged along
the line m so that the part appertaining to the door can be folded over after
having been disconnected from the door-portion of the cover.
be cut down the side as at n and be fitted with a lace.
The cape may
The other addenda to the cover and door are two arm holes o, o, cach with a
hinged cover o'o', a thermometer having its bulb below the cover, and the
necessary handles.
n is the sloping portion of the bath top. It is hinged to the front of the bath.
It is always kept closed and is used only to shew the interior of the bath. ² is the
door of a linen-airer. ³ is the bather's seat and has a coil of pipes under it. This
coil is not shewn in either Fig. or Fig. 2. is the back coil. is the perforated
bottom. There is a coil under it.
It has been already explained that the local bath of my invention is the general
bath as just described fitted with certain addenda. These addenda are illustrated
in B Fig. 1, and in Fig. 3. Their presence as well as the conveniences of the case
necessitate a modification in the construction of the frame of the bath to the
following extent.
The door is in the front instead of at the side of the bath.
in two half doors, meeting in the centre.
It is made preferably
bath should be removable to make room for the sliding covers of the arm and leg
It is necessary that the front of the
local baths to be drawn outwards preparatory to the bather settling in the proper
bathing position. The sloping portion of the top is also made in two halves n², n
hinged to the respective sides of the bath.
Each arm-bath consists (referring to B Fig. 1 and Fig. 3) of a box fixed to the
adjacent side of the bath-' is a perforated shelf of wood or other suitable material
upon which the arm may rest, a² the sliding front adapted to close up the arm-bath.
It is cut away at a³ to make room for the limb and slides between the top at and the
shelf a. a is an unperforated steam-pipe or coil. a is the waste pipe to carry off
the condensed steam. a is a perforated pipe.
Each leg-bath is constructed on a similar plan.
adapted to slide between the top of the bath and a
arm and leg-baths are adapted to be closed in front by the doors is the seat
provided with a coil. 7% are two arc-shaped flaps which when
head bath. ' is the coil for this bath.
is the bath,
shelf
is
its coil.
its sliding front,
Both
closed form the

page_text: The head bath is removable and provision is made for treating any particular
part of the spine.
The cover of the bath is of the same construction as described with reference to
the general bath A and is fitted with the same addenda.
All the coils above mentioned required to provide dry heat are unperforated.
All coils required to deliver moist heat or vapour or medicated vapour are
perforated.
Instead of delivering medicated vapour into the bath through perforated pipes I
may use a spray producer for comminuting a liquid medicament and mixing it
or a medicament in the form of vapour with the steam either before or after its
delivery into the bath.
s, sands are, respectively, the pipes from the medicating vessel G to the general
bath. t, t, etc., are the pipes and branch pipes from the said vessel for steam plain
or medicated, or any gas, and u, u', etc., are the pipes for dry heat. All the above
pipes are provided with a proper complement of stop cocks.
The movable foot-bath C is a box without a bottom.
It has, preferably, one of
its sides hinged and is fitted with the necessary detachable coils made as herein-
before described in any convenient way.
The medicating vessel G is a hollow chamber of a convenient size. The pipes
from the steam and gas generators deliver directly into it, and all the branches to
the baths are led from it. Into it all the medicating properties which my invention
requires to be imported to the steam are introduced in a solid, liquid, or gascous
form, and it is within it that the necessary acquisition of these properties by the
steam is effected.
If the medicament to be combined with the steam is a gaseous one, e.y., oxygen
gas, it is delivered from the generator into the medicating vessel where it meets the
steain and the two automatically combine. But if the medicament exists normally
in a solid or a liquid form, then my invention provides special devices to meet such
cases.
These devices are illustrated in detail in Figs. 8 and 9. V is a perforated
chamber or tube occupying preferably a central position in the medicating vessel.
is its removable cover. If the medicament exists in a solid condition it is broken
up into fragments and spread evenly over the internal surface of or within the
chamber as illustrated in Fig. 8. If on the other hand, a liquid medicament is
to be used, an open pan or tray, ', of it is introduced into the chamber V as
illustrated in Fig. 9. c is a safety valve and may be furnished with a small tube
through which very small quantities of essences or medicaments are to be introduced.
a is a cock for drawing off exhaust steam.
I may use any suitable type of coils. That illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is one
which gives excellent results. y, y are the side or main pipes and y y' the transverse
pipes. are the perforated pipes through which the steam or other vapour or gas
flows. Each bath may be provided with a double set of coils, one plain and the
other perforated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is,
1. The combination of closed bath internal coils and medicating vessel as set
forth.
2. The combination of closed bath with door, bath cover having an opening
therein fitted with a cape as set forth.
3. The general construction of the bath with reference to its frame door cover
and cover as set forth.
4. The combination of steam generator gas generator medicating vessel their
connections and connections to the bath as set forth.
5. The combination of closed bath perforated shelf or bottom and coil or pipe
service as set forth.

page_text: 6. The combination of steam pipe service, medicating vessel or equivalent mixing
device and delivery device adapted to deliver the medicated steam into the bath as
set forth.
D
1
1
1001
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C..
Agents for the Applicant.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C..
Agents for the Applicant.