Apparatus and method for bathing invalids
US4346485A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 15, 1980 |
| Grant date | Aug 31, 1982 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 15, 2000 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA47K3/006
- WIPO fieldFurniture, games
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An arrangement for bathing invalids, or others with impaired ambulatory ability, comprises an enclosure having a bathtub with upstanding walls which form a stall. The bathtub includes a seat having an anatomical contour and a lateral opening adjacent the seat to permit invalid ingress and egress. A door with a generally wedge-shaped contour mates with and selectively closes the bathtub opening, and includes a seal compressed between the opening lip and the door to form a seal which is sufficiently leakproof to permit immersal bathing of a seated invalid. The door is slideably mounted on a hingeless track assembly, which vertically translates the door into the closed position and pivots the door as it is raised into a horizontal, overhead storage position. Shower heads are mounted on the walls of the stall to provide both shower and immersal bathing for hygiene and therapy. The bathtub seat and opening are mutually oriented so as to permit an attendant to laterally move the invalid from a wheelchair directly onto the bathtub seat with minimum strain and hazard.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.